Although the title has been given to "quirky" groups such as They Might Be Giants or even fellow prog-rockers like Rush, this is (arguably) the cult group of the century. Those who love them worship at their feet, almost regardless of who is actually in the band, while those who dislike them (i.e. The Rolling Stone Album Guide) dislike them with a passion. Personally, I think they're great, and the albums from their "golden period" of '71 to '77 are all essentials in the collection of any true fan of progressive rock. They even had a somewhat successful Top 40 comeback during the 80's, before they turned completely awful for a time, before starting to remember what made them successful in the first place; intelligence. And that is what strikes the listener the most about their music; at their best, they put a ton of thought into their compositions, seemingly making them increasingly complex (without sacrificing entertainment value) just to one-up their previous efforts (though in reality, the band virtually never engaged in complexity for its own sake - it was always a means to an end), all the while challenging notions of what pop music was "allowed" to do and showing that the violation of various dogmatic "truths" of rock could still in fact allow for good music. Add that to the fact that, virtually always, every player in the band was a superb instrumentalist, not just in raw technical ability but in terms of style and flair, and you have yourself a perfectly delectable experience (unless, of course, you find them excessively wanky). My opinion of the band has essentially become that they were one of the most accessible "weird" bands and one of the least accessible "normal" bands ever, and that is a state of being I can really dig.

My opinion (as well as the opinions of the group's often ravenous fans) aside, though, Yes really gets a lot of hateful press. Much of this, of course, stems from a bad attitude towards the progressive genre in general. More than any other group around, Yes was the symbol of prog taken to its ultimate height, and they pretty much defined all of the 'wretched excesses' that so many critics love to beat to death. With songs that regularly eclipse 7 minutes in length, often taking up entire sides of albums (especially on Tales, with four side-longs, of all things), it certainly takes a bizarre and hearty soul to give them a shot in the first place, much less enjoy them. But even their stellar chops, a definite asset, often gained them intense criticism for creating a type of 'musical elitism' that prevented an average garage band from being able to emulate themselves after Yes (or other prog bands, for that matter). After all, not every bassist can successfully pull off Roundabout, not every guitarist can do the lightning solos in Awaken, not every drummer can pull off Close to the Edge or Siberian Khatru ... you get the idea. Not only had the band constructed music that was far beyond the tolerance of the average listener, but their playing talents had created an almost untouchable fraternity that only a very select few could ever hope to enter.

The main problem that most have with Yes, though, starts and ends with vocalist/lyricist Jon Anderson. To put it mildly, his lyrics are usually, um, intimidating. Almost all of the time, it honestly seems like he's spouting complete and total jibberish. Now, to be fair, in several cases, that statement is probably correct (particularly on TYA), but I do feel it would be unfair to categorize Jon Anderson as a complete lunatic throwing out the first lines that come into his head. In particular, his epics on CTTE, Tales, and Relayer, believe it or not, really do have meaning and tell actual stories. It takes a few readings to realize it, but after a while, something clicks in your mind and you actually begin to get it. No kidding. Also, one must keep in mind that much of, if not most of the time, regardless of how strange the lyrics seems to us, they almost always mean a lot to Anderson. He honestly cared about his seasoned witches and dreamers easy in the chair that really fits you. And he treasured and still treasures Tales. Remember that.

Lyrics aside though, there is also the issue of Jon's voice. Best as I can tell, there are those who love his voice, and those who categorically cannot stand it, with few in between. See, while he's technically a contra-tenor, he often strays dangerously close to soprano in his range. Even more frightening than that is that he is not using a falsetto; you have to hear him speak to believe it, but that's his actual voice. And that in itself often turns people away; maybe it's a form of homophobia or something, but there are many who want their male singers to sound like, well, real men, and hearing anything else makes them cringe. Of course, the same argument is often used against Led Zeppelin and Rush, so I don't worry too much about it.

More and more, though, the main complaint about Anderson is turning to a different aspect of his singing style. The main problem is that more often than not, he will take a 'zero-tone' approach to his singing, i.e. he will seemingly not vary the expression of his voice one iota throughout the song. Because of this, in my travels of the internet, I have seen Anderson referred to as a computer, a robot, and generally as a soulless singing machine. The thing is, though ... I dunno, I guess technically I will agree that he makes no attempt at making a song come alive using only his vocal chords, a la Greg Lake or Peter Gabriel. On the other hand, though, I honestly believe that it is a mistake to demand Anderson to sing like vocalists of other bands, simply because Yes was not like other bands. Anderson's job, let's face it, was to provide a counterpoint to the exquisite keyboard, guitar, and bass arrangements, and to contribute a pretty, 'flowery' covering with the vocal harmonies that only he and the guitarists could provide. And from that viewpoint, he succeeded marvelously. Whatever you may say, I insist that the man was a terrific writer of vocal melodies. They were by no means designed to be the 'hook' of the song (though one would have to be totally deaf to deny that quite often the vocal melodies were hooky as hell, intended or not), but as a counter to the instrumental melodies, they could not be topped. And besides, it's not as if the man's singing couldn't hypnotize a man with its beauty; listen to his reverbed voice soaring over the mellotron in Revealing Science in the "getting over overhanging trees" part, or his moving lament in Turn of the Century, and tell me you aren't moved to tears.

Whatever the case may be, I honestly believe this is one of the greatest bands of all time. They may not have been the most 'complex' or intimidating band out there (The Mahavishnu Orchestra scares me out of my wits, and King Crimson used to, though not really anymore), and there have probably been bands with greater collective chops. But no band has ever taken lengthy and self-indulgent epic jamming and made it sound more like beautiful music than Yes. Granted, you have to be prepared for the journey it wants to take you on, but if you are willing, you will go places you never dreamed existed. And, if you let yourself go, you will love every second, I guarantee it.

What do you think about Yes?

Ben Greenstein (bgreenstein@nctimes.net)

Yes, a cult group? Let alone the cult group of the century? I don't think so. See, pretty much EVERY "classic rock" fan (roughly 1/4 of the population, I guess) is either a Yes nut or at least has some of their albums. Rush aren't a cult group either, and TMBG are almost popular enough to be mainstream (I still consider them sorta cultish, though, because they've never taken their place on classic rock radio like, say, YES or RUSH!!!) A real cult group is one that most people not in the band's following haven't heard of - like Mike Keneally or Gentle Giant or so on. EVERYONE has head Yes - god knows, I've heard much more than I'm able to stomach.

Oh, yeah. I hate Yes. I don't even mind the guy's voice, and it's not them being "overblown" (because I like ELP and Genesis). No, they just bore me. I haven't heard one Yes song which has really blown me away as a composition. And "All Good People" is really dreadful - I still insist that it sounds like Hall and Oates or something. They suck! That is all...

(author's note): About the cult group thing - I know a ton, a ton of classic rock buffs who don't know a thing about Yes. Also, my defintion of a cult group is not necessarily an 'underground' or 'hidden' band. Rather, I consider it a group with (a) a relatively small, as well as viciously loyal fandom and (b) an overall style that, in general, appeals to pretty much only this small group of people. In this way, Yes is certainly a cult group. Rush is a cult group (yeah, stuff like Free Will and Closer to the Heart get played ad nauseum, but how many people do you know that enjoy the title track of Hemispheres?). TMBG .. ehn, it's close. I do admit that I don't know much about the band beyond stuff like Particle Man and that annoying Istanbul/Constantinople song, so they are probably a better band than I'm giving them credit for. But as long as I keep hearing them side-by-side with Dr. Demento, there is no way I can think of them otherwise. Same goes for Weird Al (whom I actually somewhat still enjoy, but only on occasion - of course, One More Minute will be one of my all-time favorite songs until the day my soul ignites).

Also, how many songs by Yes actually get played on the radio (not counting 90125 cuts)? I count three - Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround, and I've Seen All Good People. Not exactly a playlist flooder, if you ask me.

In any case, the 'of the century' part comes from the fact that I feel they are the best group to fall under said category.

PS - I'm sorry that this response was so hostile. Again, I'm sure that TMBG is a better band than what I've heard, and if I offended their fans, I'm sorry. Just know that at the time of this commentary, I was in a really pissy mood, due to various circumstances of my life. I apologize. PPS: This response re: TMBG was written back in 1999, so cut me some slack.

Rich Bunnell (richbunnell@home.com)

I know you wrote that TMBG commentary thingie in a pissy mood, but for the record, "Istanbul" is a cover, and "Particle Man" is on my personal list of the top five worst songs ever written. And they're my second-favorite band!

Laurent MASSE (masse@geocean.u-bordeaux.fr)

Very strange how people can complain about Jon's voice. He probably is the highest pop singer ever (hitting Eb in "Going For The One" as far as I know), so what? If anybody is looking for a raucous blues singer, better go elsewhere! I suppose anybody not being a native english speaking doesn't care about what the lyrics say or not, so OK with me. And for him singing like a robot, I'm a little bit confused. Well, listen to those Drama vocals! Apart from "Into the Lens", obviously designed for Horn's voice, now isn't that robot singing all along? Honestly, Jon would have put some life in there, whereas the other sing absolutely fine, but completely soulless. Well, I suppose tastes are tastes. The part I cannot stand in YES music myself is Chris's bass. I'm a bass player since almost 20 years, and sorry folks, but I don't see the point in all of these fast-as-lightning/aggressive/demonstrative fireworks. If you try to play these (and I insist they're not that difficult at all with a little chops), you'll realise they're by no means original, just impressively played but very basic geometrics on the fretboard, usually ascending or descending scales. Where's the music, where's the emotion in there? There's so much more this man could do with his Rick instead of always trying to assault, to impress. I personnaly rate a musician according to his ability to (1) make a single chosen, purposeful note vibrate and (2) serve a song by underplaying whenever necessary. No need to say Chris is very low on both scales. Face it folks, whenever he stops his trebly aggressive pyrotechnics, he sounds like a very mean, unoriginal bass player as there are loads around. But honestly, I recognize Chris is an integral part of Yes Music, so I deal with him (hey, I don't like mussels but I like paella!)

