Peter Banks, Sonja Kristina + Billy Sherwood, “Winter Time” from Fly Like an Eagle (2013): One Track Mind

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In yet another guest-packed project, the Billy Sherwood-produced Steve Miller tribute Fly Like an Eagle finds a special resonance with the inclusion of more final music from Peter Banks. The co-founding Yes man died earlier this year of a heart attack at just 65.

Elsewhere, Sherwood — a member of Yes in the 1990s — catches lightning in a bottle again with appearances by XTC’s Colin Moulding, Asia’s John Wetton, Rainbow’s Joe Lynn Turner, Survivor’s Jimi Jamison, Rod Argent, Nektar and, of course, a series of fellow Yes-related figures — including keyboardists Tony Kaye, Rick Wakeman and Geoff Downes. But it’s the presence of Banks that gives Fly Like An Eagle — due July 30, 2013 from Cleopatra — its lasting intrigue.

Banks opens “Winter Time” — from 1977’s Book of Dreams, which also produced Miller’s hits “Jungle Love” and “Jet Airliner” — in the midst of an icy reverie, hurtling us back to his early outer-reaches triumphs with Yes, even as Curved Air’s Sonja Kristina and Sherwood explore the familiar Miller theme. When Banks steps back to the fore, it’s again with a weeping sense of reminiscence — perfect, in its way, for a fanbase still mourning his sudden and tragic passing.

Banks, part of Yes for its first two studio albums before founding Flash, also added guitar to Sherwood’s upcoming Prog Collective 2 effort. He had earlier collaborated on a number of Cleopatra releases, including Songs of the Century: An All-Star Tribute to Supertramp, The Prog Collective and Who Are You: An All-Star Tribute To The Who.

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Nick DeRiso