Yes - Keys to Ascension
Performance
Production
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Yes - Keys to Ascension
Performance
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Luckily this wasn't the first Yes concert DVD that I purchased, or I might have been somewhat dissuaded from ever buying another one from them. I watched this DVD after having first seen the fantastic Live From House Of Blues DVD and my expectations were high, especially since this was from a 1996 reunion tour of the classic lineup of Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White. The director/producer of this DVD should be permanently banned from ever being involved with a concert DVD again. He ruined what could have been the crowning achievement of all Yes DVDs. All the elements were in place: the classic lineup; the awesome set list; the beautiful theater; the reverent crowd; but, it would never be. This is not a completely terrible DVD, I just get
very annoyed when something that is merely good could have potentially been great, with only
a few obvious changes. The overuse of visual special effects during and between songs
completely kill the live concert atmosphere, and detract from the performance.
Here are a few of the worst offenders: It might have been cool to show some of the great album art of Roger Dean, by cutting briefly to the stage video screens, but to superimpose photos over key parts of several songs was nothing but a distraction. It was impossible to get into the flow of the concert and pretend you were actually there. There was enough good things on this DVD to make it work checking out. Seeing these songs performed by Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, and White again was a long overdue treat. Yes are an excellent live band and they still seem to really enjoy playing their classics in front of an appreciative audience. Jon Anderson always looks and acts as if he was just transported from the first Woodstock concert. This is part of his charm, along with his unique voice, which still sounds marvelous. He is always fun to watch because he seems to be enjoying himself so much, and getting off on how much the audience loves Yes' music. Chris Squire, as usual, is a monster on the bass. His dexterity and technical prowess seem so effortless, it is amazing. His vocal harmonies are excellent as well. Seeing Rick Wakeman playing his classic keyboard solos during "Roundabout" is worth the price of the DVD itself. The set list for this concert stuck exclusively with their pre-1979 classics. This was fitting since it was a reunion tour featuring probably their most classic lineup - with the exception of Bill Bruford maybe. They even dusted off the 20-plus minute long epic "The Revealing Science Of God", much to the crowd's delight. The 5.1 surround mix was fair. It was a little muddy sounding, and some of the audio tracks were not in sync with the video. Overall the audio basically sounded like a good quality VHS tape. The video was grainy and amateur looking. I have seen much better video quality on my old VHS tapes. At least Yes have redeemed themselves with their more recent DVD releases. |
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Technical Details |
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Audio Transfer |
Video Transfer |
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Set List |
Performers |
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Running Time: 147 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - January 2001 |