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We all know the classic Yes live album Yessongs inside out, and have been listening to it and loving it for nearly 40 years. Documenting the bands 1972 tour of Close to the Edge, it's a landmark live album and considered one of the best ever in the genre of progressive rock. Problem is, Yessongs always had somewhat of a muddy sound, a problem even the remastered edition didn't really rectify, but considering the time and conditions it was recorded under, there's not been a lot that can be done to clean it up. Fast forward now many years, and a box of reel-to-reel tapes have been found of 7 shows from the same tour, all recorded at concerts in North America virtually a few days apart in 1972, each with very strong audio quality made even better by using modern day 'clean up' and restoration techniques. There is a 14CD box set that includes all 7 full shows available for completists to have to hear every available concert, but this particular 2 disc version contains the best performances from those shows. The sound quality is amazing, crystal clear so you can hear every little nuance being played by Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, and Alan White, which is not something you could always say about Yessongs. In many ways, Progeny can now almost be looked at as the ultimate live Yes album from that era, except, and of course there's always an 'except', that a few tunes from Yessongs, namely "Starship Trooper", "Long Distance Runaround", and "Perpetual Change" are nowhere to be found here, nor on the larger box sets, so either they didn't play them on the US part of the tour or the decision was made to leave them off these collections.That aside, what is on display here is magical, vintage Yes at the height of their powers. I won't go into the virtues of classic songs like "And You and I", "Heart of the Sunrise", "Roundabout", "I've Seen All Good People", "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Close to the Edge", and my personal favorite "Siberian Khatru", as we are all aware of just how great these tunes are, but the clarity of these recordings and the powerful performances are what makes them exceptional. The late Chris Squire looms tall with his thudding, muscular, and quite elastic Rickenbacker bass, as Howe's virtuoso guitar lines and Wakeman's majestic keyboards dazzle and dart around each other, but the real surprise here is just how clear & powerful White's drums sound. Remember, he was the brand new guy for this tour, and literally had to learn the entire set list in a matter of days, so his outstanding performances on these recordings is astounding. And, what more can you say about Howe & Wakeman, who get their little moments to shine solo on "Clap/Mood For a Day" and "Excerpts From 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII"...these guys are just masters of their craft. The always solid Anderson just floats over the top of all these grandiose sounds, but he's especially wondrous on the always engaging "And You and I" and an aggressive take on "Yours Is No Disgrace".Of course, a brand new, stunning Roger Dean work of art adorns the lovely digipack, and a booklet filled with information on these recordings and their history slots in nicely inside. Like I mentioned earlier, if you have to have the complete concerts (which would really give you something that rivals and even surpasses Yessongs) then go for the full-blown 14 disc box set. Many will probably be happy enough with this 'highlights' set, but I'll leave that up to you to decide.&mdash;Pete Pardo<hr/>Cognoscenti may or may not agree this material constitutes Yes' holy grail as the group became ever-so-slightly more structured with the departure of original drummer Bill Bruford (to join King Crimson)and the subsequent enlistment of Alan White to fulfill that role. But the somewhat rigidified presentations of these shows belies how the vocal and instrumental expertise is catalyzed by the extraordinary self-discipline evident on "I've Seen All Good People." There's no denying the enthralling and uplifting sensation of the latter and that force is even greater later in the show during the greater complexity of "Roundabout;" the intricacy of Steve Howe's electric guitar as it interweaves with Rick Wakeman's keyboards and Chris Squire's bass mirror the shifting textures even more graphically, all the while maintaining, and even elevating the visceral impact of the musicianship. White's comparatively simpler approach to his kit actually keeps Yes from sound too busy for the own good. In contrast, while some of the lyrics of "Siberian Khatru, " for instance, sound esoteric to a fault, the pastoral images can lend to the rapture Yes aims to create. Still, workouts like "Heart of the Sunrise" (and even more Howe's solo "Clap"/Mood for a Day" and Wakeman's spotlight "Excerpts from The Six Wives of Henry VIII") lend themselves to the criticism of technical braggadocio, unless they're taken as pure sonic expression, but the latter the