The fact that the full album Magnification hit the shops in Europe before the actual release date, already looked like a strange experience. The fact that music lovers in the US will now have to wait until December makes it even more bizarre! Could this have been a well studied move in order to sell loads of so called "special tour samplers" during the band’s last "tour of the US"? Indeed it’s always a nice treat if you can lay your hands on something brand new, something you can’t buy in a regular store. Sadly, some people bought multiple copies of this 3-track release in order to sell them at a huge profit through eBay. Yes fans unable to attend the shows but also unable to wait until the album’s release forked out large sums of money, but for what exactly? As long as the full album isn’t available, this sampler remains a true must-have, as it includes two full tracks off the new album and an orchestral version of "Long Distance Runaround." If my information is correct, the latter will also feature as a bonus track on the Japanese version of Magnification, so if you reserve a copy of the Japanese issue, there’s no need to get hold of this little "teaser"! Unlike the full album, this sampler has been released on the Yes-label, which as far as I know is a first. When buying this CD during the band’s US shows you were also given information on how you could pre-order the album through www.getmusic.com/track/YES.html. Once you purchased the CD, Getmusic would then provide you with special access so that you could download every track on the album in its entirety. The ten downloadable songs would then time-out within 20 days of purchase. The offer ended on the sad day of September 11th. So in a way it looks like this release has lost most of its "value" after 11th September (which was the set date for the US release as well, as it’s mentioned on the rear sleeve) and certainly once the full album is available for everyone. The choice of both Magnification tracks here have been perfectly designed to whet the appetites of those attending the shows, that’s for sure. After all, I guess everyone attending a Yes show must be a Yes fan and thus will almost certainly buy the new album anyway. Kicking off with "In The Presence Of," not only is it a typical Yes song, it’s also a lengthy track in which the orchestra works well and Steve Howe really shines. It also contains some of the strongest melodies on the album, so if anyone hears this as a first acquaintance for the new album, then it has already done it’s job, as it surely has you hooked. "Don’t Go" is more compact, more direct, and in a way maybe more "poppy." Based on a straight beat, it’s the harmonies that really steer this song into the right direction, the weird "30’s section" included. For the time being the "true" rarity on this disc is the orchestrated version of "Long Distance Runaround." Edited to a mere 3:50, this live version has the orchestra take over a large portion of the initial guitar lead, with powerful brass accompanying Squire’s heavy Rickenbacker. It certainly sounds different, yet I’m convinced Yes fans will rather have Steve’s guitar all over the place as opposed to his sparse interventions here. As a souvenir for this tour, maybe that particular release is justified, yet I hope someone on this tour sees the sense in recording certain concerts completely so a live album can be released at the end of the tour. Instead of 3 tracks hopefully it will then be 3 full discs! Reviewed by: John 'Bo Bo' Bollenberg |
