Arc Of Life

[Michael Baryshnikov]

Hello All!

Залит Arc_Of_Life/(2021)_Arc_Of_Life

Сайд-проект группы Йес, основанный Билли Шервудом и Джоном Дейвисоном.
По музыке примерно соответствует современному Йес, хотя и попсовее.
ВЕСЬМА РЕКОМЕНДУЮ!

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(c) Arc Of Life biography, PA

ARC OF LIFE is a band of musicians all with ties, to varying degrees, to YES.
Billed by their promoter as a supergroup, their ties to numerous progressive
rock artists and bands (as well as other genres of rock) demonstrates that this
label was not given frivolously.

Their sound is similar to YES, blending classic YES complexity, with the 80's
Trevor RABIN era power prog and adding in modern sensabilities.

ARC OF LIFE:
Billy SHERWOOD: bass & vocals, the driving force behind WORLD TRADE, has
appeared with YES on numerous albums, end eventually was chosed by Chris SQUIRE
as his replacement in the band.
Jon DAVISON: vocals, is known primarily for his work with GLASS HAMMER, and has
been the lead singer for YES since 2012.
Jay SCHELLEN: drums, has appeared with SHERWOOD on albums by WORLD TRADE, Peter
BANKS, SHERWOOD solo albums, CONSPIRACY, and since 2016 has toured with YES to
support Alan WHITE.
Jimmy HAUN: guitar, was in the band LODGIC with SHERWOOD and his brother
Michael, and later in CIRCA, with SHERWOOD and Tony KAYE, also played with YOSO
(Yes/Toto), JON & VANGELIS, and appeared in YES' album Union.
Dave KERZNER: keyboards, a founding member of SOUND OF CONTACT, has appeared
with prog artists Kevin GILBERT, Steven WILSON and Steve HACKETT, among others.
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Arc of Life
Arc Of Life
Crossover Prog, 2021
(c) Review by kev rowland, PA

Now, I confess I have not heard the latest Yes studio album, but I was so
traumatized after 'Heaven & Earth' that I have not been able to bring myself to
buy it. Why do I mention this? Well, in many ways this band is a Yes offshoot
as virtually everyone has been involved with them in some way. The line-up
contains three current Yes members in vocalist Jon Davison, bassist/vocalist
Billy Sherwood, and drummer Jay Schellen, and is completed by Dave Kerzner
(ex-Sound of Contact) on keyboards and guitarist Jimmy Haun (who has recorded
with Yes in the past, on 'Union' for example). People are bound to compare this
band to Yes given the close relationships, but that is unfair in so very many
ways. All those involved have had careers away from that band, and I was a fan
of Davison with Glass Hammer long before he joined Yes, Schellen and Sherwood
were both in World Trade, Kerzner has been involved with multiple bands outside
of Sound of Contact etc.

The issue with Yes in 2021 is that it is not the same band from the Seventies,
but that band can never get back together as one key member has died, and
arguably the last great album to feature many of the classic line-up was
actually not even a Yes album but was 'ABWH'! Yes have never stopped being a
great live act, they just could not get their head around what they needed to
produce in the studio to move away successfully from the past, and even the
album which put them back into many progheads minds, 2011's 'Fly From Here" had
its base in music originally written nearly 30 years earlier. So, what I am
getting to with all this diatribe? Simply, do not think of this as a Yes album
as it isn't. True, we have multiple people involved who are linked very closely
with that band, but here they have none of the baggage. Davidson sings in a
similar fashion to Anderson, while Sherwood has always had a sound and style
like Squire, which is why he was the perfect replacement, but this is not Yes,
but is a new band trying to make their own way with their own album.

Agreed, there are times when there are Yes elements, it would be surprising if
that were not the case, but apart from the awful "Talking With Siri", this
album is pretty much a delight from beginning to end. Yes have been one of my
favourite bands for more than 40 years now, and I was quite concerned about
this release, but the guys are playing with a freedom which was pointedly
lacking on 'Heaven & Earth'. There is no baggage around their necks of
historically producing some of the most important albums within the genre of
all-time, and instead they have just gone out and had some fun. I am not sure
if I am ever going to build up enough courage to listen to 'The Quest', but if
these guys put out another album, then it will be something I look forward to
playing. This has a commercial crossover symphonic feel and is something I have
really enjoyed.
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.