The Official Yes Thread

[Architeuthis]

I was at the Seattle show at The Moore, fantastic!   I really hope they release this long awaiting album, I wonder what happened to delay it so much??
 
 They were supposed to do a 2019 tour as well, I think something may have happened with Rick Wakeman which cancelled this leg of the tour and delayed the album once again. 
I'm sure this is why Jon Anderson decided to go on a solo tour and is releasing his new solo album called 1,000 hands.
 Hopefully Trevor Rabin is working some magic in his studio for the next TRUE Yes album featuring ARW.

[Fritzinger]

I saw ARW at the Night Of The Prog 2017 and it was awesome. Jon's voice was 100% like it was 1969. I have no idea how that's possible. Awaken was mesmerizing.

[KevShmev]

I brought this up because "Live at the Apollo" premiered on TV tonight.

I saw a little of that last night, and then saw it was on again at like 2 am, so I DVR'd it and will watch all of it this week at some point.

[Orbert]

Same here.  Recorded for later viewing in its entirety.

[KevShmev]

I watched a little more last night. I doubt this is something I will buy, as I'd probably never watch it again, but I am glad I am getting to see it on cable.  It is so nice to see 90125 songs (besides Owner) performed live again by Yes, and I am still a sucker for Trevor Rabin singing.

[Stadler]

I watched a little more last night. I doubt this is something I will buy, as I'd probably never watch it again, but I am glad I am getting to see it on cable.  It is so nice to see 90125 songs (besides Owner) performed live again by Yes, and I am still a sucker for Trevor Rabin singing.

You and me both.

[KevShmev]

I still wish they would have busted out a song from Talk for that tour and the recorded concert, but oh well, what can you do?  It will be a shame if Yes featuring ARW is done, as I'd love to see them do another tour and get a little more adventurous, like playing some cool Rabin-era deep tracks like Heart, Shoot High Aim Low or I Am Waiting, but I won't hold my breath.

[King Postwhore]

I really liked the re-arrangements of the classic songs.  It's too bad they can't get their act together.

[KevShmev]

Getting their act together has never been Yes' thing, which is probably why they have never had the same lineup for more than two albums in a row.

[romdrums]

I still wish they would have busted out a song from Talk for that tour and the recorded concert, but oh well, what can you do?  It will be a shame if Yes featuring ARW is done, as I'd love to see them do another tour and get a little more adventurous, like playing some cool Rabin-era deep tracks like Heart, Shoot High Aim Low or I Am Waiting, but I won't hold my breath.

I think they did play I Am Waiting on another leg of the tour, and I think Hearts made an appearance or two as well.  For me, I would have loved to have seen them go really deep and bring out I'm Running, Final Eyes or Endless Dream.  Final Eyes to me felt like the Rabin equivalent to And You And I and Endless Dream is the same answer to Awaken.  Sad to think they might be done.  It's another in a string of missed opportunities for this band since the 80s.

[KevShmev]

A large portion of Yes fans would disagree, but Endless Dream kicks the ever-living snot out of Awaken. 

[romdrums]

A large portion of Yes fans would disagree, but Endless Dream kicks the ever-living snot out of Awaken. 

I would disagree, but it's still a great song.  I would consider Endless Dream to be Rabin's crowning achievement in Yes, though.

[King Postwhore]

I love Talk but nothing compares to 90125.  That's Rabin's masterpiece.   

Getting their act together has never been Yes' thing, which is probably why they have never had the same lineup for more than two albums in a row.

 

[Architeuthis]

A large portion of Yes fans would disagree, but Endless Dream kicks the ever-living snot out of Awaken. 

I'm with you on that bro!  I love Awaken, but Endless Dream is one of my favorite songs ever written by any band. ☀

[Stadler]

I still wish they would have busted out a song from Talk for that tour and the recorded concert, but oh well, what can you do?  It will be a shame if Yes featuring ARW is done, as I'd love to see them do another tour and get a little more adventurous, like playing some cool Rabin-era deep tracks like Heart, Shoot High Aim Low or I Am Waiting, but I won't hold my breath.

I think they did play I Am Waiting on another leg of the tour, and I think Hearts made an appearance or two as well.  For me, I would have loved to have seen them go really deep and bring out I'm Running, Final Eyes or Endless Dream.  Final Eyes to me felt like the Rabin equivalent to And You And I and Endless Dream is the same answer to Awaken.  Sad to think they might be done.  It's another in a string of missed opportunities for this band since the 80s.

Final Eyes might just be my favorite Rabin-era song.   Though his period in general was remarkably consistent. 

[KevShmev]

I would consider Endless Dream to be Rabin's crowning achievement in Yes, though.

 

I love Talk but nothing compares to 90125.  That's Rabin's masterpiece.   

