What do you think of the songs taken from the Paris sessions?

[Whitefish]

Listening to the bonus tracks on Drama, what do you think of the ones from the Paris sessions?

Dancing Through The Light
Golden Age
In The Tower
Friend Of A Friend

Other than Dancing Through The Light, the rest of them are lacking focus and you can tell the band is pulling in different directions, IMO. The tracks with just Steve, Chris, Alan and later Trevor and Geoff seem to have much more direction and total focus.

Have We Really Got To Go Through This
Song No. 4 (Satellite)
Tempus Fugit (Tracking Session)
White Car (Tracking Session)

It was the way to go.

[brianos]

Have to agree! I'm grateful for the opportunity to hear both sets of bonus material, but I the Drama-lineup tunes are the ones I play most often.

[Faceintheplace]

I like Golden Age and In the Tower from Paris Sessions. I wouldn't be against Yes revisiting In the Tower. Dancing Through the Light and Friend of a Friend I could go without never hearing again. Same with Flower Child although I've heard a Jon solo demo version of that which was decent, it was done in a less intricate, folkier arrangement. Tango has a few good moments but alot of times it sounds like Roy Thomas Baker was trying to turn Yes into Queen on that one. It's too bad there's one song from the Paris sessions Rhino left out, a Yes version of Everbody Loves You as it's not bad. I'd like to hear it in better quality.

I agree that the stuff Steve, Chris and Alan did as a trio and with Horn and Downes are much tighter, stronger and focused. Chris Squire said in an interview with Jim Ladd in 1980 that that's the kind of music him, Steve and Alan thought Yes should be doing but Jon was against it and Rick sided with Jon.

[cjreyes]

You don't wanna know.

[Whitefish]

You don't wanna know.


Tell it!

[relayeire]

I like Golden Age and think Yes could use it as the basis of a new song for '08/'09, obviously first removing the part Jon used on Song Of Seven...

a number of them - Tango, In The Tower, Golden Age, Friend Of A Friend - were the start of something good... they're all demos, and they sound like it... not just because there's no overdubbing, but because the songs obviously need a lot of work... a few of them could've been/could be salvaged... Yes were just out of energy at the time...

[relayeire]

I didn't comment on the trio tunes because that wasn't part of the Paris sessions... was it? I liked where they were going, even though they were basic jams... if you listen to any of the Drama shows you can hear what they did with Go Through This... it's a great, rocky tune!

[Whitefish]

I didn't comment on the trio tunes because that wasn't part of the Paris sessions... was it?

No, that was right before they got Trevor and Geoff.

I think what I am subconsciously getting at is that it may that time again for Yes. If Jon and Rick don't want to do it, bring in people that do!

[soulshiner]

If for no other reason, the Paris material is interesting just for curiosity value alone.

However, I find that that version of the band has run out of things to say by that point. Going for the One appears to have been that last burst of brilliance - all that was left afterwards were cinders. "Golden Age", for instance, is serviceable, but it isn't anything that the band hadn't already done and better.

[Ceasar's Palace]

I like Golden Age and In the Tower from Paris Sessions. I wouldn't be against Yes revisiting In the Tower. Dancing Through the Light and Friend of a Friend I could go without never hearing again. Same with Flower Child although I've heard a Jon solo demo version of that which was decent, it was done in a less intricate, folkier arrangement. Tango has a few good moments but alot of times it sounds like Roy Thomas Baker was trying to turn Yes into Queen on that one. It's too bad there's one song from the Paris sessions Rhino left out, a Yes version of Everbody Loves You as it's not bad. I'd like to hear it in better quality.

I agree that the stuff Steve, Chris and Alan did as a trio and with Horn and Downes are much tighter, stronger and focused. Chris Squire said in an interview with Jim Ladd in 1980 that that's the kind of music him, Steve and Alan thought Yes should be doing but Jon was against it and Rick sided with Jon.

I agree 100%. In The Tower seems to be Jon, Rick and Alan. Interesting combination. The Golden Age is good. Just needs a bit more Steve.

:headset:

[Melissa]

I love Golden Age, In The Tower, and Friend Of A Friend,
but not so much Dancing Through The Light.

I wish they would revisit all three songs.

[Soleil3]

Mmmmm... Paris sessions.


Paris...

Paris............

[RobAdams]

I'm not too fond of the Paris material. The guys really seemed to lose their direction. "Tormato" was miles better than what we've been offered from this aborted album. I'm not surprised that they went different ways after this.

[CybrKhatru]

I wasn't too keen on this material either....interesting, but that's about it. It is very clear the band's members were drifting in different directions...

[90125yes]

.. at the end of the day they are rought demos

i am surprised that YES allowed then to be released on the tormato remasters

if they could be reworked then maybe YES could release a new album with that material on it


but in their present form they should not have been allowed to see the light of day

[Wakey's #1 Fan]

I only know Tango, Golden Age, Money and Richard. I don't know if those are from the Paris sessions, but I do enjoy them a lot. Can anybody post a complete list of all the Paris sessions and maybe does anybody how to get them?

