union live: live material

[90125yes]

:rightG:

do you own union tour live material and what is your opinion of the 8 man YES line up ?

will this ever be repeated ?

[yesyadda]

Let's hope it w/be repeated! :D

[Simon B]

Yes - 2 DVDs of the same show and I saw it live in Birmingham with my then Girlfriend - she fell asleep - hence not my friend anymore!

I adore Shock to the System live!!

[Jackaranda]

The Denver show on DVD is fantastic, as is Mountainview.

It was an awesome tour....I wish it could be repeated in some way.

Actually, I wish Yes would give a mega show someday in, say, New York and L.A. with every member ever showing up. It could be a 5 or 6 hour show with all these different line ups....I doubt that could ever happen but why not dream?

[90125yes]

thnaks guys for your input

i own the last dvd of the last show on the tour and it is fantastic

squire polishing rabin's guitar stool and leaving water on it

fantastic

[nitrus]

My favorite Yes tour ever.
Doubt something remotely similar will ever happen again, but I'm still hoping for some cool official video footage from one of the concerts to appear in the near future.
Perhaps a Blu-Ray of the entire Denver show mixed by Trevor Rabin... aaaaaahhh....

http://img32.picoodle.com/img/img32/3/11/21/f_homerm_022178b.gif (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/11/21/f_homerm_022178b.gif&srv=img32)

[90125yes]

favourite YES tour ever

i have the dvd of the last tour in the US


squire polishing the rabin guitar stool

great stuff

[BlueEagle]

There are exerpts of the Denver Union show on YOUTUBE. Obviously it is professionally shot- a bit dark, like YESSONGS- but the mix sounds great and great performances and setlist. Is this commercially available? Whats the title of it?

[dallasman]

I absolutely loved the Union tour, even though the album leaves me cold.
I have the Mountain View and Denver shows, as well as 2-3 audience shot DVDs. The "semi-official" Mountainview DVD is of excellent quality, and features a very good performance, but if memory serves, there are a couple of songs missing. The Denver show is complete, and also of very good pro-shot quality, although not quite as pristine as Mountain View. It is easy to find on most public BitTorrent trackers.

As I said, I thought the Union tour was a great idea, and the band (mostly) seemed to have a blast. In fact, my number one fantasy for 2009 is for Yes to revist the idea, but this time including Peter, Patrick, Geoff and Billy. Simply put: As many ex-members as possible, with a core of Jon, Steve, Chris and Alan performing on most of the songs. There would be many more possibilities for new approaches to old songs and resurrection of neglected fan favourites (say, To Be Over, with Patrick and Rick...Just imagine the symphonic delights!). If there is one thing Yes haven`t shown nearly enough of during the last few decades, it`s playfulness. Meaning, why not allow yourselves to put on a show that is partly improvised and spontaneous for once, playing around with the music? I`m not saying Peter Banks should jump on stage and busk his way through The Remembering with Igor as human beat-box. The integrity of the compositions must always be maintained, but there is much joy to be had for both performer and spectator when risks are taken and great musicians focus on the fun of playing. As an experimental alternative to yet another tour by the Classic Yes Jukebox that is Howe-Squire-White, it`s worth trying. It`d also present a more comfortable pace for Jon`s voice, as Trevor would sing a couple of songs, Chris and Billy could take a lead vocal or two each, and there would be ample opportunity for some old-fashioned extended jamming, where Jon could retreat to his teepee for some tea and a pee.

Imagine a three-way guitar-hero lick-trading extravaganza between Peter, Steve and Trevor on Starship Trooper! Imagine Rick, Patrick and Geoff doing an all-keyboard version of Astral Traveller! Imagine Trevor and Bill spraying extra percussive magic and frenzied guitar madness on "The Ancient"! Imagine five-part harmonies! Imagine Steve "I like to do it with complete control over the Guitar Picture" Howe going along with this...

But, yeah, the Union shows are lots of fun, and highly recommended for Troopers and Generators alike. As a youth, I used to despise the Rabin era (though I loved OOALH when it came out - I was seven then), but mixed in with the heavy hitters of the seventies, the eighties material provided a dose of relative levity and more straightforward rock exitement.
And Awaken...my God, Awaken with the eight-piece band is galaxy-sized!
(mumbles to self, scratches head)
That`s it! I`m watching the whole Denver show tonight!
Brevity schmevity. I`m at work, I`ve got nothing better to do.

