YES

One thing you can't say about this debut album is that it is entirely progressive. Yes at that time was still trying to find its characteristic sound to be developed later and you can see it in the way the songs are structured. All members of the band's first incarnation (Jon Anderson on vocals, Chris Squire on double bass, Peter Banks on guitar, Tony Kaye on keyboards and Bill Bruford on drums) bring influences of different styles characteristic of the time, arising from jazz fusion and psychedelia . "Beyond And Before", which comes from a demo composed by Chris Squire's former group before Yes, Mabel Greer's Toyshop, presents the style that the album will unfold over the course of it. The inlaid vocals of Anderson, Banks and Squire offer a sonority that, at first glance, differs greatly from what they will present later, but which already showed flashes of what could become the Anderson / Squire vocal partnership. As well as here, you can also notice other very striking things in the band: Bruford's virtuous, tireless and energetic drums; the low, precise and powerful sound of Squire's Rickenbacker and the melody partnership between Kaye's organ and Banks' gentle guitar. At the end of the song, a small melody unfolds on the acoustic guitar that at first I seemed to find somewhat meaningless, however, on second thought, I can see signs of similarity between what is presented here and the sounds of "And You And I". For me it was like Yes predicting what they would become in the future, very curious.

With "I See You" is where things start to improve and a lot! The audience would think it would be just another simple cover than The Byrds had presented years before, but Yes says NO to this type of approach and takes the original material further vitalizing it and giving his personal touch to the entire composition. It is very lively, energetic, everyone here seems to be on fire with so much excitement and it is a pleasure for my ears when the session comes in which Peter Banks brings us his solo, which curiously presents some excerpts from Bach's work "Prelude & Fugue in C minor, BWV 847", along with a Bruford beat on his drums. Here begins something in the band's songs that I like to call "Heart Of The Sunrise motif", as a theme featured on Banks' solos can be heard in other songs even after he left the band, especially recognized at the link Steve Howe does between the original 'Heart Of The Sunrise' riff and Squire's solo. Although Anderson's isolated vocals are a little out of place in the mix, in general it is an excellent song and should be remembered more often in the great songs the band has already made, in my opinion.

After that, we are redirected to a calm and romantic melody presented in "Yesterday and Today". It's sweet and smooth and your handwriting could really be used as a gift card for your most meticulous suitor. Anderson presents his angelic vocals along with Kaye's piano and Banks' guitar. It is a peaceful track and I believe it is well placed between two great and showy works, as a space to breathe among them.

"Looking Around" is another one of his original compositions and for me it presents one of the best songs on the album. Honestly this is the first time Tony Kaye has shown all his talent on the Hammond Organ and he really lends himself to it. I like the beats that are presented and I particularly feel very related to the lyrics and the bass of Squire. A great composition that could have been better used if it had gained space in the band's live performances in later years.

"Harold Land" even though it is a long-forgotten track, still deserves its merit. Its lyrics present an interesting narrative that the band's instruments aptly express. However, it ends up entering a valley very similar, musically, to '' Looking Around ", which in turn is a much more memorable song. I believe that what stands out the most is Kaye's piano and Squire's bass, Bruford is hampered by the mixing of his drums. Overall, a cool track.

"Every Little Thing" is a cover of The Beatles that, honestly, is much better than the original. I really like Banks' solo at the beginning along with the speed presented by Bruford. The little link of "Day Tripper" is very well placed and that for me represents Yes's way of paying tribute to the work of the Liverpool boys who served as a great influence for everyone there. Yes puts all its characteristic style in the music and makes it much more alive and dancing. Although I still prefer the version presented in 2004 on the live album of the band's 35-year tour.

"Sweetness" is another ballad of love and lightness presented on the album, but with much more meaning than "Yesterday and Today". I particularly love what Kaye does here, it makes everything lighter and softer, like a warm hug after dark days have passed over our bodies. Beautiful melody, with an obvious highlight for Anderson's harmonious vocals!

And closing the album we have "Survival", the best track on the album for me. When the song starts with Squire on bass, you know a lot of good is coming. Everyone seems to be doing really well here and everyone has their moment to shine, with a lot of help from the mix this time around. As the song progresses, everyone shows up to demonstrate a little of what came and when they return to the main rhythm they close the song in a sudden pleasure, thus ending the first album of one of the most important bands of Progressive Rock.

The album is very solid and for a debut like this I say that they did a great job. Mixing original material with some covers from artists like The Byrds and The Beatles the band managed to implement a very versatile pattern in their songs, showing early on that they had something special to be presented to the public, but that it still needed to be quite matured . If there is any criticism present in your songs I would say that some of them tend to look very similar to each other in certain passages of melodies and sessions during the song, mainly with the order of "Looking Around", "Harold Land" and "Every Little Thing ", as well as questions about the somewhat unbalanced mix.

In addition, for a debut they are still confident to try new things and become more and more what we would later know as the "Yes Classic" Score: 7.5 / 10