Where are they now? - Yes
and projects with multiple Yesmen
This page last updated: 27 Feb 2026
On this page—Yes: New studio album - On tour - Super Deluxe Editions - Other re-releases - Covers of Yes songs - Documentaries & books
Projects involving multiple Yes men: CIRCA:
(Sherwood, Kaye)
Yes news YesWorld; official Facebook;
official Twitter; official SoundCloud;
official MySpace; Yesfans.com
Yes are Steve Howe,
Geoff Downes,
Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen.
They tour regularly, including Europe,
North American and Japanese dates in 2024 and North American dates
in 2025. They have European,
Japanese and US dates forthcoming in
2026. The band released Mirror
to the Sky in 2023 through InsideOut. They have recorded a new studio
album, expected around Jul 2026.
I used to say I don't think anybody can really lead Yes. I'm in a very prime position where the guys look at me and they will take my advice, but that doesn't mean I go around telling everybody what to do. I've got to find out what they're trying to do and make it work. If there's a tough decision it might come down to me, but that doesn't mean to say I treat them in any way different from equal members, which is what they are.
So, yes, I'm able to convince them that a lot of my ideas are quite good. If I didn't have those ideas and I wasn't progressive, then I wouldn't be as useful to Yes as I am. And I think I'm pretty useful. That said, it wasn't that I would say, 'I don't need you guys. I could do this on my own.' No way. I'm helping steer the band. I’ll take that.
2026 album
Yes have a forthcoming new studio album, produced by Howe and with
a cover by Roger
Dean. While an autumn 2025 release had been rumoured,
release is now expected in the first half of 2026. In an interview
dated 9 Mar 2025, published in Japanese, Downes said Yes had
started work on a new album, due at the beginning of 2026. He
continued that they had started recording keyboard parts in the
previous week. Asked what style the album will have, Downes is
quoted as saying,
"最近の数作と較べるとかなりプログレッシヴなサウンドになるよ。ディテールへのこだわりとミュージシャンシップがある、これこそがイエスだというアルバ
ムだ". This can be translated as: "It's a lot more progressive
sounding than the last few albums. It's an album with attention to
details and musicianship, which is what Yes is all about." (Thanks
to yffcyeshead for
the translation.) In another Mar
2025 interview for Prog, asked what is going on with
Yes, Downes had replied, "We've been working on an album for the
past six months. Steve [Howe] is at the helm and I think it will
be out later in the year [2025]." In an Aug 2025
interview, Schellen said of the album, "It'll be out
probably in the first, at the latest the second quarter, of next
year [2026]. I'd say we're 85% there, pretty much. Maybe a little
further... along, possibly." He went on to describe the album:
"Sounds really good. I think it's gonna be exciting. It's gonna be
a little different. Nothing crazy, but really expressive, and
melodic and has all the hallmarks, y'know." To Prog magazine (Oct 2025
issue), Howe said, "there's something in the works from Yes,
though it depends on how the year unfolds." It is unclear whether
this refers to a new studio album or something else. In an Oct 2025
interview, Sherwood was asked, "What keeps Steve Howe
going?" Part of his answer was: "[...] now he's produced the last
couple of albums, and he's producing the new one [...] I think
that's also added an extra fuel to his fire." Sherwood was
interviewed by Yes Music Podcast in late Sep 2025 (episode
691) and said of the new album, "I know I'm feeling good
about it, and the other guys are too. I've written quite a few
things on there, with the other guys." Asked about a release date,
he replied, "it's nearly completed. So, I would imagine some time
[...] next year [2026] [...] I don't really have any dates because
[...] it's still in the process of just about getting ready to be
all mixed and finalised. So, then, obviously we're on the road
[touring], so how that plays out on the timeline, I don't know."
In an Oct
2025 interview with Joe Cass, Downes described his 2025 as
"a year of making albums", in reference to multiple projects.
Later in the interview, after describing new studio albums by Asia and DBA due in
2026, he continued: "as well as another Yes album [due 2026]. So
it's been a very, very busy time of me focusing on new music as
well, because I think that, y'know, you've got to keep
experimenting and, y'know, the spirit of Yes has always been about
that." Asked about when in the year the new Yes album will be
released, Downes replied, "I'm not sure yet. [...] it's
virtually... We're getting towards completing it, but y'know
there's obviously bits and pieces that are... y'know, things
develop. [...] hopefully it'll be, y'know, certainly, earlyish in
the spring maybe, or a bit later, but y'know it's really down to
the record label, once they look at it [...] whether we're touring
at the same time [...] it's pieces of the jigsaw that are getting
put together. I tend not to get involved too much in that,
y'know." In a Dec
2025 interview, Downes said, "we've been working on another
album, in between doing the tours [...] it's pretty well finished
now. And I think that's going to come out now, probably late
spring or early summer". On 12 Dec 2025, Sherwood posted
to Facebook: "Recording some backing vocals today for our
new YES record, currently in production". In an interview
in the Jan 2026 issue of Prog, Howe says of the new
album, "We're trying to see if we can ascend further with this
new album." The interviewer then asked whether it helps that
four of the band are now "at least partially living in the UK"
(i.e., everyone except Schellen). Howe replied, "Yes
[...] we still do a lot of file sharing, and I've a base that
Jon [Davison] comes to, but we don't force people to be in the
same room all the time just because they live here." In a Jan
2026 interview, Downes said, "We've got a new Yes
album coming out some time, probably in late spring [...]
that's pretty well completed now." In an interview
published Jan 2026, but seemingly conducted at the
end of 2025, Davison said:
In a 19 Jan 2026 interview, Sherwood said, "Yes is just in the process of finishing up another album". He said of the album, "there's some really interesting material on there." In a 10 Feb 2026 interview, Davison described how the band "jumped right back into" making the new album after their US tour finishing 16 Nov 2025, and how they had "just wrapped it up". Asked about whether they write while on tour, Davison answered:We [Yes] are working on music all the time. Steve is so comfortable in the producer chair. We’ve got an excellent engineer [...] Curtis Schwartz. I live in England, so Steve and I can get together with Curtis a lot of the time. So we’re keeping this comfortable creative flow going.
We’re writing and wrapping up an album now; it should come out, I think, around April of next year [2026]. It will have the same sort of flow and ebb of Mirror to the Sky and The Quest [...] But it’s also very different, which is exciting because it shows that we are continuing to evolve.
Some of us in the band are just focused on the live show and, when they're not on stage, they don't want to think about music. It's just rest and recuperation. And I get such a buzz off being on stage, I feel different. I'm actually liking to open up ProTools and […] have something to work on, to keep myself buzzing along, to keep the adrenaline going. And I find that's a really nice balance for me, to stay creative and help pass the time.He went on to say the album will be released "probably in July. [...] We've just finished it, we've signed off on it", and that, "I'm sure InsideOut will [...] do some promotional videos and things". However, he also said, "I'm not sure what the first single will be". Describing the album, he said, "I think people are really going to be surprised by this new album. I think there's a common thread between the first two albums of the three that we've done in the last 5, 6 years. But this one also branches out in new territory. I was very challenged by the band to take on some different styles of music, especially from Steve [...] [W]e're really pleased with it. It's really fresh and exciting, yet it's what fans can feel familiar with at the same time."
It’s kind of a hybrid, and we visit the studio, and we do what we do there, and we go home and, you know, I’ve got my set up and bass rig at home in my flat [...] in London [...] I’ll do my overdubs there where I can really take my time and wake up the next morning [...] and listen to it again [...] We still track live drums. I just tracked live drums with Jay Schellen. [...] I engineered the session.
In an early May 2025
interview with YesShift, Sherwood said that after his solo
tour (finished 20 May 2025), he will return to London to
"work on the new Yes record that we're making" and to "start
really rehearsing for the tour that's coming in the fall". He said
Howe is producing the album and talked about this Yes line-up
being the happiest "with each other personally" that he has
experienced: "it's a happy camp of musicians and friends". He
continued, saying of the new album, "I think the music reflects
the feelings of joy, if you will, for the lack of a better word".
Dan Shinder, as one of the interviewers, asked Sherwood to
describe what suit this Yes album would be wearing. Sherwood
replied, "it's from the same tailor [...] but it's just a
different kind of suit, even though it's kind of from the same
tailor. It's hard to describe". He continued, talking about how he
was a Yes fan before meeting the people in Yes, saying, "I've
always loved it all. [...] listening to Close to the Edge
and then, the next minute, be listening to Big Generator,
and feel that Yes vibe permeating the speakers. [...] I know it
when I feel it, because I've been living it so long, and I feel
that, and that's the most important thing and I guess the best way
I could describe it is is it feels like home to me, you know, I
mean like Yes to me. It's in the right space. There's a lot of
amazingly gorgeous playing from everybody on there. And, of
course, Jay is really, I think, come to the table in his own way,
in such a big way on this, but he's also honoured [...] Alan
[White]". Sherwood then talked about playing bass in his own
style, but remembering Squire. He continued, "Of course you've got
Steve Howe playing phenomenal guitar and Geoff playing great keys,
and Jon singing and writing some really trippy, you know, lyrics
and melodies to dive into. Deep lyrics that, you know, you've got
to dig into". Sherwood said to Doug Curran in mid-May 2025 that
the album is 85% done and due first quarter 2026. He described it
as more adventurous and more progressive. To a fan during his May
2025 solo tour, he said the album was due that year, 2025, noting
Howe was keen to release a new album every other year.
In a Jul 2025 interview, talking in general terms rather than specifically about recording a new album, Howe said, "The clever bands can morph with their style, and take a new style and even make that work, or they can keep developing their own style, which is more like what Yes do, in my mind, is that we don't want to repeat ourselves, we don't want to sound like we come from the seventies. We want to sound like a band who's developed over the 50 years or so that the band's been going, y'know." Later in the interview, he said, "the group can only be about collaboration, y'know."
Before Mirror to the Sky was released, the band were
already looking towards their next studio album. In an Apr 2023
interview for The Prog Report, Davison said, "We're actually
working on a third [album, after The Quest and Mirror
to the Sky] as well." In a May
2023 interview with Yes Music Podcast, Davison said Schellen
could be part of the songwriting in the band going forwards. Later
in the interview, talking more broadly about making their next
album, Davison said, "We're certainly on this creative roll now. I
can feel the momentum happening". In another Apr 2023
interview, Downes said, "This [Mirror to the Sky] is
no farewell album, let me tell you. […] We're just beginning". In
a May 2023 interview,
for Spill, Downes said, "I think we are confident that as long as
we are healthy and fresh to go on we will keep it running for as
long as we can." In the May 2023 issue of Prog, while
Howe was coy about plans, Downes said, "I think we're always
looking at" doing more recording, and Sherwood said, "Things seem
to be moving at a pace that even I didn't expect, so I wouldn't
say no to making another record, that's for sure." In a Jul
2023 interview for Goldmine, Downes said, "we all
feel that we've got more in the tank, and putting new music out is
very important to us, as much as it is important to the fans,
because [...] it keeps the band current. [...] It gives us a lot
of joy to be able to go into the studio and still make music
together."
In a Feb
2024 interview, Howe said in passing that Davison and him
"[a]re working on songs all the time". In a May
2024 interview, asked about the new album, Howe said, "There
are elements [of material] going forward, but we're in no hurry.
Rushing things doesn't work for any of the team. We'll go there
when we're ready." On 10 Apr 2024, Sherwood posted a short clip of
himself captioned "Off to YES recording session in the UK 2024".
In an interview
later that month, he said. "I believe this next record we're
working on is moving in the same direction [as Mirror to the
Sky]". He implied it would contain a mix of shorter and
longer pieces. In another Apr
2024 interview, asked to give an update about the new album,
he replied, "Just a lot of interesting music that's being
produced. Steve's doing a great job bringing together everyone's
ideas that we all contribute and formulating it into an album. And
it's really artistic and creative, and really interesting
to my ears. I'm quite excited about the direction it's going in
[...] it's pushing forward into the Yes, y'know, universe, if you
will, in a way that it's its own statement [...] The band is
settled in now to this new line-up [...] And it just sounds like
that to me on the record, it's quite exciting to listen to so far.
We've still got a ways to go [...] but [...] you know if you're
feeling that Yes vibe or not." In terms of a release schedule, he
said he doesn't "know any of those details", but that "a lot of
material is already in the process of being [...] worked on [...]
in quite a high percentage state of being completed. So, it's
really just a matter of when we slot it in between the things we
are doing." He then referred to having the Deep Purple tour come
up "out of the blue" for when they had been planning to do some
recordings. He continued, "All those things notwithstanding, we're
moving at the quickest pace possible [while] also making sure
we're doing the right things". In a Jul 2024
interview with the Prog Will Find A Way podcast, Davison
said, "We're working on one [a new Yes album] right now. I don't
see Steve stopping." He went on to explain:
I think there was a period where he felt... There was some political strife, and it was too much effort to sort of make an album, because it was all this other baggage with it. And then we decided, well, let's commit. And he said, as long as I can produce, let's do this. So we took it all on. And then The Quest happened. He loved it. [...] The next one, and he's, like, let’s keep going, let's make a third. He's on this roll now. 'Cause he feels comfortable, feels comfortable in a creative space.
Howe was interviewed in Jul 2024 too, and when asked about a new Yes album, he replied, "We are writing [...] We're progressing through the planning of getting more music ready, yeah, but that's about all I can say." Likewise, when interviewed by Yes Music Podcast that month, Howe again said "we're writing" for a new album. He then expanded: "We tend not to be idle. [...] We've other things to do though, other projects to do, but certainly seeing the future after Mirror to the Sky is a very, very important thing. Because, like The Yes Album and Fragile, y'know, that was climbing, and similar here, Quest, Mirror to the Sky, we could be ascending. (laughs) But that's a hope. So basically we're trying out some things, and we're looking at it, so, yeah, we're [...] going to get back to it this year [2024], after the touring." In an Aug 2024 podcast, Howe again said the band were writing for a new album. In a Sep 2024 interview (conducted around Jul), asked about his plans, Howe said that after their Japan tour, "Once we get to October, November, December [2024], we [Yes] are free agents." In the Dec 2024 interview with Biff Bam Pop, Howe talked generally about how he writes music and said, "I love that, in my music particularly, what I get a lot of joy from, is when I think of it [a new idea for some music] as this thing, but then, hang on, it turns out to be that [in a different style]. [...] Writing with Jon Davison is very much like that, because we write in a few different ways, and one way is he runs off with something of mine and comes back and says, 'Look what I've done with this.'" He then moved on to say how he doesn't write on tour any more, unlike in the '70s, because the focus of touring is on the touring itself. He also commented, "We [Yes] don't feel like we're trying to copy the seventies. [...] But we love the seventies music [...] but what we're doing now is trying to keep that on a roll and keep developing music that has freshness and [...] it's gotta be real."
Asked in an Oct 2024
interview about what he is working on for the future, Roger Dean
replied, among other things, "I had [...] an email from Steve,
Steve Howe, to talk about a project". I do not know whether this
is Yes-related or not, but that would seem an obvious guess.
