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Yes / Progeny: Seven Shows From Seventy-two / 14-disc box set

By Paul Sinclair

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46

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Rhino will release Progeny: Seven Shows From Seventy-two this May, a new 14-disc Yes box set that, as the name implies, contains the audio from seven complete concerts from 1972.

These gigs are from the Close to the Edge tour and were performed in the weeks leading up to the shows heard on the 1973 live album Yessongs. The recently discovered reel-to-reel recordings have been fully restored and we are promised “incredible sonic detail” and “an open, immediate sound that drops listeners right into the front row”.

Nothing is missing and this box holds “every note from all seven shows” as the band’s tour progressed in late 1972 from Canada to North Carolina, and then Georgia and Tennessee, before their last stop in New York at Nassau Coliseum on November 20th. The 14 discs are presented in a cigarette-style flip top box with new artwork by Roger Dean.

If you consider 14 CDs overkill, you can opt for a summary set called Highlights From Seventy Two. Available on two CDs or three LPs, this set includes 90 minutes of live recordings, cherry picking the best performances from different cities, while maintaining the flow of a typical setlist from the tour.

Progeny: Seven Shows From Seventy-two and Progeny: Highlights From Seventy-two are both released on 18 May 2015 (more pre-order links will be added when they come through).

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Progeny / Seven Shows from Seventy-two BOX SET

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Progeny / Highlights 3LP Vinyl

Track listings

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Progeny: Seven Shows From Seventy Two / 14CD box

Show listing:

  • October 31, 1972 Toronto, Canada
  • November 1, 1972 Ottawa, Canada
  • November 11, 1972 Durham, NC
  • November 12, 1972 Greensboro, NC
  • November 14, 1972 Athens, GA
  • November 15, 1972 Knoxville, TN
  • November 20, 1972 Uniondale, NY

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Progeny: Highlights From Seventy Two

Disc One
1. Opening (Excerpt From “Firebird Suite”)
2. “Siberian Khatru”
3. “I’ve Seen All Good People”
a. “Your Move”
b. “All Good People”
4. “Heart Of The Sunrise”
5. “Clap/Mood For A Day”
6. “And You And I”
a. “Cord Of Life”
b. “Eclipse”
c. “The Preacher The Teacher”
d. “Apocalypse”

Disc Two
1. “Close To The Edge”
a. “The Solid Time Of Change”
b. “Total Mass Retain”
c. “I Get Up I Get Down”
d. “Seasons Of Man”
2. Excerpts From “The Six Wives Of Henry VIII”
3. “Roundabout”
4. “Yours Is No Disgrace”

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Progeny / Seven Shows from Seventy-two BOX SET

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Progeny / Highlights 3LP Vinyl

Progeny / Highlights 2CD

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46 Comments

46 thoughts on “Yes / Progeny: Seven Shows From Seventy-two / 14-disc box set”

  2. Never had bad words about Yessongs on any version. I’ve had it for so many years that upon hearing this, I unsynced Yessongs from my iPod. Wow, like hearing something new for the first time.

  3. As you probably all know by now, 4 discs are incorrectly labeled. The Athens, GA show is labelled Knoxville, TN and vicecersa.
    And RHINO has been sending replacements but many of us have been getting only a pair of discs. So be warned if you order this. You will suffer to get this mess straightened out at least if you order from a US seller.

  4. Man, 40+ years of kicking butt with Yes and Alan White still gets no love from some Bruford fans. They were a much heavier, more rocking band with Alan which suited Yes’ move to larger halls and eventually stadiums which began with this tour. Sign me up for all 14 discs!

  6. Sorry even with Alan White at the peak of his drumming powers, cannot play the songs that Bill Bruford original composed for Yes and I mean composed. He craps all over them. The fault lies that Bill Bruford should of done this damn tour before joining Crimson. Just one more damn tour but he had to split. Can you imagine how perfect this box would of been if Bill played on these 7 shows. Immaculate. Alan White never in the 40 years could play anything with the technique and uniqueness that made Bill Bruford contribution to Yes so essential. If was 5 albums. I cringe everytime Alan has to play a Yes song originally played by Bill otherwise I’m fine. White did great from Tales and on. Now he’s so bad he should split before he croaks up there. He’s just burned out now. I seen and heard the latest tours with that horrible new singer. Yes is tragic now.

