ESQUIRE

Ear candy prog?

Looking at the name you would guess straight that this band is something to do with Yes' Chris Squire and...you bet! It's basically the band of two: Nikki Squire (now ex wife of Chris Squire) as lead vocal and Nigel McLaren (bass) with collaboration from well known musicians on top of Chris Squire: Alan White (Yes) and Pat Thrall (Asia). The music is quite straightforward and easy to digest. The opening track "To the Rescue" is catchy and reminds me to the voice of Jon Anderson (Yes) especially during the Big Generator album. The music flows nicely from start to end. The second track "Sunshine" is another good follow-up from the opening. The other song that is quite good terms of melody and flow is 'Up Down Turnaround'. I guess most of you like music can enjoy this album quite well. The interlude part features good guitar solo combined nicely with keyboard work. You might say that the way Nikki sings is somewhat similar with the way Jon sings.

The melody of all songs contained here is quite good and makes it easy for everyone to repeat. Look at the example of 'Hourglass' (6th track) that reminds you to the Yes' "Onward". The composition is quite good with managed changes from one piece to another. The overall style of the music for each track is quite uniform and it makes the music is quite cohesive. The sonic quality is excellent. Overall, I think this is a very good album and very enjoyable. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Up, down, turnaround

Esquire is a band led by Chris Squire's wife (at the time) Nikki Squire and is of some interest to fans of Yes because of the contributions of Chris Squire on backing vocals and bass. Chris is also credited as co-producer of the opening track To The Rescue while Trevor Horn is credited for the mix. Also, Alan White is one of several drummers credited on the album (though unclear on which tracks he plays). Yet, any similarities with the music of Yes are superficial as Esquire is primarily a Pop group and not a progressive Rock band. However, imagine an emasculated version of 90125-era Yes or Asia without any muscular guitars and you might get an idea. Perhaps The Buggles is a better comparison.

There is some merit to some of these songs, but in the end each song sounds too similar to the previous one and it is hard to maintain interest to the end of the album. Ultimately, Esquire is just a curiosity for devoted Yes fans.

I can see why it's hard for many prog fans to consider this group's debut to qualify as "progressive rock." The songs are relatively short and are structured like late-80s pop/rock; there's a fair amount of programming (including some stuttering samples), and the band and LP seems to have been aimed more at the MTV / singles market than the album market. It's more like prog-pop.

However, I will say, without hyperbole, that this is prog-pop at its finest. Lots of hooks, an odd time signature here and there, good guitar playing and very inventive (and blatantly Squire-influenced) bass playing and composition. I like Nikki Squire's voice, but it was quite different from the norm in 1987, and I suppose that must have been part of the reason that the singles never charted (in the US anyway).

The strongest tracks are the poppy "Moving Together" and "To the Rescue," and the more introspective "Blossomtime," which at 6:43 is easily the longest song here. The Yes influences are clear but in no way pervasive. The middle section of "Up Down Turnaround" would've fit well on Big Generator - - in fact, the melody and guitar playing are positively Rabinesque. Trevor Horn and Alan White participated on one or two songs, and Chris Squire sings backup here and there - - to great effect, imho. Only at the very end of the album, on the coda of "What You've Been Saying," does he sing without his wife.

In all, a great pop album with progressive influences. I consider it part of a complete collection of prog albums insofar as it is an exemplar of a sub-subgenre (i.e., progressive pop) - - even if it's a less popular sub-subgenre.