Enjoying a full release after previously only being available at Anderson’s on-tour merchandising stalls, this will sound as exhilarating to Yes diehards as the title (referencing his anthem from the band’s 1969 debut) will prove evocative.
Collaborating on the internet with a range of musicians (how modern!), he surfs a wave of positivity and blissed-out euphoria, which might on one level whiff of hippy patchouli but on another reveals what a huge influence his music has been on the likes of Flaming Lips and Devendra Banhart.
If the cyber-world recording technique means that his distinctive voice occasionally leaps startlingly out of the mix, that undimmed near-falsetto sounds luxuriously at home on the splendid blend of guitars and operatics of New New World, the flickering, techno-tasting acoustics of Unbroken Spirit and the eight-minute hymnal Incoming.
Big Buddha Song may be a leap of faith (and religiosity) too far for some, but his Zen and zeal are warm, infectious and hugely likeable.
