Keys to Ascension 2

Keys to Ascension 2 is the fifth live and sixteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes. It was released as a double album in November 1997 by Essential Records as the successor to the previous live/studio album Keys to Ascension. After guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman returned to the band in 1995, the group relocated to San Luis Obispo, California and started to write new material. The reunion of the Tales from Topographic Oceans-era line-up was promoted with three concerts at the city's Fremont Theater in March 1996, the five's first live performance together since 1979. Keys to Ascension 2 features the remaining half of the live set from the 1996 shows and five new studio tracks including two which marked a return to the group writing long-form pieces. It would ultimately serve as Wakeman's final studio album with the band.

Background

In mid-1995, guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman returned to the group, which had also comprised lead vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White. The five assembled in San Luis Obispo, California to rehearse and record new studio material which included concerts at the city's Fremont Theater from 4–6 March 1996, the first live performance of this particular line-up since 1979. The first half of their live set from the 1996 shows, plus two new studio tracks, were released as Keys to Ascension in October 1996 by Essential Records. By the time Keys to Ascension was released, the label had expressed a wish for the group to put out roughly 45 minutes of new studio material with the remaining unreleased live tracks from the 1996 concerts as a second installment of the Keys to Ascension series. The band agreed, and had a deadline to hand over the finished album by the end of November 1996 in exchange for a sum of money from the label that Christmas. ==Production==

Production

Live tracks Disc one contains the remaining unreleased live tracks from the three shows at the Fremont Theatre in March 1996. This includes material from Time and a Word (1970), The Yes Album (1971), Close to the Edge (1972), and Going for the One (1977). The section was restored on the 2001 compilation album Keystudio, which combined the studio tracks from both Keys to Ascension albums. The version of "Children of the Light" on the compilation, however, has a verse removed. Artwork As with its predecessor, Keys to Ascension 2 features cover art by Roger Dean on an outer sleeve that fits around the package. On the sleeve, the image's predominant colour is magenta, but the booklet features the painting in its original blue colouration. ==Release==

Release

The studio tracks from this album and Keys to Ascension were rereleased on Keystudio. The whole album was reissued in 2010 along with its earlier companion album Keys to Ascension and the concert video of the same name as part of the Keys to Ascension box set. ==Track listing==

Track listing

Note: "Children of Light" is called "Children of the Light" on some pressings of Keys to Ascension as well as Keystudio. ==Personnel==

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's 1997 liner notes. Yes • Jon Anderson – vocals, guitar, harp • Steve Howe – 6- and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, steel and pedal steel, 5-string bass, vocals • Chris Squire – bass guitar, vocals • Rick Wakeman – keyboards • Alan White – drums, vocals Production • Yes – production • Billy Sherwood – production, recording, mixing • Tom Fletcher – live tracks recording • Kevin Dickey – Sonic Solutions digital editing • Joe Gastwirt – mastering at Ocean View Digital Mastering • Roger Dean – paintings, logos, lettering • Martyn Dean – packaging design • Gottlieb Bros./Yes Magazine – booklet design, photography ==Charts==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

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