HEAVEN & EARTH

Within the first minute of Heaven & Earth you will know that something very, very bad is going to happen. When the second song begins your heart will start to sink. By the third song... the reality that this schmaltzy, torpid, bland, gutless, uncreative, tepid, sentimental, down-tempo, anemic, and magnificently disappointing album is the last thing Chris Squire will ever perform just sort of makes you want to cry.

Heaven & Earth is irredeemably bad; as in, probably the worst album that Yes has ever produced.

The songwriting is a flat-line of meandering melodies that wander through the songs' unfortunately long running times. "Step Beyond" literally sounds like music from a children's TV show. The band's instrumental performances are actually kind of insulting. Howe noodles in the background as if he's so bored with the compositions that he's just going to practice in the background. White's drumming is pedestrian and unexciting on every level. Chris Squire sounds like he's mostly just helping keep time. And Downes keyboards... I just don't have words to describe how ineffective they are.

And let's talk about the band's new singer, Jon Davison. Do you know what happens when you make a copy of a copy? He's just awful, and the lyrics he's singing are so bad that they will probably induce nausea in most listeners.

Yes' performance here barely has a pulse. This is the worst album Yes has ever made, yes it's even worse than "Union" and probably "Open Your Eyes." The band seems to be falling asleep to songs that are lazy, boring, plodding, and unambitious, and it hurts my heart.

Songwriting: 1 - Instrumental Performances: 1 - Lyrics/Vocals: 1 - Style/Emotion/Replay: 1