I know you don't like Jon Anderson — not many speak up for him these days (well done, Fiona Talkington, for daring to do so) — but I've got a lot his stuff. His music was so important to me when I was sixteen that I've never been able completely to let it go, even in the face of repeated mis-fire releases.
On this album, your favourite prog-rock mystic from Accrington hires a symphony orchestra, re-records some of his 'classics' (Jon must have done State of Independence almost as many times as The Ventures have done Walk Don't Run), adds his own lyrics to one of John Adams' most celebrated 'minimalist' compositions, and does a few originals for good measure.
In October I saw Jon Anderson perform solo for the first time (my first time, not his), so I listened to this and several other of his solo albums before I went. I think of it like revision for an exam: extended listening to a series of old albums to cram them into your head and help recognise them if they get played. However, the truth is I never liked or listened to this album very much, so the revision wasn't very effective and I remember little about it.
 MusicBrainz entry for this album
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