To take up the Yes story where "The Extraordinary World Of YES" book left off, the 2004 tour concluded with the band announcing that they would be taking a break for an indeterminate period. The timing was most unfortunate from the perspective that Yes had returned to playing large arenas in 2004 - the hard work that started in 1995 to re-establish the classic Yes lineup had evidently been paying off.

The decision for Yes to take a break stemmed from disagreements amongst the members of the band over whether to record a new album. While most of the band appeared keen to go ahead with new recordings, Jon Anderson was very circumspect about the idea of making a conventional new album. Jon told me: "The CD format is dead...I don't want to spend six months of my life recording an album (like 'Magnification') that no one will listen to." It was a realistic assessment of the music business in 2004 where new CD recordings (as opposed to greatest hits packages) by older established artists were unlikely to be commercially successful. It was also a recognition that digital music technology was moving on from CDs to DVDs and downloads from the internet.

The compromise solution eventually agreed upon was to substantially expand the 2004 Yes tour schedule rather than entering the recording studio. However, it was a strategy that would ultimately have disastrous consequences. The strain of performing too many long shows directly contributed to Jon Anderson developing serious voice and respiratory problems to the extent that it would place considerable doubt on his ability to ever tour with Yes again.

With Jon unable to perform, a very odd Yes lineup took the stage at the "Produced By Trevor Horn" charity show in London for The Prince's Trust in November 2004. The band's brief appearance on a multi-artist bill featured Trevor Rabin (guitar and vocals), Chris Squire, Alan White, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes (keyboards) and Trevor Horne (backing vocals). Rick Wakeman was conspicuously absent. It was a sign of things to come.