The Official Yes Thread

[KevShmev]

That's what I am saying.  Rush might not have said, "Charge this much money," but I am sure that is negotiated ahead of time, and even if it wasn't their idea to charge the current prices, they probably had no problem signing on the dotted line.  And I don't blame them.  They deserve it.

[King Postwhore]

I agree with Kev.  I think Rush is striking right now while their hot and they are getting all these accolades where they didn't before.  It's now cool to say, I like Rush!" and when they pulled 13 to 18 thousand in the 90's, today at 9 to 10k they are upping their revenue.

[darkshade]

since the casual fans who used to frequent their shows back then seemed to be casual fans then because they had loss interest in the band post-MP

Mike Portnoy left Rush???

[ytserush]

I agree with Kev.  I think Rush is striking right now while their hot and they are getting all these accolades where they didn't before.  It's now cool to say, I like Rush!" and when they pulled 13 to 18 thousand in the 90's, today at 9 to 10k they are upping their revenue.

That's where the money is.

It's also the reason Clockwork Angels will come out in 2012.

[The Letter M]

So I just found out that Circa are set to release their third album this summer, entitled And So On, and while only Sherwood and Kaye are the only Yesmen still in the band, they now feature Johnny Bruhns on guitars after the disbandment of Yoso and Jimmy Haun going back to work on his own stuff, as well as Ronnie Ciago on drums (whose credentials speak for themselves when names like Brand X and Patrick Moraz are involved!).

In other Yes/Asia related news, Asia feat. John Payne are set to release their first studio album Americana, with Mitch Perry (guitars), Jay Schellen (drums), and Erik Norlander (keyboards). They have a 3-album deal with Sony Music Japan, so it'll be interesting to see what they come up with!

Related to THAT, GPS (Govan/Payne/Schellen) also have a 3-album deal, with InsideOut Music, and are set to release their 2nd album (after their wonderful debut Window To The Soul), entitled Dreamscape, which should be out later this year as well.

It's been a busy and fruitful time in the Yes/Asia world, between releases in the last year from Yes, Anderson/Wakeman, Yoso, and Asia, and these upcoming releases from GPS, Asia Feat. John Payne, and Circa, and the rumors of Anderson/Wakeman working with Rabin, it's a good time to be a Yesfan across the spectrum!

-Marc.

[Nick]

I'll definitely be picking up the new GPS album, Window to the Soul was quite good.

[Orbert]

I'm not familiar with GPS, but I have both Circa albums and they're quite good, so I'm looking forward to a new album from them.

[The Letter M]

I'm not familiar with GPS, but I have both Circa albums and they're quite good, so I'm looking forward to a new album from them.

Indeed, and Sherwood and Kaye play well together!

Definitely check out GPS if you like John Payne, one of my favorite bassist/vocalist performers (right there with Geddy Lee and John Wetton) and the album is packed with awesome prog-tinged AOR, like a heavier Asia, and their debut album features Ryo Okumoto on keyboards!

-Marc.

[Orbert]

Sounds tasty.  I will check them out.

[Orbert]

Ladies And Gentlemen, Mister Ryo Okumoto On The Keyboards!

[ZBomber]

Listening to the new album now. Still on the title track, but I'm really liking it so far. Its not something I would consider material of the year, but it exceeds my expectations. Especially given how terrible they sound live now.

[The Letter M]

I'm not familiar with GPS, but I have both Circa albums and they're quite good, so I'm looking forward to a new album from them.

Bump! I've listened to the new Circa a couple times, and it's pretty good! It's kind of more-of-the-same for them, but it's still good-same, if you get my meaning.

I've been listening to them a LOT lately, since the new album came out last month. It's kind of sickening, but going through their whole, I've actually found new appreciation for albums like Union and Big Generator. However, Open Your Eyes is still definitely bottom-tier; I still find their first two albums more entertaining.
As for their post-Drama work, the 3 Rabin albums are pretty good, and I still wish Rhino would remaster Big Generator and release a FULL/Complete audio show from the 90125 Tour (ya know, as well as remaster Yessongs and Yesshows).

