The Elysian Fields

One of my favorite Yes tunes is Owner Of A Lonely Heart from 1983's 90125. The video for that, ground breaking as it was, especially given the extended length of the original clip, doesn't seem to be found anywhere on YouTube. I'm sure the record company executives are thrilled that they put all that money into it, hooked people on it, and now won't let it be seen.

Of course, since I officially ended the Yes set yesterday, the video we're going to watch is a solo clip of Jon Anderson. Now, when most artists leave a group and go and do a solo album, there's generally 2-200 other musicians involved in that solo effort - Jon's no different, having released albums in a variety of formats from duets (billed as such) to rock bands with orchestral accompaniment. This performance here, however, really is a solo performance: Jon, a guitar, and a microphone. It's interesting to hear how this song sounds stripped down - minus all the synth effects, the textured guitars, the layers and layers of vocals.

Whoops... posted that one before adding a brief bit about it...

This song, like so many I've been posting, comes from the album Union, which is all the more reason for you to run out right now and buy three copies of it immediately. =)

This tune really isn't really a rock tune, it definitely has more of a New Age feel about it ~ and I tend to prefer that side of Yes, one reason why I like so many of Jon Anderson's collaborations with artists like Vangelis, Kitaro, and Tangerine Dream.

Today's tune comes from one of my favorite Yes albums ~ 1991's Union ~ which combines the work of two of the band's lineups (hence the title of the album). While you don't truly get a mix of all that talent on each track ~ really, it's a blend with a few members crossing lines to perform with the others ~ it still makes for some great music.