Better Late Than Never (AndersonPonty Band album)

Better Late Than Never
Live album by AndersonPonty Band (Jon Anderson & Jean-Luc Ponty)
Released	25 September 2015
Recorded	20 September 2014 at the Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, Colorado, United States
Genre	Progressive rock music
Length	60.57 (CD) + 65 min (DVD)
Label	Liaison Records / earMUSIC[1] Verycords[2]
AndersonPonty Band (Jon Anderson & Jean-Luc Ponty) chronology
The Living Tree in Concert Part One (2011) (Anderson/Wakeman) Electric Fusion – The Atlantic Years (2011) (Jean-Luc Ponty) Better Late Than Never (2015) (AndersonPonty Band) Invention of Knowledge (2016) (Anderson/Stolt)

Better Late Than Never is the debut live album by the AndersonPonty Band, released in September 2015.^[1][2]

Overview

The AndersonPonty Band is a new supergroup of progressive rock music formed in Summer 2014 by musicians Jon Anderson (Yes's founder member and singer/songwriter) and French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty who have decided to combine their musical talents.^[3]

Jean-Luc Ponty was originally approached by Jon Anderson with the idea of working together as far back as the 1980s and came about 30 years later.^[3] since the band album project was put up on Kickstarter and was successfully funded by August 2014.

Better Late Than Never was recorded live during the band's debut show which occurred on September 20, 2014 at the Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, Colorado, but includes posterior studio embellishments and overdubs. It presents some new musical compositions, rearrangements of classic Yes hits like "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Roundabout" and "Wonderous Stories", as well as some of Jean-Luc Ponty's compositions with lyrics penned by Jon Anderson such as "Infinite Mirage" (based on Enigmatic Ocean's "Mirage") or "Listening with Me" (based on A Taste for Passion's "Stay with Me").^[3]

The band's original line-up who performed live in Aspen in September 2014 included bassist Baron Browne, drummer Rayford Griffin, keyboardist Wally Minko and guitarist Jamie Dunlap. But by January 2015, Jamie Dunlap had left the band and had been replaced by Ponty's guitarist Jamie Glaser who, as a result, overdubbed all Dunlap's original parts on the present live album.

Releases

Better Late Than Never is a double disc Digipak including the 14-track audio CD, an hour long 10-song performance bonus DVD (including artist interviews) and a 20-page booklet with complete song lyrics.

A videography documenting the making of Better Late Than Never was due to be released along with videos and performances.^[3]

Tours

In support of the new release, a North America tour named the "Better Late Than Never" tour was scheduled: a 17-date Fall 2015 leg began on 23 October 2015 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and ended on 21 November 2015 in Scottsdale, Arizona.^[4] A 18-date Spring 2016 leg followed, from 28 April 2016 in Tucson, Arizona to 27 May 2016 in Québec City, Québec.^[5]

Tracks

CD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Intro"
2.	"One in the Rhythm 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"

Bonus DVD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Intro"
2.	"One in the Rhythm 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.	"Renaissance of the Sun"
11.	"Roundabout"

Personnel

• Jon Anderson – lead vocals, guitars
• Jean-Luc Ponty – violin
• Jamie Glaser – guitars (Jamie Dunlap was part of the original line-up of APB and thus performed live on 20 September 2014 at the Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, Colorado, United States but by January 2015, he had left the band and had been replaced by Ponty's guitarist Jamie Glaser who, as a result, overdubbed all Dunlap's parts on the present live album)
• Wally Minko – keyboards
• Baron Browne – bass
• Rayford Griffin – drums & percussion

Complete setlist of the show in Aspen

The album tracks are in bold.^[6]

Part 1:

• "Intro" →
• "One In The Rhythm of Hope" (2015)
• "A for Aria" (2015)
• "Yours Is No Disgrace" (1971/not yet published)
• "Listening With Me" (2015)
• "Time and A Word" (1970/2015)
• "Jig" (not yet published)
• "Infinite Mirage" (2015)
• "Soul Eternal" (2015)
• "I See You Messenger" (2015)
• "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (1983/2015)

Part 2:

• "New Country" (1976/not yet published)
• "Wonderous Stories" (1977/2015)
• "Long Distance Runaround" (1971/not yet published)
• "Renaissance of the Sun" (1976/2015)
• "Enigmatic Ocean Parts 1 & 2" (incl. drums solo) (1977/not yet published)
• "New New World" (2015)
• "And You and I" (1972/2015)
• "Starship Trooper" (1971/not yet published)
• "Bass solo" (not yet published) →
• "Roundabout" (1971/2015)

References

1. "Anderson Ponty Band – Better Late Than Never". www.amazon.co.uk. 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
2. "Anderson Ponty Band – Better Late Than Never". e-leclerc.com. 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
3. "AndersonPonty Band Featuring Music Icons Jon Anderson & Jean Luc Ponty To Release New CD/DVD "Better Late Than Never"". www.ponty.com. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
4. "Concert Dates 2015". ponty.com. 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
5. "Concert Dates 2016". ponty.com. 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
6. "A love of the music of Yes – The Anderson Ponty Band Project (blogger: Michelle Johnston)". loveofyesmusic.blogspot.fr. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.

External links

• AndersonPonty Band Official Website
• Jon Anderson Official Website
• Jon Anderson Official Facebook Page
• Jean-Luc Ponty Official Website
• Yes Official Website