Jeff Blehar (jblehar@Maxinter.Net)

If you (and by "you" I mean "me") had told me a year ago today that Yes was a great rock group, I would have laughed snottily and probably done my darndest treat you like musical idiot. Yes? That stupid-arsed, pretentious PROG group? Screw that bilious crap, and pass me some Beatles, buddy! Of course, all I'd ever heard by them was "I've Seen All Good People" (which I liked) and "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" (which - wait a second - I ALSO liked...). But no, Yes HAD to be dismissed. It was a matter of principle, you understand? They were one of those atrocious prog-rock groups which puked out triple-live albums and 20 minute songs without thinking, and they committed the cardinal sin of infusing elements of classical music into rock 'n' f--kin' roll, which of course should ALWAYS remain as simplistic as possible to avoid losing its impact. Or so goes the Rolling Stone magzine party line. You see, I admit (sheepishly) that I bought into the BS spewed by the hip congnoscenti about Prog, downing it without even giving it a chance. But then I borrowed my friend's yes boxed set on a lark, just to SEE, you know...could it REALLY be THAT bad? I mean, heck that "All Good People" song, that was a keeper, wasn't it? Thus began my first exposure to Yes.

I'm enjoying the taste of this humble pie quite a bit, thank you very much.

I guess this is my lesson learned: NEVER dismiss anything out of hand. It turns out that the hip consensus was full of it, and that despite some SERIOUS flaws (e.g. Jon Anderson's apparent inability to correct for what sounds like the effects of Wernicke's aphasia - an affliction whereby the victim babbles fluently and endlessly in nonsense words) this band can kick my ass and anyone else's six ways from Sunday. Oh, they went over the top more times than I'd care to mention, and they pretty much stopped making worthwhile music after 1977, but I'll go to bat for a LOT of their albums, something that I never would have considered doing a year ago. Funny how things change, eh?

(author's note): Ha ha, success!!

Semiramis2@aol.com

Damn it you got me riled up about Yes, my favorite band at this current moment. Keeping with what I said about "writing about music", I'll write something about Relayer.

The title track rocks! The bass is totally awesome! The compositions are excellent! The bass is so heavy and it goes with the heavy drums! Alan White is God! It's a great song but I like it the best because it's great! It deserves a 12 because it's great but not perfect. It gets such a high score because Howe's solo is terrific and Anderson's epic about the necessity of war is great! The lyrics are wonderful. That section after the drums at the end is great! It should be made into its own song.

That review gives no insight to the imagery or feeling or subjectiveness of songs. Possibly if reviews were given as intense image-ridden poetry or as an analytical painting, then maybe they could do justice to the songs they're describing. (I've bought albums solely based on the album cover painting. If the cover art was created in the same vein as the music, then isn't it a much better "review" of the song? Capable of capturing the emotion that is impossible with words.) But what does "Steve Howe's solo is terrific" tell you anything about the song? Even a very deep analysis of a song really is useless.

(author's note): On the other hand, there are plenty of people in this world who would take the exact opposite standpoint. Many people couldn't possibly care less about any emotional or spiritual impact that music could have - they only care about the notes. I know people like this, and I fully expect to get comments in that exact vein (I've seen them on other sites as well). Do I agree with that line of thinking? Of course not. Does that mean it's wrong? Absolutely not. Within their line of thinking, they are 100% correct.

Look at this next statement.

"The song "Going for the One" is a strikeback by Jon Anderson against the attacks of music critics who claim his music is too fantastic, the lyrics too nebulous and spacey. Steve Howe showcases his flair for different kinds of guitar styles and once again bleeds with virtuosity."

What the hell does that tell you about anything? You know those reviews on the amazon.com pages? Can you believe people buy music based on word recommendations? I say you should put paintings/poetry/music samples as accurate "reviews" of the music.

(author's note): Ah, so you're one of those "mankind regressed when they went from using pictures to communicate to words" freaks. I never agreed with that philosophy in high school, and I definitely don't agree with it now.

You should post this pic

as my review for Tales From Topographic Oceans. How else would you describe the cascading synth part in the beginning of "The Revealing Science of God" that comes in just after the initial vocals? Or that little tiny sharp whistle that plays during the interludes of that song? With words? Only this pictoral depiction of the world that the song creates can even start to attempt to describe the song. (Yeah, I know the original TFTO has a very relevant and fitting album cover but everyone's seen that one already). Pictures are better than words for describing music but still useless. So describing music in any form is still useless!! hahahaH!H!H!HHR!

Haha I can't believe you posted my last comment. Let's see if you post this pic.

(author's note): This commentator does have a point. BUT, the writer fails to note a few very important things. And rather than waste my time typing them out, I will direct any who wish to receive an intelligent rebuttal to this point to this link.

Philip Maddox (slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com)

You know, my experience of getting into Yes was much like your experience getting into the Beatles - for the absolute longest time, I thought that I LOATHED the band. This was based primarily on my parents, my dad in particular - he never missed an opportunity to describe Yes as the biggest problem that rock music ever faced and, due to saturation to this since I was about 5 years old, I believed it for a long time. I didn't have any reason not to, considering that I'd never even heard anything by the band except for Owner Of A Lonely Heart, which I didn't really have an opinion on.

Finally, though, one day about a year and a half ago, I was cruising down the road with my sister and I heard "I've Seen All Good People" on the classic rock station (I never listened to the classic rock station, so I'd never heard the song before) and I was absolutely floored. I asked my sister who it was, and was surprised to hear her say "Yes". Fighting my inborn instinct to hate the band, I went out and forked over 12 bucks for The Yes Album. It blew me away. Fantastic music. Every last song was a winner. It was one of the best album's I'd heard in years. So, after that, I got Fragile, and recognized Roundabout and Long Distance Runaround (though I never knew they were Yes). Both of those songs, of course, ruled, as did everything else there. I ended up picking up just about every Yes album in sight, though I still have some gaps (the biggest being their first 2 albums, Tales, Tormato, and Drama), I pretty much love all of their music (except Union, but that goes without saying, and I even like a few tunes off of that one). Yes is one of my favorite bands now, even some of their later stuff like Talk.

But yeah, Yes is a great band, and I'm glad you like them more than George Starostin does. My favorite is probably The Yes Album, but they're all at least pretty good (at least out of the 11 or so I've heard). They're songs are big, long, and pretentious, but they're also usually quite exciting and often beautiful. I even like the Rabin stuff - some people hate him, but it's hard to deny that he has an ear for a good hard rock song. And, the biggest poijnt of controversy for many, is that I unabashedly love Jon Anderson's voice - it's tone never changes much, and he never adds any asides, but it's oh-so-beautiful and adds a perfect counterbalance to the band's racket. A quick listen to Soon at the end of The Gates Of Delirium proves his vocal talent once and for all. His lyrics aren't bad, either - some of it is dumb, of course (Yours Is No Disgace, anyone?), but the lyrics to tunes like Close To The Edge, The Gates Of Delirium, and especially And You And I fit perfectly. I don't even know what it is about the lyrics to And You And I, but they bring a tear to my eye, combined with that gorgeous melody.

You're right about them being such a huge cult group - I don't know if they're THE biggest cult group (Jethro Tull's got just as much of a devoted fan following while selling next to no records, despite some early success), they're certainly at least tied for that top position. Everybody with little exception either loves them or hates them. And I absolutely love them.

Rich Bunnell (richbunnell@home.com)

To Semiramis2@aol.com: Just because YOU don't get anything out of descriptions of songs doesn't mean that other people don't. But if all you're going to do is bash people who run personal review sites that aren't written for the sake of profit, I'd advise you simply not to read the sites at all and to go back and bask in the glory of Roger Dean's artwork. And I'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually follows the "user recommendations" on amazon.com, because the average score is always 4.5 to 5 stars, and the reviews all consist of 90% fanboys giving the album 5 stars, and 10% naysayers who either don't like the band or think the album is overrated.

Kccwashu@aol.com

Anyone who doesn't like Yes can obviously suck it.  Yes owns you and they are your God.  

joaquim dos santos (jdossantos3@home.com)

The Spanish Inquisition, after much debate and research, has concluded that everything related to the group known as Yes produced after 1981 should be destroyed and removed from the collective memory of humanity.

Everything before 1981 however, should automaticaly be issued to every man, woman and child at birth. (except of course, those dreadful Paris session demos, which may be the best evidence of Napster being a tool capable of doing more harm than good!)

Trying one's hardest to like the output of Yes from the last twenty years is a waste of time. The drive is gone. Modern production techniques can not bring back to life something which began to die in 1978.

Let us however revel in their time,..that time when regardless of words, notes or sound quality, a listener could automaticaly FEEL what Yes were trying their hardest to do.........create and show you anather world. We the fans may not always agree on the level of sucsses they acheived creatively at different times, but things like Open Your Eyes are an insult.

The works from the first twelve years make Yes one of the most interesting, stimulating, important and beautiful bands of all time,.....everything after is a very dark stain on that legacy. I know you fans hate hearing this kind of stuff but I failed a math class because I would stay home with headphones and listen to the brilliance of jon anderson's wit on tracks like "Going For The One" . Is there any greater joy than driving through the Cantabrian mountains of northern Spain and listening to "Tales From Topographic Oceans" durring a sunset? Believe me , that album makes perfect sense then.

much more sense than "The Ladder" will ever make.

By the way, great site! It is fun learning what other peaple think about this great band.

Robert Grazer (xeernoflax@juno.com)

Here's a listing of all of the major Yes studio albums with my personal 15-point scale score next to them.

