TALK

This albums not too bad. Definitely better than Union and Open Your Eyes.

The production of this album is similar to Big Generator, but sounds even colder. I think Chris Squire said it sounds like a computer because it was recorded on a computer. It reminds me of the old Monty Python sketch about "woody" words and "tinny" words. The Yes Album, Fragile, and Tales from Topographic Oceans are "woody" while "Talk" is definitely tinny.

All the parts are crystal clear.

The vocal harmonies are big and chorus-like. They're so flawless it seems almost inhuman.

The drums are pretty loud in the mix. I don't think I've ever heard another album where the drums are so upfront. Sometimes I feel as if they are wacking me in the head with a baseball bat. I suppose the closest analogy I can think of is the Def Leppard Hysteria album. That has a huge drum sound.

The clean electric guitars sound like they skipped the guitar amp and just recorded directly to the board. They have a cold, thin, wirey quality.

Similarly, the acoustic guitars have no warmth. It sounds like they recorded an acoustic guitar with a piezo under-the-bridge-pickup directly into the board.

Most of the songs on the album are actually pretty laid back and slow with slow guitar melodies.

Like the Open Your Eyes album, this album doesn't really sound like a group effort. It sounds like a Trevor Rabin/Jon Anderson project. Chris Squire's bass seems missing in action. Tony Kaye is only credited as playing Hammond Organ, and I only noticed the organ in one song. I wonder how many tracks he actually plays on.

1. The Calling This song is sort of a pop song, but it is more complex than a typical pop song.

There doesn't really seem to be a lead vocalist, since every word seems to be harmonized. This is an example of a song with huge harmonies.

This song also has the "big" drum sound.

I was surprised to hear Trevor Rabin playing country licks, although they sound like country licks running through a rack of guitar processors.

This is the only song I know that Tony Kaye plays since it contains a Hammond Organ solo.

I respect the vocals, musicianship, and composition of this song, yet it never really grabs me.

2. I Am Waiting This is a pretty mellow song based around a simple guitar riff which is repeated ad nauseum. You find yourself waiting for it to end. The repetition is finally interrupted by an aggressive guitar break that seems totally out-of-character with the rest of the song. For some reason, this song evokes images of grandma and grandpa sitting in their rocking chairs on the front porch. And then all of a sudden the Kool-Aid man bursts through the walls.. "Oh Yeaaah!". Then the Kool-aid man apologizes, cleans up his mess, and everything is peaceful again. This song is OK. It really could be edited down to half it's length.

3. Real Love Now here is one of my favorites. It basically is based around another simple riff, but breaks into a huge symphonic-like choruses with deep bass-pedal tones. This song sounded even more powerful when I saw them play it on the supporting tour for this album. It is the "The More We Live - Let Go" song of the album. This is the Chris Squire song of the album.

4. State Of Play This song is kind of poppy too. It starts out with some aggressive Rabin-style guitar, but also breaks into a nice big chorus where Anderson's high-pitched vocals float over a bed of synthesizer pads. It seems like Anderson sounds best when singing over keyboard pads ala "Soon", "Awaken", etc.

5. Walls This song is definitely a pop song, and a boring one at that. I can never make it past the first line of the chorus before I hit the Next button. When I saw the tour for this album, everyone went crazy over this song. I'm assuming it must've got a lot of radio play. But I don't think there were really that many hardcore Yes fans at that concert since "And You and I" barely got any audience response. I consider this the "Saving My Heart" song of the album. It is boring and trite.

6. Where Will You Be Here is another of my favorites. This song has an almost "new age" feel to it. It is one of the few songs on this album where Jon Anderson sings by himself for the most part. It is definitely a Jon Anderson song. It is basically Jon sing over a marimba-sounding sequence while Trevor Rabin plays his "John McLaughlin Shakti"-style acoustic guitar parts. Kind of like a more new agey sounding "Holy Lamb".

7. Endless Dream As others have said, this is the "Awaken" song of this album. It starts out with a really rocking and complex intro. But after that it gets mellow and pretty much loses my interest. Then it ends with some nice choral harmonies. This song was a highlight for me when I saw it on the accompanying tour. However, I think "Awaken" or "And You and I" is better.