Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

YESTERDAYS

Symphonic Prog • Romania


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Yesterdays picture
Yesterdays biography
Founded in Cluj Napoca, Romania in 2000

About six months ago, I heard YESTERDAYS for the first time, and was really impressed with the exquisite combination of 70's Symphonic influences with Hungarian folk elements, so after I asked the team, the addition was approved immediately.

Due to the problems with the language and lack of information, I asked the band to provide a biography for PA and have received it today, so with no further introduction, here it is:

: : : Iván Melgar Morey, PERU : : :

General Information

YESTERDAYS is a contemporary progressive rock band composed of seven musicians and belonging to the Hungarian minority of Western Romania. This Transylvanian band plays a complex blend of several styles: a basically classic symphonic Prog is redefined here with some jazzy, folk and atmospheric touches - all of these played with a youthful energy, inner light and sunny mood. Lyrics are in both English and Hungarian, and along with the fine instrumental passages they simply find the pathway to any old-school Prog-fan with an open heart and mind.

History

First conceived in 1997, Yesterdays is a lifelong product of the youthful talent of Bogáti-Bokor Ákos. This gifted, multi-instrumentalist, composer and studio wizard is the main driving force behind Yesterdays' starship. Stepping through the many constellations of the band, and working with several musicians, Bogáti-Bokor Ákos has developed his art to the highest standards, combining the classic Steve Howe-Trevor Rabin-Pat Metheny School of guitar playing with an inspired originality. In the early years Yesterdays released some very limited edition, self-produced works. These documents from that first era are now quite difficult-to-find, collectors' items! Years 2005-2006 brought a substantial increase in the band's sound potential, and the line-up and gear proved to be just right to make a jump-start into its next creative stage. Leader Bogáti-Bokor Ákos laid down the basics of the definitive debut album, signing all the music and most of the lyrics as composer-poet-arranger. The result was a work with a spiritual concept, a deep journey into the "Moonlit Garden", the land of an impossible love, the dream of the parts to be made whole, of the paradox of being present and being absent at the same time. And, as has been proving normal in their history, strong faith and steady work has put the band well into the Light. Miracles began to ...
read more

YESTERDAYS forum topics / tours, shows & news


YESTERDAYS forum topics Create a topic now
YESTERDAYS tours, shows & news
No topics found for : "yesterdays"
Post an entries now

YESTERDAYS Videos (YouTube and more)


Showing only random 3 | Show all YESTERDAYS videos (16) | Search and add more videos to YESTERDAYS

Buy YESTERDAYS Music



More places to buy YESTERDAYS music online

YESTERDAYS discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

YESTERDAYS top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.72 | 64 ratings
Holdfénykert
2006
3.48 | 36 ratings
Colours Caffé
2010
3.99 | 66 ratings
Senki Madara
2018
4.08 | 61 ratings
Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma
2022

YESTERDAYS Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

YESTERDAYS Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

YESTERDAYS Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.08 | 12 ratings
From the Vault
2018
4.02 | 11 ratings
Colours Caffé (10th Anniversary Remixed Edition)
2020

YESTERDAYS Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.89 | 10 ratings
Winter
2012
4.30 | 12 ratings
Almost Like Love
2012
4.13 | 11 ratings
Find Another Light
2015
4.84 | 10 ratings
Várj még
2016
3.90 | 10 ratings
Indulok - Érkezel
2016
3.89 | 10 ratings
Tavasz
2017
3.90 | 10 ratings
It's Not the End of the World
2018
4.17 | 9 ratings
Cheesecake (ft. Funk You!)
2019
4.06 | 9 ratings
Never Knowing Why
2020
4.08 | 3 ratings
My Cosmic Cover
2023

YESTERDAYS Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Holdfénykert by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2006
3.72 | 64 ratings

BUY
Holdfénykert
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Honeyburst

4 stars My journey with this Hungarian band started with their concept album and now I got my hands on their debut from 2006. Listening to debut albums is always an interesting experience for me, to see, to witness their first steps.

