Description
Gathering of all the great Progressive musicians. Members of Yes, etc. Comes in a cigarette like package…
Medieval Death LP and free DVD + Mordicus “Rights ‘n Trials” LP. Official videos, audio, info.
Check the exclusive video showing this tape for sale
Check the exclusive video showing this tape for sale
Medieval Death LP and free DVD + Mordicus “Rights ‘n Trials” LP. Official videos, audio, info.
Ranking my top 5 groups: #2 Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe The ultimate non-Yes Yes band. This band formed in 1988 when Jon Anderson felt that the rest of Yes were putting money over music. He got together with Steve Howe, who felt a similar dissatisfaction with his band Asia. They eventually got Rick Wakeman and manager Brian Lane involved and soon enough pulled Bill Bruford from Earthworks. To me, Bruford’s electric drumming is the best part of this band. It gives it that ABWH sound IMO. I feel that this band were successful at moving on and starting a new band. Bruford and Howe also praised the developing of this new group. I know it confused many people that there were two Yeses but the truth is this isn’t Yes. It’s a hell of a group though. It’s a shame these guys only had one album as I feel this band had potential but in the end we got to see them merge with Yes, my #1 favorite. It’s like a dream in many ways.
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe –/ Themes / Vultures (In The City) exclusive -non album- NOT available elsewhere song
Label: Arista – 410 017
Format: Cassette, Single
Country: UK
Released: Jun 1989
Genre: Rock, Prog Rock
Tracklist
1 Brother Of Mine (The Big Dream; Nothing Can Come Between Us; Long Lost Brother Of Mine)
2 Themes (Sound; Second Attention; Soul Warrior)
3 Vultures (In The City) exclusive -non album- NOT available elsewhere song
The tracks are duplicated on the reverse side.
Barcode: 4007194100178
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe perform: Long Distance Runaround (from Yes 1971 Fragile album), Bill Bruford drum solo (2:43) (lead in with Heart Of The Sunrise), And You And I (6:33) and Your Move/I’ve Seen All Good People (16:14) (from 1971 The Yes Album).
An Evening Of Yes Music Plus at Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA on September 9, 1989.
Yes were in a legal mess at the time and so Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe were not able to use the name Yes. Instead they hit upon the catchy ‘Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe’ and toured playing lots of old Yes numbers to a very high standard augmented by the well known bassist Tony Levin in place of ‘Fishy’ Chris Squire. They also recorded an album and seamlessly slotted in many of the tracks from it to the set; so much like classic Yes tracks they sound.
The track ‘Themes’ sets the scene for what is to come very well with its extended instrumental breaks and nonsensical lyrics.
Next up is a ten minute version of the single ‘Brother of mine’ which is one of those tunes which you cannot get out of your head once you’ve listened to it. Some nice keyboard playing again from Rick who really does seem to come out well into the mix throughout the early tracks.
Vultures (In The City) is an exclusive non album track:
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe an English progressive rock band. The group formed in 1988 after singer Jon Anderson left Yes and reunited with former Yes members Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman, and Steve Howeto start a new band. A selection of demos were put down in France before recording took place in Montserrat and London, during which Bruford suggested Tony Levin play bass on the album. Several artists receive songwriting credits, including Geoff Downes, Max Bacon, Rhett Lawrence, and Vangelis.
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe received a warm critical and commercial reception upon the release of their sole album, reaching No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 30 on the US Billboard 200. In August 1989, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 500,000 copies in the US. The band released “Brother of Mine” as single in 1989.
5.0 out of 5 stars Revisit the Magic of Yes’ Glory Years
“”Brother of Mine”” is a solid, muscular prog excursion, with expert musicianship and multiple segments. The opening track “”Themes”” is exciting and adventurous; the four Yes men are having fun experimenting with musical variations.
It’s a shame Squire wasn’t part of ABWH. ABWH could have been called Yes, and with his input, the album could have joined the all -time Yes classics of the ’71-’77 era. Nonetheless, it is very solid progressive rock, and well worth adding to your collection.
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (sometimes referred to by the acronym ABWH) was a permutation of the progressive rock band Yes. The group consisted of vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboard player Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe. These Yes alumni had played together on the most popular recordings by Yes in the early 1970s. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe recorded one self-titled studio album in 1989. A live recording from their subsequent concert tour was released in 1993.
Although conceived by Anderson as being a Yes re-union, others in the band were keen to distance themselves from the “Yes” name. At the time, the name was co-owned by Howe, Alan White and Chris Squire. As Squire and White were still continuing with the Trevor Rabin ‘90125’ Yes line-up, it was not possible for ABWH to use the “Yes” name anyway. Anticipating this problem, Jon Anderson suggested they call themselves “The Affirmative,” but the other band members felt that was disingenuous. The name “No” was also suggested, but in the end, they decided to simply name themselves after the members of the band, despite the very legitimate criticism that it made them sound like an accounting firm. When Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe toured, they titled their shows “An Evening Of Yes Music Plus.” ABWH were sued by Yes in an attempt to prevent any mention of Yes in the ABWH promotional material. This seems to stem from an agreement before the release of Yes’ 90125 album between Yes, Howe and Wakeman over the use of the Yes name in the promotion of other activities.
Eventually, ABWH and Yes resolved their differences and produced a Yes album titled Union that included recordings originally intended for separate albums by both groups.
Fans tend to regard ABWH as Yes in all but name, and songs from the solo album have been included on subsequent Yes compilations.
