Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman - Live at the Apollo Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman - Live at the Apollo Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 31, 2018

The Live at the Apollo subtitle of this nice new Yes concert might lead some to understandably think of Harlem and West 125th Street in Manhattan, which in turn might cause some to wonder, “Yes at the Apollo?” Personally, I think there’s a certain undeniable soulfulness in a lot of Yes’ material, but one way or the other, the Apollo in this particular case is not the one most folks in the United States will probably immediately think of, but instead another venue bearing the same name that’s located in the United Kingdom in Manchester. What's kind of interesting about this release, which is being touted as a "50th Anniversary" concert, is that only Jon Anderson from the "original" group is featured. What's even more interesting, at least for certain kind of music geeks (ahem) who pay attention to branding and how iconic bands get marketed after what is perceived as their heyday, is that Yes in its supposedly "current" version doesn't feature any of the players on this concert, one of the few instances that I personally can think of where different performing aggregations have performed under the same band name.

Of the three kinda sorta “original” members featured here (fans will of course argue with that “original” moniker, but will hopefully know what I mean), Anderson is the eldest at 74, and as the vocalist, might show the most signs of the ravages of time in controlling his “instrument”, but quite thrillingly, his piercing tenor is still vibrant and really remarkable throughout the concert. Trevor Rabin tears into some fun guitar solos, and Rick Wakeman is kind of hammily theatrical in a huge cape. The two other players are Lee Pomeroy on bass and Louis Molino III on drums, both of whom play most of this concert with kind of sweet permanent grins on their faces, as if they can’t quite believe they’re getting to storm through these iconic tunes with these legendary musicians. The arrangements don't exactly mimic the original recorded versions, but kind of pay homage to them in an appealing way.

The band’s set list is as follows (including several “tracks” that are firmly in the prog rock tradition of seamless segues or songs with multiple movements):

1. Intro / Cinema / Perpetual Change
2. Hold On
3. I’ve Seen All Good People: (I) Your Move (II) All Good People
4. Lift Me Up
5. And You and I (I) Cord of Life (II) Eclipse (III) The Preacher, The Teacher (IV) Apocalypse
6. Rhythm of Love
7. Heart of the Sunrise
8. Changes
9. Long Distance Runaround / The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)
10. Awaken
11. Make It Easy / Owner of a Lonely Heart
12. Roundabout

Note: Some interested fans may have noticed we also have a Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman - Live at the Apollo listing that is going for a rather unexpectedly huge amount of money. In checking the actual Amazon listing, it seems to be a Japanese import that also features 2 CDs along with the Blu-ray disc. The publicity sheet Eagle Rock sent to me with this release mentions a domestic 2 CD release, and I found this on Amazon, which looks like it's that release, and which is going for significantly less than the $134 and change that the Japanese release is going for.

Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman - Live at the Apollo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman — Live at the Apollo is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and Universal Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The opening credits are "old school" looking, with wobbly credits and "tracking" problems, along with intentional distressing of flecks, dirt and scratches, but once the actual concert begins, things are sharp and well detailed throughout the presentation. Though the lighting choices once again often bathe things in deep cobalt blues and almost crimson tinged purples, aside from just the barest hint of posterizing (mostly upstage by the drums), there really aren't any major problems to discuss here. Coverage of the players is great, and some of the close-ups offer really abundant fine detail, commendably without any anomalies like combing artifacts in the many shots of Rabin "dancing" across his fretboard. Blacks are solid and contrast consistent throughout this enjoyable presentation.

Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman - Live at the Apollo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman — Live at the Apollo features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks, though as often tends to be the case with Eagle Rock releases, the disc has been authored to default to the stereo track. As I often feel with these choices, the stereo track sounds just a tad more focused in terms of voice placement, but otherwise I personally think the obvious way to go is the surround track, since it provides a much wider soundstage that allows all of the layering of Rabin's guitars and Wakeman's multi-keyboards to really have sufficient breathing room. Fidelity is fine on both tracks, with excellent clarity and precision through all frequency ranges.

Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman - Live at the Apollo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements included on this Blu-ray disc.

Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman - Live at the Apollo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Speaking of music geeks (ahem again), and in an admittedly tangential anecdote, years ago I got some cool Percy Faith scores (stop laughing), and was really interested to see Maestro Faith's handwriting on the score for his kind of neo-Baroque piece We Were Havin' Some Fun at the Conservatory, When. . . telling someone named "Rick" to be careful, since he needed to be reading (and playing!!) two different scores and keyboards (one of them a complex harpsichord line) simultaneously. On a lark, I emailed Rick Wakeman' site, asking if perhaps he was the player, since this track was recorded when Rick was doing a lot of session work in Los Angeles. To my surprise, within minutes I received a personal answer from Rick himself, saying he loved the track (so there, haters) and that it sure sounded like him, but he had no memory of it if indeed it was him. It was an object lesson that some legendary musicians can actually be nice people and answer their fan mail. There's a genuine joy to this concert that is actually uplifting, and I can't imagine Yes fans from any era of this band's long life (in whatever aggregation) not liking what they hear. Technical merits are first rate, and Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman — Live at the Apollo comes Highly recommended.