ALBANY >> Genesis; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; King Crimson — all the progressive rock behemoths of the ’70s are gone, dinosaurs swallowed up in the tar pits — except one.
The group Yes not only survives but thrives. The British rock band that created their own mystical world with albums like “Fragile” and “Close to The Edge” in 1971 and ’72, respectively, are performing those albums in their entirety on their current tour. Yes is also presenting music from its new CD “Heaven and Earth,” which is due out July 17.
Yes is nearing a sellout for their Sunday show at The Egg, and drummer Alan White says the group filled 6,000 seats in London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier this year, have sold out New York’s Radio City Music Hall and are playing such storied halls as the Ryman in Nashville and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. So how have they survived when others have long since fallen by the wayside?
The cynical answer to that is that they’re not the same band. Bass player Chris Squire is the only original member on board since 1968. Drummer White is the second-longest tenured player. He joined in 1972.
“I guess we’re the only two that can put up with each other,” White said with a laugh.
The 65-year-old stills drums like he is in his 20s. In 1972, he did sessions and toured live with John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band.
“I enjoy Chris Squire’s playing,” White said seriously. “I enjoy working with him. In the beginning, we took quite a while to find our own styles to work totally with each other, but it seems as if the combination has played out through the many albums we’ve done, and the many years we’ve been playing.”
The band’s secret weapon is new vocalist Benoit David, a Tennessee lad who has been listening to Yes all his life and played in a latter-day progressive-rock band called Glass Hammer.
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