In 1983, singer Jon Anderson returned to Yes to record lead vocals on their 1983 studio album 90125, which saw Yes adopt a musical direction that was more commercial and pop-oriented. The line-up during this time included bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and guitarist Trevor Rabin who wrote the majority of 90125. The release of 90125 saw Yes reach their greatest commercial success which was followed by their 1987 album Big Generator.
In September 1988, Anderson left Yes citing his growing dissatisfaction with the band’s commercial direction. He spent his summer on the Greek island of Hydra writing songs with Vangelis, where he first came up with the idea of making music with the past Yes line-up of guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Bill Bruford.
On his return trip from Hydra, Anderson met Howe in London who presented him with his musical ideas including the chorus of “Brother of Mine” and “Birthright”. Five weeks were spent producing demo tracks at La Frette Studios in Paris. Anderson asked musician Milton McDonald to help with the project and play additional guitars. Bruford recalled meeting Anderson, Howe, Wakeman, and former Yes manager Brian Lane, at the airport in London. He said, “Oh, we’re in trouble here. This obviously meant it was some sort of Yes project … I thought I was just going to put some drums on a Jon Anderson solo record”.
Recording moved to AIR Studios on the island of Montserrat for six weeks. Bruford saw the recording location as “a deal clincher”. It was there when Bruford suggested to have his King Crimson bandmate Tony Levin play bass on the album. Bruford noticed Anderson being “on strong form … he conducted proceedings without fear of let or hindrance” from the problematic times recording with Yes. When recording was complete, Anderson supervised the album’s mixing sessions at Bearsville Studios with mixing engineers Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero.
On 31 May 1989, weeks before the release of their album and tour, the group were subject to a suit filed by Yes that wished to prevent Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe from mentioning the name “Yes” in their promotional material, suggest or calling attention to Yes music which they argued may cause “confusion in the minds of the public over which group is the real Yes”, and prohibit Anderson from speaking of his former membership in Yes. The suit was based on a separation agreement entered into by each past and present member of Yes in May 1984 that specified who was entitled to use the Yes name; any “withdrawing partner” from the group could no longer use the name or mention they were in the band before, after a specified date.
Yes argued that Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe had “wrongfully converted” the Yes name in an advertisement for Los Angeles Times that promoted their upcoming concert as “an evening of Yes music plus”. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe filed a response on 5 June; their attorneys called Yes’s suit “an outrageous attempt … to stop the media and public from comparing ABWH’s new recording with theirs”. According to former Yes tour co-ordinator Jim Halley, “the European promoters began splashing the name Yes all over the posters … in the end they came to an accommodation”. Anderson stressed, “we never said we were Yes. It was the record company!”
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe was released on 20 June 1989 through Arista Records. The album peaked at number 14 in the UK and number 30 in the US. It went on to reach the top 30 in Canada, Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, and Sweden. The album sold 750,000 copies.
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe offered a decidedly old-school rebuttal to the progressively more produced sound Yes used throughout the ’80s, leaning heavily on the band’s prog roots with a nine-song set that included four lengthy suites: “Themes,” “Brother of Mine,” and “Order of the Universe.” With expanded running times aplenty, mystical artwork, and portentous-sounding song titles like “Birthright” and “The Meeting,” it gave the appearance of vintage Yes — although the truth turned out to be somewhat different.
Jon Anderson’s tenor wails through spacy lyrics, Rick Wakeman constructs cathedrals of synthesized sound, Steve Howe rips high-pitched guitar leads, and Bill Bruford makes his drums sound like timpani. For all that, it’s a pedestrian effort for these veterans, not as bombastic as some of their stuff, not as inspired as others, but it definitely has the “Yes” sound. “She Gives Me Love” even refers to “Long Distance Runaround.”
In an interview with Bruford and Jeff Giles (Ultimateclassicrock.com), he talks about the single taken from the album “Why ‘Brother of Mine’ wasn’t a hit I’ve no idea at all,” he grumbled. “The only possible explanation I have is that it was edited by [Arista boss] Clive Davis, who has the kiss of death when editing singles.”
But it wasn’t just having single edits imposed on longer tracks that derailed the group. “There was a brief window, I think … there was a brief opportunity for that band to have flourished. I thought there were moments in the music … that I thought showed intelligence and genuine scope, and a genuine future for the participants. If the participants had managed to close their ears to of all the nonsense being spoken in their ears, of course by [manager] Brian Lane and record companies, then they had a chance at a future. However, I think that window closed pretty much as quickly as it opened, I’m not sure everybody else noticed it.”
Of course, bands don’t just find themselves in situations where they’re beholden to record company interests. “The problem with bands like Yes all the time has been over-consumption of resources, greed on the one hand and indolence on the other, particularly indolence, huge sums of money consumed for no reason whatsoever, completely thoughtlessly,” Bruford argued. But as for the music on the record? “I’m pretty happy, I mean they’re essentially Jon’s songs. I had very little to do with them. I thought that Jon was on strong form for that album.” [extract from Yes Minus One: The History of ‘Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe’]
In 1990, tracks for a second studio album were included with songs recorded by Yes to make the thirteenth Yes album, Union (1991). This marked the end of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and the start of the eight-member Yes formation until 1992, comprising Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and Yes musicians Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Tony Kaye, and Alan White.
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I distinctly remember being confused when I first saw this album in the record racks and wondered why Yes was recording under their individual names. I could only guess that their name change was related to some ‘legal dispute’ between band members or with their record company. Because the record was released by Arista and not Atlantic I assumed it was about record companies. It seems it was all about the trade name ‘Yes’ and the ownership rights to use the name. Anyhow, I love this album and with a majority of the original band members playing on this record, I still catalog it in amongst my other Yes albums.
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