Beyond & Before: BBC Recordings 1969-1970

Performer: Yes
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Yes: Jon Anderson (vocals); Peter Banks (guitar); Tony Kaye (organ); Chris Squire (bass); Bill Bruford (drums). Recorded live at the BBC, England in 1969 & 1970. Includes liner notes by Peter Banks. Digitally remastered by Colin James & Peter Banks. Yes' early years, up until The Yes Album, are usually perceived as a formative period, primarily of interest to hardcore fans. This double-CD set of live BBC and other radio-related tracks from 1969-70, however, forces the listener to take this era of the group's history on its own terms. The performances and repertory all date from the tail end of the psychedelic era, and a time when the Nice were the only fully functioning progressive rock unit in England -- one can hear the early incarnation of Yes catching up fast with Keith Emerson and company, throwing in progressive influences of their own and generally playing like there was no tomorrow. The fact that the BBC sessions never permitted retakes, and were never intended for commercial release, gave them a raw, spontaneous quality that was missing from the studio equivalents. The drawback is that the singing is sometimes a lot rougher than the group would have preferred -- so "Dear Father," for example, is vibrant but a little raw; on the other hand, "Every Little Thing" is practically worth the price of the disc by itself, as the most exciting track here. Disc two features more live performances of the era off of radio, including a completely different but equally impressive version of "Every Little Thing" and more amazing work by Bill Bruford. Overall, it's the perfect early Yes companion to Yessongs, with notes by Peter Banks, the band's co-founder and lead guitarist during this era, that reveal a lot about what the band was like during this era and some of the rivalries and alleged unfairness in the divvying up of credits and revenues. ~ Bruce Eder This two-disc set consists of BBC sessions from 1969 and 1970, when Yes was still in its creative infancy. That's not to say the band's sound was undeveloped or unfocused, just that they had yet to metamorphose into the prog giants they were destined to be. With original guitarist Peter Banks plying a somewhat more traditional rock sound, and keyboardist Tony Kaye eschewing the carnival-like flights of his successors, the original Yes was a much more grounded band. Their covers of songs by Richie Havens and Buffalo Springfield emphasize the folk-rock element that played a part in their early sound. Most of the tunes on BEYOND AND BEFORE appeared on the first two Yes albums, but these live-in-the-studio versions have more rawness, with Banks, Kaye, and bassist Chris Squire frequently kicking the group dynamic into overdrive. Of special interest to hardcore Yes fans are the previously unrecorded cuts, include a version of the showtune "Something's Coming" and an original song, "For Everyone." BEYOND AND BEFORE presents a band that's embryonic but hardly unsophisticated.

The longest-running prog-rock group in the business, Yes flew on the strength of Jon Anderson's high, angelic voice and the group's instrumental virtuosity. The band began in England, rising from the ashes of pop-psych outfits like Tomorrow, Bodast, and Mabel Greer's Toyshop. Extending the technical facility of psychedelia and downplaying the trippiness, it helped forge the template for progressive rock and reigned as its most popular practitioners in the '70s. Over the years, Yes has weathered personnel changes, lawsuits, and changing public tastes while holding on to its original vision.

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