HEAVEN & EARTH

Had I taken a Blindfold Test on this work, I would have thought that it was a moderately promising, young Neo-Prog band, somewhat inspired by YES. But for YES, under Squire's dominance, it's yet another disappointing release - as if Squire was aiming at willful mediocricity. Not quite Pop, but barely Prog-Related.

The only highlight here is Davidson's youthful, yet strong and clear voice - as if he was Jon Anderson's younger brother. Engaging Davidson was a minor coup by Squire, but that fine voice alone is not sufficient to make poor compositions sound good.

Squire, Howe, White play well - as usual - but it's the weak tunes that fail to excite. Add Geoff Downes on Pop-ish, skinny keys and one can't even talk about a missed opportunity, akin to an accident scene. "Move along, move along, there is nothing to see here."