Live at Montreux 2003 (Blu-ray)

Live at Montreux 2003 brings together the Yes quartet of Alan White (drums), Chris Squire (bass), Steve Howe (guitar) and Rick Wakeman (keyboards) to back up vocalist Jon Anderson, and what you have in 2003 is an older, more distinguished Yes playing their exotic material with a little more study and perhaps less energy than when they performed in Boston circa 1983-1984 during the "Owner of a Lonely Heart" era -- a song which is, unfortunately, missing from this set. There are 17 selections with the disc clocking in at about two hours and 20 minutes and though the filming is lovely with some elegant sweeps of these excellent musicians, the camera capturing Howe's hands and Wakeman's piano runs very nicely (does one really need all those keyboards in this computer age? Yes, the effect on the stage show is still marvelous) but the quip on the back of the DVD box that this is one of the "finest (shows) that they have ever played" is a bit much. It's a good performance, Anderson's voice like that of a baseball pitcher morphing from fast ball to technique, Father Time catching up to the journeymen but not denying them their skills. These fellows are beginning to look like the elder statesmen from a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings film, which is better than the alternative (see the band Starz DVD Back in Action: Live 2003 from the very same year to witness a truly troubling battle of the bulge and a good reason why Yes can thank their lucky stars). The three pages of liner notes by Classic Rock Magazine's Dave Ling in the six-page booklet that comes with the package are what is expected by fans of material from this era. The music is flawless, of course, the group able to fuse some soul into their precision, and the feel is inviting even to those who don't know the band's music. It is a delicate look at the group's classic catalog and one that, though not definitive, is a keeper and certainly entertaining. [Live at Montreux 2003 was also made available in the Blu-ray format.] ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide