Showing posts with label Billy Sherwood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Billy Sherwood. Show all posts

Friday, May 19, 2023

Yes Mirror to the Sky released

Mirror to the Sky

Yes


Released: May 19, 2023


Peak: -- US, 30 UK, -- CN, -- AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: classic progressive rock veteran


Tracks:

Click on a song title for more details.
  1. Cut from the Stars [5:25]
  2. All Connected [9:02]
  3. Luminosity [9:04]
  4. Living Out Their Dream [4:45]
  5. Mirror to the Sky [13:53]
  6. Circles of Time [4:59]
  7. Unknown Place [8:15] *
  8. One Second Is Enough [4:04] *
  9. Magic Potion [4:08] *

* tracks on bonus disc


Total Running Time: 47:08, 63:35 with bonus tracks


The Players:

  • Jon Davison (vocals)
  • Steve Howe (guitar, backing vocals)
  • Geoff Downes (keyboards, synths)
  • Billy Sherwood (bass, backing vocals)
  • Jay Schellen (drums, percussion)

Rating:

2.451 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)


Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

The Passing of Alan White

This album marks the first appearance of Jay Schellen as an official full-time member of the band. He replaced Alan White, who’d been with the band and passed away in 2022. Schellen had filled in at times for White since 2016. The album was dedicated to White. WK

Steve Howe, the band’s guitarist off-and-on since 1970, served as producer, as he had on 2021’s The Quest.

Reviews

Ultimate Classic Rock’s Gary Graff said this was better than previous album, The Quest, noting a more muscular” sound. He said, the album “gives us every reason to hope this is the beginning of a prolific new era for the band.” WK

Riff magazine’s David Gill saw the album as a return to Yes’ golden era, calling it a “remarkable piece of nostalgia” that was still “fresh and vibrant.” WK Spill magazine called it “a strong, uplifting, and very positive album accompanied by some exceptional musicianship.” WK

Artwork

Roger Dean did the cover art, as he had done on many previous Yes albums. He based the work on a story told to him by video designer Henk Rogers. He’d paddled to the middle of the lake during a camping trip. When the ripples settled, the lake was a perfect mirror for the night sky. WK

The Songs

Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Cut from the Stars

Yes

Writer(s): Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood


Released: 3/10/2023 (single), Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: 32 DF Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.72 streaming


About the Song:

Singer Jon Davison was inspired by visiting Joshua Tree National Park’s dark-sky preserve. He praised Billy Sherwood for the “twinkling” sound he added to the song with his instrumentation. He rearranged Sherwood’s parts with audio editing software and then the band built on that. Steve Howe made an instrumental outro from the song’s bridge. He said this is the album’s most unique track in terms of guitar style. WK

All Connected

Yes

Writer(s): Jon Davison, Steve Howe, Billy Sherwood


Released: 4/26/2023 (single), Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.92 streaming


About the Song:

Jon Davison credited Steve Howe with ideas that were used for the introduction and ending. Sherwood offered some vocal and lyrical contributions. Davison said he looked at the lyrics from a more metaphysical angle while Sherwood looked at them through a more “technological and physical” lens. WK

Luminosity

Yes

Writer(s): Jon Davison, Steve Howe, Billy Sherwood


Released: Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.20 streaming


About the Song:

After the band recorded this song, they tackled it a second time with a new arrangement. The song was initially called “Luminous” but changed after the band reworked it into what Steve Howe described as “a bigger tune.” Howe plays autoharp on the song. WK

Living Out Their Dream

Yes

Writer(s): Steve Howe, Geoff Downes


Released: Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.16 streaming


About the Song:

Steve Howe thought the introduction was reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. He also said the song features a slight tongue-in-cheek lyric but everything described actually happened. One specific example was his visit to a steak and seafood restaurant where there was a wedding. WK

Mirror to the Sky

Yes

Writer(s): Jon Davison, Steve Howe


Released: single (2/23/2024), Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.23 streaming


About the Song:

