Hello,
Today's artists is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he co-founded in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across three tenures between 1968 and 2008. He is also noted for his solo career, releasing 13 solo albums and collaborations with other artists, including Vangelis as Jon and Vangelis, Roine Stolt as Anderson/Stolt, and Jean-Luc Ponty as AndersonPonty Band. He has also appeared on albums by King Crimson, Tangerine Dream, Iron Butterfly and Mike Oldfield. He became an American citizen in 2009. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes. ... ......N-Joy
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Born John Roy Anderson on October 25, 1944, in Lancashire, England, Jon Anderson would grow up to become one of the most recognizable voices in progressive rock. He began his musical career by joining his brother Tony's group the Warriors. Eventually, that band relocated from England to Germany, but Tony had left the group by then. So, the only Anderson still in the band by 1965 when they cut their first single was Jon (technically still John at that time). The single received a less than enthusiastic welcome and Anderson left the group in 1967, having put in five years with them. His next move was to the group the Party, but that one was quite short-lived. By 1968, Anderson had returned to England and recorded two singles under the moniker Hans Christian Anderson. Those received responses similar to what the Warriors' single had. Anderson found his way into the group Gun, but only stayed there for a couple of months.
The year was 1968 and musical history was about to be made with an introduction in a London club. Jon Anderson was introduced to Chris Squire, and finding a kindred spirit in music, he began showing up at gigs of Squire's band Mabel Greer's Toy Shop, whose guitarist at the time was Peter Banks. Anderson started getting up and singing with the group from time to time, eventually becoming their vocalist. However, Banks had left by the time Anderson was inducted. More pieces gradually began to fall into the mix as various musicians were brought into the Toy Shop fold. First Bill Bruford, then Tony Kaye. By the time Peter Banks returned, the band had decided to change their name to Yes. They released their first two albums in 1969 and 1970, and both received good critical response, but didn't gain a large commercial or radio presence. By the time that they recorded 1970's The Yes Album, the band had replaced Peter Banks with Steve Howe and the combination, along with a stroke of luck at a U.S. radio station, proved the charm that started their commercial career. Interestingly, Anderson found the time for side projects even amidst recording and touring with Yes. In fact, he would show up on two albums in the first two years of the decade. The first was King Crimson's Lizard and the other was Johnny Harris' All to Bring You Morning. The next Yes album, 1972's Fragile, would feature both the debut of new keyboardist Rick Wakeman and the single "Roundabout." The combination propelled the group and Anderson well into the spotlight. For the next couple of years, Yes occupied the majority of Anderson's time. With the recording of three more studio albums before 1974 and steady touring, he would have little time for much else. However, after the tour for Relayer, things began to settle down a bit. Anderson managed to work with Vangelis Papathanassiou, who had been Yes' first choice for Rick Wakeman's replacement. Although immigration issues forced the band to go with Patrick Moraz instead, Anderson added vocals to the keyboardist's Heaven and Hell album released in 1975. It would definitely not be the last time they would work together.
1976 saw the entire band taking time to record solo albums. Anderson's outing, Olias of Sunhillow, was an ambitious creation. It was an album-long concept piece with nearly all the writing and performances being undertaken by the singer himself. He also added vocals to Yes drummer Alan White's Ramshackled album. The break seemed to revitalize the band and their next release, Going for the One, featuring the return of Rick Wakeman, was a very strong album and ushered the band into 1977 with style. Anderson's role in the group was close to coming to an end for a time, though. He stuck with them through the next album and couple of tours, but when they began recording for the follow up to Tormato, the dreaded "musical differences" cropped up and Anderson left. He definitely did not become idle, though. Indeed, the next couple of years proved very fertile for him. He released his second solo album, Song of Seven, in 1980. That same year, he collaborated again with Papathanassiou. This time they recorded an entire album together and released it under the moniker Jon & Vangelis. The album was called Short Stories, and they enjoyed that work so much that before the end of 1981, they released two more albums together. 1981 also saw Anderson appearing on Rick Wakeman's 1984 album. His next solo release was 1982's Animation, a show he took on the road.
