Rating: 
Summary: Jack Of All Trades Master Of None
Review: Good sound,lousy guitar Steve Howe has no clue how to play with a band,he has a million electric guitars on stage and as he switches from the next to the next his sound just gets thinner & thinner(even the mighty Steinberger sounds [bad] in his hands) and all hell breaks loose when he launches the Telecaster.His intonation is always way sharp and his vibrato is nonexistent along with a picky-packy scale technique results in a very amateurish sounding guitar player."The amazing guitar styles of Mr Steve Howe"? More like the cacaphonic mess of Mr Steve Howe.The brass section of the orch. is also wildly out of tune in too many places for my liking. On the other hand Tom Brislin?,Alan White & Jon are very good. Another thing,the opening harmony vox on DONT GO are certainly prerecorded,not on! These guys need Steve Morse or Trevor Rabin.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good recording, graphics are now optional, BUT...
Review: I was really hoping to see more of the Magnification material, if not all of it. That's really my only complaint, and why I didn't give this compilation a 5. Other than that, it's great material. On another note, I think it was brilliant to use different DVD camera angles to give the viewer the option of graphics. Way to go, Yes, for helping to pioneer more new ideas and for going out of your way to satisfy those who didn't like the graphics.
Rating: 
Summary: All I Can Say Is WOW !
Review: Okay, I'm not going to go over all of the excellent points made in all the previous reviews I've read of this absolutely INCREDIBLE piece of art. But I will note a few minor differences of opinion, and give my overall impression. First the latter ... when I first saw that YES was touring with an orchestra, I immeadiately dis-missed it. I had bought "Symphonic Music of Yes" a few months back & while it was nice, I wasn't terribly impressed. So I took a pass when a friend asked me to see the show, which caused him to not go as well. Flash ahead a few months & the DVD's release. I picked it up, hoping for an improvement over the "House Of Yes" which I also own. And from the first strains of "Close To The Edge" it is clear I was getting all that and more. It is, without a doubt, the best Concert DVD I have yet seen - both visually & musically. The picture s so clear, you'll swear you're there on stage. And the sound is so much an improvement over their previous DVD releases, it's like comparing a CD to a gramaphone. It is THAT startling. Add to that, the incredible set list, and the orchestra, and this is THE DVD to see for YES fans, both casual & hardcore. Now then, where I tend to disagree with the other reviwewers here. First - Tom Brislin. I'll be the first to admit that I am a HUGE Wakeman fan, and I might be overly rough on other keyoard players because of that, but he HACKED the solos on "Close to the Edge." And seeing as that was the FIRST SONG of the show, I was soured on him from that point on. Luckily, the orchestra filled in enough throughout that it was mostly a non-issue. And I'll admit, he did a better job than Igor did on "House of Yes,"
but that's it. Second - I LIKED the new material, especially "Don't Go." Is it as good as their early stuff ? No. But that doesn't make it BAD. One final note, and a somewhat politically in-correct one. I have never before seen an Orchestra with THAT MANY attractive women ! I certainly don't remember ANY of the girls in my High Scool Symphony looking like that.
Rating: 
Summary: Trevor, where are you?
Review: This DVD is not that bad, but it's not that good either. Lacks any real energy. Even Chris seems bored by the whole thing. And Steve Howe's guitar playing has never been so messy. Quick, get the banana peel off his guitar neck! Trevor, where are you? YES needs you!
Rating: 
Summary: Rating on DVD Theme, not music
Review: Once again, the music on this is SUPERB!!! Jon Anderson, while being quite flaky, still has an awe-inspiring voice. Chris Squire is back on the game. Stev Howe's guitar tone was a little on the thin side but his playing is on par to his best. I didn't like the flow of the DVD, though. The cuts were yo quick and at times sensless. I mean, during a guitar solo, you'll get a cut to a girl playing timpani or during a "rocking" passage, you'll get a shot of the guys twirling their franch horns. Not to mention the constant cutting between the band members. It makes my stomach a little ill to watch. I would have loved a wide angle shot of the band with "occasional" cuts or close-ups to make it more like a concert experience. And the extra disc was superfluous. The video was trite and the documentary (which could have been very interesting) was very unsatisfying! So three stars for the excellent music!
Rating:
Summary: symphonic pleasure
Review: The presence of the symphonic orchestra give a new dimension in the music of Yes. Especially when it's played by some enthousiast and young musicians. The version of "gates of delirium" is incredible. The new songs are very good except for one, but the setlist is great. The qualtiy of the picture and sound is excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Hats off to the orchestra
Review: Yes are great on this DVD -- their best yet -- but what really makes this one such a joy is the wonderful participation of the orchestra. Not just the playing and the fun of hearing all the classics with orchestral arrangements, but even more the obvious thrill the experience is for the young musicians of the European Festival Orchestra. They are on top of the world to be performing with the band. I don't want to spoil for anyone who hasn't seen the DVD yet just how the young musicians' energy comes through, other than to say it was unexpected, it was a delight, and it was pure. In that sense, it was very Yes.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, especially when you've been there!!!
Review: They did it all very well! This DVD really catches the atmosphere I got in the concert of last year. To me the most brilliant songs(Close to the Edge,
The Gates of Delirium, Ritual)were played in a way that seems
to develop the songs, the orchestra(conducted by Wilhelm Keitel,notorious name!)had certainly an added value on the songs. Highly recommanded!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Performance
Review: I saw this tour in Atlanta, Georgia and was extremely dissapointed in the performance due to the sound quality, timing, etc. Well, I'm happy to report that this DVD has restored my faith in this tour and in the whole symphonic concept. The sound is simply incredible, the camera work is superb, and the animated extras are extremely well-done. And, unlike previous animated sequences on Yes videos, these actually add to the experience of the music by following the emotion of each song. I can bring up several examples, but I do not want to give anything away. I recommend watching the DVD once with the animation turned off, and then once again with it turned on (Yes, this is selectable - adding yet another feather in the cap of this DVD). You will not be dissapointed. We Yes fans have been lucky enough to be exposed to a LOT of new material in recent years. I have been somewhat concerned, in fact, that some of it would start to become diluted. But, with the release of Symphonic Live, there is no signs of this happening in any way. Buy this DVD and enjoy every minute of it.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best concert DVD so far produced
Review: Others have written good thorough reviews so I will try to be brief. This DVD is simply awesome. This is the best out of the 30 I own and more I've rented. The audio and video are superb. The editing is the best I've seen, with the camera always on the musician you want to see at the right time (and how unusual THAT is)! The orchestra is young and energetic and fun to watch, and they add a lot to the music without interfering with the rock music. And finally, the music is incredibly powerful. "Close to the Edge" brought tears to this old man's eyes. Those who say the video is boring, or that Steve Howe's playing is bad (huh??), are way off base. This is a MUST OWN DVD, not only for Yes fans but for anyone who has any liking of the band and their music.
| 
