Review by James Jeffery from Prog Archives:

*Keys To Ascension* was the much vaunted return to prog for Yes. Unlike similar publicity surrounding Genesis* travesty *Calling All Stations*, this was generally the truth. The band were arguably wise in some respects to release the new material on two separate live albums of this title, as a live album with the old Yes material was a guaranteed seller at the time- a new album certainly wasn*t, as the relative failure of *Talk* proved.

It is a joy to hear the old Yes songs played by Yes once more. Whilst ABWH had arguably set the wheels in motion with their self titled album, there was a big Chris Squire sized gap in proceedings. This was particularly evident with the concerts, where a succession of bassists tried but failed to reproduce his distinct bass sound. After the *Union* debacle, the band got back to prog basics (if that*s not a contradiction in terms!), and reconvened the Anderson/Wakeman/Howe/Squire/White line-up for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The highlights of the live set are the epics- *The Revealing Science Of God* and *Awaken*. The former is taken from the biggest cause celebre of the whole genre, *Tales From Topographic Oceans*. For me, it*s a superb album and always has been, and *Revealing* was possibly my favourite track from that album. Wakeman*s keyboards have rarely been better than here, and you can tell that this is the one song he liked from that album as his work is first class. Some fans hold the version of *Awaken* here as the best ever. Certainly, it*s the best live version I*ve heard of it- it builds up in intensity and emotion wonderfully, with the whole band digging in and delivering a sublime performance, the set reaching its emotional pinnacle where Wakeman digs in and delivering a sublime faux-church organ coup de grace. However, the whole set is terrific. No concessions to their lesser 80s AOR here- instead we are treated to lesser known gems like the beautiful *Onward* from *Tormato* (perhaps the sole saving grace of that album) and a version of *America* that to me is the best they*ve done of that track. Old favourites from their early career like *Starship Trooper*, *Roundabout* and *Siberian Khatru* are equally terrific, Steve Howe being particularly fiery throughout.

It is, in truth, the studio work that is this set*s failing, however. Whilst they may have returned to their halcyon days in concert, they just cannot reproduce their past prog glories in the studio. The songs here actually sound like an AOR band trying to do epics- not too convincing. Ironic considering Yes were arguably once the best band of all when it came to epics…

The first track, *Be The One*, is one of the most mind-bogglingly dull songs the band ever recorded. It is 9 minutes long, as were other gems like *Yours Is No Disgrace*, *Siberian Khatru* and *Roundabout* way back when, but whilst those were absolutely jam packed with ideas and sections, *Be The One* is an over-extended, AOR cul de sac, with rather uninspired solos and a tedious melody.

*That, That Is* had initial promise, being nearly 20 minutes long in length. Certainly, the first few minutes show the band had regained their essential dynamics they had squandered in the 80s with the bombast of Trevor Horn*s production work. Steve Howe plays some beautiful acoustic motifs in the intro, and the way the band rise in intensity with sumptuous keys and percussion was very promising too, but the disappointment is crushing as again, the AOR influence is all too evident in the song. This could have been an outtake from *Big Generator*, albeit extended by 3 times the length and far more tedious than anything from that album. Also, the climax is shockingly abrupt for a Yes epic…

All in all, whilst the live set is terrific nostalgia for old wave Yes fans, the studio tracks aren*t as inspired. Perhaps putting studio material on a live album was a shrewd business move in some ways, but it just reinforces how weak this later material is. The second volume of this did, however, feature the best song they*d managed since *Machine Messiah*- the terrific *Mind Drive*.

I*d say a solid 3.5 for the album, but on the strength of the live performance…



Tracklisting:
Disc 1 (65:25):
1. Siberian Khatru [Live] (10:16)
2. The Revealing Science of God [Live] (20:32)
3. America [Live] (10:28)
4. Onward [Live] (5:40)
5. Awaken [Live] (18:30)

Disc 2 (50:47):
6. Roundabout [Live] (8:30)
7. Starship Trooper [Live] (13:08)
8. Be The One [Studio] (9:53)
9. That, That is [Studio] (19:16)

Total Time: 116:12

Line-Up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Chris Squire / bass and vocals
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Alan White / drums
- Steve Howe / guitars and vocals

Password: http://www.8888ddl.com (sometime password is wrong).
Mirror Links: