Rating: 
Summary: what were they thinking???
Review: First of all I'm so mad at myself for not buying their House of Blues DVD instead of this... DVD. Second of all, I'm mad at Yes for releasing this annoying DVD.... I wanted to see the band play, not someone's idea of arty farty image of water,light,double exposure of the band, or any other annoying trite video tricks used back in the 60's. Everytime some exciting music is playing, all I see is Ian or some other band member who's not soloing (this is if they're not showing us some farout image). They should have fired the sound engineer too, I like to hear the drums when I'm listening to live rock concert, thank you very much!!! I want my money back, or at least trade in for the House of Blues DVD.
Rating:
Summary: what were they thinking???
Review: First of all I'm so mad at myself for not buying their House of Blues DVD instead of this crap of DVD. ... Did they get some old burned out light show guy from the Fillmore days to mix the video? I wanted to see the band play, not someone's idea of arty farty image of water,light,double exposure of the band, or any other annoying trite video tricks used back in the 60's. Everytime some exciting music is playing, all I see is Ian or some other band member who's not soloing (this is if they're not showing us some farout image). They should have fired the sound engineer too, I like to hear the drums when I'm listening to live rock concert, thank you very much!!!...
Rating:
Summary: what were they thinking???
Review: First of all I'm so mad at myself for not buying their House of Blues DVD instead of this...of DVD. Second of all, I'm mad at Yes for releasing this annoying DVD.... I wanted to see the band play, not someone's idea of arty farty image of water,light,double exposure of the band, or any other annoying trite video tricks used back in the 60's. Everytime some exciting music is playing, all I see is Ian or some other band member who's not soloing (this is if they're not showing us some farout image)... I like to hear the drums when I'm listening to live rock concert, thank you very much!!! I want my money back, or at least trade in for the House of Blues DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Amatuerish at Best
Review: I'd heard all the bad "reviews" about this video for quite some time, so I held off plunking down the hefty Japanese import price. I'm glad I did. First off, it must be said that the band performance if excellent, even though Rick looks more than a trifle bored, especially on "The Revelaing Science of God." But that's just the audio, which you can get by buying the CD. The problems with the video - and this IS a video, not a CD - are myriad. Where to begin? First off, the director - where did this guy come from, fresh out of video production 101? - obviously has never done a live band before. He locks down the wide shot and never moves the camera. The band is framed very low, with the majority of the shot consisting of the ceiling, a piece of screen terrain he continually litters with superimpositions of the band, lots of water (don't watch this if you have to go potty), and inane shots of skiers. Really. The problem with this is that 1. the shots of the band members don't match the wide shot - obviously taken from a different nights - so what you're hearing is not what they are playing, and this is terribly distracting, 2. the b-roll doesn't match the music - there is no conceptual justification for any of the images, 3. the edits are totally random, not once synching with the music (it looks as if the editor had the sound turned down in the editing room), and 4. it's all done so poorly that one wonders how this got past the band. (The "cutsy-wootsy love story" shots behind "Turn of the Century" really ruin that song.) And what's with those silly, stupid title cards before each song? This totally distroys any momentum built by the live performance. How unfortunate that something this bas has to be done in the name of Yes. I guess quite a few folks can look past the glaring defects of this poorly done piece of nonesense, but I can't.
Rating:
Summary: Buyer be wary...Be VERY wary!
