‘You get an instant feeling to sing’: Jon Anderson talks about his remarkable post-Yes resurgence
by Nick DeRiso

Four years ago, Jon Anderson was in the midst of a series of medical crises. You’d never know it these days, as the ex-Yes vocalist has emerged on a creative jag unseen across his legendary career.

Anderson suffered an asthma attack in 2008 — an issue that had been bothering him for as long as four years while touring with Yes. Only this time, the event escalated into respiratory failure, and Anderson was forced to spend several days in the intensive care unit. He also underwent multiple operations for pancreatitis that year, and even reportedly nearly drowned.

By the time Anderson had gotten his health back, Yes — the progressive-rock band he co-founded in the 1960s — had moved on without him. That left him to try to jump start a solo career that had gone completely dormant. Anderson’s last studio recording away from Yes had been The More You Know, from a decade before. He hadn’t even made a recording with his old band since 2001.

Those days seem very long ago now. Over the course of just three years beginning in 2010, Anderson has issued two studio recordings (The Living Tree, with former Yes-mate Rick Wakeman; and Survival and Other Stories), a live album (The Living Tree in Concert), a long-form composition (Open) and sat in with Marco Sabiu as well asDennis Haklar, among others.

And Anderson isn’t about to slow down. In a new talk with Something Else! Reviews, Anderson discusses a trio of on-going solo projects — including his follow up to Survival; part two of the epic “Open,” to be called “Ever”; and a sequel to Olias of Sunhillow, his solo debut from nearly four decades back — as well as the on-going collaborative spark he’s getting from the internet …

NICK DERISO: Let’s run down some of the things you’ve been working on. There’s the long-awaited sequel to Olias of Sunhillow.

JON ANDERSON: My son kept saying, “Why don’t you do ‘Son of Olias’?” He’s been saying that for 10 years. Over time, I have been compiling a lot of different kinds of music, relating to tribal energy, and I sort of felt like maybe it’s time to explain the next part of the story. It’s always been there in the back of my mind. I started sketching out the story, and putting together the music for it. I realized then that it wasn’t the same as it was all of those years ago. You have a different perspective about how to present music, and I want to do it visually. So, I’ve been working with a Polish animator, and another couple of people. It just takes time.

[ONE TRACK MIND: Ex-Yes frontman Jon Anderson talks with us about the twin inspirations of Tolstoy and Vangelis, and how mountains once actually did come right out of the sky.]

NICK DERISO: There has been talk of a separate, original solo album, as well. Haven’t you returned to working with Jonathan Elias, a songwriting partner going back to Yes’ Union album?

JON ANDERSON: We’re working on maybe a dozen really beautiful ideas, but it’s a slow process on how to present them. I was working with someone yesterday who is doing some orchestration, and another guy who is doing some rhythms. We want to make the project very entertaining, that’s what I am trying to go for. Again, things take time. It’s not like I’m thinking I have to hurry and get this done, because I’m going on tour — which was the way it was in the old days. You had to get it finished before you were on tour. That’s an advantage right now; I can take my time on projects. Maybe over the next 8 or 10 years, I can let them grow into long-form projects. You can do various projects, and work on them over time.

NICK DERISO: Will there be more extended compositions like “Open”?

JON ANDERSON: It was very important to do it, and I’m already working on another one. I have done all of the necessary sketches now, and I know how it’s going to sound and what the processes are. I’ll probably start it next month.

[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: Asked about the possibility of a long-hoped-for reunion with his former bandmates in Yes, Jon Anderson says: ‘We haven’t spoken in years.’]

NICK DERISO: “Open,” which recalled Yes at the peak of its powers in the 1970s, certainly signaled that you were ready to reclaim your piece of the band’s legacy.

JON ANDERSON: I think it’s logical that when you are in a band, you don’t want to go outside of it and make a record that sounds like the band. I don’t see the point. You want to do something totally different, which I did — and I still do. You can get into indigenous music, Irish music. All sorts of different kinds of music. You go out there and do it, and you hope that someone is going to like it. You can’t get into: “I’ve got to have a hit record.” What’s the point? You make an album, and you hope that somebody out there is going to enjoy it. I’ve learned, over the years, that it isn’t a process of “oh, it’s gotta happen this year. If I release the album, it’s going to be a big hit this year.” Like “Open,” it sells thousands of records, but it’s over a long period of time. Music is an endless thing.

NICK DERISO: Have you continued to work with collaborators via the web, as you so successfully did more recently on Survival and Other Stories?

