------------------------------------------------------- MAY 12, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: PLR http://wplr.com/p/store/detail.cgi/?asin=B00016XNZM&type=review 3 Product Reviews: Ultimate YES: 35th Anniversary Collection Summary: The Ultimate Repackaging Job Rating: 3 The songs in this collection never sounded better, thanks to a remarkable remastering job. The song selection, although not perfect, is solid. I wish they could have found room for "Love Will Find A Way," the only top forty single missing in this compilation. "And You And I," which was left off the last boxed set, takes its rightful place on a Yes collection. The lesser known later songs, particularly "Open Your Eyes," hold up well alongside the earlier classics. With several compilations and two boxed sets already released, the real reason to buy this collection is for the third bonus disc. While each of the first two discs were packed with nearly 80 minutes of music, the bonus disc lasts a meager 20 minutes. I didn't care for the jazzy remake of "Roundabout," which turned a classic into a Las Vegas lounge song. The acoustic version of "South Side Of The Sky" fared much better, with Rick Wakeman's "South Side Variations" sounding like a great piece of classical music. "Show Me" by Jon Anderson and "Australia" by guitar whiz Steve Howe were pleasant but unremarkable songs. Chris Squire's adaptation of Dvorak's "New World Symphony" was sluggish and barely listenable, closing this collection out on a weak note. Summary: Worth the money for the bonus disc alone! Rating: 5 There's not much to say about the quality of the music contained within The Ultimate Yes- it's great, of course. The song selection is very good, with every Yes studio album except their eponymous debut, Tales From Topographic Oceans, and Keystudio represented. Of course we can nitpick about what songs deserved to be on this collection and weren't (cough, cough, Beyond And Before, cough), but this is the best attempt thus far at a Yes best-of. I applaud Yes for putting some lesser-known material on here. Their 2001 Magnification album, which sold like a lead balloon, was still hailed as wonderful by those who did buy it (including myself), and putting the title track on here might help to boost its profile. And just when I'm beginning to wonder if Yes will ever acknowledge the existence of their 1980 masterpiece Drama- which singer Jon Anderson did not perform on- they put "Tempus Fugit" on this collection. Great move. That song had the potential to be *huge* when it came out, and it is a real gem in the Yes catalogue. And I must add, the sound quality on all of these songs is amazing. There are a few edited tracks on the album. "Soon," the finale of "The Gates Of Delirium," is edited to include a minute and a half more of the song that the previous single edit version. It's an improvement, but "Soon" doesn't really work out of the context of the song from which it comes. I think Yes would've done better to include something else from Relayer, like an unedited "Sound Chaser." Oh well. The single edit of "The Calling-" which I've never heard before- doesn't sound right with its reworked intro. I loved the vocal harmonies in the beginning of the song, and this version does away with them. The radio edit of "Homeworld (The Ladder)," I have to admit, is sloppy. I'm not opposed to the idea of the song being edited down to 4:40 from it's full length 9+ minutes, but it's just so poorly edited that even if you've never heard the song before, you can tell exactly where the cuts were made. On the plus side, my favorite Trevor Rabin-era Yes tune, "It Can Happen," is flawlessly edited. The remix of "Big Generator" is good as well, although I would have just preferred a remastered version of the original. And then there's the matter of the bonus disc. Any die-hard Yes fans who are not planning on buying this collection might want to reconsider- it's worth the price of this collection for this disc alone. Leading off is a jazzy acoustic interpretation of "Roundabout" which will have you clapping your hands along with the band. It's great. Keyboardist- or should I say pianist- Rick Wakeman is front and center on the acoustic version of "South Side Of The Sky." It's drastically different that the studio version, but excellent nonetheless. "Show Me" is a gentle and emotional ballad, which is reminiscent of "Let's Pretend" from the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album, only- well, better. Concluding the disc are two solo spots, including Steve Howe's reworked acoustic guitar showcase "Australia." The other is Chris Squire's take on "New World Symphony," a bass solo which puts you in the mind of his "Amazing Grace." All in all, this is a wonderful collection. Anyone remotely interested in Yes should pick it up, as well as longtime fans who will be amazed by the material on the bonus disc. Summary: How Many Anniversaries Until ANOTHER Compilation? Rating: 3 There's been so many Yes compilations that the head spins. There's actually a fair amount that reviewers here haven't mentioned! There's that many, though, I wonder if any band have as many compilations as Deep Purple and Hawkwind. Probably Not! Still, this is another "best of" that is totally unneccessary. Yes are an album-oriented act with long songs and concepts that are meant to be heard in their original context. As is to be expected, too many songs are missing or receive edits due to time constraints. When it comes to bands that have released such a large body of quality work such as Yes, there can never be a representative best of. The consumer is at the mercy of the compilers, who always make these things nothing more than a mix of their subjective favorites and supposed "hits". I could go into griping about individual songs that should've been included in favor of such n' such, but than that's getting into personal preferences. I wouldn't say that Talk, Keystudio, The Ladder, and Magnification are weaker than Yes's best 70's material. Its just that this collection shows, in my opinion, that Yes's best stuff tends to be what you're most familiar with. At this point in time, so much has been said of Yes's classic 70's work that much of the best music of Yes's latter years is still overshadowed by it all. Hence, there's nothing from Keystudio, and only one a piece from The Ladder and Magnification. A shame as those albums have Yes's most original material since Going For The One. I personally feel that the best latter day stuff is as good as Yes's better, though perhaps not best, early stuff. This can be said of very few artists indeed, and it does pay to go through even Yes's most inconsistent original albums to find the gems (though plough through Tormato and Open Your Eyes at your own risk). They're there, and you'd never know it by owning Ultimate Yes. This is why best ofs only work as introductions. The rest of us can compile our own subjective "best ofs" if we want to. With the pickings of 90's material on up slim, this collection could leave one to believe that Yes didn't have as much to say. While they may have eased up on the pace of recording after 1980's Drama and only occassionally push the limits of "accessible" prog rock as before, the music still sounds like nothing else but Yes. I mean, how much more "close to the edge" could Yes have gotten without losing their identity? As for the accoustic extras, they're really only here as bate to Yes collectors. One more thing, I don't blame Yes for glutting the market with so many best of packages, I blame the greed of the recording industry. I remember Yes members complaining about all the various compilations of their stuff years back, so it would be nice if people stopped blaming groups for new remasters and new compilations. As for those that complain about Yes not doing another Relayer or the lack of a new studio release in place of this compilation, as John Lennon once said, "Why is everybody telling me to do it! I already did it." Let the industry celebrate all the years they've been together by celebratiting anniversaries. In the end, its the music (5 stars for Yes's best albums) that matters. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com