THE YES ALBUM

What a great record!!

YES third album "The Yes Album" was published in February 1971; it was the first album of the band to feature guitar player Steve HOWE as a replacement of Peter BANKS and the last one to feature Tony KAYE in keyboards before Rick WAKEMAN replaced him. This album was probably the first one in which they got a genuine Progressive Rock style.

The songs in this record are longer and with more interesting instrumental passages than the ones in the previous two albums; "The Yes Album" is also the first record of YES in which all of the songs are original from the band (there are no covers here).

1.- Yours is no disgrace (09:41): The opening track is an almost 10 minutes amazing song with a very powerful structure; the addition of HOWE was brilliant: he had a much more complete guitar technique than Peter BANKS and he played both electric and acoustic guitar creating enjoyable atmospheres. The drums, bass, and keyboards are astonishingly powerful while the voice of Jon ANDERSON (supported by the backing vocals of HOWE and SQUIRE) lead the song.

2.- The clap (03:17): This is a very short but yet very precise Steve HOWE's acoustic guitar live improvisation that shows his talent and the characteristic style that he has and contributed to the band.

3.- Starship trooper (09:26): Many people's favorite song of the album; it's in the same vein of "Yours is no disgrace". The song is divided into three movements: "Life seeker" (the part with the nice guitar riff and the powerful drums), "Disillusion" (the cheerful acoustic middle section that receives the coda of "Life seeker"), and "Würm" (the epic instrumental ending that takes almost half of the song); every movement is different to the other ones but without losing the essence of the piece.

4.- I've seen all good people (06:53): Another big hit in YES discography: along with "Starship trooper" is always part of the concerts of the band. This song is divided into two parts: "Your move" (an acoustic even kind of folky piece) and "All good people" (which is more moved with bass, electric guitar, and drums).

5.- A venture (03:20): This is a more slow song with a very nice instrumental final; maybe this is the song in which we can appreciate Chris SQUIRE's bass lines more deeply.

6.- Perpetual change: (08:52): My personal favorite track of the album; it starts with a very nice piano/guitar entrance, then the bass and drums appear strongly until the song changes into a more relaxed part in which Jon ANDERSON sings very sweetly; the chorus increases the volume and the formula repeats itself several occasions.

As a whole, this album has become one of the most popular in YES' discography and that's the least it deserves.

SONG RATING: Yours is no disgrace, 5 The clap, 4 Starship trooper, 5 I've seen all good people, 5 A venture, 5 Perpetual change, 5

AVERAGE: 4.83

PERCENTAGE: 96.67

ALBUM RATING: 5 stars

I ranked this album #39 on my TOP 100 favorite Progressive Rock albums of all time.

Share this YES review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Uruk_hai
• Report this review (#2481341)
• Buy YES music online with PA partners
• Show all YES MP3/Stream
• Go to YES page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to The Yes Album page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for YES related discussions