Yes - 12
Time and a Word - 12
The Yes Album - 15
Fragile - 14
Close to the Edge - 15
Tales From Topographic Oceans - 13
Relayer - 15
Going for the One - 14
Tormato - 8
Drama - 13
90125 - 9
Big Generator - 7
Union - 8
The Symphonic Music of Yes - 10
Talk - 13
Open Your Eyes - 11
The Ladder - 12

Brian Sittinger (7/17/01)

Getting into Yes was my introduction to progressive rock. I must the biggest barricade is Jon Anderson's HIGH voice. Scared me out of my wits at first. (My first encounter with Jon's voice: Kitaro's Dream. [NOTE: Don't ask me where my parents found that record!] "He sounded like a wuss," I thought at the time.) Yet, in retrospect, it's hard to imagine Yes without Jon's voice (face it: even on Drama, Trevor Horn often tried to sound like Jon. God pity his soul...) I have grown to tolerate, and at times actually enjoy his voice, as it sounds angleic now!

It's the music that really does it for me (until 1980 or so). Very well thought-out compositions. Creative. And from album to album, it could be hard to guess where Yes would go next. Hence, they demanded your attention. (of course King Crimson, too!) Ther's always something to keep your attention during the songs (stretches of Tales from Topographic Oceans tests this last assertion admittedly). It is a shame that material between Fragile and 90210 (err, 90125; okay what an old joke!) does not garner more attention from the masses. On the most part, Yes had the talent to back up their bombast, though they can be accused of going over the edge. But, that's part of their charm; they had the guts to do so and did it remarkably well.

One of these, perhaps through bargain bins, I will pick up bits and pieces of their post-80 output, but not anytime soon. Never quite the same after 1980! Still, Yes and Genesis are my favorite Prog groups as we speak. I'm glad I overlooked the popular consensus of progressive rock in general!

Stephen B Marseille (sbm82@columbia.edu) (7/21/01)

I am SURE you've heard many, many defenses of They Might Be Giants since you wrote your initial rant and rebuttal on the "cult" thing with Yes. If all you knew when you wrote it was indeed Particle Man and Istanbul, I can't blame you. I'm sure many people have since pushed TMBG on you. While I intend to do the same, I would like, in some way (if possible), to separate myself from the others. How?

Well, it seems I am not a typical TMBG fan, if polls and such are the judge of such things. While I, like many others, own all their output, I find much of their material of variable quality - from stupendous highs to embarrassing lows. And IMO, many of what I consider embarrassing lows are fan favorites.

Here's what I would recommend (as a Beatles, Yes, Genesis, Zep, and ELP fan): get the first three albums, decide... then venture further. That is, pick up "They Might Be Giants," "Lincoln," and "Misc. T" - these are three of my favorite albums. Surely VERY different from other favs like Foxtrot, Close To The Edge, etc, but classics all the same.

See, TMBG was once a group of two guys. To play live and to make "full sounding" albums, they had to be creative to fill out their sounds. With greater success, however, they added "band" members. The result is while they still write pop-riddled music, they sound much more ... TYPICAL (a damning criticism).

I promise you that their first two albums in particular are fantastic - from the sweet, sublime "She's an Angel" to the quirky "put your hand inside the puppet head." These Brooklyn-ites are more than a novelty group. After the first albums, see Misc. T for "Hey Mr. DJ I Thought You Said We Had A Deal" (a far more interesting industry song than Have a Cigar!) and Flood for "Whistling in the Dark". And if you want and epic, check out the 17 part "Fingertips" from Apollo 18.

Fair warning however - I do not recommend "John Henry," "Factory Showroom," or other recent releases... while they have their share of gems (Nyquil Driver springs to mind), they don't hold a candle to the past... where their desperation fuelled some truly creative brilliance. Hear the harmonies on their eponymous release and deny its brilliance.

Since I don't expect you to start a TMBG section on your site, I am simply writing this for your personal benefit - I promise you that you will not be disappointed. Let me know what you think, or come to me for files, or anything.

dazsmith (dazsmith@ntlworld.com) (8/15/01)

I remember large sections of the audience booing (including me) when the Buggles line-up attempted And You And I........Tormato is the last Yes LP, everything after is guilty of the criticisms levelled at the band generally. Drama is fucking hopeless.  I saw Anderson's New Life Band within a fortnight of Yes/Buggles, and they quite simply pissed all over that particular Yes perfomance.  How crap does the Fairlight sound with the passing of time???  Its hard to think of many 80s records that can still last more than 5 seconds on my turntable to be honest - it is the decade which conned its way into the twentieth century.  The nineties probably rescued the late 20th C from complete embarrassment!  Even then only just....Nirvana!  Asia were shit aswell.

  I've been into 'rock' for years and years and the great Yes LPs sit quite happily in my collection alongside some very extreme punk and hardcore, soul, jazz, etc - I personally see no great difference between musics of supposedly different styles, if its good its good.

  If anything pisses me off about Yes its the twee middle class English redbrick universityesque pomposity..........but then again Rush's extreme pomposity has nothing to do with that.  Rush, by the way, really are utter shyte.

  Tales From Topographic Oceans is way more 'radical' than the punk rock which followed so closely after, and possibly the best progrock (at least British) LP made, Relayer is more anarchic than any punk record (and I've made a few!!).  And Going For The One is surprisingly fresh for the time it came out.

  People who diss bands like Yes are really telling us about themselves, their machismo, their stubborness, their inability to accept what they perceive as 'soft' or feminine.

Matti Alakulju (matti.alakulju@peterstar.ru) (10/27/01)

I'm not a big expert of Yes, but I'd like to add one point concerning Jon Anderson lyrics. I vaguely remember reading his interview sometime in the nineties. I can't remember his actual statement, but roughly he confessed that his lyrics weren't even designed to make sense as words or story or meaning. His lyrics were merely sounds out of his throat and designed to work as the fifth instrument in the group. In this respect, I think, he has succeeded great. But what a nerve he had: For decades millions of Yesheads were trying to figure out what he wants to say with his cryptics, and this was the answer. Does anybody else remember this interview?

"Poschmann, Steve" (Steve.Poschmann@fmr.com) (11/25/01)

Other random questions/concerns (I apologize if you addressed these in your prolific reviews): - I read that Steve Howe is a part-owner of the new boxed-in Yes logo and that it only appears on albums he plays on. Can you confirm that? Or did you know that?

- I picked up on a dig of yours against the group Asia. While I would never attempt to put Asia up against Yes in a battle of artistic merit, Asia's debut album is a finely-crafted, melodic, well-produced piece of work. It contained a nice balance between the prevailing FM radio rock of its time and it tips a hat to the art-rock roots of the members. My musical tastes are wide enough to include much "corporate" rock, and some "art" rock (among many others) and can accommodate for in between. Now, I am not all that familiar with Asia's second album, but some of the stuff they put out post-Steve Howe sounds very generic. I don't know if it is the lack of Howe or the lackluster production or both, but it really pales. You may know that Howe came back to Asia in the 90s lay down a few tracks here and there (I have read...but have never heard the tracks) but it looks like all business and no pleasure for these guys at this point. FYI: By all appearances Downes seems to own the Asia name.

Vandermeer (bkvander@telus.net) (6/23/03)

I got into Yes about 12 years ago (1991) when my friend played me his copy of Classic Yes. The music immediately hit me as very unique and melodious (particularly Wonderous Stories, Starship Trooper, and And You and I). After learning of the notorious history of members coming and going and the upcoming Union album, I was really intrigued, and after purchasing and enjoying Union (you heard correct I enjoyed Union) I bought their entire back catalogue (except for the debut, which I could not locate). I was amazed and how good almost every album was, and how they managed maintain this quality regardless of who was in the band.

Fast forward to last summer (2002) when a co-worker was selling off some CDs for a dollar, one of which was Union. I bought it from him (my previous copy was on cassette) and after listening to it realized I hadn't been listening to Yes much lately, and should see if they were still around. After finding out that they were indeed still going, and changing members faster than ever, I bought their entire studio catalogue on CD. After hearing Talk for the first time I was moved to tears by several songs and have been really hooked on Yes for the second time in my life. I was really intrigued after reading many reviews how different my list of favourites is from everyone else. Even though they have not been mainstream for a long time now, I think they continue to produce high quality music into their 50s (almost in their 60s now!). Talk and The Ladder are as good, and in many cases better, albums as many of their earliest successes. Here's hoping they can keep it up indefinitely.

For the record here is how I would rate each of the albums I have, using the John McFerrin scale:

Best Album: Talk

Worst Album: Open Your Eyes

Underrated: Tormato and Union

Overrated: Fragile

Yes: 9(13)

Time and a Word: 7(10)

The Yes Album: 9(15)

Fragile: 7(10)

Close to the Edge: 9(13)

Tales from the Topographic Oceans: 5(8)

Relayer: 7(10)

Going for the One: 9(14)

Tormato: 8(12)

Drama: 9(12)

90125: 8(11)

Big Generator: 6(9)

ABWH: 6(9)

Union: 8(11)

Talk: 10(15)

Keystudio: 5(8)

Open Your Eyes: 4(7)

The Ladder: 8(11)

Magnification: 5(8)

Raghavan RANGANATHAN (S3046624@student.rmit.edu.au) (8/10/03)

Hello John

Its me again. Man, your Yes reviews are fantastic!. I figure that is mainly beacuse of the incorporation of historical titbits ( regarding lineup changes and all that) in the reviews that help me appreciate the circumstances surrounding the recordings... As of now, i only posses the 3 highly regarderd classics ( Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge) and The Ladder but i must say that you have impressed upon me to acquire more of their albums. Aside: I looked at your tentative list for the new pages. Cmon John, push The Kinks and Bowie higher in the list. I am eager to read your reviews of these artists!. Do it, boy

Meldrain@aol.com (9/30/03)

Writing off TMBG in response to a cover and a novelty song (though to be honest I actually like both) wouldn't be a very prudent idea. They're actually an excellent group, featuring consistently incredible melodies and often hilarious lyrics. I strongly urge you to give them a chance; I was skeptical at first, but as soon as I picked up Apollo 18 I instantly had to get all their other albums (except Severe Tire Damage cause it's live) and they all rule (to varying degrees, of course). Give them a chance, you won't regret it.