The 14-minute title track and centerpiece for Yes’ 23rd album has been described as “sweeping and cinematic” and a return to the band’s progressive rock roots with the song’s “arpeggios and multilayered vocals” compared to material from Yes’ Tales from Topographic Oceans. Music writer Howard Whitman called it a “prog epic” and writer David Pearson said it was “atmospheric and sonically superb.” WK

Circles of Time

Yes

Writer(s): Jon Davison


Released: 5/24/2023 (single), Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.24 streaming


About the Song:

Howe insisted this song, which originated from a musical idea from Jon Davison, had to be on the album. The group made several stabs at arranging the song, one which featured a church organ, but ultimately decided on a more minimal, stripped-down version. WK

Unknown Place

Yes

Writer(s): Steve Howe


Released: Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.12 streaming

One Second Is Enough

Yes

Writer(s): Steve Howe


Released: Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.11 streaming

Magic Potion

Yes

Writer(s): Steve Howe


Released: Mirror to the Sky (2023)


Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.11 streaming


About the Song:

This song was called “It’s a Good Day to Be Had by All” in its early form but Howe changed the title so it wouldn’t be so similar to “It Will Be a Good Day” from the band’s 1999 album The Ladder. WK

Resources/References:

  • WK Wikipedia page for Mirror to the Sky album
  • WK Wikipedia page for “Mirror to the Sky” song


Related DMDB Pages:


First posted 9/20/2025.

Friday, October 1, 2021

Yes The Quest released

The Quest

Yes


Released: October 1, 2021


Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: progressive rock


Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. The Ice Bridge (Davison, Downes, Francis Monkman) [7:01] (7/23/21, --)
    a. Eyes East
    b. Race Against Time
    c. Interaction
  2. Dare to Know (Howe) [6:00] (9/1/21, --)
  3. Minus the Man (Davison, Sherwood) [5:35]
  4. Leave Well Alone (Howe) [8:06]
  5. The Western Edge (Davison, Sherwood) [4:26]
  6. Future Memories (Davison) [5:08] (10/15/21, --)
  7. Music to My Ears (Howe) [4:41]
  8. A Living Island (Davison, Downes) [6:52] (2/10/22, --)


Total Running Time: 47:49


The Players:

  • Jon Davison (vocals)
  • Steve Howe (guitar, backing vocals)
  • Geoff Downes (keyboards, synths)
  • Billy Sherwood (bass, backing vocals)
  • Alan White (drums, percussion)

Rating:

2.503 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

About the Album:

Since Yes formed in 1968, the only member who appeared on every studio album had been bassist Chris Squire. Sadly, he died in 2015 making The Quest the first album without him. Billy Sherwood, who’d worked with the band off and on for more than 20 years, stepped in as his official replacement.

None of the other members of the 2021 lineup were with the band at its debut either, although guitarist Steve Howe first came on board in 1970 and drummer Alan White in 1972. Geoff Downes made his first appearance with the band in 1980 for the Drama and returned to the fold in 2011. Singer Jon Davison joined in 2012, replacing Jon Anderson. The Quest marks his second studio album with Yes.

Most of the music for The Quest was written in 2019 and then the band worked on it during the pandemic in 2020. Howe explained that the process was generally one of the members presenting an instrumental section for a track and then Davison adding vocal and lyric ideas. WK The group then commissioned orchestral augmentations to, as Howe says, “enhance the overall sound…hoping that our emphasis on melody, coupled with some expansive instrumental solo breaks, keeps up the momentum for our listeners.” LS

Album opener and lead single The Ice Bridge grew out of an idea presented by Downes. He said it originated in 1977 when he was composing jingles and library music for a West End music production company. It was on a showreel along with a track by Francis Monkman. Downes initially thought the song was his own, but gave Monkman a songwriting credit after realizing the original was by him. WK The lyrics, by Davison, address climate change.

