TIME AND A WORD

This is Chris Squire's favourite Yes album, and it's easy to see why as he is on such excellent form on it. The bass is very much at the forefront througout the whole album. This was really before they had gone in the 'prog' direction. As with their debut album, there are 2 cover versions on this album, "No opportunity neccessary, no experience needed" being the stronger of the two. This opens with the orchestra, which features on all but two of the album's songs. Generally, the orchestra is very well put together on the album, and doesn't sound too cheesy as it often can. It is easy to see Peter Banks frustration however, as in many parts the orchestra effectively replaces him. A personal favourite on this album of mine is 'Then'. This is a very different Yes song to those which would feature on later albums, having a catchy melody and not too over-the top instrumentation. In this track, Jon Anderson shows some wonderful jazzy singing, as he does on Everydays. The single from this album, Sweet Dreams is a very nice catchy tune, and doesn't feature the orchestra. You get sick of this song pretty easily, as with the B side "Dear Father" which is included on the CD remaster. The Prophet and Time and a Word are the outstanding tracks on the album. Although this album features much simpler, shorter songs than the Yes album, it was clearly a stepping stone to it. It features some of the same jazzy textures that would feature on parts of the Yes album. A 4 star album, very much a band finding its feet, although there are some very nice songs on this album.