JON ANDERSON: Right now, I have a total of three projects sitting around, trying to be finished. I’m working on one with some young musicians that I worked with on School of Rock. As you know, it’s easier these days, because you’re on the internet. You send Mp3s to each other. So that’s a project that’s going to be very interesting. It’s has that wild, a little bit crazy, young energy, when you’re working with younger musicians — because they’re not yet locked into any one style. They’re still trying to find a style, so you can help mold them a little bit.

[SOMETHING ELSE! REWIND: We delved into the largely unexplored modern era of Yes, focusing on post-1970s recordings like ‘Drama,’ ‘Union,’ ‘Talk,’ ‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘Magnification.’]

NICK DERISO: Adding those new voices seemed like such an important part of pacing, of the variety, on your last album.

JON ANDERSON: You’re working with people who are sending you music which you haven’t heard before. It’s fresh, and so you get an instant feeling to sing — so that’s what I would do. I’m still doing it. I’m still working with everybody that I worked with on the album, plus other people, and I’m working on new concept ideas with each one of them. With Jamie Dunlap, we’ve written five or six songs in the last six months. He did a couple of songs on the album. His main job, really, is he makes music for “South Park,” and a couple of other projects on TV. I’m also working with people like the young musician (Peter Kiel) who I did “Understanding Truth” with, a guitar player out of Holland. He sent me some music about a month ago, and I wrote a song about my new grandson. So, maybe people will hear that in the coming months. I’m in touch with them all the time, so you never know what the next piece of music will be. When it comes, I’ll just be happy to add some ideas, and then eventually there will be an audience out there. We’re just trying to figure out the best way to get the music to them.

NICK DERISO: Will you release some of these things as stand-alone items, or will you wait until there’s an album?

JON ANDERSON: I don’t think I’m hearing albums. I’m hearing a combination of songs, I think. But I have to be careful how I do it. I could put out something every three or four weeks, and eventually it would be enough for three albums. I’ve got to decide how to do it, so that I get the best attention from the people who are interested in what I am doing. You can put it on your Web site, and then onto iTunes and Amazon for downloads, but we’re also thinking of putting something out on vinyl. That sounds cool. I’d like to do that.

[SOMETHING ELSE! INTERVIEW: Yes’ Jon Anderson goes in depth on his terrific 2011 solo release, and enthuses about the long-awaited rebirth of progressive rock.]

NICK DERISO: This has been such a period of creative rebirth for you. Could you imagine, at the lowest ebb when you were so ill, that all of this was in front of you?

JON ANDERSON: You just have to let it go, and get on to the next point in your life. Getting sick, you know, a lot of people do it. A lot of people go through things like that in their lifetime, so it’s no big thing, in so many ways. It happens. You’ve just grin and bear it, and then gather your energy for the next journey. I have to say, I’m having a lot of fun, doing so many different things that I enjoy doing musically. And, of course, writing is never ending. It’s just an endless procession of ideas.

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A Short Conversation with Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson once fronted the popular rock band, Yes, and hopes to again.
January 11, 2013
By Matt Rowe, Columnist

To talk with those who journeyed with you, in their way, as you made your way through this thing called life, well, that’s special.

Being a Yes fan, I followed much of their music as I made my uncertain way through my teens. They were unlike any other band I had heard. And they still are. So when I discovered that Audio Fidelity would reissue Close to the Edge, the enduring 1972 classic that, as Jon Anderson so eloquently puts it, “…changed the musical landscape a little at that time,” as a high-resolution Super Audio CD (SACD), I became excited.

It’s not every day that a fan can get one of their favorite albums remastered in the highest quality. It has the potential to become a whole new experience.

I sought out an opportunity to talk with one of the architects of Close to the Edge and other Yes classics, Jon Anderson. What follows is a short—and memorable—conversation I had with the writer and voice of all those songs.

Yes has been an important part of not only my life, but many others as well. Part of that is the distinctive voice that powered many of those great albums and songs. Another part of the allure is the great songs, their lyrics, and their music that you had a deep part in helping create. Let me take this moment to thank you on behalf of myself and a wealth of fans that feel the same. We’re deeply grateful for Jon Anderson.

You were a part of the original configuration of Yes that did not have Steve Howe in it. Somehow, in strange ways, that seems inconceivable. The legacy of Yes owes much to the collaborative talents of both you and Steve, lyrically and musically. How did that partnership begin, and how did it evolve?

