Tentative Reviews is taking a bit of a detour this time, focusing on a bootleg compilation album rather than an official release (although everything on the album has been officially released, in some form).
Although this is an "official" (whatever) tentative review, it therefore doesn't count as part of the "main sequence". Which doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, of course, but anyway...
| Artist: | Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bodast | Nether Street | | | | | |
| 2. Bill Bruford | Paiste Soundpage Expose | | | | | |
| 3. Buggles | I Am A Camera | | | | | |
| 4. Buggles | Blue Nylon | | | | ||
| 5. Buggles | Fade Away | | | | ||
| 6. Buggles | Johnny On The Monorail | | | | | |
| 7. Buggles | Island | | | | | |
| 8. Geoff Downes | Video Star | | | | | |
| 9. Johnny Harris | All To Bring You Morning | | | | | |
| 10. Steve Howe | Sharp On Attack | | | | | |
| 11. Jon And Vangelis | Be A Good Friend Of Mine | | | | | |
| 12. Jon And Vangelis | Song Is | | | | | |
| 13. King Crimson | Medley | | | | | |
| 14. Rabbitt | Something's Going Wrong | | | |||
| 15. Rabbitt | Locomotive Breath | | | |||
| 16. The Syn | Grounded | | | | ||
| 17. The Syn | Created By Clive | | | | ||
| 18. The Syn | Flowerman | | | | ||
| 19. The Syn | 14th Hour Technicolour Dream | | | | ||
| 20. Tomorrow | My White Bicycle | | | | | |
| 21. Tomorrow | Strawberry Fields Forever | | | | | |
| 22. Rick Wakeman | And Now A Word From Our Sponsor | | | | | |
| 23. Rick Wakeman | Catherine Of Aragon | | | | | |
Yesoteric, the "official unofficial" source for Yes bootleg material, showcased a variety of solo pre-Yes tracks on its third installment. The absence of any Jon Anderson solo material may be explained by the fact that a subsequent volume is entirely devoted to Anderson rarities.
For the most part, this volume remains an excellent selection of hard-to-find material. Although re-issues (most notably Steve Howe's Mothballs) have since rendered some of the tracks unnecessary, and although some tracks were available of official albums even at the time of the original "release", the compilation remains an ideal introduction to rare solo works.
The quality of the music fluctuates considerably throughout the album, as might be expected. A consideration of the individual tracks will thus follow...
The album begins on a strong note with Bodast's "Nether Street". Bodast were a semi-progressive band which featured Steve Howe shortly before his membership in Yes. Although Howe was a more talented musician than any of the other members of this band, thereby resulting in somewhat uneven "group performances", the unit nevertheless managed to come up with a few truly excellent tracks in their brief existence. "Nether Street", which features the signature guitar riff which would later re-emerge on "Wurm", was perhaps their finest moment. Howe obviously knew early on that this track was worth salvaging, and he was quite right. (Note: "Nether Street" is also available on Howe's Mothballs and The Bodast Tapes).
The next track is a true rarity, featuring Bill Bruford performing a "sample" drum solo on Paiste equipment. Some listeners might note a few similarities between this track and "B'Boom". Although for the most part an excellent solo, it must be admitted that some parts go on for a bit too long (the quiet section near the beginning could have been curtailed a bit); such nit-picking criticisms, however, are basically unnecessary for a track of this nature.
A series of Buggles tracks then follow. "I Am A Camera" (also available on Adventures In Modern Recording) is better known to Yes listeners through its incarnation as "Into The Lens" on Drama. The Buggles version is a stripped-down version of the song, lacking Horn's vocal urgency while keeping the basic essence. It's good, but not quite as much so as the Drama version.
The other Buggles tracks are rarities (mostly b-sides, I would assume). "Blue Nylon" features a decent keyboard intro, but doesn't really add up to much; this is far from Horn's best vocal moment. It works as a pop song, but that's about it. "Fade Away" features a lame bubblegum-pop opening section that merits a
An incredible alternate version of "Johnny On The Monorail" then follows. I don't recall the album version being this good, although it's been a while since I've listened to it. Horn's lyrics are sung with his Drama-esque urgency this time, and the rest of the song is equally good. Of note is a Howe-esque guitar part (hmm...) that creeps in towards the end of the song.
"Island", a decent atmospheric piece, closes the Buggles spotlight.
Geoff Downes's "Video Star" is, not surprisingly, an instrumental version of "Video Killed The Radio Star", performed in a sedate, mannered way. Not as good as the original, but good nonetheless.
