The Official Yes Thread

[KevShmev]

I like most of the Keystudio tracks, but I am not nutty over any of them, like a lot of Yes fans are for "Mind Drive."  Good collection of songs; nothing more, nothing less.  I am happy to have gotten the live CDs at the time, though, as the live versions of "America" and "Onward" are stellar.

[The Letter M]

I like most of the Keystudio tracks, but I am not nutty over any of them, like a lot of Yes fans are for "Mind Drive."  Good collection of songs; nothing more, nothing less.  I am happy to have gotten the live CDs at the time, though, as the live versions of "America" and "Onward" are stellar.

I agree. The live tracks are all pretty good, overdubs or not, there's some spectacular versions of songs on here. I really really enjoy "Time And A Word" and "And You And I". For me, some of these tracks are the definitive live versions of these songs. I'm quite happy I spent the time to remix the album in concert-order with proper cross-fades of audience noise between songs.

Disc 1 (74:34)
1. Siberian Khatru (10:14)
2. Close To The Edge (19:34)
3. I've Seen All Good People (7:06)
4. Time And A Word (6:26)
5. And You And I (10:38)
6. The Revealing Science of God (20:26)

Disc 2 (69:14)
1. Going For The One (5:06)
2. Turn Of The Century (7:58)
3. America (10:26)
4. Onward (5:39)
5. Awaken (18:25)
6. Roundabout (8:26)
7. Starship Trooper (13:04)

The running order is pretty good too. A nice flow to the whole concert and the way it happen to fit on two discs is pretty amazing, especially ending the first disc with TRSOG and opening the second disc with GFTO. Also, I like that we get the entire album of CTTE live, as well as half of GFTO (the other two songs we already had on Yesshows - "Parallels" and "Wonderous Stories"), as well as "Onward" and "America", and a rocking version of "Starship Trooper".

Like I said before, they really dropped the ball on the re-release by not re-mixing the album to proper concert-order...I'm sure a lot of fans would've shelled out the clams for the set. I know I would have, even though I have my own home-made album of the live tracks.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I kind of wish I still had those live CDs, but I ripped the songs I wanted from them and sold them to a used CD store years ago.  Oh well, I don't listen to live albums that much anyway. The only reason I listen to "Onward" and "America" often is because they both obliterate the originals, or in the case of the latter, the live version kills their original studio cover.

I still think The Ladder is quite good and very underrated.  I think it is the best thing they did post-1994.

[ytserush]

I've got the original Keys I and II.   

I've never bothered with any of the subsequent reissues relating to both of those.

Is there anything new that's come out from that period since then?

I suppose I should just do my own Keys Studio and put the live perfromance back together at some point. I'm not sure I why I haven't done that before anyway as the live tracks are pretty awesome.

[King Postwhore]

I do like the production of the Keys 2 studio songs better than Keys 1 studio songs.

[The Letter M]

I do like the production of the Keys 2 studio songs better than Keys 1 studio songs.

I read a review somewhere that said they thought the mix on Keystudio was different than the tracks released on the two KTA albums in that the keyboards were brought out a bit more. Doing a bit of a side-by-side, I could tell there was a bit of difference.

I think since they went ahead and threw back Wakeman's intro to "Children Of Light" they went ahead and did a BIT of remixing on the whole album before releasing it, if anything, to at least sound more cohesive and have an even mix on all 7 songs.

-Marc.

[King Postwhore]

I find the bass in Keys 2 to be brighter and fuller in sound and more in the front of the mix which I love.

[SoundscapeMN]

"Mind Drive" is the best song or more or less any work, since Drama.



https://yesworld.com/

[Orbert]

It's really just eight new songs.  They're counting "Living Tree (Parts 1 & 2)" as two songs.


Okay seriously, this is pretty sweet.  But I have some mixed feelings about the whole thing.  Jon and Rick have worked together for a long, long time, mostly within the Yes framework, and I expect this album to sound pretty much like some of the mellower Yes tunes, or mellower sections of Yes songs.  That would actually be my preference.  But if that turns out to be the case, then I can only wonder why these two are the two that held out from rejoining Yes for the new tour and album.  What, so they could go off by themselves and make Yeslike music?

[skydivingninja]

Yeah, this whole thing with Jon and Rick (mostly Jon) is really freaking weird.  I just don't get it.

[Quadrochosis]

I'm excited for this! Can't wait to hear it.

[The Letter M]

https://www.facebook.com/TheJonAnderson

Samples of the album are on his Facebook... Eh. I'm not sure if I am equally or less excited about this than I am about the next Yes album with Oliver and Benoit.

-Marc.

[King Postwhore]

Marc, what I realy want to hear is Rabin/Wakeman.  They've talked about working together for years.

