THE YES ALBUM

The Yes album was the first prog rock album I bought. My HS music teacher introduced the class to it back in 1975. I enjoy the element of Yes that is characteristic of this album, Going for the One and even 90125. Like Genesis, Yes had the strong ability to write a good song and develop a progressive atmosphere around it. What makes this album essential and a favorite to me is that it maintains some of the folk element of the earlier Yes albums and in this sense sounds much more distinctly British than later Yes, with its classical overtones.

The strength of this album is the interplay of opposing sections of the band as in Perpetual Change where the closing introduces the drums and bass against the guitar and keyboard or I've Seen All Good People, in which the closing chorus is interjected on top of the guitar solo. The guitar work on the album is some of Howe's best and a fine introduction for the new member of the band. His The Clap is a fun up beat folk based guitar piece that is still a highilght of Yes concerts.

The record is two distinct sides with a lush closing in Wurm of side one and Perpeutual Change of side 2. It is a transitional album that saw the band coming into its own with increased virtuosity of playing and writing, a must for any prog rock fan.