In an Apr 2024 Q&A, Sherwood talked about the writing process with Yes: "Geography plays a big role in how we go about the writing. File sharing is something I've grown well accustomed to. We will send ideas around, pieces of music etc… and Steve manages to formulate these ideas into an arrangement and off we go. There's a sense of trust in what each guy does, which makes everything just flow." In his Apr 2024 Q&A, answering the same question, Davison talked about the writing process in Yes in general terms, saying, "We typically start creating lyrics and music on a personal level and then share our ideas to the rest of the band. Once ideas are taken on collectively, they blossom and develop in diverse and unexpected ways that only a fully contributing band can construct." He answered another question on the writing process, saying, "We physically get together whenever possible, which is our preferred method, and from there, share our individual rough ideas with each other. Then hopefully one's idea makes it to the next level, which is where the band fully takes it on and contributes by adding other themes and/or fleshing things out to a full band body of work." The Yes Music Podcast episode 653 said Paul K Joyce is "currently working on the next Yes album".
Mirror to the Sky
Mirror to the Sky was released May 2023
on InsideOut (Sony). It was recorded by the current line-up of
Howe, Downes, Sherwood, Davison and Schellen over 2022 in Curtis
Schwartz's studio and in the band members' own studios. All of
Downes' recordings were in Schwartz's studio. Howe and Davison
often recorded there, and Sherwood occasionally did so. Sherwood
and Schellen recorded the rhythm tracks together in Los Angeles.
Schwartz engineered and mixed (all formats), while Howe produced.
In an Apr
2023 interview with Darren Paltrowitz, Howe said they
recorded the rhythm parts for the album last, unlike the
traditional approach of recording them first. He also praised the
increased "productivity" arising from people recording
separately. In a May
2023 interview for an Alaskan periodical, Downes said:
"we've been able to get more hands on [than with The Quest
recorded during the pandemic], we've been able to collaborate
together in the studio more. Certainly, Jon, Billy have been
spending quite a bit more time over in the UK, so we've had the
facility to work together much closer and I think that really
shows [...] in terms of the way that the arrangements have been
put together is that there's [...] more of a continuity and
understanding between all the various elements." In another May
2023 interview, for Musikknyheter, Downes said, "During the
pandemic, we were scattered all over the place and we were
literally just sending our files back and forth online, and Steve
was sitting there with the engineer, collecting all the material
that was coming in. [...] Fortunately [...] with this album we had
the benefit of a more integrated approach where most of us were in
the UK [except for Schellen]." In another May 2023 interview,
for Spill, Downes said, "It was a team effort, but the producer
had to have the last say and of course, Steve had the last say on
everything. He is very accommodating and very understanding if the
idea is that everyone else is contributing." In a lengthy May 2023
interview with SOAL Night Live, Howe talked about the
importance of the arrangements on the album, saying, "So
arrangement is what, I think, Yes listeners don't realise
they want, but they want", and that, "It's no good if the song
keeps on not surprising."
In the interview
with Paltrowitz, Howe said they thought they finished the album in
Jan 2023. Mastering was by Simon Heyworth. Multiple formats were
available.
To coincide with their 2024 European tour, a limited edition 2CD+1Blu-ray Digipak version of the album followed 5 Apr 2024.
The album made #30 in the UK (26 May 2023), after making #6 in the midweek chart (22 May). It was #7 on sales, #7 on physical sales, #11 on vinyl, #14 on downloads and #27 in independent label sales, but outside the top 100 on streaming. It was also #4 in the UK Rock & Metal chart. It was #1 on the May 2023 Progressive Albums chart. It was still at #11 in the Aug 2023 chart, #25 in Oct and back to #14 in the Nov 2023 chart, and then #11 for Jan 2024, #22 for Feb 2024, #24 for Mar 2024 and #25 for Apr 2024. The album fell out of the top 30 Progressive Albums for the first time in the May 2024 chart, but it was back to #27 in the Aug 2024 chart, but then back out by the Sep 2024 chart. In the US, the album failed to make the top 200, but it was #7 in current rock, #9 in Internet albums (i.e., physical sales through online stores), #20 in current album sales, #20 in the Tastemarker chart (sales in selected independent stores and small regional chains), #22 in album sales, #22 in current digital albums and #27 in digital albums. The same week, it also made #9 in Switzerland, #12 in Germany, #24 in Japan (#3 in Rock), #31 in Hungary, #35 in Portugal, #53 in Austria, #61 in Italy, #62 in Poland, #71 in Belgium (#55 in Wallonia, #93 in Flanders), #84 in the Netherlands and #99 in France and Spain. It was also #3 on the Swedish physical sales chart. It was also on various iTunes charts: Spain #3, Brazil #7, UK #10, Canada #13, US #17, Germany #18, Italy #19, Australia #23, France #36. The album came 8th in Prog magazine's 2023 critics' choice, but it came 4th in the readers' poll Biggest Disappointment category. Howe was 9th in the readers' poll Best Guitarist category. In an Apr 2024 Q&A, Davison said, "the album is my favorite of the YES albums I've worked on!"
A first single, "Cut from the Stars", came 10 Mar 2023. In an
interview conducted Mar 2023 with Aymeric Leroy (author of "Yes" and
"King Crimson") for Big
Bang, Sherwood said the song wasn't planned as the
single when they were writing it. In his Paltrowitz interview,
Howe said the song was done "later on [...] in the progress of
[recording] the album".
"All Connected" was released as a second single on 26 Apr 2023. A
lyric video
for "Circles of Time", the third single, was released 24 May
2023. A lyric
video for a 7:04 edit of "Mirror to the Sky" was released 23
Feb 2024 to promote the 2024 European tour and the new edition of
the album.
| 2CD version (US): #ad |
On CD, the album has a main and, on most
formats, a bonus disc, in a similar way to The Quest.
Digital and vinyl versions have all 9 songs. Tracks:
In the Prog article, Howe explained how the main
disc has been put together as an album that "flows", and
he stresses that the bonus tracks are not of lesser
quality and "weren't worked in a different way". In the
SOAL Night Live interview, he said the bonus tracks "were
worked on with the same intensity" as the rest of the
album and that they didn't know what tracks would be on
the bonus disc while recording. In his
May 2023 Yes Music Podcast interview, Davison
described the choice of a second disc with bonus tracks as
Waber's "executive decision, for marketing purposes",
which he trusts him to make. He said the bonus tracks "are
in no way less important". In another
May 2023 interview, Davison described the bonus
disc, saying "which we don't consider a bonus album". In a
Jul
2023 interview in Goldmine, Downes
said, "I think it has something to do with the fact that
vinyl just had such a resurgence lately. We have been very
conscious of the idea that we transfer those onto vinyl.
You only have a limited amount of time you can put on one
side of the vinyl versions. So, we try to reflect that a
little bit with the way that we've done the last two
albums." |
The simple answer is I don't know, and I'm not being cagey there, I really don't know. What I've heard, over the years, is Going for the One: tapes are missing. Drama, which is one of my favorite Yes albums [...] I think I asked Geoff Downes about it. I said, "You know, Geoff, I'd love to do the album," and he said, "No-one knows where the tapes are." So I think there are issues with missing tapes.Multitrack tapes seem to exist for 90125 and Wilson said it would make for an "incredible Atmos mix", but he added, "I've got no reason to believe that, even if there was a Atmos mix of 90125 done, that it would come to me! Y'know, I'd like to think that they would think of me, [...] having done the others, but maybe someone is out there doing it right now. Who knows? Maybe Trevor Rabin is doing it himself. Who knows?"
CD9 has a mix of previously released and unreleased recordings:
CD12:
More re-releases
Spirit of Unicorn Music are
re-releasing Keys to Ascension in 2026.
Also billed as a Super Deluxe Edition, but not in the same series
as the Rhino series described above, is a re-release of Fly from Here –
Return Trip (Spirit of Unicorn). Out Nov 2025, there
is a 1CD (SOUMCD570), 2LP (SOUMLP570) and BluRay version. All come
with an instrumental version of the "Fly from Here" suite. The
BluRay (SOUMBR570) additionally has a new Atmos mix by Richard
Whittaker and also 5.1, stereo, Atmos instrumental, 5.1
instrumental, stereo instrumental, and original stereo mixes. The
LP sides are: LP1, side A:
LP1, sideB:
LP2, side A:
LP2, side B: instrumental version
The instrumental version of the album is also available as a
standalone digital release.
Yes Symphonic was re-released on 23
Jan 2026 by Mercury Studios, with new artwork by Bob Cesca.is
This available either as a limited edition BluRay/2CD box or
a half-speed mastered, 180g 4LP set. The LP set covers 7 sides,
with the eighth side being an etched graphic of the LP cover.
Jon Dee (Rock Aid Armenia) posted
to Facebook in Oct 2024 that he is helping with a planned
re-release of Magnification for 2025, with the involvement
of original cover artist Bob Cesca and orchestrator Larry Groupé,
and possibly to include some unreleased material. In a Jul 2024
interview, Howe had said Mercury now have the rights to the
album and that he would be interested in a re-release. Dee posted
to Facebook Jan 2025 to say:
I have managed to get hold of the original YES no orchestra demos for the ‘Magnification’ album 👍
The rerelease of ‘Magnification’ is going to be really good!!
Dee has also referred to "orchestral out takes" being available.
On 17 Jan 2025, he
posted:
I’m currently remixing the early demo of ‘Can You Imagine’ for the Magnification rerelease.
The only version I could find was this version where the amazing Larry Groupé had played demo orchestra on top of the YES studio demo.
But there was a loud click track all the way through the song. Now thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I have just managed to get rid of the click track!
This means that I have now have obtained every YES demo for the finished tracks on this album. They’re being remastered as I type 👍
In a Feb
2025 interview, Dee said he was "mixing an album for them
[Yes]", but did not specify which project.
Cesca said in a Mar 2025 post to Yesfans.com: "The reissue
edition of the Magnification cover is essentially what I wanted in
2001. It's familiar, but has more pop to it. 24 years of
experience since the original release and the prevalence of 4K
screens inspired me to add more vibrancy and detail. I also
created several new illustrations for it. Two of the new
illustrations, one in the vinyl edition and one in the CD edition,
pay homage to Jon Anderson's Magnification-related short story
"The Machine."" ("The Machine" is archived
here.) He also described a reissue for Symphonic Live,
continuing:
For the cover, I re-imagined the original scene from scratch with, again, more detail and depth. I also created an alternative cover illustration and several other all new pieces, including an epic gatefold illustration for the vinyl edition.
The great Jon Dee can speak to the music content, but in terms of the packaging I worked overtime to create fresh, vibrant illustrations to match the historic brilliance of both albums. It'll hopefully provide that old school experience of listening to the music while examining the artwork, hypothesizing about the meaning of it all. There are a few easter eggs in both sets of illustrations.
Strongly recommend the vinyl editions.
(The in-house art director at Mercury handled the text and layouts, incorporating the pieces I delivered.)
Cesca said to
Yesfans.com on 3 Aug 2025: "Magnification and Symphonic Live
reissues are definitely happening." In a Yesshift
interview in Jan 2026, Cesca speculated that the new Magnification
edition would be released Sep 2026, the 25th anniversary of the
album.
There was talk about me doing “Drama”, an album I really love and that would sound great in 5.1, but not all the members of that line up are keen for the album to be remixed—which is totally understandable—and I wouldn’t want to do something without the band being behind it.The one band member opposed to Wilson doing Drama could have been Downes judging by this Sep 2015 tweet: asked if Wilson would be doing a Drama remix, Downes replied, "I bloody well hope not!" Although in a Jul 2014 interview, Downes said, "I would like to hear Drama in 5.1, the album was heavily overdubbed at the time, and so it would reveal a lot of detail". But, in an Aug 2016 interview, he said the multitracks for Drama couldn't be found, also saying, "I know Steven Wilson does a very good job" of the 5.1 mixes.
In an Aug
2015 forum post, Wilson said:
I believe that the multitrack tapes for Going for the One are currently [missing]. First 2 Yes albums I would think unlikely, not enough potential sales...etc But never say never.
And then:
I really hope Tales and Drama will eventually be done, they are (perhaps somewhat perversely) my 2 favourite Yes albums
Preliminary work for a Going for the One release was
done. In an Apr 2014 interview, Howe was asked whether it is
"open-ended that as many of the catalog masters you have in hand"
will be included in the series, he answered, "I don't think we
should say yea or nay yet, because there could be logistical
things or even a question of taste." On this latter point, the
interviewer teases out that Howe is referring to Tormato.
Howe goes on, "It's not that it's dreadful; it's just that we
didn't quite get it right. I don't know if a remix would make it
right, but I really can't say because I don't think it could,
because if you're going to be true to the original, then you have
to base it on the original."
Asked about further archival releases on the 2015 Cruise to the Edge, Howe also said there was
plenty more in the vaults.
Cruises
Cruise to the Edge (Facebook)
is a series of progressive rock cruises that previously featured
and were co-organised by Yes, and run by music cruise company On
the Blue. Yes have not played on the more recent cruises. Howe
said in a Jul
2024 interview, "Now we don't play Cruise To The Edge
anymore, I can say I don't think it was the best environment for
Yes music, but [the customers] have a lot of fun on those trips."
The next cruise will be 4-9 Mar 2026, with acts including the Pete
Roth Trio ft. Bill
Bruford, Dave Kerzner's
band (including Billy
Sherwood), Eddie Jobson/UK
Revisited, Stick Men,
Steve Hackett, Marillion, Lifesigns, Goblin and Big Big Train,
with more to be announced. (Jon Anderson and
Rick Wakeman
have reportedly been invited.) Kerzner's band are also playing a
pre-cruise show on land.
The 2025 Cruise was in Apr 2025, in the Caribbean, with acts
including Rick Wakeman, Dave Kerzner and Friends (with Billy
Sherwood), Jazz Sabbath (with Adam Wakeman),
Steve Hackett, Pure Reason Revolution, Big Big Train and The
Aristocrats. (Jon Anderson was reportedly invited, but the dates
conflicted with touring plans with the Band Geeks.)
On a much smaller boat, the Emerald Astra, Trading Boundaries
are running two cruises of the river Rhine, from Basel,
Switzerland to Amsterdam, Netherlands on 11-18 Jul 2026, and then
back again to Basel on 18-25 Jul. Both cruises will include, among
others, an acoustic line-up of Asia (Geoff
Downes, Harry Whitley, John Mitchell), Adam Wakeman
& Damian Wilson, and Roger Dean exhibiting art and painting
live. The first cruise will also feature Rick Wakeman, plus other
acts including an acoustic line-up of Caravan. The second cruise
will also feature Steve Hackett with an acoustic band and other
acts.
Well, I've always enjoyed the stuff that we've played on stage, so far, the things that I've, y'know, contributed to writing and the other songs that we've performed from the two albums now. [...] there's a part of me that wishes that we would do more of that, but, y'know, in this day and age, fans really want to hear the legacy music that they know and love. So, it's a balancing act to put in the new material versus sort of letting that space not be occupied by something that is more familiar to the fan base, so I really just sort of yield to Steve[ Howe]'s wisdom on that and, y'know, he's been around here long enough to know what that's about, so I just go with the flow. But I'm always happy to play that new music.The tour again included a display of Roger Dean's art. In addition, the band were described as performing "in front of a video wall featuring AI treatment of Dean's art". The 1 Nov St Charles, IL show sold out. Tony Kaye was in the audience at a Florida show.