So I did a little research. After You and I disbanded in Budapest, one of the guitarists, Ákos Bogáti-Bokor started recording his material with the help of an indie record company called Rockszerviz. The compositions grew from heavy acoustic roots, so acoustic guitars, flutes and beautifully layered female vocals were the base of this first record. Drummer Domokos Csergő from Romanian band KUMM joined as session musician and the band was ready for the studio work.

Flutes, mellotrons, Minimoog everywhere, clear and shiny female vocals, like the blueprint for the band's style was already there in the beginning, but at first with a bit more jazzy, more folk oriented sound, although there are pretty obvious Yes influences there too.

The big song, Seven is the masterpiece of this album, it's like a Yes song with female lead vocals. I love everything about this composition: its sophisticated rhythm changes, the virtuoso Moog passages, beautiful Mellotron sounds and the fact that it's a great song, not just an overcomplicated prog tune. Highly recommended.

My two other favorites are Hol Vagy and Várj Még, both with a deep melancholy and haunting soundscapes, electric sitar, again, beautiful flutes and Mellotrons... lots of acoustic guitars, which is a perfect fit to the mood of these songs.

Another great highlight is the guitar solo piece If Ever (following the great tradition started by Yes). I haven't heard a strong acoustic solo composition of this level before, especially from a debut album elsewhere. An obvious tribute to Steve Howe. Perfection.

The Holdfénykert album has a distinctive sound to it which can be appealing to lovers of folk oriented prog fans, but of course there are quite a few symphonic prog moments that show the direction the band will go with their next albums.

All in all it's a very strong debut from a band that already had great potential. A 4 star Eastern European gem.

 Senki Madara by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2018
3.99 | 66 ratings

BUY
Senki Madara
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Honeyburst

5 stars After falling in love with the 4th Yesterdays album Saint-Exupéry álma, I started discovering the band's discography. Their 3rd release Senki madara is a very unique take on ancient Hungarian folk songs, a nice concept building a symphonic prog album around. The Hungarian folk music heritage is one of the richest collention of traditional music in Europe, thanks to Béla BARTÓK (just to name one composer who collected thousands of these songs). Yesterdays took this idea further and built progrock compositions out of these beautiful songs.

Of course we can name their influences, there is YES, GENESIS, PINK FLOYD... but the whole album has a very well defined original sound also filled with musical surprises, the richest vocal performances, tons of flutes, fretless bass too... and all of these things are served with a well recognizable Hungarian taste.

Female voices helped by multi layered backing vocals with great composing skills all over this record. The original traditional songs have that bitter-sweet aftertaste coming from few hundred years old experiences, and the music is following this mood. There are light moments (Szivarvany Havasan), reminding us to And You And I by Yes, but there are really dark things also, like Ne Mondd El where KING CRIMSON influences are shown with a drum solo and backward guitars and heavy usage of mellotron.

Senki madara is a very strong symphonic prog album, highly recommended, especially to fans of Eastern European prog. IMHO this album can be mentioned as one of the best Hungarian prog albums. Four and a half shiny stars.

 Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2022
4.08 | 61 ratings

BUY
Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Honeyburst

4 stars This is a review in Hungarian about the latest album of the band Yesterdays, titled "Saint-Exupéry's Dream". Their previous album, "Senki madara" was also unique, as it mixed Hungarian folk music and folk songs with progressive rock. The new album, as its title suggests, is based on the life and work of the famous French writer and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, with his most famous story, "The Little Prince," at the center. The band had been planning to dedicate a whole album to their favorite book since around 2006, but it only became a reality recently. Although the album itself took only a year to make, the band essentially put together this 9-track, 74-minute musical journey in 2021.

Since the album goes beyond the world-famous book, they did not want to simply call it "The Little Prince". The band's keyboardist at the time, Zsolt Enyedi, came up with the title "Saint-Exupéry's Dream". Unfortunately, he passed away in May 2020, but his playing can still be heard in the song "Méreg". The band dedicates this extremely ambitious concept album to his memory.

