YES 'YESSONGS' ORIG UK PROG '73 TRIPLE LIVE ALBUM NR ARCHIVE COPY

	£		94
	$		125

>Nr Archive Copy<

Yes

'Yessongs'

Atlantic, UK, 1973

K 60045

BY MID 1972, the evolution of Yes had reached a point of near perfection. At this time, keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman had integrated himself into the unit to such a degree that it would be fair to proffer the opinion that he had become the dominating musical force. Much of his instrumental mastery, although not spontaneous, was designed to enrage and cajole other members of the band, resulting in massive solo extravaganzas. Bassist Chris Squire was always particularly quick to table a response. Normally a subdued instrument, Squire’s bass - loud and trebly - was elevated to the forefront of the group’s sound, giving guitarist Steve Howe a tough job to gain the upper hand.

Despite the instrumental dog-fights, the band’s colossal compositions were always underpinned by fiercely accurate, and difficult, tempos, vocalist Jon Anderson acting as a sort of human superglue, bringing together seemingly incompatible sections and multi-part epics. His falsetto floats like a hummingbird, in and out of the incorrigible and convoluted arrangements, with microscopic precision. The lyrical content may be, at times, overly complex, but the delivery is so earnest and pure that it is difficult not to accept his vocal effusion as a form of coded enlightenment.

With six-sides to digest, this is not a creation that can be easily appreciated in one sitting. It might be more prudent to steadfastly work through the compositions on an individual basis, but admittedly such an approach might not reveal the overwhelming magnitude of the performance as a whole. For shorter, snappier, bite-size morsels, head straight for the hand-to-hand combat of, ‘I’ve Seen All Good People’ and, the aforementioned, ‘Roundabout’, with its almost punk-like ferocity. If it’s instrumental dexterity you crave, then immediately investigate the primal majesty of ‘Long Distance Runaround’, which boasts a brutal Chris Squire versus Steve Howe wrestling match, whilst Wakeman is adequately compensated with an opportunity, grabbed, incidentally, by both hands, to provide excerpts from his classically-flavoured rock opera, ‘The Six Wives Of Henry VIII’.

These days it's so hard to find these albums in decent shape as the quadruple fold out cover was extremely prone to damage. This one is in tremendous shape and displays practically NO ring wear!

This auction is part of a fantastic collection of seventies rock which I was lucky enough to acquire. Most of these records were stored with the utmost care and sparsely played. Some were possibly never played or may have been for just a handful of times.

Pressing: Atlantic, UK, 1973

Vinyl: Nice clean and shiny condition. Virtually no signs of any use. I can't see any spindle marks on four of the six labels - there is a couple of  spindle marks on the remaining two labels. Two small round white stickers on two sides of the labels (see scan). Playback is awesome. All six sides grade as MINT-!

Cover: Again, only minimal signs of use. Issued in a beautifully illustrated and lavish quadruple foldout cover (designed by Roger Dean) in terrific condition. Sharp corners (slight rubbing on one edge), no dings, no bends, no split seams, NO ring wear and no creases. Solid thick and wide spine - straight and stiff. Just the merest hint of handling/storage wear - nothing horrendous. About as good as it gets. Impossible to find like this after 45 years. Remember NO RING WEAR - impossible to find these covers in such great shape. Grades as top clean Ex+

Inserts: Custom 12 page colour booklet

Matrix:

1st Pressing

Side One: K 60045 A1

Side Two: K 60045 B1

Side Three: K 60045 C2

Side Four: K 60045 D1

Side Five: K 60045 E1

Side Six: K 60045 F1

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