Keys to Ascension 2 is a double album

Double album

A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....

 by the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 group Yes

Yes (band)

Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...

 and was released in 1997. It is the successor to the critically acclaimed Keys to Ascension

Keys to Ascension

Keys to Ascension is a double album by the British progressive rock group Yes and was released in 1996. The last time Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Alan White had worked together on officially released studio recordings was 1978's Tormato...

2-CD set from 1996. It is the band's sixteenth studio album and fifth live album.

Like the first seven tracks on the previous album, the first six tracks on Keys to Ascension 2 were recorded live in San Luis Obispo, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in March 1996. The second disc features studio recordings made in November 1996. Rick Wakeman wanted these studio tracks to be released with Jon Anderson's working title Know, with the disc of live tracks thrown in as a bonus. Wakeman's preference was not honoured and by the time Keys to Ascension 2 was released, he was no longer in the band. http://forgottenyesterdays.com/tour_listing.asp?s=5&tname=17&SortBy=tDate&so=asc&navb=4

Keys to Ascension 2 features cover art by Roger Dean on an outer sleeve that fits around the package. On the sleeve, the image's predominant colour is magenta, but the booklet features the painting in its original blue colouration.

Note: "Mind Drive" would be Yes' eighth and last song over 18 minutes until "Fly from Here

Fly from Here

-Reaction from Anderson:In an interview with Rolling Stone, Anderson stated that on hearing the single "We Can Fly" he felt it sounded "a bit dated" and that Horn's production "wasn't as good as I expected"...

" in 2011. "Mind Drive" first appeared as an instrumental demo in 1981 for Squire's short-lived XYZ project.

Disc one

1. "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson
   Jon Anderson
   Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
   
   , Squire
   Chris Squire
   Christopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...
   
   ) – 7:15

   a. "Your Move" (Anderson)

   b. "All Good People" (Squire)

2. "Going for the One" (Anderson) – 4:59
3. "Time and a Word" (Anderson, David Foster) – 6:23
4. "Close to the Edge
   Close to the Edge (song)
   "Close to the Edge" is the title track to progressive rock band Yes's album of the same name. The song is over 18 minutes in length and takes up the entire first side of the album. It consists of four movements.- Movements :-I...
   
   " (Anderson, Howe
   Steve Howe (guitarist)
   Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...
   
   ) – 19:41

   i. "The Solid Time of Change"

   ii. "Total Mass Retain"

   iii. "I Get Up I Get Down"

   iv. "Seasons of Man"

5. "Turn of the Century" (Anderson, Howe, White
   Alan White (Yes drummer)
   Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...
   
   ) – 7:55
6. "And You and I" (Jon Anderson; themes by Bruford
   Bill Bruford
   William Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...
   
   , Howe, Squire) – 10:50

   i. "Cord of Life"

   ii. "Eclipse" (Anderson, Bruford, Howe)

   iii. "The Preacher the Teacher"

   iv. "Apocalypse"

Disc two

1. "Mind Drive" (Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman
   Rick Wakeman
   Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
   
   ) – 18:37
2. "Foot Prints" (Anderson, Squire, Howe, White) – 9:07
3. "Bring Me to the Power" (Anderson, Howe) – 7:23
4. "Children of Light" – 6:03

   a. "Children of Light" (Anderson, Vangelis

   Vangelis

   Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...

   
   , Squire)

   b. "Lifeline" (Wakeman, Howe)

5. "Sign Language" (Howe, Wakeman) – 3:28

N.B. The studio tracks from this album and Keys to Ascension

Keys to Ascension

Keys to Ascension is a double album by the British progressive rock group Yes and was released in 1996. The last time Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Alan White had worked together on officially released studio recordings was 1978's Tormato...

are available on Keystudio

Keystudio

Keystudio is a compilation album released by Yes in 2001. It is made up of the studio tracks from both Keys to Ascension and Keys to Ascension 2....

.

Keys to Ascension 2 (Essential EDF CD 457) reached #62 in the UK.

Personnel

• Jon Anderson
  Jon Anderson
  Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
  
   - lead vocals
• Chris Squire
  Chris Squire
  Christopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...
  
   - bass, backing vocals
• Steve Howe
  Steve Howe (guitarist)
  Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...
  
   - guitars, backing vocals
• Rick Wakeman
  Rick Wakeman
  Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
  
   - keyboards
• Alan White
  Alan White (Yes drummer)
  Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...
  
   - drums

• Produced By Billy Sherwood & Yes
• Engineered By Tom Fletcher & Billy Sherwood
• Mixed By Billy Sherwood
• Mastered By Joe Gastwirt

Miscellanea

• "Mind Drive" was originally a concept that the band XYZ
  XYZ (band)
  XYZ were a short-lived rock supergroup. The name XYZ is taken from eX-Yes-&-Zeppelin as the group consisted of ex-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, along with ex-Yes members Chris Squire and Alan White . Squire was the main writer for the group...
  
  , which featured Chris Squire, Alan White and Jimmy Page
  Jimmy Page
  James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
  
  , wrote and demoed in 1981.

• "Children of Light" was originally written by Jon and Vangelis
  Jon and Vangelis
  Jon and Vangelis is the collaborative effort between the singer Jon Anderson and the Greek synthesizer musician Evangelos Papathanassiou who is usually known as "Vangelis"...
  
   in 1986 as "Distant Thunder". "Distant Thunder" was later demoed by Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
  Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
  Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe was a project of four progressive rock musicians, vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe . They had played together in Yes in the early 1970s...
  
   during the recording of their self-titled album. The lyrics to "Distant Thunder" ended up in Yes' Union tourbook. In 1994, Jon Anderson performed the song on the Tommy Vance
  Tommy Vance
  Tommy Vance was a British pop radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. He was one of the few music broadcasters in the United Kingdom to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans...
  
   show. During a Mother's Day
  Mother's Day
  Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
  
   concert in 1996, Jon Anderson performed "Children of Light" and said he hoped it would appear on a Yes album, which it did.

• "Lightning", Rick Wakeman's introduction to "Children Of Light", was mixed out before the album's release. "Lightning" was restored to the track on the 2001 compilation Keystudio
  Keystudio
  Keystudio is a compilation album released by Yes in 2001. It is made up of the studio tracks from both Keys to Ascension and Keys to Ascension 2....
  
  . The "Distant as the distant thunder..." introduction, as heard on Keys to Ascension 2, was mixed out on the Keystudio version.