Yes - Yes Album
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Free Music Notes for Yes Album
Free Music Review: No disgrace indeed
Hit: 5 Stars
I had originally written this review on my old site. I updated it and got rid of the errors. I hope you like the review, but more importantly, I hope you enjoy the album as much as I have for many years.
With the advent of Steve Howe on guitar, Yes would begin the tranisition of a semi-psychedellic semi-folk band to a progressive rock band. To be fair to original guitarist Peter Banks, he was a competent rhythm guitarist (his best moment is perhaps "Astral Traveller") but Howe's more versatile playing would force rings around Banks'. This would also be keyboardist Tony Kaye's last album until 90125 (he was a great organist but lacked the technological knowhow that future keyboardists like Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz, Geoff Downes and Igor Khoroshev would possess). The opener "Yours Is No Disgrace" opens with a bold introduction, the 1st verse does not appear until nearly 2 minutes into the song. Howe plays different parts on different guitars and bassist Chris Squire plays bass almost like a 6-string guitar (his early influnences of Paul McCartney and John Entwistle would show up here). Also, Jon Anderson would show more growth as a singer. Tony Kaye's contributions on organ also fit in well (he uses a moog synthesizer at the end of the song). Following is Steve Howe's acoustic guitar piece called "Clap." For many years, this song was pressed onto LP and CD as "The Clap," much to the chagrin and resentment of Howe (I can just picture reviews "Get The Clap and many others on The Yes Album!"). Folk and blues are blended quite well here (there also exists a studio version of this song on this CD). On this release, there is also a studio version of "Clap" not on the original LP. Following that is Yes' masterpiece "Starship Trooper," which would feature Yes' signature key and tempo changes and Jon Anderson's semi-vague, sci-fi lyrics featured in the "Life Seeker" segment ("Speak to me of summer, long winters longer than time can remember," "starship trooper, go sailing on by," and "what I don't know, I have never heard" are examples). Chris Squire also proved to be a great harmonist, you can hear him singing along with Anderson on the "Disillusion" segment. Finally, Howe ends with a catchy riff played over and over again on the "Wurm" segment (I don't know if this influenced Lynyrd Skynyrd but their closing jam on "Free Bird" is reminiscent of this). "I've Seen All Good People" became one of Yes' 1st "hits." The opening segment "Your Move" talks about a chess game "Move me onto any black square... don't surround yourself with yourself." There is also mention of several John Lennon/Beatles references "All we are saying is give peace a chance" and "send an instant kharma to me." The 2nd part features a catchy bass line by Squire and the line "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way." The song closes with the chorus sung 2 keys lower each time (One disk jockey confessed that once while playing "I've Seen All Good People" on the radio, he turned off the phonograph at the fadeout of that song and the station manager reprimanded him!). "A Venture" sounds like an outtake from earlier albums, it was the only song not featured in live performances. "Perpetual Change" is the last song on the original album. The live version would give Bill Bruford an outlet for a drum solo. Also included on this release are single versions of "Starship Trooper (Life Seeker)" and "Your Move." This album would point the direction where Yes was heading on future albums.
Free Music Review: Just in Time
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't think the members of Yes knew it, but supposedly Atlantic Records were getting ready to let them go after their first two releases. Luckily for all of us, Yes left no doubt in the minds of Atlantic big-wigs as to just how good they could be. I bought this album after enjoying Fragile for a couple of months. I still remember the first time I heard the opening of "Yours Is No Disgrace." After the multi-layered intro reaches its peak, Yes starts an unforgettable groove with Howe and Wakeman providing intertwining melodies. It's a very confident song right from the first lyrics. Clocking in at 9:41, "Yours Is No Disgrace" was a sign of things to come as far as the length of Yes' songs go. The second track is, "Clap" a solo acoustic guitar instrumental by newcomer Steve Howe. "Clap" is a very upbeat song that utilizes the finger-picking style of playing. It's so catchy, you can't help but to clap along. It was recorded live at the Lyceum Theater in London on July 17, 1970. Following "Clap" is "Starship Trooper," a song that has become a staple of Yes concerts. "Starship Trooper" is divided into three movements: 1) Lifeseeker, 2) Disillusion, and 3) Wurm. "Starship Trooper," like "Yours Is No Disgrace" is over nine minutes long, and worth every second. The fourth track is "I've Seen All Good People." This song gets a lot of radio airplay. The first part, "Your Move" is a laid-back acoustic song. The meaning of the lyrics in the first part are the subject of some debate. Jon Anderson uses Chess terminology as a metaphor for, some say, anti-war sentiment, being selfless, or not taking oneself too seriously. The second part, "All Good People" is an uptempo shuffle with the vocals repeating the line, "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way." The next track is "A Venture." It's a straight-ahead, mid-tempo, almost Beatles-esque song. Wakeman leaves out synths or organs on this one and sticks to just piano. Finally the last song on The Yes Album is "Perpetual Change." It starts out with an intro similar to "Yours Is No Disgrace." In "Yours," Bruford and Squire start the intro with their own rhythm with the others joining in with contrasting rhythms. In "Perpetual," Howe and Wakeman start the intro with their unison rhythms then Bruford and Squire join in with a contrasting rhythm. They come together in a medium waltz that goes back and forth into 4/4 time. "Perpetual Change" is another lengthy track that's almost nine minutes long. Yes makes great use of dynamics on this track. The verse starts out soft and mellow and then builds back to the waltz feel alternating with 4/4. Perhaps the most memorable and mind-blowing part of "Perpetual Change" is the major change that takes place at 5:09. At this point, from out of nowhere, drums, bass, and organ immediately start playing a syncopating rhythm in 7/8 time. After ten seconds or so, the aforementioned parts start fading down and over to the left channel, leaving the right channel empty. Then, suddenly at 5:30 in the right channel, the band begins very softly playing the main riff. They play a long, slow crescendo culminating at 6:24 with both channels coming together with the main riff. So, for about a minute or so, it gets a little hectic and chaotic and under control all at the same time.
Well, I'm no writer, but I hoped my review helped in some way. As most Yes fans know, they were hated by most critics. Critic, shmitic.
Free Music Review: Steve Howe joins Yes and the band leaps into Hyperspace
Hit: 5 Stars
After working with an orchestra on Time and Word (1970) and parting company with former guitarist Peter Banks, Yes joined forces with staggering virtuoso guitarist Steve Howe and took a massive leap forward into the world of full blown prog. Although I do not wish to offend Peter Banks fans, I just really appreciate Steve's playing more and feel that he brought a great deal to Yes. The Yes Album (1971) shows the classic Yes group sound starting to take shape, which would come to full and glorious fruition one year later with Close to the Edge (1972). The Yes Album however stands as their first creative (and yes, commercial) success.
The musicians on this album include Jon Anderson (vocals; percussion); Chris Squire (Rickenbacker bass; vocals); Steve Howe (acoustic and electric guitars; vachalia; vocals); Bill Bruford (drums; percussion); and Tony Kaye (Hammond organ; piano; and mini-moog). This would be Tony Kaye's last album with Yes and would be replaced by none other than the keyboard wizard himself Rick Wakeman on the follow-up album Fragile (1972). With most of the classic lineup in place, the level of the musicianship on The Yes Album went up as did the quality of the pieces themselves. In spite of this, The Yes Album is still just a very sophisticated rock album, without necessarily being progressive in the sense that Close to the Edge and Relayer (1974) were progressive.
The six tracks on the album range in length from 3'03" (Steve's acoustic solo piece Clap) to 9'23" (Starship Trooper). Starship Trooper really is a fantastic piece and as I recall, brought the record into the after school jazz band rehearsal to share my love of Starship Trooper with everybody else. One of things that I like about this track is the level of emotion that it imparts. In fact that is what a lot of Yes music was about - sweeping emotion - a property that is featured to varying degrees on all Yes albums right up until 1977 or so. Steve's acoustic solo piece "Clap" is also excellent and was recorded live (the bonus tracks include the studio version which is just as good). I guess it's worth noting that somebody added a "The" onto "Clap" and Steve has had to deal with that embarrassing title to this day. Fortunately Rhino had the good sense to correct this. Perpetual Change is a great piece along with the underrated A Venture, which features some excellent playing by Chris. In fact, his solo consists of simply adjusting the pickup switch to shift from the warmer sound of both the "treble" and "bass" pickups (I am not going to go into detail about string length and frequency) to a sharp and trebly sound using just the treble pickups. Although simple, it is incredibly effective.
This remastered and expanded album by Rhino is simply excellent. It features well-written and insightful liner notes by Dr. Bill Martin (Philosophy/DePaul University)(his book Music of Yes: Structure and Vision in Progressive rock is superb) and loads of band photos. The bonus tracks are OK and include a few single versions along with the studio version of Steve's acoustic guitar solo piece Clap.
All in all, this album marks the beginning of a creative peak for Yes that would last until 1977. Very highly recommended along with Fragile; Close to the Edge; the live Yessongs (1973); Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973); Relayer (1974); Going for the One (1977); and the live Yesshows (1980). Long live Yes!
Free Music Review: "You'll see perpetual change," and we did.
