Time and a Word (1970) Jon Anderson - Lead Vocals
Peter Banks - Guitar, Vocals
Bill Bruford - Drums
Tony Kaye - Keyboards
Chris Squire - Bass, Vocals
The original cover art is on the left. There was some issue with having nudity on the cover (it had been done before, but not everyone was okay with it) so the label asked for a new cover with a group picture. Peter Banks had left the band by then, and all the new promo pictures had Steve Howe in them. They went ahead and put one of the newer pictures on the cover, so Steve Howe is on the album cover even though he didn't play on the album. Steve even looks a bit uncertain as to whether or not he should actually be there.
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As with the first album, this album consisted of eight tracks, two of which are covers. The album opens with a Tony Kaye fanfare on the Hammond organ, then
an orchestra comes in and we are launched into a completely otherworldly cover of Richie Havens' "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed". Once again, Yes has taken a song and completely owned it, and this time taken it a few steps further by adding an orchestra and using the results to open their new album.
This is Yes' least successful album in terms of sales, and certainly not one of their most popular, but in its own way, it is one of their most ambitious, and I give them points for that. As mentioned upthread, the first two albums tend to be overlooked by many Yes fans and prog fans in general because Yes were still finding their feet, Steve Howe hadn't joined the band yet, etc., but the real culprit IMO is that the songs just aren't as strong as on the first album, and the use of an orchestra is very effective in some places but in others (sometimes within the same song) the editing is done poorly and is cringeworthy.
Still, I like this album. I first bought it back in junior high when anything was still possible, musically, and I thought the use of an orchestra was awesome. And as mentioned, it is used very well sometimes, adding a dimension to the songs that keyboards or guitars cannot. After all, singer/songwriters use strings and horns and whatever else they want on their albums, whatever serves the song; why can't bands do the same thing? The orchestra only appears on about half the songs (I've never actually counted) and sometimes quite sparingly, so it's not like it's all over the place, obliterating the original arrangements a la The Beatles
Let It Be. It is usually there complimenting the music quite well, even echoing parts played by the guitar or doubling Hammond parts and such, to great effect.
The album continues Yes' tendency to sing about unusual people ("Astral Traveller", something of a precursor to "Starship Trooper", and "The Prophet") and idealized worlds ("Then", "Time and a Word"). It also shows them further developing their songwriting craft, with instrumentals and odd changes, sometimes not quite getting it right, but again, I have to admire the effort.
Peter Banks left the band shortly after recording was completed. Whether he quit or was fired seems to depend upon whom you ask, but in interviews, he makes it pretty clear that he's not happy about it, and would preferred to stay with the band. And as much as Steve Howe is considered a step forward in the band's sound and playing, Banks is a fine guitarist and his contributions to Yes should not be undervalued. Yes would not have continued without such a strong start, and Banks was certainly a part of that.