Johnny Harris's fourteen-minute "All To Bring You Morning" is a bit of an enigma. According to the Yesoteric notes, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe and Alan White all appear on this track (the "Rock Record" literary anthology only lists Anderson & Howe). The work might be best described as a good composition with horrible arrangements -- the horn section is intrusive, and the strings aren't terribly great either. When the Yes members are distinctive, they salvage the track (although some of the guitar parts don't sound like Howe), and the keyboards (presumably by Harris) aren't bad either. Although the good parts of the song justify its inclusion here, one might wonder why Anderson/Howe/(White) were convinced to make this session appearance in the first place.
Steve Howe's "Sharp On Attack" remains the excellent guitar showcase that it was when I reviewed it in the Guitar Speak 1 review. ;) I'll only add this time that Nigel Glockner's role is fairly good too.
The two Jon And Vangelis tracks are both worthwhile tracks as well. Despite the wretched title, "Be A Good Friend Of Mine" is a great song, featuring Jon talking about an alien visitation over Vangelis's keyboard arrangement. The song was better than I remembered it being on Page Of Life (is this an alternate version as well?). "Song Is" is primarily an instrumental piece, with Jon coming in at the end -- it's quite nicely done as an atmospheric piece. ("Song Is" is also available on Short Stories).
The King Crimson medley is a 90-second clip featuring excerpts from "The King Crimson Barbershop", "21st Century Schizoid Man", "Epitaph", "The Court Of The Crimson King", "Cat Food", "Ladies Of The Road", "Exiles", "Red", "Elephant Talk", "Matte Kudasai", "Heartbeat", and "Sleepless" (did I leave anything out?). Most of the edits are smoothly done; the piece is an interesting novelty the first time, somewhat less interesting on subsequent occasions. Bruford & Levin appear on some of the tracks here listed, of course. (Note: this "Medley" is also available on Heartbeat: The Concise King Crimson).
Learning that the Rabbitt tracks are the weakest points on the album should come as no surprise to any listener. "Something's Going Wrong" features occasional flourishes of talent from the musicians involved, but is fundamentally just a "flashy" number, lacking any substance whatsoever. Although written in the mid-1970s, it provides a frighteningly prophetic glimpse at shallow mid-1980s pop culture. The cover of "Locomotive Breath", on the other hand, is downright disgraceful (with *extremely* bad vocal harmonies on the "Charlie stole the handle" section). Rabin's guitar isn't very prominent on these tracks (his solo on "Locomotive Breath" isn't that great). Some credit must be given to the keyboard intro to "Locomotive Breath" (presumably done by Rabin), however, saving this song from an even lower rating.
The Syn are primarily remembered for having featured Chris Squire on bass prior to his membership in Mabel Greer's Toy Shop/Yes. The four tracks included here are decent-but-unspectacular glimpses of late-'60s pop- psychedelia -- nothing special, but nothing terrible either. "Grounded" features a decent bass part, but is otherwise the least significant of the four tracks. "Created By Clive" is a catchy novelty track that might have been somewhat ironic as a commentary on Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe's release (how many people will get this reference, the reviewer wonders...). The other two tracks are a bit better, though not substantially different -- "Flowerman" is notable for having a weird horn section towards the end; Zappa fans might note that the expression "Suzy Creamcheese" may be heard towards the end of "14th Hour Technicolour Dream".
The two Tomorrow tracks (featuring Steve Howe on guitar and Keith West on vocals) are excellent works as well. Although not Tomorrow's best song, "My White Bicycle" nevertheless counts as a distinguished psychedelic classic (even if the sound effects *were* ripped off from Pink Floyd's "Bike"...). Howe's guitar part is good in its own right, but it's only part of the montage of sounds being presented here. "Strawberry Fields Forever" is a similar work -- as always, Howe takes a few liberties with the original guitar line, to a generally good effect. (Note: both of these tracks are available on Tomorrow; "My White Bicycle" is available on Mothballs).
Rick Wakeman's "And Now A Word From Our Sponsor" is a pastiche of classical and big band stylings, obviously intended as a novelty. Despite this, its generally done in a tasteful manner, and is enjoyable for what it is. This version of "Catherine Of Aragon" is from the mid-1980s -- although perhaps Wakeman's best composition ever, this incarnation isn't quite as good as the original (the programmed drums tend to drown out everything else). It's still good, but more useful as a display of new keyboard sounds than anything else.
In general, this "grab bag" of notable solo works is essential listening for any devoted Yes fan. Further details on this and other Yesoteric albums (both in terms of song listing and availability) may be found on Jimmy Clutter's home page.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 6 Apr 1997)