Yes - Fly From Here: Return trip

[chemistry1973]

This album has brought me back to being a Yes fan.

 

The combined 1,2 gut punch of replacing Jon Anderson with 2 sound-alike vocalists was a hard pill to swallow: Benoit David, and then, after David left, the hilariously named John Davidson. These moves, though practical from a touring and business standpoint, just ended up alienated me and many other fans.

 

Jon Anderson has the purest sounding voice in rock, and when guys from Yes cover bands try to imitate it (as I believe both David and Davidson were), it sounds like a satirical take on what was a LEGENDARY sound. Listening to the current vocalist in Journey evokes the same smoothed out vibe.

 

Now, the original release of "Fly from Here" was released in 2011, and featured Benoit David on lead vocals. Oddly enough, I immediately thought that the vocals reminded me of ANOTHER former Yes vocalist, Trevor Horn, who sang lead vocals (and produced) on the mind-blowing Yes release Drama. At times the vocals sounded so much my like Mr. Horn, that i was convinced it WAS Trevor Horn and not Benoit David at all.

 

Turns out I was sort of right. Horn, with Geoff Downes (who replaced Oliver Wakeman during these sessions) composed most of the music and vocal melodies for the original album. It was Horn who sang the guide vocal for Benoit David. In the original release, you can hear Trevor all over the album's harmonies, along with David's lead vocals.

 

 

So - Benoit David eventually leaves for health reasons ( and probably because imitating Jon Anderson's perfect tenor is much, much harder than it sounds), and then Chris Squire passes away.

 

Trevor Horn decides to revisit "Fly From Here", remixing it, and replacing all the lead vocals with his own.

 

The result is shocking. Not only does the album sound MUCH better, with much more dynamic nuance permeating the record (especially with Squire's bass transitions and vocal harmonies), but the context of a proper Drama era reunion adds so much heft and importance to this release. And Horn's voice, slightly aged for the better, with his weird phrasing and enunciation, just makes every song pop, adding that familiar "Drama" atmosphere.

 

I listened to the Benoit David version once and wrote it off as bland, slow and de-energized. The embarrassing video for the single, Fly From Here (starring, interestingly enough, Trevor Horn) was unwatchable.

 

But with Trevor's redeux, titled Fly From Here: Return Trip? Unmistakably 'Yes'. I can't stop listening to it.

 

Anyone else check out this remix?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk-5dOXBk0Y&list=PL3y2Mgc5NPHGK3x3R1_yDMOXKuIV5V8e1&index=2&t=0s

Edited December 26, 2019 by chemistry1973

[goose]

I'll have to check it out and see for myself...

 

:ebert:

[Maverick]

I actually really liked the original version of the song. It was pretty much a guilty pleasure. But the OP is right about hearing Horn's voice all over the mix. So the idea that he remixed it and replaced David's vocals with his own is very intriguing.

[Derek19]

With Jon Anderson not being in the band, and group to continue as the lead singer, I haven't been listening to Yes' latest, and newest material of songs. Edited December 26, 2019 by Derek19

[stoopid]

Union was the last Yes album I took very seriously, and Drama is one of the few back catalog albums I never really got into (I even play Relayer every now and then ). That all said, I'm willing to give anything a try once like you did the original release of this album. :D