In 1997, I learned officially exactly what it was that people loved about “classic Yes.” After growing up as a fan of 90125-era Yes, I had free tickets to see “classic Yes” at Music Hall.
It was a show that despite my relative unfamiliarity with their 70s back catalog, I couldn’t pass up.
Post-show, Yes had made me a believer. I finally got it, and realized what I had been missing all of those years, thanks to a little song called “Heart of the Sunrise.” For a bunch of geezers playing classic rock, they sure could play.
A short time later, the radio station switchboard patched an important call through to me from a gentleman here in Cleveland named Bill M. (Bill of course has a last name, but I won’t share that here in this particular story.) Bill was a Yes fan, looking for a copy of a Yes concert that the radio station had broadcast live from Richfield Coliseum in 1978. I had a good grip on what was in the archives at that point, and knew we didn’t have it. Beyond that, I wasn’t even aware of the broadcast’s existence.
I officially had a new quest, and something new to find.
Doing some quick research on the internet, I was excited to discover that there was a bootleg of the show, called Madrigal Mystery Tour. I was disappointed when I got it, to find that the sound was average, as one would expect for a show recording from the time period. The source recording was obviously several generations removed from the original recording of the broadcast. But the show was amazing, and it had an epic version of “Heart of the Sunrise.” I got in touch with Bill, we had lunch, and I gave him a copy of the bootleg – he was thrilled, and my quest went on.
After putting the word out to tapers that I was looking for someone that might have taped the show, I got several replies, all of which ended up being copies of the same bootleg that I already had. As the years passed, I would occasionally come across a copy of the show that had promise, but ultimately wound up at the same dead end, same bootleg.
Until last year when a recording surfaced online that had a description that sounded so good, that it HAD to be good. When I heard the opening moments, I had at last received a copy of a show in the quality that I had wanted to hear for so long.
From the show notes that accompanied the posting:
Yes Live In Cleveland Ohio. Live At The Richfield Coliseum. Also Known As The Slab. September 19th. 1978.Tuesday @ 8:00 P.M.
Live From WMMS from Cleveland Ohio. Home Of The Buzzard, The Browns, The Burning River. What Can I Say About My Home Town?
Cleveland, City Of Lights, City Of Magic, Burn On Big River, Burn On! Thanks to Sartre, Newman And The Universe.
Recorded thru a Kenwood model Eleven III. receiver onto an Akai GX-630D reel to reel using Scotch 207-7R-1800 tape,A 3M company using low noise bias setting.
This recording has not seen the light of day for 28 years, 7 months and 21 days.
The above tape sounds just as good as the many reel-to-reel masters I’ve heard from other groups/shows in the same time period. Like some of the REALLY special legendary Cleveland concert broadcasts over the years, this is a broadcast that really puts you in the seats of the Coliseum on that September night in 1978.
Some people have a ticket stub to remember a classic show, and then there are others that stayed home from the show to capture something even better than good stories and the ticket stubs attached to them.
This one comes from one of those nights, courtesy of a Yes fan and his tape recorder that was paying special attention to that night’s broadcast.
Here it is, 30 years later for your enjoyment…
P.S. – Bill and I fell out of touch in recent years, and it is my hope that one of these days, I’ll be able to track him down to catch up on life, and share this long awaited discovery with him. So if you’re reading this, drop me a line!
Yes
Richfield Coliseum
Richfield, OH
9/19/78
broadcast on WMMS
Download FLAC files of this show @ Dimeadozen
or MP3 files below (free membership required at Dimeadozen.)
Disc One:
complete zipped download
Close Encounters/Siberian Khatru
Heart Of The Sunrise
Future Times-Rejoice
Circus of Heaven
Time and a Medley
Don’t Kill The Whale
Madrigal/The Clap
Disc Two:
Starship Trooper
On The Silent Wings Of Freedom
The Six Wives Of Henry The 8th.
Awaken
I’ve Seen All Good People
Roundabout
Steve Howe, guitars
Alan White, drums
Rick Wakeman, keyboards
Chris Squire, basses
Jon Anderson, vocals, harp, other noises
Thanks to eggplant2 for the incredible source!
Thanks for this! I saw the same tour come to Madison Square Garden in ’78, and remember really enjoying the show, through the haze of smoke. I didn’t realize there is such a thing as a “a fan of 90125-era Yes” (it’s kind of unthinkable, actually, what with the awfulness of everything after Going for the One) but it’s great to hear the classics blasted out energetically from back in the day. Great post — thanks again.
