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Yes - The Yes Album CD (album) cover

THE YES ALBUM

Yes

 

Symphonic Prog

4.31 | 3298 ratings

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patrickq
Prog Reviewer
4 stars I have a soft spot for The Yes Album. It was the first Yes album I really got into, and the first time I really listened to an album from the 1970s (this was in 1988). Even after I had listened carefully to every Yes album, and had decided that Close to the Edge was my favorite, I still thought of The Yes Album as a close second. But over time I slowly came to realize that albums like Fragile, Relayer, and Drama were better. But it's still tough to declare The Yes Album "only" a four-star album.

The Yes Album opens with "Yours is No Disgrace," which along with "Heart of the Sunrise," "Close to the Edge," and "The Gates of Delirium" is one of the absolute best Yes songs ever - - actually, one of the best progressive rock songs ever. No song is perfect, but I'm really at a loss as to how "Yours is No Disgrace" could be improved. It's a clear statement that as wonderful as Yes's first two albums were, the band is now operating on an entirely new plane.

In fact, of the six songs on The Yes Album, only "A Venture" would've fit on their prior album, Time and a Word. Conversely, "Astral Traveller" is the only song on either Yes or Time and a Word that hints at the sound of The Yes Album. One of the big differences is the use of the acoustic guitar on The Yes Album. Although only one section of the 9:40 "Yours is No Disgrace" has an acoustic guitar, the next song, "Clap," is an acoustic guitar solo, and the middle song of the "Starship Trooper" suite features only acoustic guitar and vocals. The same is true of "Your Move," The band's first US hit, which is the first half of the medley which opens the album's second side. (Although technically it's not just an acoustic guitar, but a "Portuguese twelve-string," according to Wikipedia.)

If Yes could've maintained the quality of side one throughout the whole album, The Yes Album would be a five-star album. "Clap" is the first in a series of occasional solo acoustic pieces Steve Howe would contribute to Yes albums over his time in the band, and it's one of his best, topped only by "Masquerade" (from Union, twenty years later). And "Starship Trooper," which is little more than a medley of three songs, one written by singer Jon Anderson, one by bassist Chris Squire, and one by Howe, is another strong offering. The transition from "Your is No Disgrace," which ends with what I would describe as a musically ascending sweep, to "Clap" is abrupt, but the sweep-like effect that opens "Starship Trooper" is a unifying element that lends a cohesion to the entire side. Finally, the long fade of "Starship Trooper" reinforces the sense that something long and substantial (i.e., the suite of songs comprising the first side) is over.

Alas, side two is weaker. The plodding, pedestrian "Your Move" is followed immediately by "All Good People," a near-instrumental based on an unexciting, repeated riff. The nine-minute, album-closing "Perpetual Change" suffers from similar problems; even if it were a four- or five-minute song, it would hardly be as exciting as "Starship Trooper" and "Your is No Disgrace," nor as artistic as "Clap." I recognize that quite a few Yes fans consider "Perpetual Change" to be an underappreciated classic, and I do respect the polyrhythmic instrumental section which begins around 5:10.

The middle of side two is occupied by "A Venture," which is an odd little song (and I mean that in the best possible way). Its story-with-a-moral stance is a throwback to earlier Yes; in fact it reminds me quite a bit of "Harold Land" from the group's debut album. "Harold Land" is a cautionary tale about the impact of war on the soul of the soldier, which is perhaps the main takeaway from "Yours is No Disgrace." But a comparison of the lyrics of those two songs provides good insight as to the differences between the "old Yes" of 1969 and 1970 and the Yes which produced The Yes Album.

As good as the 1994 (Joe Gastwirt) and 2003 (Rhino) remasters of The Yes Album are, the 2014 Steven Wilson remix is the definitive edition in my opinion. Some fans were unhappy with the liberties Wilson took on the title track of his remix of Close to the Edge, but as is the case with nearly all of his Yes remixes, he is reverential to a fault with his stereo mixes on The Yes Album. In addition to the usual goodies, Wilson also includes an extended version of "A Venture," which turns out to have gone on for well more than a minute after it fades out on the album version.

The Yes Album is not a masterpiece; Yes would produce those soon enough. Rather, it's a very good album whose mixture of symphonic prog and progressive folk make it an excellent starting point for those interested in 1970s Yes.

___

*now I think Relayer is even better.

patrickq | 4/5 |

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