Heaven and Earth<\/em> was a decidedly low-key affair, and it featured little of the fiery, rocking arrangements that endeared the band to generations of progressive rock fans. Even the milder moments of that album \u2013 and most of it is pretty mild \u2013 lacked the memorable melodic lines that kept tunes in listeners’ heads.<\/p>\nSo for the 2014 tour, Yes played only a couple of tunes from Heaven and Earth<\/em>, focusing instead on complete, start-to-finish versions of two of their very best releases from nearly a half century ago.<\/p>\nThe feel of the versions on Like It Is<\/em> varies substantially from the way Yes played the songs back in ’72, but the fire is still there. On one hand, having played these songs night after night should have made playing them yet again somewhat easy. But tunes like \u201cLong Distance Runaround\u201d and \u201cHeart of the Sunrise\u201d were never easy songs to play to begin with.<\/p>\nDavison is quite good here; unlike Beno\u00eet David — who sounded like what he was, a Jon Anderson tribute singer — he has his own voice. So while Davison hits all of Anderson’s notes, he sounds subtly different doing it. To those who insist that \u201cNo Anderson equals no Yes,\u201d Davison’s singing will be viewed as some kind of abomination. To most everyone else, he’ll sound like a very good singer deftly walking a tightrope between singing the songs the way people expect them to be sung and holding on firmly to his own vocal identity.<\/p>\n
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