It’s easy to argue that Yes have released way too many live albums in the 1990s and 2000s. It’s easy because they have. Like Rush, they’ve become addicted to the form, releasing a multi-disc set after virtually every tour. Unfortunately, this means that the genuinely good ones are overwhelmed by the inessential or unimpressive ones. Well, House Of Yes isn’t essential, but it is a surprisingly potent performance by the six-piece lineup that made 1999’s The Ladder: Jon Anderson on vocals, Steve Howe on lead guitar, Billy Sherwood on rhythm guitar, Igor Khoroshev on keyboards, Chris Squire on bass, and Alan White on drums.

The band plays five tracks from The Ladder over the course of the set — “Homeworld (The Ladder),” “Lightning Strikes,” “The Messenger,” “It Will Be A Good Day (The River),” and “Face To Face.” That’s too many, but it’s both forgivable and understandable. They also perform “Cinema” and “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” from 90125, and the expected ’70s highlights: “Yours Is No Disgrace,” “Perpetual Change,” “And You And I,” “Awaken,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,” and “Roundabout,” as well as one-minute excerpts of “Time And A Word” and “Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil).”

What are the performances like, you ask? Generally solid, and at times even more adventurous than in the group’s heyday. There are some impressively weird new solos stuffed into the very old songs, and while White seems to have slowed down a bit, and pulled the band back from the brink with him, this gives the classic material a bit more weight, almost as if they were a prog-metal band covering Yes. That, coupled with the raw intensity of Anderson’s delivery (there’s definitely less studio polishing here than there was on the two half-live/half-studio Keys To Ascension discs), makes this a latter-day Yes live album well worth hearing.