United Kingdom
ABWH was born in 1989 when Jon Anderson envisioned working again with his former YES bandmates, ouside the confines of the Trevor Rabin/Chris Squire-led "90125" lineup. He began collaborating with Steve Howe, with whom most of the classic YES material, including "Close to the Edge" had been written, and soon they enlisted old mates Rick WAKEMAN & Bill BRUFORD into the fold. Pointedly refusing to take any group name other than "YES", they decided their own quite famous surnames would do just fine. With the contribution of Tony Levin on bass (at BRUFORD's suggestion), the band was in place & ready to reclaim the YES legacy in all but name.
The album "Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, & Howe" was released in 1989 to enthusiastic responses from prog fans. Gone were the radio- friendly, "Big Generator"-type, tracks; this was a full-blown return to the soaring YES epics of old; with the very first lines of the album boldly stating Jon's intent to once again set his music free from the enslaving corporate bonds which had held it for so long.
"Begone you ever-piercing power-play machine; killing all musical solidarity..."
The album was the most solid piece of work to come out of the YES camp in years. It sold well, and a very successful tour followed, with the band playing to sell-out crowds & ressurecting some old favorites that had not been performed in many a moon. The future seemed bright for ABWH, whereas YES seemed to be in a kind of limbo... Alas, when there is money to be made, solidarity cannot last for long. While working on the followup to their debut album, Anderson contacted Rabin for help in adding some writing to the album. Rabin & Anderson began a dialogue with the record company that led to the idea of combining the two warring YES factions; thereby giving rise to the grand debacle that was to become "Union", and signaling the end of ABWH. BRUFORD once commented that 'ABWH could have been a very interesting band... if theyd've spent more than five seconds on it'...
- D. Michael D'anna II
ABWH was born in 1989 when Jon Anderson envisioned working again with his former YES bandmates, ouside the confines of the Trevor Rabin/Chris Squire-led "90125" lineup. He began collaborating with Steve Howe, with whom most of the classic YES material, including "Close to the Edge" had been written, and soon they enlisted old mates Rick WAKEMAN & Bill BRUFORD into the fold. Pointedly refusing to take any group name other than "YES", they decided their own quite famous surnames would do just fine. With the contribution of Tony Levin on bass (at BRUFORD's suggestion), the band was in place & ready to reclaim the YES legacy in all but name.
The album "Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, & Howe" was released in 1989 to enthusiastic responses from prog fans. Gone were the radio- friendly, "Big Generator"-type, tracks; this was a full-blown return to the soaring YES epics of old; with the very first lines of the album boldly stating Jon's intent to once again set his music free from the enslaving corporate bonds which had held it for so long.
"Begone you ever-piercing power-play machine; killing all musical solidarity..."
The album was the most solid piece of work to come out of the YES camp in years. It sold well, and a very successful tour followed, with the band playing to sell-out crowds & ressurecting some old favorites that had not been performed in many a moon. The future seemed bright for ABWH, whereas YES seemed to be in a kind of limbo... Alas, when there is money to be made, solidarity cannot last for long. While working on the followup to their debut album, Anderson contacted Rabin for help in adding some writing to the album. Rabin & Anderson began a dialogue with the record company that led to the idea of combining the two warring YES factions; thereby giving rise to the grand debacle that was to become "Union", and signaling the end of ABWH. BRUFORD once commented that 'ABWH could have been a very interesting band... if theyd've spent more than five seconds on it'...
- D. Michael D'anna II
ALBUMS:
1989 - ANDERSON, BRUFORD, WAKEMAN & HOWE
Musicians
- John Anderson / vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Steve Howe / guitar
- Tony Levin / bass, vocals and stick bass
- Milton McDonald / guitar (rhythm)
Tracks Listing
1. Themes (5:58)
2. Fist of Fire (3:27)
3. Brother of Mine (10:18)
4. Birthright (6:02)
5. The meeting (4:21)
6. Quartet (9:22)
7. Teakbois (7:39)
8. Order of the Universe (9:02)
Total Time: 59:05
Look!!