[dallasman]

Btw: a 90 min. broadcast version of Denver show is known as "'Round the World in 80 Dates", the laserdisc of Mountain View was called simply "Union Tour Live"

[RobAdams]

It would be great to see Yes repeat this again...

For one thing, every current & former member of Yes is still alive. They should take advantage of this fact. I think every member past & present has played an important part in their history.

[Dougnddeb]

Anyway to get a hold of the Denver show on DVD?

Doug

[90125yes]

I absolutely loved the Union tour, even though the album leaves me cold.
I have the Mountain View and Denver shows, as well as 2-3 audience shot DVDs. The "semi-official" Mountainview DVD is of excellent quality, and features a very good performance, but if memory serves, there are a couple of songs missing. The Denver show is complete, and also of very good pro-shot quality, although not quite as pristine as Mountain View. It is easy to find on most public BitTorrent trackers.

As I said, I thought the Union tour was a great idea, and the band (mostly) seemed to have a blast. In fact, my number one fantasy for 2009 is for Yes to revist the idea, but this time including Peter, Patrick, Geoff and Billy. Simply put: As many ex-members as possible, with a core of Jon, Steve, Chris and Alan performing on most of the songs. There would be many more possibilities for new approaches to old songs and resurrection of neglected fan favourites (say, To Be Over, with Patrick and Rick...Just imagine the symphonic delights!). If there is one thing Yes haven`t shown nearly enough of during the last few decades, it`s playfulness. Meaning, why not allow yourselves to put on a show that is partly improvised and spontaneous for once, playing around with the music? I`m not saying Peter Banks should jump on stage and busk his way through The Remembering with Igor as human beat-box. The integrity of the compositions must always be maintained, but there is much joy to be had for both performer and spectator when risks are taken and great musicians focus on the fun of playing. As an experimental alternative to yet another tour by the Classic Yes Jukebox that is Howe-Squire-White, it`s worth trying. It`d also present a more comfortable pace for Jon`s voice, as Trevor would sing a couple of songs, Chris and Billy could take a lead vocal or two each, and there would be ample opportunity for some old-fashioned extended jamming, where Jon could retreat to his teepee for some tea and a pee.

Imagine a three-way guitar-hero lick-trading extravaganza between Peter, Steve and Trevor on Starship Trooper! Imagine Rick, Patrick and Geoff doing an all-keyboard version of Astral Traveller! Imagine Trevor and Bill spraying extra percussive magic and frenzied guitar madness on "The Ancient"! Imagine five-part harmonies! Imagine Steve "I like to do it with complete control over the Guitar Picture" Howe going along with this...

But, yeah, the Union shows are lots of fun, and highly recommended for Troopers and Generators alike. As a youth, I used to despise the Rabin era (though I loved OOALH when it came out - I was seven then), but mixed in with the heavy hitters of the seventies, the eighties material provided a dose of relative levity and more straightforward rock exitement.
And Awaken...my God, Awaken with the eight-piece band is galaxy-sized!
(mumbles to self, scratches head)
That`s it! I`m watching the whole Denver show tonight!
Brevity schmevity. I`m at work, I`ve got nothing better to do.

____

good post

dream dream dream

[90125yes]

i wish YES would bring out an official release of the union tour on dvd
or any of the live concerts

[harty]

dallasman
any suggestions on how to get either of those versions.

[Sonny G]

I would love to see another Union type concert. The one I saw in Minneapolis was wonderfully entertaining, but I have a hard time believing that they could pull it off again with all the various management involved. I'm really hoping that the rumors of an ELP, YES, ASIA tour actually come to fruition. That would be a superb evening of music.

[somissound]

favourite YES tour ever

i have the dvd of the last tour in the US


squire polishing the rabin guitar stool

great stuff

The show at The Forum in LA was amazing.......:headset:

So fun to see them all interact and interpret each others songs... The Union Line-up was perfect... I wouldn't mind seeing Geoff Downes or Moraz in there too...

I hope at least they do 1 grand show together at some point, and make a dvd...

So much creativity among all of them, could be one heck of a double studio album too! Have each guy bring 1 song and have everybody do it in a Yesvibe...

[relayeire]

shan't be repeated, but the shows were great... they were recording some of them, according to band member comments at the time... I wonder what ever became of those tapes? was hoping for some of that to end up on IAW:L at the very least... they need to do an '89-'04 volume of that collection...

