Yes Without Jon Anderson
Layla over at Layla's Classic Rock Faves posted an interesting question of whether or not people would go and see Zeppelin without Plant. What makes the question that much more dificult, is it's regarding an iconic singer, with a distinct vocal talent. Granted, his voice has certainly deteriated over the years, but he is still a focal point of the band.In a similar situation, I am forced with the question of whether or not I should go see Yes, without Jon Anderson, who like Plant, has a distinct voice and is a focal point of the band. Yes was set to tour this summer but Anderson came down with a serious asthma attack which made him unable to perform. The other Yes members decided to give it a go anyhow, and recruited a singer of a Yes cover band (Benoit David.) With a little research, I found some clips of his performances, and he sounds just like Anderson.
Even without Anderson, ticket prices range from around $55 - $88. I'm thinking I'm willing to cough up the $55, which would ultimately end up being around $70 with all those wonderful convenience charges. Plus, I just found out I could save over $500 a year by switching my car insurance to Geico, seriously, I just checked! So I have some extra money to toss around.
I saw Yes around five years back and they put on a fantastic show. The main driving force pushing me to go is knowing that I have a much deeper appreciation for their music than I did five years ago. Now it's just a matter of finding someone willing to go, between the high ticket prices and the absence of Anderson, this probably won't be an easy dilema to solve.
So what would you do in this situation?
posted by Jeff at 12:34 AM
4 Comments:
This is just me, but I'd use that money to find some choice Yes concert boots on vinyl or video. If they're out there, that'd be my course.
I understand that they put on a good show. Do they have new music? I don't know, I'm asking. If they do, then I'd consider it, but then again probably not with a different singer.
My two cents.
Daniel - I love a good bootleg, but for me there's nothing like being at a concert. I just don't get the same kind of energy from it. Although I must say, bootlegs are great way of capturing moments you know you will never see. My personal favorite is a King Crimson bootleg back in 1969 I believe. This was before their first album was even released, and their set was so amazing. My God do I wish I was there!
I actually like Drama, without Jon. But I have a hard time hearing it fully as Yes--as unfair as that is to the rest of the band.
I'd be inclined to skip the show, as I did with the recent Genesis "reunion." (If Gabriel and Hackett would have been there, by contrast, I'd have paid $,1000 for a ticket.)
With all due respect to the talents,dedication&years of great music,how can messers Howe,Squire&White go the "Beatlemania" route?Granted,this is a way not to have to deal w/ Jon's ego&spaciness&bypass the usual Yes politics.With no new music,any form of YES shouldn't be touring7taking people's hard earned$!
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