06/04/2008

1976 - Memphis


June 04, 1976 - Memphis, Tenessee, USA
Yes's solo album tour didn't work as expected and the set-list was ever-changing. Quoting Circus Magazine from September 13, 1976:
At a concert in Memphis' Mid-South Coliseum, when Yes was still performing various solo material, Chris Squire got his turn with "Hold Out Your Hand," the opening track from his own Fish Out Of Water album, and some ten thousand people responded to the Squire tune with a standing ovation. "We were still experimenting with the show at that stage, and we were playing different songs every night, and I think that one night we just happened to play my song," says the too-modest bassist.

Indeed the best thing about this show was Squire's great song. He sings so well, and then in the end there's an instrumental rendition of You by my side, with Howe on steel guitar. Not to be missed.
Other high points are Sweet Dreams, with all the band playing intensely and freely that early song, and Moraz's solo, this time not on mellotron but on a bluesy piano.
The tape was from audience and sound quality is not the best.

Set-list:
Apocalypse
Siberian Khatru
Sound Chaser
I've Seen All Good People
Song Of Innocence
Hold Out Your Hand/You By My Side
Leaves Of Green
Clap
Long Distance Runaround/Moraz Solo
Harp Solo
Heart Of The Sunrise
Gates Of Delirium
Roundabout
Sweet Dreams

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04/04/2008

1974 - The Tooleman presents Yessongs 2


Live at Madison Square Garden, New York City, Feb 18, 1974

Some Yes fans have commented on the blog thanking for the "full Tales experience" or, in other words, the chance of hearing the full Tales from Topographic Oceans played live on stage. To those, this bootleg is the holy grail.
Tooleman, one of the greatest Yes aficionados in the world, managed to get a tape with the full Tales played live in New York, in a very good sound quality. Bad news is the tape didn't contain the rest of the show (the whole Close to the Edge album and Roundabout). He did a wonderful job remastering the tapes, and they sound fresh and lively. You can hear the moog as if it were beside you!
It might be just my imagination, but they sound so interested in this evening... The Ancient is simply dazzling: Howe plays with all his soul, and Rick has a more important role than in the studio version.
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