YES rocumentaries - Yesspeak vs. Yesyears

[Scaramouche]

With the iminant release of the new DVD "Songs from Tsongas" annouced on Yesworld, I would like to ask all the other members and guests which YES rockumentary they preferred. YESYEARS or YESSPEAK.

My personal favourite is YESYEARS because it has more of an insight into the glory days whereas YESSPEAK concentrated mainly on what the band is doing now.

Let me know.

Love and Light

Scaramouche xx

[cinderella]

I love YesYears. Especially the Trevor parts. :D

[brotherofmine]

YESYEARS definitely, there is some really good stuff on YESSPEAK too, but I have to really admit that Roger Daltrey's narration on YESSPEAK irritates the hell out of me, and that spoils the enjoyment a bit. Also YESYEARS as the first rockumentary was really something special, and I love the clip from 'Shock To The System' and see the interaction between Steve and Trevor and the alternating lead riffs, felt it CAN really work between them, two different styles but when they work together it could be electric.

[Nellsalot]

Yesyears by FAR. I think Yesyears was really well done, tasteful and insightful and dealt with a broader view of their entire career up to the point at which it was made. Yesspeak has cheesy production, doesn't offer that much insight and is overly self-congratulatory.

[Jackaranda]

YesYears is great. I wish they'd do an updated version of it.

I only wish the live parts were longer.

[Thoughtbecontact]

I think Yesyears is the much better one of the two. Yesspeak is much more lightweight--and you get the feeling from watching Yesspeak that there was no other lineup than the so-called "classic" one.

I feel the same way as BOM regarding Daltrey's voice. It was OK at first, but then it becomes grating. Would have preferred someone like Peter Gabriel doing the narration.

[Vic Anderson]

i am going to say yesspeak cuz its falling behind :-)

[Faceintheplace]

I like them both, but I prefer Yesyears. It covers a wider amount of history in less time and is a better production. Just wish the clips were longer, but I do have about 75% of the footage in the documentary anyway so its all good.

[Vic Anderson]

yesspeak wasn't about the history(you have yesyears for a history lesson) as much as it was about them being on the road and having fun as normal people i think they opened a lot in the video hell seeling jon play his harp in his home that was some treat :-)

[Vic Anderson]

off course people who don't understand jon will find it annoying

[Scooty]

Yesspeak was made to concentrate on the band now to market the 35th Anniversary tour , IMHO.

It has some fun moments, and I learned a few new things..but dang,half the time I cant hear what the guys are talking about. Whoever mixed the sound should think about another career...unless its just my TV..LOL.

Yesyears I watch all the time. Id love a special edition version thats updated to the present..1991 seems like forever and a day ago now..

[True Believer]

Yesyears definitely! Like others, Roger Daltry really was annoying.

[Paul D]

--and you get the feeling from watching Yesspeak that there was no other lineup than the so-called "classic" one.

I have Yesspeak, and I agree. Yesspeak is more of a 'fan club' kind of offering...only fans of the band (especially those of the classic lineup) would find it worth watching (and in my case as time and interest permitted).

I haven't seen Yesyears...

[Vic Anderson]

yesyears is what you would expect from a documentary

yesspeak is laid off

[BrianD]

Yesyears - we heard from more band members, saw glimpses of rare footage, heard some interesting new information (for the time).

[brotherofmine]

Yesspeak was made to concentrate on the band now to market the 35th Anniversary tour , IMHO.

It has some fun moments, and I learned a few new things..but dang,half the time I cant hear what the guys are talking about. Whoever mixed the sound should think about another career...unless its just my TV..LOL.

Yesyears I watch all the time. Id love a special edition version thats updated to the present..1991 seems like forever and a day ago now..
Yeah! That would be really cool Scooty!

[VanDerGraaf]

Yesyears by FAR. I think Yesyears was really well done, tasteful and insightful and dealt with a broader view of their entire career up to the point at which it was made. Yesspeak has cheesy production, doesn't offer that much insight and is overly self-congratulatory.

An excellent assesment from Nell there- embarrasing is another word that comes to mind.
When it came out i took a sneaky day off to chill out and watch it. I thought it would be worth it.
You know that gradual sinking feeling you get when you realise something you were excited about turns out to be a damp squib? Well that day with Yesspeak it was excitement....turned to curiosity......to puzzlement....to a feeling of defeat.

Yes it does have some good, indeed great bits- i feel Jon's section comes over very well for example.
Daltrey was not a good choice, think we're all agreed on that.The narrative itself- to be honest it seemed childish and rather idiotic at times. I have found that Yesfans are often slightly more "developed" creatures, thus making this aspect even more painful. A great deal of "Yes are great" type stuff. The Glastonbury bit was awful, "methinks the scripting doth protest too much", (sorry Shakespeare).
I'm really glad that when i sneaked off work i was watching my friend's copy and not one i had bought. I also thought i'd have been better off going to work(!)
To this day i still haven't bought it. Just seemed like a poor commercial for a band that needed something very different, if promotion was the idea.

Yesyears.
Fantastic. PLEASE can we have an updated version of this...often thought if i had enough footage i'd like to cut it myself! Only for my own amusement...
Yesyears was involving, informative, amusing, in-depth, lengthy without being boring, i could go on.

