Me and my journey through life, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and all wacky, funny, deep, depressing and interesting points in between. My interests are varied from one end of the spectrum to another. Basically, the disappointing side of mediocre.
As a follow up to the previous album from a year earlier, Yes released Keys to Ascension 2 on this date in 1997. It also followed the same format as its predecessor having live tracks with new studio tracks. Also, more Roger Dean ya'll:
Like the first seven tracks on the previous album, the first six tracks on Keys to Ascension 2 were recorded live in San Luis Obispo, California in March 1996. The second disc features studio recordings made in November 1996. Rick Wakeman wanted these studio tracks to be released with Jon Anderson's working title Know, with the disc of live tracks thrown in as a bonus. Wakeman's preference was not honored and by the time Keys to Ascension 2 was released, he was no longer in the band (again).
Like the previous album, Keys to Ascension, this album is also a mix of concert recordings with additional studio songs. Also like the previous album, the first tracks on Keys to Ascension 2 were recorded live in San Luis Obispo, California in March 1996. The second disc features studio recordings made in November 1996. Rick Wakeman wanted these studio tracks to be released with Jon Anderson's working title Know, with the disc of live tracks thrown in as a bonus. Wakeman's preference was not honored and by the time Keys to Ascension 2 was released, he was no longer in the band (shocker).
1) Mind Drive - This song is fantastic. It has also been around for awhile. The song was originally a concept that the band XYZ, which featured Chris Squire, Alan White and Jimmy Page, wrote and demoed in 1981. It was later incorporated in a drum duet between Alan White and Bill Bruford on the 1991–1992 Union tour.
2) Footprints - Another great song. Everybody knows where we're going to, be sure to leave good footprints behind. Never let the grass grow over your soul...
4) Children of Light - This was originally written by Jon Anderson and Vangelis in 1986 as "Distant Thunder". It was then later demoed by Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH!) during the recording of their self-titled album. It later appeared as a hidden track on the 2011 limited edition of the album. I wrote about that here. The lyrics to "Distant Thunder" ended up in Yes' Union tourbook in April 1991. In 1994, Jon Anderson performed the song via radio on the Tommy Vance show. During a Mother's Day concert in 1996, he performed "Children of Light" and said he hoped it would appear on a Yes album, which it did.
Rick Wakeman's introduction called "Lightning" was mixed out before the album's release. It was restored to the track on the 2001 compilation Keystudio. The "Distant as the distant thunder..." introduction, as heard on Keys to Ascension 2, was mixed out on the Keystudio version.
This is the last release of the band with Rick Wakeman on keyboards. It is also the last album with the line-up consisting of Anderson, Squire, White, Howe and Wakeman. The album reached No. 62 in the UK.
The studio tracks from this album and Keys to Ascension would be re-released as Keystudio.
I have made it quite clear to anyone who has read my stuff, that to me the ABWH album (Side 1, Side 2) was synonymous with a great failed relationship I had. I can't think of one without the other. They will forever be intertwined.
Occasionally, I learn a factoid or two about that album and it seems to still coincide with the real life that I was living. Other times I find a little nugget that brightens my day.
For instance, I never knew that part of "Quartet" (the I'm Alive part) was actually edited down for a single and actually had a video. It was given a second verse and a different ending. How I missed this at the time I will never know.
Even more exciting was that there were OTHER SONGS that were left off the album! One of the was called Vultures, which came from a Steve Howe demo called "Rare Birds". How it didn't make the album and Teakbois did is beyond me.
In 2011 they came out with a deluxe edition of ABWH that I gobbled up quickly. It had a bonus disk with these two songs and also a lot of radio edits and live performances. Typical stuff. But stuck in there at the very end was a hidden track called "Children of Light". It blew me away.
I knew this song from the Yes album Keys to Ascension 2 but didn't know it had originated from a song Jon/Vangelis wrote called "Distant Thunder" that was demoed for the ABWH sessions. Too cool.
But all in all, the most "devastating" information that I learned from all my research into this album, was that there was supposed to be another ABWH album that never came about. There was supposed to be more and then there wasn't. It was like somewhere in another Richard Bach universe things stayed wonderful, my relationship continued with an additional soundtrack, and the play that was my life had a second act. It's out there somewhere else I suppose, being lived out by someone who isn't me.
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