Yes: Classic Artists
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Movie Reviews of Yes: Classic Artists
Movie Review: A must have for the real Yes-fan
Summary: 4 Stars
Great to hear and see the complete story of Yes told by themselves. You have to be a fan and be familiar with their music, otherwise this DVD-set might be a bit disappointing. Because this DVD-set is absolutely NOT "packed" with music, video and photographs as promissed. Maybe 10 minutes at the most of video during a 3,5 hour interview is far too little to be called "packed". But nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much.
Movie Review: Great content, marginal production
Summary: 3 Stars
Once again, John Brewer (one-time Yes manager) delivers a visually-appalling piece of video production. Remember the barely-watchable Keys to Ascension video massacre of the San Luis Obispo shows from March 1996? Yep, same guy, who has not a clue about putting together an aesthetically-pleasing visual document.
The content here is compelling and keeps one glued to listen to the now-older Yes members and alumni retell much of the history die-hard Yes fans already know, but it's worth the revisit to hear how opinions may have changed and interpretations of events have evolved.
Visually, where can we begin? Each interview looks as though it was shot by a different video crew. Some interviewees are given TV make-up, most are not. Chris Squire is lit flatly, with a plant sitting behind a couch, a Yes shawl draped over the back. Poor Steve Howe is lit as if he's starring in a horror film--hard light screams from behind casting a frightening white silhouette. Alan White is shot in the requisite lobby chair with adjacent table lamp. Rick Wakeman looks as though he was videotaped in the loo with an unnecessary mirror reflection. Bill Bruford's face is cast in harsh shadows, background over-lit, in full focus with a white door grabbing much of the attention. Jon Anderson is also hit with hard light brighter than the sun on Malibu Beach. You get the idea--it's just an amateur production. Oddly, there is a brief segment with Keith Emerson which looks good--probably shot in hi-def 24p with softer lighting.
Some might not care or notice these infractions. But why take the time and effort to make such a thorough document of Yes's history, and not hire a skilled crew to make it look as good as Yes's music sounds? Yesspeak--another document of Yes interviews, is equally, if not more poorly shot than this one.
For a well-produced, visually-pleasing prog rock document, check out "Prog Rock Britannia-An Observation in Three Movements." And for Yes, the MTV Rockumentary from 1991 is beautifully-done piece.
Movie Review: Yes Years II
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a very good documentary and updates the video story of the band after the terrific "Yes Years" from 1991. Sadly, unlike Yes Years, this film is based entirely on the interviews and has precious little video footage from the studio or road. There's a nice chronology, from album to album (as with Yes Years) but I missed seeing video footage of the guys at those times. Instead, you get the guys TODAY sitting at home or wherever, reminiscing about those times. Which is great in its own way, but I missed the archival footage that made Yesyears so great. In a couple spots, they gloss over the stories behind certain albums much too quickly. Where Yesyears celebrated "Going for the One" and gave it the attention it deserved, this film kinda skips past it, with very little discussion behind the greatness of epics like "Awaken." In Yesyears we got to see footage of the guys making GFTO in Montreaux. We learned how those songs came together, and we saw the music being made. Here, it's just talk about it. Oh, and there's NO discussion whatsoever of the solo albums done by each band member in 1976. And no disussion of the aborted album from 1979. I did like how they gave Drama the re-examination it deserved, with interviews from Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. That was cool.
If you're a longtime Yes fan, this DVD is a must for the comprehensive coverage of the band's history. If you're a relative newcomer, you might be best off starting with Yesyears to get a more well-rounded lesson on the classic yes stuff first.
Movie Review: Although the box looks nice, the overall package isn't as good as YesYears
Summary: 3 Stars
Here's a double DVD of a very detailed history on the group Yes. This first DVD goes on for over 3 and a half hours. That's a lot of "blah-blah-blah" to have to sit through. You'd have to be a very big fan of Yes to want to savor every word being said here. And then you get a second DVD with even more "even less interesting" dialogue plus you get to see some videos (unfortunately cropped for widescreen instead of their original full screen format).
I love Yes. But, I enjoy the YesYears DVD better for a few good reasons. YesYears is one DVD and it only runs about 94 minutes. YesYears sticks to very important information about Yes so that even the non-Yes fan may capture interest in Yes.
And, what's very important about the difference between this Classic Artists release and YesYears is that YesYears has a much better video quality. This DVD video quality is rather fuzzy and muddy. So it's way too long of an eyesore to have to sit through. Especially twice or more.
I've rented these two DVD's of Yes: Classic Artists and I just wasn't too impressed. After I watched them, I then watched my copy of YesYears. YesYears is definitely more interesting and looks very good on DVD. Much higher quality picture and sound. It may be out of print now, but if you're a serious Yes Fan, you should look for it used somewhere. However, I doubt you'll ever find it easily. No true Yes fan that has it would give it up, I'm sure.
Movie Review: Informative....but overly LONG!
Summary: 3 Stars
I was so excited when I'd heard of this DVD set. I thought,"Finally a whole history of Yes with videos and interviews!"
Well,....it is a whole DVD of interviews,BUT little music is here.
At a running time of over 2 hours this was a chore to watch even for a big fan,and I am a fanatic for Yes. Yeah,there's loads of in depth information.But if they just kept putting a few minutes of performance in once in a while or even added a soundtrack of Yes music in the show's background then it might not get to feel so long winded.
This is a one-off watching experience for me.I mean how many times can you view a long set of interviews? I haven't seen the performance extras yet. But I am so glad that I paid only $9.72 for this!
I'd recommend this ONLY to the most AVID of Fans! I wished for more from this.