HEAVEN & EARTH

"Heaven and Earth" is the ninteenth studio album (not counting Keystudio) and has certainly come in for a lot of negative criticism. Although most of the reviews giving one and two star ratings appeared before the album was even released!! That makes me wonder if those reviewers even listened to the disk or just heard a few low-res samples on the internet, or are diehard fans of old school Yes who don't think the band can exist without Jon Anderson.

Having listened to the album many times since it arrived in the post a few weeks ago I have absorbed the music and all its nuances to feel that I can offer an objective unbiased review.

First thing to comment on is the artwork which is a fine piece of Roger Dean painting.

The production by Roy Baker Thomas is first rate, instrumentation is crystal clear.

So how does Jon Davidson perform? I have seen Yes perform live three times since he joined the band and thought his singing was outstanding. He has no trouble reaching those high notes which Jon Anderson could achieve at his peak. In fact I would now prefer to listen to Davidson perform with them on tour rather than Anderson as his voice is not what it was, the last time I saw Yes with Anderson was about 10 years ago during a long tour and his voice was really suffering. On "Heaven and Earth" Jon Davidson is excellent and sounds as clear as a bell. So full marks for vocal performance.

As for the music I can't understand why this album has garnered such negative comment. It is one of their more mellow works probably closer in mood to Tormato than anything else in their discography as some reviewers have noted. Yes are not going to record "Close to the Edge" part 2, they have moved on from that I just wish some "fans" would move on too.

"Heaven and Earth" is one of the better albums that Yes have recorded since "Drama". "Magnification" was a good one but marred by some of those wimpy Anderson ballads that make me cringe. Thankfully the new release is free of those.

The first track on the album is "Believe Again" which is an excellent opener.

The album ends with the magnificent "Subway Walls" which starts with a baroque theme on keyboards. This is Geoff Downes' time to shine.

Steve Howe's guitar playing is outstanding throughout the disk. Chris Squire's bass playing is not too prominent on many of the tracks although he does come to the fore towards the end on "It Was All We Knew" and puts in a fine performance on "Subway Walls". I have never been fully convinced by Alan Whites' drumming, he is a solid player but lacks the flair of Bull Bruford. However, he also makes a fine contribution on this track

The only track I didn't think much of is "Step Beyond". The most off-putting aspect of this is the 1980's sounding keyboards. What was Downes thinking, surely he could have come up with something better than that.

In conclusion, I regard " Heaven and Earth" as a excellent album, it is mostly a fairly mellow recording but contains some superb musicianship especially from Howe who throws in lots of short intricate guitar pieces which are probably his best work in a long time. An album truly worthy of four stars and nothing less.