Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe: An Evening of Yes Music Plus (DVD)

The most important thing to point out with this DVD lies right in the title, "An Evening of Yes Music." This is not an evening of Yes, it's an evening of people (mainly members of Yes) playing their music. Of course everyone will hop into this DVD expecting Yes and quite honestly it's almost impossible to get more Yes than what we have here.

The obvious absence on this DVD is Chris Squire. While many can argue he was not an integral part of Yes, there is certainly something missing when listening to the music here. Squire's backup vocals would certainly have been nice, but in the end they weren't exactly necessary for having a great listening experience.

The music on here is rock solid. The music of Yes is always going to be magical, especially when the likes of Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman are present. At the beginning of the DVD each member gets an opportunity to show off their skills with their own solos, and this is quite possibly the most entertaining sequence of the concert. The abilities of Wakeman and Howe are mind blowing, and sometimes it's a bit hard to appreciate how talented they truly are behind the complex walls of sound.

Most of the Yes classics are present on the album and they all sound superb. "And You and I" although missing Squire's vocals was magnificent and the performance here has the ability to send chills down your spine just like the studio recording. The other classics such "Long Distance Runaround", "I've Seen All Good People", and "Close to the Edge" are wonderfully done as well. One of my few gripes with the performance was the finale "Starship Trooper". I almost felt as if the song didn't resonate the power that the studio version had, the quintessential riff closing out the song before the epic solo just didn't deliver the passion I was looking for. This critique is certainly nit picking though.

The video quality here is also pretty strong, it was recorded 1989-1990 so don't expect the best. One of the more entertaining things about owning the DVD version opposed to the CD is that you can see ABWH sporting their absurd 80's clothes and frilly haircuts.

Yes fan's can rest assured that they will be getting quality production with this DVD, the sound is as close to Yes as you can get without having Squire in the lineup. The song choice is what most fans would like to see, and both the sound quality and video quality are strong.

Grade: B