YES

Yes' debut album is completely in the shadow of the other immense works of the band, and for a good reason.

In 1969, when Progressive Rock had found it's masterpiece, "In The Court Of The Crimson King", this new genre was starting to blossom. One of the first examples is the debut album by legendary act Yes. Like many debut albums at the time, this album can't help being immature, innocent, and inconsistent, but they are loads of innocent sounding albums of that era that truly capture the essence of youth and innocence. Sadly, this album fails to do so, not completely, but in many points.

Only a band like King Crimson and their debut album can really capture what Progressive Rock was all about, and what it still is. It was the ideal album, of immediate maturity. However Yes was not like that; the progressive influences are here, because of slower passages, keyboards, and noticeable jazz influences, in the musicianship and also in the melodies. There are still vague hints of psychedelic rock aftermath, which makes this debut actually a transition between the musical evolution of Psych and Prog. The musicians are very immature sounding, it really feels like they were playing for the first time: Jon Anderson sounds very amateurish in particular, and is a lot of times accompanied vocally, which puts him a bit in the shadow. The only musician I can sense actual instant talent here is Chris Squire on bass, giving pretty impressive bass lines. As for the rest, they still have to mature quite a bit.

No one can deny that they are precious and catchy moments here, like the opener "Beyond And Before", or even better "Looking Around", incredibly memorable. But I'm not uncomfortable in saying that some songs here are just pretty bad; the Beatles cover "Every Little Thing" is really annoying, and I never actually was a fan of the original song either; both "Sweetness" and "Survival|" feel absolutely unnecessary and empty, despite being eleven minutes together. "I See You", the second track of the album, has a good atmosphere, however the melody is not appealing to me at all, and the worst part is that it's not forgettable, it easily gets stuck in your head.

A mediocre album I didn't really enjoy much, and thought it wasn't the glorious album Yes deserve to have as a debut.

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