special introductory paragraph!

Yes

Time And A Word

The Yes Album

Fragile

Yesterdays

Close To The Edge

Yessongs

Tales From Topographic Oceans

Relayer

Going For The One

Tormato

Yesshows

Drama

90125

9012Live-The Solos

Big Generator

Highlights: The Very Best Of Yes

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

Yesyears

Union

Symphonic Music Of Yes

Talk

Keys To Ascension

Keys To Ascension II

Open Your Eyes

Yes - Atlantic 1969.

But the songs are fantastic - as the liner notes say, they're full of "life, virility, and musicianship." Especially musicianship. Even here in their first incarnation, every musician sounds like a seasoned pro. The guitar is thick, with assured solos and jazz noodling sharing the cabana with confident rock-heavy chord-pounding. Drummer Bill Bruford also demonstrates a familiarity of jazz technique mixed in there with the usual rock cliches. And the organ? Well, that's a mighty '60s-ish organ they had there. No dazzling solos a la Rick Wakeman, but it adds a vibrant throb to the proceedings nonetheless. And incredibly loud, strong, crisp, clear production allows you and I, the listeners, to hear everything, and whether it's the pretty piano balladry of "Yesterday And Today," the improvisational jazz rock of "I See You," the mid-tempo psych rock of "Every Little Thing," the upbeat pop of "Looking Around," or any of the million other influences tossed into the musical stew they've cooked up here, it all sounds alive, exciting, and - man, you'll wish YOU were in the band! I know I did; at age eleven, I taught myself the kickbutt intro to "Survival" on the keyboard. Along with "The Little Drummer Boy," it's one of the very few songs I still remember, and still enjoy playing.

Every song on here is worthwhile; the originals mix lots of different musical styles, and the covers might as well be originals considering how far Yes has taken the ideas. But I should warn you. Most of the songs are pretty slow. No "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" here. Sorry.

Reader Comments

Peter Bambakidis
Being a long time Yes fan, I must say that Yes is one of their worst albums. Let's see, no Rick Wakeman or Steve Howe! Secondly, most of the songs are written by other bands (i.e. the Beatles). It's called unoriginality. Let's face it: the best albums by Yes were undoubtedly from '71 to '72.

rlewisj@ibm.net (Tom Tebalt)
"Beyond and Before" is one of their best songs, and "Every Little Thing" and "I See You" are unique and interesting covers.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB'S)
Hey man, don't rock the boat. Yes was a good beginning for them. I loved the song "I See You". It has that jazz beat into it. This album is obscure like the others. IT ROCKS.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
The Yes album is a hell of a good album, more so if it was the first recorded by the band. As you said, all of the guys seemed real pros. Kaye's now underrated playing certainly shone and Banks' inventive guitar work (see I just said "inventive") had a sense of freedom sometimes missed in the band's career. Someone said that with Peter Banks and Bill Bruford in the fold a band could easily interwave rock and jazz. I agree. Although the first single, "Sweetness", wasn't a terrific one, the B-side and non-LP song "Something's Coming" was a great recording. Listen to it and you'll find five very creative and talented musicians in their prime. 9 out of 10? I totally agree with you.

Time And A Word - Atlantic 1970.

This isn't a bad album, but with silly minor-key tripe like "The Prophet" and "Astral Traveller" making up the bulk of the album, where were they gonna go?

Reader Comments

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
In my opinion, however tragically warped it is, Peter Banks is not a very unique or talented artist - at least it doesn't show on this album. There also seems to be a lot of half-baked orchestration that doesn't quite fit the blues/jazz tone behind some of the songs, nor does the voice of Jon Anderson. The album seemed to lack originality, and suffered from a critical lack of outstanding talent. However, there are sparks of life behind the album, such as Chris's bass, and the good, but not overly-impressive, drums of Bill Bruford. One track I like perticularly was "Clear Days," a song that fit Jon's vocal style, and serves as almost a preview of Yes songs to come, or in some of your cases, a warning of Yes songs to come.

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
Well, perhaps by making mistakes, we find out how to do it right the next time. See following record. Really strange to hear brass on a Yes track though.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net
This album was also decent for Yes's beginning. I wouldn't get this album right away. For one thing because I don't like orchestral music but I do like pianos and organs. And another reason why I wouldn't get this album is because copied off of other bands. "Clear Days" was a total remake of "Eleanor Rigby". But I do like the angelic sound of Jon's voice. I also liked Kaye's organ sound on the 6 minute track "Then". I loved the opening music of "The Prophet", then the singing began. Enclosing my review I give this album a 7.

john67@erols.com (John E. Kolata)
Time and a Word is an exceptional second effort. Style is consistent and the melodies are strong. The part writing also holds up and can be analyzed to show how it stands up as a complete work. If you know anything of music consider all the senses within the sense of sound. Most would think that hearing is limited to sound but there are colors, and other sensations that can be sensed by ear.

I believe Time and a Word is Silver. The keys used within the album dictate this as well as guitar tones (very silver) and orchestration. This predominant color runs through the whole record and is consistent. All the emotions are wrapped in a shroud of Silver. The next time you hear the album think of this.

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
Being a Yes fan since 1990, I've had the advantage (disadvantage?) to listen to almost all records long after they were released. I've been able to compare the records regardless of what state of mind or stage of life I was in when they were released (I bought them all within a year). The only thing mattering has been the music. Because of this, I question some of the "truths" in Yes history, at the same time saluting some things which are generally regarded as "flops".

One of those "flops" is Time and a Word, which in my eyes is a wonderful record. Not a dull moment! I agree that the orchestral arrangements are unnecessary, but they can't hide the very high class of the songs. The chorus of the title track may seem silly, but it's a strong song, which is still alive on the live disc of Keys to Ascension 2. My two other favourites on the album are "Then" and "Astral Traveller", two masterpieces of the postpsychedelic pop-rock. I can't understand how someone can ditch "Astral Traveller". It includes some of the most fascinating Bruford/Squire interplay ever heard on record! Maybe this is blasphemy in the ears of older Yes fans, but I listen to Time and a Word much more often than The Yes Album and Fragile!

tomr@ix.netcom.com (Tom *****)
Kudos especially on ""No Opportunity..." However, I disagree with your opinion on "The Profit" and "Astral Traveller". Bruford really shines on "Traveller". One of his finest contributions on any Yes Album.

I'd like them to try this album again without the orchestal backing. I like the version of the title track on Keys II. So they already have a good start. Many of these songs have been included on unnecessary compilations. How many times do they think they can sell those songs? Try re-mixing the whole album. Now that wood be interesting.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Time and a Word may not be the most popular Yes album, but it is actually a good one. 7 out of 10, maybe 8, is what it deserves to me. Sure, the orchestra didn't fit well at all (its very inclusion was a mistake in some extent, but put Yes in the then-selected list of the (prog) bands that recorded with a symphonic orch). But the first track, the Richie Havens one, gave Chris much of his reputation 'cause Eddie Offord (who didn't like Banks much in the first place) put all the volume on the bass and ignored much of the guitar. Is not Pete's fault that he showed little skills with the axe, it's just that between the orchestra and the engineer he hadn't had much chance (check on "Astral Traveller" and "Everydays" and you'll find that Pete and Tony were second to none). Curiously, the Squire favourite "Dear Father" was relegated to a B-side (and I can't hear Pete in there, by the way). Another fault of this record was the presentation: an ugly paint in the Brit edition and a ridiculous photo with Howe instead of Banks in the US one. If you want to hear these boys playing -without the orch- then hear the new released Something's Coming (BBC) album. It makes a difference.

The Yes Album - Atlantic 1971.

You see, this is a band that thinks. The chord sequence to the "Disillusion" section of "Starship Trooper," for example - it sounds obvious, but it's simply not! Nobody has ever played that sequence before! It's unique but perfect! And what about that weird part near the end of "Perpetual Change" where all the instruments start playing that same exact herky jerky melody so it ends up just sounding like one big weird electronic instrument? That's creativity and talent and practice and all those other important qualities that so many bands, both then and now, sorely lack. Yeah, punk is cool, but so is genius. And this stuff is pretty genius. Certain parts are simple and poppy, sure, but most of it is so wonderfully unique that - well, you don't hear of too many bands doing Yes covers, do you? No. And there's a reason for that. Nobody can play Yes songs.

My only complaint is this. It's a little too happy? Is that okay to complain about? I just feel like I'm dancing in Fairyland at certain points. That's all. Maybe that's why I like the dark, jazzy, largely ignored "A Venture" so much. Maybe that's why I like you so much, you dark, jazzy, largely ignored cutie. So! Now that they've got Steve Howe, and their songwriting is at its strongest ever, where are they gonna go now?

Reader Comments

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
I enjoyed Steve Howe's guitar work and marveled at his live solo track. The songwriting was excellent, and ALL the songs were great, no matter what people say about "A Venture." Tony Kaye came a long way in a short time. His organ solos were excellent, and his use of moog synthesizers amazing. It's hard to tell how far Kaye could have progressed and how good he might have actually gotten if he had stayed with the band. Jon Anderson is excellent on this album, and the tone is NOT too light. The lyrics take some getting used to, but can still be enjoyed. Good music, good band, good album.

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
This album got me into Yes, one listen at someone's house and I had to have it. Need I say more? It sounds so fresh, was it really recorded in 1971? The perfect album to start with, just look at the number of tracks that remained in the live repertoire. And I love the much underrated "A Venture."

strider@redrose.net (David Straub)
I'm with Steve B., this is the stuff the really got me into them, or at least the things from this on Classic Yes. The frenzy that Howe works himself into when doing "The Clap" on the Yessongs film is a thing to behold. And I like "A Venture" too!

sod1995@ix.netcom.com (Stephen Odell)
This was my intro to Yes hearing these songs for the first time at Gaelic Park in The Bronx, N.Y., in July 1971. Yes was the 3rd act to Humble Pie and Mountain. Had never heard of them,(I was really there to see Mountain), but never paid so much attention to a warm up act. They played virtually the entire Yes Album and blew me away. I purchased the album the next day, and it stayed on my turntable uncontested for 6 months.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
I agree with your review completely on this one. It's a bit too happy, but I love it anyway.

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
This is the beginning of true Yesmusic. With the addition of Howe, I think they really solidified their trademark sound and writing style. I'm not a big Kaye fan, but he did what needed to be done on this particular record, and whatever lacked in keyboards was more than made up by Steve Howe. "The Clap" is an unbelievable performance! Good rating. I think this album is a bit raw and jagged as opposed to later albums, but that doesn't detract from its place as a classic Yes work.

wallison@pnc.com.au (Warwick Allison)
I agree, "A Venture" is a good (very good) song , but everyone keeps saying it's "under rated" so much that I'm beginning to think it's a bit over rated.

Glenn.Wiener@entex.com
A fine collection of progressive music. Boy that Chris Squire could play a mean bass. And what a soprano on that John Anderson.

jsmartin@rocketmail.com (Jon Martin)
This has to be the best Yes album of all. Each track is very original and shows how well they can all play. Of all the tracks "The clap" is slightly tedious after a while and the overated/underated "A Venture" is outshone by other tracks. "Wurm" in "Starship Trooper" has to be one of the best bits of Yes music ever. Overall all the tracks are good and you never seem to tire of them.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net
WOW!! One of the greatest albums in early Yes. Chris really has control over that bass. Steve Howe can really play that guitar considering the fact he was only 23 years old. A great opening 10 minute track called "Yours Is No Disgrace", Steve's kick ass solo track "The Clap", the awesome stereo sound of "Starship Trooper", the spectacular sing a long of "I've Seen All Good People", or take a mystical "A venture", I don't know why "Perpetual Change" didn't make the Top Charts. That had a lot of good quality put into it. My favorite bands are Yes and Pink Floyd. If anybody doesn't agree with me speak up now.

dembones@pond.net
A little opportunistic at times, but no one can argue its importance to the band OR to rock music. The cover used to freak me out as a little kid.

CMBurns104@aol.com
The Yes Album is incredible. But Tony Kaye sucks. A lot.

tomr@ix.netcom.com
After several (I mean like 20!) of not listening to Yes. (A much needed vacation after 8 years of total Yes immersion) This was the first album I re-bought. Small wonder. It has always been one of my favorites. There isn't a weak moment on the entire record. I especially like Chris' bass on "Starship Troopers". But so far I have seen no mention of "I've seen all good people" The Band really jams towards the end of the song both on the original and on the YESSONGS version. And yes, I like "a Venture" too. I'm not sure why...

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
The Yes Album was the groundbreaking record for the band (hence its title). By this time Tony Kaye showed noteworthy progression as a musician and key figure in the band, as the big central photo in the vinyl album shows. I think the fact that all songs were original was another sign (they left aside a cover of "Eight Days a Week" among others). "Clap" is OK, totally unexpected between the longer and much complex songs Yes ever produced up until then. And yes, "A Venture" is an underrated jewel (showing again good playing by Kaye). Howe fitted completely and Squire's role as composer is bigger this time. Is one of the very best Yes (and rock) albums. 9 out of 10 is fine.

markwendt@hotmail.com
Bands often name their first major label LP after themselves. But their third? Why? Perhaps because Yes realized that not only were they still introducing themselves to the marketplace, they were also just beginning to discover their definitive sound and direction.

'Perpetual Change' aptly set the stage musically for what was to come in later years. Ironically, the title forshadowed the infamous revolving-door line-up policy that continues within their ranks even unto today!

'The Clap' made crowds want to everywhere they went!

Wonderful record!

But too positive? No way. Am I sure about that. Why of course, I'm positive!

* Fragile - Atlantic 1972. *

This is the best album Yes ever made. All the giddy cheer of The Yes Album has been condensed into one minute-and-a-half multi-tracking vocal celebration called "We Have Heaven," and the rest of the album is darker than Hell. A Hell with no fire, that is. A dark Hell. And it's impossible to ignore the individual talent of these guys now; in addition to the four perfect group efforts, each band member gets a solo piece here. Jon's is the aforementioned positiver than goodness itself "We Have Heaven," Wakeman plays some Brahms on a sizzling organ or four, Bruford contributes a super jaunty 35-second eruption than should have been 35 minutes, Howe kicks out the heavenly acoustic piece "Mood For A Day," and Mr. Chris Squire gives us the unspeakably amazing "The Fish," which begins as a harmonics piece sprouting from the guitar echoes at the end of the FM classic "Long Distance Runaround," and, over the course of two-and-a-half minutes, develops more and more until by the end of the song, he has piled six completely different bass melodies on top of each other! There is no lead guitar in the song; it's ALL bass! Do you realize how friggin' cool that is????? Am I the only one??????

And what about "Heart Of The Sunrise" and "Roundabout"??????? Listen to those weird breaks! Listen to how tight this band has become! Ladies and fellas, it's now 1996 and there isn't a single band alive, including Yes in its current incarnation, that comes close to matching the brilliance exhibited here on this forty-minute slab of shellac.

Okay, it's not shellac. It's really good, though. See how good you can be if you fire people? Buy this album today, and listen to it three or four times so it all sinks in and you can appreciate why Alanis Morrisette just doesn't interest me very much. Complexity + sensitivity = Yes at their best. Or some crap. Great melodies. God, I'm bleeding admiration.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
Although I agree that this is one of Yes'greatest albums I think it's also the start of that what I dislike the most .... the soloing stuff. You could see it again in 1991 during Union. As far as I'm concerned I would have rather liked it if they would have done more songs such as "South Side Of The Sky" or "Long Distance Runaround". Never the less, "The Fish" is still a classic piece and then I'm not even talk 'bout "Mood for a Day" which I think is even better than "Clap". Therefore I still have different feelings 'bout this album and I wouldn't certainly rate it with a 10 but maybe with a 7!

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
Huh! Fragile a dark hell? One word: "Roundabout." The most annoying radio heavy, piece of light-hearted garbage YES ever made. I have heard the song so many times, it has driven me to insanity, and pushed me to hold elven people hostage in a radio station for three days with a rifle. How can anyone say that this is the best Yes song? Rick Wakeman hadn't even begun to display the talent he had at the time, and everything about the song was mediocre compared to how good Yes was on the remaining tracks on the album. "Heart of the Sunrise" was superb with a combination of great Jon Anderson vocals and excellent music by the band. Each member was good, and some, like Bill Bruford and Jon Anderson, made their best music ever.

candle@wax.com (The Candle Master)
Fragile definitely is a great album with songs like "Heart Of The Sunrise," "Mood For A Day," "Roundabout," and "The Fish," but IMHO, it doesn't carry a strong conceptual theme like some of their other albums (Relayer and Close To The Edge come to mind). This is probably due to the members' individual contributions. Still, I wouldn't give this album a 10; more like an 8. BTW, I think bands like Rush, Pink Floyd, and Miles Davis' group have several great albums simply because they were able to bind their songs together, while retaining the freedom to explore new musical boundaries. Maybe if Yes didn't change their lineup so much...

eef@acsu.buffalo.edu (Erin Ferguson)
Excellent review. I wouldn't give it "10" - but I see why you do. I'd switch this rating with CTtE's (below, a"9"-what's with you people?-FRAGILE is only worth SEVEN!? Come on!). And,yes, I do understand how difficult (and utterly amazing) "the FISH" is. ALL parts are ALL bass! Sometimes, after tons of listening, I still find it hard to believe (but I still believe it). Again-it's worth a "9" or "9+1/2".

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
Can't fault the marking so far. Another stupendous effort with the great idea of letting each member try something of their own. I wonder what Alan White would've done if he was there then? Another album of 'hits' which went into the live listing but I've seriously heard "Roundabout" and "Heart Of The Sunrise" enough times now.

And we've never had the pleasure of Yes on radio over here in the UK (except for one weekly rock show years ago). If there's one thing that I would criticise, it is the predictable live track listing, same with Pink Floyd though.

strider@redrose.net (David Straub)
I'd say "Roundabout" has survived heavy heavy rotation better than "Stairway To Heaven" or "Won't Get Fooled Again." The place to be on this record, though, is the final 2 or 3 minutes of "South Side". Howe's little fills during the verse and the outro jam help this song end perfectly.

fermitl@geocities.com (Ryan)
I can totally see why you gave this album a 10. "Mood For A Day" rules!!! "Heart Of The Sunrise" kicks ass!!! But the best song has to be "South Side Of The Sky". I only wish that some more modern-day bands could show the musical influence we all have because of YES.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
DARK!! I wouldn't have quite given it a ten. I think the "We Have Heaven" bit is kinda dumb, and I don't too much care for Bruford's solo thing, but I love everything else on this album. "Roundabout" and "Heart Of The Sunrise" are cool. I think that "South Side Of The Sky" sounds a lot like the sick weird stuff that Queensryche puts out. Especially the piano part in the middle. I think it'd fit in perfectly on a horror movie soundtrack.

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
Of course this record will receive high marks as it is the hallmark Yes album. Of the nine tracks, I can't say I dislike any of them (How can you hate something that's 35 seconds long??). But the cohesion of the album suffers because of the 'solo piece' idea. I mean, what would Fragile be like if it were an album consisting solely of group pieces of the caliber of the ones that appeared on the album? "Roundabout," despite the incessance of playing, is a great song. "South Side of the Sky" is absolutely amazing, "Long Distance Runaround" is catchy (Squire provides one of the best bass lines ever here, you have to admit!), and "Heart of the Sunrise" is both powerful and beautiful. However, I would take it down a notch to 9, because, like others have said, it lacks the thematic/conceptual unity that would make the next three albums masterpieces.

Peter Bambakidis
Let's face it, "Roundabout" is definitely overrated. It really doesn't do anything for me anymore. Here's a song that the first time I heard it, I loved it!!! But after 4 or 5 listens, it really starts getting annoying. It's basically a melody being repeated over and over again. That isn't Yes' STYLE!!!! Take a good listen to "AWAKEN" and you'll never be bored!!!

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
A tad overrated and it sounds really dated now.

TempsFugit@aol.com
In response to YES fans who feel that "Roundabout" is misrepresentative of Yes's work--although it is not my FAVORITE YES song, I think it's arguably the best rock song EVER. By that I mean that if you sit someone down to listen to it (someone who is a "rock" fan) i think it would be impossible NOT to like it. Even tho' it's been played a million times, there is so much going on that every listen offers something new--from the classic guitar intro, pumping bass line, "rockin" chorus, progressive bridge, Wakeman's solo, end vocal harmonies, etc.)

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
Any elaborate waffle from me would be superfluous. This album is an absolute classic, whatever genre you are into. Try the Mobile Fidelity re-mastered version. It's amazing!

gbittar@ix.netcom.com
I couldn't give it a 10, because it is emotionally vapid.

First_last@studio.disney.com
Well it's certainly clear that this is a special album. I was converted one rainy Saturday (1972) after listing to this album and have been a loyal fan up to today (1997). I do think "roundabout" is/was played too much, but that is a fact that radio should accept the blame for. Oddly I don't really mind hearing it on the radio but if I heard those harmonics sounding for a Yes encore, I was on my feet and out the door. My gripe I guess is that I would have preferred a more obscure song for an encore (how about that nice rework of "America" for example?). This record does have a very atmospheric effect though possibly amplified by the rainy day but still it vastly outdistances its contemporaries in technical skill. This is a "rock" band I kept asking myself!

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
I agree with those people who say that Fragile is a bit disoriented. The only solo thing which really works is "The Fish", being sort of a second part of the brilliant "Long Distance Runaround". I like "We Have Heaven" and "Mood for a Day" too, but they seem to be a little out of place. "Cans and Brahms" is not very exciting, and 35 MINUTES of "Five Percent for Nothing"!!! What a nightmare! The "real" songs, though, are great, but "Roundabout" is very overrated. All the other songs are better, especially "South Side of the Sky". Few other Yes songs paint such pictures as "South Side of the Sky".

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
Another spectacular job of another Yes album. "Roundabout" is a really good song if you haven't heard it before. Wakeman and Howe open the track with the Mellotron and the acoustic guitar. "Cans and Brahms" was a good symphony. I have never heard an E Minor symphony before. "We Have Heaven" was not even a song, it was noise, Jon goes tell the moon dog, tell the march hair constantly. That really started getting annoying. Then the closing of the song, someone closes a door and runs away, that was very exciting. Then the blizzard began, it was now time to enter the "South Side Of The Sky", a great 8 minute track performed by the band and Wakeman with his grand piano symphony, and the bands La, La, La, La, then the song was more exciting at the end. The song kicked ass okay. "Five Per cent For Nothing", I didn't like it, but "Long Distance Runaround" was cool, it even made the top charts, then "the fish" came on with Chris's bass solo which was also cool, then another great, great, great solo with Steve Howe's "Mood For A Day", I know someone who can play the song backwards and forwards, it was cool as "The Clap". Then "Heart Of The Sunrise", the 11 minute rocking, exciting, butt kicking song of the album. It opens with the bands hard rock extravaganza, then the soft music of Jon's voice, when the songs over do not shut it off, wait for a minute, and the conclusion of "We Have Heaven" comes on. Enclosing my review I give his album a big 10.

dembones@pond.net
It was hearing "Long Distance Runaround" as a 12 year old that inspired me to become a bass player. Genius stuff, but in agreement with other comments, the lack of cohesion makes this an album in which the whole was much greater than the sum of its parts. 9 of 10.

tomr@ix.netcom.com
Once again, after 20 odd Years, I can finally listen to "Roundabout". No it's not the best song on the album but I really like Rick's performance on this one. Yes it's a bit "Popish" but everyone's entitled to go for a hit every now and then. I've seen the band many times over the years and I have yet to hear them do a good live perfomance of this song. Any suggestions.

The rest of the album is excellent. I could listen to it a thousand times and I always come away with something I hadn't noticed before. And I do like "We have heaven"

So there!

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Fragile is one of the classic Yes albums, but I don't give it the "best one" spot. It lacks something of a big bang!, maybe 'cause the solo experiments are uneven. Bill's interesting but its shortness is the main part of its strength, though ("Five per cent For Nothing" was its original title). Wakeman had to store "Handle With Care" for his first solo album (renamed "Catherine of Aragon") and put instead an arrange of a Brahms Concert that appeals to some but is a definite filler. Now, Rick was excellent but not in top form yet. As for "South Side of the Sky" being the true gem I respectfully disagree but I like the song anyway. As for Tony not being capable of playing (or creating) the piano part in the middle of that song I remind you that much of the songs on Fragile were composed, rehearsed and recorded when Tony was in the group, Chris teaching Rick the keyboard parts when the blonde virtuoso was rushed in for the final sessions. I give this album 9 out of 10 (never on top of The Yes Album).

Yesterdays - Atlantic 1974.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
Couldn't agree with you more as I still hate sampler albums!

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
Hmm, what is the point of this album you ask. "America" is the point. Maybe I love it so much because I heard it before the original version (well I was young). It just rocks, Chris, Steve and Bill blast away for a very memorable ten minutes.

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
Mystery compilation. Perhaps a flash of record company genius (!?!) Lights went on in some Atlantic execs head. Well, the bulb must have been faulty. But who's to stand in the way of making a dollar, eh? Sounds like the boys had fun putting together "America". This has to be the definitive re-interpretation of any song. Ever. "Dear Father" is great too. Look at the cover though...is someone taking the piss?

