I had relatively high hopes for Heaven & Earth, produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who has produced a lot of my favorite albums. That, plus Yes was coming off one of their full-album tours, and after playing Close to the Edge and The Yes Album, I'd assumed that they were reminded of what Yes was capable of creating. I assumed that they'd take that into the studio with them. Then the album came out and it's basically "lite rock". Then later we heard that the Baker and the band had butted heads a lot during the recording. The previous album, Fly From Here, was produced by Trevor Horn and was the last album that actually rocks. But that was 10 years ago.
I've read multiple statements from Howe and the others that "this is the band now" or some shit. They've all but come right out and said that they're a bunch of fucking lightweights now, they're old and tired, and they want to make wimpy, mellow music, and they're tired of fighting with producers who want them to play rock and roll.