Pete Whipple

Tuesday, February 26, 2013 11:50 AM

Yes
“First Union”
April 09, 1991
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola Civic Center
Two-camera edit
Double DVD set with Dolby 5.1 audio

PRODUCED in SEPTEMBER 2010 by TOOLEMAN TV
Later RIPPED OFF and "OFFICIALLY RELEASED" by Gonzo/Voiceprint on their 2011 box set "Yes Union Live"

(Apparently Yes thought so much of this fan-produced video that they used it as a bonus disk in their Gonzo/Voiceprint "Union Live" set, AFTER REMOVING THE CREDITS and blanking out the ON-SCREEN WATERMARKS placed there by TOOLEMAN TV! That's right, folks, they ripped-off our labor of love to make a few bucks. But why pay for it when it was intended to be free from the very outset of the project?)

On April 9, 1991, Yes debuted its 8-man line-up and kicked off the Union world. Not one but TWO video cameras captured the momentous event.

Now, for the first time ever, TooleManTV’s “First Union” presents the union of these two videos. Every note of the first concert by this legendary line-up is captured here.

This is no ordinary single-cam fan video. “First Union” cuts between the two camera angles like a professionally edited video, bringing you up-close with each member of Yes as they take solos and share the spotlight.

This two-DVD set features a fantastic Dolby Digital 5.1 mix of the stereo sound recorded by the two cameras. The video comes from high-quality direct transfers of copies of the original camcorder tapes, which were destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina! These are not re-authored single-disk DVD's in lower quality, which is what you get from the Gonzo version and other rip-offs.

Prepare to be blown away by the opening night excitement!

TheTooleMan
September, 2010

Yes line-up:
Jon Anderson
Bill Bruford
Steve Howe
Tony Kaye
Trevor Rabin
Chris Squire
Rick Wakeman
Alan White

Disk 1:
Firebird Suite
Yours Is No Disgrace
Rhythm Of Love
City Of Love
Heart Of The Sunrise
Leaves Of Green
Concerto In D/Clap
Make It Easy/Owner Of A Lonely Heart
And You And I
Drum Duet
Hold On
Shock To The System
Solly's Beard

Disk 2:
Changes
Take The Water To The Mountain
Soon
Long Distance Runaround
Whitefish
Amazing Grace
Lift Me Up
Wakeman Solo
Awaken
Roundabout
Starship Trooper

Lineage: 8mm camcorder tapes -> VHS -> DVD -> TooleManTV’s editing suite ->
“First Union”

Note: the original 8mm camcorder tapes and first-gen VHS copies were lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The DVD's made from the first-gen VHS copies are the best available sources that exist. Other copies, including the Gonzo single-disk version, have been re-authored and suffer from a further loss in quality.

Approximately 25% of the show was captured by only one of the cameras. Between the two cameras, the entire show was recorded.

tom unbound

Years ago I picked up a VHS tape of this show. I wonder if the pro shot video shows Jon messing up the lyrics on one song he's been singing for 20 years ??

Geoff Dunn

Yes, that is correct, Dan. And that same "bolero" snare drum pattern originated from Alan White with Chris Squire and Jimmy Page on the "XYZ" sessions in 1981.

Dan Summers

I didn't see if this was already posted somewhere, but the snare drum pattern used during the drum duet later turned up in "Mind Drive".

Valentino Herrera

Oh well, here's the new stuff: Yesterday's Boston Globe had an article by Steve Morse. Here's what Morse says:

"A yes reunion? No one in his right mind would have bet on it in the last few years. Yes was a splintered group - four early members had taken off to form the peculiarly titled Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe (AWBH). That left the remaining cast to carry on the name. Lawyers, NOT musicians, had a field day. When AWBH advertised their shows as "an evening of Yes music-plus" and cited old Yes records in their advertising, they were slapped with a lawsuit from the Yes camp for "creating confusion in the minds of the public over which group is the real Yes".

Well, guess what?

They're ALL the real Yes again. All eight members have reunited for a new, still-can't-believe-it's-happening yes tour.

"All the lawsuits have been dropped," says relieved drummer Alan White, reached during rehearsals in Pensacola, Fla. "Everyone is forgiving and is trying to find musical parts for the others to play. Not everyone will play together for the whole show, but I'd say a good 80 percent of it they will. It's all been better than I anticipated. I thought we'd have a lot of problems."

"Originally, I thought there would be less joining in on stage, but again, everyone is forgiving," White says. "We use both drummers, both keyboardists and both guitarists onstage at the same time. Outside of a couple of solo spots, little is done in other configurations."

In short, audiences will see a more powerful band - Rick Wakeman AND Tony Kaye on keyboards, Steve Howe AND Trevor Rabin on guitars, White AND Bill Bruford on drums, Squire on bass and the ageless high-pitched optimist, Jon Anderson, on the voice.

"The extra musicians have added strength to the sound," says White. "In some sections, we can really sound like an orchestra. The old Yes was more of a jazz/classical band, and the later Yes had a more rock 'n' roll element. To fuse the two together makes for an interesting combination. You see the development of the band - and see the band's history."

"It's taken a lot of maturity to reach this point. As for me and Bill Bruford on drums, we get along very well and understand our role in the band. It's very difficult with Yes music, because the rhythms are not always twos and fours; not always basic. But there's a lot of orchestrated percussion, so you can isolate that and one person can play that role."

"The other guys are getting along well, too. Rick (Wakeman) and Tony (Kaye) are getting along like a house on fire on keyboards. Rick loves playing the changes to songs from the '90125' album," White says, referring to the 1983 album that featured the No. 1 hit, "Owner of a Lonely Heart".

So how did this sudden renewal of vows happen? "Well, a lot of it was management. They came together initially," says White. "There was also a large movement in the band's career - we moved from Atco to the Arista label, which ABWH was on. So the chess pieces were in place to get people on the same level. It took a lot of contractual work, so much that only six months ago I wasn't sure it would happen. It became an absolute reality only three or four months ago."

White admits that management persuaded the musicians that a reunion was financially viable. It was a smart way to get back to the arenas, so neither camp put up a major fuss.

"As far as we're concerned, there was no really bad blood. That was more on a management level," says White. "the media blew it out of proportion. My wife is from Seattle, and her sister called up, saying that she heard on the radio that if Jon (Anderson) and Chris (Squire) could sort things out, then George Bush and Saddam Hussein should have an easier task. But that's ridiculous. Jon and Chris get along relatively well. They don't follow each other around all the time, but they get on okay. Besides, all that stuff very easily gets put to