1983 would be another turning point for Anderson. He worked on Mike Oldfield's Crises album, but that would not be the decisive factor in his career. By that time, Yes had been broken up for almost three years. Chris Squire and Alan White were working with a young guitarist named Trevor Rabin on a project called Cinema. Tony Kaye had also been enlisted for the project. Producer and one-time Anderson Yes replacement Trevor Horn suggested that Anderson should add some vocals to the project. Upon agreeing. Anderson remarked that with his voice on the songs it would be Yes. The group agreed and the name Cinema was dropped in favor of Yes. The resulting album, 90125, propelled by the hit single "Owner of a Lonely Heart," saw the band receive more success than they had ever previously attained. A tour ensued, but then the band had some quiet time. Anderson took the opportunity to record another solo album, this time a collection of holiday songs, entitled Three Ships. He also managed to work on a few other projects including movie soundtracks with John Paul Jones and Tangerine Dream. The next Yes album and tour in 1987 saw those musical differences once again appearing and Anderson again left Yes.
In the time following his second departure from the group, he released another solo album, this one a rather poppy collection entitled In the City of Angels. He also guested on Toto's release The Seventh One. By that time, he had begun talking with several Yes alumni about working together again. The group of them, Anderson, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford were joined by Tony Levin and completed an album. The only problem was deciding what to call the group. They had wanted to name it Yes, but Chris Squire proved ownership of that name and was not going to let them use it. So, they chose to forego cleverness and work with their last names. Thus their album was a self-titled one called Anderson- Bruford-Wakeman-Howe. The group toured fairly extensively for the release, but Anderson still wound up finding the time to contribute vocals to Jonathan Elias' Requiem for the Americas album. Another odd turn of events was looming on the horizon, though. As Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe were working on their second release, Yes was in the process of recording their next album. Lines of communication were once again opened and both projects were combined into one Yes album, dubbed Union. The group toured for the album to both filled stadiums and rave reviews. Anderson still found time to get together with Papathanassiou again and release the next Jon & Vangelis album, Page of Life, in 1991. The following year, he worked on Kitaro's album Dream. Among other projects, Anderson would do another album with Papathanassiou (Chronicles) and two solo albums (Deseo and Change We Must) before the 1994 release of the next Yes album, Talk. The lineup on that disc was back to a five-piece, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford having gone their separate ways.
The next couple of years were quiet ones for Yes, but not for Anderson. He made guest appearances on a few projects and released two new solo albums. And big things were once again on the horizon for Yes. It was announced in late 1995 that Trevor Rabin and Tony Kaye were no longer part of the group. They were replaced by alums Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. A classic Yes lineup and incredible fan enthusiasm surrounded both the band and Anderson. The group did three shows in San Luis Obispo in March of 1996. The shows were recorded and released along with new studio material as the two Keys to Ascension albums. 1997 saw quite a bit more activity from Anderson. He released two solo albums, the Celtic The Promise Ring and EarthMotherEarth. Yes also released an album featuring his vocals. The disc was called Open Your Eyes and in true Yes tradition of revolving door membership, it did not feature Rick Wakeman, who had already left. Anderson went along with the group on a tour of small intimate theaters that fall. In 1998, he released his next solo album, The More You Know. That same year saw several releases featuring his vocal talents. Among them was 4Him's album Streams, Yes' The Ladder, and Steve Howe's Portraits of Bob Dylan. Touring and working on the Yes album Magnification have kept Anderson pretty busy, but he found time to appear on Béla Fleck & the Flecktones' 2000 release Outbound.
Anderson toured off and on with Yes until 2008 when he left due to health concerns. He re-emerged in 2011 with the solo album Survival and Other Stories and The Living Tree in collaboration with Wakeman. In 2012, he began collaborating with violinist Jean Luc Ponty, resulting in the Anderson Ponty Band's Better Late Than Never, comprised mostly of new readings of Yes material. A year earlier, at the instigation of InsideOut Music label boss Thomas Waber, Anderson began working with Flower Kings /Transatlantic guitarist Roine Stolt. They were asked to consider recording a series of suite-like tunes that would echo what Yes accomplished on Tales from Topographic Oceans and Anderson's own Olias of Sunhillow, albeit with a modern prog bent. After trading ideas back and forth on the internet for months, live sessions were initiated in March of 2015 with a full band and backing vocalists. Invention of Knowledge, billed to Anderson/Stolt, consisted of four long tracks. It was released by Inside/Out in June of 2016.
