Yes
Dillon Stadium
Hartford, CT
1972-08-14 (or 1972-09-25)

Lineage: audience -> tape copy (at least 1 gen) -> audio CD -> EAC -> FLAC

THIS RECORDING HAS NOT BEEN REMASTERED

According to forgottenyesterdays.com, this performance by Yes was scheduled for 1972-08-14, but the show was cancelled due to rain and rescheduled for 1972-09-25. (Maybe it was the same weather system that brought rain to Columbia, MD on August 13.) Looking at the schedule of shows, both dates seem possible, but Yes would have had just one day to travel from Milwaukee, where they played on September 24, to Hartford. A post on ForgottenYesterdays.com from a writer whose father had tickets for the August 14 Hartford show states that the show did go on later that night, after the weather cleared up.

Following “I’ve Seen All Good People,” Jon Anderson gives the following introduction: “A song from the new album. Its... the album is called 'Close To The Edge' and the title of the track is 'Close To The Edge' that we're going to play for you now. Here we go.” And go they did.

Based on this information, plus the fact that “Close to the Edge” was performed much earlier in the set than the spot it held in any other documented Yes show of this tour, I will assume that August 14, 1972 is the correct date, and that we are privileged to have here a recording of the very first live performance of “Close to the Edge.”

This recording has plenty of tape hiss. There are cuts in Jon’s announcements and in the applause and ambience between songs. The crowd sounds enthusiastic but sparse. A couple of wry comments from the tapers or people nearby can be plainly heard between tracks. Overall, it’s not one for the casual listener, but if you are interested in Yes history, this is a must-have.

The last three tracks of disk 2 on my copy of this recording are not from the Hartford show of 1972-08-14. Those tracks are:

Clap/Classical Gass
Perpetual Change
Everydays

If they were documented, I’ve lost that information. The recordings are definitely from the 1971 tour supporting The Yes Album, and could possibly be audience recordings of Yes at Yale Bowl, New Haven, CT., on 1971-07-24. If anyone can supply the exact information, please send me a private message on Dimeadozen. Thanks.

TheTooleMan
August, 2007

Lineup:
Jon Anderson (Vocals)
Steve Howe (Guitars)
Chris Squire (Bass)
Rick Wakeman (Keyboards)
Alan White (Drums)

Disk 1:
Firebird Suite
Siberian Khatru
I've Seen All Good People
Close To The Edge
Mood For A Day
Clap
Heart Of The Sunrise

Disk 2:
And You And I
Wakeman Solo
Roundabout
Yours Is No Disgrace