[The Letter M]

Marc, what I realy want to hear is Rabin/Wakeman.  They've talked about working together for years.

I agree!!! I kept reading rumors earlier this summer for something involving Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman. I jokingly suggested it be called WAR, as a subtle jab at the Squire/Howe/White/David/Wakeman Yes that's touring about. They could get Tony Levin to play bass and maybe convince Bruford to "come out of retirement" to play drums. Then they could be BRAWL.

Either way, I think a Rabin/Wakeman collaboration would be more interesting anything Squire/Howe/White could come up with, but we all know what fans really want - the classic Anderson/Squire/Howe/White/Wakeman lineup...

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Anything Jon Anderson does with Rick Wakeman and/or Trevor Rabin will be infinitely more interesting and anticipated by this Yes fan than anything those guys calling themselves Yes these days do. 

Also, it is easy for us to say, "Why don't they all just work together," but it is not that easy.  You have to figure that Anderson had a major falling out with Squire and/or Howe.  It's the only thing that makes any sense. 

[Orbert]

Yeah, he wanted to take a break, and the other guys wanted to keep working.

[Scard]

Yeah, he wanted to take a break, and the other guys wanted to keep working.

I see what you did there....I think...


Unless that IS what happened...

[skydivingninja]

It kinda is what happened, actually.  Wakeman has arthritis, so the doctors told him not to play live, and Jon had some serious asthma attack, so he couldn't sing for a while, but the other three wanted to tour, so they got Wakeman's son and Benoit Oliver and got on the road.

[ZBomber]

I'm looking forward to Wakeman/Anderson much more than the newest Yes-Lite band.

I saw they had some European tourdates, hope we get some US ones.

[glaurung]

Maybe I don't get it because I haven't been a fan of the band for years and haven't seen them live yet but what's so bad about the current Yes?

[ZBomber]

Maybe I don't get it because I haven't been a fan of the band for years and haven't seen them live yet but what's so bad about the current Yes?

They aren't good live at all. Oliver is no where near his dad's skill level and Benoit's voice ranges from good to bad to completely off key.

The rest of the band have also aged well.... not so pleasantly. Most of the songs are slowed down a lot.

[Zook]

I've been meaning to check out this band as I've heard so many great things about them. One of them being that they heavily influenced my favorite band Dream Theater. I was looking for best of albums on Amazon and based on reviews for them, they aren't really best ofs. A reviewer recommended the live album Yessongs. As a new listener, would I enjoy them live? I don't listen to much 70s prog. Thanks.

[Plasmastrike]

Honestly, I would say just listsen to the album "Close To The Edge."

[The Letter M]

I've been meaning to check out this band as I've heard so many great things about them. One of them being that they heavily influenced my favorite band Dream Theater. I was looking for best of albums on Amazon and based on reviews for them, they aren't really best ofs. A reviewer recommended the live album Yessongs. As a new listener, would I enjoy them live? I don't listen to much 70s prog. Thanks.

I think hearing them in a live context definitely shows how good of a band they are on stage, which isn't usually too far off from how they sound in the studio.

If you want to try your luck with a live album, definitely get Yessongs. Definitely one of the best live records of a 70's prog band (right up there with ELP's Welcome Back My Friends and Genesis' Seconds Out.

As for a studio album, I would suggest Fragile and Close To The Edge. With the former, you get an album that's basically 4 songs by the band and 5 compositions, one by each member, that show cases their talents; with the latter, you get their nearly universally praised album, comprised of only 3 songs and their first side-long epic, the title track.

I started with Yes on those two albums, in addition to their 6th album, the lengthy "concept" Tales From Topographic Oceans, comprised of only 4 side-long tracks that definitely challenge the listener. Even 37 years later, some fans have trouble getting into this album while others dive right into it and absorb every bit of it. It just really depends on your mind and your patience.

Beyond those three albums, it just really depends on whether or not you like them, then I'd say go two albums in either direction - back to The Yes Album and Time And A Word, or forward to Relayer and Going For The One. Most fans will tell you their "classic period" runs The Yes Album-Going For The One, and that their first two albums and their two after GFTO are more for those who really enjoy the band/are die-hards.

Either way, each Yes album definitely has something different to offer and they're all a bit different characteristically, so it's not like you're listening to the same album over and over.

-Marc.

[Zook]

Thanks guys. So what's the general opinion among prog fans on Owner Of a Lonely Heart? Is it Yes' I Walk Beside You or is it still well liked among all Yes fans?

[ZBomber]

Owner is probably their most commercial song, but i still think its a good one. However, its a pretty big departure from the "prog" era.

