ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE

1989 finds our heroes embroiled in the legalities of what to call themselves ? YES in all aspects but name, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe ( and Levin ) bring forward a renaissance of the classic Yes sound, updated somewhat with late 80's sensibilities. Hairstyles aside ( Sorry Tony ), what is realized does recapture some of the early glory, albeit wrapped in a bit too much reverb and electronic drum clatter. Jon is in fine voice, Steve updates his Asia sound with some fine acoustic playing, Bill shows why he was the most creative timekeeper that Yes ever had, and Rick just has a party with all the factory pre-set sounds his new keyboards come with ! Themes, Brother Of Mine, Quartet, Order of the Universe. These are all pieces that could have been written 10+ years earlier. Upbeat, positive, and appealing, the Album is an excellent example of classic 70's Major Key prog, and certainly has the Yes brand name stamped all over it. With Yes-West on hiatus at the time, ABWH remains a welcome friend and was one of the few new big name progressive recordings released that year. If a more organic approach had been taken though with Bill using an acoustic kit throughout, and Rick a real grand piano, then we would have had something really special !