I grew up in the 80s when you could wear parachute pants without people looking at you funny.
(or maybe they did look at us funny back then, I dunno.)
So yeah, along those lines as well, 90125 was a damn good album, and one that I still enjoy.
I realize that I’m in the smaller minority that enjoys both factions of Yes, and I’m cool with that.
That being said, they still need to apologize for Union.
$8.00 to see Yes, I wonder how much the beer was at that sh0w? 🙂 $8 won’t cover your service charge these days!
-cm
After reading your account of your search for this recording I feel almost guilty for my chance stumbling upon it here after chasing down some links. I promise to enjoy it and pass it along to Bill if I ever get a chance.
CS – I would love to have 2008 money to go back in time to go to cheap shows like that.
Photoshop Teacher – glad you found it, hope you enjoy it!!
Okay, I am a bit confused. The setlist is a bit different that what I just downloaded from Further.net, which is also from the FM broadcast. On The Silent Wings Of Freedom and The Six Wives Of Henry The 8th are not mentioned on my list:
CD 1
1. Young Persons Guide To The Orchestra
2. Siberian Khatru
3. Heart Of The Sunrise
4. Future Times/Rejoice
5. Circus Of Heaven
Medley
6. Time And A Word
7. Long Distance Runaround
8. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)
9. Perpetual Change
10. Soon
CD 2
1. Don’t Kill The Whale
2. Madrigal
3. Clap
4. Starship Trooper
5. Wakeman Solo
6. Awaken
7. I’ve Seen All Good People
In the note, the taper does say:
Also, supposedly they played On The Silent Wings Of Freedom, but that is missing as well (or not, I don’t know).
Email me and let me know your thoughts. Guess I will give both a listen.
FUDGEBATS!! you pulled the downloads and I've no clue how to do Dime or Torrents!
having enough problems with flipping flac!
SIGH!
Guess I'm outta luck
it was fun seeing them at the Agora for the ladder tour
and 4 center at blossom for fan vote set list….Nothing like teh folk next to me clearing out and some ()&$@*&*(# drunk came in and talked to me thru all of GATES!!!!
I'd only waited 15 years to hear that song live!
as for eras of YES
I came in for Big Generator…..Cobo or Joe Lewis….Lewis I think that was the second conert I'd ever seen the first was the Dead There too for Touch of Gray. My first senior year of college. Show was Fantastick!
And what do they need to apologise for UNION!???
I really enjoy that one have given the to quite a few of my friends and they have all liked to too!
my Roomate was a big fan a had a few LP….I hit the used shops and had a full run in a few months……Tomotor and Into the Lens YACKED and I'm not very keen on talk but I love most of their work. and some of the solo stuff too!
Would love to know what ever happened to the Jon/Igor album for Igor got shunted out! it was supposedly done just not released yet?????
FUDGEBATS!! you pulled the downloads and I've no clue how to do Dime or Torrents!
having enough problems with flipping flac!
SIGH!
Guess I'm outta luck
it was fun seeing them at the Agora for the ladder tour
and 4 center at blossom for fan vote set list….Nothing like teh folk next to me clearing out and some ()&$@*&*(# drunk came in and talked to me thru all of GATES!!!!
I'd only waited 15 years to hear that song live!
as for eras of YES
I came in for Big Generator…..Cobo or Joe Lewis….Lewis I think that was the second conert I'd ever seen the first was the Dead There too for Touch of Gray. My first senior year of college. Show was Fantastick!
And what do they need to apologise for UNION!???
I really enjoy that one have given the to quite a few of my friends and they have all liked to too!
my Roomate was a big fan a had a few LP….I hit the used shops and had a full run in a few months……Tomotor and Into the Lens YACKED and I'm not very keen on talk but I love most of their work. and some of the solo stuff too!
Would love to know what ever happened to the Jon/Igor album for Igor got shunted out! it was supposedly done just not released yet?????
Holy Mother Of Gawd this is awesome…. Thank you SOOOOOOOO much!!!
Knew you would dig it, Chris! I've got lots more…I'll have to share some of the other good stuff as I think of it…
@confused: “Six Wives” is the Wakeman Solo, though the medley actually includes other of his albums. Silent Wings was not broadcast by WMMS and when I quizzed eggplant about this on DIME he agreed he probably added it from another show. That other show is Quebec 1979, also a great gig – look for the “Circus Of Heaven” bootleg.
Hello, Neat post. There is a problem with your site in internet explorer, may check this?
IE still is the market leader and a huge component to other people
will leave out your excellent writing due to this problem.