some folks have also posted some quick reviews on my other post about the tour:
http://www.retroblog.net/2008/09/29/yes-in-the-present-tour-dates/

Does nobody recall that Yes has recorded and gigged without Anderson before? Their 1980 “Drama” album, done without Anderson, is actually one of their best ones. This year fans will finally be able to hear some of the songs from “Drama” done onstage, and we are in for a real treat.

I can understand that Anderson would be rightly pissed of at the way he’s been treated by the band, if in fact the rumours are true. Nonetheless, this kind of thing is all a part of being in Yes. Nearly every member and ex-member of Yes has suffered some shoddy treatment in the past, some of it meted out by Jon Anderson. So this latest thing is just karma revisiting him really, and nobody should be especially surprised or hurt by it. Nearly every ex-member of Yes knows that he can return to play with Yes in the future, and several have done.

Anderson will certainly be back with Yes too. However if his voice never recovers and he no longer sings well, I hope he will have the sense and grace to recognize that the band will be better off keeping Benoit David. Because with Yes, the music must always come first.

These guys want to play, at a minimum and some lifestyles require a constant influx of cash.

However, clearing this with Jon would be a minimum consideration one should think. Many ego’s involved and Jon has no problem teaming up with others when he wants to but when the main players get up and do their stuff, YES is magic!

So it is very sad to learn how, as the band approached its 40th anniversary, and Jon developed health problems that prevented him form touring to celebrate that anniversary, Msrs. Squire, Howe and Allen made the decision not to wait for Jon to recover from his illness but replace him, instead, with a karaoke-singing-croissant – all without so much as bothering to inquire about Jon’s health, much less consult with him about their plans to tour without him!

Thus, the sheer disrespect that they have shown towards the man whose creative energy and vision has been the guiding light behind the band’s entire history, simply reflects the extent to which Squire and Howe, in particular, put their own monetary interests ahead of the band’s musical and personal integrity.

Simply put, it is very clear that Squire and Howe’s decision to tour without Jon is motivated by nothing more than sheer greed and utter stupidity!

How despicable!

http://www.unicornrecords.com/mystery/

However, I think this venture to the front of Yes is a career mistake for him. Jon Anderson cannot be duplicated or replaced and this attempt to continue will sully the latter days of YES. B. David will suffer the inevitable comparisons to a master and will have to back away from the negativity. Sad because this vein of prog rock has a positive spiritual energy that deserves its fame.