Jon Anderson | Survival & Other Stories
by Ron & Don Higgins
Staff Writer —
While the debate rages on as to whether or not Yes is really Yes without Jon Anderson and whether or not their new album is any good, Jon has released another sensational solo album, collaborating with, ostensibly, the entire world! His latest solo release, Survival & Other Stories is a collaborative effort between Jon and a host of musicians who responded to his online request for people to send him their music. Four years ago, he posted this message on his web site: “Musicians Wanted…Send Me Your Music, Just One Minute of it Will Do.” And respond they did! This record is his first collection of songs from these collaborations with a promise of several more to follow.
In mid 2008, Jon suffered a serious illness, acute respiratory failure, which resulted in doctor-ordered bed rest for the remainder of the year. Like Journey before them, the members of Yes began scouring the internet for singers and discovered their current lead vocalist, Benoit David, on YouTube. Not one to sit idly by while the musical world kept revolving around him, he continued making music, including last year’s collaboration with fellow Yes alum, Rick Wakeman. Now he has released a collection of 11 songs celebrating his full recovery and return to brilliant form. Although in his upper 60’s, it’s safe to say that his voice is as strong now as it has ever been. This is a very personal album with themes of love, life, healing and, of course, survival.
The record starts off in grand fashion with one of the strongest tracks on offer, the wonderful “New New World”. It starts off with pounding, tribal drums reminiscent of a Survivor episode, then some lovely strings come in briefly before the listener is treated to the beautiful, unmistakable voice of Jon Anderson. Like other tracks on this release, there are moments of the vastly underrated Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH) album from 1989. It is a truly amazing song!
There are many other standout tracks on this release, and each successive listen uncovers even more. Some of them include “Unbroken Spirit”, “Love of the Life,” “Big Buddha Song,” “Love and Understanding” and “Just One Man.” “Unbroken Spirit” is a hypnotic ode to Jon’s physical and artistic survival. It’s a slower-paced, spiritual number that is indicative of songs on this release. “Love of the Life” starts off with lovely acappella singing that kicks into a more up-tempo beat with a strong bass line and the bouncy energy similar to ABWH’s “Teakbois.”
Anybody even remotely familiar with Jon Anderson is well aware of his songs’ spiritual leanings and “Big Buddha Song” is clearly no different. Musically, it’s an extremely enjoyable song with one of the album’s catchiest choruses, invoking the masters of the four major religions, as he sings, “I want to thank you Buddha for being my teacher. I want to thank you Jesus for bringing us love. I want to thank Mohammed for being the prophet and singing the Krishna.”
“Love and Understanding” has a cool acoustic guitar intro and then morphs into a more upbeat tempo with wonderful harmonies and a nice little nod to his earlier days as he sings, “… so easy going for the one.” Finally, “Just One Man” (a reworking of the closing track of his 2010 Anderson/Wakeman collaboration, The Living Tree) has a beautiful piano intro with nice orchestration and is a memorable tribute to our Savior, Jesus.
The remainder of the songs are also quite good, with a lot of nice acoustic guitar work and lovely piano excerpts. There’s really not a bad song on the entire album. The only negative aspect is the inclusion of so many slower paced, mellow tracks. A few more up-tempo tracks like “Love of the Life” would add a little more diversity and balance to the release. Regardless, it’s an extremely enjoyable listening experience and a nice backing soundtrack to any situation as well as an uplifting album surely to cheer up anyone who needs a little pick-me-up in their day.
It also needs to be noted that the CD version of this release comes with extensive liner notes. In addition to lyrics for all of the songs, Jon has written a detailed autobiographical accounted called, “Survival: Making Music is Easy… It’s the Business that’s Hard.” He humorously reminisces about the trials and tribulations of living the roller-coaster life of a rock star. He starts out by describing his first band, The Little John Skiffle Band, where he played a mean washboard. It’s a detailed account of everything from that experience, up to 1968, right before a little band called Yes made their musical debut. For the next installment of the story, eager listeners will simply have to wait for Jon’s next release to get all of the fascinating details.
In summary, this is a fantastic return-to-form for this legendary artist. After hearing what Jon is up to now, maybe the boys in Yes should’ve waited a little longer for his recovery before scouring the internet for a replacement.
Track Listing:
1. New New World
2. Understanding Truth
3. Unbroken Spirit
4. Love of the Life
5. Big Buddha Song
6. Incoming
7. Effortlessly
8. Love and Understanding
9. Just One Man
10. Sharpening the Sword
11. Cloudz
Website: http://jonanderson.com/
Label: Gonzo
Hardrock Haven Rating: 9/10