Author Topic: The Yes Discography: Mirror to the Sky (2023)  (Read 88913 times)

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Offline Mladen

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #630 on: February 10, 2019, 03:29:13 AM »
I might actually check it out.  ;)

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #631 on: February 12, 2019, 04:58:03 AM »
I am extremely thrilled for this. I didn’t know Jon knew Chick Corea!
Also, Alan White was mentioned, but does he appear on the album?
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Offline Orbert

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #632 on: February 12, 2019, 07:21:35 AM »
I didn’t know Jon knew Chick Corea!

Yeah, that's a combination that could lead to some crazy things.  ♫♫

Offline Orbert

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The Yes Discography: From a Page (2019)
« Reply #633 on: June 10, 2020, 03:38:46 PM »
Necro-Post Update!

So this is an odd one, and also odd to fit properly into the Discography, for reasons that will hopefully become apparent.  But I recently picked this up, and I really like it, so I decided to include it here.

----------

After the 2004 tour, the final tour featuring the classic lineup of Anderson-Howe-Squire-Wakeman-White and which produced Songs from Tsongas, Yes took another break.  As I mentioned in the writeup for the next studio album, Fly From Here, there are conflicting stories about what exactly happened, but the short version is that Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman were gone, leaving Yes once again in search of both a lead singer and a keyboard player.

Rick Wakeman's son Oliver is also a keyboard player, and a pretty good one.  He appeared on Steve Howe's album Spectrum (2005) and had worked with him on other projects.  Howe had appeared previously on Oliver Wakeman's The 3 Ages of Magick (2001).  Oliver Wakeman also played keyboards for Starcastle (replacing Herb Schildt) in 2007 for their appearance as RoSfest.  Steve Howe suggested Wakeman as the new keyboard player, to which Squire and White agreed.

Benoit David of the band Mystery was also the lead singer for a Yes tribute band called Close to the Edge, and that is how they found him.  This lineup did a short tour, which was documented on the live album In the Present - Live from Lyon (2011), released in 2011 but recorded on the brief 2009 tour.



I didn't originally include In the Present - Live from Lyon in this discography for the simple reason that I didn't have it, had never heard it, and had heard that it wasn't great.  Yes (or rather their management) is notorious for releasing live albums and other compilations to fill the breaks between studio albums, and considering how many breaks and lineup changes they've had, there seems to be plenty of material to mine for this purpose, so I didn't exactly consider this one mandatory.  After Trevor Horn was brought in to produce the next Yes album (the aforementioned Fly From Here), we soon learned that Oliver Wakeman was out and Geoff Downes was in as the keyboard player.  And the rest is history.

We now know that there was some material recorded with Oliver Wakeman on keyboards prior to his leaving the band, and he has kept the tapes all this time.  Two songs were basically completed but not used ("To The Moment" and "Words on a Page"), and a third was mostly completed and also not used ("The Gift of Love").  Wakeman worked with all three and created finished songs from them.  He also resurrected a fourth tune ("From the Turn of a Card") which he had written for the album and which eventually appeared in a different form on an instrumental album by Wakeman and Gordon Giltrap called Ravens and Lullabies (2013).  At Wakeman's request, Benoit David sings on this track, as Wakeman had originally written it for his voice.  Wakeman also recorded a new piano track for the song, making it a "new" Yessong.

These four songs have been approved by Yes (basically Steve Howe and Alan White) for release under the name Yes.  The new package is titled From a Page, and it combines the previously unreleased material from the early Fly From Here sessions with the previously released Live from Lyon material, forming a complete document of the David-Howe-Squire-Wakeman-White lineup.

From a Page (2019)



Benoit David - Lead Vocals
Steve Howe - Guitar, Vocals
Chris Squire - Bass, Vocals
Oliver Wakeman - Keyboards
Alan White - Drums

----------

From a Page

To the Moment 6:09
Words on a Page 6:18
From the Turn of a Card 3:24
The Gift of Love 9:52

In the Present - Live from Lyon

Siberian Khatru 10:39
I've Seen All Good People 7:17
Tempus Fugit 6:05
Onward 4:38
Astral Traveller 8:49
Yours Is No Disgrace 13:23
And You and I 11:27
Corkscrew 3:49
Second Initial 3:19
Owner of a Lonely Heart 6:05
South Side of the Sky 10:44
Machine Messiah 11:41
Heart of the Sunrise 11:43
Roundabout 9:35
Starship Trooper 13:08

----------

I like this one.  I always liked Benoit David's voice.  To me, he sounds very much like Drama-era Trevor Horn, which made Fly From Here sound like "Drama II" to me even before people started calling it that.  (They even had Horn record new vocals for Fly From Here and released the results, calling it Fly Fom Here - Return Trip, making it truly "Drama II".)

