THE YES ALBUM

This is the breakthrough album for Yes, being their first real success, also being their You're off Atlantic if you don't score any hits on the next record record. They really did put in effort, but it sounds very mainstream, the latter probably being the reason why.

Yours Is No Disgrace! This song, you can hear Steve Howe's differentiation over Peter Banks. He's very lick oriented, moreso than Banks. The drumming and bass playing on this track are really nice. But something I noticed, was Tony Kaye. He must have been playing three pianos at once for this track. The break in the middle of the song is very jazzy. The live version of this song, (The House Of Blues version in specific) is much better, with some interesting guitar solos from Howe. Great song! (9/10)

MAMA HELP ME! I'VE GOT THE CLAP! Clap is a ctachy little live guitar ditty written by Howe. I really like it, as it reminds me of some of the music on one of my favorite childhood films; Toy Story. Yeah, wonderful little song. (10/10)

Starship Trooper starts out with the heavy bottom bass really being powerful. The guitar playing is very nice, with the phasing in and out. Life Seeker being my least favorite part, Disillusion being my favorite, with an acoustic guitar backing Jon Anderson soft vocals. But Wurm, is very special. It starts out with Steve Howe playing the guitar line on his phasing guitar, then it becomes this intense heavy instrumental. This is a great way to cap a great song. (10/10)

I've Seen All Good People! The vocal start kind of annoyed a little. But then the vachalia (Polish or Portuguese Mandolin, i'm unsure) comes in and I fell in love with the song. The lyrics are somewhat related to the game of chess. The best part of this song isn't the jam at the end, but the vocals! The chorus vocals I really love, the dededede vocals. Really nice. The jam at the end, I found to be somewhat weak and unenergetic, in comparison to the live version. Overall great song. (9/10)

A Venture? This song I don't even remember listening to. Starts off nice with the keys and guitar, then becomes...a little like Genesis. I don't really get this song, sort of random and pointless. (6/10)

Perpetual Change, starts off with the classic Yes unison. Then a very cool drum fill, then a break reminding of Yours Is No Disgrace. The break is nice, with a nice piano line. The lyrics are catchy too, Inside Out, Outside In. The chorus, I really liked. It's very catchy and nice. The song slows down again, then goes into this slower jazz infused slow down. Steve Howe's chops really show here, he's amazing. Then after that, the only way I can describe the next part, is the Nintendo solo. The organ or moog playing with the Bruford following. Then the whole chorus starts to play behind them, with Howe soloing. Amazing ending song. (10/10)

The whole album was a nice change for Yes. Slowly creeping into their Symphonic Prog form, Wakeman was the ending of the metamorphisis. Tony Kaye is a good keyboardist, just not phenominal. 4 stars.