ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE

I quite like this album that was put together by the best Yes line-up that existed, but I do miss hearing Squire's influence on this. However, it is the only thing missing from the classic Yes line-up and so the album itself is still great, but not quite essential. The time signature changes are amazing as always, the ingenuity of Yes is very present in this album and the playing is concise, masterful and exciting which is exactly what you expect from Yes. My favorite track is "Teakbois" because I love the treatment they give to tropical sounding music in this particular track. I also love the way the keyboards run away with the melody in several parts of this song. Being a keyboardist myself, Wakeman is my hero. The man is a master. But then so is the entire line-up. One of the things that keeps me from giving this a five star rating is that I always thought that Squire complimented Anderson's voice so well in giving it the foundation that was needed. It's true that Anderson's voice is a little timid and Squire was always able to make up for that. Please don't get me wrong, I love Jon Anderson's voice and Yes is one of the best, but Anderson's voice works so much better with Squire's bass behind it.