ESQUIRE

In the 80s I became a fan of Esquire before I even knew much about its mothership, Yes. I knew nothing of the involvement of Alan White, Chris Squire or his talented (former) wife, Nikki. All I knew what that the sound of vocal harmonies, rich synthesizers and memorable choruses made me an immediate fan. This music is heavily layered, and a real treat to decrypt when listening.

The lyrics, like most in the Yes family of music, are nonsensical, and even quite silly at times - such that I usually feel ridiculous as I sing them to myself. But the lyrics aren't what makes this a good album.

While Nikki Squire takes credit for most of what's on the album, Chris Squire's influence (as well as his backing vocals) is prominent and indisputable. What's also significant is that this is surprisingly much less progressive than the Yes music of just a few years earlier. Songs fall within the 3-5 minute range, solo performances are all but absent and there's never any sort of story to be told here. Dynamically, each song carries a distinct individual melody and arrangement, but all songs are closely aligned with one another and don't deviate much from the established sound.

So from a prog perspective, this album falls a little flat. But that doesn't diminish the solid sound and performances of all involved.

Highlights include the rousing "To the Rescue," "Up, Down, Turnaround" and "Hourglass."

Given that this rock isn't all that progressive, I penalize it by one star. But it's good enough to be given at least three of them.

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