Last Sunday I got another pretty cool snag at the used CD store: a two-disc set of early Yes on the BBC called Beyond and Before. One thing that is great about this is that it was previously released under the title Something's Coming, which is now out-of-print and sells for about $50 on E-Bay, and I got it under this title, with a special bonus poster, for $8!

This is the pre-Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman Yes, when they were still literally a bar cover band. However, even early on they would cover a Beatles song but put all these extra breaks and flourishes in there. It's really stunning to listen to this and think these guys were in their very early 20's, and there was just five of them making this incredible, orchestral sound right out of the chute. Either ya got it or you don't and these guys sure did.

I've only gotten to listen to about three tracks, though, because I've been on this "regimen" where I'm going from Elvis and Chuck Berry to Metallica and Anthrax in semi-chronological order. It's very educational. I'm up to ZZ Top and AC/DC right now.