THE QUEST

So, I was invited to listen to a promo copy of the new Yes album, and I should say that it is very good! Okay, it's not Keystudio or Drama, but it's not really that far from there, and in my opinion is the best album that Yes has composed in the past 25 years. Overall, I find it better than H&E, FFE, The Ladder, the Rabin era' Yes, Union, ABWH, Open your eyes, Tormato, and I like it more than Magnification because it is more rock-oriented. However, it is true that The Quest does not reaches the heights of Homeworld, Magnification or In the presence of.

So, what do we have here?

1. The ice bridge (8.5/10) - one of the best songs of the album, even if the core was composed some 40 years ago.

2. Dare to Know (7.5/10) - The first newly composed piece sets the bar a bit low. I like the orchestra, which reminds me of Magnification, but the keyboards and some vocals drag the song down a bit. Only the lovely guitar work by Howe saves it.

3. Minus the Man (6/10) - Well, this is your typical average Glass Hammer song with Howe on guitar...don't like it especially although the harmonizing vocals are cool.

4. Leave Well Alone (9/10) - My favourite of the album. It starts with some 80's flavour but it soon changes and takes us into full acoustic-symphonic Yes territory. The second part is pure bliss, it reminds me of some The Yes album/GFTO/Keystudio moments...

5. The Western Edge (6/10) - this is a good song by Sherwood and Davison, but it sounds too much like a Circa/Sherwood solo piece. Could be in any The Prog collective album.

6. Future Memories (7/10) - I like the voice of Davison and the guitar here, (reminds me of Steve Hackett). If this song had served as the introduction of a longer piece it would have been perfect, because it sets the mood so well.

7. Music to My Ears (7.5/10) - a piece elevated by the vocals and keyboards. I get the feeling that the band really enjoys playing together here.

8. A Living Island (6/10) - sadly the third longest piece in the album is a miss... Too simple and undeveloped, feeling like a christmas song in places.

CD 2 1. Sister Sleeping Soul (5/10) - A Davison-led song with good vocals, although it feels like a filler to me.

2. Mystery Tour (5.5/10) - A playful Beatelesque song that would have better suited for Howe's recent solo album Love is.

3. Damaged World 8/10) - a very good song with Howe on vocals, this one also feels more like a band effort. The ending is so good!

Overall, a very ejoyable album, better than I expected and a truly valuable effort coming from this great band.

I feel that the rating should be anywhere from 3.5 to 3.8 stars, so I'm rounding up to four.

Highly recommended!

After the long wait and heightened anticipation for the release of Yes' newest studio release, The Quest, I find myself wanting to wait a bit longer for something much better. My hopes were pretty high after hearing the first two singles and opening tracks (The Ice Bridge and Dare to Know) prior to the album release. Unfortunately, those are the only two really decent songs on the album. Frankly speaking, the rest of the songs on the album are simply boring. Sadly, this is not the first time Yes has put out a mostly boring album. They achieved this same level of boredom with Open Your Eyes and Heaven and Earth, the only two albums I would place lower on the list than The Quest. With the caliber of musicianship of the current members of Yes, one would expect much better output. I gave The Quest 3 stars only because of the first 2 songs on the album. Otherwise, I would have given it a 1 or 2 star rating. What a disappointment, after all the wait.

"The Quest" is their first album of new material in seven years - and the first since the death, in 2015, of bassist Chris Squire, the only original member to appear on every Yes LP.

The line-up is made up of guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Alan White, flanked by bassist Billy Sherwood and vocalist Jon Davison, who took on lead vocals in 2012.

The first track of the album is the seven minutes of The Ice Bridge in perfect Yes style. Complete with final duel between guitar and keyboards.

But it is in the following Dare to Know that we understand that Yes are in perfect condition, complete with prog but also orchestral arrangements that lead us to do the classic flights of fantasy to which the band has accustomed us. Continuing "The Quest" begins to become even more serious and metaphysical in his reflections (Minus the Man, Future Memories). Leave Well Alone has good orchestral grafts and an ending reminiscent of Wurm !! A nice 2 part piece by Billy Sherwood and Jon Davison follows where you can hear the echoes of the best world trade with Howe's guitar coloring it all! Davison's future memoirs supported by Howe's maliconic steel guitar are a beautiful ballad!

The closure of A Living Island has an exciting central break.

3 bonus tracks are on another disc. Beautiful pieces but the main core is the first cd.

A good record !! Also to listen to the instrumental version to appreciate the arrangements. Congratulations YES ... Chris would be proud of You !

Yes has always been one of my favorite groups. Tracks like Close to The Edge and And you and I are among my absolute favorites. You can just forget about those songs here on this album. This is pop music with some guitar, strings and synth. Nice and melodic. It flows away. Very disappointing is the only thing I can say.

The Ice Bridge is the opening track and can remind a bit of yes. Opens quite well with synth and vocals. Sacred song and synth. A good guitar solo. Perhaps the best track.

Sister sleeping soul, pretty pop but where is the YES magic. Reminds me of beach boys at times. Don't get me wrong I like Beach boys but this is supposed to be YES.