Relayer has been [...] almost like [...] a heavy weight on our shoulder these difficult years. We've rescheduled that tour three times, I think. So, we've really just dropped the album tour for a while to give us a break and not make us feel that we're only playing Relayer because we've said, for three years, we're gonna play it. [...] that feels a bit of an encumberment. So, we're gonna free off that and dream up a really fantastic set that will have some new music, it'll have a little bit of something to do with Tales. [...] we're looking forward to it because [...] it's not something we've been carrying and wrestling with rescheduling [...] it's going to be something fresh [...] even our approach, not that we're going to change our positions on stage, but the approach that we're going to use in our production is going to be quite different too. [...] we're certainly not having any spaceships or cows floating across the stage [...] it's less of that and more of the bringing the group really tightly together because we find that when we play closely together on stage, without risers, something quite clever happens [...] to us. So, we're looking for that closer connection to the [...] pulse of the musicIn a Dec 2024 interview with Biff Bam Pop, Howe said, "We were going to play it, then COVID happened, then we were going to play it again. And we just got so mentally confused by it that we thought that a tour called Relayer was bound to be cancelled [...] it wouldn't be fair to say we got some cold feet, but I think, basically, it was more difficult to do it after COVID. In other words, I sat down with the record [...] and thought, 'Oh my God, this is daunting!' [...] I definitely want to enjoy my tours [...] I want to know that I can do this." Sherwood was asked in an Apr 2024 interview whether the idea of playing Relayer will be "resurrected at some point". He replied, "I hope so. You know, it just got so tangled up in the circumstances [...] by the time the Ukraine war started kicking in [...] it was just like, 'Wow!' [...] we just decided to look in another direction, to bring a fresh conversation to the table [...] It was a victim of circumstance coming out of [...] COVID [...] into the Ukraine war. What can you say?! Some things are just not meant to be. That wasn't one of them at the time. That said, I would certainly love to play it."
let's face it, let's be realistic and say we're selling nostalgia. [...] we want to give the fans the music they come to hear. [...] but having said that, I think that the new music is quite conducive to a Yes set. I think we've found, on this last tour [in 2022], [...] I must tell you, the band was so touched by the audience's reactions to the new music, the overwhelming enthusiasm they gave. It was really encouraging [...] so we'll be doing the same with the new materials, a couple of selections.He was also asked in the interview what songs he would like to perform and in his reply, he mentioned "Sound Chaser", "To be Over" and "The Remembering". In another May 2023 interview, Davison said that Howe "primarily" comes up with tour set lists, which the others then "fine tune". In the Classic Album Review interview, Howe also talked about future possible sets, saying, "the album series idea is definitely not going away."
YES and their management have explored every possible avenue to arrange insurance cover for the tour in the event of COVID-related exemption or Act of War exclusion. The insurance industry has withdrawn all such insurances which made touring possible pre-COVID and before the Ukraine conflict.In a Mar 2023 with Aymeric Leroy, Sherwood highlight specifically the role of the war in Ukraine. Saying the cancellation of the 2023 European dates was "devastating", in his Yes Music Podcast interview, Davison said, "The dominos are still falling in reaction to COVID and, unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover for it. So, as a business, we have to be, y'know, financially prudent. [...] We have to play it safe [...] We love touring Europe [...] We really want to make it up to [the fans] anyway we possibly can." Announced 2023 dates had covered Portugal (1), Spain (2), Italy (3), Austria (1), Switzerland (1), Czech Rep. (1), Germany (3), Poland (2), Estonia (1), Finland (1), Sweden (1), Norway (1), Denmark (2), Netherlands (1), France (1), Belgium (1) and Luxembourg (1, which was initially planned in 2020, but couldn't be included in 2022). Tickets for prior shows at the same venue remain valid for the new dates; where there has been a change in venue, check arrangements.
There have always been calculated risk assessments to consider when touring and YES has unfailingly paid a premium to cover against terrorism in addition to conventional cancellation risks. With a view to supporting venues and crew, YES toured the UK in 2022 but the band simply cannot undertake such a large-scale tour with so many risks being uninsured.
Insurance cover was promised for events in 2023 but this has now been withdrawn until 2024, with confirmations of normality in ’24 following representations to the insurance industry to reassess its attitudes to COVID and Act of War insurance. Bands at some levels can mitigate against these risks but YES’ touring model creates unjustifiable levels of risk.
We had planned to play all of Relayer when the pandemic struck.In an Oct 2022 interview with the Yesshift podcast, Schellen said, "We had the whole [Relayer] tour down, and then the pandemic hit." Asked if there were any Yes songs he particularly wanted to play, he said he would like to perform the other two sides of Tales from Topographic Oceans that they haven't done recently, i.e. "The Remembering" and "The Ancient". He added, "And we've talked about it. I think that could be coming." The release continued, "A full performance of the "Relayer" album will now be featured in a future tour in The Album Series." 2023 will also be the 50th anniversary of Tales from Topographic Oceans. In a May 2022 interview, Howe was asked if they would therefore be celebrating that album as well on tour in 2023. He replied that they may play some of the album, and he would like to do at least a side, but they won't play all of it.
But we felt it was too big an ask to tackle Close to the Edge and Relayer on the same tour.
We want to perform at the level Yes fans expect from us.
I’d say, very tentatively, that Yes has a quest that’s all encompassing. It’s never been a band with limitations. So there’s no reason why it couldn’t include some of this material as well. It’s been dabbled with a little bit along the way. Back in 1976 we each played songs from the solo albums [...] Maybe we could do a very select show where we could incorporate our outside work, much like Asia did, very successfully, when we re-formed. Everybody [in Yes] has things they’ve done outside the band, so it’s something that could be considered.In the late Sep 2018 interview, Howe also said, "I feel that it's a desirable thing to keep playing this [Yes] music, playing songs that are maybe sometimes being missed by the band. For instance, our album series tours were so successful; they covered five albums – five and a half, actually – in their entirety." He continued:
We’ve become more interested in really looking at the original recordings as much as possible, taking everything we can from them. There are obviously compromises we might make, but that doesn’t really matter. What we’re interested in is giving a sense of realism to it. Without that realism, we might as well not even go and play the right notes. [...] and I think that’s brought together with improvisation.As for future set lists, another Jun 2018 interview with Howe describes the situation thus:
After all, a solo is a solo, and you can play what you like. [...] There’s got to be some freedom. But again, it’s nice hearing the raw, core tunes that call in that solo.
After bassist Chris Squire’s death in 2015, Howe inherited the job of putting Yes’ concert set list together. “I make a set list generally with two considerations. There’s gotta be some challenges; There’s got to be some things we haven’t been playing in the last two years or so. [...] you’ve got to go do some homework at home. But the other thing is we’ve got to make it possible. [...] our set list is generally a mix of challenging new things -- or new in the context of what we’ve been playing recently -- and then some really familiar stuff, but not the same-old, same-old -- although we can’t do a show without ‘Roundabout.’ [...]”
Downes also talked sets in a Jun
2018 interview:
Interviewer: Are there any songs that you personally would like to retire? [...]
Downes: We approach each tour differently. [...] it’d be nice maybe to look at a couple of 80’s era Yes tracks as well. And maybe even something from the 90’s, you know. Well we do a couple of tracks from the 90’s anyway. [...] there’s so much there [...] you’ve got 22 or 23 studio albums to pick material from, that’s a pretty enormous body of work to tackle. But certainly, I’m game to try anything that’s in the Yes catalog.
Interviewer: [...] is there a song or two you wish you guys could play, specifically?
Downes: I think I’d like to just do one of the big pieces from the album Relayer. We did a little bit of that, but something like either “Sound Chaser” or maybe “Gates of Delirium,” which would be an enormous challenge to actually learn something like that [...] quite a fascinating challenge to do that.
In a Jun
2018 interview of his own, White said, "we tried not playing
"Roundabout" for a while. We got so many complaints because we
didn't play it, we've been playing it ever since." Asked in the
Yes Music Podcast about YesWest material, Downes replied, "that
would be something a lot of the fans would appreciate [...]
certainly I think Steve's up for doing some of it". Asked about
the possibility of performing "The Gates of Delirium", he began
by remarking on the challenge of doing so, but continued,
"everything's possible […] Whether or not we do it next year
[2018], I don't know. We might do it the year after [2019]. We
might even at some point attempt the whole of Relayer. That's... that's
something that has been put forward. I think in terms of it being
the fiftieth anniversary of Yes that the focus is going to be more
on a historical view of Yes's music rather than any specific
albums". In his Mar
2017 Q&A, White had said, "we plan to play the entire "Relayer' album in the UK next year
[2018]", but he backed away from that by this Aug
2017 interview: "I think next year [2018] should be a really
good selection of songs from every era. We actually thought about
playing the whole "Relayer" album,
but I think that would be too much for the kind of show it should
be next year [2018] for our 50th anniversary." In the Feb 2018
issue of Eclipsed,
Howe also said they wanted to play all of Relayer but described
this as challenging to do. In the mid-Mar 2018 interview, asked
about whether Relayer
is a possibility for summer US dates, Sherwood replied, "You never
know. I've been lobbying for that for years now as it's one of my
favourites. [...] As of yet it's not been spoken about, so we'll
just have to see what happens." Sherwood in a Nov
2017 interview said he would like to play "The Gates of Delirium" and
"On the Silent Wings of Freedom". Asked in his matching
interview what songs he would like to include, White
mentioned "America",
"Awaken" and "Mind Drive"; he implied that, with
Kaye present, they would do "Yours is No Disgrace". In the
#YES50 tour programme, out Mar 2018, Downes said, "I'm excited
about taking on the Relayer
album". At the Jul 2018 YesFanFest, Howe
was asked about doing Relayer
in 2019 and replied, "Maybe". In an Aug
2018 interview, asked what songs he would like to do,
Davison picked Relayer
first, then saying, "I'd like to bring to the stage all of Tormato and Relayer
and make the '70s Album Series a complete thing. Beyond that, some
of the '80s and '90s material." He then mentions "The More We Live—Let Go"
and "Shoot High Aim Low". In a Jul
2019 interview, Sherwood supported the idea of playing "Sound Chaser".
Asked how set list decisions come about, he replied:
Steve [Howe] usually does it, and we have suggestions along the way, but Steve's got a really good sense of ebb and flow in the set. If too many songs are in the same key and they’re bundled up together, he can move them around, and based on tempos and all that type of thing. We sort of just wait for Steve to give us the set list. [...] then [...] anyone’s allowed to throw in their opinions but usually it’s pretty spot on, I’ve found.
Relationships
with past members
The question of a reunion between Yes and Yes featuring
Anderson Rabin Wakeman (which had disbanded by early 2020),
or between key past members and Yes, has always refused to go
away. It appears unlikely. In a Dec
2017 interview, Todd Rundgren, who had recently toured with
Yes, said, "There are actually two versions of Yes. There are
conflicts between members of the band." However, Jon Kirkman
claimed in a May 2021
edition of the Prog Report that "they're all talking to each
other now. There's no arguments. All of the band, all the people
who have ever been in Yes are now talking to each other and on
good terms." The current Yes line-up have evinced good relations
with Bill Bruford, Patrick Moraz and Trevor Horn. Geoff Downes
lent Rick Wakeman some rare kit after Wakeman's was stolen.
In a Mar
2023 interview, Wakeman said, "there was talk of another
[Yes] reunion, but I said, "absolutely no way." Because we don't
have Chris Squire anymore. We don't have Alan White anymore. You
just can't do it. You know, let's have a great memory of what we
did." It's unclear when (his comments seem to imply that this was
since White passed away) or with whom this "talk of another
reunion" was. Asked if he is still in contact with Anderson and
Howe on episode 6 of his podcast in Apr 2025, Wakeman replied,
"[...] no, but that's not because we want to kill each other or
anything like that. We would get messages going backwards and
forwards, various things. But there is no need, really. I mean,
myself and the current Yes management [...] we're all in touch. We
all sort of make contact here and there, and I see Martin Darvill,
who's their manager, a lot. [...] We don't really, apart from
music, have anything in common [...] If Steve walked in here now
[...] 'Would you fancy a meal after this?' Absolutely. We'd do
that. That would be great." The interviewer followed up,
"Everybody's happy with each other? There's no problems, is
there?" Wakeman replied, "No."
It appears interviewers of both Steve Howe and Jon Anderson are
dissuaded from asking about a possible reunion, although some
still do! A Sep
2024 Goldmine interview with Anderson said they were
"advised, ahead of time" not to ask if he would ever consider
re-joining Yes. In a Mojo magazine interview (published
Jan 2024), Anderson was asked, "has communication between yourself
and Steve Howe stopped now, too?" He replied, "Yes. We're still
friends but we're not connected." The interviewer then asked if
Anderson could see himself performing with Yes again. Anderson
replied, "I was talking to The Band Geeks [with whom he is
working] and said, "Hopefully we can play in London and
Steve will get up and do a couple of songs with us, maybe Rick
[...] It just means talking. When I'm out there singing on
my own I still think I'm part of Yes. They still feel like my
songs." Asked about the possibility of a Yes reunion in a May
2024 interview, Anderson replied, "Never." In an Aug
2024 interview, Anderson said he had no interesting in
working with Yes, saying, "I really don't need to." In a Sep 2024
interview with Classic Rock, Anderson was asked if his
exit from Yes still hurts, to which he replied, "No, because I’ve
got the Yes that I wanted." (This is again a reference to working
with the Band Geeks.) Asked how he would react if Howe asked him
to rejoin Yes, Anderson said he would not be interested: "No. Not
right now. I actually contacted him and got very little back, But
think of the song Still A Friend Of Mine [from True, his
album with the Geeks]. So many people I've met, it didn't quite
work out, and eventually you say, 'Okay, I've got to move on,
you've got to move on, do your own thing, it's okay. But you're
still a friend of mine because we went through so much together at
a certain time.'" In a Feb
2024 interview, Howe was asked about Anderson and replied,
"we're still in touch". An Apr
2024 interview published in Italian asked Howe why he didn't
want to answer questions about Anderson, which is something he
appears to say to many interviews. Howe replied, "Voglio molto
bene a Jon come essere umano. Molto meno per tante altre cose.
Accontentati di questo." Which can be translated: "I love Jon very
much as a human being. Much less for many other things. Be
satisfied with this."
Asked in an Apr 2024 interview whether there is any possibility of any original members returning to Yes, Sherwood replied that Anderson "is doing his own thing", that Anderson and the band separated before he returned to the band, and that "it is what it is". He then said, "we are a very happy, healthy, functioning unit of friends who play this music, and I've been in Yes enough to know that when the vibe's not good, that line-up's not going to last long [...] so I'm just going with the vibe now". He also said that everyone has their "version of Yes that they want", mentioning fans online, but that "the reality is that only Yes knows what they're going to be, but as long as Yes knows what they're going to be, I'm good with that", and that "we [Yes] know what we are here". He continued, "We actually enjoy each other's company. (giggles) In Yes's history, that's a good thing!"