I can understand why some fans had trouble with David as the lead singer.  He does struggle from time to time to reach the same notes that Jon Anderson did with the same grace and seeming effortlessness.  But there are some songs that he nails.  Yes have had so many lead singers by now that I don't really care that he's not Jon Anderson.  No one is, including Jon Anderson anymore.  Plus, it's great to get live versions of Drama songs "Tempus Fugit" and "Machine Messiah".  They both totally smoke, and with David's vocals sounding so much like a live Trevor Horn (and honestly, a bit better), it's like having the Drama lineup again.  Even better.

This package was released last year, and I made a mental note to pick it up sometime, but they'd bundled it with a previously released album, and some people had trouble with that.  But with only four new songs, it barely qualified as an EP, so releasing it individually didn't make much sense either.  Fortunately, I'd never picked up Live from Lyon, so once I was reminded of this release, it was a no-brainer.

The studio tracks sound great.  As far as I'm concerned, they're four "lost" Yes tracks that have been found again.  I hear Steve Howe on guitar, Chris Squire on bass, Alan White on drums, all sounding great.  I hear a Wakeman on keyboards sounding very much like his father but also very good in his own right, and I hear a familiar voice on lead vocals.  This is Yes music.

And the live material is fine.  A few rough spots, so I guess I understand why people complained, but overall I think it's fine.  Yes music is hard to play, and Benoit David is not the only one who messes up once in a while.  I prefer my live albums "warts and all", it feels much live that way.  So this is more Yes material, both studio and live stuff from a lineup I'd never heard before.

Recommended, especially if you don't already have Live from Lyon , and even if you do, if you're a completist.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2020, 03:57:34 PM by Orbert »

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #634 on: June 11, 2020, 03:28:54 AM »
I think it takes quite the amount of oddness to be considered "an odd one" in the Yes discography  :lol But yeah, this band never fails to surprise when it comes to weird release choices. To this day, it's not possible to buy this via Amazon or listen to it on streaming services. It's the same with 1000 Hands by Jon Anderson and Fly From Here: Return Trip, but the latter is now available on Amazon.

I'm very curious to hear these songs, I have only heard the "single". But I don't really wanna pay 30 pounds/35€ (including shipping) for a 25 minute EP on vinyl. I don't buy CDs and I have no interest in owning the Lyon concert, because I heard it and... yeah. You were very merciful when reviewing this live album in my opinion  :lol

On one thing I really have to disagree though: Jon Anderson is still Jon Anderson. This dude is in his mid-seventies and he sings like a 22 year old. I saw him at the Night Of The Prog with ARW, and he was amazing.
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Offline Stadler

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #635 on: June 11, 2020, 07:48:11 AM »
Fritzinger, I was going to say the same thing.  I saw him a year or so ago in a 500 seat theater (got to meet him too; while I'm not blind to his history of being prickly, for the short time he was with me, he was charming and engaged; I had Going For The One with me, and when I noted it was my favorite album of all time by any band he looked at me like "for real?".  It was... well, cute, if you can use that word for a conversation between a 51 and 73/74 year old man!).

He played a full set, mostly Yes songs, and he NAILED them.  I didn't notice any tuning down, and there was very little re-arranging.  Starship Trooper - one of the last songs - was almost breathtaking.


Offline Orbert

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #636 on: June 11, 2020, 08:44:13 AM »
I should have mentioned that From a Page is only available from a couple of different online sources, including none of the usual ones.  I got mine from Burning Shed.

Yes, it's a lot of money for four songs.  For four new songs that I really wanted to hear, plus a live album I didn't already have, I figured it was worth it (especially since, for reasons I won't go into right now, it was basically free).  Live from Lyon isn't great, but there are some great moments.  So what the hell.  I was listening to it again the other day, and it occurred to me that I should probably add it to the Discography, since it's an official Yes release that I hadn't covered.

I'd heard that Jon was back in form, but okay, I'd forgotten.  I saw some video he did a while back with a youth orchestra, and people were raving about it, but I thought it was kinda bad.  He did sound better on the few ARW videos I watched.

Offline Stadler

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #637 on: June 11, 2020, 09:18:14 AM »
The youth orchestra opened for him when I saw him.  I can't find the setlist, but to see high school girls in tight skirts playing "South Side Of The Sky" (if I remember correctly, one of the songs they played), is an emotionally conflicting experience.  :)

(I'm kidding; I mean no disrespect.  The orchestra I saw was a rotating group of about 10 or 12 kids - "kids" meaning high school age - and they played I think five or so rock/prog classics and they were quite impressive.  VERY impressive, actually.)