Hit: 5 Stars
With the advent of Steve Howe on guitar, Yes would begin the tranisition of a semi-psychedellic semi-folk band to a progressive rock band. To be fair to original guitarist Peter Banks, he was a competent rhythm guitarist (his best moment is perhaps "Astral Traveller") but Howe's more versatile playing would force rings around Banks'. This would also be keyboardist Tony Kaye's last album until 90125 (he was a great organist but lacked the technological knowhow that future keyboardists like Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz, Geoff Downes and Igor Khoroshev would possess). The opener "Yours Is No Disgrace" opens with a bold introduction, the 1st verse does not appear until nearly 2 minutes into the song. Howe plays different parts on different guitars and bassist Chris Squire plays bass almost like a 6-string guitar (his early influnences of Paul McCartney and John Entwistle would show up here). Also, Jon Anderson would show more growth as a singer. Tony Kaye's contributions on organ also fit in well (he uses a moog synthesizer at the end of the song). Following is Steve Howe's acoustic guitar piece called "Clap." For many years, this song was pressed onto LP and CD as "The Clap," much to the chagrin and resentment of Howe (I can just picture reviews "Get The Clap and many others on The Yes Album!"). Folk and blues are blended quite well here (there also exists a studio version of this song on this CD). Following that is Yes' masterpiece "Starship Trooper," which would feature Yes' signature key and tempo changes and Jon Anderson's semi-vague, sci-fi lyrics featured in the "Life Seeker" segment ("Speak to me of summer, long winters longer than time can remember," "starship trooper, go sailing on by," and "what I don't know, I have never heard" are examples). Chris Squire also proved to be a great harmonist, you can hear him singing along with Anderson on the "Disillusion" segment. Finally, Howe ends with a catchy riff played over and over again on the "Wurm" segment (I don't know if this influenced Lynyrd Skynyrd but their closing jam on "Free Bird" is reminiscent of this). "I've Seen All Good People" became one of Yes' 1st "hits." The opening segment "Your Move" talks about a chess game "Move me onto any black square... don't surround yourself with yourself." There is also mention of several John Lennon/Beatles references "All we are saying is give peace a chance" and "send an instant kharma to me." The 2nd part features a catchy bass line by Squire and the line "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way." The song closes with the chorus sung 2 keys lower each time (One disk jockey confesses that once while playing "I've Seen All Good People" on the radio, he turned off the phonograph at the fadeout of that song and the station manager reprimanded him!). "A Venture" sounds like an outtake from earlier albums, it was the only song not featured in live performances. "Peretual Change" is the last song on the original album. The live version would give Bill Bruford an outlet for a drum solo. Also included on this release are single versions of "Starship Trooper (Life Seeker)" and "Your Move." This album would point the direction where Yes was heading on future albums.Free Music Review: When Yes became YES!
Hit: 5 Stars
The first two studio albums from Yes showcased a young, growing band that was fierce in its willingness to experiment, and produced often dazzling results. Guitarist Peter Banks was a stellar player with a unique and inventive style, but even as TIME AND A WORD, the second Yes album, was being finished, Banks left the band (or was asked to leave, depending upon who is telling the story).
His replacement, Steve Howe (from Tomorrow and The In Crowd), proved to be one of the greatest guitarists in the history of 20th Century music. It was this change, plus the maturation of the band as songwriters and as a playing unit, that really put Yes on the map with THE YES ALBUM, an absolute classic in the genre of Progressive Rock.
The album kicks off with the thunderous bass of Chris Squire (quickly becoming the master of that instrument) and Howe riding a riff straight out of some Cowboy Western flick fused brilliantly with symphonic flashes and bluesy musings into a heady brew called "Yours is No Disgrace." Lyricist/vocalist Jon Anderson weaves a dense tapestry of powerful images of war and peace, ultimately affirming a noble warrior. Up next is the jaunty "Clap," an impossibly intricate Howe acoustic guitar instrumental that dazzles the senses and cleanses the palate.
But don't get too comfortable...Yes cranks up the intensity with the driving psychedelia of "Starship Trooper," an epic sci-fi journey divided into three mini-suites, culminating in the iconic chords of the "Wurm" section, which are overlaid with an ever-increasing cacophony of noise. Somehow, amidst the sturm und drang, there is beauty, harmony, and order, and a glorious Steve Howe guitar solo.
For many, the next number is the proto-typical Yes song: "I've Seen All Good People". The first portion is a lovely, acoustic guitar/recorder folk ballad...a gentle doppleganger to "Stairway to Heaven." Then, like the Zeppelin signature, Yes kicks up the volume for the second half of the song, which is a raucous but melodic free-for-all that leaves one breathless by the time it fades out in the majestic sunset of Tony Kaye's Hammond Organ.
The following track is an intriguing short piece called "A Venture," which--while more mellow--is still packed with drama.
Yes still has one last hurrah here, the rocking "Perpetual Change," which features Bill Bruford's incredible rhythmic brilliance fused with a stomping keyboard assault from Kaye and Howe's hot riffage. The call-and-response vocals from Anderson, Squire, and Howe are sweet-yet-rough and convey an urgency that still sounds fresh more than 30 years later.
For this deluxe, wonderfully re-mastered edition of THE YES ALBUM, Elektra/WEA have not only given us original and expanded artwork and graphics, but also some interesting bonus tracks. The single version (which was the band's first major radio hit) of "Your Move" from "I've Seen All Good People" is included, as is a nice studio version of "Clap."
For me, this is one of the three best Yes albums--an absolute essential for the Yes fan and for the fan of Progressive Rock. And this re-mastered edition is the definitive one to own. Don't miss it!