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
A greatest hits album with no hits on it? What a novel idea.

rderby@erols.com (Robert Derby)
ummmmm, "America" is great (my wife has an amusing viewpoint on this song I'd like to share: she says, "Paul Simon sounds like he got off a bus in middle america wrote and played this song on a street corner whereas YES got off that bus, hired an orchestra and played it at the nearest arena!) the rest of the album gives us highlights of the Peter Banks era which are not real high. I think Peter is a good guitarist and I think it would be interesting if he had the chance to record with a much more mature Yes. Jon's worst performance is here in the person of "Dear Father"!!!!ughhhhhhh.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
It was just a sampler of Time And A Word and the full version of "America". I bought this album before I got Time And A Word, I did wrong. I should have gotten Time And A Word first. At first I liked "Sweet Dreams", "Astral Traveller", and "Then". They were cool, with orchestral moments they are okay. "Dear Father" rocks too, what happened to Jon's father, did he write this song for him? Who Knows!!!

dembones@pond.net
I once foolishly bought a maxi-single in the bargain-bin called "Close2theHype," a creation of Jon's son Damien, and featuring Jon Anderson himself. After hearing the crap contained on this disc, I was then convinced that there was indeed an album that had less reason for existence than Yes' Yesterdays. Nice Roger Dean, though.

tomr@ix.netcom.com (Tom Russell)
Lets see.

Take two albums, pick a few songs from each, and then throw in a couple of extras. What a novel idea. I wonder if they'll try this idea again?

Were they under some contactual obligation to release an album every so often? I think the blue boy is trying to make a statement...

Having said all that, "America" is one fine recording.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Yesterdays came after Relayer but maybe you didn't know. Now its release seems an unworthy idea but in those days this record (a) gave Yes something to put on the market amidst the solo stuff craziness and (b) reminded the US people that Banks and Kaye ever existed in the group as well as the two first albums. It's a fine compilation, actually, but I would rather put "Something's Coming" as the opener instead of "America", sticking to tracks recorded by the original lineup. Even now I don't know why they included a photo of Alan White (if there was a reason, why not include one of Patrick also?). It deserves 6/10 (could be a 7, but "America" is a point down). The sleeve (that included a wink of the Time and a Word English cover) made Dean target for dumb critics just for showing nude kids.

Close To The Edge - Atlantic 1972.

Although the "short" tracks cover well-trodden territory in wonderful and novel ways ("And You And I" is a pleasant, mostly acoustic happy song that keeps erupting into an orchestral celebration like some guy named Bruce, and "Siberian Khatru" alternates between silly nerd groove and really messed-up bass-heavy drug music), the nineteen-minute title cut creates its own territory. It's the cut creator - the master of rap. When it walks by, homeboys tip their hat. Easily the least accessible song they've ever done (before or since), it opens with a burst of guitar racket and doesn't go much further for about three minutes, until the mean and entirely unpleasant "melody" finally reveals itself. Later, of course, some pretty bits pop up ("I Get Up I Get Down" is positively majestic with those vocals-on-vocals and that throbbing church organ and all - like most men, I generally don't much enjoy throbbing church organs, but at least I don't wear sweatpants any more), but the main melody is not something that you and your special girl will probably be itching to slowdance to. By 1996 standards, it's not that strange, but this is pre-punk 1972 we're talking about; loud free-form electric guitar acid rock was not at the top of everybody's salad menu. But you're bright and American; you can handle it.

A swell record, this is. It's not as mind-blowing as Fragile, nor should we expect it to be, but it's still complicated, beautiful, and very smart. Enjoy it now. This was the best line-up Yes ever had, and Bill Bruford was about to quit.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
I'm not going to argue 'bout this album. For me it's one of the best Yes' ever made so, 10+!!!!

Limbeck@sprynet.com (Cody Barrow)

I agree that was drug music, but no music has ever painted a picture for me like that album! It was like traveling through a fantasy, even a visual experience without drugs! I don't see how anybody who even likes Yes can't think this is their best album! Just because Fragile was so groundbreaking, doesn't mean they could never outdo it!

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
This is the true groundbreaking album, and I agree that it is an excellent visual experience that captures the listener and places him in a virtual fantasy world, and yes, no drugs involved. It was a step that was almost too much for top 40 radio heads hooked on Yes from the catchy "Roundabout" tune. This is what I meant when I said Rick Wakeman had not even close to have reached his height with Yes in Fragile. Steve Howe was excellent, and Jon Anderson's vocal experience combined with excellent drums from, possibly, the BEST YES DRUMMER EVER. The best work from the best Yes band up that time and possibly up till now.

ZTHW56A@prodigy.com (Donald T. Cassidy)
This is the best Yes album ever!!! 5 musicians working as one creating au unbelievable album. The title track is the best cut the band has ever recorded. "And You and I" is a majestic masterpiece. "Siberian Khatru" is so good they opened up with it for years in concert. Wakeman and Squire at their best!!

fcrane@idirect.com (Frank Crane)
Close To The Edge is by far and away the very essence of what Yes was all about. For anyone interested in checking out this great band, CTTE would be the very first album I would recommend they add to their collection. It's the most Yes sounding album they have ever recorded.

yancyd@pacificnet.net (Yancy Duncan)
It is the MasterWork of the 70's. A band in near disarray, joining together to produce a work that has never again been matched. Oh, the splendor and the glory. I never tire of it, not a single track ever wore on me (like "Roundabout" eventually did). To misjudge it as anything but their best is a tragic mistake. Listen again my friend and the power shall be yours. Bill left because in his own words, "I'd played my ace up my sleeve. I couldn't imagine myself playing any better. That was all I had to offer."

DougS@aol.com
Bill Bruford did leave because he felt he couldn't do any better than he did on Close To The Edge. He joined King Crimson, or rather, was allowed to join. He once said that he was talking to Robert Fripp and Fripp told him "I think you're now ready to join us". There's a great documentary that aired on PBS about the Union shows and it does a great job discussing the history of YES in detail. A must see for YES fans....

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
I can hardly fault this album, a 9 or a 10 surely. The title track is about as close as you'll get to a musical religious experience. I can remember a painful week's holiday away from it. I admit to tiring of "Siberian Khatru" over the years - could be live overexposure of course. I think it's the weakest track as well though. I used to mourn the leaving of Bill. But then he went on to work on the three most stunning King Crimson albums (Larks' Tongues, Starless and Red); three more favourites. Coincidence? No way. Funny how they went from a drummer that used a metal biscuit tin to one that sounded like he was playing next door.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Bought this one after reading your review. I really like it. The opening track is unbelievable. "Siberian Khatru"? What kind of title is that? I think the song's a bit cheesy, but it's still fun to listen to.

aomurphy@braznet.com.br (Ayrton Murphy)
What means "Khatru"?

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
When I was about 13 years old, The Yes Album and Fragile were the only records I owned by Yes. I was impressed with their sound, so I bought what I thought were their most "accessible" (and famous) records. I wanted to delve deeper into the Yes sound, so I bought Close To The Edge. It absolutely blew me away. It was the beginning of my love for epic-length tracks, as it was for Yes creating them. You can really lose yourself in this album; it takes you to other worlds and dimensions and sometimes you never want to leave. I won't discuss details of the individual tracks: listen to the whole album in one sitting and let it all soak in. An unbelievable musical journey.

ata5d@virginia.edu (Arthur T. Andrews IV)
The essence of progressive rock and a showcase for some of the greatest rock technicians. The most impressive compositional talent blends classical elements with incredible rock intrumental passages. The album is actually in classical Sonata-Allegro form, with three movements: fast - slow - fast. And take the title track fits the mold:- thematic material - development - recapitulation. This is Yes. Distinctive vocals, fluid scalar guitar, rumbling bass, precision percussion, and ethereal synths. It doesn't get much better than this.

acetes@layer4.com (Archeocetes)
Close To The Edge is by far my favorite YES album. The title track and "And You And I" are absolutely brilliant, both musically and lyrically. The harmonic phrases of "Close To The Edge" are so subtle, yet lead perfectly into the haunting chorus. The soft-sung, inspiring break, "I Get Up I Get Down" is so lifting I wish it would go on for at least another 5 minutes. If only YES had made other recordings like this. Fragile and Going For The One are great albums, but this is their definitive work. "Heart Of The Sunrise" would fit perfectly in this album. A solid 10.

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
This is Yes at its creative peak and there is nothing quite like it. Just the bass and drums on the title track set it in a class of its own. "And You And I" is also magnificent. The best album ever.

TempsFugit@aol.com
Two quick points: "I get up, I get down"--the most beautiful few minutes of rock and roll EVER. and--Confirms my belief that YES recorded this album on another planet.

mortimer@unbsj.ca (Paul Mortimer)
The album rates an 11. Absolutely a trancendent work of art. The first time I heard the song "CTTE", (in 1973 at the age of 16) I was stunned. I had heard birds chirping and then all the world changed and I was left with the birds chirping. I wasn't sure what had happened,and I didn't even know what the plants on the cover of YESSONGS were.

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
A crowning triumph. Uncategorisable and beautiful. Has aged well..and so have I.

First_last@studio.disney.com
All I remember is that tingling sensation during "Close To The Edge". Not too many pieces of music can do that to me anymore (just turned 40 oh my gosh!) but a recent relisten did just that. I wish I could explain it to those twenty-somethings but I guess you had to be there. . .

stever@empower.com.au
Further evidence that the 70's was the greatest decade for popular music as far as originality, musicianship, showmanship and emotion are concerned.

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Andrew Davis)
The digitally remastered versions of Fragile and Close To The Edge are essentially 'perfect!' Close To The Edge, though (after several listens) now outranks the five other favorites. Although Tales is still my favorite Yes studio cd, Close To The Edge is the best sounding cd, therefore it gets the 10/10 rating! Fragile, Tales, Keys To Ascension, Yesstory, and Going For The One are close behind, anyway all 6 cds should get a 5-star rating!!!!

fossil@iol.it
CLOSE TO THE EDGE IS ALCHEMIC MUSIC BOTH MASTODONTIC AND COMPLEX IT KEEPS NOWADAYS THE STRENGTH OF IT IDENTITY AND OF IT FASCINATION IS A BLEND OF CHAOS WELL ORGANIZED AND ARCHITECTED AND MUSIC DANGEROUSLY PLAYED. PROBABLY "CLOSE TO THE EDGE" BEGINS WHEN "SIBERIAN KATHRU" ENDS. FOR IT OWN PROPERTIES IT CANNOT BE FREQUENTLY PLAYED.

rlewisj@ibm.net (Tom Tebalt)
Add me to the long list of peple for whom this is the ultimate Yes album. I've been listening to this album for 20 years, and it still moves me. If "Awaken" had been on this album, it would have been the best album ever. PERIOD!

dajones@bigtex.ci.dallas.tx.us (Doug Jones)
Both FRAGILE and CTTE are so core to an appreciation of Yes, the band that defined progressive rock, that it's very difficult to choose one over the other. FRAGILE is obviously more accessible, primarily because of the musical sampling allowed by shorter and more numerous songs. The abstract nature of Yes lyrics is well represented on both albums ("Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley," indeed). This is a central beauty of Yes, indeed of most effective art, that for every person that experiences it, the music may take them to different places and mean dramatically different things. In this regard, however, CTTE holds a slight advantage for Yes purists. Whereas FRAGILE takes the listener on a series of wonderful jaunts, CTTE packs you up and takes you on an extended trip that doesn't return you until the end of Khatru. It is a perfectly planned vacation, you can bet you've never been to a place like it each time you go, and no aural provision has been left in the closet at home. You are covered. And it's not a trip like TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS where, quite honestly, you kind of begin to miss home after a couple weeks. No, CTTE is the perfect getaway. After over 20 years, I never tire of going. Twenty years from now, I can't imagine saying that about anything released in the past couple of years.

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
In general I agree, but "Close to the Edge" is NOT the least accessible Yes song. The least accessible one has to be side three of Topographic Oceans or the middle "battle" part of "The Gates of Delirium". There are a few live versions of "And You And I" which surpass the studio original, and the ultimate version of "Siberian Khatru" can be found on Keys to Ascension.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
My thoughts of this album is a good thought. Very well done, very, very exciting. "Close To The Edge" is my favorite, a good 19 minute track, four parts to it so it doesn't get boring, "I Get Up I Get Down" had a nice pipe organ into the melody and the synthesizers. "And You And I" was good too, two 10's for two tracks, enclosing the album was a cheesy song called "Siberian Khatru", I didn't even know that song exsisted on the album at first. But on the other hand it was very mildly okay. I give this album an 8.

rderby@erols.com (Robert Derby)
In a word, MAGICAL! I've recently been listening to the album again and I wonder how anyone could construct anything as PERFECT as CTtE! Check the title opening, the interlude of "Siberian..." and the absolute grace of the "Eclipse" passage( I actually transcribed this piece to organ for my wedding!).

dembones@pond.net
Oooo... Close To The Edge, a beautiful, beautiful album. "Siberian Khatru" almost grooves, while the majestic "And You And I" runs the gamut of emotions. Words can't describe "Close to the Edge," although I can't help but feel that the studio version is indeed the weakest version, the finest of which is found on the new Keys II, beating the Yessongs version mostly because of Yessongs' horrible production. The Live ABWH rendition is great, but Jeff Berlin, while technically superior to Squire, is certain no replacement. Squire's voice is also sorely missed.

tomr@ix.netcom.com
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

What more need I say?

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Close to the Edge is one of the (if not THE) best albums ever made by a (prog) rock band and arguably Yes' finest. The title track blows any mind now as did it before. And the melody you disdain so easily (introduced by Steve's guitar) is simple and beautiful, as any worthy melody must be. Rick is at home this time with the keys. But regardless Chris' excellent job on the bass, I prefer the live version by ABWH. The other two tracks are also classics, including the now underrated but clear 70's favourite "Siberian Khatru". The simpler sleeve was another plus, though Eddie Offord's picture must have puzzled many people not so familiar with the band. I missed anyway a booklet as the one included in the original Fragile package. I give this album 10/10. Need no say more.

wlucas.robinson@utoronto.ca (Lucas Robinson)
It is now 1998, I'm 19, and "Close to the Edge" has to be the greatest song I have ever heard. I should have bought the record today so I could hang it on my wall. That keyboard solo coming back into the action has to be one of the best musical moments anyone can have. This is the best YES album. Screw FRAGILE.

Yessongs - Atlantic 1973.

Unless you've never heard the band, I guess. Lots of great songs here.

Reader Comments

student@lib.siu.edu (Brian)
I must disagree. To fully appreciate this album, you must have a sensitive ear for live music. Personally, I love to hear a great band like "YES" perform live. One aspect of this album that stands out to me is the performance of "Perpetual Change." The energy that "YES" produced in the live performance far surpassed the mellow beauty created in the original production. Although most of the songs were performed the same as their original recordings, there are intense moments which can't be experienced from any other "YES" album; like Chris' ominous bass solo. If you like live recordings that are a bit misty but open, you'll enjoy this one. I recommend vinyl.

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
If you hate the live experience of Yes, and doubt this album's excellence, listen to "And You And I" for Rick Wakeman's keyboards. Listen to the guitar on "Yours Is No Disgrace," which is better than the orginal. And listen to the end of "Starship Trooper." Yes does not get any better than that.

thutley@e-z.net (Thomas Hutley)
Ask any band, past or present, to stay so true to their original recordings just for one night, and they'd probably pass out from mental exhaustion! It's all fine and good to have each band member blow their own horn in a solo shot or two, but I don't go to concerts to hear new renditions of classic--or even contemporary--tunes. I go to concerts because I liked the original sound so much I was willing to fork out an extra $50 bucks on the band to see them live, and wear them on my chest for about three months until the T-shirt fell apart. You want to extend the bass playing in "The Fish" for a couple ten minutes or so, go ahead. One of the best bass solos I've ever heard, but don't revamp entire songs simply for the sake of making something new. Just hearing it LIVE is change enough for me. I'm still amazed they could create their sound in the first place! So bravo to a band that can at least stay fairly true to it's original musical concepts...

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
Ah, the musical excesses of the 70's. Triple live sets from Yes and ELP. This album is surely a fan's dream come true, excellent live versions from The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge. Bill's only on a couple of tracks sadly. But most importantly, what about the crap bootleg sound quality? This then brings my star rating down to 6-7/10.

egalvao@brnet.com.br (Enzio Galvao Diniz Torreao Braz)
It is the Yes standard record. I used to recommend it to people who want to taste the band and didn't "venture" to be delighted by the particular type of music the band have been playing for all these years!! I have been listening to it in the last 16 years. I picked it in a Yes shelf after have listened to the Yesshows records (and being captured by)!

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
This is a great collection of songs, but the sound really leaves a lot to be desired. For the money I shelled out for this, I was really let down by the quality. I don't care if it was 1973; I own plenty of '76 live sets that are worlds better soundwise. Still, a must own in my book, because, like others have said, some songs really shine, perhaps better than the originals. I think most Yes Album pieces fit this description. And Wakeman's "Six Wives" performance? AWESOME.

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
Great playing. Yes really fire up live, don't they? Tasteful and spontaneous improvisational bits. It contains the version of "Starship Trooper" that everybody loves. Rick's mellotron bits with that amazing moog solo is a classic. And it hasn't even been quantized (muso talk). Jon stuffs up the lyrics but who cares. What did they mean anyway? I understand there is a university graduate somewhere who actually majored in Yes-music, or should I say Yes-concepts. Well, now you know what it really takes to appreciate this stuff. What hope do the rest of us mere pleboids have? I don't know. A word about the audio quality: Crap. Remastered version is marginally better. A kind of high-fibre crap. However, the performances make up for any deficiencies.

wallison@pnc.com.au (Warwick Allison)
I disagree, yessongs is tremendous. How can you say it's the same as the others. "Perpetual Change" has a drum solo, "Yours is no disgrace" has huge amount of improvisation and every time Yes play "Starship Trooper" they change "WuRM".

First_last@studio.disney.com
Wow I'm doing a lot of responding today. I bought this record immediately when it was released here in L.A. and played it till my parents were ready to have me committed. By far the best version of "Starship" and "Yours Is No Disgrace", clearly blowing any later bootleg versions I have heard out of the water! Too bad about that sound though. One think I've always remembered about the band live was: 1) the cool lights they used (Close To The Edge mirror disc remember that?) and 2) the good sound. Not a bad album graphically I might add. Still have my original 1973 copy!

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
I thought it was okay at first then I realized it had very poor sound quality, and this was the same year Dark Side Of The Moon came out. This album was bad, it sounded exactly the same as the originals, and I wasted 27 damn dollars to buy it. I give this album a 4.

tomr@ix.netcom.com
Regardless of the poor quality and the fact that Yes can never properly reproduce the harmonies on a live performance, I really like this album. Listen to Steve at the close of "Siberian Khatru" and his solo with the slide on "And You and I" Astounding!

However, I don't care for Chris' rendition of "The fish" Nor do I like Rick's "Six Wive's" monstrosity.

Otherwise it's a definite must.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Yessongs is the recording of great shows with terribly awful sound quality. A pity and a shame. The jacket this time was the most elaborate ever, showing Dean's continuity concept at its best. The original version had a booklet even bigger than the one. Some of the performances had to be different in sound to their studio counterparts (i.e. the acoustic intro of "Roundabout" became electric) but the band stuck loyally to the original arrangements. What's wrong with that? Bill is missed in most tracks, but Alan was a true newcomer in that tour (don't blame it so hard on him). Some arrangements are even better than the studio ones. Although it was a triple-vinyl it only really had two-record time. I give it 5/10 due to the poor sound. The CD sounds even worse!. One final note: the compositions credit for "Siberian Khatru" include Squire this time but actually Chris did not share the credits in the CTTE album.

Tales From Topographic Oceans - Atlantic 1973.

Yes, it's a moronic album (based on a lengthy footnote on page 83 of Paramhansa Yoganada's "Autobiography Of A Yogi," the four tracks are supposed to celebrate the knowledge of God, all of our thoughts and memories, the ancient treasure of knowledge, and the ritual of life, through which pure love defeats evil - and ooh does that come across), but darn it, the music is perfectly pleasant. Not GENIUS by any means, but still well-played and nicely arranged. Better than most other dentist office muzak, anyway. Most people consider it overbearing, but it's really not. The songs are lengthy, but very welcoming - not bombastic. It's peaceful stuff. Take a nap to it if you want to. I prefer to stay awake and enjoy some pretty melodies. Nous Sommes Du Soleil! And the album cover is beautiful. Roger Dean can get a little samey, but that dark blue is just lovely, I think. What do you think, kind sir?

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
I think your review from this album wouldn't do much good for those fans who were at San Luis Obispo in March and freaked out when Yes played "The Revealing Science of God" after 22 years. By the way, what makes you think Alan White is less good than Bill Bruford? This album is a statue for Yes throughout the years but just because it was different from that what people were used to hear from them it suddenly isn't good. As we say over here in the Netherlands; GELUL! In my point of view it's just a masterpiece which was obvious that it would be released if you read some old interviews with Jon Anderson in that period.

rjohnson@jax-inter.net (Richard E. Johnson)
Tales should have been a Single Album. It just is too much blowing, not enough tight arrangements. Some great melodies are in there and it is worth listening to, but not really a worthy follow up to Close To The Edge. As for the White/Bruford Question ... White was still getting used to Yes and vice-verse, and hadn't quite gelled. Relayer and especially Going For The One are a different story. He was very good on those....

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
Okay, brace yourself, because I feel that this is the best album Yes made up to this time. Anyone who can appreciate the feeling of fantasy, and being placed inside a different world with the clever tunes and vocals, like so many say they were in Close To The Edge, has to be captivated in this album. I don't know what it's about, and I refuse to find out, because I can run any stories I wish through my mind as I listen to the music. Wakeman reached his greatest talent with the band, and finally, shades of his excellent solo projects showed through in his Yes work. This was the album that set Wakeman up for Journey, and the same talent is expression. Jon Anderson's lyrics were excellent, and I don't really care what they mean. I see the album as a whole piece, forming endless stories in my mind, with all the elements of a great tale. The best guitar Steve Howe had ever done, and the best bass Chris Squire had done since his early albums. The White/Bruford issue, after "The Ancient" it is very hard to tell, but Bruford will later show them all up.

DougS@aol.com
This album was Jon Anderson's "fuck you" response to the critics who considered YES' albums too long and too self indulgent and too biblical. His basic feeling was "Oh yeah, you thought that was long? I'll show you long!".

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
This is certainly an album to lose your street cred. "You like Yes, but they did that awful pretentious double album with side-long tracks. You don't like that shit surely?" Go on, stand up for yourself. You love this album. It has parallels with Genesis' Lamb, it's a double with plenty of mellotron and it's completely incomprehensible. But hey, who cares what it's about?

I have to admit that they wouldn't have produced this with Bill on the team! It's packed with ideas that come and go which you could argue could have made great 'songs'. It's pretty laid back overall and 'murky' as you say Mark. Sorry to harp on about sound quality but what the hell happened to the master tapes? (Any hope with the CD re-master anyone?) I heard an almost decent LP version once. When you've got talented guys like this you really want to hear what they're up to! 8/10

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
I'm with Scott Moore. Look, first of all consider the sheer balls of the recording. 4 side-long tracks intertwined thematically and conceptually? You'll not see the like ever again. Agreed, it's hard to spend 80 minutes at one pass to get the feeling for the album, but the individual tracks can actually stand up. "Revealing" and "The Ancient" are the most beautiful Yes songs I've ever heard, and "Ritual" can rock as hard as anything they've ever done. Even though Wakeman couldn't deal with this album, he was brilliant; they all were absolutely brilliant. (I also think Moraz kind of hacked up "Ritual" on Yesshows).

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
Side 1 and 2 are magical and I can't help but singing along even if I still don't know the words! They are up there with CttE. However, the amount of shamless padding in side 3 and 4 lets the LP it down a bit.

twonoahs@aol.com (Steve)
I've always wanted a place to spew my thoughts about this album; now I found one!! Here goes: This is an album that you can't just enter into thinking you know it all. People whine about it being only four songs on four sides. Why do people have to only think of it in song numbers? In all honesty, it's more like many little songs inside four anyway? I mean, the little Jon solo in "The Ancient" and the climaxes in "The Revealing Science..."? They're incredible run-on-sentence-songs from a brilliant band. My favorite of their albums. You find something new every time you listen...and no, I'm not Jon's pansey brother :) Tales from Topographic Oceans is an album whose name is the only thing that comes close to catching its essence. Excellent.

Olias@webtv.net (Justin Strohm)
I believe this to be THE best album ever in history. Well, either this or CTTE. I realize that *a lot* of people don't agree w/me at all, but you know something? I DON'T CARE!! My only complaint on this album is the poor sound quality. I've never heard the original discs, but the remasters are of pretty poor, muddled sound quality.

TempsFugit@aol.com
I love this album. I don't care what anyone says about it. I don't care if the band didn't understand it. I don't care if every copy of it in the world was destroyed, EXCEPT MINE! Jon's vocals are beautiful and inspiring. I can't make them out for shit, but I sing along anyway. I just make up my own lyrics. The music itself is wonderful. As far as the length of the tracks goes, I only care if a song is short if it sucks. When I have finished listening I don't know if it's been five minutes or five hours. That is the beauty of music.

seo@total.net (Stephane Ouimet)
I won't argue. I guess it's not the best Yes album ever, since one can spot a few Mahavishnu Orchestra ripoffs here and there on some tracks (by the way, they kick ass and they go ten times further than any "progressive" band of the mid 70's). But it's my favorite Yes record. Maybe I spent too much time in my basement, maybe I had too much imagination, maybe there was too much reefer. Go figure.

As for Yes, I kinda despised them for a few years, their reunions, unions and ABWH reformings bore the Jesus out of me. What's more depressing than a fortysomething art rock musician, wearing a 1000$ Armani suit, babbling on about how good his old band was back in the old days? (see Moody Blues, also). But I listen to Oceans once in a while and there are some good ideas in there. It's interesting and weird. Take away the new-age oriental metaphysical sleeve notes and you've got yourself a perfectly good art rock album, full of quirks and bizarre developments....I still like it a lot.

rderby@erols.com
hey, i love YES music but the guys missed the mark on this one. i agree that this could have been a strong single album because some of these passages are YES'S best! i also realize that without TALES there probably wouldn't be GOING FOR THE ONE. P.S. the live version on KEYS was breathtakingly superb!!!!

