In the Summer of 1971, I was constructing a martin house (birdhouse) modeled after the Empire State Building. Upon stopping my table saw, I heard the radio playing a unique and beautiful record...the sound of a double-stringed instrument...it turned out to be the intro to "Your Move". I immediately put down my work and drove to the record store and bought The Yes Album. "This is the music I've waited for all of my life", I said to myself. I've been a Yes lover ever since that day.
As a musician, I fully understand how it is that Chris Squire & Steve Howe have decided to hire Benoit David as Jon Anderson's replacement during his illness. The guy is almost dead-on (he is dead-on) the voice of Anderson. So, in the time it takes for Jon to get his health back (if that day ever comes), why not keep the band playing and their music in the public's ear? These musicians have got to play. You might as well try to push back the ocean with a string mop...it's inevitable. The music builds up, just like any other human urge and it has to come out; it has to be released. So, those who criticize Yes for this replacement haven't really thought it through, like a musician would. Fish gotta swim; birds gotta fly....