Yes Acoustic

Rating:
Summary: For just the Wakeman narration, alone!....
Review: Although,as previously mentioned, a short performance-it is lovely,and shows how the band is, still today,sounding marvellous.Perhaps the best thing about this DVD is the rehearsal footage with absolutely hilarious narration from Rick Wakeman,who is a truly funny fellow, as well as one of the finest keyboard players ever.As are the rest of the band,in their respective specialties.Messr's Howe,Anderson,White,Squire & Wakeman have been performing as good as, or better than ever on tour recently-and the acoustic sets have been a considerable highlight.If you have missed these shows,then this is a great way to see just what the Masters Of 70's Prog have been up to lately-and it IS wonderful to see just how vital they still are,all these many years later.Highly recommended to Yesfans...and to anyone who appreciates fine music.Personal highlight-for me- the almost stunningly lovely and simple tune from the highly underrated "Magnification' album-"Time Is Time"(but,Yes, it's ALL wonderful!......)

Rating:
Summary: A little Jam of what should have been since 1975!...
Review: Back in 1975,at the Q.R.P. concert (ASIN: B00005Y7NP), Yes played with Patrick Moraz on keyboards,acoustic versions of "I've seen All Good People"; a strange but interesting version of "Long Distance Runaround" and the classics "Mood For A Day"/"The Clap"; making of these, a great good asset in their performances at the time. Now Yes offers some re-makes of their old hits spanding their sound with good fresh versions of "Roundabout" and "South Side Of The Sky" but it's a shame that this last song didn't include the middle part with those fantastic choruses (La,la,la,lai,la,la...). After saw it, the first question is: Why didn't appear songs like "Onward", "And You & I" or "The Ancient" that are good songs for this kind of acoustic setting?...
By the other side, this DVD brings unseen footage narrated by the hilarious formality of Yes' keyboardist Rick Wakeman, that again, as in YESSPEAK or YESSTORY, brings the joyful note to this DVD that is really great but too short for the Yes fan that always wants some more. I believe that for the real Yes fan is a worthwhile introspection: A way to discover the magic between them and reveal some of mystery inside this extraordinary band...Good Luck!...




Rating:
Summary: Roundabout way to get your hard earned money
Review: Before you start throwing tomatoes (or should I say, used copies of "Tormatos") at the "Unhelpful" button, I am a Yes fan, so just relax. The music and performances on this disc are magnificent. What little there is. A shamefully deceptive marketing ploy lies at the heart of my "1-star" rating. On the package, the "running time" of the DVD is listed as "65 minutes". There is no other qualification offered, which would give most unsuspecting marks (oh, excuse me, I mean Yes fans) the impression that you are getting at least a one-hour set of music. Here is what the man behind the curtain is actually offering: a 38-minute concert. And if you subtract the first five minutes, an uninspired, meandering soundcheck jam (listed as "Tiger Rag"), you are really only getting 33 minutes of classic Yes material. The additional running time comes from a 25 minute segment of backstage rehearsal, obviously slapped together just for padding and cynically touted as a "bonus". After about three minutes of listening to the band tune up and noodle around, I had to switch it off. Yeah yeah Rick Wakeman is a real cut up with his oh-so-clever and wry "narration", but hey, (call me madcap), if I pay fifteen bucks for something billed as a Yes concert, I'm not thinking "stand-up comedy", I'm thinking, oh, maybe some...Yes MUSIC????!!! If this release had been offered at half its current list price, it would have been much less of an insult.

Rating:
Summary: a breath of fresh air
Review: I agree that this DVD is too short but it's a video of the actual Jan. 26th 2004 show which was only 38 minutes long and adding unnecessary fill would have taken away from a performance that really was/is excellent. I'd much rather have thirty-eight minutes of this than a couple hrs. of meandering, overblown, grandiose self indulgent... it's been done too many times already.

This DVD shows a side of Yes that makes me (an old Yes fan) feel really good. First of all they all look great and genuinely seem to be enjoying this rather than just going through the motions. What I mean is the performance doesn't come across as at all stale. They not only all look good but the music is more refreshing than anything they've put out in a long time which is sort of surprising as this isn't new material.

The harmonies/musicianship are excellent and despite being aged codgers these guys don't slack off or rely on any showboating at all. Obviously all perfectionists. Chris Squire's acoustic bass sounds beautiful and rich and this DVD proves that great prog. doesn't have to rely on technical trickery, needless flash and fourty five minute songs that never seem to end.