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #638 on: June 11, 2020, 09:39:46 AM »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwspoyRdeV0

I'm just gonna leave this here... Jon is a master
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Offline ytserush

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #639 on: June 21, 2020, 02:00:57 PM »
If I found any post 2002 live CD/DVD inexpensively, I might be inclined to look into it. I just have a felling that tempo issues would bother me.

Offline Orbert

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #640 on: June 21, 2020, 03:34:48 PM »
Tempo issues are the number one thing that turns me off from some later live releases.  Some songs are the same as they've always been, but some feel like they just drag, and it's really noticeable.  And once you notice it, it's annoying.

There are only a few on Live from Lyon, but that unfortunately includes the very first song, so instead of hitting you fast and hard from the start, it opens with "uhhhhhh..."  But I was half expecting it, and I knew I was gonna listen to the whole thing anyway.  I mean, I bought it, might as well dig in.  After a few songs I didn't even think about it.  I just heard five very talented guys playing some amazing music.  At that point, I didn't care if the singer wasn't the guy I'm used to, or the keyboard player, or whoever.  I was just digging some new (to me) live Yes, from a lineup I'd never checked out before.  And like I said, it was basically free for me, so why not?

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #641 on: June 21, 2020, 06:28:56 PM »
I remember a friend a while back talking up the Montreux version of South Side of the Sky to me, but when I checked it out, I was like, "Are they playing it in slow motion?"  It sounds so slow and plodding.  I get that capturing the original vibe of a song is sometimes not possible, but slowing down the tempo the way they did on that one was a major blunder.

Offline The Letter M

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #642 on: June 21, 2020, 09:23:42 PM »
I remember a friend a while back talking up the Montreux version of South Side of the Sky to me, but when I checked it out, I was like, "Are they playing it in slow motion?"  It sounds so slow and plodding.  I get that capturing the original vibe of a song is sometimes not possible, but slowing down the tempo the way they did on that one was a major blunder.

You're talking about the 2003 show, right? I just listened to the original album version, which has a tempo of about 80-81 bpm, while the Montreux version is about 75-76 bpm. It is a bit slower, but not by a lot IMO.

The dragging tempo feels more apparent in this video from 2014, where it feels like 72 bpm. I'd say most of their tempos were pretty good until Jon Anderson left the band, but I've really not listened to much live Yes in the last decade or so to really say for sure.

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Offline DragonAttack

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #643 on: June 22, 2020, 10:53:01 AM »
Started reading through this thread ever since it was revived a few weeks back.  I have all the studio releases from 'The Yes Album' on through 'Magnification', along with ABWH, 'Yessongs', and Steve Howe's 'Turbulence'.  Saw the band in concert during the Union tour, and a few years back with Peter Frampton opening.  They cancelled a Kalamazoo Big Generator stop.

Anyhoo.....am enjoying the ride down memory lane, with very good posts all around.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2020, 11:31:27 AM by DragonAttack »
...going along with Dragon Attack's Queen thread has been like taking a free class in Queen knowledge. Where else are you gonna find info like that?!

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #644 on: June 22, 2020, 12:47:26 PM »
I remember a friend a while back talking up the Montreux version of South Side of the Sky to me, but when I checked it out, I was like, "Are they playing it in slow motion?"  It sounds so slow and plodding.  I get that capturing the original vibe of a song is sometimes not possible, but slowing down the tempo the way they did on that one was a major blunder.

You're talking about the 2003 show, right? I just listened to the original album version, which has a tempo of about 80-81 bpm, while the Montreux version is about 75-76 bpm. It is a bit slower, but not by a lot IMO.

The dragging tempo feels more apparent in this video from 2014, where it feels like 72 bpm. I'd say most of their tempos were pretty good until Jon Anderson left the band, but I've really not listened to much live Yes in the last decade or so to really say for sure.


2003, yes.  I guess even though it is technically not that much slower, it just feels a lot slower.  Despite not being a fast-paced song on record, the original has this kind of dark, almost dangerous, feel and vibe, where it probably feels faster than it really is. 

Offline DTA

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #645 on: June 27, 2020, 05:47:52 PM »
Is there seriously anything better than 5:13 onward in Turn Of The Century? If I was to pick my favorite segment of music ever it might be this. Steve Howe going apeshit on guitar with Jon reciting the last verse over orchestral drums and bass....it's absolutely glorious.

Offline Orbert

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #646 on: June 27, 2020, 05:52:25 PM »
One of my all-time favorite songs.  Steve is amazing throughout, from the jubilant, joyous runs when the statue comes to life, to the delicate, introspective licks that open and close the piece.  And of course the duet between him and Wakeman during the break.  Just an incredible performance from everyone involved. ♫♫

Offline pg1067

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #647 on: June 27, 2020, 05:54:19 PM »
Is there seriously anything better than 5:13 onward in Turn Of The Century? If I was to pick my favorite segment of music ever it might be this. Steve Howe going apeshit on guitar with Jon reciting the last verse over orchestral drums and bass....it's absolutely glorious.

