------------------------------------------------------- DECEMBER 10, 2003 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: OntheWeb.com DVD Reviews http://dvd.reviewindex.co.uk/reviews_uk/B0000DG5OP.html YesSpeak: Tantilising But Ultimately Frustrating Name: Yesspeak - Yes 35th Anniversary Manufacturer: Classic Pictures Entertainment Ltd. Starring: Yes, Release Date: 24 November, 2003 Sales Rank: 2,827 Availability: usually dispatched within 24 hours. Tantalising but ultimately frustrating Unlike their more fortunate Who/Queen/Pink Floyd aficionados, Yes fans have over the years had to put up with some dreadful offerings on DVD that frankly are useful for nothing better than drink coasters. So it was with relief and excitement that I opened my new YesSpeaks double DVD today and whacked it into the player. At last, a Yes DVD that will stand up with those produced by other legends of rock. Well, does it, you ask? Not quite. Well, actually, no, unfortunately. It's hard to work out what the aim of this production is. If you watch the electronic press kit on the official Yesworld site, it's rather like a 3 hour version of that. Lots of "humorous" glimpses into Yes members' lives -- not really that humorous, and why start off a big production Yes DVD with family snapshots? It's great that we are permitted into the players' lives in this way, but it's hardly an attention-grabber. And if the aim of this DVD is to draw new fans into the Yes audience ahead of their 35th anniversary tour, it's a rather dismal effort as new fans don't care enough about the band to watch Chris's grandchildren playing on his knee. If the aim is to reward faithful aficionados, it doesn't really work either, because what we want are good-quality live recordings, not Yes happy snaps and biographical material we all know already. I knew it was a documentary when I bought it, so I'm not complaining I was deceived in the format. There are some good areas -- Steve Howe's spotlight and the Mr Gibson story are well told, and his solo spot with To Be Over is shown in loving closeup and sounds wonderful. It's a pity that the short glimpses we get of live songs are not reproduced in full, and neither are they matched for sound in the live audio set, which sounds muddy by comparison to the video sound, strangely enough. A case in point is Awaken, which sounds fantastic in the background when Roger Daltrey or Rick Wakeman are talking over it, but when you hear it on the audio set, it's a jumble of individual instruments and voices which don't mix or balance well and the whole glorious experience is lost. The keys are nowhere and you hear Steve's vocals but not Jon's, etc. And Daltrey's narration is just plain peculiar. He sounds like he is trying to decide between auditioning for a Boys' Own annual and Ringo's understudy for Thomas The Tank Engine. At times his voice takes these strange squeaky leaps of enthusiasm -- I was sure someone was sticking pins into him for fun. Probably Mr Wakeman, whose own well-documented views on music and the band seem to make it into Rogers narration with regularity. And I did get annoyed when watching Ricks own spotlight and hearing EXACTLY the same interview, voiced over this time, that is on the Live in Buenos Aires DVD from 1997. However it's not all bad. The individual spotlights on Yes members are the highlights for me, the on-road footage is par for the course -- you do get to meet roadies like "Shooz" Matthews, Steve Howe's guitar tech, and we get from time to time Rick doing some -- it must be said -- fairly average jokes. To be honest, I think Yes Years was a better documentary, even though it pales in production quality and is a lot older. I think this DVD is for me a frustrating experience, because I could see tantalising glimpses of what source material was actually available, but never made it on to the finished product. As a 3 hour press kit, I guess it serves its purpose because you can then show cut versions on TV, but in comparison with other offerings from U2, Pink Floyd, Queen, to name a few, it just doesn't cut it. Please Classic Pictures, bring out a concert DVD soon. This one isn't enough to satisfy Yes devotees, nor enough to grab the hearts of potential Yessers. I rate Yesspeak - Yes 35th Anniversary - 3/5 Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com