It is more than half a century since Yes unleashed Tales from Topographic Oceans, the sprawling, epic, double concept album that has been both maligned and championed in equal measures amongst the bands many fans. Tonight saw Steve Howe & co revisit the album with a truncated version that dominated the second half of the show, encompassing parts of each of the albums four individual songs and taking the audience on a journey that retained the themes of the originals, at the same time trimming off the excess and keeping the whole piece to just over twenty minutes. What this made for was a hugely memorable and, at times, breathtaking performance that was perfectly executed by Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen.

Since he took over leading the band some years ago, Howe has always said the band are comfortable playing music from all eras of Yes music. And, true to his word, the current tour sees them revisit songs from as far back as 1970’s Time and a Word, through 1980’s Trevor Horn-fronted Drama, 1999’s much overlooked The Ladder and 2023’s Mirror to the Sky, their most recent studio album to date. After having played the album in full two years ago, there was nothing this time around from Close to the Edge, nor staples such as ‘Awaken’ or ‘Heart of the Sunrise’. Although no doubt those songs will return at some point in the future, tonight was about giving the audience something a little bit different such as ‘South Side of the Sky’ and ‘Machine Messiah’, the latter making for a remarkable opening song. There were, of course, still some of the bands more recognisible moments, including the formidable encore pairing of ‘Roundabout’ and ‘Starship Trooper’ that proved to be as transcendent and inspirational as always.

The personnel may have changed many times over the years but Yes’ music still has the power to take the listener on a magical voyage, and there is no doubt the current band do justice to the legacy of what has gone before. Jon Davison enjoys a wonderful rapport with the crowd, singing with passion throughout and clearly enjoying himself on classics such as  ‘I’ve Seen All Good People’ and ‘Don’t Kill the Whale’. Sherwood and Downes share a long history with the band, and with Schellen now a permanent fixture since the sad loss of Alan White the trio have a mutual understanding of what makes Yes so special to be a part of. And as for Howe, he remains in fine touch and he had everyone enthralled with his incredible versatility. By the end of the evening they were rewarded with another standing ovation and, with the promise of a new studio album still to come, the reassurance that the incredible music Yes have given us over the years remains in safe hands.

Set list:-

Set 1:
Machine Messiah
It Will Be a Good Day (The River)
Going for the One
I’ve Seen All Good People / America
Time and a Word
Don’t Kill the Whale
Turn of the Century

Set 2:
South Side of the Sky
Cut From the Stars
The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn) / The Remembering (High the Memory) / The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun) / Ritual (Nous sommes du soleil)

Encore:
Roundabout
Starship Trooper