Their 90's albums are pretty good, and I often wonder had the Keys studio material been released on ONE album under Jon's working title of Know (which is a funny title, since it's homo-phonic to "no", the opposite of "yes"), would Rick have stayed in the band? It was definitely good enough to be all on one album, and I think they could've made a good come back with it had they toured on that material.

Unfortunately, the band moved on without Wakeman and created the not-so-great Open Your Eyes. Fortunately, they went on to make The Ladder, which has grown on me considerably in the last few weeks. There's a lots of really good playing on there, and it really sounds like a solid meshing of 70's poppy-Yes and 80's Yes, with some heavier/darker bits thrown in.

Magnification has actually grown on me more too, and is quite a bit better than I last remembered it being. Except for the oddball OYE, all the 90's Yes albums (Union to The Ladder) are actually quite good, and I always adore Talk and have liked it a lot more than Big Generator, but listening to BG lately, it's a bit closer now. BG has some good material on it, it's just a bit harder to follow a great album like 90125.

-Marc.

[Orbert]

Nice summary of their later stuff.  I pretty much agree with all of it.

Have you heard the latest, Fly From Here?  If so, what do you think?

[The Letter M]

Nice summary of their later stuff.  I pretty much agree with all of it.

Have you heard the latest, Fly From Here?  If so, what do you think?

I really enjoy FFH, and it's the sequel to Drama that never was. Had that line-up made another album, this would've been it! Well, with Benoit instead of Trevor behind the mic, this is as close as to Drama-Yes we could ever have again, and as a HUGE fan of Drama, this is a great album. There are 2 things that stick out to me - Steve Howe's guitar playing is phenomenal, and Benoit does a good job of performing on his first Yes studio album! Sadly enough, as a drummer, I am not too terribly excited by Alan White's drumming. It's good and works fine for the music but it's not like Drama-good. As for Downes and Squire, they do pretty well, but I feel their performances on Drama were better. Nothing really stuck out to me about Chris's bass playing. However, Geoff's keyboards provide the PERFECT sound and atmosphere to the album and really help that Drama-feeling.

The title track/suite is expansive, but is a bit disjointed and feels less cohesive than any of their side-length suites/epics/tracks, even compared to "Mind Drive" and "That, That Is", particularly with the fade-in of "Part IV - Bumpy Ride", which sounds a bit tacky to me. The playing is good-to-great, but some of the material is a bit mediocre. It's hard to tell if the odd-meters seem forced or if they're natural, because they're scattered throughout the album, but it's hard to tell if it's the sugar-on-top to sweeten the album, making it tastier to prog-fans who crave something sweet... or if it's the sugar-baked-in, made and mixed in the pieces and not an after-thought.

Either way, the songs have some catchy hooks, good or bad ("Life On A Film Set" and it's nagging "riding a tiger" lyric...), and the production is top-notch. I think it will age pretty well with me, and sits at about the same place Yes' previous 2 albums would sit, despite being 3 very different albums by 3 different line-ups, but it's Yes - the band that's never released more than 2 consecutive studio albums with the same line-up!

If you are one of those fans that count ABWH as the 13th Yes album, and Keystudio as their 16th, that would make Fly From Here the band's 20th album, and being the end of a group of 10, mirrors the release of Drama, but instead of being the end of an era of Yes, Fly From Here sounds like the beginning of something new for them. If this line-up manages one or two more studio albums. I think they'll get to say all that is left, and they've still some time to put out good, or better material. I read that Squire is looking forward to doing a follow-up, and as a fan of FFH, I await their output (hopefully before the end of 2015!).

EDIT - Also, the full version of "Hour Of Need" is just spectacular! My playlist for FFH includes it instead of the normal, shorter version. I just love the explosive intro and outro!

-Marc.

[Orbert]

Once again, we are in agreement.  The title suite isn't really an "epic" to me.  An epic isn't just "a long piece of music" but to me it should be more cohesive, like "Close to the Edge".  That song has sections, but there's much better flow to the whole thing, a lot more musical themes reappearing and referencing each other, even going into variations.  "Fly From Here" is very obviously pieced together, and has almost no flow to it.  At first I wondered why they presented it as six separate tracks, rather than one track with little Roman numerals on the lyric sheet as they've done in the past, but it's pretty obvious now.  It really is six separate pieces.