acoustic-based number adds markedly to the dynamic flow of the concert , particularly as it sets up "And You and I" where the deceptively frail sound of Jon Anderson's voice comes to the for as a major asset of the Yes sound even more so as part of the billowing group harmonies when Howe and Squire join in. Co-producers Steve Woolard and Brian Kehew create a seamless progression of performances here from performances straddling North America including North Carolina, Nassau Long Island and Toronto Canada. In doing so the detailed clarity of the audio quality reveals " Opening" (Excerpt from "Firebird Suite") less pretension that pragmatism given the tuning enacted in the background. Further such nuance below the surface of the most prominent components of the arrangements is worthy of selective scrutiny here, all the more remarkable given the age of the recordings (notwithstanding Yes long-standing devotion to audio quality). The unadorned mix reveals the exertion expended by the group as they play, the antithesis of antiseptic, especially played at high-volume (headphone listening doesn't offer the same insight). "Close to the Edge, " for instance, moves at a breathless pace. A highly-distinctive 'greatest hits' set for the novice, Highlights From Seventy-Two is also available for nostalgists in the form of a of a three-LP set of vinyl, while for the completists, there's a fourteen-disc box titled Seven Shows From Seventy- Two comprising the fruits of this archiving project in their entirety. All these various configurations are but a further reflection of the multi-colored density of this music.Track Listing: CD 1: Opening (Excerpt From “Firebird Suite”); Siberian Khatru. I've Seen All Good People. a. “Your Move b. “All Good People. Heart Of The Sunrise; Clap/Mood For A Day; And You And I: a. Cord Of Life b. Eclipse. c. The Preacher The Teacher. d. Apocalypse. CD 2: 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; Excerpts From “The Six Wives Of Henry VIII; Roundabout; Yours Is No Disgrace.Personnel: Jon Anderson: vocals, percussion; Steve Howe: guitar, vocals ; Chris Squire: bass, vocals; Rick Wakeman: keyboards; Alan White: drums&mdash;Doug Collette<hr/>If ever there were too much of a good thing, Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two by Yes is likely it. These seven complete shows on as many double-disc sets were recorded in Canada and the U.S. between October 31 and November 20 during the Close to the Edge tour. They are the "source code" tapes from which much of Yessongs was assembled. That said, these complete gigs are remixed and remastered from two-inch, 16-track recordings previously thought to be lost. (Yessongs was created from two-track mixdown masters -- each subsequent remaster has come from those tapes.) Drummer Alan White had been with the band just three months after taking over from Bill Bruford. Musically, however, he's claimed the chair by this point; his uncanny playing relationship with bassist Chris Squire is cemented. The sonic quality of these concerts and the considerable variation in improvisational and instrumental moments, banter, and sheer dynamic force from night to night -- remember, this set is for the hardest of the hardcore only; civilians and casual fans won't get it -- are well worth it.Producer Brian Kehew's technical notes detail the painstaking process of getting the best sound possible and recapturing the dynamic range that Yessongs lacked. Some of the tricks included re-recording Squire's bass through a '70s-era bass amp and layering it atop the original thin one to get the fat, nasty, proper balance that is a Yes trademark. They also (re)calibrated the Dolby level of each guitar, individual drum, vocal, keyboard, etc. track setting by ear because they had been set incorrectly in the first place. That doesn't mean that the sound is perfect. Occasionally one can hear bits of ambient buzzing, a little too much crowd noise in a few places, moments of brightness -- as in the Duke University performance of Steve Howe's solo guitar break that makes a medley of "Mood for a Day" with "Clap." But these are quibbles. For fans, this box is about representing the performance magic of Yes at an early peak. Jon Anderson is at full, soaring, angelic strength. Rick Wakeman's B-3 and synth playing are on point, his synths soaring and free of bloated excess. Howe, Squire, and White surprise audiences and one another nightly with their interplay and solos. Each of these shows does exactly that. Whether it's in the extended jams like "Yours Is No Disgrace" or the "Close to the Edge" and "And You and I" suites, or awe-inspiring renderings of "Heart of the Sunrise" and the driving hard rock prog of "Roundabout," Yes were firing on all cylinders. Progeny is what rabid fans want; it captures not only the band at its early, inspired best but prog rock too. The new sleeve art by Roger Dean (each set has a different illustration) helps make this deluxe set a necessity for the obsessed.&mdash;Thom Jurek

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