If you are familiar with Yesterdays, you will not be surprised musically, as they continue to play that kind of colorful, playful, virtuosic, yet song-centered progressive rock music that is closest to the world of YES. Like "Senki madara," the vocals are once again sung by female voices. Stéphanie Semeniuc and Csenge Tarsoly's ethereal melodies enchant us for 74 minutes. Gábor Kecskeméti plays the flute, László Zsigó plays the drums, Dávid Kósa plays the percussion and background vocals, and Francesco Faiulo plays the bass guitar in two songs. And of course, there is Ákos, who could form a band all by himself. On this album, he plays the acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, mellotron, Hammond organ, piano, harpsichord, Minimoog, and other synthesizers, as well as contributing to the solo vocals and background vocals. I don't want to sound greedy, but I do miss the prominent presence of the fretless bass guitar on "Senki madara." But that's about all I can criticize. And it's really just that.

The intimate atmosphere of Yesterdays is magical! Wow, the singing melody in the verses is so delicious! I feel that this album is great in every way as it is! Because those who are able to write and perform a giant like "Esőtánc" which is almost 21 minutes long, and do it in a way that the playing time flies by, they really know something!The verses of "Esőtánc" bring to mind the melody of the Hungarian progressive rock pioneer band, EAST. At around the fifth minute, there's a cool acoustic guitar, clapping, harpsichord section. The level of musical freedom and diversity in Yesterdays is akin to that of one of the world's greatest bands, Queen. Around 8:10, Ákos launches into a circular, almost two-minute guitar solo that would be a credit to Joe SATRIANI, Steve VAI, or even Al Di MEOLA. Following that is an a cappella section sung in canon with the ladies, it'sa vocal fugue. In the second half of "Esőtánc," there are one or two riffs, musical solutions that bring to mind DREAM THEATER's album "The Astonishing," which did not exactly receive a positive reception at the time of its release.

The smoky, jazzy, noir-esque verses of "Ma minden érdekel" are captivating, and the energized parts and playful background vocals are excellent as well. This album is so eclectic that it gives a feeling of colorfulness and variety, rather than a pile of thrown-together themes. There are so many subtle instrumental nuances in the songs that I recommend everyone to listen to the album with headphones at least once! Even in this song, there are genius musical solutions, like the alternating and competing wah-pedal guitar solos and flute solos. The piano-dominated chamber music of "Panoptikum" penetrates the soul, and then "Méreg" starts with massive drum beats and introduces a new element, narration. As expected, Ákos quotes Exupéry, but not from "The Little Prince." The emphatic, slow drumming again evokes East and Péter Dorozsmai, while the guitar solo is GILMOUR-esque.

The Rajzolj újra (Draw Again) is a worthy conclusion to this magnificent album, with a 'reprise' quality that somewhat reflects the opening song. But with its quiet and calm tone, it is rather a beautiful farewell from the writer, from the Little Prince, and from us listeners.

This album also urges me to read The Little Prince again, because the fact is, I haven't really read it with an adult's mind. I read it several times when I was in high school, but that was 20-25 years ago... So in the coming period, I already know what I will be reading, and I also know that I will listen to this great album many times! The digipack CD is as sophisticated as the music itself. Ákos, besides making music, also likes to take photos, so his pictures are included in the booklet, and even on the cover, the disc depicts nothing else but a compass.

I'm curious if Ákos' students (since he is a music teacher in civilian life) are aware of what a caliber of a musician/songwriter is teaching them.

Saint-Exupéry álma is a fantastic symphonic prog album. Highly recommended! Four and a half stars.

 My Cosmic Cover by YESTERDAYS album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 2023
4.08 | 3 ratings

BUY
My Cosmic Cover
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Parallels77

4 stars Prog is fun - said Rick Wakeman in the seventies, but usually it is a bit too serious.

This new single by Yesterdays is a cover of The Flower Kings' My Cosmic Lover and the first mix of this song was released on the 4CD box set called "A Flower Full of Stars: a Tribute to The Flower Kings" in 2011.