Others have commented on the drums.  If you listen, Alan is slamming them, but for some reason they pretty much buried him in the mix.  I hadn't really thought about it, but I don't remember many Squire moments.  I did notice that Steve Howe is all over the place, as usual.

Interesting observation about this album and Drama each ending a round of ten albums.  They're definitely two of a kind, both with a lot of Buggles sound to them, and Benoit David even sounds a bit like Trevor Horn to me.

[Orbert]

What?  There's a longer version of "Hour of Need"?  This is the first I've heard.

Also, I forgot to mention one observation about the new album.  It's very good, well-produced (except for the lack of punch in the drums), but it isn't really "proggy".  Pretty skimpy with the instrumental pyrotechnics, and the arrangements and time signatures are pretty conservative.  In that respect, it's pretty tame for a Yes album.

[The Letter M]

Interesting observation about this album and Drama each ending a round of ten albums.  They're definitely two of a kind, both with a lot of Buggles sound to them, and Benoit David even sounds a bit like Trevor Horn to me.

Indeed, and looking at the Yes albums in groups of 5 (rather than 10), I noticed that the 5th album at the end of each cycle marks the end of something - CTTE marked the end of Bill Bruford and that "classic" line-up; Drama marked the end of 70's proggy Yes; Talk marked the end of the Rabin-era Yes, even though ABWH is counted in there and Union wasn't entirely with Rabin; and FFH is another landmark between eras of Yes.

What?  There's a longer version of "Hour of Need"?  This is the first I've heard.

Also, I forgot to mention one observation about the new album.  It's very good, well-produced (except for the lack of punch in the drums), but it isn't really "proggy".  Pretty skimpy with the instrumental pyrotechnics, and the arrangements and time signatures are pretty conservative.  In that respect, it's pretty tame for a Yes album.

Yep! The longer version is about 6:45 long and features an intro and outro that was cut from the regular version. It was released on the Japanese version of the album.

Also, it is a big conservative as a Yes album, but to me not any more so than The Ladder or Magnification. It's almost a BIT similar to something Circa: would release.

I really like "Into The Storm", though, and being credited to 6 Yes-men, it's a great look at what these guys are still capable of, performance and writing wise. I hope their next album is a bit more balanced and isn't a bunch of Howe-demos and Horn/Downes-demos tossed together under the Yes-name.

-Marc.

[Orbert]

This blows.  I couldn't find Fly From Here in any stores, so I ordered it online.  If I had known, I would've gone ahead and ordered the import version.  I hate it when there's different versions of songs like that.  Also, the Japanese seem to always get the "extra" stuff.

[The Letter M]

This blows.  I couldn't find Fly From Here in any stores, so I ordered it online.  If I had known, I would've gone ahead and ordered the import version.  I hate it when there's different versions of songs like that.  Also, the Japanese seem to always get the "extra" stuff.

I know, right?! It should have just been on the regular, world-wide released 2-Disc version of the album anyway.

-Marc.

[Orbert]

Wow!

I found the extended "Hour of Need" and downloaded it.  It's awesome.  The short version on the album is fine; it's a nice little song.  Acoustic guitar is cool, nice harmonies, etc.

But with the extra intro and outro turn, it's a mini-suite, a Steve Howe showcase.  Full band, with Steve taking the lead all over the place.  Considering that Steve is the one veteran Yesman who's really on fire on this album, I think it was a dumb move to just go with the short version, the main song.  Yeah, the intro and outro are optional, but look what it does to the song, and the balance of the album as a whole.  You have the title suite, and some other songs.  The other songs are fine, but as mentioned, none are particularly adventurous.  "Into the Storm" is cool, but almost seems to end just as it's picking up steam.  Including the long version of "Hour of Need" shifts the balance from the other songs just being there and filling things out (not that they're filler -- you know what I mean) to having some real substance of their own.  It's not just a handful of songs, one of which gets kinda proggy, and the token Howe acoustic solo thrown in.  It becomes a handful of songs, some which get kinda proggy, plus a Howe acoustic solo.  Yes, I feel like it really affects the balance that much.

I don't know.  The album felt to me like it just needed a little something to push it from a 7 (pretty good) to an 8 (really good) and this might've been it.

[The Letter M]

Wow!