  7. I’ve always loved Yessongs. As an 18 year old lad on an all-white council estate in Dewsbury, where the entertainment of choice for my parents was the usual game shows and other one-dimensional crap dished out by the 3 tv channels at the time (one telly, no choice, Whistle Test after they’d gone to bed if you were lucky….) life was hellishly dull. Yeah, you got pissed and got laid at the usual parties, but everything was in monochrome. Then I passed my A levels and in the glorious summer of ’76 I had 3 months to do sod all knowing that in Sept. I was off to university. And just as the heatwave kicked in, a mate gave me a copy of Yessongs. I took the speakers out in to the back garden (big council house, backing on to a large park) filched a few bottles of my old man’s home brew, lay back and listened to the opening bars of Firebird Suite – and from that moment, a whole new world opened. Three months of lazing around in the sunshine, semi-pissed, listening to some of most entrancing sounds. Never had such a sense of peace and joy before or since. Still to this day I can put the headphones on in the bedroom, whilst my kids are running riot downstairs, and drift away to the same magical world I entered on those blistering hot summer’s days. It’s never lost any of the power, any of the astonishment of having a gateway to such a symbiosis of emotion and raw talent. In such ways are lives changed. I’ve seen Yes several times over the years and it’s always been great, but those amazing shows of ’72 still, I believe, represent the pinnacle of the band.

    So I guess that’s a long winded way of saying that I’ll be picking up the whole 7 shows. I’ll set aside 2-3 hours in the afternoon over a week this summer (the joy of working at a university!) put the speakers out in the garden, get some bottles in and take a trip back to a happier time before neo-liberalism and bastards in suits ruled the world………..

  8. As one of the few who have heard ALL these shows, you may be fine with a 2 disc set, but all the shows are different. Not identical, although the titles of the songs remain consistent. The band plays with different sounds, energy, solos, fills etc each night. Many people don’t like YES very much and would like the “greatest” version a 2-disc would give. But it’s far from boring music – if you like YES a lot, you may like the 14 disc set, which I think they priced quite reasonably!

  9. I was on the live chat to amazon last night for one hour and it was left that unless I can provide a screenshot of the vinyl at £15.93 they will not honour it. Their final resolution was to cancel the existing order and reorder at £29, which I point blank refused to do on principle.

    Can any help me and send a screenshot via e mail to

    [email protected]

    Would be grateful

    cheers

    Pete

    1. So, I gave Amazon every opportunity to inform me, over the last two months, that they’d made a mistake in the listing, but I got nothing. And so, when I received the shipping notice on Saturday stating that a CD was on its way, I contacted them to raise this as an issue. So far, I’ve met with a lot of resistance, the most laughable of which was a comment that said (paraphrased), ” Well, your order confirmation didn’t have the word Vinyl on it, so you should have realised there and then that it wasn’t vinyl”!!

      When I pointed out that the confirmation didn’t say CD either, there was a long pause and I was told that they didn’t put CD on order confirmations, just vinyl! Ludicrous!

      So I am currently waiting to hear back, having provided them with a screen shot of my original purchase clearly showing the item as being vinyl. This was after I was told last night that whilst Amazon Customer Service can receive emails, they do not have the ability to open and view image files. Isn’t it amazing how the world’s largest online retailer are still using computers that don’t support JPG files! LOL

      I will report back on my progress :-)

      1. UPDATE: Happy to report that upon speaking to a UK based Amazon rep today, Amazon have apologised for their mistake, refunded me the £11.99 they charged me for the CD and have sold me the vinyl edition of this album at the price they stated when I ordered it (£15.93).

