Music DVD Poll Yes - The 35th Anniversary Concert - Songs From Tsongas (2 Discs)

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Rate the DVD-V "Yes - The 35th Anniversary Concert - Songs From Tsongas (2 Discs)"

  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 - Poor Mix, Poor Content, Poor Packaging/Graphics

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 - Complete waste of plastic

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    9
Concert: approx. 150 min
Sound (8): DTS, DD 5.1 and DD 2.0
Picture (8): widescreen, a little bit too soft
Summary: great concert with great setlist, no extras, but a short interview
 
MC Weissbier said:
Sound (8): DTS, DD 5.1 and DD 2.0

Both Tower.com and Amazon.com just list this as Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Is it possible that NTSC Region 1 would be released without surround sound? Can someone with a North American copy verify what the case is?
 
not many votes on this. If you like prog, this is a must-have, imho. Yes has been my fave band since mid-70's and this disc is now my fave Yes dvd. Symphonic is great and for a long time was my go-to Yes disc, but I think I may have gotten burnt out on it. But the AQ on this is awesome- nice full mix and a good balance. PQ is also very good. But the best thing in my mind is the setlist, though non-Yesheads might not appreciate it as much. One of the reasons I like it is because, while it has many of the standards, it also has a nice mix of tunes they rarely played. Songs from this dvd not on any other video release (to my knowledge): Going for the One- a ripping version that starts the show); Mind Drive (great to see this performed live for the first time- they never covered it when it was released; unfortunately, they broke it into 2 parts and took out a significant chunk, but still awesome); Sweet Dreams (a rocking version of a song from their 2nd album); Wondrous Stories; and the best, a totally smoking version of their cover of the Beatles Every Little Thing from thier debut album.

Besides these rarities, we get an amazing version of Turn of the Century, previously only released on video on the less-than-stellar :rolleyes: Keys to Ascension, South Side of the Sky, also only on 1 other video (Montreux) and the Meeting, never on an official Yes release but previously available on ABWH's an evening of Yes music plus. Furthermore, the standards are very well played- possibly the best version on video of And You and I and a rocking Yours is No Disgrace. Also, a fine version of Ritual, the only time Wakeman can be seen playing it.

If you're a Yes fan and don't have this, it's a no-brainer. If you have no Yes on video, this is the one I'd recommend. Symphonic is arguably better for Yes fans, but the orchestral treatment probably wouldn't be as compelling for those not as intimately familiar with their music. Plus, on this, instead of an orchestra, you have the keyboard wizrd himself, Mr. Rick Wakeman.
 
I'd seen a couple shows on this tour. They play with even more grace and technique than ever but age is starting to slow some of the tempos down. Difficult to come to terms with at times with past experiences to compare to. Still Yes. Still awesome.

So... this show was better than I expected performance-wise! Some really wild moments and a seriously unexpected setlist!

But the sound...
This is definitely a fans only release here with the lack of even reasonable sound quality and likely a single listen at that. Really a shame with the nice video and all.
It sounds like a live mix soundboard recording. The vocals (being the quietest thing on stage) are extremely up front. They are being muted between vocal parts live as well. You hear Chris's mic cut in mid word a couple times. When Jon's mic is turned on, the sound actually improves from the ambiance in the bleed. I'm sure it was a problem live in the room (hence the tight muting).

So this would have been worked on (mastered) to knock the vocals back as well as possible to balance things. Steve's guitar is all but missing from the recording. It must have been at an appropriate volume on stage. All that's left is a dry, anemic sound buried in the mix (just the little bit needed in the PA in the room to add to the live guitar amps). This master is polished up to have a more or less reasonable sounding balance and fidelity at a glance. No lo-fi harshness or distortion. Just the awkward balance of a live board tape but polished up as well as possible.

That's all speculation of course based on what it sounds like to me.
Sounds like they had an audience track from one of the cameras for the rear speakers for the surround mix. Otherwise, the 5.1 is just that somewhat awkward stereo mix mastered to surround.

Starting the disc with a slow tempo and down a key version of Going For The One with that awkward mix sure doesn't help things either. You'll be happy you kept listening though.
 
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