I found the extended "Hour of Need" and downloaded it.  It's awesome.  The short version on the album is fine; it's a nice little song.  Acoustic guitar is cool, nice harmonies, etc.

But with the extra intro and outro turn, it's a mini-suite, a Steve Howe showcase.  Full band, with Steve taking the lead all over the place.  Considering that Steve is the one veteran Yesman who's really on fire on this album, I think it was a dumb move to just go with the short version, the main song.  Yeah, the intro and outro are optional, but look what it does to the song, and the balance of the album as a whole.  You have the title suite, and some other songs.  The other songs are fine, but as mentioned, none are particularly adventurous.  "Into the Storm" is cool, but almost seems to end just as it's picking up steam.  Including the long version of "Hour of Need" shifts the balance from the other songs just being there and filling things out (not that they're filler -- you know what I mean) to having some real substance of their own.  It's not just a handful of songs, one of which gets kinda proggy, and the token Howe acoustic solo thrown in.  It becomes a handful of songs, some which get kinda proggy, plus a Howe acoustic solo.  Yes, I feel like it really affects the balance that much.

I don't know.  The album felt to me like it just needed a little something to push it from a 7 (pretty good) to an 8 (really good) and this might've been it.

 

The full version of "Hour Of Need" definitely stepped up the album for me, and improved "Side 2" considerably. It does add a bit more to the album as a whole. Now if only Howe's contribution to the title suite, "Bumpy Ride" didn't simply fade in and actually had a proper segue/intro to it, the album might be as good as I could imagine it being.

Like I said before, though, it's about as good as the band's previous two albums, a little under Know/Keystudio, but still a step above Talk and Union. The band, as it is now, definitely have room to improve and release a killer album after this, so I hope they take advantage of that and give us one more masterpiece!

-Marc.

[Orbert]

Agreed.  I'd love to see what this band can do after touring this material, working together for a while, and hopefully really gelling as a band.

[Plasmastrike]

With Yes, the only album I've gotten into is Close To The Edge. I'm not sure why. Their other material (Relayer, Topographic, Fragile) is all great, but difficult to consume for some reason. None touched me like CTTE.

Fly From Here on the other hand is fantastic! I'm giving it a really proper listen this morning. Great melodies, and I love this guy on vocals. It can't be the same guy from the past.

EDIT: I believe I'll divulge into Topographic for the second time tonight. I remember enjoying it more than the others, though it kind of blends together at this point.

[Pols Voice]

I love how expansive Topographic is. You can just get lost in that album. The more you listen, the more you hear musical themes repeated in different ways. One of my favorite Yes moments is The Remembering from 17:33 to the end. That one gives me chills.

By the way, Yes is my favorite band, but I still don't have Fly from Here. *hangs head in shame*

[lonestar]

I love how expansive Topographic is. You can just get lost in that album. The more you listen, the more you hear musical themes repeated in different ways. One of my favorite Yes moments is The Remembering from 17:33 to the end. That one gives me chills.

By the way, Yes is my favorite band, but I still don't have Fly from Here. *hangs head in shame*

Agreed.  I have been listening to that album for twenty years, and still get lost in it, and I look forward to another twenty years.  Such a masterpiece.

[Sketchy]

You guys reminded me to go and listen to Drama again. It's really cool. Tales is by far my favourite though.

[The Letter M]

You guys reminded me to go and listen to Drama again. It's really cool. Tales is by far my favourite though.

I love Drama - it's a great showcase for Chris Squire. And the Rhino Remaster is really good (not that I've heard any CD version prior to it...). Squire is really out there in the mix and puts on a powerful performance. I was a bit disappointed when the mix for Fly From Here didn't include a punchy/powerful bass mix like Drama, but instead, Steve Howe is the shining star for FFH.

Anyway, Drama is a great album and every song is different and unique, even with the Buggles contributions, they add the new-age/electronic flavor that really breathed new life into the core trio of Howe/Squire/White, who seemed a bit lifeless on Tormato.

-Marc.

[Silver Tears]

I've been meaning to ask you Yes experts for some recommendations. I fairly recently listened to Fragile after years of meaning to get round to listening to Yes and absolutely loved it so wanna check out the rest of their stuff, but their discography looks massive so instead of me randomly jumping in somewhere if you could point me in the right direction as to what album I should get next, I'd really appreciate it!