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
An album a lot of people will find (to paraphrase F.Zappa) "difficult to approach due to its statistical density". This is the proverbial. It's a piece of work that surely gave birth to punk...or rather added fuel to the argument. It annoyed the hell out of rockn' rollers everywhere. But could they ever learn to play it? No way. Above their heads, I'm afraid. If it were a dessert, it would be a sperm-whale sized, Black Forest (chocolate & cherry) cake, with sprinklings of unidentifiable granules of something or other. I love it. Please use remastered version for fuller flavor.

Godranek@aol.com
This album has really great conceptual ideas, but I don't think it quite succeeded musically. Sure, the liner notes are interesting, and the artwork beautiful but man does it really drag, especially on the first half. "The Revealing Science of God" and "The Remembering" sound almost identical. Anderson seemed to be at the front of the mix while the other instruments are just plodding away in the background. Where's the instrumental prowess? Where's the melodic consiousness as displayed on the previous albums? The first half is just Anderson rambling on and on about god knows what! Again, this album could have done without the first disc. The second disc picks up much of the pace though. There are some interesting instrumental fluorishes here and there. I like the weird intro on "the ancient" and the awesome drum solo and some great folk guitar on "Ritual". Then at some point, the musicians go ballistic with a big wall of noise for 15 seconds! COOL! I agree with the reviewer, it's great music to sleep to. I like long conceptual albums but here, the whole thing sounds as slow as pouring peanut butter.

wallison@pnc.com.au (Warwick Allison)
You fool, Tales is one of the best Yes albums.

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Andrew Davis)
The issue is over which is the greater album, Tales From Topographic Oceans or Keys To Ascension? Personally, I have enjoyed Tales immensely, in one form or other for the past 16 years. I enjoy "The Revealing Science Of God," the outstanding keyboard work on "The Remembering," the out-of-this-world guitar work on "The Ancient" and the beauty and interesting rhythms of "Ritual." It's a tough choice, Keys makes some of Yes's best music sound even better. "Siberian Khatru" is wonderful, "The Revealing Science Of God" is beautiful, "America" is tremendous, "Onward" and "Awaken" are majestic, "Roundabout" and "Starship Trooper" are much better than their original versions. I really had to consider the two new songs, "Be The One" and "That, That Is," so I listened to them again. "Be The One" is similar to the better pieces off of Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe, namely "Long Lost Brother Of Mine." "That, That Is" has that outstanding Steve Howe introductory guitar piece. There are some parts of "That, That Is" that I am not particularly crazy about, but overall it is a pretty decent extended work.

I forgot to mention another favorite Yes album, Classic Yes. I would have to give that compilation a 9 also. I can understand your appreciation of Fragile. Personally, I could listen to either Rush's Exit... Stage Left or Tales From Topographic Oceans or Pink Floyd's Pulse or perhaps, Fragile or Going For The One or most of The Compact King Crimson or A Young Person's Guide To King Crimson continuously and never get tired of them.

MGeorge57@aol.com
I have to agree that TALES is a very long album, and at first "The Ancient" was never one of my favorite songs, but you have to look at this album as a whole, when it came out in 73 most bands were making concept albums and this one worked. They had so much material for TALES (which they used for Relayer), but a 3 album set was more than the record company could handle. Rick left because he was more into songs with YES than he was long drawn out pieces.

k.smith@pulse.york.ac.uk (Karen M. Smith)
I think this is the best album Yes made; in point of fact it's not really an album per se but a piece of music. Unlike some, I can't see any real connection between the 'big' Yes pieces ("Close to the Edge," "Tales," and "Gates of Delirium"). It seems to me that "Close to the Edge" is still pretty much hide bound to the 'verse/chorus' formula, albeit on a very large scale whereas "The Revealing Science of God" displays a certain leaning towards a more adventurous view of structure: there is a definite feeling of a return to a previously established 'home' key near the end of the piece. I don't want to pretend that its flawless ; parts of the second movement become rather mechanical and I don't really find the bass/drum section in "Ritual" convincing either despite the rationale provided. Never the less, the great advances this work and "Gates of Delirium" demonstrate over say "Close to the Edge" is that the music actually 'travels': it doesn't rely on production methods to induce a sense of 'arrival'.

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
This is the best damn Yes album ever, I agree with TempsFugit - "I only want a song short if it sucks". I don't care if the whole thing was one damn song 4 sides long, it would have been the best damn near 2 hour song ever.

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
Alan White is NOT weaker than Bill Bruford. They are just very different. Bill is a jazzboy, while Alan is a rocker. Personally, I think Alan's playing suits Yes better than Bill's. They're actually very exciting together, which was shown during their drum duet on the Union tour.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
I cannot give this album a good review because there were so many errors in the album. You should hear the beginning of "Revealing Science". You hear a broken synthesizer that does not sound right. These songs sound the same too. It also sounds like a We're Outta Ideas kind of album. The first disk sucked, the second disk was good for a while. I didn't like this album at all that I gave it to my friend. And because it came out in 1973, one good thing happened that year or maybe 2, Dark Side Of The Moon came out and my parents got married. I give this album a 2 and a half.

dembones@pond.net
Definitely a diehard fans album. There are several fine and inspired moments, including some of Howe's finest acoustic work. "The Ancient" and "Ritual" are I think the only tracks that truly work as "songs," and while that may be forty minutes of fine music, that is only 2 out of 4... 2 good songs out of 4 just isn't good enough for Yes standards. Nevertheless, an amazing feat that no other band could match.

jarendo@ibm.net
This is THE ALBUM!.. the best of Yes indeed... Excellent!

tomr@ix.netcom.com
Musical Poetry.

Whenever I needed to "get away" I'd just put on the headphones and crank up the volume. Steve's playing on "Ritual" is nothing short of spectacular.

Chris' bass lines on "Revealing" are so soothing and gentle. And yes, sometimes I would fall asleep. A 3 sided lullaby. I don't care for "Ancient" (Does a lamb cry out before we shoot it dead?) Them's wierd lyrics.

As for the sound quality, have you ever heard of such a thing as vinyl? If not check it out. Much of the warmth is lost on the CD version. (Either that or my ears are gone)

Recommendation? Buy this album. If nothing else than for the cover. Now THAT's a classic.

How could anybody say they "couldn't understand the music?" It's not supposed to be understood. Just enjoyed.

paul.rogers@ait.ac.nz
I'm in total agreement with Karen M. Smith. This album (an inappropriate word if ever there was one) represents the basic Yes idea at its greatest ie the collage of musical and lyrical ideas/concepts. The term "song" could no longer be applied to a Yes piece at this time. Something more like a journey. It really contained much more of an artistic sensibility (fine arts that is) and what still amazes me is that despite rampant public, Wakeman and music industry outcry, Yes repeated and refined the concept (with a Jazz twist to boot!) in producing Relayer. Brave and talented lads eh?

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Tales From Topographic Oceans is the Yes album with most mixed opinions among band members and listeners alike. I agree with you on Dean's cover (I'm proud Nasca lines are painted on it as well). I think the first track (side 1 on vinyl) is the best Yessong ever! And "Ritual" is another classic. Unfortunately, the other two tracks have good musical ideas but lack in the fills. Only Anderson and Howe shine throughout the 90 minute opus. The other three have only some fine moments. Rick's job is excellent in those moments and certainly was ready to record Journey to the Center.... Curiously, the Yesshows version had Patrick on the ivories (outdoing Rick perhaps?), after a short untitled jam. Jon's lyrics are obscure but beautiful. Finally Tony Kaye and Wakeman agreed on something: "Nobody knew what Jon was talking about". So Rick left. Alan was holding on. A critical moment in Yes history. 8 out of 10.

SoulQuest7@aol.com (Nick Kokoshis)
Throughout the comments on your web page for Tales From Topographic Oceans, I read the following words: "Take away the new-age oriental metaphysical sleeve notes and you've got yourself a perfectly good art rock album". Dear, oh dear. If it wasn't for Jon Anderson's spirituality there would be no YES, and certainly no Tales from Topographic Oceans. Because of Jon's ability to give a voice to a religious paradigm shift that occured in America in the late 60's and early 70's, this album became a staple in the record collection of many budding hippie spiritualists throughout the Western world. Painters painted to it, yogis meditated on it, Christian mystics marveled at it, dancers danced to it, and ritual pot smokers used the gatefold cover to clean their weed! And of course, many people just ignored the lyrics and just marveled at its music! And have you actually LOOKED at that gatefold cover? My God, it IS like opening a scripture... the white lyrics shining throught the dark background, the spacious environmental photography suggesting the beauty of a cosmic view of life, and the liner notes and lyrics which celebrate the whole sweep of evolutionary and human history as one big massive attempt to spell the word G----O----D. Nobody but our heroes Jon Anderson and Steve Howe could have propelled a rock group to cover such ground, mowing over a thousand immature critics and challenging even their own fans. And you know something, YES won. While the Rolling Stones-raised critics were still praying for the creation of the Sex Pistols and punk, YES was creating a work that will be enjoyed and studied for centuries, guarenteed. You want melodicism? Then bask in sides one and two. "The Revealing Science of God" is so stunningly beautiful that its resurfacing in YES' 1997 tour (23 years after its realease) caused YES fans nationwide to celebrate by seeing the show as many times as was humanly possible. This composition contains some of the most melodic work to ever come out of an electric guitar; no wonder Steve would eventually go on to be inducted into Guitar Player magazine's hall of fame. And Jon's chant-like intro and outro would lead many to think that he was channeling the poet William Blake. (By the way, that's a compliment.) "The Remembering" is a truly meditative piece, with spacious synthesizer passages, very melodic movements, and a grande, ecstatic conclusion. Jon's nature mysticism comes to full flower during the climax, creating some of the most positive mental impressions imaginable. Side three, "The Ancient", throws you for a total loop by containing a 10 minute passage that is so progressive enough it almost borders on the avante garde. Steve's long, dissonant guitar solo is some of his most challenging work. I'm sure that even fans of jazz-fusion marveled at its unique quality, although it was by no means an imitation of that genre. The percussion in the background was wild, although I'm sure Alan White must have been suffering from culture shock after performing for many years with pop songwriters like Lennon, Harrison, and Joe Cocker. Then again, given his love of Miles Davis, it was probably a welcome change of pace. The concluding passage of "The Ancient", in contrast, is intensely melodic, and contains some amazing classical guitar by Steve as well as one of Jon's most beautiful songs ever, which also was reprised during the current tour. Side four, "Ritual" puts the strengths of the first three sides into one piece. In some ways it is the most "traditional" Yes epic on the album, and it was a concert staple throughout the next three tours that YES undertook with new keyboardist Patrick Moraz, Wakeman having departed after the TALES tour.

As for Wakeman's dislike of Tales, he cannot be held accountable for his words because he was virtually a lush at the time. It is still astonishing to me that he could have performed on an album of such importance, and then dismiss it is as "padded." After over two decades of listening to it, I still can't find any part of it I would like to see removed. Steve Howe, thankfully, has always defended the album, and when the idea of performing an edited version of "The Revealing Science of God" was brought up in 1996, he insisted on the full length version being performed. Jon appeared to have been hurt by the critical trouncing the album took in the press back in 1974, but over the years has come to realize that the work has remained, in fans' minds, as one of their best achievements. It was his lyrics and vision that were attacked by critics who-- being raised on "I can't get no satisfaction"-- couldn't imagine what it's like get not only satisfaction but also ecstasy and love out of life in the 20th century. Jon keyed into a message that was flooding the Western world through the influx of Eastern philosophies that touted universal love as the essence of being, and who taught that this love, being universal, could be experienced through many different spiritual paths. This idea stood in stark contrast to the conservative Christian idea of salvation through Christ alone. And yet Jon knew that even Christianity could not be excluded from a universalist world view, so even this religion received a mention in TALES despite the fact that it was inspired by a footnote from An Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. (Also note Jon's Christmas album, 3 Ships.) This book was, of course, a staple in the library of every counterculture spiritual seeker in the 60's and 70's, and it single handedly helped to topple years of malicious propoganda against Eastern religions. But even more importantly, this book, as well as artworks like TALES, were replacing Christian exclusivism with the inclusivism of Universal Love. The essential idea that was surfacing in the 1960's was that Love with a capital "L" could be used to guide our lives. This "Love" included a generational swing toward such ideas as environmentalism, an end to the violent conflicts between left-wing and right-wing ideologies, and a "personal is political" philosophy that would redefine morality as the way we align our personal behavior with various causes such as human rights, justice, individual freedom, nonviolence, and compassion for all living beings. And this is what the critics were condemning? This is what scared so many people into writing such vicious attacks on TALES? Jon's ideas have basically been the same ever since he sang on YES' second album,"There's a time, and the time is NOW and it's right for me... There's a word, and the word is LOVE and it's right for me..." Ever since then, it's been nothing but one beautiful elaboration on this basic point. Yes was given birth by the counterculture: by explorations with drugs, with alternative and informal religious ideals, by mysticism, by the Beatles' "all you need is love" proclamation. It was a time when people were challenging the notion that to be non-Christian was to be evil. On the contrary, these troubadors claimed, to be non-Christian is neithor good nor bad. And to be Christian is neithor good nor bad. The goal is to be a GOOD Christian or a GOOD non-Christian, whatever your choice. Enlightenment can occur through many spiritual traditions. Goodness is the way to bring validity to your spiritual path. Counterculture spirituality defined "goodness" according to a sort of merger of ecological, humanist, and mystical ethics. The basic idea being that if we all part of one beam of life, we should treat all living things with respect.

"Nous Sommes Du Soleil ("we are of the sun")... We love when we play." These closing words from TALES sum it all up: let us get connected back to the source of all life, let us love. It's a simple, universalist philosophy expressed through four amazing sides of music and lyrics. It's a musical meta-theory for spirituality reflecting the counter-culture of the early 1970's. And that, to me, is TALES.

ShorThing7@aol.com
All I can say after Nick's incredibly accurate, profound, thought provoking analysis is: Any questions? :-)

shotguy@hotmail.com
You don't think this album is genius? What the hell's the matter with you? Pure genius. This is definately Yes's best album, and I believe that once you discover that, you'll give it the "10" that this true MASTERPIECE deserves.

gpenton@echelon.ca (Grant Penton)
Considering the LP in evolutionary perspective, it was certainly an important tangent for the integration of electronic sounds (that were minimal in CTTE apart from "AYAI") as inspired bridging between sequences. Perhaps less rockier than previous efforts and thus seemingly more somnabulistic to some (apart from a few bars in 'Revealing...' and maybe 'Ritual' there are no abrasive Howe licks as can be found on the other LPs), the normally guitar-heavy band proved that it could work as a unit- keyboards and percussion ("The Ancient") sharing the limelight with the guitars and vocals while Squire keeps the pace. The vocals have a marvelous incantation quality to them that sounds like Anderson, Howe and Squire were aware of the significance of the words and had indeed meditated on the richer meanings during the 'lifestyle' recording of the masterpiece.

Yes, I'll admit that I was a bit of a head when I first got it in the mid 70's and found it exceptionally mesmerising in between the headphones while stoned- but while 20 odd years later I've grown out of that phase, TFTT keeps its attraction. I haven't heard the live version yet, but would love to see and hear it anew again...

markwendt@hotmail.com
Admittedly, Jon's optimism and the truth of Love are infectious, powerful, and moving. But I personally don't celebrate some of the social/religious trends of that era. There has always been a variety of religious views within Yes and I sense that Jon's perspective is something Yes band members sometimes politely poke fun at.

But I guess I said all that so I could say this.

You know what? I think that if you take away the new-age oriental metaphysical sleeve notes, you just might have yourself a pretty good art rock album here.

Relayer - Atlantic 1974.

In what might be an attempt to recreate the form of the highly-regarded Close To The Edge, this one has one twenty-minute weird rocker, and two "short" nine-minute dandies. "To Be Over" is the pretty nine-minute lullaby that replaces "And You And I," and, although it's not acoustic (and thus, not as organic), it's still very lovely. The mood of "Siberian Khatru" is here represented by "Sound Chaser," an extremely noisy bass-driven rocker whose rhythm keeps speeding up and slowing down until it seems as if there's no rhythm at all. And the epic is "The Gates Of Delirium," which separates two passages of supreme beauty with a long stretch of loud rhythmic kickbuns noise rock (or what passed for noise rock in 1974 - there weren't no Flipper back then, you understand). Patrick Moraz's keyboard sound is a little cornier than Rick's (though nowhere near as corny as it would become by the time he joined The Moody Blues seven years later), but he still plays pretty well. This isn't dentist office muzak; "To Be Over" is simply the calm after the storm, if I may destroy a perfectly good cliche for a moment. I just want you to understand that this album is underrated. It's the messiest Yes album yet, but that's part of its charm. Noise is hip, dude!

Plus, if you replace the first two letters of the album title with an "S," awww, man, now you're talkin'.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
First of all, I don't see this album as a runner-up for Close To The Edge and second ... Rick's solo career wasn't that boring after all! For me Relayer is yet another period in Yes' musical history with yet another sound and therefore the band isn't to place in a certain musical category. I think that's also what so many Yes fans liked about the band in the seventies, the music was unpredictable. Personally I think more Yes fans were shocked by hearing "Sound Chaser" for the first time than with "Ritual". I know I was, as a whole I started to like the album very much but yet again ... I feel it's one of the many highlights Yes had over the years.

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
Okay, I didn't like Relayer at first. AND RICK WAKEMAN'S SOLO STUFF WAS EXCELLENT!!!!! He was right about one thing; he could no longer contribute to the band. "The Gates of Delirium" was truly an explosion of noise that seemed poorly writen and planned, and seemed to be just like a 20 min jam session. While some people worked well in this way, like Steve Howe, who progressed ever further past his former talent in Tales. Alan was good back-up for the band, but there seemed to be nothing but noise to back up, and the melodic Jon Anderson lyrics were replaced with noise, glorious noise. The "SOON" section was almost too little too late, and if Wakeman were there, he could have given it direction, unlike Morez, who offered samples of poorly placed moog that hardly fit in with anything. All in all it is the failed attempt to follow-up Tales, and is indeed a step back.

submarine@netvision.co.it (Aviram Sharon)
Cut the crap - I'm telling all of you that this album is one of the best albums that I have ever heard in my life. "The Gates Of Delirium" is fantastic - perfect - although it is not so easy to get; try and you will not be disappointed.

bjhipp@vm.sc.edu
I have to admit that I also didn't like Pat's musical interpretation. I feel that the keyboard sounded WAY out of place and the album overall just wasn't well produced. It sounded more like a band trying to be yes rather than yes itself. Had Rick Wakeman not have left, i feel the album would have been a lot more appealing. Pat just couldn't do the music justice.

jhmorris@eos.ncsu.edu (John Morrison)
I'll admit it took me a long time to fully decipher all the sounds in Relayer. YES achieve a musical soundscape like none of their other albums. Can't you see the horses riding into battle at the lines "and ride there" that is created by Alan Whites drumming? Patrick Moraz, though not as technical as Wakeman, uses keyboards effectively to represent the rise and fall of the battle scene. The whole album represents a struggle of emotions which is plainly heard in the instruments.

yancyd@pacificnet.net (Yancy Duncan)
Get a clue... If "The Gates Of Delirium" isn't the best the band produced since CTTE I'll eat my concert shirt. The most clear "story"" piece the band ever did. You try a musical interpretation of War And Peace in 20 minutes. The song has clear structure and direction - follow the story - it's all there - revolution-battle-death-remorse-reconciliation. Also, the best lryic Jon ever wrote, "Our Gods awake in thunderous roars and guide the leaders' hands to paths of glory to the cause." I had some Metalhead kids working for me years ago and I made them listen to it - it blew their minds. Trevor Rabin could NEVER write anything like this. Is the production not the best? - well yeah, but who cares? Can you dance to it? No. But if you need to dance break out your Donna Summer records. Get yourself a good pair of headphones lay down and hold on!

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
I was absolutely knocked out when I got this. This is certainly like no other Yes album. I assume that Patrick Moraz was responsible for the massive change. "The Gates Of Delirium" was like another "Close To The Edge" with the quiet 'Soon' section soothing you after the initial musical onslaught. I love the version of this on Yesshows. You can almost hear people in the audience crying and tending the wounded at this point. (This is in fact the only redeeming feature of Yesshows in my opinion.)

I ended up tiring of Relayer unfortunately, sacrilege I know. It's something to do with the nasty sounding production, sort of harsh and gritty. Oh, and sorry, but does tape hiss mean anything to anyone? I'm sure I'll come back to this album one day though. At the moment it's a 7/10.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
I had to get this one just because Moraz was on it. Call me crazy, but I actually like some of what he did with the Moody Blues. As for this album, you hit the nail on the head. It's an absolute noisefest. "Gates Of Delirium" and "Sound Chaser" are two of my favorite pre-Rabin songs. This one makes up for the Topographic album. I guess someone finally taught them how to rock.

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
"The Gates of Delirium". What can I say? As far as the Yesshows version is concerned, I don't know if I've heard a better concert performance from Yes. I'd spend twice what I paid for Yesshows for that track alone. Alan White kicks some major ass in the beginning of "Sound Chaser". For all of Yes' 70s personnel changes, the people that they had at a given time crafted a unique sound, and it ended up being perfect. Say what you want about Moraz, he was what Relayer required, and he delivered. Too bad we don't see those tracks being performed nowadays. This album is a hard one to grasp, but once you do, you don't let go. "Gates" is the best Yes epic as far as sheer imagery and emotion. You're then taken to the ferocity of "Sound Chaser" and gently brought back to life with the tranquility of "To Be Over". This is the pinnacle of true Yes progressive.

ata5d@virginia.edu (Arthur T. Andrews IV)
If you didn't like Relayer, pick up Yesshows which has a better version of "Gates of Delirium."

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
"Gates" is great, but again suffers from excess padding. It really should have been a 10-12 minute. "To Be Over" is a gem, I suspect one of the most underrated pieces. "Sound Chaser" doesn't quite cut it. Still, one of the great albums.

TempsFugit@aol.com
I think YES recorded this on Jupiter. :)

Olias@webtv.net (Justin Strohm)
I think Relayer is one of Yes' best albums.

rderby@erols.com
all i'll say is: give me a RELAYER-type album in the 90's.

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
One of my absolute favourite things is to play the remastered version of Relayer at full earsplitting high tilt. To relate to my pleasure, use a high-end CD player with a good pair - I mean a GOOD pair of headphones. Not some cheap Sennheisers or crap like that. Mine are Sony MDR-V600 at about $150 u.s.d. Try it! There is a god. p.s. boost the bass a bit though.

wallison@pnc.com.au (Warwick Allison)
This is Yes' darkest album,"burn their childrens laughter on to hell." Must I say anymore.

First_last@studio.disney.com
If you don't like this album you are not a true Yes fan. Sorry, but let's not get mired in the details. Music hits you in a certain way and I've said it before to my friends, pontificating on Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, you either get it or you don't especially with this music.

13ncinf@msn.com (Kenneth Hawkins)
Relayer was always one of my favorite Yes albums and I've not been disappointed by picking up the remastered version and rocking out again after 23 years! what a glorious cacaphony of noise and anger! very unYeslike but nonetheless very evocotive, great drums, guitar, lyrics etc. I agree with the guy who posted that his favorite thing was to put it on at ear-splitting volume! one of my favorite Yes memories: Back at Christmas 1974 my stepsister gave me an Earth Wind & Fire album.... I promptly took it back to the store and traded it in for the new Yes album, Relayer. Shortly after that, when my Dad was out of the house, I put it on at near the above volume and quickly blew the fuses in his (then) ten year old Fisher amplifier!

akeithdavis@mailcity.com (Keith Davis)
Relayer consists of two great songs-"The Gates Of Delirium" and "To Be Over." "The Gates Of Delirium" is great for the first 10 minutes, then the "noisefest" begins, I wonder if "Yes" wasn't operating along the same wavelength as King Crimson when they created Lark's Tongues In Aspic. Actually, the next three minutes sound like a cross between "Lark's Tongues" and "Bytor and The Snow Dog" from Fly By Night by Rush. Interesting music, but extremely noisy!! I have listened to "Sound Chaser" and I still think it contains an incredible amount of noise!! "To Be Over" on the other hand, is mellow and beautiful! Overall, I will have to up- grade my opinion of Relayer and give it an 8/10, vice the earlier 6/10. The sound has improved tremen- dously from the earlier cd; the digital remastering has definitely improved the overall sound.

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
Maybe this was a sign that Moraz was "To Be Over".

jsmartin@rocketmail.com (Jon Martin)
"The Gates of Delirium" has to be one of the best songs Yes have ever produced. In my opinion it is very well structured and contains Steve Howe's best work. Okay it does take a while to get into-but it really pays off. As regards the other two tracks "Sound Chaser" is good if a little disorganised. "To Be Over" is nice but not that special. Despite the other two tracks this is one of the best Yes albums.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
Well I must say it's better than the album before. It shows great improvement, unlike over done, boring, noisy Topographic Oceans. I really didn't like this album either when I first got it, I was also afraid of it. "Gates Of Delirium" was a pretty damn scary song but it had good quality put into it. It opens with synthesizers performed by someone from The Moody Blues. I enjoyed the fight. You actually feel like you're a part of it. Then it all goes quiet, the closing of the song was scary, it must have been the funeral. The song was good and scary. The second track "Sound Chaser" should have been called "The Most Annoying Song Ever Made" because I think out of ideas after the first track, at the end they were fooling around with the tempo, Jon actually tells you how the song will be later. Closing the album was a very good slow dancing, well maybe not dancing song called "To Be Over"; after such a violent album, it deserves a little peace and relaxation. I really didn't like these last 3 albums they made. But something suprisingly did happen, so see my review of the next album.

newsnuts@weir.net (Joe Lawler)
People actually like this album!

