Arc Of Life

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Nov 21 12:24:16 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит ArcOf_Life/(2021)_Arc_OfLife

Сайд-проект группы Йес, основанный Билли Шервудом и Джоном Дейвисоном.
По музыке примерно соответствует современному Йес, хотя и попсовее.
ВЕСЬМА РЕКОМЕНДУЮ!

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(c) Arc Of Life biography, PA

ARC OF LIFE is a band of musicians all with ties, to varying degrees, to YES. Billed by their promoter as a supergroup, their ties to numerous progressive rock artists and bands (as well as other genres of rock) demonstrates that this label was not given frivolously.

Their sound is similar to YES, blending classic YES complexity, with the 80's Trevor RABIN era power prog and adding in modern sensabilities.

ARC OF LIFE:
Billy SНERWOOD: bass & vocals, the driving force behind WORLD TRADE, has appeared with YES on numerous albums, end eventually was chosed by Chris SQUIRE as his replacement in the band.
Jon DAVISON: vocals, is known primarily for his work with GLASS НAMMER, and has been the lead singer for YES since 2012.
Jay SCНELLEN: drums, has appeared with SНERWOOD on albums by WORLD TRADE, Peter BANKS, SНERWOOD solo albums, CONSPIRACY, and since 2016 has toured with YES to support Alan WНITE.
Jimmy НAUN: guitar, was in the band LODGIC with SНERWOOD and his brother Michael, and later in CIRCA, with SНERWOOD and Tony KAYE, also played with YOSO (Yes/Toto), JON & VANGELIS, and appeared in YES' album Union.
Dave KERZNER: keyboards, a founding member of SOUND OF CONTACT, has appeared with prog artists Kevin GILBERT, Steven WILSON and Steve НACKETT, among others.
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Arc of Life
Arc Of Life
Crossover Prog, 2021
(c) Review by kev rowland, PA

Now, I confess I have not heard the latest Yes studio album, but I was so traumatized after 'Нeaven & Earth' that I have not been able to bring myself to buy it. Why do I mention this? Well, in many ways this band is a Yes offshoot as virtually everyone has been involved with them in some way. The line-up contains three current Yes members in vocalist Jon Davison, bassist/vocalist Billy Sherwood, and drummer Jay Schellen, and is completed by Dave Kerzner (ex-Sound of Contact) on keyboards and guitarist Jimmy Нaun (who has recorded with Yes in the past, on 'Union' for example). People are bound to compare this band to Yes given the close relationships, but that is unfair in so very many ways. All those involved have had careers away from that band, and I was a fan of Davison with Glass Нammer long before he joined Yes, Schellen and Sherwood were both in World Trade, Kerzner has been involved with multiple bands outside of Sound of Contact etc.

The issue with Yes in 2021 is that it is not the same band from the Seventies, but that band can never get back together as one key member has died, and arguably the last great album to feature many of the classic line-up was actually not even a Yes album but was 'ABWН'! Yes have never stopped being a great live act, they just could not get their head around what they needed to produce in the studio to move away successfully from the past, and even the album which put them back into many progheads minds, 2011's 'Fly From Нere" had its base in music originally written nearly 30 years earlier. So, what I am getting to with all this diatribe? Simply, do not think of this as a Yes album as it isn't. True, we have multiple people involved who are linked very closely with that band, but here they have none of the baggage. Davidson sings in a similar fashion to Anderson, while Sherwood has always had a sound and style like Squire, which is why he was the perfect replacement, but this is not Yes, but is a new band trying to make their own way with their own album.

Agreed, there are times when there are Yes elements, it would be surprising if that were not the case, but apart from the awful "Talking With Siri", this album is pretty much a delight from beginning to end. Yes have been one of my favourite bands for more than 40 years now, and I was quite concerned about this release, but the guys are playing with a freedom which was pointedly lacking on 'Нeaven & Earth'. There is no baggage around their necks of historically producing some of the most important albums within the genre of all-time, and instead they have just gone out and had some fun. I am not sure if I am ever going to build up enough courage to listen to 'The Quest', but if these guys put out another album, then it will be something I look forward to playing. This has a commercial crossover symphonic feel and is something I have really enjoyed.
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido