Yes/Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe/
Asia/Vangelis/Badfinger
Here you can see in chronological order those titles from the larger list that cover the bands Yes, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, Asia, Vangelis and Badfinger (for whom Tony Kaye played keyboard).
You can go directly to the following sections:
I. Books and articles already published
II. Books that have not been published yet
III. Books in the making
I. Books and articles already published:
- Dean, Roger: Views. 2nd edition, Limpsfield, Surrey (England) 1975. ISBN: 0-905895-94-0. Reprint, Petaluma 1985. ISBN: 1-56640-448-7.
(A collection of Dean's early work, including his illustrations for Yes from 1971-1974
(Fragile through Relayer), and some stage set information.
The companion book to Views is Magnetic Storm, which covers Dean's later work.
More info on Roger Dean's website, where the book also can be ordered. Thanks to John Kuge.)
- Puig, Damián G./Julio Murillo/Adolfo Pérez: Moog'rock. Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, Genesis (= Colección Vibraciones: Cuadernos de rock). Barcelona 1977. ISBN 84-7311-011-0.
(85 pages)
- Sierra i Fabra, Jordi: Rick Wakeman: Mitos y leyendas del brujo de Yes (= Colección Música de nuestro tiempo, Serie B, 1). Barcelona 1977. ISBN: 8471751186.
((112 p.) More information here.)
- Wooding, Dan: Rick Wakeman: The caped crusader. London 1978. ISBN: 0-7091-6487-4.
(A biography from the golden age. Interesting for there's not too much that can also be found
in Wakeman's autobiography.)
- Itoh, Masanori: Yes. Tokyo 1979. No ISBN.
(In japanese.)
- Kuloda, Shilow (or: Kuroda, Shiro?): Yes. Ongaku Tomo (Japan) 1979. ISBN: 4-276-23330-5.
(Discography and tour dates with some photographs. Reprinted in 2000?)
- Lewis, Laurie: Yes Photos. 1979.
(Photos from the 1979 tour.)
- Hedges, Dan: Yes. The authorised biography. London 1981. ISBN: 0-283-98761-8.
(A very detailed band history up to the Drama-age. Not at all one of those "Chris is a great bass player" books.
Very detailed discography.)
- Frame, Pete: Yes - The Trip to Asia. Belgium? 1983.
(What was that? I want to have this book!)
- Author? Yes (US) 1983.
(A biography.)
- Colbeck, Julian: Keyfax. The guide to electronic keyboards. London 1985. ISBN: 0-86369-096-3.
- Colbeck, Julian. Keyfax 2. The Guide to Electronic Keyboards. London 1986. ISBN 0-86369-155-2.
(Keyfax 2 contains information on classic monophonics like the Moog
Minimoog, Source, Rogue, early polyphonic giants Rhodes Chroma, Synergy,
Roland MKS-80 etc., and early samplers from E-Mu, to PPG.)
- Colbeck, Julian: Zappa: a biography. London 1987. ISBN: 0-86369-156-0.
- Bruford, Bill: When in doubt, roll! Cedar Grove NY 1988. ISBN: 0-7935-3529-8.
(Contains transcriptions of a few tracks, also some Yes stuff, along with Bill's comments on each song.
Get the book on the modern drummer publications website.)
- Colbeck, Julian. Keyfax 3. London 1988. ISBN: 187-095-1034.
(Keyfax 3 encompasses everything late '80s, from digital pianos to
sequencing software, with synths, samplers, controller keyboards,
and home keyboards in between.)
- Colbeck, Julian: Rock talk. London 1989. ISBN: 0750000775 (correct), 0750000783 (pbk), 0356167909.
- Colbeck, Julian/Tony Mitchell: How to make a hit record. London 1989. ISBN: 1854700073.
- López, Jaime: Yes. Traducción de las canciones, Alberto Manzano. Barcelona 1990. Reprinted in 2000. No ISBN.
- López, Jaime: Yes. Video Rock. Barcelona 1990. ISBN: 84-345-5289-2.
(Thanks to Janell Duxbury.)
- Greenland, Colin/David Lucas/Roger Dean/Martyn Dean: Magnetic Storm. San Francisco (CA) 1993. ISBN: 1-56640-449-5.
(The familiar Dean Pix + very interesting information on Yes' stage sets of the 70ies.)
- Colbeck, Julian. Keyfax 4. London 1994. ISBN: 187-260-160X.
(Keyfax 4 covers all professional instruments, from synths to
samplers to keyboard controllers. Fully updated and revised, each
review contains information on available data cards and associated software.)
- Colbeck, Julian. Keyfax 5. London 1994. ISBN: 187-260-1650.
(Keyfax 5 is the sister publication of Keyfax 4, concentrating on
multimedia and leisure instruments, including General MIDI modules and
computer sound cards, digital pianos, and home keyboards.
With comparative assessments on computer platforms, a GM glossary, and more.)
- Howe, Steve/Tony Bacon: The Steve Howe guitar collection. London 1994. ISBN: 871547-64-4.
(A luxurious book with foldout pages and lots of pictures.
Steve describes each instrument and gives explanations on the songs he used the guitars on and why.)
- Mosbø, Thomas J.: Yes - but what does it mean? Exploring the music of Yes. Milton WI 1994. (Doesn't have an ISBN).
(A rare book of interpretations of Yessongs. Not a band history. The interpretations are rather esoterical
and subjective, so may not be approved of or understood by everybody, but then, they could be closer to
what Jon really meant than Bill Martin's thoughts.
Sometimes you get the impression, that Mosbø tries to find the sonata form in too many Yessongs, also in those
that don't really have one (like "Changes").
Very useful are his detailed descriptions of all Yes albums, solo albums and videos available
and his notes on song structures of Yessongs and solo works.)
- Matthews, Rodney/Rick Wakeman: Between Earth and the End of Time. Limpsfield 1995. ISBN: 1-899670-02-4.
(This is a CDROM featuring Matthews' fantasy art and Wakeman's Music.)
- Vasváry-Tóth Tibor: Yes - A rockzene rendszere. PCD Multimedia Kft. Budapest 1994. ISBN: 9630441764.
(Very rare monography on Yes written in Hungarian, with band bio, album reviews,
solo careers, discography, videography and other infos. 512 pages.)
- Wakeman, Rick: Say Yes! An autobiography. London/Sydney/Auckland 1995. ISBN: 0-340-62151-6.
(Humourous autobiography of the Yes keyboarder.
Some say, there's not enough Yes in there, but then, how long was Wakeman with them? Very honest.)
- Colbeck, Julian: Keyfax. The Real Story Behind the Synthesizer Revolution. Emeryville, California 1996. ISBN: 0-918371-08-2.
(Julian Colbeck played keyboards with ABWH and Steve Hackett.)
- Covach, John: Progressive or Excessive? Uneasy Tales from Topographics Oceans. From: Progression Magazine, winter 1996.
(This is an online article. Click here.)
- Estigarribia, Décio: Yes - Uma Rara Música de Quinteto. Rio de Janeiro 1996. ISBN : 85-85483-34-2.
(More information here.)
- Moore, Allan F.: Signifying the spiritual in the music of Yes. In: Contemporary Music Review 14/3-4, 1996, pp. 25 - 33.
(Moore tries to discover the spiritual in the music, the lyrics and the instrumentation.
- Morse, Tim: Yesstories. Yes in their own words. New York 1996. ISBN: 0-312-14453-9.
- There has been a japanese edition: Tokyo 1998. ISBN: 4-401-70129-1.
(The Title says it all: this book is a compilation of statements by current and former
members of the band, in chronological order.)
- Covach, John: Progressive Rock, 'Close to the edge', and the Boundaries of Style. In: Covach, John/Graeme M. Boone (Editors): Understanding Rock Music: Essays in Musical Analysis. Oxford 1997, pp. 3 - 31. ISBN: 0195100050.
(An analysis of „Close to the Edge" as an example for
stylistic experimentation in Progressive Rock. John Covach's website. The online article is here.)
- Griffin, Mark J.T.: Vangelis - The Unknown Man. 2nd edition, Aberdeen 1997. ISBN: 0-9523187-2-5.
- Martin, Bill: Music of Yes. Structure and vision in progressive rock. 2. Edition, Chicago/La Salle 1997. ISBN: 0-8126-9333-7.
(This is not a band history, but contains interpretations of Yessongs, from the marxist's point of view.
The focus is on the "main sequence", that is The Yes Album through Going for the One.
For these albums Martin provides song for song analyses.
He also adds interpretaions of songs from the other albums and the band members' solo efforts.)
- Matovina, Dan: Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger. San Mateo, Calif., Frances Glover Books 1997. ISBN: 0965712214 (pbk), 0965712206 (hardback). Re-published in 2000. ISBN: 0-9657122-2-2.
(436 pages book plus CD a 19 track/72 minute CD of previously unreleased demos of Pete Ham & Tom Evans,
Iveys live/demos, interviews from radio/ backstage, and more. This material is oriented to help follow the
book's storyline and each "track" is marked in the book. The new edition includes complete appendices of
live dates and studio listings of The Iveys and Badfinger covering the years 1965 to 1975.
Might be of interest for Yes fans, as Tony Kaye was a member of Badfinger.)
- Matsui, Takumi: Yes. Solos and related books. Tokyo 1997. ISBN:4-88745-006-0.
(158 pages in japanese.)
- Vig, Wendy/Jon Anderson: Fountains of Gold. Chester, NY 1997. ISBN: 0-9623-6939-X.
(Here's a description by the author, Wendy Vig:
Fountains of Gold is a special collaboration of simple poetry
written by myself and beautiful artwork done by Jon Anderson of the rock group YES.
He writes in his introduction:
"Hi, Wendy was one of the first people I met on the 'net', she would send these very sweet and simple poems,
I told her she should put together a book of poems and I would love to paint for them.
They are magical in the way they speak volumes, yet not many words appear in front of your eyes,
well, just sit back and drink some tea and enjoy this very unique book." Jon Anderson.
More information on the opio website. Thanks to John Kuge.)
- No author: Yes. Group, solos and related works. FM books, Tokyo 1997. No ISBN.
(A discography.)
- Torre, Luis Fernando: Vangelis. (Rock pop 45) Madrid 1998. ISBN: 84-376-1595-X.
(In Spanish. Some photographs of covers are in color. The book follows Vangelis' career
chronologically, dealing with Forminx, Aphrodite's Child, his solo work, his collaborations.
There's a good discography as appendix.)
- Welch, Chris: Close to the Edge. The story of Yes. London/NY/Sydney 1999. ISBN: 0-7119-6930-2.
(A detailed Yes history by someone who was close to the band back then,
but apparently hasn't been since the middle eighties.
Thus the chapters get shorter towards the end.)
2. Edition, London/NY/Sydney 2000. ISBN: 0-7119-8041-1.
(Welch added a chapter on "The Ladder".
A revised paperback edition of "Close to the Edge", covering up to 'In a Word'
and the band's 2002 touring, has been released in March 2003.)
- von der Horst, Dirk: Precarious Pleasures: Situating "Close to the Edge" in Conflicting Male Desires. In: Holm-Hudson, Kevin (Ed.): Progressive Rock Reconsidered. New York 2001, pp. 167 - 182. ISBN: 0815337159.
- Gallant, David: Asia. The Heat Goes On. The Authorized Asia Biography. Summerside, PEI, Canada 2001. ISBN: 0-9688584-0-6.
(A book on Asia, most interesting for Prog fans for it descibes a comparatively less known phase
in the life of three important Prog musicians, Steve Howe, John Wetton and Carl Palmer.
The book gives detailed insight in the band's career, even when it didn't exist.
Concerning the eighties, the book unfortunately focuses mainly on Wetton.
As there already is a Wetton biography and a book on ELP, more information about Howe and Downes
(who has been the band's leader ever since the early nineties) would have been welcome.
But this is only a minor flaw, the book is absolutely worth reading,
for it describes the career of a couple of great Prog musician during a time when Prog seemed to be over.
Available here.)
- Palmer, John R.: Yes, ‘Awaken' and the progressive rock style. In: Popular Music 20/2, 2001, pp. 243 - 261.
(This article contains an analysis of ‘Awaken'.)
- Rudolf, Michael: Round about Jutesack. Yes, "Yessongs" (= The Essence of Rock, Bd. 1). Hannover 2001. ISBN: 3-932324-81-1.
(A guy trying to be very funny writes about the "Yessongs" album. Nothing really new.
The book is the first in a series, Maybe there'll be more of interest in the future.)
- Rycenga, Jennifer: Tales of Change within the Sound: Form, Lyrics, and Philosophy in the Music of Yes. In: Holm-Hudson, Kevin (Ed.): Progressive Rock Reconsidered. New York 2001, pp. 143 - 166. ISBN: 0815337159.
- Sheinbaum, John J.: Progressive Rock and the Inversion of Musical Values. In: Holm-Hudson, Kevin (Ed.): Progressive Rock Reconsidered. New York 2001, pp. 21 - 42. ISBN: 0815337159.
- Watkinson, David: Perpetual change - 30 years of Yes. London 2001. ISBN: 0-85965-297-1. Second edition, London 2002.
(The revised edition contains the Yes history until the return of Rick Wakeman in 2002.
For more information, go here, this is Watkinson's official website.)
- Chambers, Stuart: Yes. An endless dream of '70s, '80s and '90s rock music. An unauthorized interpretative history in three phases. Burnstown, ON, General Store Publishing House, 2002. ISBN: 1-894263-47-2.
(This is one of those "fan-books", unintellectual and sometimes even anti-intellectual. It will tell you,
that Yes is a great band, but won't tell you why. Chambers even tells us, that "these questions are best left
unanswered"! That's why I call the book anti-intellectual. Do we have to be grateful to be able to at least ask
these questions?
The book tells us the view of another fan who's top five are: "In the Presence of", "Give Love each day",
"Homeworld", "New Language" and "Lightning Strikes". This should make you careful. On the other hand, it is
the only Yes history that focuses on the eighties and nineties. This should make the book worth having.
But what's the point in this approach if you can't say why these decades are so much more interesting than
the seventies?
Chambers, who gives a description of every single Yessong (but leaves out "Money", "Give and Take" and some
others for no known reason) even misses the chance to give insight where possible: recent interviews have
made it possible to understand the embarrassing process of the recording of "Union" a bit better, but
Chamber ignores them in order to be as vague as possible in not answering questions that are better
left unanswered.
Order your copy by sending an e-mail to publisher@gsph.com.
Thanks to Rosemary Kenopic, General Store Publishing House.)
- Robinson, Scott: YesTales. An Unauthorized Biography of Rock's Most Cosmic Band, in Limerick Form. Writers Club Press (iUniverse), Lincoln 2002. ISBN: 0-59522452-0.
(The book is exactly what the title says, so if you are a collector of band
histories in limerick form, you definitely should get it!
Order here.)
- Banks, Peter/Billy James: Beyond and before - The Formative Years of Yes. Bentonville 2002. ISBN: 0-9710493-1-9 (soft cover), ISBN: 0-9710493-0-0 (hard cover with or without CD).
(There is a limited edition hardback and a regular softback edition; the hardback
is also available with a CD. Banks and Gerard Johnson have been working for some years now
on Small Beginnings: Flashback, a music project based around a re-invention of Flash's "Small Beginnings".
The release coincides with the 30th anniversary of Flash.
Some versions of the book will come with a 20 min. CD, 'Small Beginnings: Flashback (A work in progress)',
taken from the forthcoming Small Beginnings: Flashback project.
More info at Peter Banks' website, at Golden Treasures Publishing or at the Flash website.)
- Hanson, Martyn: The story of The Nice: Hanging on to a Dream. London 2002. ISBN: 1900924439.
(A book on The Nice. This book has several faults. First and most severe fault:
Keith Emerson wasn't available for interviews. The reason is that he wanted to save
his best stories for his own book, but certainly this one lacks his input. Secondly,
the book is written in very poor english, which even I, not being a native speaker realise.
Then there are certain things lacking, for example: All bandmembers are introduced in little
biographies with the strange exception of Pat Arnold, without whom The Nice would never have existed.
Then we read about the band members' reactions to Emerson's dismission of the band - with the
exception of Lee Jackson. On the other hand, it has strong appendices: discographies,
gig lists and the beformentioned biographies. In the end: a weak book, but the only one about an important band.
Mentioned here because of the chapter on Refugee.)
- Whitaker, Sterling C.: Unsung Heroes of Rock Guitar. Self-published through ImprintBooks, Charleston, S. C. 2003. ISBN 1-59109-758-4.
(The book consists of in-depth interviews with fifteen
of rock music's most underrated guitarists - which is, in my humble opinion,
depending on who you ask -, including Mick Abrahams, Randy Bachman,
Martin Barre, Craig Chaquico, Larry Crane, Rik Emmett, Peter Frampton,
Gary Green, Bruce Kulick, Howard Leese, Doug Marks, Trevor Rabin,
Steve Rothery, Ty Tabor, Richard Williams. Thanks to Sterling Whitaker.
Buy the book here here)
- Warner, Timothy: Pop Music - Technology and Creativity. Trevor Horn and the Digital Revolution. Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series. Burlington 2003. ISBN: 0-75463132-X (paperback), 0-74563131-1 (hardback)
(This book draws on the author's personal experience as a musician,
producer and teacher of popular music to discuss the ways in which audio technology and
musical creativity in pop music are inextricably bound together. This relationship, the
book argues, is exemplified by the work of Trevor Horn, who is widely acknowledged as the
most important, innovative and successful British pop record producer of the early 1980s.
In the first part of the book, Timothy Warner presents a definition of pop as distinct from
rock music, and goes on to consider the ways technological developments, such as the transition
from analogue to digital, transform working practices and, as a result, impact on the creative
process of producing pop. Part two analyses seven influential recordings produced by Trevor
Horn between 1979 and 1985: 'Video Killed the Radio Star' (The Buggles), 'Buffalo Gals'
(Malcolm McClaren),'Owner of a Lonely Heart' (Yes), 'Relax' (Frankie Goes to Hollywood),
'Slave to the Rhythm' (Grace Jones), and albums by The Art of Noise and Propaganda.
These records reveal how the creative use of technology in the modern pop recording studio
has informed Horn's work, a theme that is then explored in an extensive interview with Horn
himself. Complete with a Trevor Horn discography and Bibliography.)
- Spicer, Mark: (Ac)cumulative Form in Pop-Rock Music. In: twentieth-century music 1/1 2004, pp. 29–64.
(This is an online article including an analysis of Yes' "I've seen all good people". It can be found here.)
- Farley, Alan: The Extraordinary World Of Yes. New York/Lincoln/Shanghai 2004. ISBN: 0-595-33133-5.
(The 254 page paperback is about the music of Yes, including asking
what is the meaning of many classic Yes songs. Unfortunately those are no in-depth analyses.)
- Watkinson, David: Title? 2004.
(Watkinson wrote a booklet about the Warriors (a pre-Yes band that featured, among others,
Jon Anderson, David Foster and Ian Wallace.), that is related to his Yes-memorabilia exhibition.)
- Wooding, Dan: From Tabloid to truth. Hemet, CA 2004. ISBN: 0974716359.
(Rick Wakeman wrote the foreword to this autobiography.)
- Author? Yes File. Tokyo 2005.
(156 pages in Japanese. Buy it here.)
- Rosca, Vic: Jon Anderson Inspired Poetry: Leap Into The Inconceivable. Frederick, MD 2005. ISBN: 1424101131.
(119 pages. The author writes: „I present in this book, in rhyme, a world that learns
along with the reader to believe in the process of Life. Whether in mystic times, present
or distant futures, Love, as life expressed in its highest form, is everything while
experiencing the human condition. We have to forgive and share, accept and embrace, love
and be loved if we want to make a better future for ourselves. Since the mystery of life
was something that fascinated me, a lot of the verses refer to this search and hope to
offer a glimpse of some universal truths. I believe we are at the point of reaching a
better understanding of ourselves and our reality slowly moving into other dimensions.
I invite you to go on the journey that I went when writing these poems, knowing that
if they will capture your attention just for a moment I have accomplished my purpose
of making them available to you.")
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II. Not yet published
- Cimino, Michael: Badfinger and Beyond - The Authorized Biography of Joey Molland. 2006.
(Joey Molland has been telling his life story to Michael Cimino for a book which will be Joey's
life story growing up in Liverpool and his career with Badfinger. In will be told in a narrative-type
format with many anecdotes included. Might be of interest for Yes fans, as Tony Kaye was a member of Badfinger.
More information here.)
- Dean, Roger: Dragons Garden. 2006.
(Anounced as the „sequel to „Views" and „Magnetic Storm"". 160 pages of paintings and drawings.
There will also be a limited (1000 copies) edition of all three books boxed and signed by Roger (and Martyn?) Dean
which will also include a 32 page book of b/w prints and - be expensive...)
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III. In the making (can anyone confirm this?)
- Anderson, Jon: A book of his paintings and lyrics.
- Anderson, Jon/Kathy South: Visions of Light (working title).
(According to Wendy Vig, co-author of 'Fountains of Gold',
the book will not be published due to contractual problems.
It should have included lyrics by Jon Anderson and artwork by Kathy South
which apparently incorporates photographs of Jon. Thanks to John Kuge and Wendy Vig.)
- Coad, Tanya: A book about Jon Anderson.
(Says Chris Welch in his book "Close To The Edge".)
- Freeman, Garry: Yes—A Live Guide 1968-1979.
(Garry Freeman (author of "The Bootleg Guide" and the forthcoming "Emerson,
Lake and Palmer—A Live Guide 1970-1978") is beginning work on "Yes—A Live
Guide 1968-1979" (Helter Skelter Publishing). The book aims to review as many
shows as possible from this period, including details on equipment specifications
and so on.)
- Gottlieb, Doug/Glenn Gottlieb: Yesstuff: ultimate Yes collections & collectors.
- David Foster: Yours is no Disgrace.
(David Foster, as Jon Anderson a member of The Warriors in the 60ies and co-founder of the Band Badger
(featuring Tony Kaye of Yes) is currently working on a book called „Yours is no Disgrace", seemingly about
the formative Years of Yes, Foster's friendship with Anderson and his contribution to the early Yes catalogue.)
- Howe, Steve: Howe is writing a book called "The guitarist's survival kit".
- Howe, Steve: He is also working on his autobiography.
- Loeslin, Clifford: Yes. Beyond and Before.
- Martin, Bill: ...is working on a new Yes book
- Molland, Joey/Billy James: When I Was A Boy - My Life With Badfinger. Bentonville 2007.
(The new book on Badfinger written by band member Joey Molland with
Billy James, formerly announced as "Day after Day - The story of Badfinger"
has a new title "When I Was A Boy - My Life With Badfinger".
Also the book will most likely contain a bonus DVD with rare photos,
live video footage, contracts and other items of interest.)
- newly addedPolson, Willow: Olias of Sunhillow
(Polson is collaborating with Jon Anderson to turn his album
"Olias of Sunhillow" into a full-length fantasy novel.
They are also considering the option of a graphic novel with the help of
original sleeve designer Dave Roe or Yes cover-artist Roger Dean.)
- Wakeman, Rick: Pt. 2 of "Say Yes".
- Wakeman, Rick: A novel. Originally planned for 2003.
- Wakeman, Rick: Writing a book about Yes.
(„I want to do one from what it's like inside the band. People think we are serious but it really is a lot of fun.")
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Back to the Thematically sorted lists.
The young persons' guide to Progressive Rock books.
Desiderata.
Literary references in Progressive Rock.
Songbooks list.
My wants list.
Links.
Send me an e-mail: bibmaster{at}progbibliography.de
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