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Bill Bruford's Earthworks
www.billbruford.co.uk
CD Reviews
Bill Bruford's Earthworks
Review by Gary Hill
The first disc by Bill Bruford's Earthworks project, this one might be a bit different for fans of his prog rock works, but it is also very solid. Bruford had always had strong jazz leanings, and made that quite clear over the years.
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Heavenly Bodies
Review by Gary Hill

This newly released double CD compilation gathers up a number of studio and live recordings from Bill Bruford's Earthworks in a nice re-mastered package.


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Random Acts of Happiness
Review by Gary Hill
This live disc from Bill Bruford’s Earthworks is quite a tasty one. For those not familiar with the group, let me just say this is pure jazz.
 

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DVD Reviews
Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Video Anthology 2 - 1990's DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Those expecting to find Yes or King Crimson amidst this DVD will come away with out completing their quest. On the other hand, those looking for some stellar jazz performed by an incredible group of musicians will be rewarded with a great piece of music and video entertainment.
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Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Video Anthology Volume I - 2000's
Review by Gary Hill
Well, I have to admit, the sequence of these two DVD’s seems backwards to me. When I viewed them I did so in chronological order (Volume II is the 1990’s).
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Related Articles
Yes - America (single) (Vinyl)
Review by G. W. Hill

Lately I’ve been breaking our old rule at Music Street Journal.


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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - An Evening of Yes Music Plus
Review by Gary Hill
Before the Union album, Jon Anderson, frustrated with the musical direction of the Rabin era Yes, left the group and reunited with former classic Yes-mates Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford. Although, they were four fifths of the same lineup that brought such albums as Fragile and Close To The Edge to life, Chris Squire owned the rights to the name "Yes", and wasn't interested in letting them use it.
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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - An Evening of Yes Music Plus
Review by Gary Hill
Voiceprint has just reissued this live set from the classic Yes spin off band. For those looking for the history of this release, please check out the review I did of the earlier version of the set.
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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - An Evening of Yes Music Plus DVD
Review by Gary Hill
  As someone who saw this tour live (twice, I believe) and owned the VHS of this for years, it’s a pleasure to finally have it on DVD. For those who don’t remember, Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe spun off of Yes during the Trevor Rabin era (between the Big Generator and Union albums).
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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe Brother of Mine / Vultures in the City CD single
Review by G. W. Hill

This single from Anderson, Bruford Wakeman and Howe is out of print, of course, but these days, it’s not that hard (or sometimes expensive) to get your hands on something like this.


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Bill Bruford - Bill Bruford – The Autobiography written by Bill Bruford
Review by Gary Hill
I’m a big fan of Bill Bruford. I always have been since his days in Yes.
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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities - BLUE Nights
Review by Gary Hill
This recording chronicles the live performances of Bruford Levin Upper Extremities from 1998. The disc showcases the band's unique blend of jazzy modes with Crimsonesque textures and, occassionally, just plain weirdness.
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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Brother of Mine / Vultures in the City (vinyl single)
Review by G. W. Hill

This single from Anderson, Bruford Wakeman and Howe is out of print, of course, but these days, it’s not that hard (or sometimes expensive) to get your hands on something like this.


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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities - Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
Review by Gary Hill
The musicians on this disc are Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson), Tony Levin (King Crimson; Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe; Bozzio, Levin, Stevens; Liquid Tension Experiment), David Torn (Mark Isham, Bill Bruford), and Chris Botti(Paul Simon, Blue Nile).
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Yes - Classic Artists DVD
Review by Gary Hill

Yes seldom do anything in a small way when it can be done in an epic manner. 


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Yes - Classic Yes
Review by Gary Hill
This compilation of Yes material came out at the same time as Yesshows, shortly after the break up of the band following the Drama tour. This truly does feature some classic Yes material and would represent a great first look at the band.
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Yes - Close To The Edge
Review by Gary Hill
This is the first Yes album that I ever heard, and although it took me several listenings to get into it (I actually hated it first time through) it completely won me over. It is truly my favorite Yes album and the disc that got me interested in the band, and in progressive rock.
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Yes - Close to the Edge – Hybrid SACD Special Edition
Review by G. W. Hill

This is a review of the special edition audiophile release of Close to the Edge. This is a great limited edition, numbered CD release.


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Yes - Close to the Edge – Remastered and Expanded
Review by Gary Hill
I absolutely love Yes’ Close to the Edge and I’ve reviewed the main album before.
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King Crimson - Earthbound
Review by Gary Hill

This is a good, but not great, live album from King Crimson. The first thing holding it from the “great” title is the sound quality.


