Union 30 Live

[Paulrus]

Yeah, 'Saving My Heart' is maybe the worst song on the whole album. So of course they chose that.

I'd gladly take "Saving My Heart" over "Dangerous". Plus I was happy to see TR channeling his South African-ness into his writing, which to me was always a bit of a lost opportunity during his time in Yes.

[Sean]

I listened to "Dangerous" for the first time in years recently and was reminded what a clueless stab by the opposing team to write another "Owner". It even has a trendy (at the time), wannabe hip hop breakdown. Visions of McHammer doing the splits came to mind.

Meanwhile, it's become an earworm. Help!

"I don't imagine, I don't imagine I see you;
Don't get confused (Don't get confused)
Look in the light, through the night...
Look in the light, through the night"

[ThomasKDye]

I listened to "Dangerous" for the first time in years recently and was reminded what a clueless stab by the opposing team to write another "Owner". It even has a trendy (at the time), wannabe hip hop breakdown. Visions of McHammer doing the splits came to mind.

Meanwhile, it's become an earworm. Help!

"I don't imagine, I don't imagine I see you;
Don't get confused (Don't get confused)
Look in the light, through the night...
Look in the light, through the night"

Oh yeah, it's catchy and mindlessly infectious for sure, so much so that I liked it at the time. But in hindsight it strikes me as a sad attempt by Jonathan Elias to make something "hip" out of whatever the hell these disparate four musicians were trying (or not trying) to do.

[Kcrimso]

I have never minded "Dangerous". Fun song. "Saving My Heart" is pretty awful.

[Rand Kelly]

Intro/outro on Changes:King Crimson Discipline era.1981 to me.

[Rand Kelly]

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[JJ88]

The production shenanigans are well documented/oft-discussed. It's obviously far from the Union the title claimed. But on their own terms, some of the songs are good. The first three tracks (one of which is Howe solo, obviously) and 'Silent Talking' are the highlights of Union for me.

As far as YesWest goes, I do like 'Lift Me Up' and 'Miracle Of Life' (although I could do without the 'wo wo wo' backing vocals on this).

I'd gladly take "Saving My Heart" over "Dangerous".

I'd forgotten all about this one. Yes, a real horror-show. TBH the album does fall away towards the end (some will say it fell away from the moment they pressed play).

[Mister Triscuits]

I have never minded "Dangerous". Fun song. "Saving My Heart" is pretty awful.

"Saving My Heart" has to be the absolute bottom of the barrel worst thing Yes ever did. Faugh.

[Kcrimso]

"Saving My Heart" has to be the absolute bottom of the barrel worst thing Yes ever did. Faugh.

I would agree except unfortunately album Open Your Eyes exists...

[Mister Triscuits]

I would agree except unfortunately album Open Your Eyes exists...

I prefer to forget that it does. I don't think I've ever heard it all the way through.

[JJ88]

When I last played OYE, the first couple of songs ('New State Of Mind', the title track) made me think, hmm, this isn't so bad. And then I got to the rest of it. Just dreadful stuff. 'No Way We Can Lose' is down there with 'Saving My Heart' and 'Teakbois' for corniness.

Having played it again I'd forgotten how long Union was- the 'bonus track' version is very nearly 70 minutes. I think tracks 1-5 and 7-9 are worthwhile. But from Anderson's rather dreary 'Angkor Wat' onwards, it's pretty bland.

[battema]

The production shenanigans are well documented/oft-discussed. It's obviously far from the Union the title claimed. But on their own terms, some of the songs are good. The first three tracks (one of which is Howe solo, obviously) and 'Silent Talking' are the highlights of Union for me.

As far as YesWest goes, I do like 'Lift Me Up' and 'Miracle Of Life' (although I could do without the 'wo wo wo' backing vocals on this).



I'd forgotten all about this one. Yes, a real horror-show. TBH the album does fall away towards the end (some will say it fell away from the moment they pressed play).

Fun anectode about Dangerous...we spent a while trying to figure out why there's a pretty obvious pop in the audio right around the 2:23-2:34 mark (best assessment, a bad punch-in or out).

