In 1972, Yes were big in the live business. More than 100 shows in Europe, USA and Canada. The "Close To The Edge" tour with Alan White's official debut on the drummer's chair was also the beginning of a meteoric rise of Yes in the big US live arenas (partly supported by the Eagles, Edgar Winter or the Mahavishnu Orchestra). Together with "Seconds Out" by Genesis, "Yessongs" is considered the ultimate live statement of a prog band. What the 14-CD-box "Progeny" has to add to that and how the live year 1972 went for Yes, we get to the bottom of it in the roundtable with Chris Squire and Alan White.
eclipsed: How did the "Progeny" project come about?
Alan White: That came out of nowhere. Of course we knew about the recordings back then, and it's a good idea to reconstruct the band's live career now, especially since 1972 was a very important time when I replaced Bill Bruford. It all makes a very nice picture of the time when I joined the band and developed my style.
Chris Squire: It all came from the record company Rhino, they have all the archive recordings available and have now reviewed the material.
eclipsed: Are these seven shows everything or is there more?
White: Yes, because we recorded almost every show back then, but I think it's good with this selection, too.
eclipsed: The fans always wanted to have the mystery of these archive recordings lifted, but hand on heart: What can "Progeny" really add compared to "Yessongs"?
Squire: For "Yessongs" the best versions had been picked out of all the material. Anyway, Rhino thought that there was a great interest in these archive recordings on the part of the fans. Personally, I wasn't particularly keen on it at first. Sure, I've been listening. It's o.k., but certainly not remixed with the same care as "Yessongs", the fans shouldn't expect that. But the live atmosphere from back then comes across well, and for people who were there at exactly those shows, it has an additional attraction.