In comments
to Classic Rock magazine, published Jun 2023, Howe
dismissed the idea of reunion: "It's something I'm absolutely
resistant to, because I remember the fiasco of the Union
tour [...] Sometimes I might have thought, 'Well, one day maybe',
and one never wants to say never, but basically I can't see it."
He also said: "I love Jon [Anderson]. I'm a lot older now,
and so is he, and the only terms I work on is that I'm happy
working on this. I'm not going to take a sudden load on my back
that I either don't need or want. My music’s always guided me, and
it’s not telling me to do those things. It's telling me to go
forwards."
In an Aug 2023 interview with Anderson (published in Spanish), the interviewer says his manager has warned him not to ask anything Anderson anything about the current Yes. He goes ahead anyway, asking if there's a bad atmosphere between Anderson and Yes. Anderson's reply is given as: "No, realmente no. Simplemente ellos siguen su camino, persiguen su sueño, como cada uno de nosotros. Yo persigo mi propio sueño, tengo otros proyectos, otras ilusiones y tampoco me gustaría que si digo cualquier cosa sobre ellos se manipulase o se malinterpretase." This translates as: "No, not really. They simply follow their path, pursue their dream, like each one of us. I pursue my own dream, I have other projects, other hopes and I would not like it if anything I say about them were to be manipulated or misinterpreted."
In an Apr
2023 interview, asked if he thought the current band under
Howe is an "authentic version of Yes", Anderson replied:
It’s Steve’s idea of Yes, I suppose. It’s hard to pinpoint. I’ve listened to a couple of songs, of course, and they’re OK. But I’m still into the voyage of musical Yes. I’m totally into the original idea of it. [...] The energy of the Seventies, musically around the world… It was quite an unbelievable time. Yes was a part of it. I still want to perpetuate it, I suppose.
The interviewer then asked about Anderson's then forthcoming tour
with the Band Geeks: "You're playing Yes music on tour with new
musicians. Steve is playing Yes music on tour with new people.
Can't one argue that what you're doing is just as authentically
Yes as what he's doing?" Anderson replied, "Yeah. I've never seen
his show though, so I can't tell you. [Laughs.]" The
interviewer then said recounted how when he had interviewed Howe,
Howe had said a reunion was "completely unthinkable". Anderson
responded:
I’m a pessimist… I’m a pessimistic optimist. You never know in this life. And that was just him at that moment in time. I sang with him on my last album, 1,000 Hands. [...] I [...] said, “Would you play some lovely guitar at the end?” And he did. All I could think of when I heard was to sing with it, and I did.
The interviewer continued to push on the question of a reunion
between Anderson and Howe, saying they "should be onstage
together". Anderson replied, "it's not going to happen as far as I
know. I've mentioned a couple of times over the years that I'm
very open to giving it a whirl. In these days, though, you never
know what's going to happen."
In the Oct 2021 issue of Prog (#124), Howe said, "I like
to think we still have contact with Bill Bruford and Tony Kaye,
and I'm still friendly with Jon [Anderson] and the other guys who
are around". In an interview
published online in Jan 2022, Howe said:
Whenever you leave a band, you might stay in touch with somebody, or you might not. The latter says something, in a way: ‘Look, I’ve done that, and we can’t really connect so much anymore.’ It happens.
Sometimes you stay in touch with people that you don’t work with anymore. I never stopped being friendly with Bill, but we’re not working together.
In that interview, he was also asked about Yes featuring Anderson
Rabin Wakeman and replied:
That was just a futile thing they did. When they came out with the idea for it, I actually sent three emails to each of them [...] I said to them, ‘Great. You’ve put a band together. Go with it. Good luck.’ I never heard back from them, but basically that was fine. They had their run. There has to be some competition in life, and they appeared to be what might be called competition.
Basically, in their second year they decided to tack Yes on the front, and some promoters used the Yes logo, which they weren’t allowed to do. There was a bit of a pickle, but fortunately people woke up and said, ‘OK, we won’t do that.’
It was a bit of a difficult time, because it was confusing, not only for the audience, but also for promoters. ‘Is this Yes, or is it Yes with ARW?’ It was a bit of a mess for a long time.
In a May
2022 interview, Howe said, "I love Jon Anderson and I
believe we have an understanding and an immense respect for each
other. But the difficulties of trying to work together are too
great."
In a Mar
2023 interview, Wakeman said of the current Yes line-up:
Steve [Howe]’s the only member who was in what people call the classic Yes lineup. None of the others were. But that’s absolutely fine. I don’t have an issue with that. I do think that after Chris died, it might have been time to retire the name. But I don’t have an issue with that, as long as people want to hear the music. They have absolutely every right to exist and play it.
In an interview for Prog
published Jan 2023 (issue #137), after talking about how Downes
had helped
him out after he had had some equipment stolen, Wakeman
said, "Some of the rumours you hear about the two camps of Yes
being at loggerheads are completely untrue. Steve [Howe] and I
have been intending to have lunch for a while but never seem to
get around to it. There's a lot of mutual respect between us all."
Asked if he would accept an offer from Howe to make a guest
appearance with Yes, Wakeman replied, "I probably would, though
I'm not sure politically it would be the thing to do. They've got
their own setup and I've got mine. But never say never." In a Jan
2022 interview, Wakeman said he hadn't heard The Quest,
but that, "I am having lunch with Steve [Howe] in a couple of
weeks. That everybody hates each other is a complete myth. There's
a lot of mutual respect between us all." In a Feb 2022 interview,
asked if we still on good terms with Yes, he replied, "Depends who
you mean by 'Yes.' [...] obviously, I am on good terms with Trevor
Rabin and Jon Anderson. I haven't seen Steve [Howe] or Alan
[White] since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but have the highest
respect for both of them." (So, lunch was postponed?) He was then
asked if he would consider playing with the band again, and
replied, "They already have a line-up."
In an Oct
2021 interview, having previously been critical of Yes for
using the name, Wakeman said:
I have tremendous admiration for Steve for keeping the ship afloat, especially after Chris died[.] There are so many bands these days that have got lineups of which, if people came back from the 1970s and could be reincarnated to look at them, they’d go: ‘Who are they?’
But Yes isn’t the only one. There are so many so many bands like it. And I think if it helps to keep the music alive, then I don’t see a problem.
In a Jul 2021 interview, Anderson was asked if there could be a merger between ARW and Yes. He replied, "Oh, yeah. I'm sure, I'm sure it will happen one day." He then talked about witnessing Chris Squire entering heaven in a dream. The interviewer said that Squire would want a re-union to happen, saying, "You gotta do this." Anderson replied, "We will! You've gotta speak to Steve. [laughs]"
In a Feb
2021 interview, asked if there was any possibility of a new
Union, Tony Kaye replied, "No." He expanded:
I just don’t see it happening. I think the main reason I can come up with is that this [line-up of the] band actually likes each other. They’re all good friends. Everybody gets along. Jay and Alan are close. As a band, it works.
[...] the band works … it may not “work” for everyone, fans. But it just works together. Jon Davison is such a cool guy. [...] They do great justice to the music — I think they don’t want to lose that. Anderson can be a weird guy. There’s a lot of history. That’s really all I can come up with. The band just loves each other and has a great time together.
He also said, "if the band [Yes] asks me to do something in the
future, I think it'll probably happen."
Steve Howe on one side and Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin on the
other have voiced the strongest words against the idea. In a Jul
2020 article, commenting on the idea of a reunion, Howe
said, "I don't think [fans] should stay up late nights worrying
about that[.] There's just too much space out there between
people. To be in a band together or even to do another tour like Union
is completely unthinkable." He continued, "What I've done with
Alan, and Chris until he passed, [...] has been trying to build
something much more stable [than Union] and not so
haphazardly sensational [...] Yes is about people who love working
together and can. That word 'can' carries the whole story. That
means compatibility and the same awarenesses about what we want to
do." That said, in an interview
conducted around Feb 2020, Howe commented on his relationship with
Anderson, saying, "Jon and I get on really well now. We have the
history and the friendship. But it's probably better that we don't
attempt to work all the time together – because of this and that.
But nobody knows what the future holds." A Jul
2019 Billboard article quoted Howe as saying that
Yes "has had nothing to say" about Yes featuring Anderson Rabin
Wakeman using the band name. It went on to quote him: "Anybody can
play Yes music; [w]e'd never stop anybody doing what they want to
do[.] Basically I say 'Good luck' to them." However, commenting on
ARW's hiatus from activity in 2019, Howe also said, "we're not
unhappy, so that maybe tells you something."
In an Oct
2019 interview, Wakeman said ARW should not have used the
'Yes' name and that their next tour (to have been in 2020, but
which never happened) wouldn't. He said a reunion would not work:
"I can't see it happening, although I've learned in rock &
roll the word "never" doesn't exist. [...] Let's put it this way,
it's highly unlikely. You've got more chance of Donald Trump
getting divorced and marrying Hillary Clinton." He argued that
neither band should have been called 'Yes' since Squire died: "If
you want my real honest answer, the whole Yes thing is a mess
since Chris died. It's a total and utter mess for the fans and the
people because nobody knows what the hell is going on. Nobody
knows who is in what, who is doing what. It's just one hilarious
mess." In an Aug 2020
interview, he said, "when Chris passed away, that was it for
me. Not the end of Yes music! But the end of the name Yes. Because
Chris was the only founding member who remained throughout [...] I
felt when Chris passed away, that was the time to retire the name,
in his honour and in his memory. No reason why we can't all go off
and play Yes music [...] Steve, myself, Jon, whoever — that's
fine. But the name Yes, out of reverence and respect for Chris and
the music, the name, I think, should've been retired. [...] that's
the reason why, when anybody says, 'Is there ever likely to be
reunion again?', my answer is, well, you can't have one without
Chris." In a Sep 2020
interview, Rabin said, "I heard talk of... an interview
somewhere where there was talk of maybe a [Yes] reunion and that's
something that will never happen, not with me." He continued,
"It's kind of ridiculous. I don't even think there should be a
band with the name Yes without Chris Squire in it." He also said
that the only "remaining legitimate Yes members" were White, Howe,
Anderson, Wakeman and himself, continuing, "Without Chris, [...]
it wouldn't be something that would include me."
White has had a different tone when answering questions on this
topic. In a Feb 2019 interview from the Cruise to the Edge, asked
what he would still like to accomplish with Yes, White said,
"Well, it will be good to, maybe, in the future, see some
kind of union tour. […] I don't think it's totally out of the
question […] we'll see what happens." In a follow-up interview
with Sherwood, told about White's comments, Sherwood responded,
"Wow... he's the great uniter in the band, y'know. He's always
wanting that to happen." Asked about the possibility of a reunion
in a Mar
2019 interview, White said, "I'm not going to say definitely
no. I'll say there is a possibility, but everybody is getting up
there in age now. I don't see it as out of the question in the
next few years [...] I definitely won't say "no." It's a "maybe.""
In a Jun
2019 interview, asked about "bringing together many members
of Yes from the past 50 years", White replied, "I'm not going to
say no because anything's a possibility. Maybe one day everybody
will just come together and be able to do a big show of everything
again, which might be in the future. But as of now, we're just
getting on with this Yes." In a Jul
2019 interview, Sherwood was asked about a reunion, and
answered, "that question's a little above my pay grade [...] from
my perspective I just see us going along this same course right
now because we're a really happy unit moving forward [...] I know
that the fans are speculating about another union-type scenario,
but I don't know. I think it's kind of a long shot, to be honest
with you."
It is Anderson who has been most supportive of
the idea. A Jul
2020 article reports Anderson as being "keen on a reunion".
It quoted him:
It was talked about three years ago, why don't we get Yes back together, it's the 50th anniversary of the band and I said, 'I don't see it, there would be about 15 people onstage, it's too much'[.]
But I had a dream the other week. I was backstage and I realised that's what happens: I'll start the show with my guitar and I'll sing a couple of songs and then Steve[ Howe]'s band will play, then I'll sing a couple more songs and Rick [Wakeman] and Trevor [Rabin] and myself will come on and do something and then all of a sudden we'll all get together and do 'Close To The Edge' and 'Awaken' and Bob's your uncle.
My mantra has always been it'll happen when it happens
In another Jul
2020 article, Anderson was asked about the possibility of a
reunion, producing this exchange:
Anderson: Nobody has said, “Let’s do it.” But I think it would be great to get the Yes band back together. Obviously, it’s not going to happen this year [2020] with the coronavirus, but maybe in 2021 or 2022.
Interviewer: How would it work since Howe’s version of Yes features Jon Davison as the singer?
Anderson: We’ll figure it out. I’m not worried about that part. I just can’t wait to sing on a stage again.
In an Aug 2020 interview, Anderson responded to Howe's comment that a reunion is "unthinkable" by saying, "But he knows that I'm very open, but he has his own pocket decision to take". He continued, "I wouldn't go back into that band because I don't think they're that good [...] They're good! But they're not that good." In part 2 of the same interview, asked if he would sing on stage with Davison, Anderson replied, "Yeah, why not? [....] Of course I would. I'd sing with the band, y'know. I had this dream that I had a guitar and I was going to open the show by singing a couple of songs [...] And now Steve Howe and his band... eh... and I'd sit there [...] and sing along with some harmonies or whatever. And they'd come off stage, and then Trevor and Rick, are you ready yet? [...] And then we all did "Close to the Edge" and "Awaken"." In part 9 of the interview (released Oct 2020), Anderson blamed management for the failure to record an ARW album and then said: "I've left Yes twice and got kicked out when I got sick, I can't believe it, but that was the manager, you know? And I always say, 'Managers [...] don't care.' They don't care that audiences have paid a lot of money to see me sing. They'll put Mickey Mouse up." In a Sep 2020 interview, Anderson appeared to comment on that interview, saying, "I misspoke a little bit about the other band, because as far as I'm concerned, I work with really good musicians, and I expect brilliant things to happen [...] So, Steve and his band? I don't mind, they go out and sing songs that I wrote, and me and Steve wrote - which is fantastic – and keep the flag flying [...] They're very good at doing Yes classics, but I've been waiting for some new Yes classics, you know. It's very hard without me."
In the Dec 2020 issue of Prog magazine, in an interview conducted early Oct, he said, "For me, I am Yes. It's never left me." Talking about the current Yes, he said, "I haven't heard anything that hits me and says, '[...] I'm so happy they've evolved.' It's really great to hear them to the classic songs and Jon Davison's singing well". He again talked of his dream for a tour: "I'd love to do it as a final hurrah for the fans and go on a very special tour." He then outlined much the same plan of him opening with an acoustic guitar, the current Yes playing, him returning for two acoustic songs, and then him, Wakeman, Rabin "and all the others [...] There'd be about 20 of us on the stage all playing Close To The Edge."
In a Nov
2020 interview, Anderson was asked, "Do you think that it's
possible for everyone [from Yes] to get together to make more
music and tour?" Anderson replied:
Yeah, you never know. I’m a little bit like an open book. If they ask me, I will. But I don’t want to change them because I’ve asked them many times to get together and do this and that, and they’ve always been busy. I don’t mind that, you know? We’re like family, and family sometimes are close and tight, and sometimes they’re really not.
