----------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 26, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Reuters (abridging Billboard) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/music_yes_dc Fans New and Old Say 'Yes' By Craig Rosen NEW YORK (Billboard) - There it was -- the famed Yes logo designed by Roger Dean decades ago -- scrawled across the chest of Sarah Jessica Parker (news) on "Sex and the City (news - Y! TV)." That Parker's character, sex columnist/fashionista Carrie Bradshaw, would sport a Yes T-shirt in 2003 is certainly telling, and she's not alone. Latin music sensation Shakira also recently donned a Yes T in a Pepsi ad. The naysayers might suggest that the phenomenon is just part of the trend of vintage rock T-shirts as a fashion statement. But then again, they'd be missing what's been brewing for seven years now. Simply put, Yes is back. Need proof? Consider this: When Warner Strategic Marketing U.K. released "The Ultimate Yes -- 35th Anniversary Collection" in the U.K. in July, the two-CD set bowed at No. 10 on the U.K chart. Now, Yes has its sights set on America for 2004. The February release by Rhino Records of "The Ultimate Yes -- 35th Anniversary Collection" will coincide with the planned broadcast of "YesSpeak," Classic Pictures' career-spanning documentary on the band. An arena tour will follow in April. Although Yes has yet to mount its full-scale assault on the United States, some of today's most successful modern rock acts acknowledge the band's influence. "So few groups celebrate musical freedom in the way Yes does," Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante (news) says. "The depth of their music is still as shocking to me today as it was to me as a little kid. One gets the impression that the format of a record seemed limitless to them at the time of 'Close to the Edge' or 'Tales From Topographic Oceans.' "They were putting feelings on records that no one had come close to. No one has since either," he continues. "Those records are huge. I think 'Close to the Edge' is one of the top five greatest-sounding records of all time." Yes singer Jon Anderson (news), who turned 60 this month, summed up his renewed enthusiasm for the band. "It feels like I'm just starting," he says. "There are so many things I want to do. And the band feels the same way; we're just hitting our stride again." Or as David McLees, senior VP of A&R for Warner Strategic Marketing (WSM) and Rhino Entertainment, puts it, "They're sort of getting a second look. A lot of people who grew up with them aren't afraid to say 'They're cool' now. It's like the geeks have taken over the industry." Indeed, Yes' "I've Seen All Good People: Your Move" was heard in and featured on the soundtrack of Cameron Crowe (news)'s Academy Award-winning 2000 film "Almost Famous." The band -- which the teenaged Crowe once interviewed backstage at the San Diego Sports Arena -- served as an inspiration for several scenes in the film. Crowe, in turn, penned the introduction to the "In a Word: Yes" boxed-set booklet. In the current hit movie "School of Rock," when Jack Black (news)'s rock 'n' roll teacher assigns homework to his class of rockers-in-training, he gives the keyboardist a "Fragile" CD and advises him to study the keyboard solo in "Roundabout." Yes is a band with one of the most storied careers in rock. Members have come and gone; musical boundaries have been stretched, reshaped and refashioned. The band has gone from upstarts to arena-rock superstars to public enemy No. 1 of the then-emerging punk movement. After being written off, it resurfaced with a surprise hit in the '80s, "Owner of a Lonely Heart." After more personal changes and splits -- and a period when two different Yes bands existed simultaneously -- nearly all its original members reunited in the early '90s. While that colossal collaboration was short-lived, it paved the way for the reintroduction of the band's classic lineup a few years later, which was cemented by the return of keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman. BACK TO ARENAS Manager Allen Kovac of 10th Street Entertainment, who has engineered similar revivals for groups ranging from the Bee Gees to Blondie, was drawn to Yes seven years ago. "I had two separate meetings, one with Jon Anderson and another with Chris Squire and Alan White," he recalls. "Basically, what interested me was that it was a band that had in the late '60s helped bring the British rock scene along; Zeppelin followed them. They were part of premier talent of new bands after the Stones, the Beatles and the Who that helped create the network of concert promoters and really got FM radio happening in the '60s and '70s. "It was an exciting rebranding project for me," Kovac continues. "I thought, 'If we could get the band back together, their body of work and musicianship would allow for them to get back into arenas around the world,' which is precisely where we've gotten seven years later." But the revitalization of Yes did not happen overnight. "Open Your Eyes," the first full studio album since the return of guitarist Steve Howe, was not well-received when it was released in 1997 on Kovac's now-defunct Beyond Records label. "House of Yes: Live From House of Blues," released in 2000, and "Magnification," issued in 2001, also were greeted with lukewarm receptions. But the tide began to turn when WSM began to mine the band's rich catalog. As Kovac puts it, the reissue campaign served as a setup for the larger goal of moving Yes back into the arena circuit. Part of the success of the reissues and Yes' resurgence can be attributed to the Internet. Kovac notes that the band has a rabid and Web-savvy fan base that has created a virtual network of fans who spread the word. McLees says the Rhino reissues have sold "very well" even though "retail is hurting all the way around right now." The reissue campaign began in earnest in the summer of 2002 with the release of "In a Word: Yes (1969-)," a five-CD boxed set spanning the band's career. According to Nielsen SoundScan data, "In a Word: Yes" has sold 14,000 copies since its release. The renewed interest in Yes is not limited to nostalgia. The band's music has been remixed by the Verge, the pseudonym of Howe's son Virgil, on "Yes Remixes," which Rhino released in July. The band also recently recorded some new music, including acoustic interpretations of Yes classics, for a bonus disc to be included with the U.S. release of "The Ultimate Yes." 'YESSPEAK' DVD There will be a DVD release of "YesSpeak," which will run three hours. Director Robert Garofalo says the project differs from the run-of-the-mill rockumentary. "It's the band telling their story in their own words," he says. "There's no narrator." Instead of dwelling on the past, the documentary offers a brief glimpse into the band's history before following the group's 2003 European tour, warts and all. Garofalo, who has helmed titles on Procol Harum, Wakeman as a solo artist and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, says Yes offered some unique challenges. "The other projects were mainly live concerts," he says. "This one is taking it one step further. ... You do get quite a lot of the music, but you also get insight into the band. While Yes' music is often serious, Garofalo notes that the band, particularly Wakeman, has a good sense of humor. In fact, the act claims credit as the inspiration for some scenes in the classic mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap." Garofalo says special theatrical screenings of the film are being planned in the U.K. and the U.S. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com