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Jon Anderson joins conductor Nigel Warren-Green and his London Chamber Academy for orchestral arrangements of new material and old favorites on Change We Must (and that sound you hear in the distance is the small army of Anderson's detractors crying "This time he's really gone too far"). But far from being the exercise in self-indulgence that some would charge, Change We Must proves to be a lovely setting for Anderson's compositions. Expertly produced by the vocalist and Tim Handley, the album finds Anderson's voice in harmonic balance with a wonderful landscape of orchestral sounds. The combined effect is, in a word, lovely. Beginning with the Jon & Vangelis chestnut "State of Independence," the singer and orchestra achieve a natural beauty that the previous pairing aimed at but rarely captured. Likewise, "Hurry Home" and "Under the Sun" -- both of which originally appeared on In the City of Angels (the latter as "It's on Fire") -- are given a second life with Celtic and Third World arrangements, respectively. Some of the new material -- such as the "Chagall Duet," with soprano Sandrine Piau, or "Candle Song," with daughter Jade -- offer a double dose of sweetness, while other songs (notably John Adams' adaptation "Shaker Loops") are intentionally edgy. Anderson even steps out of the spotlight for a trio of piano-led instrumentals co-written with David Tolley and featuring pianist Gwendolyn Mok. These serve as a spirited interlude between songs and represent a unique departure from Anderson's often-elusive arrangements. For nostalgists, who might regard the lack of anything from Olias of Sunhillow as a missed opportunity, the Yes song "Hearts" is given a faithful but welcome reading. The title track serves as a fitting finale, with flawless production and otherwordly arrangements transporting the listener to Anderson's own plane of consciousness. Dedicated to spiritualist Nana Veary, Change We Must speaks in a multitude of musical tongues -- classical, rock, Third World, choral -- with beauty as its common thread.
Jon Anderson - Change We Must ( 282mb)
01 Ocean Song 3:04
02 Meeting (Garden Of Geda) / Sound Out The Galleon 3:34
03 Dance Of Ranyart / Olias (To Build The Moorglade) 4:19
04 Qoquaq Ën Transic / Naon / Transic Tö 7:08
05 Flight Of The Moorglade 3:24
06 Solid Space 5:20
07 Moon Ra / Chords / Song Of Search 12:48
08 To The Runner 4:29
Jon Anderson - Change We Must (ogg 120mb)
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Jon Anderson's voice immersed in South American music might seem an unlikely match, but the rich and vibrant tones of Deseo (meaning desire or wish) provide a strikingly fresh setting for the singer. Augmented by well-known artists from across South and Latin America, the Yes vocalist seems content to recede into the background on many of the tracks, retaining a native flavor with stellar cameos from Maria Conchita Alonso, Boca Livre, Milton Nascimento, and many others. The songs, which generally clock in around three-and-a-half minutes, are warm and upbeat, mixing English, Portuguese, and Spanish vocals with propulsive percussion, acoustic guitars, bass, and synthesizers. The melodies are lovely and atmospheric, uncomplicated but evocative. The best tracks don't necessarily feature Anderson in a starring role: "A-DE-O," "Bridges," "Danca Do Ouro," and "Café" feature the vocalist in a supporting role, but listeners may find themselves too entranced by the beautiful harmonies to notice his absence. While the singer does take center stage on a number of songs with pleasant results -- "This Child," "Floresta," and especially "Bless This" (with Deborah Anderson) -- a few tracks leave Anderson exposed, notably the lightweight "Latino" and the ill-advised posturing of the opening "Amor Real." However, these occasional missteps are easily overlooked in lieu of the disc's innumerable charms. The artist had experimented with world sounds on earlier albums with his Yes mates -- "Teakbois" from Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and "Angkor Wat" from Union come to mind -- but Deseo marks a genuine willingness to step outside of his own idiom. Thus, the connection between Jon Anderson and the music on Deseo isn't always clear, but the singer wisely shares his sense of discovery with the listener, allowing the music (and not the musician) to shine.