Howe guested on Anderson's 1000 Hands
(albeit remotely). After discussing this, a Mar
2018 interview with Anderson has this exchange:
Interviewer: Of course, you'll never get the band back together [...]
Anderson: No. No, it's just one of those things. Life isn't... that organised. [chuckles] [...] For some reason, for whatever many reasons, it's not meant to be. That's OK. I've got things to do.
Interviewer: Yeah. Well, you've certainly got good relationships with everyone and you've kept in touch.
Anderson: Yeah, yeah, you keep in touch and, y'know, like anything, you have highs and lows. Like any family. Because we're family people. We're brothers, all musical brothers. Sometimes you love each other, sometimes you don't.
Later in the interview, Anderson was asked about his "next dream"
after 1000 Hands, he replied:
I really want to do the final, great Yes album. I've got an idea of what it looks like, what it sounds like, but I'm not sure how to pull it off. [...] it's one of those things. I know what it should be, I know there's a lot of people who would love it to happen and I would love it to happen as well.
In another
interview later that same month, talking about Howe's
appearance on the album, Anderson said, "I just called him up and
he said he'd love to play on it[.] I haven't sang with him in
many, many years. It felt really comfortable and cathartic to do
that. We're brothers. Sometimes you don't understand or
misunderstand your brother and want to do different things. I
think that is called a family." The article then raised the
question of a reunion:
“I’m very open to it,” says Anderson. “It’s been 50 years now. You think something has got to happen. To me, a great album has to be made. That’s what I think. I don’t know how it’s going to be made, but the final Yes event should happen. I’ve talked to a couple of people about it and they get it. I really want to do this. I’ve even written eight songs for the record that I’m thinking would work with a full orchestra and a choir.”
Is Steve Howe into this idea? “I don’t know,” says Anderson with a sigh. “Maybe he’ll read this article and say ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ I don’t know.”
A Jul
2019 interview with Anderson had this exchange:
So is the recent Anderson/Howe collaboration on “1000 Hands” a harbinger of a real Yes reunion? Anderson doesn’t say no.
“When it happens, it’ll happen,” Anderson said.
In yet another
Mar 2019 interview, Anderson said, immediately after talking
about ARW, "I've always said it would be nice to do a Yestival and
get everybody together on stage, that's like a magic wand to make
that happen, but you never know in this life." And, in yet another Mar
2019 interview, asked what is the possibility of a reunion
with Howe, Anderson replied, "I don't know [...] If I got the
right phone call, I'd be there."
When Howe was asked by Prog magazine (Apr 2019 issue)
about prospects of a re-union with Anderson and Wakeman, he
replied, "We're happy doing our own parallel things. It's always a
challenge to build the time to work with the people you are
working with, let alone the people you did work with [...] let's
leave it at that for now."
Asked about tensions between the two bands, Downes said in the
Nov 2018 issue of Prog, "Any real direct confrontations
have hopefully been nipped in the bud. As time has progressed it's
become less critical. When they first came out they were pretty
gung-ho—they were making a lot of comments in the press which were
not very pleasant, calling us The Steve Howe Tribute Band. [...]
For the most part, we've attempted to keep the high road and not
get involved too much with slagging them off." Later in the same
interview, he went on: "they do their thing, they've got their own
agenda going on. They're not getting in my face. That's all I'm
particularly bothered about." In a late
Sep 2018 interview, Howe said any re-union is "completely
off the table".
In an early
Jun 2018 interview, Howe said this on the two bands
situation:
When ABWH went out, Bill, Rick and I basically wanted to carry on being called ABWH. We weren't really interested in being called Yes, but there was a contingent in the band [i.e., Anderson] and the management [i.e., Brian Lane] that very much encouraged us to rejoin Yes. Actually, the three of us ended up with nothing. That lineup didn't continue after Union so we lost everything.
ARW came out and they justified their existence. They're ARW. Nobody can deny them the right to do that. Now there's a bit of game playing going on, adding that particular thing [presumably Howe means here the "Yes featuring..." part of their name]. I don't know if they are going to make things more interestingly confusing by calling it quintessential Yes [a reference to ARW's promotion for their 2018 touring].
It's up to them what they do. They're free, we're free. We're tolerant and they're tolerant. Hopefully, people won't go around saying "We don't like those guys." [Anderson in Mar 2017 said, "We don't like them" about Yes] We never said that. We want to be sharing and positive about everything we can generate, which I think is important.
If the fans have got a choice, now, to see different versions of things, then so be it. I can't see a problem.
In a Mar 2017
interview, Wakeman and Anderson both dismissed any
possibility of a reunion. Asked about that in a Dec
2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Rabin replied,
"Oh, I very much doubt it. It's kind of like, if it's not broke,
don't fix it. We've got the ARW thing right now and we're just
loving it. That's certainly where we're at right now." In a
matching interview,
Howe replied to a similar question: "We know the 50-year
anniversary is going to be quite colossal. The Union tour
was popular with many fans, but it would have to be re-thought if
we were considering that. It would need some reinvention. But
that's a ways away." When the interviewer returned to the question
of repeating the Union tour, Howe continued:
As long as its not trying to put a square peg in a round hole. The Union tour [...] [f]or the fans, it was seen in a particular light. But internally, it was complex. [...] you'd have to think about how it could work in a different way. It's nice seeing people play together, but it's really about the mood and the willingness and the love and the sharing. It just comes down to a lot of other things, unfortunately, like business and technical. Those other parts both help and interfere and destruct. A few people have said to me that although it was great to see us together all night for the Union tour, it was really a lot to try and fill your ears with. But I do appreciate that people are thinking about seeing us together, and that's a very nice sentiment.
Some of that was put to Anderson in his Rolling
Stone interview and he was asked whether he thinks
anything will happen to commemorate the 50th anniversary. He
replied:
I'll call you! You'll be the first person I call [laughs]. Like anything, my idea of Yes is ARW at the moment. That's what I feel is the Yes I always dreamed of coming back together with.
In a late
Jan 2017 interview, Howe was asked about the Union
tour, and replied, "It's not something that we know we're going to
do again. Obviously it would need good planning." White was asked
why don't they "go back to Anderson & Wakeman" in his Mar
2017 YesWorld Q&A; he replied:
Well, you know, I’m open to anything in the future. I’m not opposed to the idea of that down the line but I’m part of the YES touring band and it makes more sense to continue with the group of musicians I’m currently working with… we have a great working vibe between us. You asked why we don’t “go back” and that’s really key because I always try to be positive and continue to move forward instead, I want to make progressively new and interesting music and we’re performing great on stage together. I’m happy with the way things are and looking forward to continuing on with the current YES line up.
In his late
Mar 2017 Q&A, Howe was asked something similar. He
replied:
This topic has gone round the houses a little bit. Before we can take on board ideas, there has to be a good line of communication. And as far as I understand ARW aren’t really interested in doing this and we’re most probably not really interested in doing this either.
Now that sounds like a big shut down, but in another way, one’s gotta understand that things aren’t always what they appear. Reinventing the ‘Union Tour’ is not really a concept that anyone from either of the lineups of YES or ARW have endorsed.
So basically, I would say, it’s not foreseeable. I think there’s ways that we can celebrate YES’s 50th year and most probably they want to as well. I think the complexity is unmeasurable by the fans. Those things aren’t easy. It’s not any one person that’s particularly making it difficult, but people can make it difficult and then it’s gotta be done in the right spirit. I’d say don’t hold your breath.
In a May
2017 interview, White was a little bit more positive:
"There's a possibility [of a reunion] way down the line here[.]
The next tour is the 50th anniversary of the band, so who knows
what will happen then."
Relations between the band have not gotten any better since ARW switched name to "Yes featuring Anderson Rabin Wakeman". Howe was interviewed for an article in the Jul 2017 issue of Prog on the subject, using language described by the magazine as "both damning and colourful", but he subsequently asked for his comments not to be used. However, it is also revealed that:
he [Howe] wrote to them before, their tour, wishing them good luck. "That's my true spirit: that anyone can play Yes."
In the same issue, Downes and Wakeman both professed to be
unbothered about the other band, although their language comes
across as rather passive aggressive! Downes said: "We're focusing
on what we're doing [...] We wish them well. We've got no axe to
grind. We hope they succeed. They may have something against us.
If they do that's their problem not ours." Wakeman: "I don't care
what they do. They're fully entitled to do whatever they live.
[...] I have no idea what they're doing [...] It's of no interest
to me. [...] They're not a rival band. They're another lot out
there playing Yes music, same as we are. We're just doing it our
way [...] Good luck to them." Sherwood meanwhile said that he
would go see Yes featuring ARW perform if he was free.
Asked how he feels about the other band touring at the same time
as them, White said in an Aug
2017 interview, "It's quite funny. Quite frankly, I don't
think about it very much. [...] They're doing their thing." In
answer to a similar question in this Aug
2017 interview, Sherwood replied:
It’s interesting and strange at the same time. I haven’t really been paying too much attention to it because we keep staying on our track [...] I’m happy to hear as much Yes music in 2017 from the participants thereof and see the music thriving. There’s the obvious political push and pull that goes on in Yes; it’s always been that way and will always be that way. [...] there’s always much chaos and many moments to have it. (laughs) It’s really not surprising that we’re in this current state of affairs, but we go forward as Yes doing what we do.
On Eddie Trunk's radio show broadcasting from the Cruise to the
Edge 2018 in early Feb, Sherwood said much the same: "From my
perspective, I'm a long-time Yes fan, the more Yes music out there
in 2018, the better. Um... obviously there is a lot of politics
involved, but that's way above my pay grade. I just want to play
the music […] It's all good as far as I'm concerned."
Before hearing they would be inducted, in a Nov 2016 interview, asked about a reunion with Yes if the band get inducted in the Hall of Fame, Wakeman said: "I think there's no chance of us ever reuniting[.] There's not a hope in hell of that happening."
In an Apr
2016 interview, Howe was asked whether it is fair to say
that Anderson will never be back in the band. He replied: "I don't
think that's fair at all [...] I don't know what the future holds
[...] We're just moving ahead as we are. [...] We need
certainties, y'know, we need availabilities, we need, y'know,
commitments and things like that". He was later asked if the band
still has good relationships with R Wakeman: "Well, I hope we try
and keep good relations with everybody, y'know [...] people put
their foot in it occasionally [laughs] But [...] there are always
people from the bands you've been in that you have stayed
closer to and other people you haven't and that very much depends
on who makes any effort and who's got any time and, y'know, how
much you can, so, y'know, it spreads itself evenly across the...
so many members of Yes [laughs] that we've had, besides the other
bands I hasten to add I've been in. But, y'know, um, it's a lovely
thing, y'know, there's a pool of musicians and, y'know, we can
reach out to each other when we want to." In a Jul
2016 interview, asked whether they would work with
ex-members, Howe focused on the current band's plans and said:
"Well, I guess what we're going to do is we're going to try to
contain ourselves in our ambition and figure out how to keep these
things going. It takes a lot of work and a lot of agreement."
Asked in the Dec
2016 interview when he last spoke to Anderson, Howe replied,
"I don't know whether I can reveal things like that. It's a little
bit personal. We've been working in different bands and different
areas for a very long time."
Sherwood was asked in an Aug
2016 interview about the band's future: "Could another
merger be on the horizon? Who even owns the Yes name?" The article
continues:
“All that stuff is above my pay grade,” Sherwood says with a laugh. “Let’s be honest. Did anyone think Yes could survive Chris Squire not being there? I wasn’t sure, and I was the one being asked to do it. But it seems to be surviving and thriving.” The future is “a hard thing to even discuss, because you just don’t know until you get there.”
Sherwood says he tries not to draw “hard lines” about authenticity. “Life evolves and music evolves and bands change,” he says. “We’re losing guys. That’s sad to say, but it’s true. But the music lives on and it’s a testament to the music.”
In an
Aug 2015 interview, Howe was asked whether "Chris' passing
make it any more likely we'll see Yes work with former members
like Jon Anderson or Rick Wakeman in some capacity, even just for
one big concert to celebrate the band's legacy?" He replied:
I'd hate to say no, so I'll say I don't know. [...] From inside it's quite different. We have to try to stay on our course, and if we change something that changes multiple other things, then we don't know where we are. We spent a lot of time in 2008 kind of finding out where we are, with Benoit and Oliver Wakeman and now with Geoff Downes and Jon Davison and now with Billy Sherwood. In other words, we can't open the floodgates without thinking. So sure, we give these things some thought, but until we come to a conclusion, we'd rather do nothing than the wrong thing.
In a Sep
2015 interview (conducted late Aug), Howe talks about
several past members of the band, saying how they met with Moraz
while on tour. He then says, "We have some contact with Jon
Anderson. [...] I think we ought to see this group as sort of an
expanded family."
In an interview
recorded in Apr 2016, White said, "I talk to Jon [Anderson]
[...] on occasion. [...] I call him on his birthday, and that kind
of stuff. [...] Rick, I haven't seen him for an awful long time.
I'd like to see him again, y'know, because we used to get on very
well." Asked if Anderson and Wakeman might ever return to Yes, he
said, "I wouldn't rule it out [...] put it that way, but I think
Jon doesn't want to do these long, arduous tours any more and if
it was, it would be a kind of cameo appearance at some bigger
venues like London [...] or Los Angeles". Asked in an early
Nov 2016 interview whether, in the context of putting on a
united performance should Yes be inducted into the Hall of Fame,
there is animosity between the two bands, White replied: "There's
a certain amount, y'know. I actually talk to everybody, so... so,
it's a matter of other people sorting their opinions out". In the
Dec
2016 interview, Howe was asked, "How do you feel about ARW
being on tour now? Do you think that's a good idea? Are you cool
with it?" He replied:
[Laughs] It's an idea that has every right to exist, as much as ABWH when we were together in the late 1980s. Basically there's room for anybody to play Yes music. We love to hear other people play Yes music. These guys have quite a bit of credibility to do that and they are outstanding musicians, so there's no reason why they shouldn't go out and play. There's not any reason.
Apparently responding to comments by ARW in a number of
interviews, Sherwood posted
to Facebook in early Oct 2016:
In light of current events...
In my view, anyone who puts on the uniform I.E. served playing with Yes, making records, touring etc... deserves respect for doing so (regardless of era), without ending up under a bus. It's my honor to play under the "YES" flag, of which there is only one flying... I have always been loyal to that flag... even at times when I was under fire for doing so (see OYE lol). I know Chris was loyal, as he was the only member to NEVER leave... I'm humbled and honored to now be back in "YES" [...] especially having been personally asked by my long time friend and musical comrade (inside and out of YES) Squire himself, he asked me to carry on in his position in the "band" and so it shall be done. My heart and soul are in it to win it, every time I play those bass parts I'm thinking of Chris and "YES" and what it all means to have had fate guide my life in this most unexpected manner, Yes was my world growing up as a kid. It became part of my career as an adult, a very surreal destiny indeed. With that I will continue to serve, putting on the uniform of a "YES" man once again, and as I promised Chris, I'll give it my full passion and priority... always remembering my fallen hero.
