Legendary progressive rockers YES — consisting of Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood — have released a video for the song "A Living Island". The clip was created by Wayne Joyner, who has made all of the promotional videos for YES's latest album, "The Quest".
Geoff Downes says: "Very excited to announce the release of the video for the track 'A Living Island' from 'The Quest'. It is a combination of a few ideas I had that Jon developed beautifully, and it is a most fitting end track to the album complete with its majestic finale. Also, very proud that I've contributed another piece of music that has been added into the prestigious YES canon."
Much of the music for "The Quest" was "written in late 2019 with the rest in 2020," says Howe. "We commissioned several orchestrations to augment and enhance the overall sound of these fresh new recordings, hoping that our emphasis on melody, coupled with some expansive instrumental solo breaks, keeps up the momentum for our listeners."
"The Quest" was recorded across the globe. The sessions took place in the U.K. with Howe, Downes and Davison, while White and Sherwood got together in the studio in the U.S. "Billy Sherwood and myself did all the rhythm sections, bass and drum, in America," says White, "down in Los Angeles at Uncle Studios, where he works a lot. It helps when you've got a good place to work," Alan laughs, "and Billy's really good on the recording desk, so we got things down relatively quickly. I spent quite a while studying the music before I went down to L.A. so I was prepared."
The cover artwork was designed and created by the band's longtime collaborator Roger Dean.
"The Quest" 2CD digipak track listing:
CD1:
01. The Ice Bridge 7.01
02. Dare To Know 6.00
03. Minus The Man 5.35
04. Leave Well Alone 8.06
05. The Western Edge 4.26
06. Future Memories 5.08
07. Music To My Ears 4.41
08. A Living Island 6.52
CD2:
01. Sister Sleeping Soul 4.51
02. Mystery Tour 3.33
03. Damaged World 5.20
For half a century, YES has been the definitive band of the progressive music genre, the band by which all others are judged. Their groundbreaking albums of the 1970s set the standard for the genre and influenced countless others who followed in their wake.
The current lineup of YES was completed in 2015 when Sherwood replaced founder member Chris Squire, at Squire's insistence, as he bravely fought a losing battle with leukaemia. Since then, YES has concentrated on touring with their Album Series tours, each featuring a classic YES album in its entirety. During this period, YES has released three live albums, "Topographic Drama - Live Across America" (2017), "Yes Live 50" (2019) and "The Royal Affair Tour: Live In Las Vegas" (2020).
Photo credit: Gottlieb Bros
