UNION

Union is an album that generally seems to get a negative reception within the prog community, however, I tend to believe that there is more a lot good than bad found here. Union is the thirteenth studio album by Yes released in April of 1991 by Arista Records. The album began production after Yes and Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe began working on new material. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe is a progressive rock band that was active between 1988 and 1990 that encompassed four past members of Yes after vocalist Jon Anderson felt constrained by Yes' pop-oriented direction in the 1980s. The tracks presented on Union are not actually created by all of the band members of both projects working together to create one cohesive album. Instead, they are tracks sent in by both Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and Yes that are scrambled together into an album. A combination of unfinished tracks by both groups were selected and refined for Union. The album includes nine tracks recorded by Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and four tracks recorded by Yes. Throughout the production process many issues were uncovered such as a general disagreement with certain band members about the merging of the two groups. Furthermore, decisions by the production team allowed for a multitude of session musicians to re-record parts that Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe already had performed and record completely new parts that weren't originally there on already finished tracks. This causes for a rather uncomfortable listening experience as you are unsure which musician you are actually hearing. Furthermore, it makes it increasingly difficult to complement a musicians specific playing when discussing a specific track due to the listener being unsure which musician is actually playing. To give credit where credit is due, session musician Jimmy Haun does a noteworthy performance on guitar. His guitar stylings are in fact very similar to Steve Howe, making them virtually impossible to distinguish.

Union opens with the track I Would Have Waited Forever in which Steve Howe used a guitar riff from the track Sensitive Chaos from his solo album Turbulence released in 1991. Producer Jonathan Elias considered this song to be the best representation of "both early and later Yes styles" which is something I happen to agree with. It is full of ever changing melodies combined with a truly powerful chorus. A great choice for an opening track! Shock To The System is up next and is yet another great song. The impressive guitar performance on this track isn't actually Steve Howe, it was all the work of session musician Jimmy Haun. Despite Steve Howe writing most of the track, his sections were either overdubbed or completly replaced mainly due to "sonic reasons". Jimmy Haun once said in an interview that "this was my favorite track because I got to write most of the riffs and there was this new section we came up with and tacked on at 4:10 and the riff is very reminiscent of Gates of Delirium. And I had to replace some of the bass". The combination of this impressive guitar work with Jon Anderson's truly wonderful singing makes this an unquestionable standout on the album. Furthermore, Tony Levin provides bass that builds up at just the right points. Masquerade is a Steve Howe solo guitar piece that is actually quite pleasant. For some reason, it always reminded me of the summer. Steve Howe recorded the track in fifteen minutes at his home studio using a two-channel Revox deck while being "away from all the arguments and politics" that came with making the album. The flow throughout the track is wonderfully done and is surprisingly melodic. Lift Me Up is the next track and opens with a brilliantly composed introductory guitar riff. The guitar practically feels metal at points. This is clearly the best instrumental moment found on the album. Furthermore, the chorus is extremely catchy and features great duets from both Trevor Rabin and Jon Anderson. Without Hope (You Cannot Start the Day) begins beautifully as Jon Anderson sings with a gentle piano playing in the background. The track originated from Elias, who recorded a simple outline of the track in one afternoon and sent the tape to Rick Wakeman to add keyboards. However, Elias and Jon Anderson felt disappointed with Rick Wakeman's piano contributions as they had hoped for something more "simple and gentle" but instead got a part that to Elias "sounded like a Rachmaninoff piano concerto". Elias then decided to re-record the piano parts and not use Rick Wakeman's original contributions. Additionally, Jimmy Haun was the sole guitarist on this track. It is speculated that Steve Howe never even heard it until the album was released. After the initial one minute and forty seconds the track switches up as drums are introduced. Despite it differing greatly from the introduction, the atmospheric nature of the piece is still persistent throughout. There are several well-composed guitar melodies that ultimately strengthen the track as they add a platform for the rest of the band to play around in. The next track, Saving My Heart, was initially a piece of music that Trevor Rabin felt was not suitable for a Yes album. However, Jon Anderson wished to use it. It is an enjoyable pop-orientated track with it's saving grace being the powerful chorus in addition to a terrific guitar performance from Trevor Rabin. Miracle Of Life is without a doubt the most prog-inspired moment on the album. It opens with an excellent keyboard melody that is interrupted by Trevor Rabin on vocals chanting "The Miracle of Life". This always reminds me of the vocal interruptions present in the beginning of Close to the Edge. It has a particularly classic Yes sound and feel that Steve Howe thought was "very good". I surely agree with Steve Howe, as this is the highlight of the album. Tony Kaye provides an excellent Hammond organ performance all over the track as well. Furthermore, Chris Squire's and Alan White's rhythm section is distinct and powerful.