I love the original version, it has a special vintage vibe to it, but Yesterdays took it even further back in time. This isn't an ordinary cover (a reproduction but in a modern way), they wanted to create something in swingin' sixties style so that the original TFK version would seem like a cover of the Yesterdays song. Clever move. They nailed it: sixties psychedelia, tuvan throat singing, sitar, 12 string chimey electric guitars, distorted vintage bass, Beatles-type vocals (and hidden Beatles references!). Then some baroque recorders are entering the game and a fast extra quote from the Flower Kings: the melody of In the Eyes of the World. After this the song goes even further back in time. Mellow bossa-nova style classical guitar enters with amazing flute playing and Karola Antal's beautiful voice turns the song into real magic. A parody, but with love and respect, in a perfect balance. It's a hit single!

If you want to have some fun and you like The Flower Kings, take a listen and step into Yesterdays' funky time-machine.

My Cosmic Lover? Yes, she's cosmic! Four smiling stars.

 Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2022
4.08 | 61 ratings

BUY
Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by omphaloskepsis

5 stars Saint-Exupéry álma, channels a softer Relayer era YES. Mostly the lighter Steve Howe Relayer guitar parts. Yesterdays references 72-76 YES energy. And I love it. The Romanian band sings in Hungarian. How prog is that?

Saint-Exupéry álma is the Little Prince tale, based on the book's author's plane crashing in the desert. True story. In fact he crashed an airplane twice. But that's another story.

Prog allusions abound. From Rush to Gentle Giant. That said, the music sounds fresh and totally original. I've been spinning this album for almost a year. Keep it in my car. And I love it. Adore the lead singer, Stéphanie Semeniuc. Her vocals shimmer and shine like spangles on wavy water.

Beefy, melodic bass lines. Exquisite guitar melodies. Sonorous, sharp, short keyboards tones crossover into Supertramp territory. Album is a grower. And isn't that the best kind? Top five all-time East-European masterpiece. My lone 2022 masterpiece rating.

 Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2022
4.08 | 61 ratings

BUY
Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Smurfreviews

5 stars Review #15

This year (2022) I have already heard many albums worth listening to. But that I may discover such a pearl at the end of the year really puts me in the greatest joy. "Yesterdays" is a talented progressive rock band from Hungary, which uses its home advantage and performs its music in the national language. This feature alone makes Yesterdays music something very special, as I personally have never heard prog in Hungarian and can directly attest that this beautiful language forms a dreamlike synthesis with the music. Stéphanie Semeniuc and Tarsoly Csenge with their warm, strong and variable voices are an important anchor in Yesterday's music, whether alone or in multi-layered harmony vocals. Speaking of the music, I'm happy to move on to the next highlight: the instrumentation. Mellotron, mini-Moog, flute, acoustic guitars, piano and additional percussion create a wonderful retro sound that revives the golden times of prog. This is an excellent melting pot that combines the lively and positive musical style of Yes with a jazzy, atmospheric and more experimental side of Camel. The band uses these reference bands to create their own sound, which can confidently be called a blueprint of 70s prog - carried by a very strong self-production (!) as well as a lot of passion and skill. What is special about "Yesterdays" is that, from a compositional point of view, there is a lot of room for the actual song progression, allowing melodies to develop, instrumental parts to unfold and atmospheres to build up. Songs like "Estekék" or the brilliant long track "Esötánc" are great examples of how versatile Yesterdays music sounds and works. Breathtaking. Captivating. Exciting.

The decisive factor for me is clearly that "Saint-Exupéry Álma" pulled me into its maelstrom from the very beginning and takes me back to my early days of prog passion, where every minute of prog music feels like fireworks in my ears. An incredibly strong album that reflects and bows to the core of classic prog in every way. A much too unknown masterpiece that I think every fan of the genre should know.

 Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2022
4.08 | 61 ratings

BUY
Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Chamber101

4 stars Saint-Exupéry álma, the 4th Yesterdays studio album. First I thought this will be an easy review to write, but the music asked for more attention to detail in the last few weeks from me.

