One is never sure quite what we are going to get from Alvarado, apart from knowing it will always be enjoyable, and while his last album was quite Floydian in its approach, here we have him taking a close look at Rabin and Horn-period Yes. I know he always provide drums and keyboards but it was only when coming to write the review that I checked the rest of the musicians, and I was not surprised to see both Billy Sherwood and Jon Davison providing guitars/bass and vocals respectively, while the rest of the band is Johnny Bruhns (guitar, sitar) and James Griggers (additional guitars on one track). This means we have two key musicians involved who also played on ‘Mirror to the Sky’, and I must confess this is by far the more interesting. Sherwood has been around the scene forever, while I have always enjoyed Davison’s singing, both with Yes and Glass Hammer, but to my ears the last good Yes album was ‘Fly From Here’, and neither of them were involved with that one, but here they again show just how good they are.
Alvarado is a class songwriter and performer, and I was somewhat surprised to come across a cover, but it must be said their take on “White Car” (here renamed “Man In a White Car” and hugely expanded) is superb and I found it at least as enjoyable as the original, and given I view ‘Drama’ as potentially the last great Yes album, that is saying something. Overall this is a release which will be of huge interest to anyone who enjoys the Yes of 40 years ago, as the multi-faceted approach from Alvarado shows just what is possible when the material is right, and one can only wonder what would happen if he was involved with the songwriting of Yes, as Howe obviously needs someone to work with, and Downes is not it. Sadly, Johnny Bruhns passed away before the album was completed so Alvarado has dedicated this release to his longtime friend.
If one wonders what Horn/Rabin style Yes might sound like in the current day, this is it. 9/10 by Kev Rowland
