Live - Perpetual Change by Jon Anderson Featuring The Band Geeks

Recently (https://progressive-rock-focus.blogspot.com/2025/01/true-by-jon-anderson-featuring-band.html) I reviewed the new Jon Anderson album. Well, he and his Band Geeks (that's what they are called) dropped a live album consisting of original Yes songs. Interestingly, he has stuck with the longer songs, including my absolutely favourite Yes song Awaken, from Going For The One.

Now Jon Anderson is, at the time of writing, 80 years old. You might expect an 80-year-old to be struggling somewhat with his vocal performance, but if anything he sounds better than ever. I'm listening to Yours Is No Disgrace, and it sounds like the singing on the record. That is remarkable. This isn't just a "doesn't he sound great for his age" review. This is a "he sounds great, full stop" review. Bear in mind I'm not the biggest Jon Anderson fan, but I have to hand it to him, this is top notch.

And the band. They are superb. They sound exactly like Yes. So much like Yes that you wonder if they bring anything of themselves to the performance. Anderson says that this band is the Yes he always wanted, but I wonder if he just means a band which doesn't give him a load of grief. Whatever, the end result is excellent. Love of the original material shines through.

The one thing that doesn't sound like Yes is the backing vocals. It is often overlooked that Chris Squire's backing vocals were a huge part of the original Yes sound. Listen to an early Yes album and then listen to Drama, which of course featured Trevor Horn on lead vocals. It still sounds like Yes, and that's because you've still got Chris Squire.

So this leads me to my final thought, which is - what are live albums actually for? The cynic in me says they are for cashing in on a band's success, but that aside, what drives them? They are almost always slightly (or sometimes much) worse versions of studio songs. Maybe you can argue that sometimes they have an extra energy, or that the crowd adds an extra edge, or something, but that seems pretty tenuous. And, paradoxically, really good live albums are the ones we need least, because - you can just go and put the studio album on.

I will close by saying this is an excellent live album. If they come to the UK, I will definitely try and get tickets, but as of now they are in the middle of a US-only tour. If you like live albums, and you like Yes, you will absolutely love this.

Reasons to listen:

  • Great songs, great performances, great sound
Reasons not to listen:
  • If I want to listen to Yes, I can go and put my Yes records on

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