Latest releases reviewed
YES35th Anniversary Concert: Songs from Tsongas Warner **
It starts with an excerpt from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and ends with 12 minutes plus of Starship Trooper, one of the many Yes songs that veer wildly away from concise three minute pop tunes. And yet, if you're in the right mood, you'll find yourself nodding and noodling away at the intricate time changes of the likes of Yours is no Disgrace, And You and I, Ritual, and Roundabout. Perennially daft, yet occasionally as dynamic as any 1970s prog rock act you care to remember, Yes have deflected enough brickbats through the years to arrive in the Noughties as a kind of superannuated rock act that beggars belief and yet begs grudging respect. This two-disc live recording (as part of the band's 35th anniversary celebrations) is testament to the band's longevity, but it's also yet another reason to congratulate punk rock for permanently distorting the axis upon which bands such as Yes once dallied supreme, untouched and aloof. Extras include a brief interview with set designer/ artist Roger Dean.
www.yesworld.com
Tony Clayton-Lea
PUBLIC ENEMY It Takes a Nation: The First London Invasion Tour 1987 MVD ****
Public Enemy may have been the opening act on the Def Jam tour that reached London in 1987, but they were the ones who made the biggest impact. From the Security of the First World and Professor Griff doing their scene-stealing militaristic stomping (which looks quaintly Village People-like in hindsight) to Chuck D and Flavor Flav bouncing across the stage like firecrackers waiting to blow, London had never seen anything quite like this before. Today, PE may be hip-hop's hardest-working showmen, but back in 1987 the fact that no one had heard anything like them and their blistering Yo! Bum Rush The Show album made this London debut all the more remarkable. Besides Chuck D and Flavor Flav's crowd-pleasing japes and grandstanding, it's the likes of Public Enemy Number One, Rebel Without a Pause and Bring the Noise that really rock bells. PE in full effect. www.publicenemy.com
Jim Carroll
