Yes - Symphonic Live
by Kevin Wierzbicki
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The word "symphonic" is an adjective that has long been used to describe the music of Yes but for this release they actually work with a full symphony orchestra. The band took the European Festival Orchestra on the road with them in 2001 on the tour to support Magnification and several songs from that album are performed during this show in Amsterdam. But Yes has such a catalog of well-known songs from their very early days that those usually form the bulk of any set list and this tour was no different; "Close to the Edge" and "Long Distance Runaround" take up a good portion of the first half of this 2-CD offering while the second disc overflows with favorites "Starship Trooper," "And You and I," "I've Seen All Good People," "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and "Roundabout." The band line-up for this show was Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White and the decision to tour with an orchestra may have been made in part to compensate for the lack of all the textures usually added to the music by keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman. The orchestra's work is most notable early in the show where the opening "Overture" segues into a booming "Close to the Edge" and late in the show where they play a significant part in "Ritual." On other songs the orchestra plays so subtly that a difference in arrangement is not very noticeable and on a couple of songs---Steve Howe's guitar showcase of a Vivaldi lute concerto and "Mood for a Day"---they do not play at all. White takes an invigorating but not overly-lengthy drum solo during "Ritual," Anderson is in excellent voice throughout and Squire is especially hot on bass this night. It's doubtful that any Yes fan will be disappointed with this show even though they may already own these songs in multiple versions.
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