The second single, Dare to Know, “presents a guitar theme played within many different arrangements, with different chord structures, and altered textures,” says Howe. LS He says the song is about “an awakening to the subtle goings on within our bodies and minds, all geared to nature’s scheme of things, all fluctuating wand rearranging according to the principles of life, as we know it.” LS


Notes: A bonus disc adds the songs “Sister Sleeping Soul,” “Mystery Tour,” and “Damaged World.”

Resources and Related Links:


Other Related DMDB Pages:


First posted 10/1/2021; last updated 2/22/2022.

Tuesday, September 28, 1999

Yes The Ladder released

The Ladder

Yes


Released: September 28, 1999


Peak: 99 US, 36 UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: progressive rock


Tracks:

Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Homeworld (The Ladder) [9:32] (1/3/99, --)
  2. It Will Be a Good Day (The River) [4:53]
  3. Lightning Strikes…She Ay (Do Wa Bap) [5:35] (1999, --)
  4. Can I? [1:31]
  5. Face to Face [5:02]
  6. If Only You Knew [5:42] (10/31/00, --)
  7. To Be Alive (Hep Yadda) [5:07]
  8. Finally [6:01]
  9. The Messenger [5:12]
  10. New Language [9:19]
  11. Nine Voices (Longwalker) [3:22]

Lyrics by Anderson. Music by Anderson, Howe, Sherwood, Squire, White, and Khoroshev.


Total Running Time: 60:26


The Players:

  • Jon Anderson (vocals)
  • Steve Howe (guitar, backing vocals, mandolin, banjo)
  • Chris Squire (bass, backing vocals, harmonica)
  • Alan White (drumers, percussion, backing vocals)
  • Billy Sherwood (guitar, backing vocals)
  • Igor Khoroshev (keyboards, backing vocals)

Rating:

2.964 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

About the Album:

Yes’ 18th studio album featured the same lineup which recorded the poorly-received Open Your Eyes in 1997 and the group which hit the road for the band’s 30th anniversary tour. White reported that the band lived in different apartments in the same building during the recording and travelled to and from the studio together – something they hadn’t done since 1977’s Going for the One. WK

Bruce Fairbairn was brought in to produce the album. He’d previously produced such albums as Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and New Jersey as well as Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip. He also worked with AC/DC, Blue Öyster Cult, Chicago, the Cranberries, INXS, Kiss, Loverboy, Poison, the Scorpions, and Van Halen. He died unexpectedly during the making of the album. Yes dedicated the album to him. Anderson and Howe performed Nine Voices (Longwalker) at his funeral. WK

That song was based on a 1978 spiritual-led walk across the United States which was organized by the American Indian Movement to support tribal sovereignty. Anderson befriended a participant named Long Walker and wrote a song about the nine tribe members and the song they sing “to bring forgiveness in the world.” WK

Homeworld (The Ladder) resulted from the band’s discussions with Sierra Games about licensing a track for their game Homeworld. The song, with Anderson’s lyrics inspired by the game’s themes of science fiction, space, and the search for a new home, was featured in the game’s end credits. WK All Music Guide’s Bret Adams called it a “tight performance” AMG while The Daily Vault’s Jason Warburg said the song showed how the group “can unquestionably still tackle the sprawling, multi-themed rock numbers that were once its bread and butter.” WK

However, Warburg also said the band was struggling to define itself, but blended their 1970s progressive sound with their pop-oriented 1980s fare better than they had on Open Your Eyes. Adams agreed that “The Ladder is a synthesis of the best traits of the experimental Fragile era and the pop-oriented 90125 era.” AMG

Adams considered Face to Face, in which “Squire lets loose with a sputtering bassline,” to be the strongest track. AMG Band biographer Chris Welch commended the track for “some of the most joyful playing heard on a Yes album in many moons.” WK

Adams called New Language “the best long song… thanks to a clever arrangement giving all six members an opportunity to demonstrate their talents.” AMG He considered If Only You Knew, which Anderson wrote for his wife, “a sweet, straightforward love song” AMG and noted The Messenger “has a smooth, funky feel – a remarkable feat considering prog rock is usually considered the ‘whitest’ rock genre.” AMG

The Ladder largely “received a warm reception from critics who saw the album as a return to creative form.” WK Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Gene Stout called it a “bright, optimistic album” WK and the Daily Herald’s Rick Baert considered it a return to the band’s musical roots.