Meldrain@aol.com (12/23/03)

OK, with that out of the way let's get to Yes. For me Yes embody all that is prog; that's not to say they're my favorite prog group. They don't even make my top three (Genesis, King Crimson and Jethro Tull, three of the best groups period). But somehow Yes seem like the quintessential prog group, as if they represent prog in its most concentrated, undiluted form; every note they play screams 'this is what prog is.'

But that has nothing to do with quality. So are they good? No, they're great. I own 8 albums by them and would give them all at least a 12 (except The Ladder, which rules but is too flawed to get higher than an 11), usually higher. The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge are amongst the best the genre has to offer; I was actually just listening to the Yes Album and it's just as wonderful a listen as it was when I first bought it several years ago.

The amazing thing is that after all these years they still rule. Magnification blew me away; how could they still be so good at this stage in their career? Like Tull, Yes have made a marvelous comeback, and I can't wait to hear what they do next (though avoid the new Steve Howe's Remedy album; it ain't that hot. As far as prog guitarist solo albums in 2003 you'd be better off with the new Barre or Hackett, which are both pretty damn good).

Hope you give H To He Who Am The Only One its due, it's an incredible album, and Killer is one of the greatest songs ever, and one of the most fun to sing aloud to freak people out. After that you'll have reviewed pretty much all my favorite prog groups, except the awesome Caravan, Curved Air and a few others. I hate that prog is looked upon with disdain and contempt; it contains some of the greatest music ever. Sure, when it's taken to excess (sacrificing melody for complexity) it gets out of hand, but the best prog groups find a balance between the two. And for me loving prog doesn't prohibit me from liking punk; I do, quite a bit. For me every genre of rock has something to offer (I just haven't gotten into rap or hip hop or conventional country). Dismissing prog is utterly absured, and I doubt anyone who came in with an open mind could do so.

fabian (afl1@free.fr) (4/07/04)

I know Squire is NOT at all Jeff Berlin,but he's 100% YES SOUND

  I love Yes and I love stravinsky or Darius Milhaud,but as a bass player,I like Squire style and sound! ( I own 2 rickenbackers here..1 Chris squire limited Edition + a 4002 stereo) a very special instrument.
 See the album Close to the edge,as an example,is not just a matter of "speed" I'm 50 times faster than squire,but the "way" he plays and his Rick's sound is unique. a very special picking.with a maestro fuzz and stereo wiring..2 or 3 diff amps... Jon Anderson is great,always amazing. my favourite group  ...YES forever!   Sorry but I'm sick of "4x4" rock and roll,I like those 10 or 15 minutes yes songs..

Fabien
france

Jerry Gourley (jerrygourley@msn.com) (4/29/04)

Simply put: they are the greatest.

  I just saw their April 20, 2004 concert at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Ca., and was amazed at how really good some of their new stuff is. In fact that concert left me feeling that they haven't hit their peak yet. They played a medley-like number that Jon Anderson said they hadn't ever played live before. It blew me away.

  Yes is still getting better. Yes is very alive. Most groups level off very early on but Yes' 35th Anniversary tour evidenced very much that they are still ascending their already very-large mountain. A mountain that is still coming out of the sky.

  All Yes Fans MUST see them.

  Michael

Jay Williams (res6u0mq@verizon.net) (5/12/04)

I like some of their music, but much of it is overlaps in terms of their sound. JAs voice starts to wear away on my rock ears about after any 3rd or 4th song on any given record. I found much of the great could be guitar parts are missing from most all their records. The best route to go is purchase the 35th collection and be done with it.   Jay

rscott@sco.ca.gov (6/16/04)

i want to first congradulate you for your excellent yes web page. i have been a yes fan since 1971 when i first purchased fragile many many years ago. i have seen yes for almost every tour since tales and to really experience yes you have to see them live. my favorite two albums, close to the edge and relayer, i found unlistenable when i first purchased them because i was overwhelmed by the intensity of the playing. gradually, after many months i started to warm up to these albums and find it remarkable that you also consider these albums among their best as well! for me, my favorite tour was the second relayer tour during the hiatas. they opened the show with sound chaser into siberia khatru into heart of the sunrise and i was completely blown away. gates was incredible and ritual was the show closer...amazing! anderson did something from sunhillow with green lazer lights as well. the worst tour i saw was the union tour. they opened with yours is no disgrace and in the middle of howe's intense guitar solo they stopped and started playing some rabin crap and i literally flipped them off and it ruined the show for me! the last time i saw yes was about five years ago and they performed revealing science of god with some russian guy on keyboards and it was a thrill to actually get to see them do it again after all these years. i like that you gave tales a good review. it you really like yes, it is a must have. yes was/is a really great live band and their live albums really demonstrate that these guys can improvise on stage and bring new life to their songs. i notice that you also think turn of the century is one of their best songs. they did not perform it on the going tour and i never got to hear them play it live until the keys2 came out. i get the same feelings you describe, an absolute classic. i tend to agree with your review of tormato except that silent wings performed live, when squire did his bass solo, was a highlight of that tour. even without anderson, drama still sounded like yes, and horn/downes added to the group. after that, i find of faded on yes with all the pop stuff when rabin joined the band and although i went to the shows, my enthusiasm for yes dropped considerably. i have not looked at your page on their current stuff, but i would guess you like mind drive and maybe not care for that, that is? i actually like a lot of the new stuff on keys and when i get a chance, i will check out what you think. got to go...thanks for taking the time to write thoughtful reviews of my favorite music.

Brian White (brian_white@4tni.com) (12/09/04)

Yes was an instrumental band of the time.  I am listening to old Yes, 25+ years later from the time of my teenage years of the 70s , and yes they still sound good.

  Would todays crowd like them.  Probably not. But YES with Wakeman, Anderson , and Squire had a sound that was original in its time.

  Will todays youth understand it.  Probably not.  I did like 90125, but until this reading, I was not aware of the staff changes.

  thanks for the info

Pedro Andino (pedroandino@msn.com) (2/23/05)

since I am a prog nut like myself I still yes to be the best out of all the bands george watchamacalit has that we never heard of! yes has got more member changes than anything! man! do not be confused! the debut is like the music of abbey road to me, the follow up time in a word is like the first taste in art rock. album 3 the yes album is the first time the people saw a prog band come alive. fragile is more commercial but commercial is not a bad word! I got so sick of runaround I go into one of the best yes epics I owned! CLOSE TO THEEDGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PROG EPIC! YESONGS IS LONG! 3 LPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ALBUM IS............    TALES FORM THE TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS! GOD THE FUCKER IS LONG!!!!!!!! BUT I DO NOT HAVE IT! STOP! I DID NOT OWN IT! SORRY! DO NOT FLAME ME! RELAYER IS AWSOME! CLOSE TO THE EDGE 2: NOISE PROG EPIC! GOING FOR THE ONE IS THE BEST! FUCK MACAA AND MULL OF KRYPTONITE! WONDEROUS STORIES IS PRETTY BUT HEY I FORGOT ABOUT WAKEMAN! THANKS FOR THE WAKEMAN REVIEWS! SIX WIVES AND CENTER OF THE EARTH ARE THE PINNACLE OF PROG BUT THE MOST DARING PROG EPIC YET KING ARTHUR! BUT SADLY A&M WITH THAT BITCH WORE CUNT SHYERYL CROW DROPPED HIM AND HIS MATERIAL IS OUT OF PRINT! FUCK SAY MR.CANTO, YOU SEEM LIKE A PROG FAN TOO GET THE WAKEMAN ALBUMS CUZ LITZOMANIA IS OUT OF PRINT! DAMN! 1978 IS NOT A GOOD YEAR FOR PROG! PUNK WON! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGRR! OOO JONNY ROTTEN SPITS ANDERSON IN DA FACE OOOOO MAN FUCK PUNK UP IT'S GAY ASS! TORMATO IS BAD BUT I LOVE IT! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! DRAMA IS COOL BUT HEY IT IS THE LAST GREAT CUZ 90125 SUCKED! YES FUCKERS! I FUCKING HATE MAINSTREAM SHIT! I CANNOT STAND OWNER OR LEAVE IT! UNIONON! UGH! SUCKED LATER YES SUCKED BUT HEY TO RND THIS I STILL LIKED YES FORM THE GOLDEN ERA!

Anthony Hansen (lumpy_monkey@hotmail.com) (05/25/05)

Your Yes page is the best on the web. Seriously, it works as:

A) a concise band biography.

B) a thoughtful, in-depth analysis of their work.

C) A generally good read.

Nice work!

"Peterson, Joel - GCP" (joel.peterson@gracobaby.com) (07/21/05)

I just wanted to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed your reviews on the Saga Continues website. In fact, I've read scores of reviews about the various Yes albums both in publications and on NFTE, and yours are by far the best that I have read. I enjoyed the objective view you took when writing the reviews, and it was obvious to me that you took great pleasure in crafting your reviews. I also enjoyed the humor that you injected at timely spots. That was a very nice touch. Your reviews have caused me to go back and listen to these songs with new interest, and a new perspective. I've found that I agree with you on some points, and disagree with you on some points. I'm currently listening to Hearts on mp3 player, and I have always thought that this was one of their very best. I love the Rabin crunchy guitar, the Kaye grinding organ and Anderson's angelic voice. What an incredible song.

Nikus 80 (nikus80@hotmail.com) (11/15/05)

I've been really into Yes lately. My fav of their records is The Yes Album, the songs are even better than the songs in fragile (which kicks ass)! Except for Perpetual Change, which is good but not great, and Würm, and this will will offend many people, doesn't works for me. Starless, I Want You, I love those crescendos, but not Würm, although the solos that Howe play at the end are friggin amazin'!!

Side A of Close To The Edge is one of the best sides of music I've ever heard, Side B sucks. Ok, Eclipse and Apocalypse rule, but the intonations of Jon Anderson on the verses of AYAI really irritate me. And Siberian Khatru loses me after the opening riff.

But the point of this mail (if any) is: I disagree on your thesis of Anderson voice being a counterpoint. I really think that most of the time he carries the main melody and the main hook. The prime example I can think is Yours Is No Disgrace (which fucking owns), he really carries the melody on that one when he's singing, only on the bassy jazzy groovy part Squire gets the spot at the same time Jon sings. That's just an example, but the same applies to Roundabout, Heart Of The Sunrise, many parts of Tales (all but The Ancient), etc... This does not happen on Close To The Edge (the song), except maybe on I get Up I get down.

And he has a beautiful voice. I don't get the accusations of his singing being souless or intonation-less. I get the emocion he belts, he can be passionate like on Heart Of The Sunrise (or I get up I get down or Your Move... you get my point), he can sound pissed like on Long Distance Rounaround, he can rock with his voice, even when he's at his highest (Going For The One). He rules, basically.

Felipe Maldonado (maldonado14@cox.net) (02/11/06)

The best underground group ever!!!!!!!!!!!
My favorite group since the begining (1968)
I live in San Diego Ca, and I attend  their concerts every time they're in town
Felipe.

Charles Daigle (charles@outlookdesign.com) (01/19/08)

I just visited your website, in particular, your writings about Yes.  I do not believe I've ever read reviews that were so accurate and described my opinion of Yes as well as you have. One thing in particular was the meaning of Yes lyrics. Since I began listening to them in 1972 I have fought with myself to understand the meanings. Being a bass player, the meanings of the words never much mattered, as I always found myself buried in the melodies and rhythms, not attempting to put the words together into coherent subject matter.

It wasn't till after I turned 50 that I began to realize the stories that Jon tells, and how it is sort of a continuing story, so esoteric, that it is now apparent that it is meant to only make sense when one is ready to hear it. After hearing of Jon's continuing obsession (for lack of a better word) with the 4th dimension, that I started revisiting the lyrics and have begun to better hear the meanings of these epic pieces.

Even with Keys to Ascension, which I first thought was a throw together, does Jon's enlightenment become apparent.

As a younger man, I would listen to his interviews with Jim Ladd and others and found how strange it was when Jon were asked about the meanings of the songs, would he say it was just "sound painting", and not wanting to admit to the deeper meanings of these works.

So, thank you for spending the time to put together such eloquent thoughts concerning the wonderous world of Yes.

---

Send me your thoughts

Laurent MASSE (masse@geocean.u-bordeaux.fr)

One point I would like to add is that, in the beginning, there was an emphasis on actual songwriting, in the traditional sense, that would soon disappear after "Time And A Word", only to return with Rabin in the 80's. And on this album, it shows that Anderson really knows how to pen a song, i.e. come up with memorable melodies (not too artificial) on simple (or not so simple) chord sequences. The high points here are "Yesterday And Today" and "Sweetness", even if they sound naive and dated by today's standards. I mean, a song is a song when you can figure the chord sequence and play it with just an acoustic guitar or a piano and your voice, and it doesn't get boring. And these two in particular work very well. Moreover, I think the song selection was carefully thought out on that one, with the two covers "I See You" and "Every Little Thing" where they get to showcase their musical versatility, the two straightforward pop-rockers "Looking Around" and "Beyond And Before" to draw attention onto them, and the two more complex "Harold Land" and "Survival" showing where they were headed, although I'm sure without clearly knowing themselves.

Jeff Blehar (jblehar@Maxinter.Net)

So this is Yes as they began. And goddammit, it's Yes as I wish they would have stayed! If this album isn't as catchy and fun as a swimmin' frig, then I don't know what criterion everyone is using. The songs are almost all good-to-great (only the two slightly dippy ballads - "Yesterday And Today" and "Sweetness" - and the ridiculously overrated warning sign of things to come "Survival" slow the album), and Peter Banks sure can play guitar. In fact, one of the reasons I like this disc so much is probably out of sympathy to Mr. B; there's nothing so pitiful as listening to Yessnobs pour buckets of slime all over his head in retrospect just because he couldn't write "The Clap." Kaye's organ is weaker (my keyboardist's ears hear a surprising amount of audible flubs from him - surprising inasmuch as you think they would've corrected them before putting them on vinyl) but I really do like his crunchy 60's vibe. Aside from the obvious standouts like "Looking Around" and "Beyond And Before," I find "Harold Land" to be a real shocker coming from Yes: lyrics that not only make perfect sense, but manage to move me a bit. As far as preachy anti-war songs go, this one has a very nicely observed lyric, something which you'll unfortunately never hear in a Yessong again.

And what was once heresy has now become blasphemy: "Every Little Thing" is not only the best song on the album, but an self-mockingly good-natured improvement on The Beatles' version, and my favorite Beatles cover of all time, period.

Steven St.Thomas (sst@scrump9.freeserve.co.uk)

Sorry I have to disagree with you on your points about Tony Kaye. I think his playing is very underrated, though it is hard during his return to YES years later what his actual contributions are. Especially on TALK where he is regulated to Hammond Organ, but I do think his short solo on The Calling is one of the best things he has done and is very reminiscent of things he did on Time and A Word. Sure, Tony is primarily an organ and piano player, but he does some nice inflections of jazz and rockin his playing. He may not have the flourish of Wakeman, Downes or Moraz, but he does have strength in his playing. Keyboards he has provided have always been very strong and sometimes moody. There are some great things he does on Time And A Word, which I personally rate higher than YES, the 1st album. He is no Cans and Brahms. He is more a Jimmy Smith type player, concise, jazzy type lead organ, that embellishes rather than dominates the music. I like Tony, he's alright.

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (5/29/02)

A nice debut, although it certainly gives little indication of what was to come! My favourite track - "Every Little Thing" - I normally HATE Beatles covers as I am an extreme Beatles fan, but this one is cool. Least favourite - "Sweetness" - the sweetness is laid on a little too thick methinks! Peter Banks guitar is underrated - jazzy and reminds me of Robert Fripp's very early playing (listen to "The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles and Fripp" - a lost classic if ever there was one!!!) and Fripp is my all-time fave guitarist (just pips Steve).

bsitting@mail.math.ucsb.edu (8/27/02)

What a debut! While not sounding anywhere close to what they'd become later, this album wallops quite a punch. And, yes, the jazz vibe is way up! Peter Banks is quite the competent player (in a good way), and even Bruford gets a chance to bash the drums very hard (quite different from his trademark sound)! "Looking Around" is my favorite off this album, as well as the acidified Beatles cover. Yes sure knew how to rearrange songs! Finally, "Survival" has a great intro. Too bad it didn't develop any further... A high 8 out of 10.

Vandermeer (bkvander@telus.net) (6/23/03)

I'm mostly in agreement with you here. An incredible debut! When I heard this for the first time about 8 months ago I was underwhelmed, but every time I listen to it I like it more. All 8 songs are really good and some are just fantastic. The closing Survival is the best-I'd consider it one of my top 10 Yes songs. The verses and chorus get stuck in my head all the time. Yesterday and Today has a beautiful simple melody sung wonderfully by Anderson and played with great beauty by all, especially Kaye. Beyond and Before, Looking Around, and Harold Land are all quite catchy with great energy (I'm still trying to figure out who sings lead on BaB-is it a 3 part harmony of Anderson, Squire, and Banks?). The other original, Sweetness, is probably the worst song on the album, but it's still good-it's grown on me more with repeated listens. Finally the two covers I See You and Every Little Thing are both done with such energy and are good showcases for the talents of Bruford and Banks. I give this one a 9(13).

I suppose for the direction the band was going, it's understandable that they replaced Banks and Kaye, but for the type of music they started out with, everyone was perfect. Squire's trebly bass, Kaye's crunchy organ, Banks' and Bruford's jazzy sounds, and Anderson's quiet vocal delivery are the defining sounds of early Yes as far as I'm concerned. As much I love most of the later albums, it's too bad they didn't try a few more albums like this one (or for that matter even play some of the songs from this album in their live sets).

---

Send me your thoughts

Laurent MASSE (masse@geocean.u-bordeaux.fr)

I'm sure the purpose of this album was primarily to consolidate their sound, so they hadn't made the leap yet. Instead, they decided to rely on basic repertoire they had not released on the first. That's the typical second album syndrome: usually, the best bits make it onto the first, so the second may eventually sound as a collection of outtakes. This is not actually the case here, as there are really strong cuts. The emphasis is clearly on traditional songwriting with two towering achievements in the wonderfully catchy "Sweet Dreams" and the hippie-sounding yet incredibly efficient "Time And A Word" (the test of acoustic guitar once again - there are much more chord changes and melodic twists in this one than on any of the following albums!), along with more versatility on the two covers "Everydays" and "No Opportunity Necessary". But the rest is really lacking something, as in "The Prophet" or "Clear Days", clearly sounding as filler. The overall direction is unclear, as shown by the complex yet apparently random arrangements of the otherwise pleasant "Then" and "Astral Traveller", whose function still escapes me, while the mini-epics of the first have temporarily disappeared. The orchestra may or may not work, depending on your mood, the real problem being it's an artificial trick tackled onto the group tracks and not properly integrated. I mean, the orchestra looks from the outside, adding not always needed colour, instead of really providing the backbone of the songs. The only notable exception is "Clear Days", but this track lacks true melodic hooks to work in this context.

Jeff Blehar (jdb3@jhu.edu)

Hey, who spilled orchestra all over my early Yes?

So apparently somebody in the Yes camp decided that the band just wasn't substantive enough as a self-contained unit, and that what it needed to take off with the folks at home was a generous slathering of strings, to...geez, I dunno, certainly not to bring out the rockin' side of the band. After all, everybody knows that what rock 'n' roll really needs to become an artistically valid musical form is classical music, right? (And then Emerson, Lake & Palmer came up with the even MORE brilliant postulate that what classical music really needed to make it respectable was rock 'n' roll. Boobs.)

And well...the result is weepy twaddle like the all-orchestral "Clear Days" or fruity arrangements of decent songs like "Then" which have all the subtlety of a nail-studded plank to the forehead. (Even worse, the orchestral call-and-response figure on the verses of "Then" is out of synch with the band by a few milliseconds, something which is ^×trust me^× quite noticeable and extremely grating). On the other hand, I will grant that the orchestrations, for all of their utter garishness (in fact, because of them) work on "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed." Although I;m not familiar with the original, I'll eat my watch if it's 1/10 as exciting as this version, which in the grand tradition of Yes's "Every Little Thing" is splendidly overwrought, and one awesome way to open the album up. Tony Kaye fires up that great crusty late-Sixties' organ sound, and then, like nothing you^Òre expecting...the STRINGS! My GOD, they're EVERYWHERE! And just when "How The West Was Won" threatens to break out at any second, it does. No, seriously, it does. All of a sudden it's Western Movie night at the prog cinema in another one of those early Yes moments that they just plain ol' forgot how to do later in their career.

As for "Everydays," does anyone else notice that so far Yes has done songs by 2/3 of Crosby, Stills & Nash? I guess now they ought to do "King Midas In Reverse" to complete the cycle.

I also dig the puppy-eyed and charming "Sweet Dreams" and the Peter Banks how-do-ya-do of "Astral Traveller," but quite frankly, Time And A Word suffers noticeably in comparison to either its predecessor or what would follow. There's simply too much tripe like "Clear Days" and "The Prophet," to say nothing of the thoroughly childish title track, which ruins a decent melody (and a winner of a bass line) with moron-simple lyrics and orchestration that fails to do anything except accentuate their emptiness. After this album was recorded, the band got tetchy and dropped ol' Pete. To quote a man who went very crazy around this time in 1970 while fronting Fleetwood Mac, "oh well."

Richard Savill (dreklind@btinternet.com)

When CDs came out, my collection of records and tapes began to gather dust. This YES album was one of the ones that got very dusty. Not that I didn't like the album, but I bought the record at a flea market ages ago, and my enjoyment of it suffered a 'tick-tick-tick' during parts of the 'The Prophet' and 'pops' in other various places. Ah well, no big deal, no one listened to this album in the whole wide world except me it seemed. Around that time my brother was really into 'Diamond Dogs' by Bowie, and I got sucked into that album's strange morphs and left that YES album to create the wear ring around the cover.

  Not until well into the 90s (again at a flea market) did I finally get it on CD. I thought I knew the album, but a fresh listen after such a long time made me appreciate it a bit more. I like the syrupy sweet lullaby which is the title track - as much as I do the opener.

  Orchestralphobia? Not me. As long as it stays appropriate and not too dominant. Here the orchestra sounds are not always tamed, but 'Days of Future Passed'  by the Moodies is quite safely ahead - or behind. Depending on your point of view.

Still though, I have to agree with you. The album seems less energetic and scattery past after 'No Opportunity'. Thus Time and a Word remains a stepping stone to the true YES idiom. In a way it reminds me of the Pink Floyd step (ala 'Interstellar Overdrive') towards their maturity.

  The material is dated by the keyboard sounds of its day, but there are hints of YES's future here and there. Oddly though, The Yes Album seems like night and day in a straight up comparison. You can certainly tell what a difference production makes to a band. A good producer can find a group's sound and mould the genius of an artist to great height (Who was Tony Colton anyway?). Kit Lambert of The Who lore is testament to this. And Alan Parsons, well he made a folksy Al Stewart proggyish - and the result? - a million seller album! YES did it their way from this point (more or less), and it paid off.

  So you give it a 7 huh? Hmmm... you are very kind. A 6 by me, but a 6 or a 7 seems in the ballpark. Depends on your mood at the time with this one doesn't it?

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (5/29/02)

The strings do kinda get in the way, cos they are obviously tacked on as a afterthought, and are frankly unneccesary. "No Opportunity" and "Time And A Word" tie for best for mine. Instrumentally Tony Kaye seems to dominate strangely enough. I can see why Peter left - he hated the strings and is overshadowed on this album.

bsitting@mail.math.ucsb.edu (8/27/02)

This time out, the songs aren't as solid overall. Then, there's that unnecessary orchestration! "Time and a Word" is still decent despite that (to be redone later in concert- thanks Rick!). "Sweet Dreams" is my favorite off this collection. I like how it gradually builds up through the songs (through the harmonies). 7 out of 10.

Vandermeer (bkvander@telus.net) (6/29/03)

A step down from the debut, but still a decent listen. Unlike the debut, this one has some throwaways on it. Clear Days is ok while it's on but I never think about it much afterwards. I've never heard the original Everydays, but I can't seem to get into this version. Too slow and plodding, although some of the instrumentation towards the end is kind of neat. Then and Astral Traveller are both good, but kind of samey. I don't know much about musical theory, but Anderson must have used some kind of similar base melody in writing these two tunes, because I often get them mixed up. I used to not care much for Sweet Dreams, but I've started to like it more with repeated listens. It has got that distinctive Kaye organ sound that's so omnipresent on these first three albums. I also really like The Prophet. The intro is really cool and the main melody-well maybe it is similar to Sesame Street like you say, but I get a kick out of it (maybe I watched too much Sesame Street as a kid).

Finally the best two songs are the opener and closer. No Opportunity Necessary No Experience Needed has a killer intro, and a very rocking main melody I can't get enough of. I've made a promise to myself to hear the original someday, just to hear exactly what Yes did to this song. And of course we have the closing title song, which I feel is the best on the album. It has one of those infectiously catchy Jon Anderson melodies and vocal lines, that you can't help but sing along. Overall I would give this album a 7(10).

As for the orchestration, I don't really notice it except on NONNEN, but I will reserve judgement on it until after I get the BBC sessions album without the orchestration (which I hope to do soon).

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Beyond And Before - The BBC Recordings - 1997
9 (12)

Best song: No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required

Send me your thoughts

Laurent MASSE (masse@geocean.u-bordeaux.fr)

Sure it's a bootleg. The fact several complete or edited versions have surfaced under various labels (mine is called "Something's Coming", and I know of a single CD version titled "Astral Traveller") shows it's not protected at all, almost public domain. It's nevertheless funny, especially for the five live tracks on disc 2. The pity is that Peter Banks apparently just wanted to make himself remembered and did not actually care to search the archives and improve the sound. Just to get an idea of how it could have sounded like with a little love and care, throw an ear on King Crimson's '69 BBC takes on "Epitaph" and "The Court Of The Crimson King" on 1997's "Epitaph". Now these were remastered from available original tapes, and the difference is huge. They actually sound better than the album versions, even if they are in mono!

Jeff Blehar (jdb3@jhu.edu)

What's that I read? You're talking to ME? Well John McFerrin, I'm talkin' to YOU! You're even more dead on than you think: believe it or not, THIS was the first Yes album I ever bought. It's true! Before I ever heard a single Yes studio album I went and got Beyond And Before. I had listened to the boxed set, and like the man says above, the early stuff really appealed to me, so I figured that a BBC sessions disc from this era should be great, right? I mean, ALL BBC sessions discs are great, right?

Wrong.

This is REAL disappointment, and I'm glad I didn't stop right here with my Yes purchases. It's not so much the playing or performances that are bad - they're actually really tight and well-done - it's the ABYSMAL sound quality. I mean, just flat-out forkin' terrible. Now perhaps I'm over-sensitive to such things (I'm progressively losing my hearing, and as a result I'm a REAL audiophile stickler for things like production and fidelity), but the sound of most of these tracks is bad as to totally ruin the listening experience for me. I just don't understand why these weren't remastered or at least produced from the original sources tapes - almost all of this sounds as if was taped off the radio from a jittery reel-to-reel. I won't buy that the masters are gone, either, since at least one of these cuts, a great performance of "Then" without the silly strings, is on the Yesyears boxed set. And it sounds perfectly fine there. But here the same performance sounds much, much muddier. Are these public domain performances? Is this only a semi-legal release? Because this material, on its own merits, is good enough that this should have been done right. As it is, I really can't recommend this to anyone but the hardest of hardcore fans, even to people like me who really like the early Pete Banks years of Yes. It could have been done so much better...

---

Still, a great album. Fortunately, although The Yes Album was by almost all accounts a success, what with its great playing and phenomenal songwriting, the band still wanted to get better. And so, alas, they cut what they perceived to be a weak link; Tony Kaye. Which does make some sense; although he had played really well on the album, he knew and the band knew that he could not play any better, and this did not gel with Anderson's wish to continually improve in every way. So in his place, they brought in somebody who would allow them to continue to improve ...

Send me your thoughts

Rich Bunnell (taosterman@yahoo.com)

I like this album a lot more than Yes's other recordings because for once, the songs are FOCUSED. Don't get me wrong-- I love a lot of their albums, but this one's my favorite (though I give their other albums higher ratings on other review pages-- I've changed my mind since then) chiefly because the bandmembers don't see fit to include loads of dull, meandering prog jams. "Yours Is No Disgrace," "Perpetual Change," "Starship Trooper," and "I've Seen All Good People" are all nice, complex-yet-poppy slabs of prog rock and some of the best of the genre. I still can't bring myself to like "The Clap" no matter how many other people like it, though-- Wow, Steve Howe's playing an acoustic guitar. He does it well, of course, but my question is who cares? Still, I give this album a very high 9/10.

Eduardo Zelada (zelada_eduardo@hotmail.com)

Im writting you from LIMA PERU SOUTH AMERICA,,,,,im a fan of YES since 1979,,(18 years old) the first time i heared YES music happened in 1979 whe my old brother brought THE YES ALBUM USA version,,,look,,,in my place (PERU),,no one LP of YES were NOT edited in peruvian version these eyes because is not a commercial music to sell it,,,,but when i heared THE YES ALBUM for the first time,,,wowhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!i was shocked with music,,,,(i am a devoted music lover) it waS SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO ME,,their magic accords,,,the fresh guitar from STEVE HOWE,,,but since i heared the first theme Yours is no Disgrace (TA,TA, TA,TA,,,,,TA TA TA TA,,,TA TA TA,TATATA,,PAWNNNNNNNNNNNNNN),,it was a delirium to me,,,musically speaking,,the hammond organ of Tony Kaye,,,,was perfect in achords an d tones,,,,,the magical sharp voice of Jon Anderson looks like a female singer,,,,when one hear him for the first time,,,,,look ,, i love to play guitar,,,a had a rock band,,an iam singer,,,but when i heared THE CLAP,,,woww,,i never heared to play a guitar man so rapid and talentous,,,he plays without get crazy,,,without nerve and he has a security in his fingers just to put the right achords in guitar,,,,,,,so incredible,,,,and not to mention STARSHIP TROOPER,,,when i heared it for the first time,,,,I imagined to be in space (i don´t smoke,,by the way,,) to travel through the stars,,,,for me THIS IS THE BEST SONG OF THE ALBUM,,,although i like ALL SONGS,,,but this one is the favourite to me WHY???? simply because the differents melodies and relative tones form the instruments pefectly done and the magical voice of Anderson,,,,,,.

Even now here in Peru that LP never edited here,,,i could get it in CD,,but the LP WAS LEND to my brother for a couple days but those days were enough to m e,,to be in love of YEs Music,,,since 1979 i love Yes Music,, i have almost all LPS but little by little i can get th elps,,, most of YES ALBUMS never were edited in peruvian edition as I said you,,,but here in Peru they edited 90125,,,and BIG GENERATOR ( for me the worst albums from them,,,) th ebeest albums for me are from the golden era (FRAGILE,,,YES ALBUM CLOSE TO THE EDGE,,,RELAYER AND GOING FOR THE ONE),,,BUT the best ALBUM FOR ME IS THE YES ALBUM,,,,,

Laurent MASSE (masse@geocean.u-bordeaux.fr)

The big leap! The whole picture comes together, especially soundwise. Crisp, clear, transparent, a lot of presence. I actually think it's their best sounding album to date. The overall mood is light, uplifting, easy to get into. As for the music, things are still a bit unclear. As good as "(The) Clap"is, I always felt it was a distracting inclusion, and I don't think there is anything original in "Your Move/All Good People". I like the first part, hate the second, but I insist it's not original, neither in the form nor in the musical content. The other cuts still rely on traditional songwriting, not disguised at all in "A Venture", with interlude and an instrumental coda added in "Starship Trooper", or with vneverending and mostly pointless instrumental tricks in "Perpetual Change", which definitely should have been kept shorter given it is not a particularly catchy song in the first place. To me, this one is just R&D for what was to come. But these three songs wouldn't have sounded out of place stripped to the bone on the first two. Where the real novelty lies is in "Yours Is No Disgrace". The track can be described as variations on two or three simple instrumental and vocal themes. There is no obvious overall structure to the piece, it meanders for quite long yet is highly pleasant. But the vocal theme is particularly interesting as it is a harmonized phrase over a single chord, shifting up and down. Nothing in common with a traditional song (impossible to reproduce acoustically without being boring). Moreover, isolating one part of the harmony removes a lot of its charm: the harmony itself is the hook. This kind of harmonized melody concept, which to me is Yes' major contribution to pop writing (much more than extended pieces and instrumental prowess!), would be developed to the full extent of its possibilities with "Roundabout", "Close To The Edge" and "Siberian Khatru", before disappearing seemingly forever. It would only come back as a prominent cliche with unconvincing results at two low points, when they strongly needed everybody to believe they still were YES ("Drama") or to make up for short inspiration ("Open Your Eyes").

Jeff Blehar (jdb3@jhu.edu)

I give up, okay? I can't deny it. It's a freakin' great album, what else do you want from me? MY SOUL? ISN'T THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU??

I used to pretend that this album was overrated junk, with painful lyrics and pointlessly long arrangements, but that was just me talkin' out my ass, as usual. I still find "Yours Is No Disgrace" to a real grind to sit through, one of the few cases where the lyrics really detract from the music, which wouldn't be so much of a problem if not for the fact that the music just keeps on repeating...and repeating...and repeating. Just variations on one musical idea, which isn't good enough to beat on for 9 minutes.

But aw hell, who cares next to everything else? "The Clap?" Awesome! It's NOT just some dorky showcase for chops (although man, that's my goal with acoustic guitar. Once I can play THAT, look out Moscow!), it's an actual song, with its own development and a real sense of rising and falling action, all with a cool climax. And all in three minutes. Score! And I for one love jump-cut segues like the way "The Clap" goes into "Starship Trooper." As for THAT piece, well I ALWAYs liked it, even when I had convinced myself that I hated Yes, so it's only gotten better. Actually, the one part of the three I don't really love all THAT much is the "Wurm" section. Eh. Just a really well-done climax. It the OPENING part that's so amazing. How anyone could call that boring is completely beyond me - the chord progression is so - for lack of a better word - "noble," twisting and jumping up to a suspended plateau from which Anderson can babble. The instant I heard the open crash-boom-bang of this song, I knew this band had something I'd underestimated before. To say one last thing about it, what I like so much about "Starship Trooper" is the way it's underlined by Kaye's background organ: here's where he proved that his non-showy style could be central to a Yessong; he MAKES this piece for me, and it's because you never notice how important he is to the sound until you imagine what it would be like without him there. Good show.)

As for the other tracks, well "I've Seen All Good People" is "I've Seen All Good People": some might be sick of it, but I always liked it and I shamelessly enjoy Jon Anderson's singing voice. "A Venture" is weak, though - just seems to go nowhere. And "Perpetual Change" is a whole lot of the former and too little of the latter, essentially the same concept as "Yours Is No Disgrace." This time they pull it off, though, because the arrangement is excellent (what a neat opening: WHANG! WHANG! WHANG! WHANG! WA-WA-WA-WA-WHANG!) and because I find the basic jazzy idea much more fun than "Disgrace." So it's not a 10 for me, maybe a high 8 or a low 9, but either way, it's impossible to deny the pure energy and fun of this album. You win.

Paul Walker (seraphim7s@yahoo.com)

Man, I feel a bit of an outsider criticising Yes on a page which is choc full of Yes lovers. Don't get me wrong, I freakin' love these fellas, but since there's so much love for them on this site, I feel I've got to redress the balance. If this was George's site, it would be a different picture.

Whereas Steve Howe shines on this album, Kaye flat out sucks. Yup, he goes up and down on the veiny shaft of Satan himself. He freakin' makes Tony Banks look good, no, he makes him look like Emerson! He mainly sticks to organ and he always makes it sound like it's in some boring ol' church, like some funereal dirge. My personal favourite keyboard players are Manzarek and Wakeman because they combine technical excellence with an actual ear for the main melody. Something Kaye couldn't dream of doing.

Also, Bruford's contribution is not as good as you make out. Take, for instance, that Wurm part. Great chords, but Bruford just doesn't mirror Howe's playing in it's urgency. It's meant to be a crescendo for Christ's sake! Why doesn't someone wake Bruford up? Very dissappointing. He definitely did his finest work with King Crimson.

Apart from that I freakin' like this album! Especially the middle part of 'Starship Trooper', superlative acoustic work, and the bounciness of that part is the peak of the album! My rating: 11/15 or 12/15 on a good day.

"Hamden Eye Associates, PC" (hea@call.net)

There's a fading instrumental jam at the end of Venture.  Boy would I like to hear that continue on for another...let's say...hour.

"Sittinger, Brian D" (brian.d.sittinger@lmco.com)

This is the first record I bought of Yes, and of progressive rock. (A first step in getting over Jon's high voice, which I must say is an acquired taste, unless we're talking about Geddy Lee!) This album is superb!! Sure the lyrics are convoluted, but other than that slight annoyance, hear the music! Steve Howe is amazing ("The Clap", "Yours is No Disgrace" (I believe the "synth" type solo in the middle of his clearly more electric parts is guitar - as he definitely plays that part in Yessongs.), and Wurm.) Chris Squire plays his part as a second lead instrument. Bill Bruford, even at this stage, keeps the rhthm nontrivially. Finally, Tony Kaye does not offend me one bit. One great, imaginative song after another (my first taste at long songs, outside of the Doors). "Venture" works for me; too bad it's underrated.

It's a shame that only "All Good People" is played on classic rock stations from this record (If I'm right, "All Good People" is quite long too! Who knows...). ( An exception: The classic rock station played the entire Yes Album at midnight one time, as well as Fragile! What about Going for the One? This record is supposed to be more "radio-friendly"...)

10 out of 10

Daniel and Corine Bosch (dcbosch@optusnet.com.au) (5/29/02)

This is where it all takes off for the band. Steve Howe joins and immediately takes over musically. Tony Kaye couldn't hope to compete! Best song? Hard one - if pressed I would say "Perpetual Change" cos I think it is a window to where the band were about to go with the next couple of albums. The vocal interplay on "Yours Is No Disgrace" puts it a very close second.