Jon Anderson - Deseo (flac 226mb)
01 Curious Electric 6:34
02 Each And Everyday 3:41
03 Bird Song 1:22
04 I Hear You Now 5:09
05 The Road 4:29
06 Far Away In Baagad 2:49
07 Love Is 5:09
08 One More Time 6:12
09 Thunder 2:10
10 A Play Within A Play 7:01
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While many Jon Anderson fans knew he had it in him to do something very light and airy and perhaps even without vocals (Olias of Sunhillow essentially led the way), the fact that it's something this light and airy is likely to come as a bit of a shock. Anderson presents the listener with a soundscape made up of long, sustained notes and drifting chords, a construction in which the few melodies present take minutes to work through -- there's far more in common with the Hearts of Space catalog here than with much of Anderson's prior work, though the Vangelis influence is to be felt, too (especially on the quarter-hour "New Eire Land"). Another surprise is the mainly instrumental nature of the album -- Anderson takes very few vocals. Daughters Deborah and Jade pitch in along the way without much incident. On the whole, Angels Embrace sounds something like a lost Jon & Vangelis album, or Brian Eno in a frothy mood, and just like good background music for meditation, spiritual navel-gazing, and general situations where the alpha waves need a decent boost.
Jon Anderson - Angels Embrace ( 301mb)
01 For You For Me 4:24
02 Some Are Born 4:02
03 Don't Forget (Nostalgia) 2:57
04 Heart Of The Matter 4:18
05 Hear It 1:48
06 Everybody Loves You 4:01
07 Take Your Time 3:12
08 Days 3:24
09 Song Of Seven 11:07
Jon Anderson - Angels Embrace (ogg 116mb)
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A concept album, Anderson's Toltec is made up of 13 cuts divided into three parts. It tells the tale of the Toltec, a Native American concept of a group of people who have been all over the Earth, existing within different cultures throughout the centuries. They are described in the liner as "Creators of the circles of power, color, perfume, and music healing domes." Musically, this one is arguably Anderson's most ambitious solo effort. It is set in a style that is definitely progressive rock, but focuses less on the rock and more on other elements. Among those elements are new age (no surprise as the albumwas released on the Windham Hill label), world music, electronic, and even jazz. Anderson not only provided the expected vocals, but also wrote, arranged, and produced the disc. The result is an album that should appeal not just to fans of the singer, but to those into progressive rock in general as well. It definitely isn't Yes (although it does share some elements with their work), but it is certainly an intriguing and entertaining work.
Jon Anderson - Toltec ( 272mb)
01 Italian Song 2:52
02 And When The Night Comes 4:34
03 Deborah 4:53
04 Polonaise 5:23
05 He Is Sailing 6:46
06 Horizon 22:51
Jon Anderson - Toltec (ogg 110mb)
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Back in the day Jon 'discovered' Vangelis and their partnership did both a world of good, 2 decades later Vangelis' fire had deminished so Jon's idea to throw his latest album as a bone to a new crop of ambient stars, that surprisingly all understood it could lift them out of the relative anonimity, that with hindsight didn't happen but still, nice ambient remixing to say the least from true ambient giants, Future Sound of London, Global Communication, Deep Forest and Trans Global Underground. This album journeys between pulsing ambient to drippy trips in the sunny jungles of you mind with the former sing of Yes' vocals sound a whole lot better here than anywhere else. Vibrant and exotic. Expansive. Gets in there and writhes. It's a superb and unique recording. Cerebrally stimulating. Brings you up and lets you go...you'll love it. Essential album for fans of the remixers, and for those looking for something new, too bad that it remains largely obscure. The Deep Forest and Global Communication tracks are the highlights.
