Yes Live: 1978/1980 London Medley Performances By Yes '78 And Jon Anderson '80/'25 Band Geeks Medley

What's featured in this post is one hour of live medleys of excerpts from various epic pieces by the British Progressive Rock band Yes as performed in London by Jon Anderson in 1980 and then by the whole group in 1979. As a short bonus track I have included a recent medley by Jon Anderson And The Band Geeks. Various pictures and graphics from different eras of Jon Anderson's career have been added as visuals. We start off with what I consider a really special twenty-five minute assemblage of excerpts from Yes songs as performed by their founding member, songwriter and vocalist Jon Anderson. This first nicely-done Yes medley, dressed up with visuals from throughout his career, was offered at a December 1, 1980 concert at London's Royal Albert Hall during the British Tour Of The Eighties supporting Anderson's new album Song Of Seven. The twelve pieces melded into this collection are noted below. Here are the musicians formed into Anderson's 1980 touring group known as The New Life Band: Dick Morrissey (sax and flute) / Barry De Souza (drums) / Morris Pert (drums and percussion) / John Giblin (bass) / Lee Davidson and Jo Partridge (guitars) / Ronnie Leahy and Chris Rainbow on keyboards. “It was really fantastic,” Anderson remembers. “I’ve found, over the years, that if you get the right bunch of people together in a band that’s in harmony with what you want to do, it’s like sailing in a boat; it’s so easy. I’ve only done it, maybe four or five times in my career where I get together five or six people and you can sense when they want to really engage.” JON ANDERSON AND THE NEW LIFE BAND / THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL / LONDON, U.K. / DECEMBER 1 1980: To Be Over (from the 1974 album Relayer) / Perpetual Change (1971 Fragile) 2:05 / The Prophet (1970 Time And A Word) 3:25 / Long Distance Runaround (1971 Fragile) 5:40 / Wonderous Stories (1977 Going For The One) 8:00 / Flute Interlude 10:40 / Rejoice (1978 Tormato) 11:20 / Your Move/I've Seen All Good People (1971 The Yes Album) 13:25 / Revealing Science Of God (1973 Tales From Topographic Oceans) 17: 25 / I've Seen All Good People (Reprise) (1971 The Yes Album) 18:55 / The Remembering (1973 Tales From Topographic Oceans) 19:50 / Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil) (1973 Tales From Topographic Oceans) 20:55 Next we have Yes on their 1978 tour supporting their album 'Tormato' during a BBC radio broadcast from Wembley Stadium. This 27 minute melange of musical excellence has a palpable dynamic charge energizing its flow as it explores the various chapters written in The Book Of Yes. I witnessed this amazing medley during my first Yes concert which was one of four September 1978 performances at New York City's Madison Square Garden. I still remember the chills I felt as the band rendered various excerpts woven into each other as a tapestry of the group's musical legacy. YES / WEMBLEY STADIUM / LONDON, U.K. / OCTOBER 28, 1978: Classic Yes Lineup: Jon Anderson (vocals, guitar), Chris Squire (bass guitar, vocals), Steve Howe (acoustic and electric guitars, vocals), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Alan White (drums and percussion) Time And A Word (1970 Time And A Word) 25:20 / Long Distance Runaround (1971 Fragile) 29:35 / The Fish (1971 Fragile) 32:50 (Layered over by excerpts from The Ancient and Ritual from the 1973 album 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' and Survival from the 1969 album 'Yes') / Perpetual Change (1971 The Yes Album) 39:05 / The Gates Of Delirium / Soon (1974 Relayer) 43:55 As an additional bonus track I have included a much more recent medley by Jon Anderson's current group The Band Geeks: Jon Anderson (vocals), Richie Castellano (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals), Andy Ascolese (drums, percussion), Andy Graziano (guitar, vocals), Christopher Clark (keyboards, vocals), and Robert Kipp (keyboards, organ, vocals). JON ANDERSON AND THE BAND GEEKS / EXCERPTS FROM VARIOUS YES EPIC AND CLASSIC PIECES 52:00 Roundabout (from the 1971 Fragile album) / Close To The Edge (1972 Close To The Edge) / Ritual (1973 Tales From Topographic Oceans) / And You And I (1972 Close To The Edge) / Heart Of The Sunrise (1971 Fragile) / Starship Trooper (Life Seeker) (1971 The Yes Album) / Awaken (1977 Going For The One) / Soon (from Gates Of Delirium) (1974 Relayer) / Your Move / I've Seen All Good People (1971 The Yes Album)