I do too, but I have to say it's embarrassing to play in front of your friends because of that horrible Mexican, `cha, cha, cha' part during "Sound Chaser"....

It sounds like Buster Poindexter on speed....

Other than that, though, a great album, especially "Gates of Delirium"...

dembones@pond.net
What a piece of work! I love Bill Bruford, especially in Crimson and U.K. but I always felt that somehow his playing was lightweight within the context of Yes. Relayer convinced me that White is indeed the right man for the job. Powerful stuff! "Gates" is among my five favorite Yes pieces. Although I agree that Moraz' parts are sometimes a little comical, I believe his contributions made Relayer the wonderful work that it is. I love the "Buck Rogers" pre-disco keyboard solo in "Soundchaser" :-) Also, I can't help but feel that Howe sometimes sounds terribly uncomfortable on the electric guitar. This is made especially evident on the brittle, jagged, and frankly, sloppy solo on "Soundchaser," which has none of the characteristic grace he exhibits on the Acoustic.

deitrich@ripco.com
The sad thing about most hardcore Yes fans (i'm one) is their inability, when applicable, to separate particular member lineups from the Yes catalog of music as a whole. Relayer is without a doubt one of the most fantastic, daring, beautiful, out-there, scary collections of music i've ever listened to. The big drawback to the album is Eddie Offerd's clumsy production. "Gates" is not a 20 minute, meandering jam. It makes more sense to me than "Close To the Edge" or "Awaken" for that matter, even though the latter sounds a lot better. Imagine if Brian Lane (produced Going For the One) were around for Relayer. You know, Yes music doesn't really need Wakeman. Sure, he's awesome, but to me Moraz, at least on Relayer, is a much better ensemble player. His solos are hipper and smarter. The keys solo in "To Be Over" has a really wonderful chromatic line about eight measures in. Moraz helped define the next album, too, both compositionally and stylistically It's really too bad that he couldn't stick around for Going For The One. He helped Yes out of their shell, but they were too afraid and naked to see what was happening.

hawkins@alphalink.com.au (Alan Hawkins)
Next to Fragile, Relayer is definitely one of my fave Yes albums - sure, Moraz was a weaker keyboard player, yet that only gave howe more chance to dominate the album with his soaring guitar riffs and melodies. "Gates of Delirium" is truly awesome, in fact (and I know some people will hate me for saying this) but I think it's probably better than the title-track to close to the edge! it's easier to understand (lyricwise) for a start!!! "Soundchaser" is probably the most twisted piece of prog. rock ever committed to vinyl, just listen to how frenetic and insane Howe's guitar playing becomes towards the end!!! "to be over", on the other hand, is a blissful, calming and fitting finale. If Wakeman played on this album it would've sounded just like the previous Yes records! Relayer saw the band moving on into something completely different. Overall, this is one of Yes' most spontaneous, energetic and heaviest records and is well worth a listen.

mrowley@pacbell.net (The Rowley Family)
If you're having a party and you want everybody to leave put on Relayer. I LOVE it. My son was trying to play "Sound Chaser" on tupperware and pots and pans when he was about five. He's turned out to be a good drummer. The musical section following the line "the hour approaches pounding out the devil's sermon" in "Gates of Delirium" is obviously a musical depiction of a battle scene. It's one of the most intense pieces of music I've ever heard. Most of my fellow musicians don't care for it much but I always figured Relayer to be an acquired taste.

tomr@ix.netcom.com (Tom *****)
This one took a while to get used to. At first I hated it except "To be over" which was so mellow and cool. Then for a while, I got into "Sound Chaser". I hated "Gates" when I first heard it. But after time, I have come to believe that it is one of the finest recorings the boys have ever done. The weird time signatures, the cacophany of noise, the jazzie inserts, the heartwarming catharsis, and the spectacular finale`. It's all here.

Accessible? NOT. But it's one of Yes greatest songs.

As long as you have the time to listen.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Relayer was the 70's hard-steel sounding record of the band. The guitar and keys gave the arrangements a metal quality in places. An excellent record, but more of a step back or forward it was a turnaround in the same place. Moraz hadn't much opportunity to prove himself within a band with musicians that were not just geographically but musically foreign to him. As a keyboardist, for me, Patrick is better than Rick. But Moraz part in Yes was just OK on the studio. "Sound Chaser" was his best showcase. For better treatments and Patrick's finest moments go listen to the live versions. This record and the tour that followed were Alan White's best moments also. Dean's best work ever. 8/10 (heavy rock dudes will put 9, I guess).

paul.rogers@ait.uc.nz
Relayer? Is that the one with the snake on the cover?

seafoam@vfr.net
I think this album is one of the greatest pieces of Yes music. Patrick Moraz is an excellent keyboard player. "Sound chaser" is a showcase of the greatest rhythm section in the world. "To be over" is kind of a nice lullaby. You can sing your kids to sleep with it. "Gates of Delirium" is a great epic. Overall I enjoyed it all. I say if they want to tour with the "Classic Yes" lineup, I say to Yes "give Mr. Moraz a call."

Going For The One - Atlantic 1977.

Either Relayer excited him or the solo life didn't, 'cause Wakeman's back, Jack, and that aint no slack! Judging from the non-Roger Dean album cover (their first since The Yes Album), this was an attempt to break out of the commercial doldrums they'd been in since Tales From Topographic Oceans destroyed their career oh so many years ago. But let me tell you something, mister: there wasn't a band alive in '77 that sounded even a Lee Iacocca like this. Because of their constant striving to grow and mature, they insisted on making their songs more and more complex until, by this point, it was completely impossible to predict what was going to happen during the course of any given song.

Each of the five tunes on this record begin in a normal, comprehensible manner, but only the short pretty single, "Wonderous Stories," lives up to this promise. The other four songs take more left turns than a Chinese motorist! Ha ha! Biting ethnic satire! Honestly though, critics who say Yes were trying to simplify and mainstream their sound on this album clearly didn't listen past the first minute of each side. Yes, the title track begins like an awkward hoedown, but it soon turns into one of the most exciting and least sensible chord sequences in the history of The United States of America. And si, "Turn Of The Century" starts off like a normal classical guitar-based ballad, but listen to what Steve and Rick do during these special eight minutes - listen to all the different things they do to the original melody - then try to play the song yourself - then shut the hell up, you talentless knave.

And both "Parallels" and the sixteen-minute opus "Awaken" make no bones about their intentions; the band is purposely screwing with the rhythm, melody, style, and tempo of the songs so many times (just 'cause they CAN) that the songs are almost impossible to follow in a normal record-listening manner. You just have to adjust your foot-tap to match the 6/4 rhythms and crap like that. And, as he has so many times before, Steve Howe continues to demonstrate in "Awaken" that he may be the fastest competent note-player ever to pick up a lightning-powered minstrel box. Like Relayer, this is one messy ass record, but it's impressive as shim. So darn smart, these Yes men! Critics are idiots.

Except me, of course.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
Critics are idiots, okay! Except for you? I don't think so! This album has been, and probably still is one of the best they have ever made. The balance in the songs throughout the album is just right with the highlight "Awaken" at the end. So what you mean with messy? Not at all as I see it, it's just another Yes masterwork in yet another Yes period!

rjohnson@jax-inter.net (Richard E. Johnson)
Going For The One is indeed messy, but in a beautiful way. This album Rocks more than any other Yes album, period. But being true Yes, it rocks with lots of chord and rhythm changes. Fragile it is not, but just as good in its own way. This is the best album that both Wakeman and White were on together.

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
RICK WAKEMAN is back! Steve Howe took guitar to yet another new level. Jon Anderson's lyric style changes to become more clear and melodic, in his return from his near disappearence in Relayer. Every member was excellent, and the new sound is amazing, but they do apply the new style to finally do TALES justice and do what I think is the only true follow-up to TALES, "AWAKEN." It showed that Yes was back, and they could truly continue as a band making better and better music, and escaping the trap of music that is pressed so hard to be progressive that it loses direction and appeals to the listener.

jrichter@texas.net (James K. Richter Jr.)
Hey, when did everyone get together and decide "Awaken" is a classic? No one certainly told me. ;-)

thutley@e-z.net (Thomas Hutley)
The music was great, the sound was excellent, and everyone played within the realm of the entire picture. No ungodly one-man solos. No out of place instruments or wholesale classical rip-offs. Just good music. So who cares about which members played on the album? It's what goes on the black circle that counts, and if Roy Clark wanted to sit in pluckin' on a banjo during the climax of "parallels", they probably could of fit him in too! Try not to get too caught up in who's the better band member. It doesn't do the music any justice. If I went solely on musical line-up, I wouldn't have Fragile in my record collection -- and we all know what a shameful thing that would be!

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
This was the first Yes album that I owned (I did actually ask for *The* Yes Album for Christmas!) and I fell in love with it straight away. Nice clear natural-sounding production and excellent tracks that are all so different. It shows that Alan White can do more than thrash. "Awaken" is a 17 minute epic with church organ, the lot. The album was a real return to more accessible music from the complex mid-70's works. Yet again they had come up with something fresh. 8/10.

One thing though, it was certainly strange seeing them on BBC TV's Top Of The Pops 'performing' "Wondrous Stories."

tkcchan@hkucc.hku.hk (Thomas Chan)
Going For The One will remain one of my best ever heard albums. "Turn Of The Century" is not just musically stunning. Listen to the lyrics. I shed my tears almost every time i listen to it.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Jury's still out on this one as far as I'm concerned. I really like "Awaken," "Turn Of The Century," and "Parallels," but I hate "Wonderous Stories," and the intro to the title track really throws me.

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
I really like this album. I like every song; "Turn of the Century" is a beautiful song, and "Awaken" is a classic. I also think "Parallels" rocks! Another good Yesshows track. I guess some people might think the music is more accessible. I don't. I think after hearing this album right after Relayer, people were taken completely surprise. And that's the beauty of 70s Yes. Compare Close To The Edge, Relayer, and Going For The One, and contemplate how different each one is.

TempsFugit@aol.com
Two images that should never be near each other--"messy" and "Turn Of The Century"--or for that matter "messy" and "Awaken", "Parallels", & "Wonderous Stories." By the way, rock and roll is supposed to be messy.

cos@syrinx.com (Caress Of Steel)
Are you crazy?! "Wondrous Stories" is awesome!!! I listen to it at least three times a week. "Awaken" is ok... something about being based on circle of fourths hinders its tonality. BTW, Steve Howe is awesome on this album.

rderby@erols.com
at first i hated this record, but as i mature, i find myself saying THIS IS YES'S PINNACLE ALBUM!! all the mis-mash on TALES is shed for this beautiful record. "Turn of the Century" is easily the most emotional pieces YES ever did. and "Awaken"........yeah they got that. i only wish ABWH hadn't tried to ape it later.

vicae@afns.vicenza.army.mil
One of my all time favorite Yes albums! I may be in the majority but I think "Parallels" is an under-rated masterpiece. And I love the title track - thank you very much! Those days may be "gone forever" but I can certainly relive 'em when I listen to this album!

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
Messy? hmmm. Yes would never get "Awaken" as well as they did here, listen to the end of it. 20 years later they still can't really replicate that shit as well as the original. Messy? you're an idiot.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net
Oh man, the best album Yes has ever made has to be this one. I loved "Turn of the Century", "Parallels" is a great rock track that they should play on the radio. "Wonderous stories", man I have dreams about that song, it was cool as anything. "Awaken" was a real treat. It's very relaxing, mystical, and calm. Enclosing my review I give this album a 9. Does anybody agree or what!!

dajones@bigtex.ci.dallas.tx.us (Doug Jones)
I would agree that this album deserves 8 or 9 out of 10 thangs, but I would also take exception to characterizing it as "messy," because it is in its somewhat unprecedented lyrical and musical focus that I think GFTO is most remarkable. I've never cared for the title track, perhaps put off incurably by that awful, hee-haw guitar intro, and Jon's strained vocals. Ok, IT's "messy." BUT MAN! The ultimate majesty and yearning of "Turn of the Century," the integrity and humility of "Parallels," the spiritual solace of "Wondrous Stories," and the masterpiece of life, "Awaken." This is honest music, and there is no substitute. "...past a mortal as me, where can I be?" There is something terribly liberating in coming to grips with our mortality and admitting that we haven't a natural clue where we fit in.

dembones@pond.net
This is perhaps the finest album of this personel line-up. I'm surprised at the criticism of the title cut, which I think is amazing! It's almost sarcastic in its treatment of the Rockabilly intro, and I think the genious melodies and changes stand right up there with CTTE and Relayer. Horrible production on "Parallels," which I think is weak anyway. Where are the drums in the mix?!? "Wonderous Stories" is both beautiful and irritating after the first listen. I agree with Anderson's statement that "Awaken" is the definative Yes song. "Turn of the Century" is hypnotizing, and the version on the Yes Tribute is beautiful as well.

rburg01@email.msn.com (Roc)
Just for "Awaken" alone, this is my favorite. The "Master of Time" section at the end I feel rivals only the ending of Genesis' "The Musical Box" as one of the most intense moments in progressive rock history.

And let's settle this Alan White/Bill Bruford stuff. You cannot determine quality by degree of fanciness. Bruford is a trick drummer, who has used the same "tricks" over and over throughout his career. Ask any drummer, a lot of what Bruford (and for example Neal Peart of Rush) does to sound "complex" and "fancy" is actually very simple to execute. Alan White plays with soul. In my opinion, there is no match. White is clearly better. It was obvious from his first notes on Tales.

hawkins@alphalink.com.au (Alan Hawkins)
Going for the one, in my view, was clearly Yes at their peak, their music definitely went downhill after this record and I think they should have called it quits at this point. There isn't much else I can say except that this is a well produced, well balanced record, the title-track totally blew my mind when I first heard it, and hey!! what's wrong with Howe's opening guitar riff??? I'm not into country music but that pedal steel guitar is nothing short of groovy!! Being a grown man, I'm proud to say I get a little weepy every time I hear "Turn of the century", especially Howe's gentle acoustic playing at the end of the song, what is less than understandable though is that strange, almost inaudible piece of synthesizer music which leads into the next track, "Parallels", has anyone else noticed this?? The highlight for me though is "Awaken", a magnificent piece which puts seventies punk music back in it's place!!! The last minute or so of that song has got to be the most breath-taking music I've ever heard the band play.

mrowley@pacbell.net (The Rowley Family)
Bought the CD (still have vinyl) simply because "Awaken" is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. Never tire of it. When they pulled it out during the Union tour I couldn't believe my good fortune in being able to hear it done well LIVE! Some interesting technology used in that recording to get that Pipe organ in there. Must be nice to be able to spend that kind of dough.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Going For the One was Jon's renaissance as a lyricist, but it doesn't necessarily mean it was for good. After being misunderstood on Tales and not predominant on Relayer he went for simplicity Anderson-style. This time the results were good, but afterwards... This album has the distinction of having all its tracks presented on the Yesyears video. The cover was different, but ugly in comparison (at least Dean's logo was kept). Musically, it was Rick's best moment in the band as a player. Alan is OK. "Awaken" is another classic and "Parallels" is Chris inspiration moving to the front. Offord is hardly missed in this one. Why did they spell "Wondrous" without the 'e'?.

tomr@ix.netcom.com
Good, but not great.

"Turn of the Century" is outstanding. Particularly Steve, "Wonderous Stories" is a little hokey but very listenable. I disagree with Jon that "Awaken" is the best piece of music they ever did. Dont get me wrong. It's good. Very, very, very good. But there is an irritating fuzziness about the whole album in general and on "Awaken" in particular. Do you know what I mean? Or am I the only one. I wonder how much better it would have been had Eddie Offord been there to smooth out the rough edges. Look, all of their best work was done with Eddie and the helm. They have never been the same without him and it's a cryin shame.

Tormato - Atlantic 1978.

This leaves the pretty keyboard-driven ballads "Onward" and "Madrigal" and the fun hyperactive noisefests "Arriving UFO" and "Release, Release." "Arriving UFO" starts off hokey, but jeez does it get noisy when the aliens show up! And "Release, Release" is their spastic attempt to play a normal upbeat rock 'n' roll song. They can't do it! They can't even stay in 4/4! They know it's too boring, so they have to make it as complex as humanly possible. Fantastic and hilarious. Complete with a moronic "live" drum solo. Silly kids. A mostly enjoyable record, but extremely fruity, and completely immature in almost every way. Rick Wakeman's dumbass beard, for example.

Reader Comments

mcknney@is3.nye.edu (Rick McKinney)
Uh... your repetition of terms like "sissy" is starting to grow tiresome. Especially to those of us sissies who also happen to love Yes. Perhaps when you feel the urge to use homophobicisms like "sissy", you can use instead terms like "rock critic" or "up-tight breeder" or even "snobby brit". And "Don't Kill The Whale" is disco?? The last part of that song is the best stoner music I've heard since "South Side Of The Sky".

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
HEY! Both you guyz! The Whale song is admittedly bad, and has a disco feel, that just goes to show that Bill Bruford is missed. Wakeman was excellent as usual, and Steve Howe took guitar even further again. However, Wakeman doesn't seem to connect with Howe's guitar like he did in previous albums. The solo thing that you described happens here - where members are going off into their different directions. Howe's guitar makes the album, "ON THE SILENT WINGS OF FREEDOM." Wakeman's solos are awesome. It isn't so much a step back, as it is a step in a different direction that is even more radio-happy than Going For The One tried to be. Wakeman and Anderson connect for the first time ever to do many beautiful melodic tunes that are a credit to both their talents.

jrichter@texas.net (James K. Richter Jr.)
"Future Times" is a fantastic song! (And I'm no sissy!)

bringer@earthlink.net (Fred)
It's really quite simple: Too much overplaying, Horrific production, Singing that's dry and reaching to stay high piched. "Whale" & "Release" are good tunes though that need to be re-recorded.

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
Well, a poor follow-up to Going For The One I'm afraid. I loved it at the time but looking back, what were they up to? This is their worst album to date. The strangest production sound I've heard on album. I agree it was a lot to do with Chris' funny bass sound but what about Rick's synths? "Circus Of Heaven" is downright embarrassing now. My favourite from the album would be "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom," it really moves. 5/10

pcahill@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Patrick Cahill)
OK, it is the worst Yes album of the 70s, but still...it's got moments. "Future Times" is a decent song, and I think "Madrigal" is a really nice piece. The SLO "Onward" is great! Glad they dug that one up. But the album is definitely worth "On The Silent Wings of Freedom"; this is eight minutes of sheer force, the chops are just sick.

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
I seem to recall from the Union documentary Anderson describing Tormato as a great album that was never finished. The material isn't bad ("Future Times", "Silent Wings") but the arrangements, usually Yes's greatest strength, are atrocious. I imagine that Going For The One sounded as bad before all the final editing was complete. A missed opportunity with a stupid name.

TempsFugit@aol.com
Let me say just one thing: "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is one of the most kick ass songs I have ever heard. If you don't like that one, I feel sorry for you.

rderby@erols.com
loved it when i was young, hate it as an adult. "Future Times" keeps the album from being a complete disaster.

keio@usa.net (Keio Sandvik)
Looks like the punk bands had an effect on the Yes camp. Not exactly a punk album, but the songs are shorter, the sound sparser, the lyrics cruise at a slightly lower altitude. Momentary sputterings of magnificence. The front cover is a result of what happens when anarchic elements creep into a vegetarian restaurant.

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
Most people seem to put this album down for one reason or another. I love the album. I hate to think that people can't see that Yes has to move with the times, hell we can't expect a Fragile every album. Anyway, it seems to me that we look for different things on Yes albums. I, whom play drums, love Alan above Bill. Chris and Alan have a feel that rocks together. But if you are a guitarist or keyboardist, you will see it in other ways. I did not like Fragile, and hate "Roundabout" except when Alan and Chris play it. Anyway the chorus to "Release, Release" was the best of the album.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net
I think this album was ok mostly due to the fact that some of the music was not exemperly of Yes's former standards prior recording of this album. "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" was not palatable to my musical taste, but it did have a few touches of poetic beauty.

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
I understand that Tormato has generally been regarded as a flop among Yes fans. Maybe they were expecting too much after the masterpiece Going for the One? In hindsight, Tormato is a great album. The somewhat silly and overcute "Circus of Heaven" can't take that away. "Release Release" and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" are among the best Yes songs ever. The latter one being commonly requested among fans for coming tours. "Arriving UFO" is really exciting and "Future Times/Rejoice" has a very pleasant "old british" feel which could very well be used again. The wonderful ballad "Onward", though, is better on Keys to Ascension.

dembones@pond.net
Strange, strange production. Much too dry. Sounds like Anderson's helium inflated voice is screaming right in your eardrum. Wakeman's flamboyant style is sounding very dated all of a sudden, and his choice of shrill keyboard timbres (Prophet 5?) are NOT at all sympathetic with Howe's guitar tone, which is thin and whiny in itself. Apparently Squire discovered the Evantide Harmonizer and the Envelope filter... Sorry Chris, only Flea can get away with that combination! "Madrigal" and "Onward" are unusually pure and beautiful, and "Silent Wings of Freedom" cooks right along. I HATE "Release, Release" and "Whale." Pure poser fluff.

tomr@ix.netcom.com (Tom Russell)
Fumble!

Even the "good" songs are ruined by sharing the same piece of vinyl. I have refrained from grading any of the previous albums. This needs a shovel. Is 1 too generous? On top of the dumb songwriting, the sound quality sucks. Who mixed this anyway?

Uggg!

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Tormato comprised the words "Tor" (the name of the band's studio in England, sounding as "tour") and "Tomato" (hence the splashed one on the cover). The album comprised poor musical ideas... If the sleeves help sell a record, this one (the ugliest up to this point) should help buyers to avoid this album. Some tracks are fun, but others are just lackluster songs with some little impressive arrangements. Certainly these guys can play, but seemed they had nothing good to play. "Onward" is beautiful but not typically Yes. "Circus of Heaven" finale was a good idea, but the song is silly with some "Lucy in the Sky"-type licks near the end without magic. The "On the Silent" bass intro line was best redone in "Tempus Fugit" two years after. And, oh, yes, Offord IS missed this time. In 1993 Wakeman came to Peru and I met him. He said about this album: "It was a record made by five different musicians, with five different producers in five different studios. That's why one track has nothing to do with one another". Well, his recount was not accurate (with too many "fives") but metaphorically he was right: this record seems a badly ensembled puzzle. A low point. I give it 6/10.

Yesshows - Atlantic 1980.

Reader Comments

thutley@e-z.net (Thomas Hutley)
Be thankful , ye' merry men, and rejoice! For even though the band that was recorded on this album no longer existed, it still made it to the vinyl stores... and not as a bootleg, either! The production credits go to YES, but we all know it was Squire! Who else would make a track list missing "Roundabout" and "All Good People"? The same guy who wasn't going to put those two on the Classic Yes release as well! And let me second the motion that this song list is prime cut, grade A, USDA stamped beef! No fat. No bone. And none of that hard, black stuff that makes you crave tofu. This is the kind of stuff that makes your hamburgers taste like STEAKburgers! Let me tell ya', these guys really broke out into some killer chops on these ditties! And as for "Whale", I'd take this version over the studio track any day of the year, including "Be Kind to Animals" week, and that's no Balooga! With meat like that, you don't even CARE there's no potatoes! Relish well these recordings, my friends, because most of these forgotten YES gems will never see the strobe-light of stage-day again. But man will this stuff stick to your ribs! And all done by a bunch of vegiterians...

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
What does this really have to do with food? A great concert performed by the real Yes. "Parallels" is a better song live than original. It opens like you're in a baseball game with Rick's keyboard. "Time And A Word" kind of sounds the same as the original. But is nice really. "Going For the One" live is a good hard rock piece of music. "GATES OF DELIRIUM" ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It rocks so cool, the fight is better and I bet those people at the show must have been thrilled. Second disk starts out with "Don't Kill the Whale" is cool. First the song then the intoduction of the stage crew. Than the 30 minute "Ritual", why did they put the same song on two tracks, I really don't get it, but it was so better than the original, I mean much better. "Wonderous Stories" is so heart warming live and not live. I give this album a 9.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Great sounding in comparison to Yessongs. Rick's in all the pics, but Patrick is featured for the most part time-wise. I understand your confusion placing it before Drama, 'cause this live album recollects performances from 1976 up to 1978 (right after Tormato), being entirely recorded prior to The Buggles incursion in Yes history. If one wants to keep a chonological recording (not release) order, then Yesshows must come first. Tell you, Yesshows is 9/10.

paul.rogers@ait.uc.nz
This was my fav. Yes release 'till KTA2 "New Tracks". "GOD" soars. Didn't Chris compile this to satisfy a recording contract? (ditto Classic Yes). Whatever. It must be the most played vinyl and CD in my collection. Right from the first opening strains of "firebird' and into a howling version of "Parallels". Steve should have recieved an OBE for his live work here! What the heck. Give em all one.

Drama - Atlantic 1980.

Ha, I tell thee!

Ha! Ha!

This album blows. They try really hard to be a tougher Yes for the '80s, but the melodies are too goofy to pull it off. Oh sure, "Does It Really Happen" is kinda catchy, and "Tempus Fugit" is one of the greatest goddamn songs ever written by mortal man, but "Into The Lens" is what we in the business call "a piece of shit," "Run Through The Light" incinerates a perfectly pleasant melody by applying the patented Yes screw-up-the-tempo formula where it clearly doesn't belong, and "Machine Messiah" sounds kinda like Queensryche, as horrid as that sounds. The guy sounds a little like Jon Anderson, sure, but, seriously, now.... Yes without Jon Anderson? That's hardly Yes, you know. Maybe Yeah or OK or something, but hardly Yes. Silly hobbits. Shits are for Styx!

Look! I've been clever again! Ha!

