Of Disc #1 - The cool thing about Yes is that they are all business when playing live. Although these are live recordings, they might as well be studio cuts for their musicianship and precision in the details. The mix captures the punch in Alan White's rock drumming and showcases the elegance of Jon Anderson's still-strong voice. Classic Yes fans will appreciate these new recordings of the better songs from their 1970's period. The bridge between "Your Move" and "All Good People" just roars. "Close to the Edge" is just amazing and the recording admirably captures the power of its live performance. "Going for the One" can be a bit twangy on the original recording, but this performance fattens the rock edge. "Time and a Word," "Turn of the Century," & "And You and I" shine for all their beauty. I liked "Yessongs" as well as the previous reviewer, but the recording technology is so much better here that "Keys" eclipses that classic effort.

Of Disc #2 - Anything that Yes has put out since 90125 has always been a bit controversial for fans of the older stuff. Personally, I love the "West Coast" incarnation with Trevor Rabin as well as the ABWH et.al. crew. That said, however, even I will admit to the glaring inconsistencies when they have tried to duplicate their epics (15+ minute songs). Not so here. The "Mind Drive-Footprints-Bring Me the Power" epic falls slightly short of "Close to the Edge," "Starship Trooper," and the marathon "Tales from Topographic Oceans," but it still is worth the price of the recording all by itself. The rest is very good as well.

Highly Recommended for Fans and Neophytes Alike!

Keys 2 is one of the rare occasions when the classic lineup produces new music that both rocks and has the depth of nuance to be called art. Too often Yes songs of the past 20 years have veered too close to soft rock and modern jazz(aka muzak without the strings.) Perhaps these guys were just afraid of sounding like the band that was labeled as pretensious dinosaurs in the 70's. But dinosaurs aren't just old. Dinosaurs are also awesome.
For the most part, the live recordings of the old songs sound as good and often better than the original recordings. No doubt there was some serious dubbing in post production. But when you get through the 18 minutes of the new 'Mind Drive' you realize that these guys can still combine the spirituality and intensity that is inherent in the best of their work. Get it while you can.

In late 1995-early 1996, the classic lineup of Yes -- Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, White -- recorded an album's worth of material at the Yesworld Studio in San Luis Obispo, California. In March 1996, they recorded three straight nights of concerts played in that city. Each of the two 2-CD volumes of "Keys of Ascension" has included some of the live performances of Yes classics and some of the new studio tracks.

I suspect that a Volume 2 wasn't originally planned, because all the best live material went onto Volume 1. The tracks here have some clunker notes, and the performances aren't the sheer revelations that Volume 1 was. "Close to the Edge" and "And You and I" are two of Yes' best songs ever, and if you don't have a recording of them yet your life is sadly incomplete, but the versions here sound a little sluggish compared to those on "Yessongs". On the other hand, "Going for the One" and "Time and a Word" sound better here than on "Yesshows". I'm not a "Time and a Word" fan, but if I was, this version, with a nice Wakeman piano intro, is the one I'd want to listen to. The high point of Volume 2 is "Turn of the Century", a ballad from the "Going for the One" album that tells a "Pygmalion" tale, with fine acoustic work by Howe. The recording quality is much better than was possible on Yes' earlier live albums.

The studio tracks aren't of the same high standard. They're pleasant, but none will ever appear on any Yes best-of collection. "Mind Games" is not as good as some of the reviews here would lead you to believe. It might be great at half its 18-minute length, but is too padded to maintain interest for that long. "Foot Prints" and "Bring to the Power" are good but not great tracks. The closer "Sign Language" and the second half of "Children of the Light" are Howe-Wakeman duets -- they're okay, but anyone who's honestly a Yes fan knows that the two could walk into a studio on any day of their lives and record something at least this good.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

The concept behind the album is flawed: one live disc, one disc in the studio. The live songs have obviously been "enhanced" in the studio, especially the vocals, so they sound lifeless and do not recreate the magic of this reunion in a small theatre in California. As for the studio songs, only "Mind Drive" is really interesting. The rest sounds like a collection of progressive rock clichés. There's little coherence in the songs, the band just pastes together different bits and pieces hoping that in the end, some form of song will emerge. Maybe this type of material will please nostalgic fans of prog-rock but to me it sounds more like a band trying too much to copy what they were doing in their golden age. There's nothing "progressive" about that material, this formula has been done before, and with a lot more success, on albums like "Close to the Edge" and "Fragile". As a reunion of the "classic" Yes lineup, it's a disappointment.

The song writing and the overall quality of the studio tracks on this recording were a pleasant surprise. This is the best example of the attempt of 90s Yes to combine their progressive rock legacy with contemporary sounds. 'Mind Drive' could possibly be the best extended piece the band has written since 'Awaken' on 'Going for the One'. Although 'Mind Drive' in some places exhibits weaker moments compositionally; overall it is a strong piece; in places it is awesome. The other shorter pieces on the album mostly hold their own quite well.

The album is supplemented by live versions of some of the best of there 70s material. Since the release of this album, a compilation of the Key I & II studio tracks has been released.