Asked in a May
2016 interview if he could see himself reuniting with other
members of Yes, Anderson replied, "No, just Trevor [Rabin] and
Rick [Wakeman]. That's enough." In an Apr
2016 interview, Anderson was asked about the continuing Yes,
replying: "It's just business, and it's a group of people going
out there and playing music that's very valid. I have a different
perspective on what it is, and there are bands out there
performing Yes music, called tribute bands[.] That's kind of the
feeling of what's going on. That's why me and Trevor [Rabin] say,
'Well, listen if we're going to get together [in Anderson Rabin
Wakeman], we've got to reignite Yes[.]'" In another May
2016 interview (presumably conducted in Apr), Anderson was
asked whether they would reunite in the near future. He replied,
"No, just Trevor and Rick. That's enough." Asked in another Apr 2016
interview how, if he had "a magic wand", he'd like to see
Yes wrap up, Anderson replied: "Create some of the greatest music
in the next 20 years. I'm still Yes, I'm still part of Yes in my
heart and soul. I didn't leave the band, the band went off on
their merry way when I wasn't very well. [giggles] [...]
I've got it in my DNA".
In yet another
May 2016 interview, Anderson said, "My history is intact
musically[.] Yes became a brand and a business deal and that is
not my idea of what music is. Music needs to touch you
spiritually. When it is driven by money, then it takes away the
joy of creation." In an interview for the Spring 2016 issue of Progression,
Anderson was asked if he "keeps tabs on his former band". He
replied: "Not really, no. I know they're on the road. Musicians
need to make a living and that's what they're doing. [...] there's
only two of them left". And in this Jun
2016 interview, he said: "people ask me, "What do you think
of Yes?" I, honestly, never left Yes. Because Yes has been my
life. The band itself are doing what they want to do. I can't tell
them what to do, because it's not my band. They've got the name,
but I've got the state of mind about what true "Yes music" should
sound like".
[Squire] would just always call and be in touch, and we never stopped talking. On numerous occasions since I’d left the band and was very busy doing film work, he called a number of times and said, ‘You know, I think it’s time for you to get up from your desk job and get back on the street.’ And you know, I was always a bit reluctant about, if the band’s going to be called Yes, for it to not have Jon in it. It seemed a bit strange to me. But the prime reason was that I was just so busy with what I was doing and really enjoying it.What might the long-term future for the band be?
Oh, boy. I don’t even know if I like talking about that. What can I say? The band evolves and has gone through some incredibly difficult transitions, and here we are. [...] I don’t want to forecast anything on this front, except to say that Steve is super healthy and his spirit is so high and lifted and inspired.He was also asked if Howe and Anderson would ever play together again, replying, "That's a question for those guys [...] I don't know. You see what goes on out there in the Yes community. I don't know of a band that’s got a fan base more divided in ways that just confuse me. [...] I know that this current lineup is gelling really, really well together as far as the personalities and the music [...] Steve, at this point in his life, is a big advocate of keeping things simple and keeping things happy and content."
[...] When was the last time Yes made so many albums in a row in such a short period of time? That’s driven by Steve’s inspiration to produce it and to go forward. He enjoys touring. He loves playing this music live.
I believe that the members of Yes historically have always said that Yes music will go on way after we are no longer about. And it’s almost like classical music in a way that it does live on. Our hope is that Yes music will continue to bring enjoyment to people and will continue to be relevant. And so, we aim to continue for as long as we possibly can. I think that it’s something that we built up, and particularly with this lineup, we have built up a great rapport with each other. It would be good if we can continue.In a Jun 2023 article, Howe said about the possibility of Yes continuing on without him, "I would be silly not to think that was most probably going to happen[.] There's things that have the potential to grow and carry on through the hands of the younger generation. I think maybe I'd have the same spirit that Bill [Bruford] has always had – 'The band can go on'. The only word of caution is I'd like it to be carried on in the spirit of a progressive rock band, because progressive rock is what this is."
[laughs] Not really. We’ve all been replaced by somebody at one time or another. What I’m concerned about is that if one loses the idea of the adventurousness in this music — the dynamics that we need to play with that make the sensitivity and the crescendos and the lulls and all those things — if we suddenly think that we don’t need to do that, that we just play the songs, hammer them out, that would be a nonsensing of Yes, really. When we play “Five Percent for Nothing” for the first time ever onstage, we will be showing, if not ourselves, we’re showing the audience also that we’re challenging ourselves. If we don’t, then this isn’t Yes [...] That would be a good reason for you to moan all over the Internet, that Yes have lost the flame to be adventurous and to be musical and to be subtle as well as powerful [...] Subtlety is what Yes is.In the Apr 2018 issue of Prog, Downes said, "I had many conversations with Chris [Squire] where he said Yes' music should continue for as long as it can. It will probably be here long after we've gone." However, in an Oct 2019 interview, Wakeman argued that neither the band with Howe/White/Downes or ARW should be using the 'Yes' name, saying:
I really feel that the name should have been retired. I think it was disrespectful to Chris. There were all sorts of stories going around that “Oh, Chris wanted it to continue.” I know for a fact people that spoke to Chris and that isn’t true.In Oct 2021, Sherwood responded to someone posting a 2019 article on Facebook that referenced that quote. He wrote:
3rd person anonymous “people who talked to Chris” ???In an Aug 2014 interview, Davison said:
I can only speak to the 1st person conversations Chris and I had about YES future, which were many within the 6 weeks from him telling me he was sick to his passing. He wanted it to continue... for the fans and the music.
People can say what they like... I know first hand what Squires wishes were and to that end it’s 6 years later and we are going forward just as Chris wanted 😇
[Yes's music i]s similar to the way classical music works. Long after those marvelous composers [...] passed, and the centuries moved forward, their music lives on. It’s not so much about the personality anymore. And people have a hard time seeing that now, because obviously the members [of Yes] are still alive, apart from Peter Banks [...] But it’s so easy to associate the music with the personality, and that causes a lot of conflict among fans. But ultimately, it’s about the music, and just taking the music forward. And there will always be a Yes. And I’m a lover of Jon Anderson as much as I’m a lover of Chris Squire, but you can’t fight it. And when something has that power to it, it’s beautiful, and beauty transcends all of that personality, and it’s always gonna belong, you just can’t put a cap on it and say, “Well, the original members aren’t doing this music anymore, so it’s over.” That can never be. It just can’t be.In a Jul 2012 interview for The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Howe explains Yes's longevity by saying, "[T]hat's the answer to your question: We change[.] We're like an orchestra; an orchestra can change membership." In an interview for the Feb 2014 issue of Prog, Downes was asked how long he can see the band continuing: "As long as people want to see and hear us. [...] If we can get on a stage to play, and the fans still buy tickets, then we'll do it. [...] There's a lot more life in us." In an Aug 2015 interview, White was asked, "Chris [Squire] often joked that Yes could conceivably continue on with completely new members, that the name could just encompass the spirit and go on for new generations. Now that idea seems even more possible." He responded: "[Laughs] I never heard that one, but the music is kind of timeless, really."
Someone asked me the other day, “Do you think the band will ever get to the point where there’s no [classic] members?” And I said, perhaps, because it’s the music that makes it all worthwhile. There are a few Yes tribute bands out there, but not as many as other tribute bands because the music is quite hard to play.In a Jul 2019 interview, asked if Yes could continue on "for decades", "with younger generations", Sherwood answered, "Yeah, I do. I could see that happening. Because the music is so good…it's like classical music [...] Anything that's timeless is always going to be revisited. And while we would love all of the original members to still be alive, reality is that life goes on and we lose people as we go. But the music lives on and I think that's important and I think it will go on in the future." In an Aug 2019 interview, asked whether Yes could continue after his death, Howe said: "I'm not overly possessive in what Yes is. I know that to help Yes you've got to have good ideas so if a guitarist could replace me and add good ideas then I don't see why not." In a Jul 2020 interview, Davison was asked if Yes will continue on, replacing members; he replied: "Well, it's hard to say, it's hard to imagine, y'know, losing these key members, these classic original members. It's possible, but of course we would need their blessing. [...] I can see it happening. [...] I think both Chris Squire and Rick Wakeman in the past have said, Yes will always go on, just like as true, monumental works of music in the classical style have gone on. [...] So, in a way, they have given us the blessing to do so. So maybe Billy, Jay and myself are like Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Animated film project: Roger
Dean's "Floating Islands" film or something else
Yes had had preliminary discussions about possible film
ventures, including one being developed by Roger Dean. In an Apr 2007 interview for Mexican newspaper, Reforma,
Squire said that the band have been in contact with Universal
Pictures about making an animated movie about the band's history
from their formation to the present day, including their more
representative songs. The article makes a comparison with The
Beatles' "Yellow Submarine":
Hace poco la compañía Universal Pictures se mostró interesada en hacer una película de animación en la que se muestra un poco de nuestra trayectoria musical, desde cuando surgimos, hasta la actualidad, incluyendo obviamente, nuestras canciones más representativas. Lo estamos analizando, todavía hay algunas puntos por precisar, como la historia, de qué trataría y cómo se abordaría, cuáles etapas de la carrera se incluirían, las canciones, pero creo que es muy pronto para hablar del tema, esperemos pronto poder dar más detalles. [...]An Aug 2012 interview with the same newspaper, Reforma, raises the idea again, along side plans for a live residency by the band. The article is not specific, but Squire seems to respond that both ideas are being considered, but will not occur in 2012 or 2013. See details above.Son muchos años, muchas anécdotas que contar, creo que tendríamos que seleccionar muy bien lo que quisiéramos abordar, porque una película, comúnmente tiene una corta duración, cerca de dos horas y es muy poco para contar tanto, ya casi cumplimos cincuenta años de estar juntos.
It is unclear how Yes are or were involved with planning for
"Floating Islands". The film was expected to feature music by the
band. Asked in the Mar 2008 interview about Yes making some music
especially for the project, Dean replied: "all members of the band
have spoken enthusiastically about doing that. [...] That's
definitely what we would like." He goes on to say he would like
both existing and new songs, and discusses the options for either
existing or new recordings of old songs. He talks about both
"Awaken" and "Soon". Back in Jun 2007, Dean had said that Yes are
not currently involved with the project beyond authorising the use
of their music. A report from around 2005 had that the film was
intended to contain 8-12 classic tracks (a re-recorded "Close to
the Edge" was mentioned in one rumour) and at least 4-5 new
recordings. In Jun 2007, Dean confirmed there had previously been
discussion of Yes writing new music for the film and that the band
had been thinking of "re-recording everything" (presumably meaning
re-recording classic pieces), but that there hadn't been any
discussion of new music recently with Yes then being dormant.
Further back, there were more reports from Yes about contributing. In a Dec 2004 Delicious Agony interview, White said, "We're starting to write music for it." In his Christmas Newsletter 2004, Wakeman said: "There are certainly ideas in the offing which include [...] making a film/and/or DVD with Roger Dean involved with all of the visuals which I particularly like, but there is much to be sorted out within the band itself before any decisions". Wakeman indicated that one of their main reasons to prefer the DVD format over CDs is Internet piracy. In an Oct 2005 interview with Squire for YesFANZ, he said:
We are looking at various options from the various major companies. Universal have shown interest and we are going to be looking at trying to put together a show that maybe then after the film has been made of the same, we can then tour the world with that kind of a look and with that kind of combining the film and the touring aspect.The interviewer, Brian Draper, then raised the Dean project. Squire:
I think Roger’s floating Islands idea is a very good project. But after Lord of the Rings was made [...] with such good quality, it[']s hard to know quite whether Roger may be a bit late in thinking about that because it has been done so well with the correct amount of money [...] His idea, I fully support it but I am not quite sure where it is going to go. I had a couple of meetings with him to try and figure it out but so far nothing is happening.In a late May 2020 webcast, asked about the film, Dean said it had "never been off the agenda". He said he was working with a scriptwriter, but described them as "working on it by stealth". He also said part of the story being turned into a script was in the previous Yes tour book.[...] I think pretty much [he is looking for funding]. [...] Yes is a separate entity really from Roger [...] I have to look out for what’s best for Yes as opposed to Roger. But I think the idea of animated film for a Yes musical project is a good one but there are various options on the table that we are looking at.
Archival live releases
YES must have recorded many things beyond 1972, hopefully tapes survive and will turn up in good shape. I have mixed some of their live stuff before, but it was considered (I agreed) too poor to release, with sound issues, keyboard tunings, etc. In particular a 1976 show we found with Patrick could have been amazing (JFK Stadium in Philadelphia maybe?), but the tapes made it clear it was a very sour night.On the Cruise to the Edge in Nov 2015, when asked about further archival releases, Howe said there was plenty more in the vaults. On the 2017 Cruise, he said they were considering some sort of follow-up to Progeny, possibly covering the Union tour, where they have around 6 shows they could use.
Then came the 3CD Transmission Impossible
(Eat to the Beat, ETTB 133), originally due 14 Jan 2022, but
then delayed until 28 Jan. The first 2 discs come from
1968-70 in the UK (the 1968 sessions are Mabel Greer's Toy
Shop), mainly radio sessions, with the third disc covering
German and Belgian TV sessions from the same period. Tracks:CD1—Top Gear, BBC, 12 Jan 1969: "Something's Coming" (7:38), "Everydays 5:11), "Sweetness" (4:14), "Dear Father" (5:33), "Every Little Thing" (5:32); Symonds on Sunday, 4 Aug 1969: "Looking Around" (3:39), "Beyond & Before" (5:27); Dave Lee Travis Show, 19 Jan 1970: "Sweet Dreams" (3:25), "Then" (4:19), "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" (4:15); John Peel's Sunday Show, 17 Mar 1970: "Astral Traveller" (6:01), "Then" (5:15); Mike Harding Show, 27 Oct 1970: "America" (14:56).The Sheffield tracks on CD2 seem to be the only recordings not from a broadcast and are worse in audio quality. This is the first commercial release of Yes performing "Eleanor Rigby". There is considerable but not complete overlap between all these releases. Thus, for example, In the Beginning Volume 2 contains a subset of Transmission Impossible's CD 3. Transmission Impossible CDs 1 and 2 cover most of In the Beginning and Beyond and Before (1968-1970), but the latter both include four Swiss TV tracks not on Transmission Impossible. There are further unique tracks on Beyond and Before (1968-1970). |
Broadcasts
1969, out 2 Dec 2022, is a limited edition vinyl
release of recordings in 1969; presumably this is the same
material as above. Tracks:
Live... USA '71 (London Calling) is a 4-track CD of Yes's 24 Jul 1971 show at the Yale Bowl.Side A:
1. Every Little Thing
2. Something's Coming
3. Looking Around
4. Everydays
5. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed.