[Doctor Flang]

I only know Tango, Golden Age, Money and Richard. I don't know if those are from the Paris sessions, but I do enjoy them a lot. Can anybody post a complete list of all the Paris sessions and maybe does anybody how to get them?

I think "Richard" and "Money" stemmed from Tormato sessions but every other bonus track on Rhino's Tormato and Drama are from Paris.

I personally like "Richard", "Picasso" and "Tango" the most, altough i've been told that the version of "Tango" on the box set is drastically edited.
"Some are Born" and "Days" from Song of Seven are among Jon's best work, but for some reason Yes failes to deliver them. "Dancing Throught the Light" has a disco-type drum sound and Jon on vocoder too, nice! "You Can Be Saved" is beautiful.

All in all, there's lot's of good material but they're not that listenable in their unfinished form. But with those songs there's still a one helluva album in waiting. I wouldn't have minded if they'd decided to restore, overdub or even re-record this material before releasing it, as a new album or bonus tracks, i don't mind.

[CybrKhatru]

If my memory serves, these were the Paris Sessions songs:


Never Done Before (aka Friend of a Friend)
Flower Child
Tango
In The Tower
Golden Age
Dance Through The Light
Everybody Loves You


I *think* Richard, Picasso, and Some Are Born were from earlier sessions...maybe for Tormato, but not 100% sure.

Money and Abilene were definitely Tormato sessions material.

[Doctor Flang]

If my memory serves, these were the Paris Sessions songs:


Never Done Before (aka Friend of a Friend)
Flower Child
Tango
In The Tower
Golden Age
Dance Through The Light
Everybody Loves You


I *think* Richard, Picasso, and Some Are Born were from earlier sessions...maybe for Tormato, but not 100% sure.

Money and Abilene were definitely Tormato sessions material.

I think Picasso was from the Paris sessions, you can hear Jon talking about it on the Yesyears documentary.

[Doctor Flang]

Dancing Through the Light and Friend of a Friend I could go without never hearing again.


Actually, the properly rehearsed and worked "Dancing Through the Light" can be found on the Drama album with a different title.

[CybrKhatru]

I think Picasso was from the Paris sessions, you can hear Jon talking about it on the Yesyears documentary.

Oh yeah, that's right. I remember that now! :D

[Doctor Flang]

Ok, let's see what happened to those songs. Some of them were re-used for Drama and some were on later solo albums.

Golden Age (Song of Seven - the bridge is used on Some are Born)
Dance Through The Light (Drama - titled 'Run Through the Light')
Everybody Loves You (Song of Seven)
Some are Born (Song of Seven)
Days (Song of Seven)
Everybody's Song (Drama - Does it Really Happen?)

But what happened to the rest of the songs?

Tango
In the Tower
Picasso
Countryside
High
You Can be Saved
Flower Child
Never Done Before (is it really Friend of a Friend?)

[Wakey's #1 Fan]

thanks to a good friend of mine, he gave me a CD with all sessions of it! As an early easter present. :D Finally I have it.
Ok, well, my favourites are:
Never Done Before
Tango
Picasso
Friend of a Friend
In the Tower
all the tracks, which have been written by Wakey and Jon :razz:
A very interesting record, indeed...

[Ajay]

I have tried to put together a comprehensive list of all the YESsongs that didn't make it onto albums, and the times they were recorded. Here seems like a suitable place to post the list:

1969 (Advision - Yes Sessions)
Something's Coming
Everydays
Dear Father

1969-70 (Advision - Time And A Word Sessions)
Dear Father

1971 (Advision - Fragile Sessions)
Show Me (JA solo)

1972 (Advision - CTTE Sessions)
America

1974/5/6? (with Patrick Moraz)
Everybody's Song

1976/7 (Montreux - GFTO Sessions)
Amazing Grace
Montreux's Theme
Vevey
Positively 4th Street

1978 (London - Tormato sessions)
Abilene
Money
Railway 14
Richard
Picasso
Some Are Born
You Can Be Saved
Countryside
High

1979 (Paris - Golden Age Sessions)
Dance Through The Light
Everybody Loves You
Golden Age
Friend Of A Friend
Flower Girl (Never Done Before)
In The Tower
Tango

1980 (Redan - Howe Squire White Trio Sessions)
Dance Through The Light
Does It Really Happen
Tempus Fugit
Song No. 4 (Satellite)
(Have We Really Got To) Go Through This

1980 (London - Buggles Sessions)
White Car
Fly From Here
A Razon For Another Day

1980 (Roundhouse - Drama Sessions)
You Can Fly From Here
(Have We Really Got To) Go Through This

1982 (London - Cinema Sessions)
Make It Easy
It Can Happen
It's Over

1985/6/7 (Big Generator Sessions)
Promenade (TR solo)

1999 (Vancouver - The Ladder Sessions)
Hecla Lava (SH solo)

2001 (San Diego - Magnification Sessions)
Last Train

[90125yes]

the songs are works in progress , unfinished , not involving all the classic lineup

my favourite is in the tower

it was a diffucult period for yes and the music reflects that

[Bo Locks]

