Wednesday 19 September 2012

LINK: ABWH Greek Review

http://www.grande-rock.com/reviews/abwh_-_live_nec

ABWH
Live at the NEC
Gonzo Multimedia
2012
Certainly the names of Anderson, Brudford, Wakeman, Howe will evoke a lot of memories to the progressive fans around the world. These talented and premiere musicians formed the alter ego of YES back in 1989 under the name of ABWH, just using the initials of their names. Some legal problems regarding the use of the name YES made them go on with ABWH for a couple of years till all the differences were resolved finally and they produced the YES album “Union” in 1991.

The 2CD/DVD “Live at The NEC” captures, in its entirety, the concert that was held on October 24th, 1989 in Birmingham. Except for the vocalist Jon Anderson, the drummer Bill Brudford, the keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and the guitarist Steve Howe we have Tony Levin on bass Julian Colbeck on keyboards & Milton McDonald on guitars. The first disc features mostly medleys of songs from YES & ABWH and a few solos from Wakeman & Brudford. The second disc starts with “Themes” which turns into a Brudford & Levin duet. The other 6 songs are closer to the original ones without any solos/medleys. Finally, the third disc features the “Off the Wall” short film by Julian Colbeck. On that film we see the band backstage celebrating Jon Anderson's birthday on the 25th of October and also onstage, both during the soundcheck and the actual concert. Of course, due to the technical equipment of the time, this bonus footage is not quite meeting the today BR, HD standards but it will give you an idea, especially to the younger ones, of how things were done almost 20 years ago. It's good actually and is giving the chance to the fans of the band to see some more personal moments of the artists they love.

This 2CD/DVD also features a 28-page booklet with lots of photos and biographical and not only material, concerning the members of the band. The whole package is greatly made, offering wonderful music and satisfactory video quality. Definitely, the loyal fans of the YES & ABWH will get it no matter what… but, undoubtedly, if you’re into progressive rock music then “Live at the NEC” will be a good addition to your collection.

PS: This box set is EXCLUSIVELY available only from Gonzo MultiMedia and won’t be distributed to any shops or on-line sites. You can order it here.

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