Jon Anderson - The Deseo Remixes ( 370mb)
01 Hold On To Love 4:47
02 If It Wasn't For Love (Oneness Family) 4:25
03 Sundancing (For The Hopi / Navajo Energy) 3:17
04 Is It Me 4:24
05 In A Lifetime 4:15
06 For You 2:57
07 New Civilization 4:32
08 It's On Fire 4:10
09 Betcha 4:00
10 Top Of The World (The Glass Bead Game) 5:25
11 Hurry Home (Song From The Pleiades) 5:03
Jon Anderson - The Deseo Remixes (ogg 138mb)
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Today's artists is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he co-founded in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across three tenures between 1968 and 2008. He is also noted for his solo career, releasing 13 solo albums and collaborations with other artists, including Vangelis as Jon and Vangelis, Roine Stolt as Anderson/Stolt, and Jean-Luc Ponty as AndersonPonty Band. He has also appeared on albums by King Crimson, Tangerine Dream, Iron Butterfly and Mike Oldfield. He became an American citizen in 2009. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes. ... ......N-Joy
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Born John Roy Anderson on October 25, 1944, in Lancashire, England, Jon Anderson would grow up to become one of the most recognizable voices in progressive rock. He began his musical career by joining his brother Tony's group the Warriors. Eventually, that band relocated from England to Germany, but Tony had left the group by then. So, the only Anderson still in the band by 1965 when they cut their first single was Jon (technically still John at that time). The single received a less than enthusiastic welcome and Anderson left the group in 1967, having put in five years with them. His next move was to the group the Party, but that one was quite short-lived. By 1968, Anderson had returned to England and recorded two singles under the moniker Hans Christian Anderson. Those received responses similar to what the Warriors' single had. Anderson found his way into the group Gun, but only stayed there for a couple of months.
The year was 1968 and musical history was about to be made with an introduction in a London club. Jon Anderson was introduced to Chris Squire, and finding a kindred spirit in music, he began showing up at gigs of Squire's band Mabel Greer's Toy Shop, whose guitarist at the time was Peter Banks. Anderson started getting up and singing with the group from time to time, eventually becoming their vocalist. However, Banks had left by the time Anderson was inducted. More pieces gradually began to fall into the mix as various musicians were brought into the Toy Shop fold. First Bill Bruford, then Tony Kaye. By the time Peter Banks returned, the band had decided to change their name to Yes. They released their first two albums in 1969 and 1970, and both received good critical response, but didn't gain a large commercial or radio presence. By the time that they recorded 1970's The Yes Album, the band had replaced Peter Banks with Steve Howe and the combination, along with a stroke of luck at a U.S. radio station, proved the charm that started their commercial career. Interestingly, Anderson found the time for side projects even amidst recording and touring with Yes. In fact, he would show up on two albums in the first two years of the decade. The first was King Crimson's Lizard and the other was Johnny Harris' All to Bring You Morning. The next Yes album, 1972's Fragile, would feature both the debut of new keyboardist Rick Wakeman and the single "Roundabout." The combination propelled the group and Anderson well into the spotlight. For the next couple of years, Yes occupied the majority of Anderson's time. With the recording of three more studio albums before 1974 and steady touring, he would have little time for much else. However, after the tour for Relayer, things began to settle down a bit. Anderson managed to work with Vangelis Papathanassiou, who had been Yes' first choice for Rick Wakeman's replacement. Although immigration issues forced the band to go with Patrick Moraz instead, Anderson added vocals to the keyboardist's Heaven and Hell album released in 1975. It would definitely not be the last time they would work together.
1976 saw the entire band taking time to record solo albums. Anderson's outing, Olias of Sunhillow, was an ambitious creation. It was an album-long concept piece with nearly all the writing and performances being undertaken by the singer himself. He also added vocals to Yes drummer Alan White's Ramshackled album. The break seemed to revitalize the band and their next release, Going for the One, featuring the return of Rick Wakeman, was a very strong album and ushered the band into 1977 with style. Anderson's role in the group was close to coming to an end for a time, though. He stuck with them through the next album and couple of tours, but when they began recording for the follow up to Tormato, the dreaded "musical differences" cropped up and Anderson left. He definitely did not become idle, though. Indeed, the next couple of years proved very fertile for him. He released his second solo album, Song of Seven, in 1980. That same year, he collaborated again with Papathanassiou. This time they recorded an entire album together and released it under the moniker Jon & Vangelis. The album was called Short Stories, and they enjoyed that work so much that before the end of 1981, they released two more albums together. 1981 also saw Anderson appearing on Rick Wakeman's 1984 album. His next solo release was 1982's Animation, a show he took on the road.
