Mixed Feelings

I was a rabid fan of Yes, those archetypal prog rockers, in the early 70s and regarded Heart of the Sunrise from Fragile as a self-evidently great piece of music. I suppose I sort of fell out of love with the band slowly over time, though still enjoying the Trevor Rabin line-up of the 80s to some degree. But I never quite lost my sense of wonder at the early stuff, like Sunrise. Happily I found that wonder revived today when chancing upon a splendid live version of the piece as performed by the Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman version of the band in 2018. It's stellar stuff, not the least for the astonishing vocal power of the elderly version of Mr Anderson. He may have proved to be a bit of a flaky character over time, as followers of Yes will be aware, but my goodness can the guy sing.

But here's the thing. My intense enjoyment of the performance was marred by an extraordinary act of artistic vandalism which seems to my jaundiced ears typical of the age in which we live. Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to enhance the track by mixing in fake audience noise?

So intense enjoyment mixes with equally intense horror. Most confusing. Not a healthy combination, I'm afraid.