Albums like these are making me very proud that Hungarian prog is still a thing. We know that SOLARIS will be back soon with their 3rd album in the Marsbéli kórnikák series, surely a fantastic new Hungarian offering, but until that one will arrive, Saint-Exupéry álma is in my TOP 3 albums of 2022 and not only because it's Hungarian :)

Just imagine a band with no financial background, recording, producing everything by themselves, in bedrooms, or at work, in a baroque castle and on a stage at the local theater. Mixing, artwork, everything was made by the band at home, yet this album is in the same league with the greats (who have keys to professional studios and engineers) with an audiophile, very dynamic sound, probably the best sound you've heard in the last few years from a prog band. Home production? Hats off,Yesterdays!

Song by song they bring something new and yet still something familiar. Okay, the YES influences are strong on this record, but that isn't the most precious thing about the album. Yes, it's a concept album, yes, the story is well known, but musically speaking this material is very interesting and new. Ákos Bogáti-Bokor is a great guitarist, I knew this from his previous work with SAMURAI OF PROG, PAIDARION, ARGOS, YACOBS and of course the previous Yesterdays albums, but now he is better than ever, right in your face! Yes, his style is similar to STEVE HOWE, but who can blame him? In 2022 everybody goes for a modern prog-metal, neo-prog direction. Liking HOWE's work it is almost out of style and there are not many players like Steve, so I am happy that Ákos is on his way bringing more music like this in the future.

Yesterdays has a fantastic lead singer, Stéphanie Semeniuc. I get it, Magenta comes to mind, they are the new classic in female led prog, but Stéphanie is something else. She comes from a jazzy direction giving songs like Estekék (Eveningblue... such a nice made-up word in Hungarian, yet it means so much...) more depth and color, also she has a much wider and powerful range, and thanks to the crazy rich backing vocals, the YES comparison is better. Chris Squire had his experience from singing in choirs, so does Ákos, Stéphanie and Csenge Tarsoly (backing vocals on the album) and this is where Yesterdays really shines.

Talking about CHRIS SQUIRE. Yesterdays currently has no bass player, so Ákos recorded the bass guitar parts. Turns out he is not only a HOWE fan, but he knows all the chops needed to sound like Mr. SQUIRE too. Another point in plus, great playing. In the first song Rajzolj át the middle part is a clear homage to CHRIS SQUIRE.

The 20 minute long epic, Esőtánc isn't even my favorite on this album, but it has some goosebumps moments. It must be hard to keep a 20 minute song interesting without prolonged instrumental parts, long guitar solos and Yesterdays nailed this. Nice syncopation, great drum-bass work, especially playing the S.O.S. signal, Morse-code rhythm in unison. So many details, nuances. This song is begging for listening to it in repeat.

And there are those beautiful Beatles-like moments, of Supertramp Wurlitzer piano parts in Ma minden érdekel with stellar vocal performance again. Flutes (Kecskeméti Gábor is fantastic!), percussion (Kósa Dávid), funny narration in French, symphonic parts, these make Yesterdays so much different from their biggest influence: YES... they can afford to be funny and more crazy, like in the solo part of this song which reminded me of THE FLOWER KINGS' great Stolt guitar moments. But using talk-box guitar sounds in prog is very unique (in Úgy várj majd rám - probably the best song on the album).

Another great musical moment is Engedj el... yeah, so much Genesis in it, but who cares? Yesterdays have that great sensibility of writing good songs, and if something brings back PHIL COLLINS' writing style from the DUKE era, I don't care, I am happy with it. Lush electric piano sounds, beautiful melody sung by Stéphanie again, the chorus is so catchy, I can't help myself singing along (good thing to be Hungarian). The middle part, where the pilot said goodbye to the Little Prince was sung by Ákos this time. Such a nice choice. Double tracked vocals with precision accompanied by beautiful crescendos thanks to the bass and the mellotron. The guitar solo is beyond the Howe influences. No blues-licks here - okay, that's like Howe - but more contemporary classical music style with a nice Soundchaser aftertaste. Loving it, and Zsigó László proves to be a fantastic drummer, I know him since the TABULA SMARAGDINA album "A szavakon túl" (another fine Hungarian album!).