1983 would be another turning point for Anderson. He worked on Mike Oldfield's Crises album, but that would not be the decisive factor in his career. By that time, Yes had been broken up for almost three years. Chris Squire and Alan White were working with a young guitarist named Trevor Rabin on a project called Cinema. Tony Kaye had also been enlisted for the project. Producer and one-time Anderson Yes replacement Trevor Horn suggested that Anderson should add some vocals to the project. Upon agreeing. Anderson remarked that with his voice on the songs it would be Yes. The group agreed and the name Cinema was dropped in favor of Yes. The resulting album, 90125, propelled by the hit single "Owner of a Lonely Heart," saw the band receive more success than they had ever previously attained. A tour ensued, but then the band had some quiet time. Anderson took the opportunity to record another solo album, this time a collection of holiday songs, entitled Three Ships. He also managed to work on a few other projects including movie soundtracks with John Paul Jones and Tangerine Dream. The next Yes album and tour in 1987 saw those musical differences once again appearing and Anderson again left Yes.
In the time following his second departure from the group, he released another solo album, this one a rather poppy collection entitled In the City of Angels. He also guested on Toto's release The Seventh One. By that time, he had begun talking with several Yes alumni about working together again. The group of them, Anderson, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford were joined by Tony Levin and completed an album. The only problem was deciding what to call the group. They had wanted to name it Yes, but Chris Squire proved ownership of that name and was not going to let them use it. So, they chose to forego cleverness and work with their last names. Thus their album was a self-titled one called Anderson- Bruford-Wakeman-Howe. The group toured fairly extensively for the release, but Anderson still wound up finding the time to contribute vocals to Jonathan Elias' Requiem for the Americas album. Another odd turn of events was looming on the horizon, though. As Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe were working on their second release, Yes was in the process of recording their next album. Lines of communication were once again opened and both projects were combined into one Yes album, dubbed Union. The group toured for the album to both filled stadiums and rave reviews. Anderson still found time to get together with Papathanassiou again and release the next Jon & Vangelis album, Page of Life, in 1991. The following year, he worked on Kitaro's album Dream. Among other projects, Anderson would do another album with Papathanassiou (Chronicles) and two solo albums (Deseo and Change We Must) before the 1994 release of the next Yes album, Talk. The lineup on that disc was back to a five-piece, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford having gone their separate ways.
The next couple of years were quiet ones for Yes, but not for Anderson. He made guest appearances on a few projects and released two new solo albums. And big things were once again on the horizon for Yes. It was announced in late 1995 that Trevor Rabin and Tony Kaye were no longer part of the group. They were replaced by alums Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. A classic Yes lineup and incredible fan enthusiasm surrounded both the band and Anderson. The group did three shows in San Luis Obispo in March of 1996. The shows were recorded and released along with new studio material as the two Keys to Ascension albums. 1997 saw quite a bit more activity from Anderson. He released two solo albums, the Celtic The Promise Ring and EarthMotherEarth. Yes also released an album featuring his vocals. The disc was called Open Your Eyes and in true Yes tradition of revolving door membership, it did not feature Rick Wakeman, who had already left. Anderson went along with the group on a tour of small intimate theaters that fall. In 1998, he released his next solo album, The More You Know. That same year saw several releases featuring his vocal talents. Among them was 4Him's album Streams, Yes' The Ladder, and Steve Howe's Portraits of Bob Dylan. Touring and working on the Yes album Magnification have kept Anderson pretty busy, but he found time to appear on Béla Fleck & the Flecktones' 2000 release Outbound.
Anderson toured off and on with Yes until 2008 when he left due to health concerns. He re-emerged in 2011 with the solo album Survival and Other Stories and The Living Tree in collaboration with Wakeman. In 2012, he began collaborating with violinist Jean Luc Ponty, resulting in the Anderson Ponty Band's Better Late Than Never, comprised mostly of new readings of Yes material. A year earlier, at the instigation of InsideOut Music label boss Thomas Waber, Anderson began working with Flower Kings /Transatlantic guitarist Roine Stolt. They were asked to consider recording a series of suite-like tunes that would echo what Yes accomplished on Tales from Topographic Oceans and Anderson's own Olias of Sunhillow, albeit with a modern prog bent. After trading ideas back and forth on the internet for months, live sessions were initiated in March of 2015 with a full band and backing vocalists. Invention of Knowledge, billed to Anderson/Stolt, consisted of four long tracks. It was released by Inside/Out in June of 2016.