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King Crimson - Eyes Wide Open DVD
Review by Bill Knispel
Following two plus years as a “double trio,” and nearly two years of fractionalization through a series of ProjeKCts, King Crimson returned to active duty in 2000 as a streamlined quartet with the album The ConstruKCtion of Light. A second album in this newer “double duo” format titled The Power to Believe, followed in 2003.
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Pete Lockett’s Network of Sparks - Featuring Bill Bruford – One
Review by Gary Hill
What do you get when you take five percussionists and put them together? Pete Lockett’s Network of Sparks.
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Yes - Fragile - Remastered And Expanded
Review by Gary Hill
Rhino has begun a series of remasters of Yes albums, restoring the original artwork and adding bonus cuts to the discs. This is their version of one of the more classic Yes recordings, Fragile.
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Yes - Friends and Relatives
Review by Gary Hill
Friends and Relatives is a two CD set that is a compilation of two Yes tracks from the KTA albums with solo works from the various artists. Other than the two stellar group performances, the Rick Wakeman pieces and Steve Howe`s take on Tales From Topographic Oceans stand out the most.
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Bruford - Gradually Going Tornado (original vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill

This 1980 release from Bruford features Bill Bruford (obvious, right?), Dave Stewart, Jeff Berlin and The Unknown John Clark. It has a number of instrumentals along with some songs with vocals.


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Yes - In A Word: Yes 1969-
Review by Gary Hill

This box set is a class act. The whole thing comes in something that resembles a book. 


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King Crimson - In the Court of King Crimson written by Sid Smith
Review by Steve Alspach
Few bands in progressive rock have a more colorful past than King Crimson. As Sid Smith says in the preface, the history of King Crimson is the "triumph of spirit over adversity. And sometimes the triumph of adversity."
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Moraz / Bruford - In Tokyo
Review by Gary Hill
This live recording of Moraz and Bruford dates to 1985 and it finds both musicians in top form.
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Bruford and Borstlap - In Two Minds
Review by Gary Hill
This collaboration between drum and percussion legend Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) and piano player Michiel Borstlap presents some intriguing jazz that seems to strive to exist without borders or preconceptions.
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King Crimson - Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (The Complete Recording Sessions)
Review by Gary Hill

This is quite an interesting set. It's been released in honor of the 50th Anniversary of King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic album. We get two CDs here along with two Blu-Rays. 


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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Live at the NEC October 24th, 1989
Review by G. W. Hill

I saw Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe on this tour and it was purely magical.


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UK - Live In Boston
Review by Bruce Stringer
As one of the hardest working live acts in its day, it comes as no surprise that there were a number of radio show broadcasts made during UK’s short-lived existence. Besides featuring a stellar line-up of some of the best progressive rock musicians of the day (including ex-King Crimson and Yes members), the dominance of multitasking musical prodigy Eddie Jobson advanced the group into creative areas that pushed the envelope years ahead of its late ‘70s contemporaries.

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Yes - Musikladen Live DVD
Review by Gary Hill
This DVD is rather a mixed bag. I t does contain some considerably rare footage of the group, and therefore scores points on that basis.
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King Crimson - Neal and Jack and Me DVD
Review by Bill Knispel
King Crimson’s ‘return to the throne’ in the 1980’s must have been viewed with a degree of skepticism. The band made a name for themselves in the 1970’s with their dark blend of symphonic grandeur and intense heaviness, mixed with an improvisational spirit that would drive them to push every song and performance into parts unknown.
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Bruford - One of A Kind
Review by Steve Alspach
I remember buying this album in 1979 and the woman who sold me this album said, "Oh, you'll love this album. It is so much fun!" I had heard albums described in a number of ways, but "fun"?
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Various Artists - Prog Box
Review by Gary Hill

I've been looking to do a retro review of this box set for a while. I finally had the opportunity this time around.


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Yes - Re (Union)
Review by Gary Hill
When Yes released Union it was a hodgepodge sort of album.
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King Crimson - Red – 40th Anniversary Edition Remastered
Review by Gary Hill
For me Red has always been King Crimson’s ultimate album. I know, there are those who will point to Larks’ Tongues…, but personally I think this one is more cohesive and to the point.

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Bruford - Rock Goes To College
Review by Gary Hill
Bruford’s original lineup only played two shows, both television appearances. The second of those is the recording released here. Bill Bruford is joined here, as on the two studio albums that original presented the material they perform, by keyboardist Dave Steward, guitar god Allan Holdsworth and bassist Jeff Berlin.


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Various Artists - Rockin' the City of Angels written by Douglas Harr
Review by G. W. Hill
This book is something very special. A good tag-line for this would be "come for the pictures, stay for the stories."

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Pianocircus - Skin & Wire - Pianocircus featuring Bill Bruford play the music of Colin Riley
Review by Gary Hill
This music is hard to describe – jazz is one definition, but it only fits so well.
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King Crimson - Sleepless – 12-inch Single (Vinyl)
Review by G. W. Hill

It used to be a rule at MSJ that if something was out of print we didn’t cover it.


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Yes - Something`s Coming
Review by Gary Hill
This album is actually a compilation of Yes performances on various television and radio programs from the 1969-1970 era. The personnel on this album are Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Peter Banks, Bill Bruford and Tony Kaye.
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Yes - The Definitive Rock Collection
Review by Gary Hill

Here is another compilation of Yes music. It is the first two CDs from The Ultimate Yes, repackaged.