Adams questioned the roles of Khoroshev and Sherwood. He said “it occasionally seems the purpose of Khoroshev’s keyboards is providing a variety of sonic textures instead of functioning as a lead instrument.” AMG He did acknowledge that Sherwood’s “second guitar tends to flesh out the sound.” AMG Both were gone after this album. While touring to support The Ladder, Khorshev was dismissed because of backstage sexual harassment. Sherwood left after the tour, but returned in 2015.


Notes: The Japanese release included live performances of “I’ve Seen All Good People” and “And You and I.” The 2000 Limited Tour Edition included additional versions of “Homeworld,” “The Messenger,” and “All Good People.”

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 7/25/2021.

Tuesday, November 25, 1997

Yes Open Your Eyes released

Open Your Eyes

Yes


Released: November 25, 1997


Peak: 151 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: progressive rock


Tracks:

Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. New State of Mind [6:00] (single, --)
  2. Open Your Eyes [5:14] (9/22/97, 33 AR)
  3. Universal Garden [6:16]
  4. No Way We Can Lose [4:56]
  5. Fortune Seller [5:00]
  6. Man in the Moon [4:41]
  7. Wonderlove [6:06]
  8. From the Balcony [2:43]
  9. Love Shine [4:37]
  10. Somehow, Someday [4:47]
  11. The Solution [5:25]
  12. The Source [16:21]

All songs written by Anderson, Howe, White, Squire, and Sherwood.


Total Running Time: 72:06


The Players:

  • Jon Anderson (vocals)
  • Steve Howe (guitar, backing vocals, mandolin, banjo)
  • Chris Squire (bass, backing vocals, harmonica)
  • Alan White (drumers, percussion, backing vocals)
  • Billy Sherwood (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, recording, mixing)

Rating:

1.885 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings)

About the Album:

In 1996 and 1997, Yes released a pair of albums known as Keys to Ascension and Keys to Ascension 2. Both were double albums which included live material from 1996 along with new material. The lineup featured Anderson, Squire, Howe, White, and keyboardist Rick Wakeman. The albums were produced by Billy Sherwood.

Sherwood met Chris Squire in 1989. The Yes lineup at that time featured Squire, Anderson, White, Tony Kaye, and Trevor Rabin. Anderson reunited with Yes bandmates’ Howe, Wakeman, and Bill Bruford while Rabin focused on solo work. Squire, White, and Kaye recruited Sherwood as a possible Yes member, but he was uneasy about replacing Anderson as a frontman. He did, however, contribute to Yes’ 1991 Union album and played guitar and keyboards on the band’s 1994 tour in support of Talk.

Sherwood and Squire formed a strong writing partnership and toured as the Chris Squire Experiment in 1992. They were developing songs for an album to be called Chemistry when Sherwood was enlisted for Yes, becoming an official member in 1997 after Wakeman left the group. Two of the songs the pair had developed for that project, Open Your Eyes (originally called “I Wish I Knew”) and Man in the Moon, were re-worked for Yes.

Sherwood then sent tapes of early versions of Wonderlove, Love Shine, New State of Mind, and Universal Garden to Anderson, who liked the songs, recorded vocals for them, and sent them back to Sherwood. White then recorded new drum tracks and, as Sherwood said, “all of a sudden it had that [Yes] flavor.” WK Howe, who came in toward the album’s completion, has said he and Anderson had little input on the songs, WK although they did contribute From the Balcony.

While Sherwood served as the band’s primary keyboardist, the album also included work from Russian keyboardist Igor Khoroshev as a guest on a few songs. He was brought on board at the request of Anderson and Howe, who’d heard tapes of him. He then joined the band on their 30th anniversary 12-month world tour and became a full member after the tour.