... i've been told that the version of "Tango" on the box set is drastically edited.At the risk of repeating myself ;)

I think it's worth noting that we'll have 6 official releases out of 7 from the Paris Sessions once the Rhino Drama comes out:

1) Dance Through The Light (DRAMA)
2) The Golden Age (DRAMA)
3) Tango (IN A WORD) (mis-titled on some bootlegs as In The Tower)
4) In The Tower (DRAMA) (mis-titled on some bootlegs as Friend Of A Friend)
5) Friend Of A Friend (DRAMA) (mis-titled on some bootlegs as To Let You Know)
6) Everybody Loves You (BOOTLEG ONLY)
7) Flower Girl (re-titled on IN A WORD as Never Done Before)

Now, while the Drama versions appear uncut in terms of length, CAN ANYBODY TELL ME WHY the In A Word versions have been edited to death???

Tango, apart from trimming both of the (lengthy) verses, has 50 seconds of instrumental cut out from the middle and about 2 minutes of coda are lost!

Never Done Before has become 1 verse and 1 chorus - a copy of the same chorus - repeated 3 times! Where's the recorded beginning and end?

What was the point of that??? They were only demos anyway!!!

As interesting as these are to goofs like me, I don't think a Paris Sessions album - 'The Lost Album' - would have stood up in between Tormato and Drama (I'm a big fan of both those albums). There's all sorts of ifs and buts and maybes, BUT the material as it stands is a record of Yes in m e t a m o r p h o s i s . . .

BTW: all the Paris Sessions bootlegs that I've heard have very poor sound quality. Congratulations to Yes and Rhino for beating the bootleggers. I am delighted at the prospect of hearing this stuff at max fidelity. It does sound far more credible without the hiss and distortion. I have a hilarious cassette version that runs about 10% too fast.

[Melissa]

I have tried to put together a comprehensive list of all the YESsongs that didn't make it onto albums, and the times they were recorded. Here seems like a suitable place to post the list:

1969 (Advision - Yes Sessions)
Something's Coming
Everydays
Dear Father

1969-70 (Advision - Time And A Word Sessions)
Dear Father

1971 (Advision - Fragile Sessions)
Show Me (JA solo)

1972 (Advision - CTTE Sessions)
America

1974/5/6? (with Patrick Moraz)
Everybody's Song

1976/7 (Montreux - GFTO Sessions)
Amazing Grace
Montreux's Theme
Vevey
Positively 4th Street

1978 (London - Tormato sessions)
Abilene
Money
Railway 14
Richard
Picasso
Some Are Born
You Can Be Saved
Countryside
High

1979 (Paris - Golden Age Sessions)
Dance Through The Light
Everybody Loves You
Golden Age
Friend Of A Friend
Flower Girl (Never Done Before)
In The Tower
Tango

1980 (Redan - Howe Squire White Trio Sessions)
Dance Through The Light
Does It Really Happen
Tempus Fugit
Song No. 4 (Satellite)
(Have We Really Got To) Go Through This

1980 (London - Buggles Sessions)
White Car
Fly From Here
A Razon For Another Day

1980 (Roundhouse - Drama Sessions)
You Can Fly From Here
(Have We Really Got To) Go Through This

1982 (London - Cinema Sessions)
Make It Easy
It Can Happen
It's Over

1985/6/7 (Big Generator Sessions)
Promenade (TR solo)

1999 (Vancouver - The Ladder Sessions)
Hecla Lava (SH solo)

2001 (San Diego - Magnification Sessions)
Last Train

Thanks so much for posting this list. It's wonderful to see how much of this made it onto Rhino re-releases and compilations.

[rphheather]

I think it was ballsy to allow the demos to be released and I find it very interesting to have an peek into the process. As was stated before, it is a bonus to hear them with good sound quality. But I suppose I am a dream fan as I would buy up about anything put out by Yes.

:musicb:

[Melissa]

I posted this in response to Bo Locks' quoted post, and in the spirit of continuing the cross-posting here it is again!

Well, I finally pulled out my copy of Golden Age and ripped the tracks to hard drive and labeled them.
The tracks on my copy are:

Dance Through The Light
Golden Age
Tango [which was mislabeled]
In The Tower [also mislabeled]
Friend Of A Friend [mislabeled]
Everybody Loves You
Flower Girl

and it also had three live tracks from the Solo Albums Tour, probably from Roanoke, VA

Hold Out Your Hand
Ram [mislabeled as The Clap]
Beginnings

What a thing!

I'm so glad for this thread because it enabled me to correctly identify the tracks on the disc I have AND to up the correct information to freedb for people in the future! :D

[TJSlipperman]

I think 'Golden Age' was a pretty good song, the way it had been featured on the Drama reissue.

I also liked 'Tango', though I've only heard the abridged In A Word... box-set version; I wish I could be able to hear the track in its entirety though.

Aside from those two tracks, all the other Golden Age-era tracks sound decent, if a bit rough and skeletal by Yes' standards...

Tim (aka the Slipperman)