And you and I

My all time favourite band, since the age of 13 or so, is ‘Yes’ – one of the most successful prog rock bands of all time. Had I not spent so much time in school lessons perfecting the Yes logo and ‘learning’ the lyrics, I might have got better exam results, and my life may well have gone in a very different (thought not necessarily better direction) – I’m certainly not complaining!

.. and in just a few weeks time I’ll be seeing them perform at The Hammersmith Odeon, London.

As you can see, they’re getting on a bit now, and two of the original members Jon Anderson (vocals) and Rick Wakeman (keyboards) can’t make it due to health reasons. hardly surprising given that they’ve been on the road for 40 years odd now! (more info at http://www.yesworld.com/)

They’re music is original, intricate, timeless, and with amazing lyrics which really resonate – even if they don’t always make much conventional sense (‘I listened hard but could not see, life tempo change out and inside me’)!

This track is from their ‘Close to the Edge’ album. Played live here in Montreux, 2003. Not nearly as good as the studio version/on headphones, but still great. I first saw them play this in Oxford,in 1975 – brilliant!