Going for the One Reviews

[BrianD]

I kept some old Australian and British reviews of GFTO. I'll attach them for your enjoyment.

[BrianD]

Another GFTO review

[BrianD]

and now the final one

[Alysoun]

Brian:

Thanks for posting those.
I especially like C.W. (is it Chris Welch)'s review.

He was always a huge supporter of the band.

Allison

Originally posted by Alysoun
I especially like C.W. (is it Chris Welch)'s review.
He was always a huge supporter of the band. Allison

He might have been at one time but for the past several years he has been seeing Yes as irrelevant. He discusses this point in his Close to the Edge book. It has been quoted and discussed in at least one videotaped interview. In the interview from HOB that I saw, Jon and Chris were assaulted with that quote. Chris Welch gets no love from me.

[Alysoun]

Pat:

Hmm, I have and have read his book a few times.
I always came a way with an idea that he was still a supporter.

Martin is an enthusiast and goes way to deeply in to the philosophy angle.

Stumpp is just a bitter man with no love for any prog musicians other that Fripp, Bruford and Peter Hammill

Welch was balanced, I thought. I'll have to reread it again and see where he "disses" the band.

My fave is still Dan Hedges book.

Allison

[BrianD]

Originally posted by Alysoun
Brian:

Thanks for posting those.
I especially like C.W. (is it Chris Welch)'s review.

He was always a huge supporter of the band.

Allison

I'm not 100% sure but I believe it is Chris Welch. I think it was taken from Melody Maker but I've long since lost the rest of the magazine. I have a number of other Chris Welch articles on Yes from that era which I may post at a later time, including a review of their first London concert of the GFTO tour.

Yessiree - I think you have misread the Chris Welch book. He doesn't believe Yes have become irrelevant, he simply comments on the changing music industry of the last decade where the artistic genius of Yes has lost some of its advantages because now almost anybody can use today's technology to achieve similar technical results. He, like many Yes fans, did not like OYE which is where the book left off.

Welch asks the question 'Which is more important - yesterday or Yes today? The answer is that Yes continues to grip the imagination in all its forms, past and present.'

I would direct both of you to the HOB interview. You can see it on the web. I found it doing a google search and putting in house of blues. I was aghast and squirmed for them when he read the quote. Jon and Chris looked a little shocked at first but then regained their composure. I felt a sick feeling inside when I saw it.

And Alysoun, I really enjoyed Dan Hedges book too. Really cool pix too. Have you gotten the latest? The Watkinson book? It's pretty cool too.

[BrianD]

Yessiree
I haven't seen the HOB interview but if the interviewer was quoting from the book, I think the interviewer (unless it was Welch doing the interview and has added to his written word) misquoted the book. I've been looking thru the book since your original post and apart from the style of criticism I have already mentioned along with a general comment about the directions that the music scene took in the 90s being not too favorable for Yes, Welch does not appear to have lost his enthusiasm for the group. He is mainly saying that the climate in the past decade has not made it easy for Yes to succeed.

[charl8e]

Btw, when i was struggling college student in London, I contacted the Yes office for help with a history of the band i was writing for the college magazine (it's been downhill ever since, career-wise)... and DH was their press officer, & was an absolute sweetheart, full of encouragement & very helpful about giving me access to all the Yes press clippings... i guess he was just doing his job, but he was certainly very gracious about it...