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
I simply do NOT agree that Drama wasn't a good album! Okay, it was different and it didn't include Jon's voice, but didn't get Genesis more popularity after Peter Gabriel left the band although Genesis fans at that time turned their back on the band? The whole problem simply was that Yes without Jon wasn't Yes for most of the fans and therefore Trevor Horn never had a fair chance in showing off what he was capable of. Personally I find some great songs on the album as "White Car" and "Tempus Fugit".

By the way, I still find Geoff Downes one of the best keyboard- players Yes has ever had and in that period he maybe was even better than Rick.

rjohnson@jax-inter.net (Richard E. Johnson)
Drama was a great album musically AND vocally. Unfortunately, too many people just don't think its Yes without Jon. It could be argued that Drama is actually one of the best albums Yes ever made. I really think it is strong in every way. Chris and Steve are outrageously good throughout as are Downes and Whites. The Genesis analogy is not really fair since Gabriel's Genesis wasn't as popular as the pre-Drama Yes. If Rick can't do Yes then they should beg Downes to come back; he's the most rounded player Yes has ever had.

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
That's it - the gloves are off now, man. Geoff Downes is an excellent artist who basically blew away Rick Wakeman's music with Yes. Rick Wakeman was always the best keyboardist, and Geoff Downes came into Yes with a unique concept.....actually playing WITH the entire band! Trevor Horn was no Jon Anderson, but for this new band, I can not think of anyone who could sing those songs. And what do you do when you lose the best keyboardist and vocalist ever? You get better! Steve Howe and Chris Squire stepped-up from the shadows that often hid them behind Jon Anderson's lyrics and Rick Wakeman's amazing keyboards. Downes set a new standard for keyboards in a band. All and all it was an excellent album. Every song is well written and well performed. The band achieves its goal of a different sound, and can not be compared to previous Yes, because they are in different classes of music. This would have been the most progressive, New Age, pioneering rock band of the eighties, but...... once again, something happened. And don't EVER DIS THE STYX!

jrichter@texas.net (James K. Richter Jr.)
Face it guys, Drama is a better album than Tormato or Going For The One.

DougS@aol.com
There is one good thing that came out of this record.... Out of the ashes of Drama rose a band who released one hell of an album.... ASIA....

bringer@earthlink.net (Fred)
Good rocker of an album, perhaps it should have been called Yes-ish to avoid the politics!

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
Jon leaving Yes was a real body blow. It was the end of Yes. Then this album turned up. I bought it and loved the production, but it just wasn't Yes. I would have given it a 3 or 4 /10. Years later I re-discovered it. Ignoring the singing, the playing on this album is fantastic. Steve, Chris and Alan are doing some of their best work and moving the Yes sound forward. It's proved to me that Yes wasn't just about Jon's voice. I'd give it a 7 now.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
What is this crap? "Machine Messiah" has to be one of the worst songs the band has ever put out. And "White Car" is the most pointless thing the band's done since "We Have Heaven." And I must say that I agree completely with your comment on "Into The Lens." "I am a camera, camera, camera . . . " What!! That has to be the most stupid chorus ever written. After that one, I better not ever again hear anyone complain about Rabin's "Chez Nous" line again. I can't quite see how you compare stuff on this album to Queensryche. Q-ryche is a morbid glam metal band. This stuff isn't even close. I can, however see the Styx comparison. There were moments when it sounded like Yes was going to break out into "Mr Roboto." Yuck! "Tempus Fugit" was cool, and I liked the bassline to "Does it Really Happen," but I could throw the rest away.

DrGottliebson@msn.com (Daniel Gottliebson)
Hey! An album with a Roger Dean cover, neat! I'll buy it. Hmm, a group called Drama is putting out an album called Yes. Ha! That's a nice tribute sort of thing. Not bad! I like "Tempus Fugit" a lot. Gee, I sure hope Yes puts out another album soon.

PF90125@aol.com
ok. Drama defense time..i really love the album. despite the loss of jon. i am a major chris fan, and this album brings him to the fore more than any other album. you hear his voice and his bass carrying the torch as if alone. steve found his soon to be asia power. alan finally impressed me with his missing snare hits in "Run Into The Light." i love the sound, texture, vocals, power, teamwork and of course the heaviest bass in quite a while..the gentleman above was correct in saying that chris blew Tormato with a flange...

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
I can't believe how badly Drama has aged. I kinda liked it at the time; the final instrumental bit on "Does It Really Happen" is a killer. Nowadays I really don't care for it.

TempsFugit@aol.com
First off: Queensryche is not glam metal--they have made some interesting music. Anyway, "white ca"', "into the lens"--yeah, sure, doesn't sound like the same band that did "heart of the sunrise" or "ritual"--but progressive rock is supposed to progress! It's different, it's unusual, it's...progressive.

rderby@erols.com
some cool sounds. some great playing (and singing). some good songs (and a great song "tempus fugit") hey! i like this record! but why did SPINAL TAP show up on "...messiah"?

FPerdomo@IX.Netcom.com (Fernando Perdomo)
I wish Yes always sounded as tight and heavy as drama was. "Machine Messiah" is the greatest song yes did after Relayer. I also prefer Trevor Horne's vocals to Jon's. Horn's voice has more midrange and more presence, a little more Dramatic and Ballzy. Geoff downes was the best Keyboard player yes ever had, will trade Relayer tour Boot for Drama Tour Boot.

HODGESIII@aol.com
Most of the comments about "Machine Messiah"'s first two minutes being really bad heavy metal are right. And the lyric, "I am a Camera" is a good forerunner for all time worst lyric in any album. BUT, considering the two new band members that were added for the album it's not a total waste. I can listen to parts of "Machine Messiah" and tracks 4, 5 and 6 because they really showcase some good bass and guitar work from Squire and Howe. If you are in the right frame of mind (no-this won't be the Yes album) you can really enjoy listening to this album for what it's worth.

rlewisj@ibm.net (Tom Tebalt)
This, for me was the last great Yes album. I was sorry to see Rick and Jon leave, but the album is still one of my fav's. Drama is better than: 90210 (I mean 90215), Big Loverator (how many times can you use the word 'love' on one album?) and all the other weak albums of the '80's. I'll take Trevor Horn over that other Trevor any day, any time! "White Car" live was one of the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
Well my point made again. People put this album down because of Jon or Rick. Chris and Alan did very well. "Machine" was really good. "White Car" rules...........................

dajones@bigtex.ci.dallas.tx.us (Doug Jones)
Who is the real Yes? I always hate to hear Yes fans trashing DRAMA on the basis that it wasn't the real Yes. Granted, Jon's trademark voice was absent for the first time, but from a roll call perspective, it's as much YES as a variety of other releases. If, as most YES fans do, we view Anderson/Squire/Howe/Wakeman/Bruford as the best, or most representative, of Yes configurations, then we must note not only that that combo was as different from the original group (pre-1970) as DRAMA was from TORMATO, but also that it lasted for about the same amount of time as the DRAMA bunch, about one year. With DRAMA, new members Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn had actually been involved in the production of TORMATO, and it was Horn's influence that ultimately gave us 90125, for better or worse.

DRAMA was made in the context of a major shift in progressive rock, at the tag end of the latter's renaissance. While Yes music had remained most distinctive and truest to the progressive style, it had also begun to lose its impact, with the release of accessible, but decidedly shallower and less salty stuff like TORMATO. Groups like UK were creating more incisive, cutting-edge progressive music, driven by the heavily syncopated, powerful jazz-fusion of former King Crimsonites Bill Bruford and John Wetton. But as intriguing as that music was and is, doggonit, you can't dance to it, and sadly that was much more important in 1980 than it was in 1972. Enter Horn's Yes and the Brufordless Asia. Straightforward rhythms, increased power, and at least a reflection of the depth and mystique of the progressive stuff. Thus, two of the DRAMA Yes (Downes, Howe) joined forces with Wetton (Crimson/UK) to form Asia, while those remaining (Squire, White) reunited with Anderson and original keyboardist Tony Kaye to carry forward Trevor Horn's Yes, 90125. Indeed, Yes fans who embrace 90125 must acknowledge that it is miles closer to DRAMA than TORMATO or previous Yes. Oh yeah, and DRAMA is a good album, definitely superior to TORMATO. With Jon off recording with Vangelis at the time, the alternative to DRAMA is not a pleasant thought.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
COOL!!! I bought this album 2 years ago and I enjoyed every minute of it. "Machine Messiah" is somewhat alternative. But it never got boring. Trevor Horn is a good singer and Geoff Downes is a good keyboard player. Jon and Rick left and I really don't know why. But I guess they deserve a break for a few years. "White Car" was a short but cool song about a man in a White Car. I've seen a lot of White Cars in these days and I think of this song when I see one. "Does It Really Happen" is a Beach Boys beat song, I mean it has fun lyrics and fun music, Steve can really play that guitar for his last album with the band. "Into the Lens" is about a camera, I take photography and I like this song more than I did before. "Run Through the Light" is a cool but soft song and has its good moments. "Tempus Fugit" which means time flies is a good dance song. Drama is a good album with everything you want. There are 2 songs that never made it to the album and I forget the names of them. I give this album a 9 and I changed my mind about Going For The One, it's a 10.

dembones@pond.net
I am not a huge fan of Trevor Horn's voice, but he did exceptionally well considering the shoes he had to fill. Geoff Downs' work on Drama was breathtaking... A real step forward in terms of playing style (within a group context) and in updating the sound. Squire and White have never played better together, and Howe is begining to loosen up on the electric a bit. "Machine Messiah", "Does it Really Happen," and "Tempus Fugit" are amazing and stand up against Yes' best work. Even the horrible songs like "Into the Lens" and "Run Through the Light" have some brilliant playing and musicianship. I think Drama was simply a product of the times. Listen to Gentle Giant's "Civilian" lately?

CMBurns104@aol.com
I am a camera.......camera...camera

mrowley@pacbell.net (The Rowley Family)
The only reason I would bother to buy the CD (I've got the vinyl still) is to hear "Tempus Fugit" without all the scratches I put on it listening to it over and over again. Great song! I'm an avid Yes fan but I have to admit that this album is pretty yawnable accept for the above mentioned song. Apparently the only drama involved was trying to find out who was contractually available.

tomr@ix.netcom.com (Tom Russell)
One thing that can be said about DRAMA.

It was better than Torsplatto.

Other than that. It's time to call it quits guys. Try again in say....

16 years.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Drama was not as bad as many say. And the US tour was a smash success. It was the English audience that actually "booed" Horn. The songs in this album was pretty fine to very good. "Machine Messiah" certainly has a pop-metal edge, but many yessounds as well. (Hmmm... "Yessounds"... (couldn't it be a great record title?). "White Car" is serious Buugles plus guest Yes members. "Does It Really...?" is well executed and it is the only time Horn's voice was his own and different from Jon's; but just for that it was the low point in Trevor's singing (the vocal line "does it really happen... to- you?" sounds unsuitable for Yes, even for The Buggles). "Run Through the Light" was a pre-Buggles song Yes had but the new ones contributed ideas that didn't improve the already catchy but weaky track. "Tempus Fugit" is as good as near anything ever recorded by the band. Offord returned for some backing production, producing the clearest Yes sound in years. But the vocals added by the group created a spoiling vacuum effect in places. As for the personnel change, I think it was good to dispose of Jon at the time. He was responsible for giving others the boot when he thought someone wasn't pulling his part. If Paris 1979 sessions are any indication, Jon was musically dried so the boot was given to him. Rick just wasn't at home anymore and prefered laziness taking over. Now Downes is a damn good keyboard player, contributing a new approach and technique (including vocoder). Rick wasn't missed at all. Sure, I don't think Chris was right when he said "Geoof is the best keyboard player Yes ever had" but he was right when he pointed to Geoff's actually playing WITH the band and not just putting in some keys pyrotechnics along. The sleeve with the silver logo is another plus. Maybe this line-up deserved a second try to clarify its potential. All in all, it's 8/10 to me.

What's with Classic?. This record was intended as a postcript or an obituary more than a gap-filler in 1981. Again, I would prefer the single version of "America" rather than "Wonderous Stories" for lineup unity sake. The CD version sleeve colors aren't as sharp as the vinyl record (the silver logo is again a nice touch). The two bonus live songs -originally issued in a vinyl single sold only with the Classic album- were excellent versions (I like the introduction of each member made by Jon in the "All Good people" section) and could be included on Yesshows. Maybe they should put out one early version with Tony Kaye instead on "I've Seen All Good People", but the one released is marvelous.

90125 - Atco 1983.

I docked it a couple of points for the simple reason that anybody can play this stuff - the days of dazzling musical pyrotechnics are over, but still.... "Owner Of A Lonely Heart," "It Can Happen," "Changes," "Leave It," and "City Of Love" move me in ways that only small children can see. Slick, loud, crisp, pretty, what other praise can I utter? Doesn't sound a lick like any Yes that came before, but it's really groovy, man. Even the non-hits are super good. "Our Song?" I like it a lot! "Hearts?" Eh... a bit lengthy, but still pretty good! Buy it, guy! And enter the '80s!

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
'Till this day I'm still happy this album was made as Yes would have probably no longer exist. Concerning the album, it fitted into the eighties but for me it is to popular. It hasn't got the elusive sounds from for instance Relayer and it too much focussed on a hit-single. The biggest problem with record-co.'s these days.

rjohnson@jax-inter.net (Richard E. Johnson)
This isn't Yes, this is Cinema. Poor Trevor Rabin has paid for it ever since. This album wasn't written like the previous Yes albums and doesn't sound or feel like the previous Yes albums. It sounds like a new band with Squire and White as the rhythm section. Having said that - it has some great music on it. It's too bad that Big Generator and Talk didn't even come close...

CClark@aol.com (Cheryl Clark)
I love Yes because they were a great band to listen to on the radio in the early 70's. They made some great music back then. My favorite was 90125 because it had "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" on it.

Limbeck@sprynet.com (Cody Barrow)

Trevor Rabin may be a good addition to Yes, but it's hard to consider him a memeber of the Yes band I've grown up with!

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
I disliked the totally eighties tone of the album, but a lot of the tunes are catchy, and Trevor Rabin's fresh, smooth, electric sound. Cinema made the album, and I wonder what the album would be like if Jon never joined CINEMA to reform Yes. The lyrics were not that great as the band totally ditched prog-rock in order to achieve top forty success. They achieved their goals with this album. Kaye is good, but Downes and Wakeman are missed. It would have been great if Trevor Horn had stayed with Yes to record vocals also, but you can't have everything.

DougS@aol.com
Make no mistake, though the album sports the "YES" moniker, this is a Trevor Rabin album with members of YES doing clean up work. Rabin wrote many of the songs on this album before the band got together. Rabin even admitted that he had to handle the lyrics of several of the songs because he hadn't written them to fit Jon Anderson's "style" of singing. Having said that, this album is still good as a top 40 piece of fluff. But ASIA was deeper and better at the time....

yancyd@pacificnet.net (Yancy Duncan)
I can't help but say it, Trevor Rabin Blows! I saw 9 shows with that guy and I've never seen anyone try so hard to be cool and liked by a group of concert goers. He was a weak and pathetic fill-in for a true master (Steve Howe). The only redeeming quality Trevor had was he wrote the song that kept the band alive- but have we gotten much in return? Little if any real YES music came since they were Rabinized. Plus he thinks he can sing-- please, give me a break. This was never, and will never be his band which is what he wanted "from the beginning" (oh look, an ELP reference). He sucks! The record is great if you are anyone but YES. However, they do have a higher standard. Plus, he brought the most ungodly repulsive groupies to the whole scene.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
The album that introduced me to Yes. I love every song on this album. I can't help but sing along with "It Can Happen." And "City Of Love" rocks better than anything the band had done up to that point. I'm glad to hear that you liked it also.

J. S. Cardinal
If I was going to be stranded somewhere, and had to choose only ONE album in the whole world, there's no doubt in my mind it would be 90125. I bought this album 4 times! I listened to my first cassette so much that the tape stretched, so I bought it again. Then, when CDs came out, I bought one. Then somebody broke into my car and stole it along with a few others. Yes, I bought it again, and I went to sleep on it yesterday night, as a matter of fact. Of course, I could only actually fall asleep when the album was over... It might not be in Yes' usual line of work, but it's still my all-time favorite!

rderby@erols.com
i am sick and tired of RABIN bashing. how can anyone dispute that this is the single reason YES is still around? yeah, this is CINEMA with Anderson singing on it but who cares?!! it works from beginning to end and YES had been attempting to make a record like this since TORMATO. IT TOOK RABIN TO SHOW THEM HOW(E). as far as ASIA doing it better.....please. step outta Howeland and realize Rabin saved this band from its own excessive weight. P.S. i'd like to see Howe interpret Rabin with the class Rabin did Howe on YES' upcoming tour (i wager he won't even try!)

perth@worldnet.att.net (Peter Bambakidis)
When Trevor Rabin first heard Yes, he must have said to himself "there's a group that I can really wreck!" I would have preferred 90125 to have been by Cinema, with Rabin, Squire, White, and Kaye rather than have it be Yes with Jon Anderson. It would have been better if Yes disbanded until Union, with the merger of Cinema and Yes into one.

First_last@studio.disney.com
I cast a somewhat jaundiced eye back at this record. Though I do admit liking the tour a lot, the record has not aged a well as I had hoped. Some good Anderson vocal moments too if you listen closely!

Zorak143@aol.com
I KNEW you couldn't resist the temptation to say "Rick Wakeman, eat your heart out" at some point during this review thing.

Glenn.Wiener@entex.com
The band successfully moves to more pop oriented numbers.

rlewisj@ibm.net (Tom Tebalt)
Many people are saying that 90210 (I know .....) was the album that kept Yes going, but so what? It paved the way for Big Generator, Union, and Talk. If Yes had stopped at Drama, I could have at least said that Yes never put out a bad album. (Oh well, there's still Peter Gabriel). I'll admit that I bought 90210 and BG, and saw the tours, but it just wasn't the same. My CD collection of Yes skips from Drama to Keys to Ascension.

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
"Our Song" is the only thing that saved this album for me.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
Well Jon and Tony are back in business. And this business will never run out. "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" is the most popular song Yes has ever made. If it wasn't for this album Yes would be gone. They even hired a really good guitar player but not as good as Steve. "Hold On" is a good alternative song, "It Can Happen" is a rocking sing a long, "Changes" is a very sad song but very musical and touching, "Cinema" is a short but breath taking song but there is a long version to it, "Leave It" is a good song with good dance beat and singing from the band, "Our Song" is a very beautiful track, very musical I think about Toledo, "City Of Love" is a kick ass dance song, and "Hearts" is a relaxing long Yes piece of music. Enclosing my review I give this album a 10.

dembones@pond.net
90125 was a truly inspired album. It is certainly not the Yes that we know and love, but it was a damn good rock album, especially considering the horrible music scene at the time. The production is perhaps the best Yes had thus far, and it still sounds remarkably fresh today. As good as the album is, I am not a fan of Rabin. In fairness though, I feel Rabin was sucked into a situation that he didn't want, and he shouldn't have had the burden of trying to live up to the legacy of Yes' past. Kaye's return didn't excite me either, and I truly question his contributions to the album. (Rabin's familiar keyboard work on Talk makes me suspicious of 90125 and Generator.) Regardless, Fantastic record! 9 of 10

windstorm@geocities.com (Robert Reynolds)
This is the first album I ever bought, and it took saving up my lunch money for 2 weeks to finally rid myself of the mono tape recording I made with a 15 pound tape recorder off of the radio eagerly and hastily hitting the record button whenever a song was played. To me, this was Yes. I never even knew anything else existed. Not until many years later did I learn to fully appreciate my growing "oldies" collection of Yes titles. I like them all, but 90125 is still the cream in my bucket.

CMBurns104@aol.com
Trevor Rabin is a disgraceful, talentless bum. I blame him and him alone for ruining Yes. Shame on him, and on you for approving of his shitty debut album.

dlgeer@innercite.com
I have read the discussions about the Yes discography from begining to end. As a long time Yes fan I agree with much of what has been said, and disagree with a lot of it as well . First of all, Yes started out as, continued as, and still is Chris Squire's band. Any contention over the Yes moniker is easily decided by the fact that Anderson, Howe and Wakeman were invited to join after the band's inception. Bill Bruford is the exception here; although an original member of the group, he too became a member at Squire's invitation. Any lineup with Sqire at the helm is Yes if he says it is.

Now as much as I appreciate "classic Yes," if I found myself in the insane position of knowing that I was about to be "beemed aboard" the Starship Enterprise (with a sheet of acid in my coat pocket!), with instructions to bring only one album by each of my favorite recording artists, 90125 would be the Yes album I would take with me. You may all groan, shout obcenities or whatever you wish to do now!

tomr@ix.netcom.com (Tom Russell)
I have never really considered this a yes album. A Yes album needs to be listened to. Put on the headphones, turn out the lights, etc, etc.

In spite of that, I like "It Can Happen" It sounds positively Yessy". I also like "Leave It".

Good marketing. That's the most redeeming thing about this album. Never bought the album. Didn't have to. It was all over the radio.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
90125 had one good point: it kept Yes alive after its announced death, resurrection due mainly to Rabin. The one bad point was that Rabin killed off Yes' musical essence as well. It was like keeping the name but killing the legend. They were the same guys for the most part, but the change in musical style was radical and brought Yes to discos. If this lineup (even without Jon) would have kept the Cinema name and premise it would have been more acceptable to Yes fans. On the other hand, it gave Yes true worldwide recognition and made it popular with kids (and gals). "Owner" put Yes in the number one spot (with the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna) but certainly with style. It takes more than Trevor Rabin to kill Yes' flavour entirely. Don't get me wrong: Rabin is a top-notch musician, but his style is not Yessy. To put it this way: Bruford is, at least for me, the best rock drummer ever, but he couldn't maybe be as good a drummer for The Beatles as Ringo Starr. It's all a matter of fit in or not.

The other real star of 90125 was another Trevor: producer Horn, shining even more than in Drama. The excellent sound and production was HIS job. The rest just kind of went along: Squire and White kept the pace but didn't do much. Kaye gave "Owner" a distinct (though too industrial) keyboard sound, but he took a front seat only from "Changes" onward (and not matching his earlier Yes presence). Jon sang well and contributed good parts but obviously came a little too late into the proceedings. "Hearts", underrated by many, is for me the best of the pack, sounding closer to the Yes of yesterdays. The "Cinema" track has only two distinctions: being recorded "live" in the studio and being the first totally instrumental independent track conceived and played by the group (thus different to "Wurm", the "Fragile" solo designs and other solo spots). This was a "vocal" Yes for the most part, with more backing voices than ever. The sleeve had a totally new style, which is good (but I doesn't like it, what the hell!). Not Roger Dean, Martyn Dean, Brian Lane or plates by Mansell Litho this time. I give this record 7 out of 10.

9012Live-The Solos - Atco 1985.

Or is it "bites it?" Ahh, write your own damn sentence.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
I agree!

I agree!!

I agree!!!

I agree!!!!

I agree!!!!!

I agree!!!!!!

So what's more to say.

As you can see we begin to like each other more and more!

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
GOOD CALL!!!!! AMEN TO THE CURRENT GOD OF YES CRITICS, ALL IS FORGIVEN FOR YOUR STYX COMMENTS!

yancyd@pacificnet.net (Yancy Duncan)
Oh, I have it, and it does really suck! That wouldn't be Trevor's fault would it? I think so. How one man could turn the most fantastic live act ever into this pathetic shadow of showmen is beyond me.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
After seeing the video, I went on a search for this cd. Only problem was that it was never printed on cd in the US or England. And the cassette is supposedly out of print. I ended up importing a cd copy from Japan. Besides the liner notes being in Japanese, the disc is the same as the American vinyl release. Only problem I have with it is that the whole concert is missing. Yes, it was worth it to hear "Solly's Beard" and the "Fish/Tempus Fugit/Sound Chaser" medley, but the fact that only two of the actual SONGS from the concert made it to the disc is pathetic. What happened to the extended version of "City Of Love"? Or the Rabin-ized versions of "All Good People,' or "Starship Trooper"? You'd think that they'd include some of the songs that people actually want to hear.

rderby@erols.com (Robert Derby)
I agree. I bought thi E.P. when it came out, and I may have listened to it three times. I did enjoy "whitefish" because of the medley within. It is the only Rabin release I dislike. I do believe ATCO was behind the idea. What I don't understand is why the 9012Live video doesn't include some of these better moments and conversely, why didn't ATCO release a 9012Live soundtrack encompassing all the work? Dumb.

dembones@pond.net
Okay, who let Kaye play with the keys again?!? Oh man, whose idea was this release? The two whole songs performed were good, but I'd rather watch the video. "Solly's Beard" was the only worthwhile solo track, except for the mildly interesting Bass/Drum duet at the end. Speaking of the video, am I the only one who is just totally in love with their rendition of "Starship Trooper?" The most passionate performance of the song I have ever heard! I wish THAT had been included on 9012Live!!!

windstorm@geocities.com (Robert Reynolds)
Yup, it bites, but if there's one thing Yes has never been accused of, it's being conservative in the marketplace. Who could blame them for trying to slurp up the remaining change of all those folks who went out and bought 90125? Even to this day, they love to bilk the public with rehashes and re-ordering of the same songs on different CD's. How many greatest hits albums does a band need? Oh well...I love 'em anyway!

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
9012Live - The Solos is a low point. It's nearly aimless, proving the marketing geniuses were asleep at the time. First of all, it's not a standard album BUT a mini-album. Secondly, it was recorded when the band was beginning its world tour and the edges were not still cutting enough. They should have waited another year until the tour was over to select the brighter solo pieces (as in Rio de Janeiro, where "Si" included a piano introduction by Tony and was far better executed than in Vancouver or Germany and where "Solly's Beard" was also played with greater gusto and has the keyboard properly placed). Third, Alan White's short but energic solo before "Hold On" was missed, as well as the live version of "Cinema" (superior to the 90125 version and including an interesting synth-effect intro). Four, there were only three proper songs (counting on "Soon"). Five, the sound was not the best. Six, the record was soooo boring. Seven, who cared for this record anyway?. Eight, the sleeve was an interesting variation of an ugly cover. It could have been a good record but... I give it 3/10.

