THE YES ALBUM

A question: is Steve Howe the secret ingredient to YES's success? Short answer: no. Longer answer (by three letters): kinda. This album is the first to feature him, and, no surprise, it's considered the first album of their core catalogue. Sure, the fact that all the material is original helps, and sure, the other musicians do a great job, but it's Howe who really helps them shine on this album. The album is good. Really good. But they hadn't quite moved in the spacier direction of "Fragile" and "Close to the Edge" yet, mostly because Rick Wakeman hadn't joined. In any case, the group chemistry is marvelous, and this marks the beginning of the YES that everyone loves. Is it essential? I should think so. Maybe not as much as "Fragile" or "Close to the Edge," but "Starship Troopers" and "I've Seen All Good People" rank as some of the best stuff they ever did, and I think that's enough to warrant buying the album.