I am very impressed by this album, the music keeps growing in me and thanks to the beautiful lyrics and great interpretation of Stéphanie the layers of the story are as one with the music. Definitely this is one of the top albums of 2022. Looking forward for more Yesterdays stuff in the future. More than four Hungarian stars, it is already an Eastern European classic.

 Senki Madara by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2018
3.99 | 66 ratings

BUY
Senki Madara
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Chamber101

4 stars After listening to their latest album lots of times, I had to revisit their 3rd album and got inspired to write a review about that album first. Senki madara was the 3rd album of Yesterdays, no thanks to financial and bureaucratic reasons they've released it on CDr. Fortunately the quality of the music, the sound, the production and the beautiful black vinyl record style disc and the matching booklet lets me skip this minor flaw.

I can deeply understand the hype around this release. This idea to turn back in time and "use" traditional/ancient Hungarian folk songs and building symphonic rock around them is simply fantastic. Hungarians had genius composers like Béla Bartók and Kodály Zoltán, who took their time walking from village to village collecting the rich heritage of traditional songs, saving them for the future, and they even took inspiration for their own works from these beautiful songs. Fast forward 100 years came Yesterdays with the Senki madara album.

Senki madara - Nobody's Bird... lots of virtuoso flute melodies are telling the story in the language of birds. This album is not an uplifting, happy one, reflecting to the hard times of Hungarians, the deep levels of these songs are giving this album a dark, serious and more heavy aftertaste, which I like very much.

Everybody is talking about YES influences, but Yesterdays is so much more than a copy-cat band. It's very original... lots of percussion instruments, fretless bass, heavenly flutes and yes, there are mountains of Mellotrons and analog synthesizers.

I'd say Senki madara is a symphonic rock - folk and jazzy fusion record. The opening track is very strong and colorful, probably my favorite track on the album. It has everything you can ask for on a symphonic prog album.

Rejtesetek el starts with acoustic guitar and flute, later bass guitar, cello and moog will set up for the JON ANDERSON-like la-la-la vocal part. Chamber music reminiscent of AFTER CRYING... a string quartet enters and duels with the flute. Such a great build-up, instant goosebumps moments when the hammond organ starts screaming in the background.

Szivárvány havasán is the only happy song on the CD, it's the most YES-like tune with WAKEMAN-esque synth melody, beautiful acoustic guitars and great-great vocal extravaganza. A true ear-worm.

Elmehetsz has all the symphonic prog beauty in it, this was the first single from the album with a very artistic music video. The steel guitar solo quotes Soon from the GATES OF DELIRIUM. And there are other little YES quotes hidden in the other songs showing their true influences. It's so obvious they love YES and also EAST.

Ne mondd el is the darkest song with the darkest lyrics sung by guest lead singer Szirtes Edina (from SOLARIS' latest live line-up). Haunting percussion, a drum solo and distorted fretless bass.

Hajnalcsillag sums up a few songs from the album by using three 4 voiced choirs singing in the same time different songs in a BIG harmony in the end, that's 12 voices on who knows how many choir members.

Szomjú madarak brings back that good old Hungarian flavored symphonic prog we know from EAST's first two albums (Játékok, Hűség). Fretless bass, flowing Minimoog solos all over and there's a powerful guitar solo in the vein of TREVOR RABIN near the end of the song. JETHRO TULL style flute playing. Lovely tune with a dreamy acoustic coda freaturing soprano guitar (octave guitar with e-bow).

Eső (Rain) is the shortest, yet most beautiful symphonic prog tune I've ever heard. It brought back TREVOR RABIN's Jacaranda album to mind with the slide resonator guitar sounds, but the synth solo is out of this world, so is Stéphanie Semeniuc's vocal performance.

Nap (Sun) is based on a children's song that they sing to invite the Sun back to the sky on a rainy day. And this song truly brings the sunlight back. So much energy in this one. So many colliding well thought out musical parts that are leading to a brutal/heavy ending... a distorted bass guitar solo with drums playing crazy time-signatures accompanied by swirling analog synths and choir mellotrons.