Big Generator - Atco 1987.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
For me this is Yes' worst album ever and it should have no rating at all! 'I eat at Chez Nous', get the hell out. Who do this Rabin guy he can fool with?!?!?!

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
I liked this album for the same reason you did. I also thought that Trevor Rabin was good, and Tony Kaye finally showed himself as an excellent keyboardist. I like this album mainly for the return of Jon's lyric style in a more down to earth tone. Chris Squire, who held the band together throughout everything, continued to step up and fill any voids left by past members. This time his backing vocals reach new heights. "SHOOT HIGH, AIM LOW", or whatever order that's in, is an excellent song. Jon is back. Chris is amazing. Kaye is his best ever. And the final song is great.

dave@magaray.com (David Aurand)
I certainly had a tough time fingering...uh, I mean figuring out which Yes album to add my comments to. Personally, I can't stand Yes. Big Germinator....Gerbaleater...Generator... whatever, is the only one I can even remotely listen to without losing my lunch, tossing my cookies...etc. The title, and the hits, plus maybe one other are ok. But, that singer Jon Anderson is harder to listen to than Geddy Lee...much harder. I suppose their music is good, but just not heavy enough for me. But, Big Telestrator...Bendandeather...Generator ...is pretty heavy....I suppose for Yes...

jrichter@texas.net (James K. Richter Jr.)
What,"I eat at Chez Nous"? A damn commercial?!!!!!

rderby@erols.com
see my comments for 90125. in addition, i agree that this record is a bit chilly but put on a coat and give it a spin cause it sounds good! some of the best ear-candy i've ever enjoyed.

lisandom@worldnet.att.net
that is my least fav yes album of all. it just plain sucks. love the band though.

dembones@pond.net
An even further departure from the 70's Yes. Not as well defined or coherent as 90125, Big Generator still is a marvelous rock record. Anderson's voice had never sounded better. Also, at a time when huge gated drum machines found more work than drummers, the engineering/mixing is phenomenal and surprisingly still current sounding. The singles were all pretty good, but I especially love "Final Eyes" and "I'm Running." "Almost Like Love" is "Almost an embarassment." :-p Swiss or Cheddar anyone? Amazingly, "Almost Like Love" was primarily a product of Chris Squire, and Rabin was firmly against it. Go Figure!

windstorm@geocities.com (Robert Reynolds)
I bought it because I had to...I mean, I liked 90125 so much that the follow up had to be good, right? Well, it's good, but by no means great. I haven't even replaced the cassette I bought with a CD yet. Original to some degree...but still left me wanting more.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Big Generator has another ugly cover design and shocking color combination. Hip? Modern? Art? This time Kaye (now showing better on the ivories) really joined the staff of Yes composers, for good or bad. The intros worked well in the two singles, but the songs themselves were not as good. Seemed the band was searching for another "Owner" desperately, not getting even closer. The real gem (in comparison) is "Final Eyes". This time the choral style moves forward, to the rescue of tracks as "Big Generator" and "I'm Running". Jon Anderson seems a guest singer more than in the previous Yes studio album, certainly not one key member right there from the start. Trevor Horn's production is faultless (helped by Rabin and the other guys, it seems) but some arrangements are not for Yes. "Almost Like Love" reminded me how I joked on Genesis bringing Earth, Wind & Fire for some Abacab tracks... and now Yes does this! Apart from "Shoot High, Aim Low" and the final (Anderson solo style) track, this album was made for dancing. Where has Squire's talent gone, by the way? It's 6/10 for me.

Highlights: The Very Best Of Yes - Atlantic 1993.

Reader Comments

rderby@erols.com (Robert Derby)
Yes will never live in the world of "greatest hits" collections because of format conflictions. A true collection of Yes' best work would have to be nothing short of a box set simply because of the length of the material. The other alternative would not be accepted by most Yes fans which would be a predominatly Rabin album (I would accept it though!) SO... that is the reason (in my opinion) that this collection omits some of the essentials and adds some questionables (but you knew that already).

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Chris Squire said once that Highlights was intended to remind people who was actually Yes, having seen the racks full of ABWH, symph versions, "solo Yes" compilations and so on. I wonder if, apart from The Fish explanation, there was justification for this release. In fact, I wonder if it didn't confuse buyers even more. Supposedly Yesstory was the ultimate compilation for the average guy (Yesyears was the one for the Yes fan). Highlights was no more than a single-CD Yesstory. All these albums recollected Yes from 1969 up to Big Generator, giving fuel to the notion than Union wasn't loved at all within the group (and counting on Atco not wanting to negotiate with Arista to include some 1981 tracks). The cover "art" is definitely ugly, with Dean's Yes logo merely visible. This album is, anyway, a good one for those who hear Yes for the first time. On its own merits it's 8/10, but the reasons for putting it on sale are 3/10.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - Arista 1989.

It pretty much sounds like a Jon Anderson solo album, but, on the up side, most of the songs are catchier than a slow-moving fat kid, so fruity pebbles like mine truly can have a getgo of a time. And "The Meeting" and "Let's Pretend?" Well, they're just beautiful. And remember the radio smash "Long Lost Brother Of Mine?" Dumb, sure, but catchy, eh? Eh? Eh? Hello? Maybe I just don't know my butt from a hole in the ground.

Reader Comments

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
The best (semi)Yes album in the eighties. Too bad we had to wait 'till the eighties where nearly passed. After a disgracefull show from Yes in 1988 during Atlantic's 40th anniversary party I was happy to find Jon back with Bill, Steve and Rick again. After making this wonderful album they finally did what Yes had forget during their last years ... touring the world! I still wonder what would have happened if these guys would have stick together instead of ....

rjohnson@jax-inter.net (Richard E. Johnson)
This was a very good record. It is a little more keyboard oriented than I would have liked, but on the live ABWH album this stuff sounds really good. It was a good start, too bad it didn't go any further. Thanks alot Jon...

mcknney@is3.nyu.edu (Rick McKinney)
Ah ah ah!! More disparaging swipes at Mr. Anderson's masculinity! "Girly" and "Fruity"??? Come on. Ever hear of the term "damning with faint praise? Sounds like you love the guy's musicianship, but maybe have a problem with his... sexuality? Masculinity? What would Freud say?!

And yet, true Yes lover that he is, he reads on...

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
YES YES YES! The band is back! This is my second favorite YES-related album of all time, and my second favorite overall of any music. Rick Wakeman finally came back to his roots. The keyboard god made what I think is his best album ever. Jon and Rick connected once again with beautiful melodic songs throughout the album. Rick kills the keyboard standards set by Downes in his work with Yes and Asia and a new standard is set. Rick is, from then on, without a doubt THE BEST EVER. Jon's lyrics take another step up from Big Generator. Bruford's drums are almost like Carl Palmer's style with Asia, and I think, finally decided the White/Bruford question in his favor. Howe is stunning, once again, coming a long way from Drama. This album is the best of everyone in it. Throw in appearences by DOWNES and VANGELIS, and this is the best YES album up till that point. THE EIGHTIES ARE OFFICIALLY DEAD!

yancyd@pacificnet.net (Yancy Duncan)
Hey, no Squire, no YES. It's that simple. I like this Disc, I like all the players. I even like the Bald Guy on Bass (I saw the show at the Greek with Jeff Berlin on Bass when Tony Levin was sick). But, no Squire no YES. Jeff Berlin used 6 musical stands during "CTTE" so he could play it. Does that sound like another plug for CTTE being the best of the Band?

rderby@erols.com
lifeless enjoyable pap.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Cheese? Definitely, but it's worth it just for "Teakbois" and "Birthright." I also liked the rhythm thing towards the end of "Order of the Universe" As for "Brother of Mine" I'd give it a definite "eh." Overall an unimpressive album with a few cool spots. What's really cheesy is that song just before "Teakbois," you know, the one where it seems like they're just trying to see how many yes song titles they can squeeze into a verse. "We danced across the south side of the sky . . . all I remember is the roundabout . . . I was awakened etc." How bad could they get?

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
I love Steve, but no Chris or Alan makes this album a little boring.

dembones@pond.net
I would generally agree with Mark's summary. This lightweight record IS keyboard heavy, a bit immature melodicly (for this group of musicians), and a bit too much on the merry side. Never the less I love it. While Wakeman's sound pallete is up to date, his playing is sounding more dated than ever. He does pull off one kick but solo that genuinely sounds angry in "Birthright." Bruford's playing shines throughout, but I tire quickly of that Simmons drum sound. Squire is missed, although Tony Levin is probably the most worthy substitute I can think of. ABWH is a good, light album in the same vein as Anderson's City of Angels, with a little more ethnic influence. 6 of 10 for sure.

windstorm@geocities.com (Robert Reynolds)
A good album, but thicker than Chunky soup. Tastes like a soup but eats like a meal, you say? Bring a fork and an appetite for this long, but melodically pleasing dish. Some of the songs border on anguished sentimentality in my opinion, and no doubt I'd be shot by the Yes masses upon confessing that "Fist of Fire" is the best song on it...

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
You're right, one shouldn't ignore this album in a Yes recollection. The record is AND isn't a Yes effort. Bruford doesn't show all of his talent, but just enough to wipe White out (out of music, Alan seems a nicer guy though). Wakeman gave us all a surprise reminding everybody that, yes, he can play and how! He was also inspired, giving fuel to his declining solo career. Howe shone here and there, getting back on track all the same. Dean was back. Brian Lane too. Even Downes lend a little hand (curious how The Buggles helped different Yes warring factions). The music was 70's-Yes 80's style (except "Teakbois"). "Quartet" and a couple of other songs seem to send messages to Squire & company, even citing classic Yes titles. Levin is a great bass player. Almost everything was in place. Almost. But all in all, Chris Squire, THE REAL SOUL OF YES, was missing. Even so, this is a more serious and successful effort than the 80's "true" Yes. I give it 7/10.

ABWH finally released the recording of their show at California in 1989. The 2 CD album called An Evening With Yes Music Plus did officially see the light of day four years after the concert, when the quartet had lost a lot of market steam. But for godsake it is a damn good album! The version of "Close to the Edge" (no matter how much I missed Chris on that one) was the best up til then. The ABWH songs were superbly treated. The solo sets were stunning, showing Rick in top form and including a Bill "Heart-of-the-Sunrise"-esque circus proving once again (to me at least) why he's a lot better drummer than good ol' Alan (not meaning at all White's not a top rock drummer in his own way). The album, though, misplaced "I've Seen All Good People" maybe for timing reasons and one song from the show (can't remember which one right now) was left in the can. The Dean cover was once again a sign that this was a Yes album without being named as that. Best live record from this gentlemen up to that time. Excellent sound. And Jeff Berlin was lucky enough to apper both in the album and the video having briefly replaced Tony Levin on bass. Another 9/10.

Yesyears - Atlantic 1991.

Reader Comments

rjohnson@jax-inter.net (Richard E. Johnson)
A good box to get to fill out your Yes CD collection, but the 3rd and 4th disk contain a lot of filler. Especially the Live stuff from the 90125 band, peeeewww. Why couldn't they have used more live stuff from the older band? The acoustic "Long Distance Runaround" would have been a lot more welcome than crappy 3rd rate bar band versions of "And You And I" and "Heart Of The Sunrise." And why no "Siberian Khatru"? ...

la314w@crown.icongrp.com (Jesse Lara)
My brother gave me this album and it came in perfect condition. Though some songs I wish it would have skipped on. I agree with Richard that the 3rd and 4th c.d.'s pretty much sucked. Hate "I'm Down" because every band does a remake of that song! I HATE THE BEATLES! Must they abuse me in that manner? Did enjoy "Amazing Grace" & "Money".

jrichter@texas.net (James K. Richter Jr.)
Just how many Yes releases must contain the same recording of "Heart Of The Sunrise?" I'm really starting to hate that song!

dembones@pond.net
I bought this box set after only having heard Union, 90125, Generator and Fragile, and I was BLOWN AWAY. I had never heard music like this before! As a whole, Yesyears is a wonderful career retrospective, although I would've added one more disc to include "Siberian Khatru," the Yesshows version of "Gates of Delirium" and Tales' "The Ancient." I agree that the Rabin era live cuts are TERRIBLY weak... Kaye is obviously over his head, Anderson's singing is uninspired (and he is constantly sharp on "Heart of the Sunrise"!) and while Rabin is certainly a competant guitarist, he doesn't quite fill Howe's shoes on the pre-Rabin tracks. I actually like the bonus song, "Love Conquers All."

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
I just got this set, and I have to disagree with just about everything that's been said about it. I ESPECIALLY liked disks three and four. After hearing bits of "Make it Easy" used as the intro for "Owner of a Lonely Heart" every time they do it live, it's good to hear how the original version went. The demo of "It Can Happen" was fun. I REALLY liked the Rabin era live stuff. I only wish some more of the Big Generator tour material were on CD. I also liked "Love Conquers All." It was like a sneak preview of Yes to come. It sounds like something that would've fit on Talk, and was also a sneak preview of Billy Sherwood, who is now a member. I also liked most of the bonus stuff on Disk three. However, why do disks one and two exist? It's all the same stuff. We've heard all this before. There's nothing new there. Well, that's my opinion on this set.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Yesyears was a good package. Maybe not all of the "new" tracks were that good, but they made this box more interesting and appealing to buyers. It's a pity that many more (and good) unedited tracks were not included. "Money" is funny, but come on, it's not too Yessy to say the least. My main complaint about "I'm Down" is the sound quality. As for the live versions by "Rabin Yes", they were fine. Only "And You And I" has some guitar/drums heavy thumps that occasionally ruined the dreamy effect. But "Sunrise" prove this Yes could actually play faithful renditions of the trickiest songs, even though its inclusion was actually a bis of the studio track. "Changes" sounded better than in 9012Live and was longer, but why release it if there was the other one mentioned? At the time a 2-CD album, Yesstory, was released as a kind of abbreviated Yesyears. Note the guy who wrote the booklet had clear preferences and dislikes regarding band members but whoever wrote the photo legends had totally different oppinions. Wasn't this box released after Union?.

It isn't part of the Yes discography, but there's an album called Affirmative (very good title for a Yes-related CD). It comprises many Yesmen solo efforts (suspiciously, as in Highlights, Downes and Horn aren't part of the bunch), specially the ones with two or more bandmates playing together. Take Squire's "Hold Out Your Hand" with Moraz and Bruford on it; or White's "The Innocence Song" with Anderson and Howe. Certainly there are other solo songs that should've been there (some of Wakeman tracks with Squire, Howe and Bruford, for instance), including the odd Buggles (read Horn & Downes) track. It contains "Dominating Factor" from the then-new Peter Banks album Instinct, one of the best of the collection (and, if you consider this record part of your Yes collection, a curious way to have a Banks-penned song in a (semi) Yes album). It's worth to have it and listening to it, unless you have all the albums from which these tracks come from. 8/10 if it matters.

When Yesyears was released, Atlantic Records and the Yes guys decided the 4 CD box was a little too expensive and even unattractive to many potential buyers (save the diehard fans), so they decided to put on sale an abbreviated compilation (another one!) called Yesstory. The same cover and format than the CD box, this 2-CD album was all in all a more compact and comprehensible tour through Yes music. Certainly, many important Yessongs were left out, but how could anyone release a collection of every Yes classic and worthy track in just two discs? The problem was Yesyears did actually get so much attention hardly anyone noticed Yesstory was also out in the streets. Taking it in its own virtues, I consider Yesstory to be a 9/10 compilation (not that compilations are my favorite ones, by the way).

Union - Arista 1991.

Reader Comments

yesman@smartlink.net (Lee)
Harsh humor, but I agree fairly well with your scorings of the Yes material. I like the score of 2 for Onion. A little generous, though. I tried to love it, but I have never been able to accept some of the lyrics or music. Then I found out a lot about the making of the album. It was actually two separate projects: AWBH and Trevor's Yes (Yes West) The two joined only in a business sense. Most of the band hated the product, which was destroyed by a producer or two. I was surprised one day when I read that Rick Wakeman had himself called it Onion in an interview. He said that Onion was an appropriate name since it made him cry whenever he heard it! (or something like that)

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
Now, five years after the release I still got different feelings 'bout this 'Onion' as Rick once called it. A part of me says that it's great to have 8 musicians on one album, another part tells me it's the worst that can happen ... 8 individuals on one album! I think at the end I will choose for the second option as there are maybe 1 or 2 songs on the album, with 15 songs, that I really like. That simply isn't enough! Never the less, the shows, as an event, where great but when you remember that it took an army of lawyers and managers to make it happen you'll ask yourself; what the hell are they doing on that age?

wijo@euro.net (Wijo Koek)
I like your way of commenting on the Yes albums. Sure, their music is often lengthy, and Jon keeps delivering those cryptic lyrics, and the production of the music is sometimes way over the top... but aren't they fantastic?

rjohnson@jax-inter.net (Richard E. Johnson)
Union is not a Union, but true corporate rock at its worst. Otherwise promising ABWH material is ruined by a producer who hired half of California to pretend to be Yes. How much of the Drums were Bill, or the Guitar Howe or the Keys Wakeman??? Precious little! Except for two Rabin tunes, the non-ABWH stuff is even worse! This deserves one star if only for the Howe solo and the Levin and Bruford duet, which are the best things on the disc. (Then again you might be better off spending your money on Howe's excellent Not Necessarily Acoustic solo album...)

sford@mcs.com (Steve Ford)
Oh poo! I wants a new Yes disc, so I goes out and plunks down my ten bucks. Get home, hit "play", and fire up Netscape. During the second cut, I find myself in ~scottp/reviews/yes.htm and start working my way through it. As my disappointment in Union grows, your reviews are growing on me. Finally I get to your Union review, just as I'm almost disgusted enough to turn off the damn disc.

WHERE WERE YOU TWO HOURS AGO?!?!?!?!?

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
Alright, once again brace yourself. I loved Union. It had everything despite its horrid production and corporate-rock interests that ruined the mega-album that it could have been. I agree, at the time YESWEST, as they are called, was washed-up and it was a waste of talent. Jon's lyric style, and Sherwood's input made their contribution. The corporate rock did manage to unite two different-sounding bands, under the banner of Chris Squire and Jon Anderson's lyrical styles. Trevor Rabin's guitar was good, and I loved the Sherwood track, "The More We Live-Let Go." Yes reached a point with this album that was epic. It was a step higher than the ABWH, and it had strong showings of the talents of Tony Kaye, Trevor Rabin, Steve Howe (Or the people doing his stuff), Bill Bruford (or the people doing his stuff). Chris Squire is amazing, as is what might be Tony Levin. It is SAD what became of Wakeman's part in the album. It would be horrifying for me, if I were an artist working on that band, I would downplay the album and say it was awful, too. And if I were a stupid, freakish, homophobic, overly-analytical dork who overly criticizes everything, I would also hate it. Sound familiar?

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
Hey, I really like Union and was suprised to see such negative comments. It would have been even better without "Saving My Heart" or "Give And Take", but the rest of the material is quite strong. But what do I know?

TempsFugit@aol.com
There's so many reasons to hate this album but when i listen to it i hear jon anderson (there's a plus), "masquerade"...., bill bruford's impressive drumming, squire's fiddling around in there somewhere, cambodian poetry, water, mountains, rivers, anyway...i guess i'm saying, i don't know...i like "Dangerous."

HODGESIII@aol.com
If you loved Tales from Topographical Oceans the chances are pretty good that you won't be too impressed by Union. I did like some of Steve's guitar licks and parts of many other songs, but that was it...only parts. The main chorus and rhythm of most of the songs left something to be desired. A good lyric or guitar lick would wet your appitite your for a great song only to be let down by a "pop" like chorus. My favorite song is probably "Take the Water to the Mountain".

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Andrew Davis)
I listened to Union once again. I must agree that this simply is not Yes's best cd. Certainly, the cover artwork by Roger Dean is magnificent. But the cd, well that's another story. The best tracks seem to be the ones written by the "Trevor Rabin group." "I Would Have Waited Forever," "Shock To The System," "Masquerade," "Lift Me Up," "Miracle Of Life," "The More We Live-Let Go," "Angkor Wat," and "Evensong," are not too terrible, but "Without Hope You Cannot Start The Day," "Saving My Heart," "Silent Talking," "Dangerous," and "Holding On" do not impress me. I have reconsidered and decided to give Union a 5/10.

robertk@jove.acu.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Ok, bits of it finally grew on me. I still like "Lift Me Up", "Miracle of Life", and "Shock to the System". "Silent Talking", "Ankgor Wat", "The More We Live", and "Dangerous" finally grew on me. I think that the last two tracks should have been combined into one, they're both so short. The rest still sucks as far as I'm concerned. This album is TOO LONG!!!

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
"Take The Water To The River", and "The More We Live..", made this album work. Trevor Rabin's parts suck, as usual.

rderby@erols.com (Robert Derby)
owww.... more Trevor bashing. At least he played his parts. Jus' ask Steve Howe how much he liked Jimmy Haun posing in his stead. "Miracle of Life" and "Lift Me Up" are the two best (and only listenable) pieces on the whole record AND THEY'RE RABIN'S!!!

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
It was an ok album but why the hell do they all have to be together? These songs had no point into it. "Take the Water to the Mountain" and "Holding On" had no musical touch into it. The album was the 4th worst album Yes has ever made. PERIOD!!!

psul4927@odin.cc.pdx.edu
"I Would Have Waited Forever" is the most exciting intro song on a Yes album since "Going for the One", and "The More We Live- Let Go" is their most moving ballad since "Onward".

dembones@pond.net
Union came out when I was 15, and it was the first Yes album I had ever bought (although I was familiar with 90125). Even then in my musical immaturity, I knew something was off. I pray Jonathan Elias can sleep at night for the sin he commited against the holy grail of Yes. Even in wading through song after song of utter crap, there were a couple shining moments. I like the opening cut "I Would've Waited Forever," and the pop simplicity of "Saving My Heart." I hate Rabin's Yes mockery in "Miracle of Life." "The More We Live-Let Go" is pretty good, and of course "Masqarade" is Howe at his best. I wish Bruford had misplaced the power cord to his Simmons kit...

THE SAVING GRACE OF THIS ALBUM IS if indeed these songs represented the best that both ABWH and Yes had to offer at the time, Union granted us only one horrible album when we could've had two. Who says corperate intervention is all bad?

windstorm@geocities.com (Robert Reynolds)
Please shoot me. I listened to Union a dozen times or so, trying valiantly to love it inspite of its blatant commercializm, but alas, the CD now gathers dust nestled between a Ministry disk and Asia's Astra. The solo guitar song....egad, I can't remember the name even...is the best song on it (it was nominated for a Grammy, after all!)

mrowley@pacbell.net (The Rowley Family)
The only stuff worth listening to was done by Trevor Rabin. Pretty pathetic. However, The show I saw when they toured behind it was great. Fortunately they didn't do much material from the album they were trying to sell.

tomr@ix.netcom.com (Tom *****)
Go to a "used" record store.

The shelves are full of Union and Big Generator. I also saw of couple copies of Talk.

Wonder why.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Union is quite an ironic title for the most disjointed "piece of work" Yes has ever produced. The news that eight members were to put an album and tour together was exciting at first, but this record brought us all down to earth with a hammer. Not only there's not really an eight-man band anywhere in this hour-plus record, but the stuff isn't top-class either. There aren't bad tracks, strictly speaking, but there are not enough YES tracks in there. The ABWH songs (the big lot) show that creativity and freshness was gone this time, not repeating the level of their debut record two years earlier. The first two songs are OK, but no more than that. "Shock to the System" sounds even as if Rabin has half-penned and played on it (didn't those of you who attended the Union tour think the same?).

The "true" Yes (the one with Rabin on guitar) only had four tracks, two catchy but easily dispensable and two who stand as the album's finest: "Miracle of Life" and "The More We Live - Let Go". This lineup wins the trophy. Besides, Kaye, White, Squire and Rabin played all the instruments, something that didn't happen in the ABWH tent where even Rick doesn't know what keyboard bits he actually played in the final version. Levin played bass with the ABWH team and even included a short instrumental with Bill, while Chris guested on some of these tracks doing vocals. Offord helped a bit to the "true" lineup. Dean was really back in the Yes fold with a cover and the new "spotted" logo. With every part arranged and played by a Yes member, this record could be a 7 or even an 8, but as it is I give it 6/10.

Symphonic Music Of Yes - BMG 1993.

Never mind.

Reader Comments

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Three-quarter of ABWH got together in a couple of tracks for Symphonic Music of Yes, mainly a Howe project he even produced and on which Bill Bruford drummed. Jon appeared here and then, greatly but sparsely enough to keeping the listener wanting for more of his angelical voice singing lead or in the chorus. Had Rick contributed some grand piano laying this could be a third ABWH effort. This was not so. The orchestral treatments were good on the lot, with Alan Parsons helping in the proceedings. I know there was a tour presenting this album. Any information about this? Some other tracks were considered or even recorded, having Jon included "Hearts" on his solo symph album "Change We Must" (and ignoring, by the way, that Tony and Alan actually co-wrote that song with the others credited). Steve and Bill even promoted this album under the Yes trademark, upsetting Chris (and me, after I heard them attempting to play "Roundabout" live on TV). 8 out of 10 on its own merits, 6/10 if someone try to put this album in the Yes bag.

Talk - Victory 1994.