        The lady I spoke to couldn’t have been more helpful. She apologised profusely for the previous reps I had spoken to and was incredulous at how they had refused to help me. She has also sent the album next day delivery, free of charge. I think the lesson here is that if you want good customer service, it is best to wait to speak to a local rep, and not a script-reading stand in on a weekend! :-)

        I’m a happy bunny now :-)

  10. So here’s the latest and I’d have a go if you ordered like many of us did at the low price:
    “I’m sorry about the problem with the price of your order.
    To resolve this for you, I’ve adjusted the price to reflect the current price of £ 15.93. This is the price you’ll be charged when the order is dispatched.
    When we dispatch your order, we’ll send you an e-mail to confirm the date, contents of your order and method of delivery.
    Please understand that I’m issuing this refund as an exception and that this is against our standard policy.”

  11. Disgraceful! I have now entered into an email debate with them regarding this. Very glad I took the screen shots of my original vinyl order. I’d have been slightly more accepting if they’d made contact and explained but to just change it without letting anybody know………
    Time to brush up on the legality of all this – I suspect that just changing without informing may be their Achilles heel on this one.

  12. Amazon have now spotted their mistake and have switched the vinyl and CD formats. So all you guys thinking you have ordered vinyl had better check as they will be sending you the CD.
    No notification from Amazon about this I was just checking my back orders

    1. Yes, I noticed that too. I’m going to maintain my order and see what they send. If I get the CD, I have evidence that it was stated as vinyl when ordered and we’ll see how good their customer service is in the absence of an official email stating their error :-)

  13. Just picked up the triple vinyl on pre-order via Ebay UK for £16 including postage. Thanks to SDE for making me aware of this release!

  15. I’ve listened to many Peter Gabriel shows from the music.com – if you like something too much is not enough. Even if set lists are about the same, the sound mix, playing and energy level varies, So the same ends up not being the same, and it is fun to compare to see when everything is working perfectly and when it is not. If that is not your cup of tea that is why they have a highlights version.
    These songs are so great and Yes was at the top of their game, I wouldn’t mind having 7 new versions of them.

  16. Looks like Amazon UK have got their versions mixed up too! Vinyl ‘box set’ (It’s number 10 in ‘box sets’ and number 2 in ‘Best Sellers Vinyl’) currently £15.93.
    If I get a bargain will make up teeny bit for the David Gilmour ticket fiasco yesterday…… OR when can I expect my ‘we’ve made a mistake mate’ email? I’ve taken screen shots to start the defence!

    1. I`ve also ordered the 3 LP set from Amazon for £15.93, works out cheaper than Amazon France if they honour the order. Good advice to take a screen shot cheers prog.

  18. I noted on another site that the 2CD set is pretty much Yessongs without “Starship Trouper”. I have to say I am tempted to get this, but I’ll wait to see how buyers rate the SQ. If I found the 2CD set used for a decent price, I’d probably pick it up. I’m glad to see these being released. Yes was my first concert experience (’74), and it’s always amazed me how well they could reproduce such complex music in a live setting.

  19. I know I speak for many hardcore fans of Yes saying it is a no-brainer to get the 14-disc version. I’ve also taken the bait at the Amazon.fr price for the 3-LP version, which is about EUR 23 shipped to the U.S.. If they offered it, I would buy a 21-LP set of all 7 shows, with no hesitation.

    For those complaining about the lack of variety in the setlist from show to show, that was the norm for the majority of bands at that time, especially ones like Yes, ELP, and Genesis. Even now, bands such as U2 and The Who rarely vary their setlist much during a leg of a tour. It is probably due to the multitude of moving parts in a stage production that prevent bands from “winging it” with a different setlists night after night. It’s a wonder that bands like Pearl Jam or Wilco are able to do it.

    Now, bring on some 1971 Fragile, 1974 Tales, and 1977 Going For The One shows!

  21. I’m not a Yes fan at all but I truly like these initiatives. Bruce Springsteen just opened his vault, hopefully others will follow. Live recordings from certain bands brings so much extra. And yes…..Pink Floyd that would be something.

  23. I’m still debating whether to pre-order or wait for reviews. If the SQ is decent and this release is not a victim of the loudness wars then I’ll purchase the box set. Would rather see this released on SACD or Blu however the price would be significantly more if that were the case.

  24. grousing aside, for us vinyl lovers getting a ‘highlights’ set is a disappointment. I’d much prefer they ‘selected’ the best of the shows and release that on vinyl.