Side B:
1. Something's Coming
2. Every Little Thing
3. Looking Around
4. Survival
| Other
re-releases &c. Sony Music Japan are re-releasing ABWH and Union as 2LP limited editions on 4 Sep 2024. ABWH will be on red vinyl with three bonus tracks ("Birthright (live version)", "Vultures in the City", "I'm Alive (remix single version)"), while Union will be on blue vinyl with two bonus tracks ("Give & Take", "Lift Me Up (Radio Edit, Acapella Opening)"). Esoteric were re-releasing An Evening of Yes Music Plus (FRCD402) as a 2CD/2DVD boxset on 25 Jan 2025. Rhino have re-released Relayer on 180g vinyl in their High Fidelity series. This is a limited edition (5000 copies) series to celebrate the album's 50th anniversary, cut from the original stereo master tapes by Kevin Gray, with new liner notes by Syd Schwartz. Yessingles (Rhino) was a 2023 compilation of some of Yes's singles, on vinyl (140g black or limited release splatter) and digitally. It was mastered and cut by Jeff Powell. An advance digital single for the collection, "And You and I (Part I) [Promo Edit]" (3:25), was released to streaming channels in Aug 2023. Tracks:
I A&R and oversee the Yes catalog for Rhino. The Yessingles compilation is not intended to be complete.He later added, "the development and research for Yessingles was rooted in research, streaming data and retail requests." |
|
Media, books, fandom etc. Yes have also released the limited edition "Relayer:
A Celebration" book. The book, by the Gottlieb
Brothers, began as a tour programme for the cancelled Relayer
tour, but has been developed into a 94-page, 12"×12" book.
It includes interviews with Howe, White, Downes, Sherwood
and Davison. Yes Music Podcast's Kevin Mulryne published "Yes - The Tormato Story",
a book on the making of Tormato, in 2023. It is available
through Burning Shed. The foreword is by Oliver
Wakeman (as it's his favourite Yes album). Mulryne
has next published the first in a series of Yes album
listening guides, with "Tales from Topographic Oceans
Listening Guide" (paperback, 200+ pages), now out. Also
available separately is a 40-page, A5, magazine-style
colour supplement. You can
buy copies through Burning Shed. Mulryne has now
collaborated with photographer Barry Plummer on a limited
edition calendar
for 2026 of Plummer's photographs of the band. A
book will follow in 2026, "Master
of Images: Barry Plummer's Yes Legacy" by Mulryne. Aymeric Leroy
published an updated version of his French-language book
"Yes" in Aug 2025, and likewise of his French-language
book "King Crimson" in Nov 2025. His English-language
"Legends in Their Own Lunchtime - An Exploration of the
Canterbury Scene" (translated from the French original)
follows in 2026. "Songs, Albums & Quotes of Yes: A Pamphlet for
Generation Z Yes Newcomers" (30 pages) by James Curtis
Geist was published in paperback on 21 Jan 2025. "Yes Indeed: Tales of Yes Without Jon Anderson" (ISBN
1968404961) is a new book by Preston M Frazier about, as
per the title, Yes during periods without Anderson.
Released 26 Aug 2025, the book is 77 pages long. Simon Barrow
will be publishing a new and expanded edition of his book
"Solid Mental Grace" with five new chapters, including
covering The Quest and Mirror to the Sky. "Yes
in the 1980s" (Sonicbond Publishing) is a book
covering Yes in the 1980s, but also ABWH and associated
projects, including Asia, XYZ, The Buggles, Jon and
Vangelis and GTR. The book is by Stephen Lambe (author of "Yes: Every Album, Every Song")
with David Watkinson (author of
"Yes—Perpetual Change"), released 2021. Sonicbond
are next doing "Yes
in the 1990s" by Simon Barrow, which was due 26 Sep
2025, but was delayed to 19 Dec and
then to 30 Apr 2026. Lambe also has a book
entitled "90125",
about the album, released 2024. Sid Smith is
working on a book compiling many of the liner notes he has
written over the years, corrected and expanded. The book
will largely cover music of the 1970s and will probably
include his notes for the Panegyric Yes re-releases. Garry Freeman (author of "The Bootleg Guide" and the forthcoming "Emerson, Lake and Palmer—A Live Guide 1970-1978") has been working on "Yes—A Live Guide 1968-1979" (Helter Skelter Publishing). The book aims to review as many shows as possible from this period, including details on equipment specifications and so on. The Gottlieb brothers are working on a book on Yes collectibles and Bill Martin (author of "Music of Yes—Structure and Vision in Progressive Rock") has been rumoured to be working on a new Yes book. |
Billboard estimates that the Yes catalog generated about $3.2 million in annual revenue over the last three years — from 2020 through 2022 — and further estimates Yes’ royalties at almost $1 million. The band also appears to own master recordings beginning in 1991, but those albums had meager consumption units last year [2022], collectively accumulating less than 2,000 units in the U.S. Consequently, Billboard estimates WMG’s acquisition of Yes master rights and royalty income streams at about $20 million to $25 million.In an Oct 2023 interview, Rabin was asked about the possibility of a surround or Atmos mix of 90125. He replied: "I'd love to do that [...] sometimes the artist just gets bypassed when those things come up when catalog deals are made. There was a recent deal I went along with where I said, "Yes, I'll go along with this whole thing once you've worked everything out, but on one condition—you get me the masters so that I can bake them, and transfer them." And I'm still waiting. I'm still waiting."
And people ask me, “What do you think of Yes [today]?” I, honestly, never left Yes. Because Yes has been my life. The band itself are doing what they want to do. I can’t tell them what to do, because it’s not my band. They’ve got the name, but I’ve got the state of mind about what true “Yes music” should sound likeIn late Jan 2017, ARW started using the 'Yes' name in promotion, billing themselves as "Yes, with Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman (ARW)". They did so against the wishes of the current Yes band. See more under ARW. When ARW then made a press announcement switching to that name on 10 Apr, Yes announced:
While Jon Anderson has rights to use the name as one of the co-owners of the trademark, Yes' position is that every effort should be made by promoters, ticket agencies and all involved to respect Yes' magnificant and loyal fanbase and minimize confusion regarding the use of Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman.An Apr 2017 UltimateClassicRock article reports that, at the time of Squire's death, ownership of the Yes brand (whatever precisely that means) was jointly held by Squire/Anderson/Howe/White. The article talks of a gentleman's agreement to that point between Anderson and Squire over use of the name, although it is unclear whether this is their theory or was confirmed by sources. They quote management for the continuity Yes as saying that while Anderson "has a co-ownership right to use the name", he also "presumably" has "a duty to ensure that the use does not cause unnecessary confusion for fans." Yes management also said they had been given exclusive use of the classic Dean logo. The article quotes Anderson's management too: "Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman have as much right – if not more so – to call themselves Yes, since Jon Anderson, the co-founder of the group, has always had the rights to use the name and the trademark". In a May 2018 article, Howe said, "It's complicated. Instead of going to court for five years and wasting £2m, we basically are just kind of enjoying the fact that we're Yes and they're Yes as well sometimes. Hey, you know, it's a bit like accepting that Cornish pasties aren't simply made in Cornwall." In a Jun 2018 article, asked about the other band, he said, "I've got nothing to say really[.] Our position is non-aggression ... but it's not a perfect scenario."
They`ve been really cool about it. It`s never been a problem. I had a conversation with the other guys and just said to them to let people know who`s in the band as I keep getting phone calls about me playing somewhere but I`m not in your band, so please tell people who`s in the band so they don`t expect to see me.A Jun 2018 article in The San Diego Union-Tribune stated that, "A longstanding agreement stipulated that the only band that could be billed as Yes was the one that included Squire. After his death, Squire's widow told Anderson she saw no reason he, Wakeman and Rabin could not also assume the Yes name. So they did." A Jul 2021 rumour on Facebook had that the Yes trademark had been owned by Howe, White, Squire and Anderson, but that Squire's widow passed his share to Anderson, leaving Howe/White and Anderson with equal shares, leading to an agreement over how to use the name.
Well, I don’t know. I don’t really think about it much, to tell you the truth. It’s their thing; their version of Yes. We do our version, but really this band is still Yes. There are comments that come from the other camp, but I wouldn’t reply to the comments because I don’t need to.Rumour suggests there have actually been ongoing arguments over the use of the Dean logo, with ARW periodically using it and then stopping using it. In a Jun 2018 interview, commenting on the two bands situation, White said:
It’s a lot of business stuff. We own the name. They own the name. Jon Anderson and I own it, but the logo we own, because Steve Howe owns most of the logo.A Mar 2019 interview with White had this exchange:
Interviewer: Who owns the name “Yes” since there are two of them now?
White: Well, there’s not really two of them. This Yes I’m in is the guys with the Yes name and always had it. And so legally, we are still Yes. Even though the other guys were in it for long periods of time at different times, they’ve all done other things. Chris and myself had never done anything else. We just carried on.
Interviewer: But they call themselves “Yes featuring ARW.” How is that legal if you guys own the name?
White: They can legally do that because Jon still has some of the copyright. It’s kind of a legal thing. They [...] can say “Yes Featuring ARW,” but they can’t call themselves “Yes.” We own the logo.
Kerzner was in Arc of Life
(see above)
with Sherwood, Davison, Jay
Schellen and Jimmy Haun.
Kerzner and Sherwood have a forthcoming project with Fernando
Perdomo, which also incorporates material originally planned for a
separate aborted band project with Kerzner, Perdomo and Davison.
In an 18 May 2024 Facebook comment, Kerzner said, "3/5 of the band
[Arc of Life] is in YES and they're kept pretty busy. But, I will
be doing more things with Billy both live and in the studio (when
he's not busy with Yes!)." He continued, "As for studio stuff, I'm
working on [...] a Yesish offshoot thing (not Arc)". He had
previously referred to a mystery non-Arc project with Jon Davison,
which we now know was the aborted band with Perdomo. As well as In
Continuum and the Yes tribute album (Yesterday
and Today: A 50th Anniversary Tribute to Yes), Kerzner
had written in Sep 2018 on
ProgressiveEars.com that, "I may do some more stuff with
both Jon, Billy and Geoff [Downes] (either separately or in
combination with each other)." In Aug 2020 on
ProgressiveEars.com, he said he had "more than one side
project with various musicians from Yes [...] in one band/project
the music is co-written by me and in the other it isn't so..." The
latter was Arc of Life. Soon after on Facebook he said, "I have
yet another original music project that's Yes-related but it's
almost completely unannounced apart from me hinting about it.
There is a band name and no one but the people involved know what
it is. It also involves someone from King Crimson but that's all I
can say about that! Haha." Likewise, in Sep 2020 on
ProgressiveEars.com, Kerzner posted, "Got a few in the works
involving some of the guys mentioned in this thread [about Yes].
One project that I'm co-leader/co-singer of and another where I'm
just the keyboard player for a change." (The latter being Arc of
Life. The former being one of the bands with Perdomo and Sherwood
or Davison presumably.) In a late Dec 2020 Facebook post, after
mentioning Arc of Life, Kerzner said, "I'm also working on a new
album featuring Jon Davison and other musicians you know for
another 2021 album release!" (He confirmed this was separate to In Continuum.
It didn't appear in 2021.) He continued, "This other album I
mentioned is very Proggy and a bit retro as well." In a Feb
2021 post to ProgressiveEars.com, he said, "I am already
co-writing new music with Jon D for another project". In the Feb 2021 Arc
of Life interview with SOAL Night Live, after talking about
In Continuum, Kerzner said, "I am writing with Jon [Davison] for
some other things". In a May
2021 appearance on the Yes Music Podcast, Kerzner said he
and Perdomo have some "Yes-ish" track ideas, and they might get
Davison or Robin Schell to do vocals, or he could offer them to
Arc of Life. In a Nov
2022 post to ProgressiveEars.com, he said, "guitarist
Fernando Perdomo and I have been working on a separate Yes-like
project that really blends an early 70's Yes influence with King
Crimson and Pink Floyd especially in this one particular track. I
might ask Billy and Jon to play and sing on it. It's a whole batch
of different sounding material that needs a home so we'll probably
build a project around it or release under our project called
"Squids Out To Sea"." A Nov
2024 interview with YesShift explained most of these
references: Kerzner said, "This hasn't really been announced, but
I have a kind of different sort of Yes offshoot band of original
music. [...] with me singing [...] It's me, Billy [Sherwood] and
Fernando. [...] It sounds probably less like Yes than Arc of Life
[...] it's more retro than Arc of Life, like more seventies-ish.
[...] It's like Yes meets Steely Dan or something. [...] It is
prog. It's proggier than Arc of Life actually. And maybe a bit of
King Crimson. [...] less commercial, a little more edgy. [...]
It's just these songs that we put together. It's a side-project
[...] We're not going to tour". He described how he is
"ringleading" this band, as compared to Arc of Life that Sherwood
led. He continued, "I did these songs that were sort of with
Billy. I did these songs with Fernando that were kinda Yes-ish,
because we were going to do a band with Jon Davison at one point.
And I think he co-wrote one of the songs. So I got this material.
What if, guys, we just put them together, like Union!
[...] But it's not a hodgepodge [...] It is by nature a little bit
of a hodgepodge, but the way those two guys tend to work, where
they can play every instrument, it sort of has its own consistency
[...] It sounds like a blend of Billy Sherwood and Fernando, with
me sprinkling pretty keyboards and glueing it together." He
indicated they might have the album out by Apr 2025, although that
was not to be. In a May
2025 interview, Kerzner said, "I have another project that's
with Billy, Fernando Perdomo and some other people. It's similar
to Arc of Life, a bit more retro. Bit more seventies influenced by
Prog, Yes and King Crimson, and other influences, maybe a little
bit of Genesis. It's a bit more, I wanna say it's a bit more
proggy or it's a bit more seventies prog than the eighties that I
normally do [...] it's a little more indulgence in the vintage
instruments and stuff on my part. I'm producing it." In a Jun
2025 interview, Kerzner said:
I also have a secret project with Fernando Perdomo and Billy Sherwood, with possibly a famous drummer or two. That’s a side project for all of us—just a fun, prog-influenced album with some Yes involvement. Jon Davison co-wrote one of the songs with Fernando. It’s an offshoot like the band Arc of Life, which is a band I’m in with Billy, Jon, and Jay Schellen from Yes. This is something else—it’s more a mix of our writing, especially between Fernando and Billy.
|
Dave Kerzner has worked on several
tribute albums to classic prog bands under the Sonic Elements (Facebook; SoundCloud)
name, connected to his music software development company
Sonic Reality.
Out early 2025 was a tribute to Genesis's The Lamb
Lies Down on Broadway. IT - A Celebration of The
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway came on Bandcamp in
various formats. It was initially due 22 Nov 2024 and then
12 Dec, but was further delayed to early 2025. Digital
release of the main album came around late Jan 2025, with
digital release of the bonus disc (see below) out early
Feb. A physical release came in Mar or Apr. A first
single of "In the Cage" came digitally on 27 Dec
2024, performed by Francis
Dunnery (ex-It Bites, worked with ABWH; vocals),
Kerzner (keys), Nick D'Virgilio (Big Big
Train, ex-Spock's Beard, ex-Genesis; drums,
percussion), Fernando
Perdomo (Fusion Syndicate, In
Continuum; guitar) and Billy Sherwood
(bass), with orchestral arrangements by John Hinchey
(additional orchestration by Kerzner). The orchestra was
the London Philharmonic; drums and orchestra were recorded
by Mark Hornsby and D'Virgilio. The album comes as a 3CD
deluxe edition, a standard 2CD version, standard digital
version, and a Hi Res 24 bit 96k digital version of
the deluxe edition (possibly with extra tracks). CDs 1
& 2 cover the original album "reimagined as if it was
a symphonic film soundtrack combined with authentic 70's
vintage rock instruments (including many of Tony Banks'
actual keyboards now owned by Kerzner)", while CD3
contains "instrumental mixes, film score-style ambient
tracks, original music inspired by Genesis and alternate
versions of songs from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadware".