Reader Comments

yesman@smartlink.net (Lee)
I really enjoy Talk, but not everyone does. I also enjoy a lot of the solo work that the Yesman are putting out, including Jon's Toltec and Steve's Not Necessarily Acoustic. I like Peter Bank's last two LPs quite a bit as well.

yescomm@worldaccess.nl (Gert Bakhuizen)
I think you should check out Talk, I'm not saying that it's a great album (Jon Anderson himself once said that it only contain 10 minutes of real Yes music) but there are some good tracks on it, especially "Endless Dream." Yesshows on the other hand, is more a less the same as Yessongs, a bit too much repeating that what we already know but maybe you should listen it as well in order to complete your album review list. That would be nice.

wijo@euro.net (Wijo Koek)
Talk is one of my favorite albums. I think Trevor Rabin has been one of the best things that has happened to Yes.

Limbeck@sprynet.com (Cody Barrow)

Yes Talk is Great!!!!!!!

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
A shot to ABWH. This album is great, and sets a hard standard for the new group of YES men to reach. Keys to Ascension is coming, so it's their show, but as far as Yes goes. The Fragile band hasn't made a great album since ABWH, and many are undecided upon it. Most hate Union, so that leaves the YESWEST as the Yes of the future, SCARY! The Keys band HAS to give up a solid excellent Yes album in order to prove once and for all who the best Yes band really is. Many would say that Yes hasn't had a solid album since before DRAMA, and KEYS TO ASCENSION just may prove them wrong.

bringer@earthlink.net (Fred)
Was good!!! No?

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
This is my hands down fave. It rocks more than the others. And "Endless Dream" is like "Gates of Delirium" for the 90s. I like the more heavy guitar oriented approach this album takes.

James@jpb-s.demon.co.uk
This is the first time I felt ripped off by Yes. Talk tries to follow the path the AWBH/Union albums, but nobody bothered writting any songs. At least the Yes West albums had tunes you could sing in the shower. The highlight of the album is the 1:56 minute bit at the start of Endless Dream, and that just isn't enough. Altogether boring, self-indulgent and utterly pointless.

axon45@rocketmail.com (Andrew Davis)
I recently purchased a recycled version of Talk. I thought that Union was bad! This is absolutely horrid; what were the members of Yes thinking? Thank goodness for the release of Keys To Ascension! In any event, "The Calling" is very good and the rest of the album sounds like too much of the same thing, for one thing- every song is too long! This cd will bore you to death!!! After listening to this cd; I had to reevaluate Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe! I have decided to increase my rating of ABWH to a 7; Talk gets a 3!! I'm certainly glad that I didn't buy this disc new!!! Oh, incidentally, "The Endless Dream" is endlessly tedious!!!

dembones@pond.net
I was anxiously awaiting this release, especially when I heard it was back to the 90125 linup. (Still not the original YES, but unquestionably better than the ONION gang!) If it was as good as BIG GENERATOR, at least it would be a good rock record. But no such luck... The musician's identities are completely lost amidst Rabin's ungodly over-produced sound. What a Poser! His attempts to sound tough are laughable, Squire's unique bass playing is completely lost, and poor Alan White is reduced to cave-man style pounding with a drum sound that makes one wonder how much sample triggering went on. Even still, there were some good moments. "The Calling" is listenable. "I'm Waiting" is nice until Rabin's dumb-rock bridge. "State of Play" is THE MOST EMBARASSING thing Yes has ever recorded! Finally, "Endless Dream" truly has some majestic moments, but the pseudo-yes instrumental intro is so rigid I would swear it was sequenced! How disappointing!

windstorm@geocities.com (Robert Reynolds)
I think Talk (which should have kept its original title Dialogue) is the best Yes album to come out since 90125. Sure, it's a little annoying at times with its religious over/undertones, but it still has a nice variety of tunes that aren't afraid to rock a little. Excellent, and deserving of a better rating than the one given here.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
We're talking about a "true" Yes album at last, the one after Union. In 1994, the group released Talk (a more common name than Dialogue, originally thought as ABWH second solo album title). This record was recorded since 1992, so the wait made us all think Yes was cooking up a masterpiece. Even the definite lineup was kept almost in secrecy (Anderson told me in May 1993 that Rick was also in the fold). I know this is one of the fans' less favorite albums, but I actually like it a lot. True, this doesn't fit in the classic Yes style nor in the "hit" Yes of the eighties, but is a welcome change and progressive-rock was perpetual change after all. The sound is maybe much too clear to sound natural (due to the computer recording techniques), but the songs were strangely original. What this album lacked was promotion. I confess this time I liked Rabin at last, feeling his parts were finally suitable to the ensemble and noticing he let Jon be alone on the forefront (save the odd line here and there). Kaye was strangely strong in a couple of songs and in others (knowing Trevor played synths keyboards) remotely absent. Squire continued his progressive comeback started in Union (by comeback meaning he started to sing and play more than in the eighties) but this was more evident on the tour that followed. Even White seemed to awaken in certain passages. The last two tracks are the best this lineup ever produced (and were not in the "commercial hit" trend). The biggest fault in this album is the cover, who must have kept the few loyal fans from buying this record. Peter Max has done more damage to Yes than more. And if you think this record is far too off the right track please listen to Open Your Eyes and then we'll talk (Ha,ha... talk). I give it 7/10.

Keys To Ascension - 1996.

But the big news, of course, and what everybody wants to know is this - are the two new tracks any good? Well, no, to be quite honest with you. The twenty- minute "That, That Is" starts off with about five minutes of the most creative and exciting guitarwork we've heard from Steve Howe since Going For The One, but the actual SONG sounds a lot like that really long one on Talk - in other words, like a Jon Anderson solo record. The ten-minute "Be The One" doesn't even have a good intro. It's a bore through and through. Pity. Maybe the creative flame is gone? Unfortunate if true, but let's not write 'em off without giving 'em a few years to show us what's up, okay? At least they're still an amazing live band!

And apparently Keys To Ascension Part II is due out in March or something. Keep your ears open!

Reader Comments

sod1995@ix.netcom.com (Stephen Odell)
Keys To Ascension is a wonderful disc, the best to come from the real "YES" in far too many years. I didn't think they had it in them but this is the absolute best collection of live material they've ever recorded. The sound quality is remarkable combining the studio perfection we've come to expect, while somehow transferring that sound to a live performance which is not sterile, but instead brings back many of the same feelings experienced hearing these songs the very first time years ago. The 5 man symphonic orchestra of YES is back!!!!! Despite admiral and often very satisfying efforts by other configurations of the YES family over the years, THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY YES (except for Bill Bruford); although even Alan White sounds pumped up here and perhaps somewhat Brufordesque. Only regret is that I would have liked other songs to also be included since the band absolutely nailed it during these performances of March '96. Hopefully other material will show up on a later release. This stuff is simply too terrific to leave in some studio somewhere. The new material (2 songs) seem very interesting initially and perhaps will become new classics. I don't know them well enough yet, but in the past it was always the new material that took some getting used to which ultimately had the most staying power. This disc is a must have for anyone who preferred the 1971-1977 period; it may also convert newer fans who thought they were following YES and never truly experienced this tremendous period. Welcome back Jon, Steve, Chris, Rick, and Alan. Please try to stay around a bit longer this time and prosper. We missed you and the music, thanks for bringing it back in such remarkable condition.

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Oh Yes!!! This album rocks. "Roundabout," "Starship Trooper," and "Awaken" never sounded so good. And "Khatru" sounded cool, not cheesy like the original. But the best part for me was the new song "That That Is." I think it's one of the best tracks Yes has ever done.

sbachini@uk.mdis.com (Steve Bachini)
Well, I never thought I'd be buying a new Yes album again but I have it...

Disk 1: The live tracks are a real treat. The track rundown on disk one is like a dream come true for Yes fans. The versions are top-notch as well. A couple of things on the playing though. Chris is right up there and Alan seems to have brightened up his sound enormously. But I find Steve's playing is rough at times and he is occasionally strumming along instead of leading from the front. This is only minor though; at no time do I get the impression that they are just going through the motions. They're doing it for real.

Disk 2: Well the live versions of "Roundabout" and "Starship Trooper" are fine and then we come to the studio tracks. The 10 minute "Be The One" is a standard plodding rock song I'm afraid. Then we are given the Steve Howe introduction to the 20 minute "That, That Is". It is four minutes of brilliant emotional guitar work on a par with "Turn Of The Century". I'm having to ration my listening at the moment. Sadly the track goes severely downhill after this with only the occasional good idea. There are a lot of repeated musical lines, some of which are almost shouted instead of sung. This harks back to the bad parts of the ABWH album. Rick's synths are very reminiscent of ABWH as well. And finally, why can't they put some instrumental passages in like they used to?

To sum up, an album greater than great in parts but dreadfully flawed in others. I agree with the 8/10 rating. I just wish we could've had separate live and studio releases. I think that fans will combine the two Keys albums into one long live album on tape and forget about the studio tracks.

borg@win.bright.net (The Borg)
An overall great band. It's strange that they keep switching around members; they could conceivably go into the next millennium, even after all of the original members are dead and their ashes are being smoked by someone else. Anyway, I saw them on their Talk tour in 1994 in Milwaukee, and it was the best concert I've ever been to, save "Weird Al" Yankovic.

"patqlizq@bellsouth.net"@BELLSOUTH.net (Elizabeth Quevedo)
I think the album is great. "Awaken" is a glorious song, and "Starship Trooper" sounds really good. The other live tracks are ok. I love the new songs too, but i consider that the live tracks are more interesting. I'm very impatient for the second part of Keys... The band sounds incredibly good. LOVE FOR ALL!!!!

lesieur@montr12.hcc.com
Great album with great songs! What a surprise to hear a live version of "The Revealing Science Of God". With this album, Yes sounds like in the good old days. I really like "That, That Is".

TempsFugit@aol.com
I really enjoyed it. I think there are parts of "That, That Is" that are some of the best things YES have ever done. 9/10

rderby@erols.com
90's version of YESSONGS sounds great! studio stuff shows promise but is a bit stiff and talky. i read a recent interview in "nfte" in which Rick says the follow up "Know" is greatly superior. (now if they'd stop fighting and put it out!!!!)

mop01606@mail.telepac.pt (Helder Santos)
A Yes album is always good, but I think the next one should be always better. Go on studio, go on tour, but never stop (and come to Portugal).

akdxmy@hotmail.com (Andrew Davis)
First of all, let me say that I do not think of Rush as a weaker band, different but not necessarily weaker. Second of all, I feel that Tales From Topographic Oceans still stands the test of time as one of Yes's best cds. Why not give Fragile, Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans and Keys To Ascension all 10's. Personally, I believe that Keys is the best Yes album of all-time and the best Yes studio album is undoubtedly Tales From Topographic Oceans.

Okay, here are my ratings of the Yes cds which I currently possess:

The Yes Album 8/10
Fragile 9/10
Close To The Edge 10/10
Yessongs 8/10
Tales From Topographic Oceans 9/10
Relayer 8/10
Yesterdays 7/10
Going For The One 8/10
Tormato 5/10
Drama 5/10
Yesshows 8/10
90125 7/10
Big Generator 6/10
Anderson,Bruford, Wakeman and Howe 6/10
Yesstory 9/10
Union 5/10
Keys To Ascension 9/10
Keys To Ascension II 9/10?

Since, I have never owned either, Yes or Time And A Word; it would be inappropriate for me to make any decision.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
Andrew buy the first two albums. They were good for Yes's beginning with Kaye's organ and piano and Peter Banks's guitar playing, all of the songs on Yes' debut was folk rock and classic rock, on Time And A Word it was half rock and more orchestral. "Then", "Everydays", "The Prophet" and "Astral Traveller" were good. On the first album "Beyond And Before", "I See You", "Yesterday and Today", and "Sweetness" was also great. I give the first album a 9 and the second a 7.

Bbhmdr@vmmc.org
Well...I had mixed feelings on this album when I first got it, and well, for the most part, they're still there. So I'll probably just divide up into my positive and negative feelings about the album.

The Positives: 1. For the most part, the live stuff is GREAT. It is wonderful to hear a bit of the classic Yes material performed with some real style and variety (see "Onward" w/ intro)

2. Nice to hear Rick again on the pieces, as well as S. Howe.

Negatives:

1. First and foremost, the lyric writing on the new tracks in places is *abysmal*. I don't know whether they got up on the wrong side of the bed one day, or what - but one of the most enjoyable things about Yes lyrics has been the (generally) positive ethereal mysticism and spirituality that comes across (even off of Talk ["Endless Dream"]). It really disturbs me to listen to lyrics about "crack time", drug use, etc., from a band who has never: 1. dealt with these issues and 2. have been this literal about it. But, hey, there is some nice music throughout "That That Is".

2. Billy Sherwood's production - please, please, PLEASE find the BASS control and turn it down one notch (something tells me it's at "11"). I'm not quite sure why it's so overdriven, but this has been a running thing through all of the B.S.-produced albums (See World Trade -Euphoria) that I've heard.

3. Both new tracks sound like that they were individual ideas that kinda got stuck together with short instrumental pieces to hold them together...at least to my ears, they sound a little too separate to hold together as a convincing epic piece like CTTE. (Call it TFTO syndrome or something). But comments on all of the above would be welcome. Thanks .

john1@frontiernet.net
I have been a fan I think for about 50 yrs. No, they havn't been around that long, but I hope they are. On the KTA album, "That That Is" should be acknowledged as one of the band's all time grat pieces of music. It's great to see the band is not afraid to still try different approaches in their music. Let us also remember that this is 1997 not '73, and it should be expected that the music would sound a bit different. In many ways the music reflects the things as seen by band members that are now much more mature. It's also obvious from the lyrics in "That That Is", that Jon Anderson has spent time living in L.A., and gotten a taste of big city life in the U.S. Anyways, the themes change often, and hit the home stretch with an extended instrumental riff that pumps and pumps, then enters quite an interesting finale. Also, I must add no one else seems to know how to end a tune like they do.

I'm really looking forward to the KTA 2, and I've already got my concert tickets. I have to say there will never be another band quite like them. Looking forward to hearing Ivan Koroshev. Too bad Rick left the group, I wish it were possible to figure out what his real problem is. He often states it as Religious differences, but I think the religious differences are more like MONEY and his fear of flying. Oh well, I'm sure he'll be back again....and quit again....and be back ag......

jwhat@merlin.ebicom.net (SIBERIAN_KHATRU)
"Revealing..." was done ver ver very very well. "Starship Trooper" was good as well. "Awaken" was done as well as possible I guess, it's hard to replicate the original. Parts of "That, That is" was real good, but really, who cares about the crack heads anyway, listen to rap and crap for that. This is YES, not Coolio or whatever the hell his name is. Ever listen to the remix of "Close to the Edge" done with his son, it's a dang rap song. Check the disc out. It's called Close to the Hype featuring Jon and Damion Anderson. WHAT THE HELL WAS JON THINKING ON THIS, AM I THE ONLY FOOL THAT BOUGHT IT????????????????? Anyway it's out by Griffen Music. On to KTA, America with Chris and Alan sounded really tight.

dembones@pond.net
A dream come true for Yes fans, including myself. I was THRILLED to see live set featured "Revealing Science" and "Awaken," but irritated that they felt obligated to throw in yet MORE versions of "Starship Trooper" and "Roundabout," Great songs, sure, but YAWN... Time to change the oil, fellas! Of their new stuff, I felt like both efforts were kinda unstable. "Be the One" was somehow wishy-washy, and the attempted epic "That, That is" is the first time Anderson's lyrics have interfered with my enjoyment of the music. "Strung out on crack time..." "the Gang life?" Anderson sounds about as socially aware as Nancy Reagan's "just-say-no" campaign. Despite that, the piece has some of the strongest music in years, and shows great promise for the future. Nice to hear Squire come out of his identity crisis from TALK.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Your best critique is the one concerning Keys to Ascension, describing very well how we all felt when 1996 turned the band (and the fans) upwards by bringing back Steve and Rick. The SLO< concert(s) showed Yes back to his roots, a la ABWH but with Chris this time (and without Bill). The live treatments are the very best in years, but some parts are at least controversially adapted or modernized. I think "The Revealing Science of God" and "America" are excellent. The fact that this lineup recorded two new (and lengthy) songs is just good enough, and hearing "That, That Is" is better news. The track has parts that are reminiscent of glorious days past, showing Chris is actually BACK to splendor and featuring Steve's talent at its best. "Be the One" is just fine, with Steve providing bass with maybe too much effort. All in all, the live set is the most exciting part of the album. I give it 8 or maybe 9/10.

Reader Comments

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Well, it's here. Keys To Ascension Part Two. I absolutely love it. The concert material is GREAT! They do "All Good People," "And You And I," "Turn Of The Century," and a few others. "Time and A Word" has a cool piano intro like "Awaken" from the previous one. "Close to the Edge" is excellent. The church organ part is even darker than the original. But there is one problem. The fast and furious part after "I get up, I get down" sounds almost like some Irish dance tune. You can almost swing to it. I dont care much for that, but the rest is great. They also do "Going for the One" which is the hardest rock moment of the entire concert.

The new material is even better. Granted, the intro track "Mind Drive" has its weak moments, but at times, it's like they're re-living "Revealing Science," unfortunately, other moments sound more like the Powell album that ELP put out in the 80s. "Footprints" is one of the best Yes tracks EVER!!! It starts a capella like "all good people," but turns into one of the most haunting songs ever. It shows Yes experimenting a bit with different instrumentations (like harmonicas), and breaking out of their usual mode. I LOVE THIS TRACK.

"Bring me to the Power" sounds like something off Tormato. It's still a good song though. "Children of Light" is a masterpiece. It's as good as "Footprints." It features a return of the sitars that Steve used to play. The final track (I can't remember the name off hand) sounds like three minutes of the "Evensong" thing from Union. This is easily the best Yes album of the 90s.

The songs are long too. "Mind Drive" is 18 minutes, "Footprints" is 10 minutes, and the others are 6 or 7 each. There's no boring material on here, unlike the last one ("Be the one" . . . yuck) and the long songs actually flow, unlike "That That Is." What's more, the material on this album is STRONG!!!!! (with the possible exception of the first 5 minutes of "Mind Drive").

I would strongly recomend trying out this album. What's more, they've got another new one coming out in about two weeks!

john1@frontiernet.net
Well, Keys 2 is out, I bought it, and I love it. The first half of the album I could live without, as it's just more of the old stuff done live (which I've heard a million times. It's quite good, bur I've already got every album.)

As for the new stuff, "Mind Drive" is kinda of a cross between the styles in Close to the edge, Relayer, and Drama. As with most yes music, it sounds "pretty good" the first time you hear it, but after 5-10 times you've got to say this is one incredible piece of music. Rick Wakeman has NEVER sounded better on any of their albums. (This also proves what a total a.. hole he is for leaving the group again.) The rest of the new tracks are very good, although it would be hard for them to match up to "Mind Drive". Crank it up, sit back and pretend you've gone back twenty years with that odd smelling smoke in the room.

P.S. Saw Yes on the new tour, quite good but would've been better with Rick.

rderby@erols.com (Robert Derby)
Keys...2 is the best thing YES has released in over a dozen years and the best Steve Howe since Going For The One!!! Why? Well let's first forget the live disc and concentrate on the studio disc shall we. This new studio effort has every strength YES has ever represented in past albums plus some new ones. The first of which is a joyful playfulness evident in "Footprints" and "Bring Me To The Power". These songs sound fun (with a nice dose of Yes pretension) and throughly enjoyable. Hell, YES SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE HAVING FUN PLAYING IT. Admittingly, I intially thought "Mind Drive" was going to be stupid and it did take four passes to relize how damn good it is. We all thought that songs "ENDLESS DREAM" and "THAT,THAT IS" were as close as we would get to witnessing YES utilizing that "concept" format but "MIND DRIVE" blows them both away. It has very nice melodies and does succeed on taking you on a journey (that is if you let it).The secret here is the themes tie together better than they did in those aforementioned songs.

The live stuff here is vintage YES (not as strong as Keys...1 though) but this time it is overshadowed by exceptional strong studio work. Kinda the opposite of the last Keys....

This is in no means any buff on Rabin (and God knows I've defended him withih these pages!) but it is finally great to hear the classic YES back on track. AND A BONUS!!!! I only have to wait two weeks until the NEXT YES album comes out!!!!

tabasco@worldnet.att.net (BOB's)
So it all comes out to this huh. KTA 2 kicks ass totally doesn't it. Man, this is great I thought I was going to be the first person to get it but I guess I thought wrong. I don't even have it yet because it is not out in stores in my state but when it does I'll be jetting in that store, buy it, put it in my cd player, and that'll be it until Open your Eyes comes out. This kicks ass, I stopped liking Yes after a while when I got Talk because I thought they weren't going to come out with an album but how wrong I was. I'M GETTING IT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
When I first heard Keys1, I was totally blown away by "That, That Is". The riffing at he start and the end is really exciting and those middle parts are VERY Anderson (meaning very beautiful)! The song is, with no doubt, the best Yes work since the seventies. OK, there are great things on all Yeswest albums as well as ABWH and Union, but nothing is as good as "That, That Is". Finally Yes dare to experiment again!

Like many others, I thought that was the most experimental we could expect from Yes these days, but so came Keys2! And once again we're swimming those Topographic Oceans! 'Cause that's exactly as "Mind Drive" sounds. Topographic for the next Millenium! I've listened to the song for a few days now, and each time it grows. In the first place, I found the contrast between the "hard" and the "light" parts a bit exaggerated. Was this Yes trying to sound like Yes (if you know what I mean)? But that contrast makes more and more sense for each time I hear the song. I haven't actually made up my mind about the other songs (I post another entry when I have), 'cause "Mind Drive" is so damn impressive!

About those live records: OK, the music is great, especially "Onward", "Starship Trooper", "Going for the One" and "Turn of the Century". But we've heard the songs a zillion times before, and I think Yes should've had been focusing on the new songs instead. With "That That Is" and "Mind Drive", who needs yet another version of "And You and I"?

Finally, it's an odd feeling that within two weeks ANOTHER Yes album will be released! I've heard that some songs on Open Your Eyes are even more poppy than "Love Will Find a Way". What will that lead to? Accomplished experiments and AOR pop within a month... Yes history has always been weird...

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
Now I've listened to Keys vol 2 a bit more, and I can only tell you that it's unbelievably good! I've already mentioned the amazing "Mind Drive" above, so I won't talk about that one again.

Track by track:
*"Foot Prints" starts as a weird gospel, but turns into something completely else. Intriguing bass/guitar riffs compete with brilliant vocal harmonies intensely.

*"Bring Me to the Power". My favourite song. Some real great riffing in the beginning and end, and some typical Jon Anderson hymning inbetween. One part has similarities with of a part of "Endless Dream" (from Talk), but this song is far more entertaining. Of some unknown reason, the word "me" is not on the cover to the CD.

*"Children of Light". Perhaps the least impressive of the set. It's strange that Yes have chosen only this one for their live set. Still, a great song, again very Anderson.

Part 2, "Lifeline", is a fabulous Steve Howe guitar solo, only accomanied by Rick Wakeman's synths.

*"Sign Language". Not so much of a song, but more a vehicle for some more beautiful interplay between Howe and Wakeman. Great!

I can't understand why the Keys 2 thing wasn't thrown away and this album was released as the new Yes studio album. If this was the reason why Rick left, then he was bloody right! And if Yes happen to read this: PLEASE include "Bring me to the Power" and "Mind Drive" in your live set when you come to Europe next spring!

thutley@e-z.net (Thomas Hutley)
Keys to Ascension 2? Catchy title. Sounds... familiar...

This is what Yes was going to sound like... until Wakeman decided he just couldn't give up those damned steak sandwiches! Actually, who really knows why he left? Who knows why he ever RE-JOINED? But before we all burn Rick in Hades, let's give him a big ol' hug and a thank you for doing the live music... oh, and for the studio stuff, too! This really is some good music. Probably the best they've made in a long, long time. Why it must be set up in a 2-CD set where only die-hard Yes fans will even consider forking out $23 for it is beyond me. I guess they really aren't in the business for the money because this thing is NEVER going to move off the shelves!

Obviously, the live songs are good. They've been good for the last 20 plus years, so why wouldn't they be good now? And for someone who's never heard "Turn of the Century" live before, well... it was a pleasure. In fact, I'm retrieving my tissue box right now just thinking about it.

But the studio disc is better. How, you ask? Well... Howe, actually... and Rick... and Alan... and Chris... and Jon. Did I mention Howe? This is exactly what Yes fans have wanted since '80... for Yes to take us all back to the 70's. And they've finally done just that. Every fan that's been screaming for the return of the 'classic' Yes line-up should be able to sleep at night from now on! Well done, my British lads! Now you may burn Wakeman. That is, if you still want to. I don't personally. But that's just me...

axon45@rocketmail.com (Keith Davis)
After waiting over a month for Keys 2, I now have it! How good is it? Well, the five studio songs on the second side of the disc are the best songs that Yes has composed in a very long time! This cd set is even better than Keys 1 and is probably Yes' best cd overall!! The live tracks are as great as the live tracks off of Keys 1!!! My second favorite Yes song, "Turn Of The Century" sounds absolutely magnificent!!! "Time And A Word" has an absolutely great intro!! The magnum opus, "Close To The Edge" is even better than the original version!! So, also are: "And You And I," "Going For The One" and "Your Move/All Good People!!" The second cd, with "Mind Drive" is superb throughout! The other individuals who have reviewed this cd are absolutely correct!! Now let's hope that Open Your Eyes is as great as this is!! Keys To Ascension 2 receives the coveted 10/10 and CTTE goes back to 9/10!