Review: I know Yes. I've worked while listening to Yes. Yes is a friend of mine. So let me assure anyone contemplating the purchase of this DVD that there's precious little of that great band to be gleaned from this monstrosity. However, that said, there ARE reasons to at least take a gander at this stupefyingly defective video extravaganza. Those reasons are few in number, and they may not prove compelling for any but most diehard of Yes fans, but there are reasons. For one thing, you don't have to stare at Jon Anderson's smug countenance nearly as often as you do during the House Of Blues video; one could argue that's worth the price of admission all by itself. And on a more postive note, there can be found, within the disc's two-hour-plus girth, a dozen or so truly rewarding video snippets, including a couple of terrific two-shots of Alan and Chris and some sweet (if woefully unsyncronized) lingerings on Steve's fingerings. It's also possible - if you look quickly and carefully - to sense the different ways in which the band regards a few of the key pieces (for example, they were obviously invigorated by the freshness of "America," they clearly venerated "Awaken" (and deservedly so, I might add), and it seemed apparent they were really quite moved by the majesty of "Onward"). Hard to pick up on that sort of thing from the CD. Still and all, this laughably incompetent production is a mess, and don't you forget it. Sound and pictures are never in sync (no, seriously...they're NEVER in sync), while the video effects are, almost without exception, mind-numbingly amateurish and maddeningly distracting. But then again, that's clearly the purpose of those much-maligned special FX intrusions - to distract you from the fact that what you're seeing and what you're hearing nearly always emanates from two separate and distinct moments in time. It goes like this: wide shots of the stage come from one of the shows, while all the close ups are from dress rehearsels (or some other such audience-free event). It's a farce...and it's a shame, too, because many of the required elements were in place to create a wonderful documentation of the definitive Yes lineup striding confidently through a thoughtfully chosen set. Oh well. Hey, consider this: Go find a rental copy of this ridiculous thing, prepare as though you're about to watch "Plan 9 From Outer Space," and then just let the whole event unfold. That's what I did, and damn if it didn't work.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Listen To The Naysayers
Review: I am also glad that I did not listen to the reviewers that have given this DVD low marks. I don't think they "got the concept". This was not a live show in the true sense of the word and the videos were added to enhance the music as it is a DVD. Just go with the flow. If you don't like it shut your TV off and just listen to the music. The sound quality is the best from Yes that you will hear (so far) and in a few spots the bass is just spectacular. The walls and the ceiling in my sound room were shaking. Truly amazing. If you like Yes and you have a system capable of producing music properly, this is a "no brainer". Get it. In fact get it with the House of Yes DVD. The band is in a different mood during that one and the 2 DVD's complement each other perfectly...
Rating:
Summary: Yes video
Review: Don't worry about what any other reviews might be saying...if you love "Yes" you'll love this video. I know I do.
Rating:
Summary: YES-Keys to Ascension
Review: have seen YES many times. I have a few videos of theirs',along with a couple of their DVDs'. I would say that Keys to Ascension is one of their best shows.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm confused
Review: I'm not sure if I should buy this DVD because the reviews below -- despite all the four and five stars -- are basically saying "Buy this for the music, not the video." Since I own this same music on CD, I'm not sure if I should buy this just for the video. If you buy a music DVD, you should judge it on the video as well as the audio; it's a package deal. If you think the video and graphics are not worth it, then you should just buy the CD or give the DVD the rating it deserves. What I'm confused about is why everyone is giving this DVD five stars while saying that the video portion is less than great. That makes no sense. Are all of you such blind Yes fans that you can't judge a product of theirs for its true worth?
Rating:
Summary: Great music, lousy video
Review: As stated previously, the videography for this wonderful concert is nothing short of criminal. The video often does not sync up to the music, by varying degrees. The songs are cut up and not in their original performance order. Every effect the editor could think of to do with his VideoToaster is here. And maddeningly, too much of the concert footage is cut away to show non-concert shots of nature, etc. Having said this, as a Yes fan of 30 years (since 1971) I still give this 5 stars because the music is great and it is in 5.1 (although I don't notice any rear channel sound). What is so sad, though, is that this could have been 1000% better by a few simple choices: fewer cheesy effects and more attention to the editing process (sound-to-video). This is a concert video (DVD). I (we) couldn't be there to see them live. Show us the concert. We do not want to be entertained by babbling brook nature graphics. And when you want to show non-performance footage, show us more of the audience! Audience shots are very rare here, and the few seconds shown during Roundabout reveal an excited, animated, dancing audience. They had at least four cameras for this concert. IMO they didn't use them wisely. To see how concerts should be shown, see Rippingtons "Live in L.A." For more artistic video, see Santana "Sacred Fire." Buy this DVD for the music.
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