Silent Talking was written by Steve Howe and was originally connected with an instrumental dubbed Seven Castles. In addition, it contains another riff that Steve Howe used on his solo album Turbulence released in 1991. However, funnily enough Jimmy Haun plays more on this track than Steve Howe. Without being told, I would have never guessed that Steve wasn't playing on the entire track. Jimmy Haun's guitar playing is impressively similar to Steve Howe. However, when realizing which parts is and isn't Steve Howe Jimmy Haun's small stylistic choices begin to reveal themselves. In an interview Jimmy Haun said "I replaced the main riff because there were timing discrepancies and I tried to get as close to Steve Howe's sound as I could. There are a couple of riffs that were kept of Steve's, where you can hear his tone is a little different, like at 0:46 to 1:03." Nevertheless, Steve Howe or Jimmy Haun, the guitar on this track is still just wonderful. It also seems as if it combines two separate songs, as the beginning and end sections are drastically different. This adds an interesting dynamic to the song that allows it to separate itself from the verse-chorus repetition found all over most of the album. More We Live - Let Go is the first song Chris Squire and later Yes bassist Billy Sherwood would write together. The atmosphere created here, in part due to the outstanding producing of Eddie Offord, makes this yet another highlight of the album. Furthermore, the vocal array is genuinely hypnotizing. Angkor Wat is the next track and is named after the Cambodian temple with the same name. Interestingly, it is only found on CD pressings of the album. It is actually pretty similar to the album's previous piece due to its more atmospheric nature. Honestly feels as if it could have been pulled directly from one of Jon Anderson's solo albums, which definitely isn't a bad thing by any means! Dangerous (Look in the Light of What You're Searching For) makes me feel as if the band was attempting to create an Owner Of A Lonely Heart Part 2. Similar to both Silent Talking and Without Hope You Cannot Start the Day, Jimmy Haun is the only guitar player on this track. His performance here actually resembles more of Trevor Rabin's style rather than Steve Howe's. Furthermore, I was surprised this track was even written by the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe group as it definitely seems like something Trevor Rabin would have wrote. In an interview Jimmy Haun said that Dangerous (Look in the Light of What You're Searching For) was "not one of my favorites on the album but the one I guess I was "featured" on, oh well." Ultimately, I tend to agree with Jimmy Haun as it seems to be somewhat unfocused at times. For example, there is a hip-hop inspired section that is included that feels out of place. On various earlier versions this hip-hop inspired section was not included, I wonder who made the decision to add it? Nevertheless, this is still a solid song that also displays Tony Levin's impressive bass skills as he incorporates some terrific bass lines that combines with well Bill Bruford's drumming. The next track, Holding On, is the hidden gem of the album. It begins with a vocal arrangement singing "see the searching, see the people" as it flows into a gorgeous guitar melody that is full of emotion. The guitar melody beginning at the thirty one second mark and ending at the forty seven second mark was the only part of the song that remained from Steve Howe's original rendition, the rest is all Jimmy Haun and he does a remarkable job with the free reign he is given. Tony Levin once again manages to provide some excellent bass work that feels truly meaningful. In addition, Jon Anderson's vocal performance is probably one of the best of his on the album. This is an often-forgotten piece of music that remains to be one of the highlights of Union! Evensong is a short piece that is an excerpt from the middle section of an electric drum and Chapman Stick duet that Bruford and Levin would perform nightly on the 1989-1990 Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe tour. However, it feels as if it could have been extended. Why not include the entire duet? Take the Water to the Mountain is the final track on certain versions of the album and ends Union on a soft and thoughtful note. Jon Anderson provides beautiful vocals that are complemented well by Bill Bruford's drumming. In regards to the guitar, I think it would be easier to simply quote Jimmy Haun, "No Steve here either. Lots of Howe likenesses though." There is a bonus track found on several versions of the album titled Give and Take. I actually wish they had choosen to include this song on every version of the album. It is full of wonderful guitar performance from both Steve Howe and Jimmy Haun in addition to an admirable bass performance from Tony Levin.

Union is a mixed bag that is full of high and low points. However, in combination it results in a generally good, but non-essential album. If the album was shortened to the length to around forty to forty five minutes, I believe Union would have fared better. However, I still think that having both Yes and Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe work on their own albums would have resulted in two albums of even greater quality then what is found here. Nevertheless, if you are someone who doesn't mind some pop-oriented rock with progressive rock tendencies then this is an album that you would probably enjoy enjoy. "Stop that reasoning (You've got the answer). You've got to stop that thinking out loud (You've got the answer). Go where your heart takes you to (You've got the answer)."

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