Keystudio

Artist: Yes
Label: Castle Music UK
Category: Music

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Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 766487172523
EAN: 0766487172523
ASIN: B00005AFQC

Release Date: 2001-09-18

Keystudio

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Tracks:

Foot Prints
Be The One: The One/Humankind/Skates
Mind Drive
Bring Me To The Power
Sign Language
That, That Is: Togetherness/Crossfire/The Giving Things/That Is/All In All/How Did Heaven Begin...
Children Of The Light

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All the songs on Keys to the Studio Ascension originally appeared as added studio tracks on the live albums Keys to the Ascension. Here they're gathered on one disc for the first time. When punk spat in the face of prog-rock in 1977, the response from genre aristocrats Yes was to calmly wipe away the phlegm from their capes and install themselves at the top of the album charts with Going for the One. Fortunately, when the lineup responsible for that fashion-defying aural concoction (Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, and Rick Wakeman) eventually reconvened under the Yes banner in San Luis Obispo, California, in 1996, the chances of being accosted by sneering punks had vanished, as had any chances of having No. 1 records. Thus, free from ridicule and persecution, the quintet was at liberty to pursue their own imperious path into the land of fragile topographical themes. And do you know what? It could've been 1973 all over again, with the 19-minute "That, That Is" and the throbbing 18-minute "Mind Drive" making this just the record for fans who cried themselves to sleep under their Roger Dean quilt upon hearing that news about the Buggles. --Kevin Maidment

Album Description

UK compilation of seven tracks from the 'Keys Of Ascension' albums. Remastered from the original tapes. Fully annotated Steve Howe interview. New artwork by the Gottileb brothers. Tracks, 'Foot Prints', 'Be The One', 'Mind Drive', 'Bring Me To The Power', 'Sign Language', 'That, That Is' & 'Children Of The Light'. 2001 release.

Album Details

Compilation featuring the studio tracks taken from the two volumes of 'Keys to Ascension'.

Customer Reviews:

Decent Retro Yes.......2006-09-25

This album is a mix of styles and quality, with some hits and some weaker tracks; a decent CD, but with some qualifications. All of this music is studio versions of music from "Keys to Ascension" and "Keys to Ascension 2."

The first track is probably the weakest track on the CD. Jon Anderson sounds like he is depressed or tired. On top of that, the lyrics are repetitive. The salvation of this song is the music, which is really good; it sounds a lot like music that could have been on "90125." Given that the lyrics add little to this track, they could have made this an instrumental, but then what would Jon Anderson be doing while the rest of the guys were jamming?

I was worried after "Footprints" that this album was going no where. "Be the One" corrected that impression quickly. Here is Yes as we know them. The lyrics and music are reminiscent of their early days, and the lyrics have nice ethereal progressive rock thoughts. Comforting music for those of us that long for the days of over-the-top bombast that Yes has done so well.

In the next song, "Mind Drive," we get the wonderful lyrical gobbledygook that Yes and particularly Jon Anderson made famous in works such as "Tales from Topographic Oceans." The words almost seem to make sense from time to time, but they are just one more instrument versus a deeply philosophical description of what is happening to us as our technology advances. It still seems as though the lyrics almost make sense. This song is wonderfully complex and prog rock long at 18:38. This song has a frenetic finish that shows an awesome ability and creativity that could have spiced up the remainder of this song. While the song has its moments, had the entire 18+ minutes been like the last 3 or 4 minutes this song would have gone down as one of Yes's greatest songs.

The next selection has serviceable music in a pop vein. "Bring Me to the Power" is well-played and listenable. However, this song has two problems. The first is that the lyrics are overly repetitive. If you removed the repetitive lyrics the song would be about 1/3 as long as it is, which leads to the second problem. Considering the song has too many repetitive lyrics, there isn't enough variation in the music to fill out 7:25, so the music feels like it has too much filler and not enough meat. This would have been an awesome 3 or 4-minute song.

"Sign Language" is a mellow instrumental that is well-done, but is so mellow that it sounds like easy listening. There are times when the music reminds me of the Beach Boys' album "Pet Sounds." This music is excellent and well played, but a bit out of character with the rest of the album.

