Yes - Fly From Here

"Fly From Here" is the first Yes album released since Alan Benoit replaced vocalist Jon Anderson and in that context, it's a decent album. Benoit's vocals are clearly very different than Anderson's at points but he is able to provide the same effect and evoke the same feelings. No one can truly replace Anderson but it's good that Yes hasn't used that as an excuse to retire before they're ready.

Howe's guitar playing and the band's harmony is still largely intact and the writing is above average even sans Wakeman and Anderson. The arrangements still have a very Wakeman feel to them at times. It's amazing to consider Howe, White, and Squire's ages and realize the stamina it takes to play these songs live OR in the studio. Yes is still touring more heavily than any band I can think of, to boot.

The gems on this record are all movements of "Fly from Here" and "Into the storm".

Grade: C+

Rick Wakeman's: Journey to the Center of the Earth

I stumbled across a really excellent record a month ago from Rick Wakeman, legendary keyboard player from the excellent, British, progressive rock band; Yes. It's called Journey to the Center of the Earth and the theme of the album is based on the sci-fi book of the same name. The album blends elements of funk, 70's prog rock, magnificent orchestral arrangements, and brief spoken-word sections of text from the actual book.

The songs are rather long, with only two on each side, but the long tracks never turn into anything that could be called rambling. The record is divided into four major tracks with side one containing "the journey" and "the recollection" while the songs on side two are "the battle" and "the forest". Wakeman's keyboard playing acts as the strongest common thread that holds each one of these songs (or movements I guess you could call them) together. Sometimes Wakeman's keys are funky, other times they're neoclassical, sometimes they're a fusion of those two. No matter what style he adopts on each track, his virtuosity shows through. You can pick this album up for under ten bucks. Get on it!

An evening with Yes at the Houston House of Blues

I've wanted to see Yes in concert for such a long time. I had tickets to see them in the summer of 07 but Jon Anderson, the lead vocalist, got some sort of weird respiratory infection and had to cancel the gig and rest his voice.

I saw Yes two weeks ago and the band was touring, once again, without Anderson but the person standing in for him was a skilled Canadian vocalist named Benoit David who emulated Anderson's voice to a T. With the exception of Rick Wakeman's son Oliver, who has replaced his father in the band, the rest of the members were all original with Steve Howe on guitar, Alan White on drums and Chris Squire on Bass.

I can't say enough how amazed I was at how well David sang. It was like listening to Anderson at the peak of his abilities in the 70s.

Jon Anderson's voice is high, dramatic, and angelic and is so different than anyone I've ever heard live or recorded. Here's a song for those of you unfamiliar with Yes to get an idea of how hard it would be to mimic Anderson's unique singing:

The band opened up with Siberian Khatru and the crowd erupted. It's the only song that the band allowed us to film which was ok with me since it would cut down on the number of non-concert going dorks who would try to film the whole show. They played songs from almost every album except for "Relayer" and "Tales of Topographic Oceans", both of which I really enjoy but were not well-received. I kind of wish they'd have played something from Relayer but the best song is over twenty minutes long so I can understand why they wouldn't perform it. My favorite two songs were probably Siberian Khatru and Heart of the Sunrise but the entire set was phenomenal. Even though the original members did look very old, they moved, played, sang, and acted like they were in their thirties again. It was one of the best shows I've ever been to, hands down. They played all the standard numbers along with a few rarities which made for a well selected set list.

Here's part of their opening song, Siberian Khatru, off of the album "Close to the Edge":

Concerts in Houston!

In the past two months, saying I've dropped a dime on concert tickets is an understatement. I continue to hear news that more and more bands/artists I like are coming to Houston and I can't help but buy the tickets! Anyone reading the blog from Houston or in the Southwest US should take note because these bands are on tour and maybe they're coming to your city!

Dick Dale: King of the surf guitar and a childhood hero of mine, this guy pioneered the genre of surf-rock and introduced new playing styles to American rock music. He practices martial arts, he's never drank or done drugs, and recently recovered from cancer and still puts on enthusiastic performances at 72. I asked this guy via email about some guitar tabs not expecting much since he's a pretty big name but he replied back to me with a personal email! Incredibly nice guy who I've always wanted to see and now I'll finally get a chance. He's playing at the Houston House of Blues on Sunday the 14th of March. Oh yeah, and he wrote that song "Miserlou" for the begininning of Pulp Fiction which is sadly, the only reason knows 90% of my generation knows about him. Great song but there is so much more to his music:

Yes: Everyone knows about this prog rock band so I won't go too much into them but I'm excited since their lineup is original with the exception of keyboard player Rick Wakeman (who's being replaced by his son, Oliver Wakeman) and lead vocalist who's unfortunately taking some down time because of some respiratory issues. It'll be a great show. I love everything they've done.

Jeff Beck: An incredibly influential lead guitarist who hasn't achieved enough commercical success, in my opinion, after playing with the Yard Birds with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton. He occupies the number 14 spot on Rolling Stone's list of top 100 guitarists of all time (the only list of theirs I actually trust or respect). Blues and Jazz are his main areas of expertise and he'll be playing the 27th of April at the Verizon Arena.

The Dead Weather: Side project of Jack White and members from the Greenhorns, the Kills, and Queens of the Stone Age. Excellent band. They've only got a single album out at the moment but it's a very strong start. Make sure to listen to their cover of Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army's "Are Friends Electric?" it was where I first heard them. The cover was on an EP released before their debut album, "Horehound" and can be purchased on iTunes.

Dark Star Orchestra: DSO has been around since 1997 and have won accolades as being basically the best Grateful Dead Cover band ever. I've listened to them a lot and totally agree. The guitar playing and vocals are just like Jerry's and even people who've attended real Dead concerts back in the day agree with me. They'll be playing March 4th at the House of Blues.

Rogue Wave: Are an indie rock band from Oakland California who I've been listening to for a long time. Their playing styles vary a lot by song but I've noticed a nice demonstration of post-punk play between quiet and loud in most of their songs, especially in songs like "Harmonium".