The album was poorly received, becoming one of their least successful commercially. Entertainment Weekly’s Chuck Eddy criticized Yes as “neither as self-indulgent nor as magnificent as they’re capable of being.” WK Stereogum was even harsher, saying it was “written at a child’s level of musical sophistication.” WK

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 7/25/2021.

Monday, October 28, 1996

Yes Keys to Ascension released

Keys to Ascension

Yes


Released: October 28, 1996


Recorded: March 4-6, 1996 (live cuts)


Peak: 99 US, -- UK, -- CN, 22 AU


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: progressive rock


Tracks – Disc 1 (live):

Song Title (Writers) [time]

  1. Siberian Khatru (Anderson, Howe, Wakeman) [10:16]
  2. The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn) (Anderson, Squire, Howe, Wakeman, White) [20:32]
  3. America (Paul Simon) [10:28]
  4. Onward (Squire) [5:48]
  5. Awaken (Anderson, Howe) [18:33]

Tracks – Disc 2 (live/studio):

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Roundabout (live) (Anderson, Howe) [8:30]
  2. Starship Trooper (live) (Anderson, Squire, Howe) [13:05]
  3. Be the One (studio) [9:49]
    i. The One (Anderson, Squire)
    ii. Humankind(Anderson, Squire)
    iii. Skate (Howe)
  4. That, That Is (studio) [19:11]
    i. Togetherness ( Howe)
    ii. Crossfire (Anderson, Squire)
    iii. The Giving Things (Anderson, Howe)
    iv. That Is (Anderson)
    v. All in All (Anderson, White)
    vi. How Did Heaven Begin? (Anderson, Howe, White)
    vii. Agree to Agree (Anderson, Squire)


Total Running Time: 116:16

Rating:

2.822 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)

Keys to Ascension 2

Yes


Released: November 3, 1997


Recorded: March 4-6, 1996 (live cuts)


Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: progressive rock


Tracks – Disc 1 (live):

Song Title (Writers) [time]

  1. I’ve Seen All Good People (Anderson, Squire) [7:16]
  2. Going for the One (Anderson) [4:58]
  3. Time and a Word (Anderson, David Foster) [6:23]
  4. Close to the Edge (Anderson, Howe) [19:40]
  5. Turn of the Century Anderson, Howe, White) [7:55]
  6. And You and I (Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire) [10:48]

Tracks – Disc 2 (studio):

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Mind Drive (Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman) [18:37]
  2. Foot Prints (Anderson, Squire, Howe, White) [9:04]
  3. Bring Me to the Power (Anderson, Howe) [7:20]
  4. Children of Light [6:02]
    i. Children of Light (Anderson, Squire, Vangelis)
    ii. Lifeline (Howe, Wakeman)
  5. Sign Language (Howe, Wakeman) [3:26]


Total Running Time: 101:42

Rating:

2.821 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings)

Keystudio

Yes


Released: May 21, 2001


Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: progressive rock


Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time]

  1. Foot Prints (Anderson, Squire, Howe, White) [9:04]
  2. Be the One [9:49]
    i. The One (Anderson, Squire)
    ii. Humankind(Anderson, Squire)
    iii. Skate (Howe)
  3. Mind Drive (Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman) [18:34]
  4. Bring Me to the Power (Anderson, Howe) [7:20]
  5. Sign Language (Howe, Wakeman) [3:26]
  6. That, That Is [19:11]
    i. Togetherness ( Howe)
    ii. Crossfire (Anderson, Squire)
    iii. The Giving Things (Anderson, Howe)
    iv. That Is (Anderson)
    v. All in All (Anderson, White)
    vi. How Did Heaven Begin? (Anderson, Howe, White)
    vii. Agree to Agree (Anderson, Squire)
  7. Children of the Light [6:31]
    i. Lightning (Howe)
    ii. Children of Light (Anderson, Squire, Vangelis)
    iii. Lifeline (Howe, Wakeman)


Total Running Time: 74:21

Rating:

3.850 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings)

The Players on All 3 Albums:

  • Jon Anderson (vocals, synth guitar, harp, percussion)
  • Steve Howe (guitar, bass, backing vocals)
  • Chris Squire (bass, backing vocals)
  • Rick Wakeman (keyboards)
  • Alan White (drums, backing vocals)
  • Billy Sherwood (producer)

About All 3 Albums:

Anderson, Howe, Wakeman, Squire, and White were all featured on the 1991 “Union ‘mega-Yes’ album,” BE but hadn’t really recorded an album together since 1978’s Tormato. When they came together for 1996’s Keys to Ascension, they produced a double album of live cuts and new studio recordings. The live material was recorded at the Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, California over three nights in March 1996. WK-K1 The two new songs are “superior to anything on…Union…with soaring harmonies and very spacious song construction.” BE

A companion set, Keys to Ascension 2, followed in 1997. It also paired live material and new studio songs on a double CD. The live material, which is drawn from the same March 1996 live dates as the first album, WK-K2 is really a rehash of “material adequately covered in Yessongs and YesshowsPC since this “is nothing that you haven’t heard before.” PC

In 2001, the “seven superb studio tracks” BA from the two collections were repackaged as the awkwardly-named Keystudio, effectively serving as a studio album which could have been released between 1994’s Talk and 1997’s Open Your Eyes.

The studio material is “a welcome return to form for the band.” PC “These songs retain Yes’ trademark instrumental prowess, but there's a maturity to the cohesive arrangements and the melodies. Most tracks push either ten or 20 minutes, ensuring the adoration of Yes diehards who yearn for 1970s-style experimentation.” BA

Mind Drive is a “multi-movement suite strongly reminiscent of early Yes;” PC it was their eighth song to exceed the 18-minute mark. WK-K2 The song originated in 1981 when Squire and White were tentatively forming a band with Jimmy Page called XYZ. WK-K2 “The song’s closing instrumental sounds straight out of Tales from Topographic Oceans.” PC The song “stretches out with both soothing, dreamy passages and tough, full-band bombast.” BA “Wakeman’s parts were overdubbed last here, and it shows: the keyboards are solely for atmospheric effect, ceding the melodic drive to the bass and guitar.” PC

“Not that Wakeman’s presence goes to waste; structured around a ‘Heart of the Sunrise’-like bass riff, Bring Me to the Power gallops through muscular Moog solos and equally slick harmonies. Like the rest of the studio tracks, it's a perfect blend of vintage art rock craftsmanship and gleaming modern production.” PC

Foot Prints relies largely on the rhythm section drive of Squire and White and Howe’s economical guitar lines. The terrifically tasteful instrumental Sign Language is basically a duet by co-writers Howe and Wakeman.” BA “Prior to this album's release, it was reported that it would have a track called ‘The Second Time Around’. This would have been a version of ‘Sign Language’ that incorporated Jon Anderson’s vocals. However, the track was not included on this disc.” WK-KS

That, That Is resembles Yes’ 1970s work the most, with the exception of Anderson’s lyrics, which address drug and violence problems in inner cities, not his usual mystical topics.” BA

Children of Light was originally written by Jon and Vangelis in 1986 as ‘Distant Thunder’”. WK-K2 It “was later demoed by Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe during the recording of their self-titled album. The lyrics…ended up in Yes’ Union tourbook. In 1994, Jon Anderson performed the song on the Tommy Vance show. During a Mother’s Day concert in 1996, Jon Anderson performed ‘Children of Light’ and said he hoped it would appear on a Yes album.” WK-K2

Lightning, Rick Wakeman’s introduction to ‘Children Of Light’, was mixed out” WK-K2 of the Keys to Ascension 2 version, but was restored on the Keystudio release. WK-K2 The Keystudio version also “omits the opening lyrics found on the Keys to Ascension 2 version.” WK-KS

Keystudio would have been a smash had it been released 25-30 years earlier. Even casual Yes fans from both the 1970s and 1980s should enjoy Keystudio. Highly recommended.” BA

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 6/7/2011; updated 7/25/2021.