It isn't the highlight track from the album, no.

[Scott Bails]

I would agree except unfortunately album Open Your Eyes exists...

Yeah, and Heaven and Earth.

I've always liked "Saving My Heart." Not everything has to be "Close to the Edge" or "Ritual." Rabin has some tasty licks in it.

[JJ88]

I've always liked "Saving My Heart." Not everything has to be "Close to the Edge" or "Ritual."

I don't like these straw-man arguments, assuming that 'prog' fans can't handle 'pop'. 'Lift Me Up' isn't CTTE or Ritual either, but it's still a good song on its own terms. I don't think 'Saving My Heart' is, particularly.

[Scott Bails]

I don't like these straw-man arguments, assuming that 'prog' fans can't handle 'pop'. 'Lift Me Up' isn't CTTE or Ritual either, but it's still a good song on its own terms. I don't think 'Saving My Heart' is, particularly.

That's fair, but let's also not pretend that many people here abhor anything remotely "pop," either.

[Frumious B]

Instrumentally speaking I think there is more interesting stuff happening in the Arista promo cassette mixes of Union. If you enjoy listening to Tony Levin and Bill Bruford, in particular, then those are going to be the versions for you. They tightened up the songs quite a bit between that cassette and the final album version, but they lost some of the quirkier knottier elements that are maybe a little more in keeping with the spirit of old school Yes. The promo version of “Take The Water To The Mountain” is way better for example.

Speaking of the promo cassette has ANYBODY ever seen one or happen to own an original one? It’s one of those things that everybody who goes into the backstory of Union finds out about, and you can hear OK captures of those mixes on boots, but you would think that something like that where a bunch of copies presumably went out and they would turn up for sale from time to time. You would also think somebody out there would have made a cleaner transfer and uploaded it somewhere.

[Mister Triscuits]

When I last played OYE, the first couple of songs ('New State Of Mind', the title track) made me think, hmm, this isn't so bad. And then I got to the rest of it. Just dreadful stuff. 'No Way We Can Lose' is down there with 'Saving My Heart' and 'Teakbois' for corniness.

I actually rather like "Teakbois." (It is corny, though.) I enjoy it more than the sticky-sweet "Quartet."

[Frumious B]

I actually rather like "Teakbois." (It is corny, though.) I enjoy it more than the sticky-sweet "Quartet."

“Teakbois” is a good song. It just suffers from the album arrangement. I prefer the acoustic version they performed near the beginning of the ABWH shows.

[JJ88]

'Teakbois', 'Long Lost Brother Of Mine', 'Quartet'...all three are Velveeta-fests (I do like the rest of ABWH!). I just find 'Teakbois' the most objectionable.

[Kcrimso]

It is kind of funny that arrangement of "Teakbois" reminds quite a lot some of the songs on early Bill Bruford's Earthworks albums. So it is not just Anderson's fault I believe.

[bondegezou]

I don't like these straw-man arguments, assuming that 'prog' fans can't handle 'pop'. 'Lift Me Up' isn't CTTE or Ritual either, but it's still a good song on its own terms. I don't think 'Saving My Heart' is, particularly.

It's better than "Love Conquers All" (on YesYears and considered for Union*).

Henry

* for some sense of "considered" and "Union".

[Frumious B]

It's better than "Love Conquers All" (on YesYears and considered for Union*).

Henry

* for some sense of "considered" and "Union".

But if I saved my heart and then love conquered all then there’d be no way I could lose. The world would be less dangerous.

[Mstove]

"Saving My Heart" has to be the absolute bottom of the barrel worst thing Yes ever did. Faugh.

Not when Circus of Heaven is part of their catalogue. Not even in the same ballpark.

[ronmac]

Not when Circus of Heaven is part of their catalogue. Not even in the same ballpark.

I can think of a number of songs worse than Circus of Heaven.

[ThomasKDye]

I can think of a number of songs worse than Circus of Heaven.

I love "Circus of Heaven." The intro is a fun little mini-bolero of sorts, and Jon's son telling him off for the boring time they had always makes me smile. Maybe you might not care for it, but you'd have to be crazy humorless to utterly hate it.