Úgy bocsáss el (Let me go like that) had to be on the album. This was a signature Yesterdays move, calming down the listener, saying goodbye with an acoustic tune. Acoustic guitar, beautiful flute and a string quartet... each verse is transposed a half step down. Genius compositional move. Chamber music á la AFTER CRYING from their first albums Overground Music.

Senki madara is an album worth all the hype and it's really an "Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection" with its 4 stars. I have only one suggestion for the band: a properly pressed reissue like their latest album or a vinyl with some bonus tracks. Highly recommended!

 Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma by YESTERDAYS album cover Studio Album, 2022
4.08 | 61 ratings

BUY
Saint​-​Exup​é​ry álma
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Stargirl79

4 stars Saint-Exupéry álma (Saint-Exupéry's Dream) is Yesterdays' fourth studio album. I believe it's one of the best Hungarian progressive rock albums of the last few decades and one from my top 5 prog albums of 2022. It's the band's strongest and most powerful release.

As a Hungarian speaker I need to say this right away, the lyrics on this album are a real treat, beautiful poetry. So this is a big-big plus for Hungarian fans, but fortunately the beauty comes through the music also, thanks to Stéphanie Semeniuc's beautiful and expressive lead vocals.

It's safe to say that Yesterdays already has a unique sound despite the obvious Yes influences. Mellotrons, analog synths, vintage guitars, multiple vocal harmonies, good and long songs. Use these things and you get something similar to Yes or Genesis... add some flutes and female lead vocals with a special taste of Eastern European tradition and you get Yesterdays.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince is a good starting point for a concept album, but putting this tale in the context of Exupéry's short stories, the desert plane crash took the idea to a deeper level.

The CD booklet has been put together in English, introduction and storyline for non Hungarian speaking fans, so you can associate the meaning of each song to its part in the whole concept.

Rajzolj át is a fantastic and powerful opening statement. Fragile era Yes feel thanks to the Bogáti-Bokor Ákos' Howe inspired guitar runs and bass playing. After the Relayer-style middle part there's a bass solo melody that reminded me of Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water album. The coda has a strong sixties vibe... and we find ourselves deep in the story. "Draw me a sheep!"

Úgy várj majd rám is the Little Prince's goodbye to his tiny planet and the rose. A catchy chorus and a powerful upbeat guitar riff and we're in the middle part, a dreamy soundtrack-type chapter that reminded me of Harmonium, a true delight when the Minimoog steps in. The third part of the song is representing one of the instrumental highlights on the album. A crazy, virtuoso Minimoog solo comes in screaming while - again - Squire- like bass is thundering in the low end. Amazing skills again. And there's a talk box guitar solo too.

Estekék is the darkest song on the album with a powerful unison riff (guitar, bass, Moog Taurus) and countless vocal harmonies. The riff is the same melody we heard in the Squire-tribute part in Rajzolj át (there played by a symphonic orchestra). The ending's haunting flute-acoustic guitar duo is the most sad and yet uplifting thing on the album.

The big epic is called Esőtánc (Raindance) and it's the origin story of the Little Prince through all the hallucinations of the author in those three thirsty days in the desert. Well crafted parts joined together masterfully. The main melody returns on Hammond, piano, Minimoog, a 5 part vocal fugue and on acoustic guitar. There are parts which reminded me of Heart if the Sunrise or Watcher of the Skies. Gentle Giant-like fughettas and mellotron tricks. This song needs more listening to catch all the nuances. Again, the lyrics are amazing good on this track.

After every epic there's a need for a more relaxed song to channel the emotions and tension. In Ma minden érdekel there's a light, catchy verse, a power-pop style chorus and a solo part that could be part on a Flower Kings album, Roine Stolt-style guitar solo, but I can hear a little bit of Dave Navarro in it as well.

The passing of the Little Prince is definitely about the tragic passing of the band's keyboard player, Enyedi Zsolt... a calm waltz on a piano accompanied by a symphonic orchestra and a flute solo. Such a beautiful piece of music, reminiscent of Locanda delle Fate. But while you are embraced by beauty and nostalgy, A méreg (the Venom) drastically changes the mood and presents the Little Prince's ambivalent feelings about death.