Well...I'd say there's something better on the other side of the album -- roughly the last 5 1/2 minutes of Awaken.  But that's not a knock on TOTC, which is, indeed, stellar (as you and Orbert mentioned).  Awaken's just on a higher level.
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Offline romdrums

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #648 on: June 27, 2020, 08:27:38 PM »
Is there seriously anything better than 5:13 onward in Turn Of The Century? If I was to pick my favorite segment of music ever it might be this. Steve Howe going apeshit on guitar with Jon reciting the last verse over orchestral drums and bass....it's absolutely glorious.

Well...I'd say there's something better on the other side of the album -- roughly the last 5 1/2 minutes of Awaken.  But that's not a knock on TOTC, which is, indeed, stellar (as you and Orbert mentioned).  Awaken's just on a higher level.

I would easily place both of those songs inside my top ten Yes songs.  TOTC is such a unique and beautiful piece of music. 
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #649 on: June 27, 2020, 08:36:53 PM »
Is there seriously anything better than 5:13 onward in Turn Of The Century? If I was to pick my favorite segment of music ever it might be this. Steve Howe going apeshit on guitar with Jon reciting the last verse over orchestral drums and bass....it's absolutely glorious.

That ending is definitely awesome, probably my favorite part of the Going for the One album, which admittedly isn't one of my favorites. Turn of the Century is the one song from it that would make my Yes top 25.  :hat :hat

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #650 on: June 27, 2020, 10:32:15 PM »
I think, before Yes recorded Turn Of The Century, Jon Anderson said something like: "let's try to tell a story with this song... and then I will start to sing".


Awaken is from another world, I agree. But my favorite part is the mellow middle-section. The organ just creates such a great atmosphere. For me, maybe the best moment on the album and one of Yes' best moments overall. Going For The One gets far too little praise.
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Offline Mladen

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #651 on: June 28, 2020, 03:46:17 AM »
It took me a while to get into Turn of the century, but now it's one of my favorite Yes songs of all time. The entire song is gorgeous, but from the instrumental onward it's just perfect. I love how all five members are involved, yet it sounds so skeletal and simple.

The live version on Songs from Tsongas is even better than the studio version. PLEASE, do yourself a favour and check it out.

Offline DTA

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #652 on: June 28, 2020, 07:11:03 AM »
Is there seriously anything better than 5:13 onward in Turn Of The Century? If I was to pick my favorite segment of music ever it might be this. Steve Howe going apeshit on guitar with Jon reciting the last verse over orchestral drums and bass....it's absolutely glorious.

Well...I'd say there's something better on the other side of the album -- roughly the last 5 1/2 minutes of Awaken.  But that's not a knock on TOTC, which is, indeed, stellar (as you and Orbert mentioned).  Awaken's just on a higher level.

That moment in Awaken is incredible too, especially when the organ really kicks in. There's just something about that release at 5:13 after the long buildup in TOTC that is pure elation that I don't really get from many other songs.

Offline Orbert

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #653 on: June 28, 2020, 08:26:08 AM »
5:13 is where the statue comes to life (as far as I've always understood the story) and all of his work comes to fruition, and they are reunited.  Such an awesome moment.

But in the live version, Steve's tone is much thinner, and I don't feel that it has the same effect.  Rick's keyboards behind it aren't as full, either.  The same huge moment in the studio version just doesn't come across the same way in the live version.  It's a great version, but I can't put it above the perfection which is the studio version.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2021, 09:09:09 AM by Orbert »

Offline Stadler

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #654 on: June 29, 2020, 08:28:27 AM »
So, Going For The One is my favorite album by any band ever (got Jon to sign it not long ago!)

I think TOTC is the high point of the album (Awaken is my third favorite song on the record) and just a beautifully composed piece of art.  I actually used that song (and Ripples, by Genesis) as a basis of a college essay, and I've used that song as an example to my daughter about how instrumental music can tell it's own story.

Tastes, yadda yadda, but that is my single favorite example of how the five disparate sounds of the band meld together to something much greater than the sum of the parts.  That bass line is so simple - for Squire - and yet it's the heartbeat (figuratively AND literally) of the whole song. 

Offline DTA

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #655 on: June 29, 2020, 09:01:13 AM »
5:13 is where the statue comes to life (as far as I've always understood the story) and all of his work comes to fruition, and they are reunited.  Such an awesome moment.

But in the live version, Steve's tone is much thinner, and I don't feel that it has the same effect.  Rick's keyboards behind it aren't as full, either.  The same huge moment in the studio version just doesn't come across the same way in the live version.  It's a great version, but I can't put it about the perfection which is the studio version.