It's a close call, but I think I prefer Talk by a slight margin, although I get why many would say 90125.

A large portion of Yes fans would disagree, but Endless Dream kicks the ever-living snot out of Awaken. 

I'm with you on that bro!  I love Awaken, but Endless Dream is one of my favorite songs ever written by any band. ☀

You and me both.  I was obsessed with that song and the whole Talk album for much of 1994 (along with The Division Bell).  And then Awake came out... What a year that was for music.

Final Eyes might just be my favorite Rabin-era song.   

I love that one, too.  Many dog Big Generator, but the two hits were both really good, and it has four legit really good//great deep cuts in Final Eyes, Shoot High Aim Low, I'm Running and Holy Lamb.  Neither the title track nor Almost Like Love are notable, but neither is bad.

[King Postwhore]

Final Eyes is the best ad ongoing on BG.

[Fritzinger]

A large portion of Yes fans would disagree, but Endless Dream kicks the ever-living snot out of Awaken. 

I don't even know how to respond to that.

[KevShmev]

A large portion of Yes fans would disagree, but Endless Dream kicks the ever-living snot out of Awaken. 

I don't even know how to respond to that.

It's best to just agree instead of disagreeing and fighting a losing cause.

[Orbert]

Endless Dream is nice, but doesn't come close to the atmosphere of Awaken.

Okay, maybe it comes close, but nothing beats Awaken.  Nothing!

[Stadler]

I love Talk but nothing compares to 90125.  That's Rabin's masterpiece.   

It's a close call, but I think I prefer Talk by a slight margin, although I get why many would say 90125.

Sorry to split hairs, but "Talk" is RABIN'S masterpiece, but 90210 is YesWEST's masterpiece, if that makes sense.   Rabin basically carried 95% of the water on Talk and that makes it an amazing achievement.  But the band worked together best on the first record.

[King Postwhore]

Dylan Mckay is still on your brain eh Stads? LOL

[Stadler]

HAHA, my high school concert buddy (who I'd love to reconnect with but can't find him after some trouble with the law) used to always call it that (and the followup, Big Penetrator).   It's stuck. 

[KevShmev]

Endless Dream is nice, but doesn't come close to the atmosphere of Awaken.

Okay, maybe it comes close, but nothing beats Awaken.  Nothing!

It's not even my favorite from that record!

That would go to Turn of the Century.

Awaken does have some glorious moments, but I just have trouble getting through it now.

Sorry to split hairs, but "Talk" is RABIN'S masterpiece, but 90210 is YesWEST's masterpiece, if that makes sense.   Rabin basically carried 95% of the water on Talk and that makes it an amazing achievement.  But the band worked together best on the first record.

Perhaps.  I'd love to hear a warmer and more organic mix of Talk, but given that it was recorded digitally, that might not be possible.  And I doubt they'd have any interest in doing so anyway given how poorly it sold at the time.

[Mladen]

Awaken is great, but I noticed that I'm not always in the mood for it. I'd much rather spin one of the first two tracks on that album.

[Orbert]

As with any epic, you have to be in the right mood for Awaken.  I mean, you don't listen to a 15 or 20 minute piece of music if you don't really feel like it, right?

That said, Turn of the Century is a killer tune as well, my second favorite from the album, and probably gets more play from me because it's shorter and I'm in the mood more often.

[KevShmev]

As with any epic, you have to be in the right mood for Awaken.  I mean, you don't listen to a 15 or 20 minute piece of music if you don't really feel like it, right?

True, but if I am in the mood for a 15-minute plus track, I am going for The Gates of Delirium, or Endless Dream, or Close to the Edge.  All three of those would be in my Yes top 10, and I don't think I'd even put Awaken in the top 25 anymore (where it was borderline back in the day).

[DTA]

Awaken is an odd one. It doesn't feel like it needs to be as long as it is, but I just can't imagine what could be shortened. Turn Of The Century however, is imo the most beautiful Yes song and the most emotionally charged song in their catalog.

[Orbert]

As with any epic, you have to be in the right mood for Awaken.  I mean, you don't listen to a 15 or 20 minute piece of music if you don't really feel like it, right?

True, but if I am in the mood for a 15-minute plus track, I am going for The Gates of Delirium, or Endless Dream, or Close to the Edge.  All three of those would be in my Yes top 10, and I don't think I'd even put Awaken in the top 25 anymore (where it was borderline back in the day).

I guess I just don't think of it that way.  Since I listen to Yes a lot, at least every couple of days if not every day, it's not a question of "do I feel like listening to a long track?" -- it's more "which album(s) do I feel like listening to?"  And since Going for the One is quite often the answer, I listen to Awaken as part of that experience.  Close to the Edge (the album) is a very close second, and sometimes first.  I tend to listen to The Gates of Delerium only when I play Relayer, which happens to be not as often.

