Rare studio recording of Yes’ intense cover of The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ surfaces online

nme.com:

Yes covering The Beatles‘ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ has surfaced online – you can listen to it below.The audio is said to have been recorded by the progressive rock band and producer John Anthony at London’s Polydor Studios in February 1969.It sees Yes raise the tempo of the stripped-back ballad – the original of which appears on the Fab Four’s seventh album, ‘Revolver’ (1966) – while giving it a strong rhythm section and intense overall feel.

The cover also boasts a psychedelic intro courtesy of guitarist Peter Banks and keyboardist Tony Kaye.YouTuber Ian Hartley, who uploaded Yes’ version on March 25, wrote: “This particular recording has never been publicly released before.

Here is the first (failed) take of the ER run-throughs as recorded in raw form at the time.“Apart from some speed correction, no remastering was done to the master tapes.”The uploader added: “Depending on reactions to this, further such things might follow.” At the time of writing, the cover has been streamed on YouTube over 8,000 times.In the comments section, one fan wrote: “WOW!!!

This is the most exciting Yes-related thing to be uncovered in ages. Please do share the other more complete takes!!!” Another said: “Incredible release!