Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks - 2025 - Live. Perpetual Change

(124:00, Frontiers Music)

It is not the first time there have been two versions of Yes doing the rounds: the last time was when we had both ABWH and Yes, which eventually saw the bands come together for ‘Union’. For some reason, Yes were unable to find New Zealand on a map until fairly recently, and I count myself lucky to have seen the Davidson, Howe, Squire, Downes, White line-up twice. However, I do also think there has only been one truly enjoyable album since ‘Drama’ (which is one of my favourites – I don’t care what anyone else says), which is 2011’s ‘Fly From Here’. There is something about the Seventies and Anderson, Wakeman, Howe, Squire, Bruford/White which was truly remarkable, and they have never been able to truly recapture that, which means in all honesty we now have two cover bands on the circuit, and which is the better?

True, I would go and see either if they discovered where Aoteaora is on a map (something which map makers themselves seem to often fail at), but if I had to see just one it would be this one. Jon Anderson will always be the voice of Yes, and it is remarkable to hear him singing like this at the age of 79 – true, he is not always perfect, but there is no autotune and while one would never think this was him in his prime it is still a wonderful performance. The Band Geeks were put together by long-time Blue Öyster Cult member Richie Castellano (bass, guitar) and he has been joined by Rob Kipp (guitar, keyboards), Chris Clark (keyboards), Andy Graziano (guitar, bass) and Andy Ascolese (drums). This was all about classic Yes, with all the songs available on the 1973 ‘Yessongs’ release (surely one of the greatest live albums of all time), apart from “Awaken” and “Gates of Delirium”, both of which were originally recorded on later albums. “Awaken” is the newest number, from 1977, and this performance really is like being in a time machine as each member of the band has done everything they can to replicate the originals. The keyboard patches are impressive, as it sounds as if we are listening to someone play Wakeman’s notes on his keyboards, while the Squire bass sound is also great.

The question is, do we need this album? And do we need it from Anderson and some hired musicians? Guess what? I am not sure if we need it or not, but I know I have thoroughly enjoyed every second of it as it took me back to my youth and playing ‘Yessongs’ repeatedly. If I go back 50 years, I would guess it was my most played album, something I still return to today, and the only thing I would change on this would be if it could be a triple CD and not double so we could have “Going For The One”, “Wondrous Stories” and some others. Will Yes and Jon Anderson ever reconcile? I doubt it, which is a real shame as life is too short, but if someone gave me a live album from the current line-up or this one, I know which one I would turn to as this is simply wonderful from first note to the last.   

Kev Rowland, September 2025

Links:
https://www.jonanderson.com/
https://www.frontiers.it/