[Fritzinger]

For me, the greatest masterpiece that Yes ever released is Relayer. And The Gates Of Delirium is their greatest song in my opinion. The way it just perfectly flows, without even one leitmotif connecting the parts.. I have no idea how they made that work. I am usually a listener who wants a song to have like a "red line" (same reason why I don't like most Marillion 15 mins+ songs, they're just too linear, except for Ocean Cloud). But with Gates, it's different. The finale of that song always has me thanking the universe that I may listen to something that beautiful. As cheesy as that sounds  Genesis' Supper's Ready has the same effect on me.

With all the talk (lol) about Close To The Edge and Awaken (which are of course masterpieces), I always feel that there is one 10 min+ song by Yes which always fall short. And that song is Machine Messiah! I absolutely love that song. The heaviness, Howe's guitar solo, the demonic reprises of the main theme.. Amazing.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

It's really hard for me not to praise CttE as Yes' finest achievement, as great as some of their other albums may be. It's one of the finest examples of prog music in general valuing songwriting and emotional significance above all else. As if the technical complexity of the title track's instrumentation was merely an afterthought, and was more concerned with the spiritual attachment music served to the human condition.

Granted, I say this acknowledging CttE is my favorite album of all time, so

[IDontNotDoThings]

My top 10 Yes tracks:
#1. Close To The Edge
#2. Heart Of The Sunrise
#3. The More We Live (Let Go)
#4. The Gates Of Delirium
#5. Machine Messiah
#6. And You And I
#7. Survival
#8. Onward
#9. The Revealing Science Of God
10. Starship Trooper

[romdrums]

My top 10 Yes tracks:
#1. Close To The Edge
#2. Heart Of The Sunrise
#3. The More We Live (Let Go)
#4. The Gates Of Delirium
#5. Machine Messiah
#6. And You And I
#7. Survival
#8. Onward
#9. The Revealing Science Of God
10. Starship Trooper

Your #3 is an interesting choice.  What about that song resonates with you? 

My Top 10:
1. Close to the Edge
2. The Gates of Delirium
3. Awaken
4. Heart of the Sunrise
5. And You And I
6. I'm Running
7. Final Eyes
8. Turn of the Century
9. South Side of the Sky
10. Endless Dream

[KevShmev]

It is tough to do a specific order of favorites (I am sure I did it already in this thread, but the order is ever-changing and some move up a little and some down a little depending on my mood), but here goes:

1. And You and I
2. The Gates of Delirium
3. Starship Trooper
4. Siberian Khatru
5. Roundabout
6. Endless Dream
7. I've Seen All Good People
8. Yours Is No Disgrace
9. Close to the Edge
10. Changes

Those top 3 are pretty set in stone for me, and I sometimes juggle the order.  Tough to leave off Heart of the Sunrise and some of my other favorites from 90125 and Talk, but with only 10 spots, it is tough.

For me, the greatest masterpiece that Yes ever released is Relayer. And The Gates Of Delirium is their greatest song in my opinion. The way it just perfectly flows, without even one leitmotif connecting the parts.. I have no idea how they made that work. I am usually a listener who wants a song to have like a "red line" (same reason why I don't like most Marillion 15 mins+ songs, they're just too linear, except for Ocean Cloud). But with Gates, it's different. The finale of that song always has me thanking the universe that I may listen to something that beautiful. As cheesy as that sounds  Genesis' Supper's Ready has the same effect on me.

With all the talk (lol) about Close To The Edge and Awaken (which are of course masterpieces), I always feel that there is one 10 min+ song by Yes which always fall short. And that song is Machine Messiah! I absolutely love that song. The heaviness, Howe's guitar solo, the demonic reprises of the main theme.. Amazing.

Machine Messiah is definitely pretty great.

And I agree about The Gates of Delirium.  I love how the ending is so different from the rest of the song.  It's the calm after the chaotic storm of the battle section.  Utter brilliance.

[Stadler]

Not married to the order - and like Kev, I'm sure I have another list that contradicts this elsewhere in the thread, but right now:

1. Turn Of The Century (text book example of the marriage of music and words)
2. Heart Of The Sunrise
3. Love Will Find A Way (that riff...)
4. Tempus Fugit
5. Starship Trooper
6. And You And I
7. Yours Is No Disgrace
8. South Side Of The Sky
9. The Prophet
10a. The Calling
10b. Into The Storm

Coulda made the list:
- America
- The Revealing Science of God
- On The Silent Wings Of Freedom
- Lift Me Up (I know what it's about, but nonetheless, it's the song I would love to have played at any memorial service for me)