Fly From Here (2011) vs Return Trip (2018)

[soundchaser09]

Which version do you like more? Personally I really dislike the very notion of re-releasing and then not having the original widely available anymore. That being said i like the newer version of life on a filmset more i reckon, thats about it.

[madbear]

I really don't know what Trevor Horn was playing at... I'm sure he was hired as producer, not singer.

[Davy]

The only songs I like better on Return Trip are Sad Night at the Airfield and Mad Man at the Screen. It's not just the vocals, it's also the instrumental changes and overall sound. FFH for me.

[patrickq]

Plenty of re-makes are better than their originals. But not in this case, imo.

[JMKUSA]

I don’t love the instrumental changes to the suite. It is a crime that he removed most of Steve’s lovely solo from Sad Night. I do prefer the vocals from Trevor and more prominent Chris vocals.

The only song that is made better is Life on a Film Set.

[Mr. Holland]

I much prefer Benoit's vocals. As much as I didn't think he was a good fit live, I think he was great here. Much more melodic than Horn, who seems to sing in this staccato way.

So, the original it is.

[pianozach]

. . . Personally I really dislike the very notion of re-releasing and then not having the original widely available anymore. . . .

Ditto. Seems rather revisionistic, doesn't it?

[ReAwaken]

“Return Trip” is good, but I agree with most everyone here in thinking that the original is still better. I voted accordingly.

[yamishogun]

Big minuses for FFH Return Trip: "Don't Take No For An Answer", "Into the Storm" and no David.

[Ceasar’s Palace]

With AI, it is now time for FFH: Round Trip, where we get the vocals done by a 1981 Trevor Horn.

[Grey Wolf]

With AI, it is now time for FFH: Round Trip, where we get the vocals done by a 1981 Trevor Horn.

With AI I'd add Jon Anderson lead vocals!

[Soundwaveseeker]

I go for the original, which I find to be more in line with the Drama/Adventures In Modern Recording vibe of that kind of Yes, whereas the Return Trip is more Producers/Reflection Wave One current Horn. I wasn't too keen on some of the changes made to the FFH suite which actually rendered it less effective to me. But some stuff like Life On A Film Set is neither better or worse since it has different elements entirely like different lyrics or added bits. With Return Trip you also get an extra song in Don't Take No For An Answer, and though it isn't outstanding and foreshadows the semi-bland Howe vocal leads of future stuff of The Quest bonus tracks, it ups RT's value. The full Hour Of Need is great too, but the shorter edit that made the original is quite effective as a Nine Voices type acoustic song. If the From A Page lineup had gone forward instead, then I would have said the opposite, as I feel the longer version would have been ideal for what FFH could/would have been with Oliver Wakeman there for the duration.

You would think that as a Drama enthusiast I would prefer the Horn-sung retooling, but to me the original had the appropriate amount of Horn to satisfy me even if he didn't do the lead vocals. He's still there and his presence is felt throughout the entire original FFH as if he was the vocalist on the original FFH - in his production, songwriting and backing vocals and maybe even an instrument or two. And Benoit did a great job as lead vocals, sounding very Horn-like - especially on Life On A Film Set. So you really don't need Horn on lead vox there, as his presence is still felt and you still get total Horn/Drama/Asia/Buggles feels from the whole endeavor. So you get some extra material with Return Trip and you get Horn singing, making FFH a second Drama lineup album, but the original FFH is the more effective Drama-lineup statement. You really don't lose much of or any Drama element with David singing instead of Horn.

[Somis Sound]

The only songs I like better on Return Trip are Sad Night at the Airfield and Mad Man at the Screen. It's not just the vocals, it's also the instrumental changes and overall sound. FFH for me.

I agree. I mostly like how Chris is up in the mix more bass and vocally. Also nice to hear their voices together again, which blend so nicely. But, there are definitely some versions on the the Benny version I like better vocally and arrangement wise. But I had to go with RT by a smidgen. Both versions are the first Yes albums I can listen to all the way through to since Drama!

[michelforest]

Return Trip was disappointing. The original arrangements were better and the added material on RT doesn't amount to anything interesting. My favorite song, "Hour of Need", didn't need the instrumental intro and "Don't Take No for an Answer" is very boring.

[pianozach]

I'll just say that the one overwhelming thing I always recall from FFH-RT is just how jarring, cringey, and superfluous Don't Take Steve For An Answer is.