Released on 1999.
REVIEW Someone had held onto early live recordings and studio outtakes of the band’s first lineup, which were released in various guises as Beyond and Before, Something’s Coming and, here abridged to a single merciful disc, Astral Traveller. There’s no point in picking up more than one of these, and even then only after you’ve bought all of the band’s formal releases. The trouble is the quality of the mix, which distorts the band’s then-blooming talents into a sometimes cacophonous mush. Anderson’s voice sounds pitifully spent on “Dear Father,” Bruford’s usually deft drumwork is smudged on “Something’s Coming” -- on the whole it’ll have you running back to the originals. Banks, Chris Squire and Tony Kaye emerge largely unscathed by the mix, and it’s fair to say that the guitars of Banks and Squire are the real attraction here for hardcore fans. The other nugget is a nonalbum track, “For Everyone,” which carries the seed of “Starship Trooper” in its belly. Some songs here sound passably good, including “Every Little Thing” and “Beyond and Before” (the latter is listed as a bonus track, which implies a cassette or elpee version without it). There is a market for live recordings from the original quintet, but they need to sound better than this. The liner notes are mildly helpful at setting the stage, though referring to their second album as “Time and a World” speaks volumes. For the serious Yes collector, Astral Traveller isn’t a total disappointment, but don’t go too far out of your way to find it.
TRACK LISTING
CREDITS
JON ANDERSON -- vocals
BILL BRUFORD -- drums
PETER BANKS -- guitar
TONY KAYE -- keyboards
CHRIS SQUIRE -- bass, vocals
return to main YES page
RELEASE DATA
| REGION | RELEASE DATE | LABEL | MEDIA | ID NUMBER | FEATURES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | 1999 | Brilliant | CD | BT 33019 | a bonus track (*) is listed on the CD |
© 2002 Connolly & Company. All rights reserved.