I've checked out a few live versions and feel the same. The power behind that entire section is lost a bit. I have the same issue with The Flower Kings...the music is so dense on the albums that unless they had multiple keyboardists and guitarists recreating it live, parts are going to get left out.

Offline ytserush

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Re: The Yes Discography
« Reply #656 on: July 03, 2020, 04:22:50 PM »
Turn Of The Century might be my favorite from this album or it could just as easily be Wonderous Stories or Going For The One. Those would easily be my top 3 from that album anyway.

Offline Orbert

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The Yes Discography: The Quest (2021)
« Reply #657 on: November 18, 2021, 04:08:48 PM »
The Quest (2021)



Jon Davison - Vocals, Guitar
Geoff Downes - Keyboards
Steve Howe - Guitars, Mandolin, Steel Guitar, Vocals
Billy Sherwood - Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Alan White - Drums

Jay Schellen - Percussion
FAME'S Studio Orchestra - Oleg Kondratenko, Conductor
Paul K. Joyce - Orchestra Arrangements

----------

The Ice Bridge
  a. Eyes East
  b. Race Against Time
  c. Interaction
Dare To Know
Minus The Man
Leave Well Alone
  a. Across The Border
  b. Not For Nothing
  c. Wheels
The Western Edge
Future Memories
Music To My Ears
A Living Island
  a. Brave The Storm
  b. Wake Up
  c. We Will Remember

Bonus Disc

Sister Sleeping Soul
Mystery Tour
Damaged World

----------

As we all know, Chris Squire died, in 2015.  He was the last original member of Yes, the only person to appear on every Yes album, and in many ways the heart of the band.  Yes had had multiple lead singers, guitarists, keyboardists, and drummers over the years, several members have come and gone and come back again, but there had only ever been one bassist for Yes.  With other bands, this might have raised the question of whether they would continue, but in his final days, Squire made it clear that he wished the band to continue, and furthermore, he named his good friend Billy Sherwood as his successor.  Sherwood was previously in Yes from 1997-2000, having played on Open Your Eyes and The Ladder, as well as the tours for both albums.  Sherwood was Squire's partner in The Chris Squire Experiment, later Conspiracy, which had led directly to Open Your Eyes, and his relationship with Chris had continued since then.  While some believe, perhaps cynically, that Squire naming his successor was meant to give Sherwood credibility and/or help smoothe over any negative feelings about anyone daring to replace Chris Squire, it was in fact the most logical choice.  When Squire became too ill to continue the 2015 tour, it was Sherwood who replaced him on stage and finished the tour with Yes.  Thus began his second tenure with the band, and he's been playing with them ever since.

The album starts strong with "The Ice Bridge", an upbeat seven-minute song with excellent synth and guitar work and many other hallmarks of the Yes sound.  Vocals are strong, with excellent three-part harmonies, powerful drumming, and of course prominent bass work.  Sherwood is clearly channeling Squire's signature "lead bass" sound, though primarily on Spector and Spector fretless bass rather than Squire's renowned bi-amped Rickenbacker (Sherwood does play a Rickenbacker on one track).  Anyway, it's a nice opener.

Okay, let's get it out in the open.  If there was one complaint about the previous album Heaven & Earth, it's that it was too "soft" or too "mellow".  Yes has always had a lighter side to balance their heavier side, but Heaven & Earth seemed to have forgotten to bring the heavy at all.  I would consider most of Heaven & Earth to be Light Rock more than Rock & Roll.  Opening the album with "The Ice Bridge" was clearly meant to dispell the fear that The Quest is more of the same.  It works.  It's a strong opener, with some progressive feel, and I think it's a good song overall.

It could have gone a few directions from there.  Hopefully, the rest of the album continues to kick some ass, at least a little.  But for me "The Ice Bridge" is the high point of the album.  Some of the other songs have uptempo sections that are reminiscent of Yes of old.  Nothing as fiery as "Heart of the Sunrise" or "Sound Chaser" but there's some decent, meaty stuff here.  It's just scattered kinda thin.  Overall we're more rocking than Heaven & Earth which is a step in the right direction, but still distinctively lower energy than anything that came before it.  Somewhere between Fly From Here and Heaven & Earth.

It all sounds fantastic.  Steve Howe decided to produce the album, having gotten tired of working with producers who clearly didn't understand Yes as far as he was concerned, and the rest of the band supported this decision.  As such, Steve's soaring guitar work is on full display.  The vocals are mostly very good, and while the three-part harmonies sound great, I'd like to hear more actual lead vocals.  And please, someone tell Steve Howe that he should not sing lead.  The duets with Jon D are okay, but they let Steve sing lead sometimes, and quite frankly, that's a mistake.

