Jon Anderson Hopes for Yes Reunion Now That ARW Are on Hiatus
Jon Anderson is "very open" to a Yes reunion now that his splinter project Yes Featuring ARW is on a break. In the meantime, Anderson's former bandmates are featured on a long-gestating solo project that's due on March 31.
"You think something has got to happen," Anderson told Rolling Stone. "To me, a great album has to be made. That’s what I think. I don’t know how it’s going to be made, but the final Yes event should happen."
Anderson's most recent album with Yes is 2001's Magnification. He started touring with former bandmates Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman in 2016; they later called themselves Yes Featuring ARW and released Live at the Apollo in 2018. But they haven't played since September, and Anderson said they have no future plans.
"We had a good couple of years,” he said. "I love the guys. We're musical brothers. I just thought, 'I need to breathe.' I couldn’t breathe towards the end. It felt like too much weight on me. Also, there was too much of, 'Should we do an album?' We couldn't agree on that. As soon as I said I didn't want to tour this year and just make my own album, I could finally breathe again."
He decided to complete 1,000 Hands, which had been in the works for so long that it includes sessions with former Yes bandmates Steve Howe, Alan White and the late Chris Squire. Anderson has already hit the road for a solo tour, so there hasn't been time to approach Howe about his reunion hopes.
"Maybe," Anderson mused, "he’ll read this article and say 'yes' or 'no.' I don't know."
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