The 1973 concert film “Yessongs” found only disgrace in the home video world, but that’s about to change with a 40th anniversary Blu-ray release.
Britain’s Pinewood Studios updated the Yes film with high-definition images and a 5.1 surround sound restoration. While the Blu-ray debuts in the U.K. on April 30, no U.S. release has been announced.
A spokeswoman for U.K. distributor Odeon Entertainment said via email that the PAL disc would play in U.S. Blu-ray machines.
Artist Roger Dean, famed for his psychedelic landscapes for Yes album covers, produced four new postcards for the release. The Blu-ray includes an hour of “new and unseen” extra features, including a 2012 documentary with core Yes members Steve Howe, Roger Dean and Chris Squire, and a 12-minute short with guitarist Howe.
Yes members Rick Wakeman and Alan White also starred in the concert film, filmed in 1972 at London’s Rainbow Theatre and originally released to theaters in quadrophonic sound. (Wakeman was about to exit the band, and White had just filled the drummer’s seat vacated by Bill Bruford.)
The “Yessongs” Blu-ray will have a restored mono track as well as the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 remix. The Blu-ray lists the film as 84 minutes, while IMDB says the original ran 12 minutes shorter.
The 35mm film was directed by Peter Neal (“Glastonbury Fayre”). It was edited by Philip Howe, Steve Howe’s brother.
Yes was touring behind “Close to the Edge.” Keyboardist Wakeman also performed parts of his solo effort “The Six Wives of Henry VIII.”
Yes classics in the film include “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Your Move,” “Clap,” “And You and I,” “Close to the Edge,” “Roundabout,” “Yours Is No Disgrace” and “Starship Trooper: Worm.”
“Yessongs” was released theatrically in the U.S. in 1975. Image Entertainment released a DVD version in late 1997, bemoaned for its images taken “from a ragged print” and “bootleg quality” audio.
The Yes live CD of the same name is not the soundtrack to the film, although two performances are shared.