  25. It seems Amazon France have mixed up the vinyl and cd releases of the highlights:

    The link to “Progeny / Highlights 3LP Vinyl” leads to “Progeny: Highlights From Seventy-Two – Coffret 2 CD”, which is described as “Album vinyle (18 mai 2015) Nombre de disques: 3” and vice versa.

    I guess one has to look at the price tag to know which is which.

    1. My feeling is that you can get the triple vinyl for €17 which is a good deal. The ASIN code is correct for vinyl, but the labelling is wrong.

      1. I was looking at this Paul and with you confirming the ASIN code I`ve given it a go. So I`m holding you responsible if they send me the double CD….joking of course but I will be watching what happens when they rectify their mistake. Can`t understand those who are moaning about a 14 disc set, why even read the article?

    1. If only Pink Floyd could release something like this. But unfortunately, Pink Floyd in their heyday seldom recorded live shows on Multitrack. Back in those days, it was rare for artists other than The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, King Crimson and a few others to record large amounts of shows on one tour. Things like these “Yes” recordings(7 shows from one tour) are an exception to the rule for artists of that era.
      For Pink Floyd, there are entire tours for which there are no multitrack concert recordings. The tours behind albums such as “Meddle” & “Animals” were never professionally recorded. The best audience recording of of a show on the “Animals” tour is the Oakland Coliseum(I was at that show!). Wolfgang’s Vault possesses a soundboard tape for one-third of the show. There is a BBC radio concert performance of “Atom Heart Mother”, but the surviving members of Pink Floyd will never agree to release audio or video material that involves having to pay to license material from broadcasters.

  27. I’m thrilled that they were able to find these tapes, and I’ll be buying the 14-disc set. More music from the good ol’ days!

  28. It’s a good question. If it were just taking some existing boots and cleaning up the sound, you’d have to say it was easy money. But when you read what they’ve gone through to made these presentable, that couldn’t have been cheap.
    But never underestimate the hardcore fans of a 60s or 70s “classic rock” band. It seems more and more bands are seeing gold in mining the back catalog and old concerts.
    To me, put it all out there and let the folks decide if it’s worthwhile or not.

  29. Just out of interest – how do you make any money on this sort of venture – surely there can’t be that many people who’d want 7 near identical concerts? How does it cover it’s costs!

    1. well, it’s a niche product, say they figure 20,000 copies sold worldwide, at $75 a pop on Amazon that’s a gross of $1.5 million. So maybe a million bucks net after Amazon et al take their cut. So I imagine the cost per boxed set is $5-$10 these days, that’s $100-$200K, leaving $500K to pay off the sound engineers and royalties etc, still a decent profit on something that was found in a closet at a recording studio! ;-)

      Oh plus I’m sure the 2CD set will sell more, maybe 30-50K, so that’s another million gross.

  30. If they were a band that mixed it up a bit, like The Grateful Dead or The Flaming Lips (just to name 2), I might consider the box. But, I’m just gonna do the highlights.

  31. Hm – I don’t understand the negative comments, to be honest. For those who don’t want the full thing they’re offering the Summary set.

    But for me, well, I just LOVE this idea. Give the fans everything possible, hide nothing. We don’t need record exec’s being gatekeepers over the material any more. This will no doubt be a fantastic journey.

    Reminds me of a pianist, Brad Mehldau. I went to see him live in Dijon, France. It was a great show, and we saw that the following evening he was playing in Italy. Having some time on our hands, we drove there are saw him a second time. Similar set, but a new experience.

    So yeah, I think this is great news. Those who consider it over-the-top, grab the two disc version. But let’s celebrate the opening of the archives, and the record companies for giving us the choice.

  32. I hear what you guys are saying about cost and repetition, but since this is coming out near my birthday, I did preorder the 14-disc set. I imagine I’ll listen to it more than their last studio album, although certainly not in one sitting.

    It would be nice to see a package (although it doesn’t have to be so large) to come from each tour and that includes the Rabin years.

  35. Two discer recomended to me by my bank manager!!

    I love Yes, but 7 identical shows, I don’t think I’d go that far even for “unofficial” downloads…….

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