Is it Really YES?
I find it interesting that the upcoming Yes tour is barely being promoted as such, leading one to wonder if Jon Anderson was right when he said, "This is not YES on tour."
Advertising for the tour reads, "Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White of Yes" with no mention of the lead singer (Benoit David) or keyboardist (Oliver Wakeman) until you get to the fine print at the bottom of the ad.
Squire is now on record with a response to Anderson's complaints about not being consulted on the tour after he had to bail out to recover from respiratory problems.
"Of course I wish [Jon] a full recovery, and I hope he'll be well enough to come back at a later date," says Squire in an interview with Spinner. "On the other hand, this might not happen. So we decided to look into, in my own words, getting an understudy for him to fill in."
To celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, the Yes-like tour begins November 4 and is currently booked through mid-December. Here's the tour schedule.
Yes 2002 tour photo courtesy Image Entertainment
Comments
Also on tour are The Eagles, without Bernie and Randy, AC DC without Bon Scott, Boston was out with only Tom Scholz, The Stones, forever and ever, without Brian and Bill, and if you go back, Fleetwood Mac, The Byrds, The Association and every group in rock history. Even the Beatles were not the originals without Pete Best. To me, if there are some of the originals and they keep the sound, it’s still the band.
Sorry all, and apologies to you Chris, but although Yes can be Yes with many different combinations–there is one that is not Yes. And that’s the one without Jon. You should all save your energies, write some new songs. And wait for Jon. I will…..
The difference is that those guys either left the band on their own or passed away. In this case, Jon was still an active member of the band. After 40 yrs of Yes & Jon being an integral part of the group, they should have gotten his blessing before continuing under the name Yes without him. Chris is kind of full of it by saying the fan base ‘waited long enough’ They could have waited another 6 months to see the REAL Yes. Chris always has been about the money & I’m sure that played a part in his decision.
There is only one voice/sound that is Yes, and this is with the major lyricist Jon.For arts sake this would be the true Yes.For money purposes we have the faux Yes that are doing it for anything but art.Or are they?Are they keeping the name alive until Jon can come back?The role of a musician is to play but not at the expense of loss of respect for its audience and the vital member.Yes has gone through many group member change debates and come out the other side to move forward in the past.Will Yes survive this crucial contradiction?I bet a live album comes out of this tour.Would I listen to it?Where does Jon go now?Would you forgive this slight from your so called best friends and artistic cohorts?Is this good business?
To compare Yes not including Jon to Pete Best is ludicrous…I do not recall Mr. Best being an integral part of The Beatles success. Brian Jones?? Brian was great…drugged out but great…the Stones continued to write and perform great music post Jones…where’s the analogy? I think it was Jagger/Richards who made the Stones who they are/were…Jon, on the other hand, was for one, the voice of Yes, he is still amongst the living, and to exclude him reflects bandmates who have different agendas than to perform a great band with a rich history…
What ever happen to Rick Wakemen of Yes?? Oliver Ive need heard of him!
Without Jon and Rick Wakeman, it’s just not Yes. In fact, it’s NO!
it seems that members of rock bands that do not have the original singer is not importment to them it is just a money, lets see we are kind of broke need some money go on the road no matter what real lead singer it is the money, the heck with the fans. although the way some fans i say some fans of the bands will go to the show anyway, these are not say i say not die hard fans, it is not yes without anderson, it is not queen without freddie, journey without perry, although like i said, will probably all sell out, sad . how can promoters and agents do this, they are just as greddy to, hope yes flops big time, just my opion, with all said ,it is like seeing the stones without jagger.
Oliver Wakeman is Ricks son. Yes is a constantly evolving group, and of course it isnt truly the original band without howe squire bruford and wakeman, but tony kaye was on the yes album, before wakeman. they have been through so many changes, it does get difficult to keep track, but they always fight amognst each other anyway, so this does not surprise me that they will tour under the name of yes without anderson. squire always seems to start a squabble…lol
I’ve seen all the configurations of Yes since Alan White’s Close to the Edge tour debut. Never has Yes brought a sub-standard player into the fold. Even Trevor Horn’s short stint injected fresh ideas and skill that are still enjoyable in more current Yes music.
Jon took his own vacation in 1980. Yes didn’t sulk or wait around. Drama is no black sheep in my book. And, had it not been for Trevor Rabin, I don’t think Yes would be around today. Go ahead and see this tour…Yes will be better than anyone else out there. (Yes, “Yes”).