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Jon Anderson joins conductor Nigel Warren-Green and his London Chamber Academy for orchestral arrangements of new material and old favorites on Change We Must (and that sound you hear in the distance is the small army of Anderson's detractors crying "This time he's really gone too far"). But far from being the exercise in self-indulgence that some would charge, Change We Must proves to be a lovely setting for Anderson's compositions. Expertly produced by the vocalist and Tim Handley, the album finds Anderson's voice in harmonic balance with a wonderful landscape of orchestral sounds. The combined effect is, in a word, lovely. Beginning with the Jon & Vangelis chestnut "State of Independence," the singer and orchestra achieve a natural beauty that the previous pairing aimed at but rarely captured. Likewise, "Hurry Home" and "Under the Sun" -- both of which originally appeared on In the City of Angels (the latter as "It's on Fire") -- are given a second life with Celtic and Third World arrangements, respectively. Some of the new material -- such as the "Chagall Duet," with soprano Sandrine Piau, or "Candle Song," with daughter Jade -- offer a double dose of sweetness, while other songs (notably John Adams' adaptation "Shaker Loops") are intentionally edgy. Anderson even steps out of the spotlight for a trio of piano-led instrumentals co-written with David Tolley and featuring pianist Gwendolyn Mok. These serve as a spirited interlude between songs and represent a unique departure from Anderson's often-elusive arrangements. For nostalgists, who might regard the lack of anything from Olias of Sunhillow as a missed opportunity, the Yes song "Hearts" is given a faithful but welcome reading. The title track serves as a fitting finale, with flawless production and otherwordly arrangements transporting the listener to Anderson's own plane of consciousness. Dedicated to spiritualist Nana Veary, Change We Must speaks in a multitude of musical tongues -- classical, rock, Third World, choral -- with beauty as its common thread.
Jon Anderson - Change We Must ( 282mb)
01 Ocean Song 3:04
02 Meeting (Garden Of Geda) / Sound Out The Galleon 3:34
03 Dance Of Ranyart / Olias (To Build The Moorglade) 4:19
04 Qoquaq Ën Transic / Naon / Transic Tö 7:08
05 Flight Of The Moorglade 3:24
06 Solid Space 5:20
07 Moon Ra / Chords / Song Of Search 12:48
08 To The Runner 4:29
Jon Anderson - Change We Must (ogg 120mb)
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Jon Anderson's voice immersed in South American music might seem an unlikely match, but the rich and vibrant tones of Deseo (meaning desire or wish) provide a strikingly fresh setting for the singer. Augmented by well-known artists from across South and Latin America, the Yes vocalist seems content to recede into the background on many of the tracks, retaining a native flavor with stellar cameos from Maria Conchita Alonso, Boca Livre, Milton Nascimento, and many others. The songs, which generally clock in around three-and-a-half minutes, are warm and upbeat, mixing English, Portuguese, and Spanish vocals with propulsive percussion, acoustic guitars, bass, and synthesizers. The melodies are lovely and atmospheric, uncomplicated but evocative. The best tracks don't necessarily feature Anderson in a starring role: "A-DE-O," "Bridges," "Danca Do Ouro," and "Café" feature the vocalist in a supporting role, but listeners may find themselves too entranced by the beautiful harmonies to notice his absence. While the singer does take center stage on a number of songs with pleasant results -- "This Child," "Floresta," and especially "Bless This" (with Deborah Anderson) -- a few tracks leave Anderson exposed, notably the lightweight "Latino" and the ill-advised posturing of the opening "Amor Real." However, these occasional missteps are easily overlooked in lieu of the disc's innumerable charms. The artist had experimented with world sounds on earlier albums with his Yes mates -- "Teakbois" from Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and "Angkor Wat" from Union come to mind -- but Deseo marks a genuine willingness to step outside of his own idiom. Thus, the connection between Jon Anderson and the music on Deseo isn't always clear, but the singer wisely shares his sense of discovery with the listener, allowing the music (and not the musician) to shine.