When Steve joined the band, we became inseparable. His knowledge of the guitar was amazing to me, and it was very easy to to sing melodies and write lyrics with him at that time. We were free spirits in a way.

As time progressed, so did we. He would come to me with ideas of a song. I would help develop the songs and add my ideas. That’s how we were able to write longer format songs, like “And You and I” and “Close to the Edge.” Again, with his guitar knowledge, I would ask him to try ideas out. He would happily follow my thoughts, and there it was, ‘magical’ moments that seemed to last forever.

The Yes Album and Fragile are excellent albums. But many, myself included, have a profound love for Close to the Edge. Would you tell us what ideas went into the creation of that album?

I think, first and foremost, we had a connection to create a very large work. Steve sang to me, “…close to the edge, down by the corner…”, and I sang, “…down at the end, round by the river…”, and off we went creating the verse and chorus to the song. It was then that I thought of a sort of ‘chanting’ intro, even starting with some sound effects, like the cosmic ocean, diving into a guitar-based solo intro, then into the ‘chanting’, “a seasoned witch,” etc.

After creating the first half of the song, jumping from a verse-to-chant-to-verse-to-chant sort of thing, we needed a middle section. Again, I created a cosmic ocean of sound, and we needed a song. So Steve played me these chords, and I sang, “I get up, I get down”, and “two million people barely satisfy,” etc. Steve then remembered that he had written a song on those very same chords, which he started to sing, “in her white lace,” etc. And lo and behold, the two songs worked together. The rest of the song needed Rick’s solo building to the chant once more, and then the final verse. We all felt that we had changed the musical landscape a little at that time.

There are few Yes albums that I do not revere as much as others. Those include releases without you in them. Despite the absence of Rick Wakeman, I have a deep love for Relayer. I also deeply appreciate the whole of Going for the One. Do you have any Yes albums that you value over others?

Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans,Relayer, Going for the One, especially “Awaken” [from that album], 90125, Talk, Magnification. All of them were very worthwhile creations.

Your first solo album, the brilliant Olias of Sunhillow, showed Yes fans that there were facets of the band that could be enjoyed outside the confines of Yes. Even so, it is difficult to escape the majesty of the Yes sound. CouldOlias of Sunhillow have been a Yes album?

Not really. I was very committed to this idea of ‘solo’, creating a work by myself. Like going to a musical university and learning about my potential.

I have followed and enjoyed your work outside of Yes, including your collaborations with Vangelis, as well as your film contributions (“Loved by the Son” with Tangerine Dream). All of your solo albums after Olias of Sunhillow take on various musical styles. Do you have a side that you particularly enjoy exploring musically?

I always feel the need for adventure when I create an album. That’s why they are all so different.

I understand the sequel to Olias of Sunhillow is underway, with you playing all instruments? Can you tell us about this album?

Again, it was just like going to school every day, and being guided by ‘spirit’ to make this enormous musical project come to life. It drove me a bit crazy, but in the end, it was amazing to me that it worked so well.

Your Three Ships Christmas collection is an essential for my holiday enjoyment. Did you record other standards that didn’t make the cut for the LP?

Not really. I wanted to try something different, like the jungle making music, and songs for spirits, it was such a fun album to do. Maybe one day I will sing the carols I sang at school.

Will there be a time that you re-record popular Yes classics, perhaps with Rick Wakeman?

Maybe some acoustic versions for fun. Rick and I already perform those songs on the live albums.

Will there ever be a chance at reconciliation with Yes that could result in a new tour, perhaps even a new Yes album?

I would love that to happen!

Are you aware of the reissue of Close to the Edge in the audiophile format SACD coming from Audio Fidelity?

Yes, very cool!

It will be presented in stereo, however many love a multi-channel effect. If such technology were available to you back when your albums were created, would Yes have widely availed themselves of it?

I’ve always wanted to record in surround sound, still do.

Assuming that you have heard the DVD-Audio multi-channel of Fragile released some years ago by Rhino Records, do you have any thoughts on how it made the album sound?

Not really. I just remember that great feeling I had at Advision Studios when we recorded it.

Have you heard the SACD version of Close to the Edge that was mentioned earlier? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

I don’t have it, sorry.

Thank you for your time. I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was to communicate with one of the greats. Thanks again for your immeasurable impact on my recognition of beauty in song and lyric.

My pleasure.

If the thought of hearing Close to the Edge in great clarity appeals to you, Audio Fidelity will release the intended SACD version on January 22.

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