HEAVEN & EARTH

Full Disclosure :

It took me a while to warm up to the Fly From Here album and I recall scoring it around 2.5 stars. After many more listens I'd probably give it a 3.5 today. I doubt I'll have the same reflective moments about Heaven and Hell, I mean Earth, although that might be a better title given it's impact on this reviewer.

Production :

As with most Yes albums the technical aspects of the recording can be considered world class. I found the sound a tad muddy with the crisp clear sibilance missing from things like cymbals and the Hi-hat. But production is so much more than recording quality. The mix is a little heavy on drums when they do little more than provide a thin rhythm section at best. Is this really the same Alan White that played on Relayer? The instrumental sections are relegated to the background for the most part with the odd exception of a synth or guitar solo.

8/20

Song Writing :

The song writing here is far from being up to the Yes standard we've come to expect. I'm at a loss to find a standout track on this album as every one of them seems to be void of any real emotion or sense of energy for that matter. Song after song plods along, never picking up and speed or creating a sense of interest for the listener. To Ascend never takes off and then coasts to the end of the runway tired and out of gas. With the follow up tune In a World of Our Own I ask myself, 'Is there such a thing as Progessive Blues?' Then more and more of the same. Subway Walls starts off with promise but then deviates into a lazy attempt at sounding progy. 'Ladies and gentlemen. The progressive Yes has left the building!'

4/20

Originality :

This is where Yes appears to having an identity crisis of sorts. They have produced an album that sounds like a Yes album but have done nothing to define who they are now. Geoff Downes takes to doing Wakemanesque MiniMOOG solos rather than putting himself in the music. When Moraz stepped in for Wakeman you knew there was a new guy in town and he owned it. I've also reached the point of boredom with bands trying to replace singers with singers who sound exactly like the singers they've lost. Get over it and move on. I don't really care who is singing for them on this album because I know it's not Jon Anderson and yet it's no different from Jon Anderson. Just another voice without any originality

5/20

Performance :

The performances on this album are fair I guess, given that the writing is as lackluster as it is. There isn't any flourish here, no chops. Maybe that's what happens after you turn 65. Geoff Downs organ solo in Subway Walls is uninspired and by the numbers, almost as if to say 'There you go, my Hammond solo, now let me get back to holding cords'. Alan White brings nothing of interest to the percussion section on this album. Any middle of the road bar drummer could have done it. Steve Howe provides maybe three little solos here but they pale on comparison to stuff he even did with Asia. Chris squires bass playing is again fine but not outstanding. It's hard to excel when the bar is set so low. Hey Chris, here's an idea for you'Emerson Squire and Palmer. That's right, ESP!! Now I'd buy that for a dollar!

5/20

General Impressions :

Yes seems to be suffering from an identity crisis. For all intents and purposes this is the Drama Yes band. The music here in no way reminds us of that once great collaboration that brought us 'Machine Messiah', 'Into the Lens' or 'Tempus Fugit'. Yes have picked through the yes 'sound files' and have been very careful to put just the right amount of Yes sound into this album and in doing so have become a reflection of what they have never been. A watery version of themselves. While this review has garnered a 1.35 (lowered to 1 star) I still wouldn't even recommend it to completionists.

5/20

Total = 27/100 (27% of 5 stars)

1.35

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