Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989) (Front and back covers -- click front for full painting)
Jon Anderson - Lead Vocals
Bill Bruford - Acoustic and Electronic Drums
Steve Howe - Guitar
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Augmented by:
Tony Levin - Bass, Stick, Vocals
Matt Clifford - Keyboards, Programming, Orchestration, Vocals
Milton McDonald - Rhythm Guitar
Backing Vocals:
The Oxford Circus Singers - Deborah Anderson, Tessa Niles, Carol Kenyon, Frank Dunnery
J.M.C. Singers - Jon, Matt, Chris
Emerald Community Singers, Montserrat
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Themes
i. Sound
ii. Second Attention
iii. Soul WarriorFist of Fire
Brother of Mine
i. The Big Dream
ii. Nothing Can Come Between Us
iii. Long Lost Brother of MineBirthright
The Meeting
Quartet
i. I Wanna Learn
ii. She Gives Me Love
iii. Who Was the First
iv. I'm AliveTeakbois
Order of the Universe
i. Order Theme
ii. Rock Gives Courage
iii. It's So Hard to Grow
iv The UniverseLet's Pretend
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Jon Anderson was never completely happy with
Big Generator. He felt that it lacked something which a Yes album should have, in terms of the lyrics and the message they convey, and the music itself. Trevor Rabin had come to see himself as leader of the band, taken the tapes back to L.A., and completed production of the album himself in his home studio. There's no question that the writing on
90125 and
Big Generator is mostly Trevor's, and that those albums mostly reflect his vision, but Trevor always points out that that band was not originally supposed to be Yes in the first place. Chris Squire was also not getting along with Jon during this time. Ultimately, Jon left Yes after the
Big Generator tour. He wanted to make music which was more like his vision of Yes, not like what Yes had become in the 80's.
He contacted former Yesmen Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman, and Steve Howe about a new project. It started as a solo album, but it eventually became more collaborative, and they needed a name for this new band. They also needed a bassist. Bill suggested Tony Levin, with whom he had worked in the very successful 80's King Crimson lineup.
For name recognition, they went with
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe for both the band and the album. They also contacted artist Roger Dean, whose distinctive style would provide visual assocation with Yes, and his painting "Blue Desert" became the cover art for the album.
It's hard to say what makes a Yes album sound like a Yes album. Fans of the classic 70's Yes albums know that there is something, but can never quite agree on what it is. But if it includes long songs divided into movements with little Roman numerals, Jon Anderson's unique voice, lyrics that don't always make literal sense but sound nice and have great imagery, and instrumental sections featuring Steve Howe's guitar, Rick Wakeman's keyboards, or both, then this album delivers on all counts. They had succeeded in producing an album similar to 70's Yes, but with an updated sound.
It is not a perfect album. It had been over ten years since Jon, Rick, and Steve had played together, over 15 since they had played with Bill, and in that time they had each expanded their musical repetoires in different ways. Jon's taste for World Music, for example, is evident in "Teakbois". Bill's electronic drums are also new, but Bill is quick to point out that this is not a Yes album. He's gone on record saying that he signed on for a Jon Anderson solo project, and was actually disappointed when Steve and Rick were later added to the project. Not because he didn't like playing with them, but because he really wanted to do something new, not just rehash Yes.
Bill: "There was a moment somewhere around ABWH when it was no longer Jon's thing. He started it and when he came to my house I thought he was inviting me to play on a solo album... Well, that was a little window of opportunity that lasted ten minutes before it slammed shut."
Steve: "ABWH wasn't made of people who were desperate to call themselves Yes. It was more made up of a band, that at least Bill and I felt was a new band and we could not rest totally on the old material."
Rick: "For some unknown reason this particular combination of musicians is quite frightening. It's weird, because Jon, Bill, Steve, and I only actually played together for two and a half years. But during that period we were four-fifths responsible for
Fragile,
Close to the Edge, and a considerable amount of
Yessongs. That's pretty terrifying."
Jon: "It was a great album to make here -- you feel the energy."
Trevor Rabin: "I bought the
ABWH album and just enjoyed it. I didn't listen to it under any other terms."
Chris Squire: "I wasn't that impressed."