Vandermeer (bkvander@telus.net) (6/29/03)

This is just a friggin' great album. I have nothing against Peter Banks, but the addition of Steve Howe seems to have vaulted the band on to even greater heights, musically speaking (but not as much as some people say-the first two albums were still very good). When I first heard Yours Is No Disgrace about twelve years ago on Classic Yes, I considered it a bit overlong and boring, but now I can't believe I once thought that. It now seems too short at 9 minutes, and I sometimes feel like listening to it again when it's over. Some are bothered by the silly lyrics, but I've never concerned myself with lyrics when the music is this good. We follow this up with The Clap which I just love. Someone told me that it was Steve Howe's audition performance to get into the band, and it seems plausible, but I've never read anything that confirms that. Starship Trooper is another one of my favourites. I used to get a bit bored with the Wurm jam at the end, but now I just love the whole thing. The best song on the album comes next with I've Seen All Good People. No matter how much this gets played on the radio, I never tire of hearing it. The Your Move section is just one of the most beautiful passages I've ever heard, and I often find myself starting the track over at the 3 minute mark just to hear it again. These first four tracks would probably all get on my top 25 Yes songs. The closing two tracks can't help but be a little weaker in comparison, but they're still good. A Venture is a nice little piano driven tune that is quite catchy. Perpetual Change is also good, but maybe slightly overlong marking the only weak point on the whole album as far as I'm concerned. I'll give it a 9 (15)-for the longest time, I rated this as my favourite but I now consider Talk to be just slightly better.

It's interesting that Tony Kaye gets a large front and center picture in the CD booklet (compared to the other four who get just smaller side shots-does anyone know if it was the same on the original vinyl album?) considering he would be sacked shortly thereafter. Personally, I find his playing on here to be just perfect for the album. His simple organ sound is a big highlight for me on YIND and ST. I can't imagine what these songs would sound like with Wakeman's bag of tricks (although maybe I'll find out once I start buying some of the live albums). I find the sound change from TYA to Fragile bigger than that from TaaW to TYA due to the loss of Kaye. Yes would never sound like this again-not even with Kaye's return in the 80s and 90s where he obviously had less influence on the sound.

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Send me your thoughts

Nick Karn (glassmoondt@yahoo.com)

Yup... I totally agree with your review for this album enthusastically. Along with Dream Theater's Images And Words and Rush's Moving Pictures, this is one of my favorite prog albums ever. My favorites are actually the last four tracks, starting with "Long Distance Runaround", which I always loved since I first heard it on the radio. And the solo contributions from Chris Squire (AKA Bass God) and Steve Howe (the master of acoustic guitar) just completely blow me away. "Heart Of The Sunrise", unbelievably, does so even more... I cannot put into words how much I love the mood on that one, and I think here is where I throw any minor criticisms concerning Jon Anderson's voice out the window. There is NO other singer who could have pulled off that song better. None. And boy, does the album start off with a total bang beginning with "Roundabout" - I can see why people might get bugged being burnt out on it from the radio, but to me it's the way a great progressive song should be constructed.

The rest of the album (well except for Bruford's barely noticeable drum thing) is great too - "We Have Heaven" took a bit of getting used to for me because I thought Anderson's harmonies were a little annoying at first, but I find it amusing, charming and even beautiful now, "South Side Of The Sky" is fascinatingly dark, and Rick Wakeman's "Cans And Brahms" piece is nice. An easy 10 for this one.

Laurent MASSE (masse@geocean.u-bordeaux.fr)

Never more than on this album (and Tormato) do I get to hate Squire's playing, to the point that this is the only YES album I cannot listen to in its entirety (well, "Open Your Eyes" as well). I almost fell laughing on the floor the first time I heard the opening riff of "Heart Of The Sunrise": how can a supposedly talented bass player come up with such a generic, non musical, speedy, ever ascending and descending octave (pure geometrics/acrobatics on the fretboard!). Designed to impress, but what else? At least, in this version, the riff is saved by Bruford's incredibly intelligent punctuation. The rest of the "song" is not helped at all by the fact that there are a zillion themes interwoven during ten minutes, and I cannot get neither to see the point of any of them individually, nor to get a sense of the overall picture. And the vocal melodies? All sound too contorted to really hook me. You probably know by now that this is my most hated Yessong ever (still hesitant with "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" though). For the rest, I find the solo spots lame and uninventive, except for "Mood For A Day" (BRILLIANCE) and "Five Percent For Nothing" (HUMOUR). But "Cans And Brahms" and "We Have Heaven" are really ridiculous. And "The Fish"? Well, I never understood how people can find this astounding. There is a theme developing. OK. And after that? The piece is over 1 mn too long. Give a home studio, a wah-wah pedal and a pick to any bass player and he'll come up with something like this. But not all is negative. In fact, the other three songs are ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Definitely one of their high points. "Roundabout" is an incredible improvement on "Yours Is No Disgrace". A real song, punchy, catchy, with that harmonized vocal approach making the melody line slippery and oblique yet memorable, and an overall structure actually making sense. The piece goes somewhere without ever losing sight of where it started, which is a rare occurrence among Yes' extended pieces. "South Side of the Sky" is a brilliant, modern-sounding rock song, although the instrumental middle is distracting as it destroys the heavy, dark atmosphere of the piece. And "Long Distance Runaround"? A catchy little pop song deconstructed all along by extremely vicious and oblique instrumental surgery. The micro-scale approach they didn't dig any further. Needless to say I have reduced Fragile to a killer 15 mn EP. This way I can appreciate how groundbreaking it is.

Jeff Blehar (jdb3@jhu.edu)

Well I always thought this album was good, but I'd like to add that my favorite section is easily the whole "We Have Heaven"/"South Side Of The Sky" sequence. I don't understand why everyone loves to hate "We Have Heaven." Maybe it comes down to Anderson's voice, which I just really like for whatever reason. Anyway, it's a spectacular arrangement of voices, with all those different parts eventually subsumed by a great, skyward-rising "weeeee....haaaaave....HEAAAAAAAVEEEN!" As a singer, I guess I really admire stuff like that, and damned if I don't sing right along. And then the way the door slams shut on it (SOMEbody's a critic, eh?) as footsteps run away to the "South Side Of The Sky"...great musique concrete. And I think that "South Side" is the best track on the album, tell ya the truth. I hear it and I think of a big craggy castle on a dark and stormy night (and it's not as cliche-ridden as that description would make you think). Pure mood, but mood that ROCKS and has a great melody. No real need to comment on the rest of the album, except to say that "Heart Of The Sunrise," still continues to elude me, although I like it more than before. Too repetitive! Couldn't they just have cut out a couple minutes of it?

"Sittinger, Brian D" (brian.d.sittinger@lmco.com)

The second Yes album (or rather album by Yes for less ambiguity) that I listened to. This album already shows a contrast from the previous one. You nailed it, in that you mentioned the gloomy atmosphere among many of the (collaborated) songs.

No matter how many times the radio play "Roundabout" and "Long Distance Runaround/Fish into the ground, one can not deny their construction: catchy yet complex! However, "South Side of the Sky" and "Heart of the Sunrise" just might be better (due to no airplay? Who knows!). The former is so dark (menacing guitars, the quiet piano section in the middle, and even the la la la's), it is almost scary.

"Heart of the Sunrise" is undeniably complex song structure. Certainly the intro riff is simple sounding (albeit fast), but it is done so convincingly well I tend to overlook this detail. As for the rest of the song, the atmospheric section after playing the speedy riff for the first time (Rick Wakeman's Mellotrons(?), Chris Squire's steady base rhythm, Bill Bruford's gradual addition in the drums in his clever way, and finally Steve Howe's gradual guitar buildup before booming into the group speedfest again is gorgeous beyond words. I feel like I'm traveling accross some long isolated territory when I hear that section. The "calmer" part of the song is great, too, with great (!) vocals from Jon Anderson. (Not being the biggest Jon fan, this is saying something- this section truly would not be the same sung by anyone else!)

Regarding the solo spots, well, for me, it's a mixed bag! Wakeman's "Can and Brahms" is okay (filler?). I never heard from where it was lifted. Then, I may have a different opinion. "We Have Heaven" has a bit too much Jon for my taste; nevertheless an interesting idea. Bruford's "Five Percent for Nothing" is okay, but clearly a "throwaway". I must say that there is no denying the wonder in "The Fish"; the parts he put together gel very well - awesome. Finally, Howe plays a pretty flamenco- influenced piece "Mood for a Day"- very relaxing.

This record is a bit overrated (duh! I'm not saying anything new!), but still excellent. A VERY solid 9 out of 10.(some solo spots drag it down a bit!)

john sieber (oneofakind151@hotmail.com) (7/17/01)

John, First off, let me say, nice name! Us John's gotta stick together. And a fellow Midwesterner too... but why don't you like Kansas?

Anyway, I want to put in my 2 cents worth about Fragile. Well, I've been listening to it alot lately and I have some splurges of thought to share with you, and incidentally, the rest of the viewing community. First: Fragile is Yes' most SUCCESSFUL work, because of it's accessibility. Period. It's still puffed-up good old prog, but like you said, it's "prog rock that rocks". There ya go. Second: There was friggin' EMOTION in these guys' playing (and singing). Shit, listen to Jon on "Heart of the Sunrise". Wow. Oh, I also figured out the whole heyboard thing. I'm willing to bet Kaye wrote the keyboard parts to the songs, which is why you can't hear 'em very much. I mean, hey, even the most impressive bit of key work (the piano solo in "South Side of the Sky") ain't all that... it's a repeated figure in the middle while it is diminished rhythmically above and below (basically, played faster and slower). I mean, I could play it! But it's still pretty. Anyway. That's about it. I do agree, though, Fragile is one of their best (along with the several that fall just short of the glory of Close to the Edge). Now we just gotta get you to like Kansas...

Richard C Dickison (dickison@sbcglobal.net) (4/15/02)

Your comment about 'Fragile' being Essential is correct especially for this Yes album.

'Fragile' and 'The Yes Album' are truly Yes at it's solid best, buy them now, it does not get better!

The songs are classic and even, well hey! they are exactly the length they should be and not overly embellished or pompous.

The problems you do find on these albums, namely Anderson's voice and various filler and fluff will only get much worse in the following albums. I do not recommend acquainting yourself with the group or buying the next few