Search - Yes :: Re (Union)

Worth a relisten

A. Laitres | Brattleboro, VT USA | 12/21/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The infamous YES Union CD was almost universally panned when it was released in the early 90's. It basically stuck together 2 different line-ups (ABWH + 90125 band) and tried to sell itself as a "union" of the YES camps. A long list of session musicians appeared in the liner notes for the "AWBH" lineup's tracks. Most of the band seemed unhappy with the disc. No fans rated it as one of their favorite YES releases. Then it came out much later that Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman are hardly even on the CD! I sold my copy a while back.



I was in a music store browsing through the YES section when I noticed this new repackage of 10 of the 14 original tracks and was retitled "(Re)Union". It had a nice computer generated cover. And it was only $6.99.

So I decided to buy it on a whim.



I actually really enjoy this CD now. It's more cohesive with some of the fat trimmed off, although I do miss "Take the Water to the Mountain". It's fun to hear Jimmy Hahn doing his Steve Howe type playing. Originally I thought it was Steve Howe. The sound also seems clearer and fuller.



Although not of course in the same league as their classic work, there's some good music on here and the session people did a great job. Jon's voice is in top form, and Trevor's "Miracle of Life" is a real standout. "Shock to the System", "Silent Talking", "I would Have Waited Forever" and "Holding On" all really rock. Probably the weakest in the bunch is "Saving My Heart".



"

Much better record with the shorter format

Broken Window | Dallas | 03/07/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Only true classics deserve 5 stars, whereas only corporate drivel deserves 1 star, like a Britney Spears album. Re-Union earns a solid 3 stars.



I first owned the original release back in '91 and sold it a few years later -- far too many filler tracks. Don't get me wrong; it had good songs on it also, but they got overshadowed by all the down time. This release lops off some of the weaker tracks and it makes for a much tighter (and rewarding) record.



I actually like this record now and proud to have it in my collection. [Previously, I had been pretty indifferent about it]. The shorter format does two things: not only do you not get bored listening to the record anymore, but you learn to better appreciate the songs that are on there.



The highlights are definitely 'Lift Me Up' and 'Miracle of Life' (Trevor Rabin contributions), although the AWBH efforts weren't too bad either. Of those, I like 'Silent Talking', 'Holding On', and 'Without Hope' the most. Generally the AWBH are more mainstream-sounding compared with their debut effort. Sure, nothing here is groundbreaking but it's a good rock record with that distinctive Yes flair.



If you have most of the other Yes records, then I'd pick this one up -- it is certainly not their worst effort. Otherwise, I'd sample first their classics (Fragile, Close to the Edge, 90125) before buying Re-Union."