Oh yeah, real orchestra, too!  Tracks 2, 3, and 4 have the FAME'S Studio Orchestra, which is exactly what it sounds like.  You can get session guys.  If you know someone, you can get a good horn section, or a choir.  But sometimes you want a real orchestra to play on your album, which is apparently what the FAME'S Studio Orchestra is for.  The website has information about them, but I couldn't find any explanation for why they spell it that way.  Anyway, they sound pretty good, too.

Yes has stated that this album represents "where they are today" or something like that.  In other words, don't expect another Close to the Edge, or you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.  Reviews are mixed though mostly positive.  Everything I've read praises how great it all sounds, and that's true.  Most mention that the writing and playing could use some more fire.  There aren't a lot of melodies that stick with you.  Well, there's one chorus that sticks with me because it's repeated ad nauseum, but that's not really a compliment, I'm sorry to say.

One review said that the correct way to listen to this album is with headphones and no expectations.  Just let it play, and listen to it.  I realized that that was something I hadn't really done, and I should have.  In the past, my first listen to a Yes album was always with headphones, to catch every nuance.  More recently, it was in the car, cranked up.  But I'd been listening to it here on my computer, over the dumb little speakers, and that is not how you listen to a Yes album.

So I listened to in the car, cranked, and it really was much better than I'd thought.  It was not the 50-minute snoozefest I'd thought it was (well, 43 minutes after that opening track).  There's a lot going on.  There's a lot of music here, but you do have to listen actively.  It's not all mellow.  A few days later, I listened with headphones.  Wow!  Again, there's a lot music here.  I urge others to give this album a listen, a real listen.  That's all I'll say about that (for now).

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The credits are weird.



Six band members, right?  Jay Schellen is the sixth photo.  He's been playing percussion with them live, and some say that this is because Alan is having trouble keeping up these days.  But the booklet has individual credits for each song, who plays what, and Jay is not listed in there anywhere.  So my belief is that this is their way of acknowledging Jay's contributions.  Bottom line is that he didn't play on the album, but is listed as a member of the band.

Visually, it reminds me of the back of Close to the Edge:



Eddie Offord was honored in a similar way because of his contributions to the arrangements of the songs.  The final arrangements that the band learned and reproduced live were literally what he had cut and pasted together.

The standard version of the album on CD is a two-disc set.  InsideOut wanted a 50-minute album, so the main disc is right about 50 minutes, and the second disc has three "bonus tracks".  Yes, it could have all fit on a single disc.  Deal with it.

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Final thoughts.  Overall, a bit better than I'd dare hope, but that's mostly because I tried to keep expectations low.  Like, none at all, which is hard to do.  Still somehow a disappointment, because it started strong and I really wanted to believe that this band still had some fire left in them.  And there is, a little bit.  But this is them now.
« Last Edit: November 18, 2021, 04:32:38 PM by Orbert »

Offline Mladen

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Re: The Yes Discography: The Quest (2021)
« Reply #658 on: November 19, 2021, 12:36:58 AM »
I spent a couple of weeks with the album and ended up being underwhelmed overall. There are moments of brilliance, of course, every other track has a memorable bit or two, mostly by Steve Howe, but as a whole, it's not that much more engaging and powerful than Heaven and earth.

And I am starting to think that it's partly to Jon Davison not being my cup of tea. His voice is pleasant, but lacks energy. When he goes up high, like the "It's a double edge sword" line in Minus the man, it just sounds like he's too shy about singing. Other than that, they need to crank up the sound a bit, because I'm confident that the performances themselves are solid.

The bits I like the most are the guitar solo in Minus the man, the chorus in Music to my ears, and the outro to the final track, especially the album phasing out with the word "forevermore." It's a touching moment.

Offline Orbert

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Re: The Yes Discography: The Quest (2021)
« Reply #659 on: November 19, 2021, 10:31:03 AM »
I totally agree about Jon Davison.  Nice voice, but seems rather timid or even weak overall.  I feel like a lot of the album is brought down a bit by his "La la la la" over everything the band is doing, giving it all a rather homogenized feel.  That, and most of the vocals being in harmony rather than true lead vocals.  Yes has always had both, and Jon A could bring a real strength and energy despite his voice being high and sometimes airy.  I don't feel that at all from Jon D.  He seems content to just sing sweetly and nicely, mostly in harmony.  And it all sounds nice; it's just not particularly engaging.

Offline Stadler

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Re: The Yes Discography: The Quest (2021)
« Reply #660 on: November 22, 2021, 07:52:32 AM »
Look back in this thread and I've said the same things about Jon D.  For all his "airy fairy" nonsense, Jon A. was/is a great ROCK singer.  He held his own with Squire and White and Howe at full flight.   The live albums really show the difference.  Jon D. has the tone, has the range, but he doesn't quite have the grit, or the power, that Jon A. had (in the band; I saw him live right before COVID and he still has it live. He SLAYED.)

