Legendary progressive-rock band Yes plays Twin River
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| The reconstituted Yes, from left, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Alan White, and Chris Squire. |
The prog-rock luminaries of Yes are partially re-creating, partially re-imaging their 1970s heyday on a tour that has the band performing entire groundbreaking albums from the era.
Before it was the owner of a lonely heart, Yes conceived grand, thematic albums, and will be presenting two of them — “Close to the Edge” and “The Yes Album” — Friday at Twin River in Lincoln (other stops on the tour also get “Going for the One,” but casino venues have time restrictions on concerts).
Bassist Chris Squire, the only member of Yes to be in every lineup of the band since its 1968 inception, says that while the group is playing faithful renditions of the studio recordings, the outcomes are inevitably influenced by the musicians now in the band.
In 1971, Tony Kaye played the keyboard parts on “The Yes Album,” and Rick Wakeman handled the task on 1972’s “Close to the Edge.” Current keyboard player Geoff Downes has a history with Yes, joining in 1980 for the “Drama” record, and later reconnecting with the band in 2011.
“He’s going to cover the parts of Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman but play with his own flavors,” Squire says of Downes.
Drummer Alan White likewise did not join Yes until right after “Close to the Edge” was recorded, but has been with the band since.
But the most significant change in Yes comes in the vocals department. Founding member Jon
Anderson was the recognizable voice of Yes from its beginning until 2004. Last year, Jon Davison became the second singer to take on Anderson’s role.
“The real good news is that Jon Davison is doing a fantastic job,” Squire says. “Our audience really likes him.”
While “whole album” concerts have become popular over the past few years, Yes had not done such a show before, playing every song in the order it appears on a given full-length.
“We try to honor the originals as much as possible. Some of these songs got stretched out live. We consciously went about restructuring songs to their original format. We took some of the jamming out of it,” Squire says.
The trade-off is hearing guitarist Steve Howe perform all of “The Yes Album,” his first outing with the band, one in which it made a seismic shift toward the orchestrated and classical motifs that would shape the band’s music for the remainder of the decade.
With “Close to the Edge,” Yes arguably hit its perfect balance of long-form exploring and melodic grandeur.
Squire says that it is common now for him to see a new generation of Yes fans showing up at his concerts. “Kids of the original fans are getting into the music,” he says. “That’s good for me.”
The overall health of the Yes-dom will be on display Saturday in Camden, N.J., for the first Yestival, a day of music by likeminded bands such as Volto!, which feature’s Tool’s Danny Carey, and Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy playing alongside Yes.
“It’s something we wanted to do for years, and if it all goes well, in 2014 we’ll tour with a festival,” Squire says.
There’s also the possibility that the Squire-Howe-White-Downes-Davison lineup will make a new Yes album.
“One of the good things about having had people come in and out of the band is that whenever a new member comes in he has his own ideas, and that will give a slightly different slant to what Yes actually does,” Squire says, using the example of guitarist Trevor Rabin’s entrance in 1983, which triggered a hard turn into a sleeker sound that produced the band’s only #1 hit in the United States, “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”
“Whatever we make will be made organically,” Squire says. “You can’t force new music.”
Scott McLennan can be reached at smclennan1010@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottMcLennan1.
Yes
Friday, 8 p.m.
Twin River Casino Event Center, 100 Twin River Rd., Lincoln
$45-$125, www.ticketmaster.com. (877) 827-4837
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