[The Letter M]

I've been meaning to ask you Yes experts for some recommendations. I fairly recently listened to Fragile after years of meaning to get round to listening to Yes and absolutely loved it so wanna check out the rest of their stuff, but their discography looks massive so instead of me randomly jumping in somewhere if you could point me in the right direction as to what album I should get next, I'd really appreciate it!

It's hard to say. Yes fans can vary - there are those who love nearly all their albums, while some are picky. I say, if you liked Fragile, try The Yes Album (their 3rd) and Going For The One (their 8th). I'd say they are pretty similar in form and a bit in sound, but they feature different line-ups.

Fact - There have been no more than 2 consecutive studio albums by Yes with the same line-up, meaning after 2 albums (at most), the line-up changes. However, Chris Squire has remained throughout every album (not counting ABWH, though, as some might consider it part of the Yes canon).

With that fact in mind, the ever-changing line-ups create some very different sounding albums back-to-back. The run of Close To The Edge-Tales From Topographic Oceans-Relayer-Going For The One is amazing, but each album has a different sound from it's surrounding albums as each has a different line-up.

I say, if you get through TYA and GFTO, try CTTE and Relayer (their two 3-song albums of similar structure), and then after that, try Tormato and Drama.

-Marc.

[Sigz]

I'd say go with The Yes Album and then Close to the Edge, but I'm not as familiar with their later discography as M obviously is.

[Silver Tears]

Thanks Marc, what a great post I'll try out The Yes Album next then. I'm not really aware of all the members/changing line up but I've heard of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, is that worth checking out too?

[The Letter M]

Thanks Marc, what a great post I'll try out The Yes Album next then. I'm not really aware of all the members/changing line up but I've heard of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, is that worth checking out too?

While I'm sure many fans of Fragile/Close To The Edge rejoiced when they heard Jon Anderson would rejoin Howe, Wakeman and Bruford for a band, I'll admit that the sound of the ABWH album isn't what I expected from 4/5ths of the band that put out the aforementioned Yes albums. ABWH has some interesting arrangements and Bruford's electronic drum sounds definitely date the album to the 80s, but if that line-up interests you, it might be worth checking out. It's good, for what it was, but you would be better off exploring Yes from their 3rd to their 8th albums first, which I (along with many fans) consider their core 70's-Prog discography. I might even suggest their first two albums before suggesting ABWH, as certain tracks on there show some of the raw power that was the Bruford/Squire rhythm section!

-Marc.

[Silver Tears]

Ok I'll do some digging into Yes first  Thanks so much for the responses, I really like knowing these details about a band before I get into them but it's not much fun trawling through wikipedia or something for the info, much better getting it first hand from a fan 

[The Letter M]

Ok I'll do some digging into Yes first  Thanks so much for the responses, I really like knowing these details about a band before I get into them but it's not much fun trawling through wikipedia or something for the info, much better getting it first hand from a fan 

Glad I could help! Yes definitely falls into my Top 5 Favorite Bands of All Time, and I'd like to think I've got a good handle on their discography, albums, musical styles and the changes they've all gone through that're reflected in their music. Like you, I started with Fragile, and I fell in love with the album's 3 longer tracks ("Heart Of The Sunrise", "Roundabout" and "South Side Of The Sky"), and the solo-pieces were intriguing to say the least, but when I came to Close To The Edge, it was a bit dense for me. I enjoyed The Yes Album far more, as the songs were in the 6-10 minute range and were a bit easier to digest. The title track of "Close To The Edge" was a lot to swallow at the time, but it became a massive grower for me. The other two tracks were instantly loved, though, and "And You And I" is just magical to me.

I think if you can get through, understand and enjoy The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge, you can try to absorb Tales From Topographic Oceans. It's a 4-song album, each song being side-length (18-22 minutes each), and it's got a LOT of music that takes even the most seasoned prog-fan awhile to absorb and understand, but if you give it a chance (like I did), each listen becomes more and more rewarding! (Then again, you can say that about any Yes album, depending on your patience and your tastes lol)

-Marc.

[Sigz]

I've had TFTO for like two years and I still have really only gotten into the first song. It's an absurdly dense album.