Jon Anderson’s Universe: Equal Parts Conscience And Consciousness

By John Voket

It seems unlikely most of the boisterous fans in attendance at the recent Connecticut stop on Jon Anderson’s Tour of the Universe at Hartford’s Webster Theater were there to access the mystical or magical messages the musician imparted on the crowd as he moved between songs during his 100-minute set. Based on the many shout-outs calling for some of the myriad cuts from either solo Anderson works, his collaborations with über-synthesizer maestros Vangelis and Kitaro, or the dozens of Yes songs Anderson has rendered his indelible mark upon, it appeared that much of the audience merely tolerated the artist’s messages in order to access the music.

Unfortunately for the majority of less enlightened fans, it was probably just a small minority among those in attendance who bought into the entire universal aspect of the show. It may have been just a handful of the faithful who went away from the Webster that evening not only more enlightened Jon Anderson fans, but more enlightened tenants of our global society - temporary residents of the universe as we know it.

The rest of the crowd appeared to run the gamut between run-of-the-mill classic rock fans hoping for an up close and personal look at the guy who chirped out lead vocals on rock radio staples like “Roundabout” and “All Good People,” and those rabid, hard-core Yes fans pining for snippets of some of the prog-rock band’s deeper or more expansive cuts.

Fortunately for the masses, Anderson wisely delivered a bit of both. The meat and potatoes fans enjoyed a generous slice of “Your Move,” from the “All Good People” suite, as well as a dead-on solo rendition of “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” arguably Yes’ greatest hit.

For those pining for something a little more tasty, there was the accessible greater hit, “Yours is No Disgrace,” a complete, acoustic-flavored “Wonderous Stories,” “Soon,” from Relayer, and appetizer-sized samples from Close to the Edge, as well as the obscure crowd-pleaser of the night, a nearly a-cappella segment from “The Revealing Science of  God (Dance of the Dawn).”

Interdispersed among his more cosmic ramblings were a few great stories including one about his very first encounter with Greek synth-god and Chariots of Fire theme composer Vangelis Papathanassiou. Anderson related his being summoned to a high-rise apartment in downtown London after numerous attempts to solicit a collaboration with Vangelis, only to be greeted at the door by “this giant bearded man in a kaftan holding a huge bow and wearing a quiver full of arrows on his back.”

Switching amusingly between his cherubic tenor and the deep gruff voice of Vangelis, Anderson playacted out those first few moments of this strange meeting as the Greek musician reached back drawing out an arrow and placing it expertly upon the bow. Anderson then noticed, he said, a small target at the end of a long hallway running the length of the complex.

“Watch this,” Anderson said in his Vangelis voice. He then described the sight as Vangelis drew back the bow and let the arrow fly, missing the target completely. Anderson then watched as the arrow went sailing out of the open balcony doors beyond the target to an unknown landing destination somewhere in the streets of London below.

The story was a light-hearted lead in to one of two Anderson-Vangelis collaborations of the show, “I’ll Find My Way Home.” He also delivered “State of Independence” later in the set.

Anderson’s range of solo work that evening was drawn from an amazing repertoire of material from the 1976 release, Olias of Sunhillow, to his latest audio effort, a live acoustic EP/CD available only at his Tour of the Universe appearances.

Selecting from among his own compositions, Anderson presented “Father Sky,” “Standing Still,” “Richard” and “Show Me,” wrapping the performance with the unaccompanied Irish ballad “O’er.”

Preceding his rendition of “White Buffalo,” Anderson related another story about a series of visits to American schools during the first leg of his Universe tour. The diminutive songwriter said he was genuinely shocked and dismayed at the lack of real information available in current U.S. school curriculum on Native Americans and their cultures.

“I found it freaky that we’re living in their land and not teaching our children anything about their presence or their cultures in our schools,” Anderson told the crowd.

Later, in a hasty one-on-one with a hoarse and fatigued Anderson, I asked the Yes frontman if it was strange for him to transplant so many of the grander orchestral Yes arrangements normally heard in huge arenas to smaller venues backed only by his own synthesized midi-guitars or piano.

He said that the performance of all his songs in these more intimate venues were natural progressions of the works as organic entities, almost as though he has created each one to live an ever changing life of its own instead of being endlessly repeated as they were first recorded.

I then was able to inquire about how receptive Anderson thought the audience was to the greater messages he seemed eager to deliver as part of the overall show, and if those messages were distracting or even disappointing for Yes fans eager to hear more music and less discussion of things spiritual.

“I think everyone here, and at every show we do, is a part of the greater consciousness,” Anderson replied.

“So whether they were disappointed or not, or whether they wanted to hear it or not, the fact that they experienced it, like in any art form, is really all an artist could expect. It’s what they take away from the experience and make a part of their own conscience, that is the ultimate goal I think we’re trying to achieve here.”

In the interview portion of a new DVD release from the Yes frontman gone temporarily solo entitled Tour of the Universe, Anderson says that about two weeks before he launched his jaunt, which has progressed around the planet for well over a year now, he had a dream in which he heard the show in its entirety.

“It sounded really great, so I’m still working towards that as I remember in the dream … how great it was,” he relates. “It will probably take me a couple of years to get to where I heard it in my dream.”

If my two separate in-concert observations of the artist are any evidence, Anderson’s dream is in fact coming true as he circles the globe strumming and singing in his unique, angelic fashion.

In a January 2005 show at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, N.J., Anderson relied much more on just the stand alone acoustic and classical guitars, some conventional, and some of his own design incorporating complex electronic synthesizer interface.

His forays into the world of Midi at that earlier performance seemed unwieldy, marked by unwanted or unexplained noise and out of synch backing sequences. However, his set at the Webster showed a much more in-control and well-practiced performance, at times marked by Anderson not only skillfully managing guitar and vocal parts, but manipulating foot pedals to layer harmonies, keyboard and rhythm parts throughout the arrangements as well.

While Yes, and the incredible talents of each of the band’s revolving door line up over the past 30-plus years have at one time or another graced the stage as solo artists, I have to believe it was this latest project by Jon Anderson that has not only captured the spirit of the dozens of Yes shows I’ve witnessed, but has utilized the popularity of the band to help deliver a message that could potentially change the world for the better.

If only everyone would listen … and act on it!