Beyond & Before: BBC Recordings 1969-1970

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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. 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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