This an excellent (if a little short) performance that a lot of real Yes fans will find a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: finally, Finally, FINALLY!!!
Review: I've been waiting for years for a Yes concert video whose sonic presentation was on par with their music and their skills. All too often their DVD releases fall short in the audio department compared to the better releases. But finally on this one the audio quality gives us everything we want to hear: Jon's wonderful vocals, Rick's clean dexterity on keyboards, Steve's amazing guitar work, and Chris' bass are all cleanly rendered and easily accessable to the listener (sorry Allen; there just wasn't much percussion to reference in this regard).

The only thing I wish for would be more of it! I saw the last tour and the acoustic set was one of the highlights. The guys should consider rearranging many of their classics in this format and taking this on tour. While their full-on electric sound is formidable, it's this acoustic presentation that clearly displays why these guys have survived all this time; in a word: talent.

Rating:
Summary: Pure cynicism
Review: If you really want to know what this shameful DVD is all about listen to Rick Wakeman's comments on his own band, on his own mates. This is a "special feature" on this absolute piece of trash. He simply destroys them the way they should.
Let's put this way: 1. This DVD is short 2. The band couldn't care less about music 3. Chris Squire is dead, just can't get it together.Can't sing, doesn't say a word, is bloated. Wakeman's commentary on him are particularly sarcastic: they've been playing this songs for "only" 30 years and Squire still doesn't remember them!!! 4. Roundabout is cut short. You won't hear that famous bridge section from "Fragile" with, yes, the acoustic guitar That's probably what a moronic reviwer called "quality")
5. Steve Howe looks like a shoemaker,sitting and mending shoes. He barely moves. His playing is totally taking you for granted 6. Jon ANderson is bound for LAs Vegas, where he'll probably be hosting a "new wave" show sing sweet melodies for potheads 7. Rick Wakeman - for most of his career a total waste of time for me - tries to save his face by playng some music with interes here, but obviously all the band cares about is getting the money and run 8. Alan WHite can't do much with a bunch of mercenary zombies. May you all mercenaries of progressive music rot in hell. That's why you got a big kick in the ass from punk music!!! Now let me tell you this: I love prog and have bought Yes for over 30 years. If they have forgotten how to play and lost all respect for their audience that's their problem. For all the neophite "reviewers" iI strongly reccomend this: go do some listening and put things in perspective before getting marvelled by a bunch o lazy old farts!

Rating:
Summary: A Little Short
Review: It's been released in Brazil, and here in Brazil we have a saying that says : "if you have the cheese and the knife in your hands, you've got all you need to make a sandwich". What I mean is : if Yes has got so many good songs, why provide us with 38 minutes of music ? And guess what ? The bonus brings more 25 minutes of talking. It is Rick Wakeman talking about the making of the Acoustic Yes. Didn't we have enough of talking in Yesspeak (the DVD we buy thinking it's a concert and it is not)? I only give three stars to this DVD still because of Yesspeak. This DVD is a continuation of Yesspeak, but with lot more music. I'm so frustrated with Yesspeak that I think they should have come up with something much better to make up for their mistake: Yesspeak. If I had not bought Yespeak I would have given Acoustic five stars. As I said in the beginning, Yes have the cheese and the knife to make a delicious sandwich. We're king of tired of "seing goog people" on every DVD and being "round about" all the time they publish a DVD.Why not "Don't Kill the Whale", "Parallels", "No Experiece Needed", "Sound Chaser", "To be Over (instrmental : Howe)". Acoustic could have been 25 minutes longer. I also missed the beautiful ending of "South Side of the Sky (la la la la la la la la la la la la la la )". Anyway, you SHOULD BUY IT if you like Yes, but maybe you'll feel disppointed if you expect something more after Yespeak. Yes, go ahead and make a deliciuos sandwich. You CAN do it. Don't forger that not only rock lovers like Yes, but also music lovers. Take care.

Rating:
Summary: Sounds unusual, but definitely Yes!
Review: This is a very good DVD revealing a new side of Yes music - their old hits gain new life in acoustic version. The sound is a bit unusual for this group - it has warm jazzy feel, and is very natural. No distortion devices are used, and one can hear the real sound of the instruments. All components of the DVD are exceptional: video, audio mix, design/menus and special features: rehearsal footage narrated by Rick.
The only drawback is the concert being too short, but it was the limitation of satellite transmission.
Anyway, I enjoyed every minute of this show.

Rating:
Summary: Quality, not quantity
Review: This is one of those frequent cases where you want to pay for a jewel, a tiny one, but an authentic gem at last.
Never ever had we recordings of an "unplugged" Yes. BTW, dunno why they purposefully disregarded this very fashion term to refer to acoustic concerts. A few songs conformed this show, but all of them in a smooth delicate manner of feeling the music. A gem that deserves a place in any Yes collection.