I think you could make a good doucumentary out of Yesspeak using the available footage, minus commentary, and cut it to 90 - 100 minutes.

[VanDerGraaf]

Oh and Scoot, your TV is fine. Trust me!

[Scooty]

Oh and Scoot, your TV is fine. Trust me!

So glad to know!!

I thought I was crazy..LOL!!

[VanDerGraaf]

So glad to know!!

I thought I was crazy..LOL!!


Usually hearing voices is the sign of mental illness- but NOT hearing them- that's just a badly mixed DVD!

[Scooty]

Usually hearing voices is the sign of mental illness- but NOT hearing them- that's just a badly mixed DVD!


Yesspeak is SOOOO badly mixed..I mean..why do I have to struggle to listen to what he boys are saying..it sucks...

I was so pissed...


but at least Im not alone in this assertion...

[VanDerGraaf]

I think Yesspeak was a well-intentioned idea, but poorly executed.
I mean, there are a fair number of good or interesting (not to mention funny) moments.
But to me the whole thing is executed poorly.

We don't need to be told how great Yes are. We know. And anyone that doesn't will be turned off by that aspect of the DVD.
I had high hopes for Yesspeak but those hopes were dashed.
I did go through a stage where i thought the whole thing was actually a brilliantly clever joke, but that wore off.
It's a shame because i guess there may never be another Yes documentary.....(sob)

[Scaramouche]

It has some fun moments, and I learned a few new things..but dang,half the time I cant hear what the guys are talking about. Whoever mixed the sound should think about another career...unless its just my TV..LOL.

I Know what you mean...I thought my DVD player was broken...I can here the guys talking if there wasn't music playing in the background..but whenever music was fazed in..no matter how quitley...the spoken words were reduced to nothing and Jon, Chris, Alan, Steve and Rick were reduced to nothing more than mute people, opening and closing their mouths like fish.

Love and Light

Scaramouche xx

[Vic W.]

Yesyears I watch all the time. Id love a special edition version thats updated to the present..1991 seems like forever and a day ago now..

Yeah, and that replaced the current opening which features the boy-band era Leave It performance.

Great documentary, but that opening would be enough to keep me from offering the disc to casual fans who wanted to know what Yes is all about.

[Faceintheplace]

I think the ultimate opening song for a Yes documentary would have to be "Firebird Suite."

[Nellsalot]

opening and closing their mouths like fish.

Hahaha!

[Scaramouche]

I think the ultimate opening song for a Yes documentary would have to be "Firebird Suite."

I love Stravinsky's Firebird Suite too and it does a wonderful job of getting the blood pumping and goosebumps growing, but I thought a great opening was on the Yesyears DVD,when it plays the opening of 'Leave it' over images of the various YES logos of over the years.

That brings goosebumps to, especially when I play it and there are possible YES converts in the room. LOL

Scaramouche xx

[Internaut]

I love Stravinsky's Firebird Suite too and it does a wonderful job of getting the blood pumping and goosebumps growing
Scaramouche xx

The PBS program starts this way, showing the guys taking the stage and playing along before they launch into GFTO.

[jimmygtr]

YesYears was a better overall documentary of the complete band (although they should have had interviewed Trevor Horn, Geoffrey Downes, Peter Banks, and Patrick Moraz).

Does anyone have any rockumentaries with Trevor Horn, Geoffrey Downes, Peter Banks, and Patrick Moraz interviewed about Yes?

[Topographic][Sardaukar]

Yesspeak was made to concentrate on the band now to market the 35th Anniversary tour , IMHO.

It has some fun moments, and I learned a few new things..but dang,half the time I cant hear what the guys are talking about. Whoever mixed the sound should think about another career...unless its just my TV..LOL.

Yesyears I watch all the time. Id love a special edition version thats updated to the present..1991 seems like forever and a day ago now..

Yeah, they could have at least given the option of subtitles so we could tell what was being said underneath all the music (which should have been there in full video form anyway, imho.)

[VanDerGraaf]

YesYears was a better overall documentary of the complete band (although they should have had interviewed Trevor Horn, Geoffrey Downes, Peter Banks, and Patrick Moraz).

Does anyone have any rockumentaries with Trevor Horn, Geoffrey Downes, Peter Banks, and Patrick Moraz interviewed about Yes?

Downes and Horn were both interviewed about their brief tenure in Yes for the BBC's "Rock Family Trees" series for the programme entitled : "The Prog Rock years".

Funny and revealing, especially when Horn describes how during the tour, fans would shout less than complimentary comments at him during quiet passages!

Also has interviews with Bruford, Wakeman, Squire and Anderson.

And Keith Emerson, John Wetton, and others.
Great show!

[Vic W.]

I love Stravinsky's Firebird Suite too and it does a wonderful job of getting the blood pumping and goosebumps growing, but I thought a great opening was on the Yesyears DVD,when it plays the opening of 'Leave it' over images of the various YES logos of over the years.

That brings goosebumps to, especially when I play it and there are possible YES converts in the room. LOL

Scaramouche xx

Yuck. http://eagles.hosttown.com/style_emoticons/default/thumbdown.gif