I would start with Close to the Edge or Fragile, as those are probably your two best bets. I'd save the live albums for after when you are more familiar with the studio versions.

[LudwigVan]

Even though it's not bad, I don't think that Owner Of A Lonely Heart qualifies as a song that influenced DT.   You might actually like the hard-driving sound of Yes' Drama album.  DT covered Machine Messiah on their last YJR release.

[The Letter M]

Even though it's not bad, I don't think that Owner Of A Lonely Heart qualifies as a song that influenced DT.   You might actually like the hard-driving sound of Yes' Drama album.  I think DT covered Machine Messiah on their last YJR release.

Drama is a pretty heavy album, but it doesn't have the band's lead vocalist, Jon Anderson. The band on Drama is actually half of Yes and half of The Buggles ("Video Killed The Radio Star"), but what they turned out was pretty fantastic, especially after the very lackluster Tormato. It's a good album but I wouldn't suggest anyone to START their Yes journey with it.

And yes, Dream Theater covered about a third of the opening track from the album, "Machine Messiah" performed only instrumentally before segueing into "Trial Of Tears" on their tour opening for Yes back in the early naughties.

If you like what you hear (of samples) of Drama, I'd say go ahead, but I'd still suggest Fragile and Close To The Edge, or the heavier/harder-edged Relayer, one of my personal favorites.

As for "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", it's not BAD. I actually happen to LIKE 90125, and it's a pretty solid record, and miles better than it's follow up Big Generator. However, of the 3 Rabin-era albums, I like Talk the most, but only by a hair over 90125, but Rabin-era Yes is an entirely different monster than their classic, 70's output (like comparing Collins-Era Genesis to Gabriel-Era Genesis).

-Marc.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I love 90125 and like Big Generator a lot.  I got into Yes growing up in the 80s through the hits from those two albums, so that probably helps a lot.  Regardless, both are damn fine pop rock records.

Talk is still the best Rabin-era record, though, and a top 5 Yes record in my eyes.

[ZBomber]

Listening to 90125 a lot lately... I'm really getting a new appreciation for it. Its finally starting to click.

But I still think BG is the better record.

[King Postwhore]

Listening to 90125 a lot lately... I'm really getting a new appreciation for it. Its finally starting to click.

But I still think BG is the better record.

90125, at the time in 1983, production seem light years ahead of its time.  For me it's a hair better than Talk.  I also agree that Fragile and Close To the Edge is what Zook should try and that Drama is a fantasic album.  Marc is right with the heavyness for a Yes album.  

[Orbert]

Thanks guys. So what's the general opinion among prog fans on Owner Of a Lonely Heart? Is it Yes' I Walk Beside You or is it still well liked among all Yes fans?

After Drama, Yes had broken up again.  Anderson and Wakeman had left after Tormato, and The Buggles replaced them for Drama, but while the album was solid, the tour was a disaster and it was time to take a break.

Later, a guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist named Trevor Rabin was starting up a new band called Cinema, and Chris Squire and Alan White were to be his rhythm section.  Original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye was brought in, then Jon Anderson.  With the band 4/5 former Yes members (they insist that it was just worked out that way, as they all knew each other and Yes was seemingly no more), the suits pushed Rabin to call the band Yes.  He didn't want to, as he knew he would ultimately be compared to Steve Howe, and would be accused of "changing the Yes sound" and all that.  The suits pointed out that putting Yes on the cover would virtually guarantee much higher sales, plus they weren't going to back the album otherwise.  So he caved.

The lead single was "Owner of a Lonely Heart", Yes' first #1 single, Rabin was ultimately compared to Steve Howe and accused of changing the Yes sound, and in a twist of fate, also applauded for resurrecting Yes.  I think 90125 is solid, but the three Rabin-led Yes albums (the others are Big Generator and Talk) rank pretty low overall IMO in the Yes catalogue.

[Seventh Son]

I like Big Generator and Talk a good bit myself.

[Orbert]

They are good albums, no doubt.  But I rarely listen to them, because when I'm in the mood for Yes, there are just too many others that I prefer.  Maybe I'm just a prog snob, but there's something, some element missing from them.

I think it's because each of them has Trevor Rabin's stamp all over them.  That's not a bad thing by itself, but the best Yes music is very collaborative, very much a fusion of everyone's musical ideas and strengths.  90125, Big Generator, and Talk are Rabin solo albums with Yes as the backing band.

[pmahoney1337]

I haven't seen many people mention the Yes album "The Ladder" (atleast in the first few pages. How do other Yes fans feel about this album? I have loved it for as long as i've been a Yes fan (which is a little under a year). I've been loving Yes for as long as i've been into them and im looking forward to learning to more about their music.