Engedj el (Release me) is my favorite moment on the album. Clear Genesis' Duke mood with Yamaha electric piano and Phil Collins' drum machine sound from Duchess. Such a perfect way to end a concept album like this. This is why I think Saint-Exupéry álma is one of the strongest Hungarian prog albums. Not only the beautiful melody and harmonies in rich second-chords make this sound special, but again, the lyrics are so beautiful, I wish the bands could include translations of these poems in the booklet.

Rajzolj újra át is the final and shortest song on the album, with The Beatles style chord voicings and mood, a gentle acoustic song with positive aftertaste to intentionally calm down the previous song's emotions.

I am happy that Yesterdays took the courage to make music about this concept. There's no doubt this will become a classic Hungarian prog album. Hungarian prog is still a thing, this warms my heart. Highly recommended, very enjoyable album with its four and a half shiny stars, not just for Hungarians.

 Colours Caffé (10th Anniversary Remixed Edition) by YESTERDAYS album cover Boxset/Compilation, 2020
4.02 | 11 ratings

BUY
Colours Caffé (10th Anniversary Remixed Edition)
Yesterdays Symphonic Prog

Review by Stargirl79

4 stars Colours Caffé was YESTERDAYS' second album in 2010, a new musical pathway, moving away from the acoustic sounds of their debut "Holdfénykert" and implementing more electric sounds. When the pandemic happened in 2020, the band's keyboard player Enyedi Zsolt tragically has passed away. During the lockdown, Yesterdays guitarist Ákos Bogáti-Bokor took the opportunity to re-mix the whole album. The 2010 release was the band's very first self-produced product, a home-studio effort and they've told this lots of times since then that they weren't happy with the sound. I think it wasn't bad at all, KING'S X guitar player TY TABOR was the mastering engineer back then.

This new mix really has put this album to the right place. Everything sounds better, more balanced, especially the drums. So this re-mixing effort was really worth the extra work. In the new digisleeve cover the band dedicates this 10th Anniversary Edition to the loving memory of their beloved keyboard player Zsolt Enyedi.

Játék, the opening tune is like a YES song from the '80-s, nice moog sounds, SUPERTRAMP-like harpsichord passages and lots of mellotrons.

Forog a tánc features Hungary's most famous fusion drummer Gergő Borlai and jazz guitarist Tamás Mohai (from FAXNI and EAST). Such a dynamic song, catchy chorus, it's like Yesterdays' answer to YES' TEMPUS FUGIT.

Éjszaka is more neo-prog-ish with driving bass guitar melodies, haunting moog mellody, slide guitar and great singing from the new lead singer Linda Horváth.

Némafilm takes us back to Yesterdays' first album moods, no surprise here, it's the oldest song on the record, they've played this during the Moonlit Garden shows back in 2007. But with the new bass guitar player Zoltán Kolumbán there's a more edgy sound to the songs, reminiscent of Chris SQUIRE or Jonas REINGOLD (TFK). This epic song starts off as a SUPERTRAMP-like song from 1977 but the second part is what really shines. I love the voice of Karola Antal. This one is a pure symphonic prog gem and Mélyrepülés is a nice song to end this trilogy (The Némafilm Suite).

Bábu is the most fun track, it's the most retro sounding tune on the album, with a crazy moog sound, IAN ANDERSON-ish flute extravaganza, 5/8 rhythms mixed with 4/4 and 6/8. The middle section it's like a jazzy JETHRO TULL. One of my favorite songs on the album.

I can understand that hardcore proggers found this album a little bit too accessible, pop-music-like, but I am a sucker for well crafted songs and this new remix makes these songs even more powerful.

Zápor, the last song could be a song on MARILLION's Marbles album, very clear influences here, but with female vocals.

I am recommending this album for fans of NEAL MORSE (his popmusic-like works) and Marillion. Lyrics are in Hungarian this time so keep this in mind. Symphonic prog fans who are open to a new discovery can enjoy this album very much. 3.5 glowing prog stars for this album.

Thanks to Ivan_Melgar_M for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.