Jon Anderson - Deseo (flac 226mb)
01 Curious Electric 6:34
02 Each And Everyday 3:41
03 Bird Song 1:22
04 I Hear You Now 5:09
05 The Road 4:29
06 Far Away In Baagad 2:49
07 Love Is 5:09
08 One More Time 6:12
09 Thunder 2:10
10 A Play Within A Play 7:01
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While many Jon Anderson fans knew he had it in him to do something very light and airy and perhaps even without vocals (Olias of Sunhillow essentially led the way), the fact that it's something this light and airy is likely to come as a bit of a shock. Anderson presents the listener with a soundscape made up of long, sustained notes and drifting chords, a construction in which the few melodies present take minutes to work through -- there's far more in common with the Hearts of Space catalog here than with much of Anderson's prior work, though the Vangelis influence is to be felt, too (especially on the quarter-hour "New Eire Land"). Another surprise is the mainly instrumental nature of the album -- Anderson takes very few vocals. Daughters Deborah and Jade pitch in along the way without much incident. On the whole, Angels Embrace sounds something like a lost Jon & Vangelis album, or Brian Eno in a frothy mood, and just like good background music for meditation, spiritual navel-gazing, and general situations where the alpha waves need a decent boost.
Jon Anderson - Angels Embrace ( 301mb)
01 For You For Me 4:24
02 Some Are Born 4:02
03 Don't Forget (Nostalgia) 2:57
04 Heart Of The Matter 4:18
05 Hear It 1:48
06 Everybody Loves You 4:01
07 Take Your Time 3:12
08 Days 3:24
09 Song Of Seven 11:07
Jon Anderson - Angels Embrace (ogg 116mb)
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A concept album, Anderson's Toltec is made up of 13 cuts divided into three parts. It tells the tale of the Toltec, a Native American concept of a group of people who have been all over the Earth, existing within different cultures throughout the centuries. They are described in the liner as "Creators of the circles of power, color, perfume, and music healing domes." Musically, this one is arguably Anderson's most ambitious solo effort. It is set in a style that is definitely progressive rock, but focuses less on the rock and more on other elements. Among those elements are new age (no surprise as the albumwas released on the Windham Hill label), world music, electronic, and even jazz. Anderson not only provided the expected vocals, but also wrote, arranged, and produced the disc. The result is an album that should appeal not just to fans of the singer, but to those into progressive rock in general as well. It definitely isn't Yes (although it does share some elements with their work), but it is certainly an intriguing and entertaining work.
Jon Anderson - Toltec ( 272mb)
01 Italian Song 2:52
02 And When The Night Comes 4:34
03 Deborah 4:53
04 Polonaise 5:23
05 He Is Sailing 6:46
06 Horizon 22:51
Jon Anderson - Toltec (ogg 110mb)
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Back in the day Jon 'discovered' Vangelis and their partnership did both a world of good, 2 decades later Vangelis' fire had deminished so Jon's idea to throw his latest album as a bone to a new crop of ambient stars, that surprisingly all understood it could lift them out of the relative anonimity, that with hindsight didn't happen but still, nice ambient remixing to say the least from true ambient giants, Future Sound of London, Global Communication, Deep Forest and Trans Global Underground. This album journeys between pulsing ambient to drippy trips in the sunny jungles of you mind with the former sing of Yes' vocals sound a whole lot better here than anywhere else. Vibrant and exotic. Expansive. Gets in there and writhes. It's a superb and unique recording. Cerebrally stimulating. Brings you up and lets you go...you'll love it. Essential album for fans of the remixers, and for those looking for something new, too bad that it remains largely obscure. The Deep Forest and Global Communication tracks are the highlights.
Jon Anderson - The Deseo Remixes ( 370mb)
01 Hold On To Love 4:47
02 If It Wasn't For Love (Oneness Family) 4:25
03 Sundancing (For The Hopi / Navajo Energy) 3:17
04 Is It Me 4:24
05 In A Lifetime 4:15
06 For You 2:57
07 New Civilization 4:32
08 It's On Fire 4:10
09 Betcha 4:00
10 Top Of The World (The Glass Bead Game) 5:25
11 Hurry Home (Song From The Pleiades) 5:03
Jon Anderson - The Deseo Remixes (ogg 138mb)
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