Offline Orbert

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The Yes Discography: Mirror to the Sky (2023)
« Reply #661 on: June 18, 2023, 08:53:34 PM »
Mirror to the Sky (2023)



Jon Davison - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Geoff Downes - Keyboards
Steve Howe - Guitars, Mandolin, Autoharp, Vocals
Jay Schellen - Drums, Percussion
Billy Sherwood - Bass, Vocals

FAME'S Studio Orchestra - Oleg Kondratenko, Conductor
Paul K. Joyce - Orchestra Arrangements

Produced by Steve Howe

----------

Cut From the Stars  5:25
All Connected 9:03
Luminosity 9:00
Living Out Their Dream 4:45
Mirror to the Sky 13:53
Circles of Time 4:54

Bonus Disc

Unknown Place 8:12
One Second is Enough 4:04
Magic Potion 4:08

----------

Yes continues their trend of never releasing more than two albums in a row with the same lineup, and after the 1970's, rarely more than one.  While the trend continues, the reasons are sadly different now.  Chris Squire passed in 2015, making Heaven & Earth his final album.  We lost Alan White in 2022, making The Quest his final album.

Just as Billy Sherwood was Chris Squire's understudy and was specifically chosen by Chris to continue in his place after his passing, Jay Schellen was the obvious choice to replace Alan White full time.  Jay had filled in for Alan on the 2016 Topographic Drama tour when Alan injured his back, and due to Alan's ongoing health issues continued to join them on stage as a second drummer/percussionist.  On May 22, 2022, Yes announced that Jay would be the sole drummer on the upcoming tour, again citing Alan's health.  Alan died days later, on May 26, 2022.  Mirror to the Sky is dedicated to him.

To be honest, this album caught me by surprise.  I think there'd been a few announcements in 2022 saying that they were working on new material, but these days, I'll believe it when I see it.  Then on March 10, 2023, the lead single "Cut from the Stars" was released, and that same day the release date of the album itself (May 26, 2023) was announced.


"Cut from the Stars" (Davison/Sherwood) is the opening track, and it's a good one.  The first thing we hear is the FAME'S Studio Orchestra, but I guess I hadn't really thought about that on my first few listens and assumed it was keyboards.  I'd avoided reading any credits or even previewing the single when it came out.  I wanted my first listen or two to be as unspoiled as possible.  Anyway, it's a quick little orchestral line, then the rest of the band comes in and the first real thing that catches my ears is Jay Schellen's bass playing.  He's totally channeling Chris Squire here.  Not Chris' trademark bi-amped Rickenbacker, but a solid "lead bass" sound and his fingers giving us very Squire-like licks.  I don't care if Jay is deliberately trying to sound like Chris or it's just how he feels the bass in Yes should be (probably a bit of both), it works for me and sounds great.  The song continues to open up, good old Yes three-part vocals come in, and off we go.  There are a some tempo changes and other proggy things, but at 5:25 we're not going full epic or anything.  Still, it's a proggy yet pretty accessible song, and sets the tone.

Hmmm.  The second track "All Connected" (Davison/Howe/Sherwood) in an interesting choice, in terms of placement.  To me, after that great opening track, I'm ready for more, but also half-fearing that I'll be let down by the next song.  It's happened before, more than once, by some of my favorite prog rock bands who are still progging but not always bringing the rock and roll.  But from Steve Howe's point of view, a longer, proggier tune is what we need next, and yeah it starts pretty mellow, but give it some time and let it grow.  We're still building here.  Also, he's obviously been aching to break out a wailing steel guitar solo, so here it is.  It's a pretty good song, if a bit light, and has some nice changes.

"Luminosity" (Davison/Howe/Sherwood) went through a few changes during its development.  It started as "Luminous" and they recorded it that way originally, but they continued to work with the song, adding more and more parts until Steve decided that they should rename it because it was now "a bigger tune".  So they recorded it again, renaming it "Luminosity".

Up to this point, most of the vocals have been in harmony.  It may be cynical, but I almost think that this was intentional, a way to hopefully minimize the ongoing criticism that Jon Davison is simply not as a strong a lead singer as Jon Anderson.  He sings in the same range, and when blended with Steve and Billy, the three-part Yes sound is there.  But as a solo vocalist, his voice is just naturally lighter in timbre.  With "Luminosity" we get more solo vocals, so the comparisons are going to come.  Still, it's a pretty good song, if still a bit on the lighter side, and ends nicely with another wailing steel guitar solo.  Go, Steve.