After listening to the 18+ minute "Mind Drive" you probably figure that you have heard the longest selection on the CD. Wrong. "That, That Is" is a musical epic that continues the mild flavor of "Sign Language," which at this point seems like an introduction to this track. The acoustic guitar is soulful and leads the musical theme more than 3 minutes into the track where there is an extended transition to a faster beat, vocals, and then the drums take over until the electric guitars lead into the lyrics in the second part of the song. In the second part of the song Yes approaches the harsh realities of some lives well. The music is fast paced and somber, but rather than exploiting the topic, Yes meanders into philosophical musings about the meaning of life and contemplating something. Sometimes it is hard to tell from the lyrics what we are supposed to be contemplating. However, the music on this song is interesting and challenging, and reminds me once again of Yes's earlier days.

"Children of the Light" finishes off the CD. The introduction is in the bombastic style the Rick Wakeman tends to incorporate in his solo works. The music is okay, but the lyrics seem to want to make a point, but again seem unable to come to grips with exactly what the point is. The finish of the song is mellow with some good keyboard work to give you a feel good ending.

This CD has its moments, but it also has some non-moments. While listenable, do not listen too closely or some of the silliness that seems to intrude some of the songs is evident. This particular CD has some songs that perhaps would have been better as instrumentals, because the lyrics had insufficient meaning. A reasonably good retro album, but it could have been better.

Fragile, Close to the Edge, and Keystudio.......2003-12-20

Folks, this is the long lost classic Yes album. Recorded in 1996/1997 by Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White, Yes triumphantly returned to the peak form of the early 70s: rich and complex song structures, extreme musicianship and soaring harmonies. With its Beatles-like choruses and dizzying instrumentals, the 20-minute Mind Drive is one of Yes' best-ever epics, easily beating anything on Topographic Oceans. The other 20-minute epic, That That Is, is equally incredible if not better. Footprints sounds like a distant cousin of Roundabout, seething with emotion and strong instrumention. This Train is a crazy, mood-shifting prog workout that delights. Unfortunately, befuddled management, befuddled record labels, and befuddled band members dropped the ball and abandoned these great recordings like an unwanted puppy with an obscure label. Most Yes fans missed the best Yes music since '77 - if you love early Yes, you'll dig this album.

The Best Yes Music of the 1990's........2003-08-16

The Yes CD "Keystudio" is a compilation of the studio tracks that were originally released on the "Keys To Ascension" live albums in 1996 and 1997. It is a real treat to have these seven masterpieces together on one disc.
Nearly all of these tracks, especially the two 19-minute epics "That, That Is" and "Mind Drive", harken back to the classic progressive Yes sound of "Fragile", "Close to The Edge" and "Tales From Topographic Oceans".
The track "Children Of Light" is restored to its original form with an orchestral keyboard intro from Rick Wakeman. Also, the verses have been rearranged (the first verse is now the second, the second is now sung first). It's a treat to hear this piece in its unaltered state.
This is perhaps the best Yes album of the '90s. Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White and Rick Wakeman all perform with revitalized energy and flair. "Keystudio" ranks up there with the other Yes classics released by this line-up. I am personally glad that the band finally decided to release these tracks together on one album.This is the way this music is meant to be heard.

A Missed Classic.......2003-05-31

There is no question that this album should have originally been released as a whole studio album and not with the live stuff. However, many years ago I burned the studio tracks (for personal use)from my KTA set and have always listened to the studio stuff as a whole package. Now finally Yes has done the right thing by releasing it more or less the way it should have been.
Mind Drive was the lead off song on my compilation, as it should have been here. Nevertheless,the rest of the songs take a little longer to appreciate, but stand up as extremely strong tracks. I now feel the album as a whole is an extremly strong effort, and represents THE BEST of that era of their prolific history. 'KTA Studio' completely wipes 'Talk', 'ABWH', 'Union', and 'Open Your Eyes'. Not until 'Ladder' and 'Magnification' were Yes able to get back on track. If you are a true yes fan you already know all this, but if you are just discovering them or only familiar with some of their music, this is one to put on the list after you've got 5 or 6 classic albums under your belt. Very, very satisfying....5 Stars!

A Missed Classic.......2003-05-31

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