[erik_1099]

Loved Yours Is No Disgrace and Awaken from the Union shows.

[relayeire]

I liked OOALH... Rick's solo bridged the gap of 70s and 80s styles of Yes...

[CybrKhatru]

The show at The Forum in LA was amazing.......:headset:

It sure was!!!! :beerchugr:

[relayeire]

It sure was!!!! :beerchugr:
yeah, I loved the way Peter Banks was forced to sit backstage... LOL... sorry, couldn't resist!

[CybrKhatru]

yeah, I loved the way Peter Banks was forced to sit backstage... LOL... sorry, couldn't resist!

LOL...are we really sure any of that is true? ;)

[Pete Griggs]

I have the Union tour on DVD.

If you want a copy then PM me but I would require you to send me a double layer DVD.

[relayeire]

LOL...are we really sure any of that is true? ;)


would Yesstories lie to us?

[Roadkill]

The Union tour certainly made up for the disappointment of the album. I thought it was a beautiful event (I love that Phil Collins was interviewed during the time and was asked what would have happened had he joined Yes and he said without a doubt they've no be touring with three drummers - the idea that he'd have joined and stayed the course. Ahh, sweet fancy!). I was sent a recording of the Denver show some time ago and it's a very special listening experience. At the time of the tour I seemed to think there'd be a video release of the show but I reckon the various managements involved have made that impossible.

Ah well, there's always YouTube...

[90125yes]

the union tour was fantastic - i wend to the nec in birmingham to see them - fantastic - best yes tour

i also have a union dvd - japanese release


great stuff

[bjlevine]

The Union tour certainly made up for the disappointment of the album. I thought it was a beautiful event (I love that Phil Collins was interviewed during the time and was asked what would have happened had he joined Yes and he said without a doubt they've no be touring with three drummers - the idea that he'd have joined and stayed the course. Ahh, sweet fancy!). I was sent a recording of the Denver show some time ago and it's a very special listening experience. At the time of the tour I seemed to think there'd be a video release of the show but I reckon the various managements involved have made that impossible.

Ah well, there's always YouTube...
But then...who would sing "Against All Odds"?

[90125yes]

Yes - 2 DVDs of the same show and I saw it live in Birmingham with my then Girlfriend - she fell asleep - hence not my friend anymore!

I adore Shock to the System live!!

---

simon how are you ?


i hope your girlfriend falling asleep was not a shock to the system

[90125yes]

But then...who would sing "Against All Odds"?

---

which reminds me , phil collins used to set up bill brufords drums

[90125yes]

LOL...are we really sure any of that is true? ;)

--

yes - rumoured stevie h would not allow peter to play a couple of tracks at one gig as a special guest

he ended up getting drunk at he bar with billy connelly

there is a video on you tube

[Roadkill]

But then...who would sing "Against All Odds"?

Mariah Carey!

[90125yes]

Mariah Carey!

---

phil collins

[Roadkill]

Not his best though, is it?

That would be If Leaving Me Is Easy.

[90125yes]

Not his best though, is it?

That would be If Leaving Me Is Easy.

---

yep - agreed

he also used to be the drum roadie for bruford before he started with genesis

[Enlighten]

There should be an official live dvd release of this tour. A great show, my all time favorite live Yes experience to date.

[yes372]

1. Loved the guitar/drum sections (Howe & Bruford, then Rabin & White) during Yours is No Disgrace.
2. Really loved when the Fragile lineup played Long Distance Runaround.

It was a wonderful tour.

[earthmover3]

There should be an official live dvd release of this tour. A great show, my all time favorite live Yes experience to date.

I also have the official DVD. It was released in Japan. Probably one of the best Yes DVDs I have.

Paul

[crotale2112]

awaken was amazing on that tour. I loved seeing trevor, tony and bill being a part of the amazing awaken. As a yes fan it ment a lot to me.

I also feel that playing awaken and being a part of that energy and hanging out with rick is what helped trevor expand his creativity after the union tour. Movie sound tracks and such.

Who knows, maybe trevor can bring some of that creativity back into yes in a very new kind of way. hmmm...

[glyn]

Anyway to get a hold of the Denver show on DVD?Dime has two versions up for grabs:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=182081 and

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=84190

The first one claims that it is "video from the Union Tour in Denver, 9th May 1991 mixed by none other than Trevor Rabin."

I've no idea if this claim is true.