CDs 1 & 2 are performed by Kerzner (keys), Dunnery
(lead vocals, guitar), D'Virgilio (drums) and Martin Levac (ex-The Musical Box), with various
guests, and the symphony orchestra recorded by Hornsby and
arranged by Hinchey. The top-billed guests are Perdomo and
Sherwood, while further guests include Lee
Pomeroy, Steve Rothery (Marillion)
and Dan
Hancock (ex-Giraffe).
Additional guests on CD3 include Nad Sylvan
(Steve Hackett) and Randy McStine
(Steven
Wilson). The album was mixed, mastered and
produced by Kerzner. D'Virgilio and Hornsby had previously
done an orchestral version, which Kerzner licensed to
build on his version. Tracks for the longest version of
the album:
Kerzner began working on the project in 2011. In Mar
2024, Kerzner said on
Facebook, "I'm working on The Lamb Lies Down On
Broadway! Laying in the final Arp parts this week dueling
with various orchestral instruments! Francis Dunnery has
finished all the vocals. Fernando Perdomo is wrapping up
some bass and guitar. I'll add some of Tony Banks'
original Mellotron and RMI to it and I think we'll be
pretty darn close to the finish line soon!" In the Nov
2024 interview with YesShift, Kerzner said he was
"also working on a more expanded tribute that covers other
[Genesis] albums. I'm doing that one with Fernando
Perdomo." In an interview with the NewEARS Prog show (Dec
2022), Kerzner said, "I'm releasing, in 2023, a multi-disc
Genesis tribute album. [...] One of them is a
retrospective of a few songs from each of the albums,
going back to the very first one, up to I think Genesis, Genesis.
And I'm doing that with Fernando Perdomo, like the same
way we did [...] Yesterday and Today [...] where
we split up the tasks and, y'know, I handled a certain era
and he handled another [...] like the first Yes album, he
did. [...] He did do the same thing on From Genesis to
Revelation. [...] then, of course, there's [...] the
entire Lamb Lies Down on Broadway [...] then a
surprise additional thing I did with Martin Levac, Matt
Dorsey. [...] I can't say what it is yet. It's sort of
like a lost Genesis album, let's just say." He also
mentioned John Mitchell, Nad Sylvan and Alex "Yatte" Chod
as vocalists on the first of these. In the Feb 2023
interview, Kerzner described how the Lamb tribute,
which he has produced, was originally going to have
different vocalists, until Dunnery persuaded him to just
have one singer throughout. He implied that some of the
earlier versions of Lamb tracks with different
vocalists will be included on the broader Genesis tribute,
including Sherwood singing "The Lamb Lies Down on
Broadway" and Nad Sylvan on "The Chamber of 32 Doors",
both of which then appeared as bonus tracks on the Lamb
tribute. Also expected on the broader Genesis tribute is
John Mitchell (Asia,
It Bites, Frost*) singing "I Know What I Like". In the Jun
2025 interview, he said, "I think Francis and some
other people will be on that—Nad Sylvan, John Mitchell,
and a bunch of other people." Kerzner explained on Facebook in Sep 2021 about the two Genesis tribute albums: "A general one with a variety of songs from the first album up to at least the Mama album and then there's another one that's the full Lamb album." A Peter Gabriel cover, "Rhythm of the Night", with Dunnery (vocals), using Sonic Reality's Jerry Marotta drum library was also mooted. In Jul 2020, Perdomo mentioned on Facebook Tony Levin recording bass tracks for "the Genesis Tribute Album Dave Kerzner and I are producing". In Sep 2022, Kerzner referred on ProgressiveEars.com to "Fernando [Perdomo] and I are also doing [...] a separate thing - a deluxe tribute album to Genesis with covers of their songs like we did for Yes's 50th Anniversary". In another post that month, he said, "[Chod and I] were working on a Genesis tribute album (multi-disc big thing actually) he was nailing some stuff from DUKE [...] I've asked people like Alex and also Martin Levac to contribute to either or both the Genesis tribute album and [Kerzner's solo album, The Traveler]". Back in Sep 2015 on ProgressiveEars.com, Kerzner said: "The Lamb [Lies Down on Broadway tribute] as well as the Rush tribute and the Floyd tribute are all about 80% done and I'm looking forward to final tracking with Francis [Dunnery] and others then mixing them and releasing them!"
Released 2018 was Yesterday and Today: A 50th
Anniversary Tribute to Yes by Sonic Elements and
Kerzner said he was open to the possibility of a volume 2. The original idea for Sonic Elements was to do tribute
albums using drum tracks available through Sonic Reality
by various famous drummers: a Rush tribute using Peart's
drum tracks, a Pink Floyd tribute using Mason's, etc.,
thus mixing elements like the original recordings (parts
recorded by the original drummer) with new elements,
although the Yes tribute didn't take this approach. Then,
as Kerzner explained to
ProgressiveEars.com (Nov 2018):
Thus "Trifecta" and "Times Gone", which were released on 2012's XYZ—A Tribute to Rush, featured newly composed material performed by Sherwood and Kerzner to an existing drum track for Rush's "YYZ" and "Tom Sawyer" respectively that was recorded by Neil Peart for a sample library at Sonic Reality with producer Nick Raskulinecz (worked with Rush). In the Feb 2021 ProgressiveEars.com post, Kerzner said, "I have many unreleased tracks with Billy that will be finished and put out this year [2021]." However, these have yet to appear. Seemingly referring or related to the Trifecta album project, in Jan 2012, Kerzner said on Facebook: "Among the various music releases you can expect [...] are some original tunes, many of which have been done with ex-Yes-man Billy Sherwood along with SR sampled grooves of great drummers such as Rod Morgenstein of the Dixie Dregs." There was an accompanying clip to a piece entitled "Razors Edge" with Sherwood and samples from Morgenstein. Then there's "Racing Through Time" (sample), another original piece by Sherwood, this time using a sample library from Alan Parsons. On Facebook in Aug 2020, Kerzner referred to: "possibly an album of all original music released this year [2020] as well with Billy singing most of it and playing bass and some of the guitar. Me on keys and second vocals, acoustic guitar and producing it." |
Sonic Elements Fantasy Interactive
Dark Side of the Moon w/ Alan Parsons
Sonic Elements XYZ Fantasy Band Tribute to Rush featuring Neil
Peart Drums
Sonic Elements Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Fantasy Soundtrack
Tribute to Genesis
Sonic Elements Trifecta (original music with Billy Sherwood and
drums from Terry Bozzio, Rod Morgenstein, Neil Peart...)
Sonic Elements TBA fantasy progressive rock project featuring...
... all involving Sherwood in some capacity. In Apr 2012, Kerzner
said that there:
will at least be another EP of
different [Rush] material (the "keyboard era" stuff) and then
eventually a full album and that will have different versions of
some of these songs on it as well.
Plus there's going to interactive versions of the songs similar
to Jammit except they can work inside products like AmpliTube
where you can play guitar through modeled amps and pedals or
inside Garageband and play anything you want. That's coming
along with Neil Peart's isolated drum tracks. But these
interactive versions are more for musicians to interact with.
Dunnery also sang on some of the Rush songs.
The Pink Floyd/Dark Side of the Moon project involves
recordings with Nick Mason (ex-Pink Floyd), and
then Davis, Dorie Jackson (works with Dunnery, ex-The Syn;
vocals), Guy Pratt (worked with Pink Floyd, Michael
Jackson; bass), Colin Edwin (ex-Porcupine Tree;
bass), Natalie Azerad (vocals), Durga
& Lorelei McBroom (vocals).
The Sonic Elements Facebook page in Jan 2013 said: "I've assembled
a Sonic Elements band in LA this week to work with the McBroom
sisters [...] Billy Sherwood, Randy McStine, Fernando Perdomo and
myself (with Pink Floyd's rhythm section already
recorded/sampled)". An update in Jan 2014 announced The Dark
Side of Sonic Elements album for 2014 with Sherwood,
Dunnery, McStine, the McBrooms and "utilizing the brand new Sonic
Reality 2014 sample library releases from Nick Mason, Guy Pratt,
Alan Parsons, the McBroom Sisters and more." This has yet to
appear. Various further progressive rock covers have been
described. Kerzner's also described doing 3 tracks for an Alan
Parsons project with Sherwood. An ELP cover with Keith Emerson (ex-ELP;
keys) and Payne (vocals) was planned.
I was just talking with Francis Dunnery about finishing up The Lamb tracks next month [Apr 2018]. The Rush tribute is the closest to finish and I was just holding out to do a track with David Longdon of Big Big Train [...] but it would have to be built from scratch since I don't have the drum track from Neil Peart for that song... and I was going to play it from the keyboard using Neil's drum samples but it's in 5/8 and a little tricky. A fun challenge but I need a bit of time to do it right. Arrrggghhh. Maybe I'll still do it. There's also an original music side to the project too and I have material from Glass Hammer, Billy Sherwood and others for that as well. The Floyd tribute split into two projects, one I did with Alan Parsons participating and the other that's become a female led Floyd tribute sung by the McBroom Sisters and it'll be their album that I'm co-producing which will also have original songs written with various people who played with Floyd like Guy Pratt, Jon Carin and others. Even a tune they wrote with Lemmy from Motorhead will be on that one. Some of the guys from Australian Pink Floyd are helping finish that album because I've gotten a bit too overloaded to do ALL of them at the same time. There is also another Genesis-related Sonic Elements thing that may come out as well but it hasn't been announced publicly so that's probably the lowest priority. Then there's the Yes stuff which I don't know if I have enough to do a full album of Yes music. Might put those on an SE compilation album or something just to get everything I've worked on a home and unless we do any others (might) that will wrap up the tributes. Obviously if they do really well for my distributors there could be more. [...] I'm imposing my own deadline of releasing them all before the end of the year [2018]. Probably around Summer time or at least by the end of the year [2018]
exo-X-xeno
exo-X-xeno (Facebook, Bandcamp)
release their debut album, Luminous
Voyage, on 19 Jun 2025, in two versions that feature
alternate cover art (Flight and Infinity). The project is the
brainchild of Craig Maher (worked with Allan
Holdsworth; guitars, lead vocals). He contacted Billy Sherwood
(bass, backing vocals), who then brought in Patrick
Moraz (keys) and Jay
Schellen (drums). Maher wrote all the material and did the
artwork. Tracks:
In a mid-Oct 2024 update, the band had said on
Facebook that the album "is almost ready to set sail, but
there's been a slight delay due to the mastering to vinyl process
which we want to get right. [...] we will be releasing it as
digital downloads and vinyl for the short term". A CD release will
follow later.
They previously released a single, "Onward, Love" (YouTube)
on 15 Jan 2021. A second song, "Reaching for Beyond" (YouTube),
followed 5 Jul 2021. Both songs were mastered by Maor Appelbaum (worked with Yes, Arc
of Life).
Maher has said the band is working towards a second album.
Leon Alvarado
Leon Alvarado (worked with Rick
Wakeman, Billy Sherwood, Trey Gunn, John Goodsall)
releases The Wicked Forest (Melodic Revolution Records) on
27 Feb 2026, with Billy
Sherwood, Jon
Davison and the late Johnny Bruhns (ex-CIRCA:, ex-Yoso),
who died in 2025. Tracks:
"Lost in the Forest" b/w "The Concrete
Jungle" are also being released as a CD single.
Alvarado performs keys and drums
throughout, plus backing vocals on "Man in a White Car".
Sherwood plays bass on the whole album, except "Chase in Three",
and is also on guitars for "Urban Disturbance", "Lost in the
Forest" and "The Wicked Forest". Davison sings lead vocals on
"Beyond", "Urban Disturbance", "Man in a White Car" and "Lost in
the Forest". Bruhns is on guitar and sitar on "Beyond", and on
guitar on "The Big Bang" and "Man in a White Car". The line-up
is completed by James Griggers on additional guitars for "Urban
Disturbance". Apart from the Yes cover, the album was written by
Alvarado, except for lyrics to "Beyond" and "Urban Disturbance"
by Linda Alvarado. Leon Alvarado also produced the album, which
was mastered by Maor Appelbaum (worked with Yes,
Arc of Life).
I’ve been holding off on sharing updates about new projects for a while—mostly because the one I’m currently working on actually began a few years ago, but was pushed back to make room for other releases. Now, I’m finally feeling confident enough to talk a bit about it, as I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This album has been recorded between the US and the UK and features Billy Sherwood and Jon Davison of Yes, as well as my dear friend Johnny Bruhns—who sadly passed away recently. [...]
I’ve been working closely with Jon and Billy, though coordinating schedules has been a challenge at times—especially with their commitments to Yes. Sometimes recording had to pause for touring, and at other times, we were creating music simultaneously as they worked on new Yes material. Projects like this require patience and flexibility, which helps explain why it’s taken a bit longer to bring everything together.
Alongside the music, I’ve also been creating the album’s artwork and illustrations for the booklet [...]
It’s heartbreaking that Johnny won’t be here to see the finished album, but I’m grateful I was able to share some of the artwork and completed pieces with him toward the end. I truly admired his dedication—he was still finishing guitar parts just six weeks before losing his battle with cancer. Needless to say, this album will be dedicated to him.
Several years back, Alvarado had described a forthcoming project
called White Car with Sherwood, Davison and Bruhns, which appears
to have been the genesis of The Wicked Forest. Alvarado had begun with working on a longer
version of "White Car". He had Sherwood involved, who suggested
bringing in Davison to sing. He said on 20 Mar 2020 on
Facebook, "This is coming down the pipe but because of the
Covid-19 situation we aren't sure as to when it will be
completed." In May 2021, Alvarado posted an update
to Facebook, saying:
Edison's LabUpdate on new music. It has been a long time since I have put out any music at all. My circumstances went through a lot of changes with being put out for two years as we fixed our house from massive flood damaged and rebuilt the studio. Finalizing things just to get under the pandemic which delayed things even more. However, during that period I did managed to make some music from time to time but not all of it goes well with each other. I just started to work on unfinished projects and even though there's enough material to fill up a regular album, it is very different sound-wise between one another so they will have to be subdivided into different releases. Some of the work was done with Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison and Johnny Bruhns. Billy and Johnny played on my last record release and this was the first time I worked with Jon but he's such a professional. In the middle of that project I got distracted by another project I was working on prior to that one. [...] To put it into perspective, the work I am doing with the Yes chaps sounds a lot like Yes and so I'll keep it that way. The work I am doing with these other musicians sounds very different from that
Any news, additions or corrections, please e-mail Henry Potts. Thanks.