You noticed that he produced this album, just as he did the last one, right?  Hey, someone has to carry the Yes torch, and at this point Steve is obviously the one to do it.  Also, Geoff Downes is on the album, but I still feel like he's not really there the way a Yes keyboard player should be on a Yes album.  Nice pads and fills, some synth here and there, but not a lot to make you take notice and go "Yeah, Geoff Downes on keyboards!"  Not that we did that a lot anyway.  But seriously, where is he?

And then the next song, "Living Out Their Dream" (Howe/Downes), finally gives it to us!  Drum fills, rocking guitar, weird unison things, another steel guitar solo... wait!  That was a synth, wasn't it?  So he is on this album.  Jon and Steve do a "vocal duet" on this track.  It's interesting.  I think they credited it that way because it's really got a lot of Steve Howe on lead vocals, and that's all I'm going to say about that for now.  But hey, a rocker!  I am pleased overall.

"Mirror to the Sky" (Davison/Howe) is the title track, the longest track, and the only real "epic" on the album.  "All Connected" and "Luminosity" at nine minutes apiece are pretty cool, expansive songs, no doubt, but "Mirror to the Sky" really feels like it takes you on a journey.  Rocks out, mellows out, rocks out some more, and goes through some really nice changes, yet so organic sounding that when one of the changes includes an orchestra coming in, it sounds perfectly natural.  Definitely one of the highlights of the album.

"Circles of Time" (Davison) closes the main album. *  After the title epic, it's a nice little song to wind things down, if a bit "twee".  IMO it's probably the weakest track on the album, but Steve heard it and insisted that they develop it and put it on the album.  So here it is.

* Yes, they've again given us a two-disc set, with a main album and a "Bonus Disc" when everything could have fit onto a single CD.  But who buys CDs anymore anyway?  And if you do buy CDs, more is better, right?

"Unknown Place" (Howe) is the first track on the Bonus Disc but is one of my favorite tracks on the album overall.  Jon and Steve once again share vocal duties, but it's somehow not as offensive as before, perhaps because they're clearly going for something different here.  Steve's voice is still dull and lifeless, but the contrast between his and Jon's voice is interesting and at least adds a different texture.  Also, the song rocks out a bit, with Geoff finally rocking out on the Hammond, swapping fours with Steve a few times, and even a jam involving church organ and acoustic guitar (with some tasty bass and drums as well).

"One Second is Enough" (Howe) opens with keyboards, Geoff on the Hammond again, and you realize that you've heard as many interesting keyboard licks on the bonus tracks so far (only 10 seconds into the second one) as on the entire main album.  I don't know why that is.  As I've mentioned elsewhere, I always thought that there'd be more collaboration between Steve and Geoff, due to their being mainstays in both Yes and Asia for years, but we have the one co-written song (which is pretty good) which features them both, but beyond that Geoff's contributions are largely relegated to the Bonus Tracks.  I won't suggest that that's intentional on Steve's part, since it's also entirely possible that these last three tracks were considered weaker overall for different reasons.  But it's weird.

"Magic Potion" (Howe) closes the second disc with a nice little song with a message right out of the 60's: "love is the magic potion".  But what the heck. Vocals are fine, bass work is great, Steve's hook line is cool (though a bit repetitive after a while), and at 4:08 it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Total play time of both discs is 1:03:34.

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Final thoughts.  Just as The Quest was a step up from Heaven & Earth, we take another step up here.  I've actually returned to this album a few times just to listen to it because it's new Yes music and it's pretty good.  No, it's not going to displace Close to the Edge or Going for the One any time soon, or ever, but it's a good listen, easily the strongest of the Davison-era albums.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2023, 10:28:54 AM by Orbert »

Offline Mladen

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Re: The Yes Discography: Mirror to the Sky (2023)
« Reply #662 on: June 19, 2023, 01:15:18 AM »
I was really underwhelmed by this one as well. The Quest sounds like a great album in comparison. The two nine minute tracks fly by as if nothing happens within those twenty minutes of the album. The closer is a ballad that isn't too offensive, but not something I particulary want to return to. The remaining tracks are fine, though not great.

I'm not sure what exactly doesn't do it for me. It doesn't rock quite enough, Jon's vocals are a bit too soft for my taste, and melodically, non of it is that memorable. This is one of my least favorite Yes albums, along with Open your eyes, Union and the debut.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2023, 08:22:02 AM by Mladen »

Offline Orbert

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Re: The Yes Discography: Mirror to the Sky (2023)
« Reply #663 on: June 19, 2023, 07:31:17 AM »
I should probably go back and listen to The Quest again.  I spun it many times over the first few weeks and it never clicked.  This one clicked right away.  Maybe since I keep lowering my expectations, I continue to not be disappointed.  But the high points of Mirror to the Sky are pretty high.  I don't even remember any high points on The Quest past the opening song.