[bjlevine]

I saw this tour in Orlando and I have to say that giving Trevor/Tony a one minute solo spot in the middle of Awaken (before Steve's guitar comes back in) took away from the dramatic effect of Wakeman's swelling organ solo. It was almost as if someone was saying "I guess we should let Yes West do something here". Still a great experience, and I thought that the percussion piece was the highlight of the evening.

[YESMAN90125]

I saw this tour in Orlando and I have to say that giving Trevor/Tony a one minute solo spot in the middle of Awaken (before Steve's guitar comes back in) took away from the dramatic effect of Wakeman's swelling organ solo. It was almost as if someone was saying "I guess we should let Yes West do something here". Still a great experience, and I thought that the percussion piece was the highlight of the evening.
that was the first time I'd heard the song played live And Of course the sound at the time was top notch, Still one of my favorite shows and Awaken certainly the high point-I understand with that lineup why getting all of the musicians involved was important-there was an attempt to not make anyone feel like a sideman and it more of less worked . I was impressed with the way Tony and Rick handled it and had fun with it I wish Steve and Trevor wouldn't have seen it as so much of a compitetion. I suppose since Steve had not said flattering words about "Yeswest" and Trevor had punched back on that . It put them both in a competitive spot that Rick,Tony Alan and Bill didn't have to worry about.
I wish I could get a good boot of the Alpine Valley show in East Troy Wisconsin which was mostly Chicago and Milwaukee fans. The only so so song of the night was Rhythym of Love

I was also thinking , regarding Tony that he hadn't had a solo in the Way Rick Did (which was Brilliant) he was featured essentially on the intro to Changes
and Plaing DE-GA , DE-GA over and over while it's nice isnt that big of a solo.
And that still gets overshadowed fairly Quickly When Eddie Van Rabin starts to play.

[90125yes]

that was the first time I'd heard the song played live And Of course the sound at the time was top notch, Still one of my favorite shows and Awaken certainly the high point-I understand with that lineup why getting all of the musicians involved was important-there was an attempt to not make anyone feel like a sideman and it more of less worked . I was impressed with the way Tony and Rick handled it and had fun with it I wish Steve and Trevor wouldn't have seen it as so much of a compitetion. I suppose since Steve had not said flattering words about "Yeswest" and Trevor had punched back on that . It put them both in a competitive spot that Rick,Tony Alan and Bill didn't have to worry about.
I wish I could get a good boot of the Alpine Valley show in East Troy Wisconsin which was mostly Chicago and Milwaukee fans. The only so so song of the night was Rhythym of Love

I was also thinking , regarding Tony that he hadn't had a solo in the Way Rick Did (which was Brilliant) he was featured essentially on the intro to Changes
and Plaing DE-GA , DE-GA over and over while it's nice isnt that big of a solo.
And that still gets overshadowed fairly Quickly When Eddie Van Rabin starts to play.

---

i saw the union take at the birmingham nec in the uk and the highlight of the show was awaken

[DREAMER]

I saw 3 shows on that tour which were great, can't see it ever being repeated though. Although as a non fan of Yes West I could have done without Rabin being there.

As someone else said the best recording is the Shoreline DVD which should be officially released worldwide (not just in Japan!)

[90125yes]

I saw 3 shows on that tour which were great, can't see it ever being repeated though. Although as a non fan of Yes West I could have done without Rabin being there.

As someone else said the best recording is the Shoreline DVD which should be officially released worldwide (not just in Japan!)

---

i have the japanese release and it is great

i paid over the odds on ebay for it a couple of years ago

[zenslinger]

Loved this tour. To me, the Shoreline recording doesn't do it justice. Not in the round, last-show-of-the-tour goofiness is refreshing on one hand, but on the other doesn't make for the best document of the tour.

[luna65]

I also feel that playing awaken and being a part of that energy and hanging out with rick is what helped trevor expand his creativity after the union tour. Movie sound tracks and such.
Being the son of a classical musician, trained as a pianist, studying orchestral arranging and conducting, and having already scored a movie at age 19, I think that side of Trevor's abilities was already in place, actually. However, I think the friendship between Trevor and Rick is a really nice thing and it probably made the tour much better for both of them.

[90125yes]

played my japanese union dvd last night

all good people is really funny

wakeman with the maracas having fun with rabin and kaye on the keyboard with a high picthed " YES " sound to make evey one smile


great dvd