A point of discussion for some time now, AndersonPonty Band, as Jon Anderson and Jean-Luc Ponty prefer to write their collective’s name, may not come up with a debut album yet, despite having some new pieces under their belt, but this September will see the release of the ensemble’s live recording that, given a production enhancement, is as close to a studio work as it can be. If that sounds like an oxymoron kind of paradox, that’s what these two artists have always been good at, and their forthcoming CD – with a bonus DVD housing the footage from the Aspen, Colorado show performed last September – will attest to it.
There are new arrangements of YES evergreens and Ponty’s classics, alongside the veterans’ joint creations and “Infinite Mirage” which is a fresh cut incorporating the violinist’s perennial “Mirage” that has a distinctive voice now. No concrete date for the album, titled “Better Late Than Never”, reviewed here – unlike North American tour dates for October and November that should result in our concert report – yet the CD’s content runs like this:
1. Intro
2. One In The Rhythms of Hope
3. A For Aria
4. Owner Of A Lonely Heart
5. Listening With Me
6. Time And A Word
7. Infinite Mirage
8. Soul Eternal
9. Wonderous Stories
10. And You And I
11. Renaissance Of The Sun
12. Roundabout
13. I See You Messenger
14. New New World