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Yes - The Extraordinary World of Yes written by Alan Farley
Review by Gary Hill
On the one hand you have to ask, "do we really need another book about Yes?" Still, one of the charms/downsides to books is that they represent a static point in time.
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King Crimson - The Great Deceiver, Vol. 1: Live 1973-1974 Volume 2
Review by Gary Hill
This, along with Volume 2, is a reissue of a 4 CD set that came out in the 1990’s. It captures the Larks Tongues In Aspic / Starless and Bible Black era King Crimson in a series of live shows.
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King Crimson - The Great Deceiver: Live 1973-1974 Volume 2
Review by Gary Hill
Here we have the second set of live Crimson tracks just reissued. See my review of Volume 1 for more information about this release overall.
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Yes - The Lost Broadcasts DVD
Review by Gary Hill

For hardcore Yes fans, this is a real treasure.


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Rick Wakeman - The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Review by G. W. Hill

There are many who would consider this Rick Wakeman's strongest solo album. That argument has merit.


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Bill Bruford - The Summerfold Collection 1987-2008
Review by Gary Hill
Bill Bruford is certainly best known for his work as drummer in Yes and King Crimson.
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Yes - The Ultimate Yes
Review by Gary Hill

This 35th Anniversary collection of Yes shares a lot of material with other compilations of theirs.


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Bill Bruford - The Winterfold Collection 1978-1986
Review by Gary Hill
This is a new compilation of music from Bill Bruford released on his own label, Winterfold.
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Yes - The Yes Album
Review by Josh Turner
This marks the third album from this first class group. Its recording predates the membership of the legendary Rick Wakeman, who ultimately joined late in the tour of this album. While this might appear to be a huge drawback in the studio, the album is quite strong.
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Yes - The Yes Album (Expanded and Remastered)
Review by Gary Hill

The third album from Yes, The Yes Album was a transitional disc. 


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King Crimson - Thrak
Review by G. W. Hill

When King Crimson reformed after the 80s period, there were definitely elements of that period still present in their sound. 


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Yes - Time and A Word
Review by Gary Hill
When Yes went into the studio to record their second album, the producer decided that they could benefit from an orchestral string arrangement on much of the material. This works extremely well on some of the songs here, while falling rather flat in other places
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Yes - Time And A Word: The Yes Story written by Martin Popoff
Review by Greg Olma

There have been a few books written about the band, Yes but this one really includes the involvement of many of the members of the group through extensive interviews. 


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UK - UK
Review by Scott Prinzing

Considered by many to be one of the greatest prog albums of all time, it is a shame that the line-up lasted only one album and tour.  


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Yes - Union
Review by Gary Hill
The great experiment - at the time of this album's recording there were essentially two versions of Yes out and making music. The first was the Trevor Rabin "Yes West" lineup (consisting of Rabin, Chris Squire, Alan White and Tony Kaye - Jon Anderson had left the group, but been working his way back into the fold) and Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe (the splinter group of one of the most classic lineups).
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Yes - Union: Live
Review by G. W. Hill

I remember seeing Yes on the Union tour. It was an amazing show.


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Steve Hackett - Watcher of the Skies
Review by Gary Hill
Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett has assembled a wide variety of musicians to rework many classic Genesis songs. The end result is quite interesting.
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Yes - Wonderous Stories: The Best of Yes
Review by G. W. Hill

I’m sure some would make the argument that we don’t need another Yes compilation album.


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Yes - Yes
Review by Gary Hill
The self-titled debut by Yes, this 1969 album was full of psychedelic wandering and experimentation. It had some definite strong points, and did, in fact show off signs of the band that would later develop.
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Yes - Yes (Expanded and Remastered)
Review by Gary Hill
One of the releases in the series of discs that showcase remastered Yes albums with additional material added, this one focuses on the first album.
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Yes - Yessongs
Review by Gary Hill
At the time that Yessongs was released, the critics were calling Yes a studio phenomenon, and saying that they could not reproduce their complex arrangements live. This release, at least partially, was meant to dispel that rumour -- and it worked.
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Yes - Yesstories-Yes In Their Own Words written by Tim Morse
Review by Gary Hill
Tim Morse created an intriguing book with this one. There is nothing unique about conducting interviews with artists when doing a book about them.
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Yes - Yesterdays
Review by Gary Hill
This compilation is composed almost entirely of material from the first two Yes releases (Yes and Time and a Word) - the majority from the second album. As such the lineup consists of Jon Anderson, Peter Banks, Bill Bruford, Tony Kaye and Chris Squire.
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Yes - Yesyears Box Set
Review by Gary Hill
Released during the flurry of activity surrounding the Union tour, this four CD set is a pricey, but fairly solid addition to the Yes catalog. While any compilation will undoubtedly bring up complaints as to what was included and what was not, this album presents a fairly accurate representation of the chronology of the band.
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Yes - Yesyears DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Before there was Yesspeak, there was Yesyears. In some ways this documentary is superior to the more recent one.
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