This album is even better than Power Windows!!

dembones@pond.net
Oh, Keys to Ascension 2 is amazing, marvelous... An orgiastic feast of the senses! Previously bored to tears of "All Good People," I was stunned to hear how fresh and inspired it sounded. "Going for the One," CTTE," and "And You And I" sounded MUCH better than their studio versions, in both production AND performance. Only "Turn of the Century" sounded a bit weak in the beginning with Anderson sounding a bit too aggresive. The band sounds like they're playing like their careers depend on it, and maybe they did.

For the New stuff, it is ten times more assured than Keys 1, with much stronger material. I feel guilty as a keyboard player for saying this, but I'm afraid Wakeman's contributions remind me of why the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen can't find a job anymore. Too many notes, way too fast, with some extra pretense for good measure. I respect the man tremendously, but his keyboards are the only thing that sounds like prog-nostalgia to me. (Maybe Howe's voice was a little high in the mix) :-p Otherwise, a GREAT album from a revitalized band! "MindDrive" and "Bring Me To The Power" Powerful stuff! 8.5 of 10.

I wish the new stuff was a seperate disc from both Keys 1 & 2, but then maybe I wouldn't have bought the amazing live stuff!

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
For the average guy (the occasional buyer), the best Yes lineup has to be that of 90125, even if he doesn't know who the members actually were. For Yes fans connoisseurs, on the other hand, many consider the Fragile/CTTE lineup as the definite. But for merely "Yes fans", the lineup they admire and want most is the one consisting of Anderson, Squire, Howe, Wakeman and White. This lineup recorded, by the way, more records than any other. Keys to Ascension 2 is the last of this lineup (for now, at least). When Wakeman talked about having the album called Know instead of KTA2 he had a point: the sense of continuity or "second part" takes away much of the perception of this album's own merits. This time the best part is the studio one, with one hour of truly exciting Yes music. Maybe it would be better if they had released one live 2CD album with the entire SLO concert and another album with the studio tracks. It would have made more sense. For me, Wakeman was right. Sorry he left because of that (was it really that big a reason?). One cannot think of this record independently of the first KTA. But it IS a different record. Forget the similar Dean cover and the similar name. Forget even the good live versions in KTA2: the studio tracks are the true comeback of the 70's style adapted for the 90's. "Mind Drive" and "Take Me to the Power" really deserve to be considered classic Yessongs for years to come. The current lineup will not play these songs live (maybe one or two, and without the same touch). What a pity! Rick should have stayed at least to play on tour one last time. And Alan White made me not miss Bill at all. It is 9/10 because of the live set. It should be a 10.

Open Your Eyes - Beyond 1997.

Yes, a lot of the music is corny, and yes, certain moments do have an overly jaunty Styx-esque feel to them (especially "Man In The Moon," which may actually be my least favorite Yes song of all time, except for maybe "Don't Kill The Whale"), but man, the BRAINS are back! You can tell that they actually put effort into coming up with smart and moving melodies, and the vocal harmonies are simply phenomenal. I can honestly say that these are probably the most consistently beautiful vocals that you will hear on any Yes album, which is doubly incredible when you consider their ages. Usually, old guys have trouble with the harmonies (Moody Blues, CSN....), but not our Yesses, no sir. Even with a dipshit little melody like "New State Of Mind," the harrowingly lovely vocal explosions manage to pull the song as a whole into the ethereal realms of enjoyitude. (?)

So what holds it back from a higher grade, you're wondering.... Basically, it's the same thing that holds Metallica's Reload back from a higher grade (I just picked that one up too, so it's fresh on my brain like a meat patty); Yes have pretty much given us half a record, roughly SIX songs worth, of incredibly beautiful pop music that will get stuck in your head for weeks on end. The other half of the record is just okay. Not BAD (except "Man In The Moon," which is abysmal, as far as I'm concerned), but just okay. And we all have our favorites so I won't name names, but let's just say that, while half of the CD makes me shake my head back and forth and go, "YES!!!! They're back!!!," the other half is really just okay.

Enough negativity. If you're a Yes fan, BUY THIS CD!!!! And give it a few listens, because I hated it at first too. It takes a while to get into, because the slick '90s production kinda hides the great melodies at first, almost making it seem like you're sitting through Talk II. But you're NOT. There may not be an "epic" on this record, but the tunes are all slightly different, some enhanced by sitars, others concentrating on weird rhythmic disturbances (well, okay - only ONE, but it sure is a bizarre rhythmic disturbance!), and others just ringing out the joyful cry of positivity or some such silliness. You see, unlike the last couple of Rabin collections, these songs - well, hell, I'll name names - If I could spend the rest of my life listening to "Open Your Eyes," "Universal Garden," "No Way We Can Lose," "Wonderlove," "Love Shine," and "The Solution," I would eventually get sick of them, but it would take a while, because I LOVE them!!! Great positive uplifting tunes, man. Corny? Crap yeah! But so's your old man!!!! This may not be the greatest album of 1997, but it definitely contains some of the greatest songs of 1997. And that's a surprising and wonderful thing for me to say about a band that I had almost completely written off as dinosaurs. Go Yes Go! Keep that faith a-rollin'!

Reader Comments

robertk@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Well, the NEWER new Yes studio album for 1997 is out. It's called Open Your Eyes. Why they changed the title to that from Know is beyond me. Billy Sherwood makes a great replacement for Rick Wakeman. (especially since he mainly plays guitars instead of keys, which makes this album quite guitar heavy) Billy makes a great addition to Yes. He's actually been working with the band for a while. He co-wrote one of the songs on Union, and then played backup guitar with Trevor on the Talk tour, then he produced KTA II, and now he's a full fledged member. I love this album. There are also a lot of sitars. I personally like it better than KTA II. The KTA material was great, but this stuff is fresh and original.

john1@frontiernet.net (John)
Well, I never thought I would say it but........Don't waste your money on this one. After the Incredible "MIND DRIVE" on KTA2, (possibly the best song EVER by Yes),I was really looking forward to this album. Unfortunately this album SUCKS. It's almost impossible to tell one song from the next. Each song has an almost identical beat, the exact same instrumentation, the exact same harmonies, the same song lengths. I would dare say a Yes tribute band would have done a MUCH better job. I wish they would "Open their Eyes" and realize this could signal an end to their group if they make any more albums like this. I wonder if RICK had an idea they were headed in this direction, or is this just what happens without him? This album makes UNION look like a classic. I really believe there is something headed in a very wrong direction with this album, and I hope they get it turned around right after this. I am still sitting here wondering how the KTA2 studio tracks could be soo good, and this could be so bad. By far THE WORST EVER. Getting my point. I hope I am not disheartening any fans too much, believe me no one more disheartened than me. Well I guess I better go back and listen to "MIND DRIVE" again and hopefully drive the thoughts of this out of my head.

thutley@e-z.net (Thomas Hutley)
This is what Yes sounds like NOW... and every typical "I can't stand how bad Yes music has gotten in the 90's" fan is crying in their Espresso. Is it really that bad, though? Well, no... not really. Is it campy? Yes. Is it cheesey? Sometimes. Is it going to make the top 40? Definitely not. In fact, your average O.G. Hipster kid probably won't even know it's on the CD rack. But it's got some good stuff on it. Honestly. Sure there's moments where the foul stench of over-used drum beats and lousy lyrics makes you want to toss your cookies. But then Howe steps in, lays down some pre-chewed chops, and makes everything all better. He's Pepto-Bismol with a guitar! And he's one of the biggest highlights on the disc. And besides, not ALL the lyrics are bad. Not ALL the drum parts are bad. Not ALL of any of it is bad. And when you're listening to "Fortune Seller" wondering where in the world Rick is, well, he's at home eating another steak sandwich. But Igor Khoroshev's here... sometimes... and he does a darn fine job. Plus they've got Billy Sherwood doing the recording... and playing music... somewhere... I think. And except for the 16 minute mix-fest that Billy spent WAY too much time and effort on at the end of the disc, I'd say he's doing a darn fine job, too. So sit back. Relax. Take a few doses of the pink stuff. And listen to some genuinely ok music...

PF90125@aol.com (Patric Satex)
open my eyes. this album is outstanding. i did like all of the studio stuff on keys 2, but it did at times lack power...and compelling melody. but it was good. but this open your eyes stuff is just concise and powerful. i have been a big fan of billy sherwood since he was first on vinyl with a drama sounding band called lodgic. and both world trade albums are so very yessish....and i love his work with my fave yessir chris. so of course this album strikes it big with me. back is the power..the melody..the tight production. steve hasn't sounded so strong in a long while. jon and chris vox are tight. this is a killer collection. each song...exept maybe steve's "balcony". "open your eyes", "universal garden", "the solution", "new state" and "fortune seller".. are my faves. how anyone could not enjoy hearing this modern direction is beyond me. let them grow, let them make their sounds. if there is one knock, it's that at times this sounds a bit too much like the last world trade album/euphoria. the bass and drums are very similar in texture to that album. so sometimes it sounds like jon is doing some vocals for w.trade.... otherwise. bravo. bravo..........

MKST246@aol.com
I just heard OYE this week. Do we really want a "Yes of the 90's?" Yes fans are a very particular bunch, and love (most) of their music recorded over the decades (especially w/o Trevor). How can the music be so different from the fine studio tracks on the new (recorded one year ago with Rick Wakeman...Is that the difference?) album? It's not bad at all, but why is Steve's guitar so deep in the mix with few melodic solos? Keyboards, for the most part are also deep in the mix and sorely missing (ie., Rick's creativity and his "simpler" piano parts so integral to the "classical' sound) on a number of tracks.

Some of the newer sounding harmonies are fun (lots of "singing" on OYE), but none of the songs are the epics that we love to listen to a hundred times & hearing & finding & discovering something new in the music each time. The standouts are "Universal Garden" and "Fortune Seller", but nothing stretches the outer limits of their talents and creativity. "Open Your Eyes" is a fun single, but may wear thin upon repeated listenings. Listen to KTA2..."Mind Drive" and "Bring Me To The Power"...They still have it in them!! I attended the recent concert in Milwaukee (11/15/97), and Yes has never sounded better. (I've seen them 6 times since 1972...Saw them on the CTTE tour first in '72!) I know they still have it in them! OYE is a nice album, and even fun at times, but it is definately not Yes at its classic best (ie., what is known as their "main sequence"...between The Yes Album and Going For The One). Give it a listen and have fun, for it is "YES"!

brill@netsites.net (Brian Brill)
When I began listening to Open Your Eyes and formulating a review, I was going to be mildly apologetic for the album and the band. But as I have listened to the music over and over, grooving on the fantastic sounds, soaring with the wonderful message, and discovering the subtle textures, I have realized this album needs no apology. It rocks and the elitist, musically myopic whiners ........well, it doesn't do them much good to open their eyes since their heads are up their...........Oh, I'm straying from the positive sentiments of the music in question. Let's just say it's their loss. I would take a few more Mind Drives though, I sympathize with that.

daniel@fhsk.skurup.se (Daniel Reichberg)
My first listen was a disappointment (as is their decision to ignore all five Scandinavian countries on their upcoming European tour), but Open Your Eyes have grown on me. At least a little bit. "Wonderlove" and "No way We can Lose" are still highly unnecessary. Four songs are very good indeed. They are "Universal Garden", "Man in the Moon" "The Solution" and "New State of Mind". The rest is sort of...OK. NOTHING is as good as the studio tracks on Keys to Ascension 2.

newsnuts@weir.net (Joe Lawler)
This blows, and there's no defending it...

Worse than Union, and I didn't think that was possible...

What they need is a keyboard player, and a few good songs to go with it...

The 80s stuff was concise, and going in a different direction, which was good and exciting...

This is just mindless....From the Balcony sounds like THEY'RE NOODLING AROUND AND PRACTICING, FOR GOD'S SAKE...

This is the first Yes album I've listened to that was so bad I couldn't even listen to all the songs in one sitting....

Even the cover art looks tired and `let's get-this-done-quickly-so-we-can-make-some-bucks.'

Buy a Yanni album instead...it would be more fun...

dembones@pond.net
Someone pinch me... I must be dreaming! This is the best, most consistant thing Yes has put out since GOING FOR THE ONE, Maybe even CTTE. The vocals are once again the prime focus of the music with INCREDIBLE arrangements. The music is very guitar driven with Howe in the forefront (where he should be) and some parts from newbie Billy Sherwood. Although it's not always obvious where Sherwood contributes musically, he seems to work VERY well in the band, and his engineering is excellent. Keyboards are very tasteful, remeniscent of Downes' work on Drama, and Squire has found a renewed passion for his instrument. White reclaims his status of world class drummer and Anderson's voice has never sounded better. Every song is great, with the exception of the mildly irritating "Man In The Moon." The musical part of "The solution" is maybe the strongest song on the album, and then following a 2-3 minute silence, the listener is subjected to 15 minutes of forest sounds, random wind chimes and wierd spontaneous vocal bursts lifted from the other songs on the album. It's a little strange, but hearing the complex vocal parts accapella is a treat, and besides, after an hour of incredible music, they can do whatever the hell they want! 9.5 of 10!!! :-) YES IS BACK, YES IS BACK!!!

Doggybag@panda.com (Lance Manion)
OPEN YOUR EYES is not TALES, but if it were, I would've finally written YES off as has-beens. I love KEYS 2 as much as anyone else, but as so many contributers have so eagerly pointed out, it is indeed the YES of the 70's, only nostalgic rather than cutting edge. I know of no other music that sounds like OPEN YOUR EYES, and while it may not have the grand structures of "Gates" or "Awaken", it is inventive, original, complex, and RELEVANT, and definitely warrants repeated listenings. Really worse than TALK or UNION? I think not! There's nothing wrong with nostalgia, those who critise YES for moving on with their careers and their music should crawl back in their caves, dust off the quad hi-fi, Lower the needle on their Fragile picture disc and play it 'till their ears rot off. :-)

D.R.Brown@wlv.ac.uk
Review on OYE. My First impression was of a bad one but I've grown to liking some of the songs, following is a review of the album.

"NEW STATE OF MIND" - Quite a good song; only cause it belongs to Chris Squire. However, Steve Howe's guitaring is awful.

"OPEN YOUR EYES" - "Open their eyes" as someone said before. No, it ain't that bad. A bit of chessy chorus though i've grown to liking it, but poor backing vocals from Billy Sherwood, who frankly can't sing for shit..

"UNIVERSAL GARDEN" - Good Chorus "Flowering endlessly though the garden" or something like that? Bit of dogdy solo from SH, there's a mix half way though the solo, fading one in and the other out. They should of made this one into a long epic like "Close To The Edge."

"NO WAY WE CAN LOSE" - If they stuck to D, A, Em, and G in the verse an chucked the crap overall feel to it, it would of sounded a lot better. Again, good chorus, nice and melodic. Harmonica why? Crap solo and gtr fills once again from Steve, it's definitely the sound he's got and possibly some of his rank guitar playing. Good backing vocals only cause Squire's singing them. I love the bit from Jon "ready or not" quietly in the right speaker. Crap ending.

"FORTUNE SELLER" - Like the start, nice bass line but then the song falls to its doom. Steve why do you always play crap notes? have you heard them in the chorus? it's awful. It makes you want to cry!

"MAN IN THE MOON" - Why? Very poor song indeed, sounds like some indie band. The lead vocals done by Billy Sherwood, I gather? sound terrible. They're way too low, and besides it's an awful melody. Very poor ending.

"WONDERLOVE" - The start sounds promising, but, Ah!, just as I thought, a big pile of shit!

"FROM THE BALCONY" - "From the balcony they should of hung themselves!"

"LOVE SHINE" - Christian love perhaps? same old faults.

"SOMEHOW, SOMEDAY" - Okay, a bit more like it. though I reckon they could have done with Trevor Rabin on this one.

"THE SOLUTION" - Cool start, then again plummets downwards. Chorus not too bad. I hate Howe's guitar playing, he is so bad at making up a good solo, and generally filling in.

This album isn't really worth buying, as my good friend said after I showed him the tape "Well I've saved me self £10 there then!" Billy's backing vocals are crap and too high up in the mix, he can not sing. Howe can't play properly anymore! I noticed it on the Union and AWBH tours. The music uses the same form and textures for virtually all of the songs. Repeated backing vocals in all similar places, drums mostly driving in 4/4 (though I don't blame White, he's still the thunder machine to me), crap endings.

There are however some good ideas on this album, dump the craps ones like "Man in the Moon", "Wonder Love" and nearly all of side B, Get rid of Billy cause he can't sing properly, and exchange Howe back for Rabin to redo all the guitar work, if can you call it guitar work? and then you might have a good album worth buying. It's still good to hear that Squire's contribution is still as crisp and precise as ever, and so's Jon's singing.

jarendo@ibm.net
My friends, OPEN YOUR EYES... This album really SUCKS...! THE WORST EVER... Don't waste your money on this album...!

pht@lacasa.com (Peter H. Tag)
I have spent much time listening to both KTA 2 and OYE and surprisingly, since OYE came out, I haven't listened to KTA 2. Even though I feel that the studio songs from KTA 2 are excellent, it has become apparent to me that OYE is 90's music more so than KTA 2, i.e., more appropriate for the times. OYE is a very, very well done album that has really grown on me with more frequent listenings. There is a bit of everything that makes Yes what they are incorporated into this album. Meter changes, major to minor key changes that nicely parallel the lyrics, crisp and imaginative guitar work from both Howe and Squire. One of the songs ("Somehow Someday") even has two meters layered on top of each other in some sections (6/8 melody over 3/2 rhythm section lines) and is quite interesting. Throughout the album, Squire basslines and White drum lines are often unpredictable and synchopated which I find to be a refreshing change from most of the standard 4/4 rock-beat work put out during the Rabin era. One of the aspects of OYE I find most appealing are the vocal harmonies. Something is a bit different here than in most Yes efforts and I find it to be very pleasing as it adds yet another dimension to the music. While no piece of music in this album will likely be considered a Yes classic, the songs are tight, well integrated and innovative (within the domain of rock and roll music). I feel that this album conveys the spirit of the band nicely as each song differs significantly from the others signifying the "perpetual changes" that we all go through. From the range of comments made by other reviewers, it is clear that this is not an album for everybody. OYE has hit me the way Jon Anderson's Animation did. I almost threw that one in the garbage after the first few listenings thinking that all the songs sounded the same and that they had departed too far away from the Jon Anderson sound I had grown to like. But, I hung in there with it and discovered a new sound that I grew to like and appreciate. Only time will tell, but I think this album will be recognized as one of the more original Yes pieces of work.

freddot@cajunnet.com (Alfred Landry)
After waiting so long for a new studio album with this almost classic lineup, what a disapointment. The new material on KTA2 was so good. What happened between these two albums?

windstorm@geocities.com (Robert Reynolds)
Just got Open Your Eyes for Christmas, which, to my chagrin, I had no idea was even being produced! Doh! Nice marketing! Slip in the CD, and it's a thing that makes you go "Hmmmm!" The first two tunes are excellent....in fact, I think I'll tape a copy of the title track and stick it in the divorce papers..hehehe! This is a different album, for sure, one that I find I must judge on its own merits because it doesn't really compare to anything else Yes has done. I DO like it, though.

rderby@erols.com (Robert Derby)
Ya know, it amazes me that so many people really have no idea what making music is all about. Do the fans really think that a group like YES sits back and says to themselves: " we have to replicate "mind drive" or we have to get the vibe of 90125" or some damn thing? Here's some news folks... THEY DON'T!!! I'm sure YES would always prefer that their newest work is accepted by the music listeners but it is more important that they accept it. That is how a band grows and the music remains inspiring. A stumble here and there may occur (and incidentally OYE is in no way a stumble!) but if it is a true musical effort it remains acceptable. This by no means suggests that Yes has never stumbled.

OYE is different than the studio work on KTA2. So what. That makes it bad? Sometimes Mark's "Celestial masses..." opening is approprate for some YES fans. This is a pleasant "pop" album from YES. Some really good songs and some that don't quite work. "State...", "Open...","No Way...","Fortune..." are very enjoyable and include many "YES stamps" in them. The "misses" are hardly unlistenable. This album seeths effort! AND FOCUS. I've enjoyed it and look forward to what YES is inspired to do next.

lledesma@amag.edu.pe (Leonardo Ledesma)
Open Your Eyes came, for a start, just too quickly after KTA2. And it's ENTIRELY different. The cover reminds me of the original Brit edition of Yes in 1969 (and this is because this record was first considered a rennaissence for the band and it was to be called simply Yes, a most confusing decision luckily abandoned). The inclusion of Sherwood gave Yes something it distinctly has not all those years: an American member. Billy was kind of a second-rate member from some time ago and now the weight of being officially the "newest" is upon him. The songs of this album remind me in places Drama and Union. The first single, the "radiophonic" title song, seems a bit like the Rabin Yes without Rabin. I didn't think this could actually happen, but in some songs I even miss Trevor for good. The main input seemed to have come from Chris this time, with Billy's help, including some tracks intended for his new solo effort. How come "Man On the Moon" is in this album?

I like "Universal Garden", "Fortune Seller" (with some silly parts but with Steve calling for attention), "Wonderlove" and poppy "Love Shine" (or whatever the hell it's called). Chris sings a lot, actually. The track following "Wonderlove" (think it's "From the Balcony") has guitar intro part that is a rip-off of Lennon's piano part in the song "Imagine". Many of the other tracks sound very similar. I know Billy's doing a lot in there, but can't put my finger right on it. Igor's keyboard guest parts are few but noticeable. Porcar'?s part is not so distinct (Billy could handle it). The overall sound has keyboards in the background and I missed Tony this time (how can many blame him of not being Wakeman and at once praise this virtually keyboardless album instead?). Steve is a mystery on this record. I doubt he contributed much composition-wise and his guitar parts come to the front just in three songs (some other solos even sound as Billy's playing them). And even these bright exceptions from Steve don't stretch his very-known formula much. For most of the record, I had to reread the record credits to convince me Howe was actually there (and, since Union, even this is not so reassuring anymore). The main merit of Open Your Eyes seems to be its keeping the flame alive looking at the new millenium, with Billy maybe equalling Rabin's role in the 80's. Let's hope this doesn't mean the music will be as such. I give it 6/10. But later listenings can make me change the qualification, for BETTER or WORSE. And let's forget the collage of sounds at the end of the album, seemingly going on forever.

Something's Coming. Now this is what I called a good album. Since I knew the BBC taped some Yes radio shows, I dreamed of it being officially released someday. Some low-to-almost decent quality bootlegs appeared featured some sessions, but that wasn't enough. The two BBC tracks on Yesyears were the tip of an excellent iceberg of music, both in sound as in content. The musicianship of the original members of Yes should not be, IMHO, put to question. Banks is a damn good guitarist, always has been since Yes early days. His jazzy feel in many songs give that extra edge that makes the difference. And Kaye WAS a musician fond of tricky fleeting-finger parts (not just on organ, as many think, but on piano as well and a bit later on moog). Bruford's mastery shone from the beginning as well as Squire's bass. It was Anderson's voice that sounded a bit lower and wilder for what we hear from him nowadays. The list of the tracks include many reprises, looking for completion of the songs actually played, and each version has its own feeling. Those songs originally featured in Time and a Word are played without any orchestral backing this time, letting the five guys show all of their talent. There's even a "new" song, "For Everyone". Let's hope some day many more songs from those days will come the light of day (bootleggers had secured their sales for awhile longer). More important, we have Peter Banks in a "new" Yes album since 1970, and he also helped with the notes. Having heard the officially released BBC sessions of The Beatles and Led Zep too, I think Something's Coming is (apart from the songs themselves) the best of the lot because it contains all the shows and excellent sound all the way. The 2-CD album has material for what would be a 3-record set in the vinyl days. A MUST for your collection and a precious piece of history (including the not-so-attractive but original Yes logo on the cover). But I would prefer a different cover (that band's photo is so 60's-ish), maybe a Dean painting, disregard of the Yes period it would evocate. My qualification oscillates between 8 or 9 out of 10.

Crlwrt@aol.co
I have been a yes fan since 1974, have enjoyed their soaring and goofy moments alike. What I am so tired of is the vague and far and away "cosmic spriritual message" that is ingrained on so much of yes's recent work, I think it peaked on Union, but you see it start to creep back on this disc. Jon, if you have a message, just write it on the sleeve. The Music on OYE is tremendous to say the least, and Howe definitely puts the last coffin nail on old Trevor's dirtbox. The one song that sucks of course is "man in the moon" (is there a way to burn tracks off a cd?). The songs are a bit packaged for the likes of yes, but they are for the most part good. "Somehow Someday" borrows some old lyrics from a long forgotten Anderson solo album I used to have but have lost the tape and forgotten the name (can someone help?) I particularly liked that track. All in all, if you like Yes, take a chance on this one, its much better than the last few.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net
I must say it looks like a boring album but damn it it rocks like a rocking chair. Open Your Eyes and discover Yes is back. "New State of Mind" opens up with a great lyrical mellow. Squire even does the lead vocals. Sounds great but i should have waited until next month when the surround sound comes out. Title track, i first heard the mono version of this it sounded good but the stereo version sounds a hell of a lot better. "Universal Garden" was my least favorite track to much scratch in this. "No WAy We Can Lose" shows an improvement. "Man In the Moon" (Round and Round And Round I Go) I love this song. Yes never in my opinion had silly lyrics but on Tormato "Arriving UFO" was kinda funny. "Wonderlove" is totallly One In A Million things a band would ever do and get it to sound right but Yes did. Great track. "From the Balcony" is a true song about me when it all Starts off Now I've Heard You Singing, I heard a sweet voice from the balcony in my high school auditorium. SHINE SHINE SHINE on you crazy Diamond. "LOve Shine". The chant sound sounds so spectacular. I love it. "Somehow Someday" was like a Country Song like a song you would here on vacation. Dreamy sweet notes of Jon. "THe Solution", well this song better tell me a solution about failing Biology because i'm on the verge of doin it. Nah, sorry for blurting that out but what can i say i liked this cd.

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