Dare To Know opens with a sweet guitar solo and then there are more guitars and wind instruments. Everything slides away at a nice pace. Then it almost becomes film music. Strings and winds. Then some guitar again. Unbelievable that this is YES. Could have been played on P4 here in Norway. There is not much challenging music there. Then some guitar again. Wind instruments, guitar. A little beat change. Jon Davison sings well. Then it calms down with a little guitar and then it fades out.

Mystery Tour. More of the same. Nice pop music. Could almost have been the Beatles at times. And then some Alan Parsons. Verse and chorus. A little 10cc too. A little Beach boys and a little Creedence too.

Minus The Man. Opens slowly with singing then some guitar then some vocal harmonies. And so and so on in the same line with a few strings in the background. A little change of pace so I do not fall asleep. Then some guitar again. If I had heard this song without knowing it was yes, I would not have believed it.

Damaged world. Opens with ompa ompa beat. Jon does NOT sing in falsetto. Lindsey Buckingham could have had this on his latest album. Nice and melodic.

Leave well alone. Opens at a slightly different pace. Sounds almost like Moody blues at first. This is actually an ok pop song. A small change of pace. String, guitar. Nothing wrong with this, just expected something different / better. Another change of pace and something reminiscent of Yes. Steve Howe one of the world's best guitarists. Here he is idling or on autopilot.

The western edge. Opens with synth and song slowly. Now it loosens up soon. But it does not. Although they increase the pace a bit. And there are some nice harmonies and beats. So incredibly predictable. Future memories. A little sacred song with guitar, calm and slow. Harmonies. This is pure pop music. Calm and nice and slow. Not much more to say.

Music To My Ears. Opens calmly with piano. So a little floating synth. This is also pure pop music. All this music reminds me of something, it's just not YES.

A living island. Opens with calm guitar and vocals and piano. A little guitar and singing. Then it's more of the same.

What shall I say. Two or three stars? I am sorry guys, but I cannot give you more than two. I know you can do so much better. Now I have to put on Close to The Edge.

In general, the album contains too many soft and mellow songs. It probably suffer of a lack of vitality and some songs would have benefited of a faster tempo and more instrumental sections and/or longer solos. It is as if the band restrained themselves at some point. However, it is still a pleasure to see the band trying to create new material and succeed : there is no bad track on this album. It is well crafted and it keeps you coming back for more : I am listening to the album in loop since its release and I am still not tired of it. This is a good sign, let's admit it.

The Ice Bridge is a perfect way to start a Yes album with a great guitar/keyboard battle in the last section and a terrific bass line that Chris Squire would have approved for sure. This is the best track of the album and ironically, it was not written by a member of the band... 5/5

Dare to Know shows another side of Yes with some great symphonic parts that could have been taken from a Zelda video game soundtrack. 3,5/5

Minus the Man was co-written by Billy Sherwood and Jon Davison. I was really curious with the material that Sherwood could provide with this album, knowing that his last contributions with Yes were not really great. The result here is surprisingly quite good but could probably have been better with some tempo changes or additional instrumental sections. 2,5/5

Leave Well Alone is the most progish song of the album. It start with a catchy riff and then goes in a very different direction with Jon using a deeper voice than usual in a section that remains a bit the introduction of Revealing Science of God. The last section is an instrumental loop that allow Steve to shine. The whole song is very good. However, I can't help but think that it could have been better with more vocal harmonies on the "Revealing" part, with a faster tempo and with more punch during the final section. Could have been great, it's only good. 3,5/5

The Western Edge is the second Sherwood/Davidson song. It sounds like a track coming from Open Your Eyes (bad news) but better than any of them (good news). 2,5/5

Future Memories is the new Turn of the Century. Great song showing that Jon Davidson is more than an Anderson vocal clone. One of the highlight of the album. 4/5

Music to my Ears suffers from the same defects than Leave Well Alone : It's a very nice and catchy song that could have been terrific if played at a faster tempo and with additional vocal harmonies from Billy. Without Chris Squire, it is again more obvious that Steve can't do the harmonies job correctly alone. 3,5/5

A Living Island is another mid-tempo soft song with some nice instrumental sections and a very nice chorus in the end. 3/5

Sister Sleeping Soul is a great pop song with nice vocals and a catchy chorus. Once again, a faster tempo and a longer keyboard solo could have made the song even better. 3,5/5

Mystery Tour is another pop song about the Beatles (how original is that !). Not incredible but not bad. 2/5

Damaged World really sounds like a solo out-take of Steve. Thus, it suffer from the fact that Steve takes the lead vocal. However, the instrumental section in the middle is really enjoyable. 2,5/5

The band couldn't do worse than their previous album and having more time in the lockdown situation to work on their songs. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece of the 70's, but something better than "Heaven on Earth". The first track gives you a good idea of the whole album with a light sound in the style of "Fly From Here" and "Magnification" with a nice and short keys passage of Downes, but it's the guitar of Howe is the highlight of the song, but you feel that the song doesn't gain momentum. "Dare to Know" is more interesting with some classical arrangements with strings and a guitar work of Howe who take us back to "Relayer" "MInus the Man" is where things started to go down with uninspiring music that you could find in a Billy Sherwood album. "Leave well Alone" brings some nice multipart vocals where Howe again shows his versatility on the guitar, but Downes is still showing a low profile. The rest of the album is characterized by some light semi-ballad songs missing the big symphonic style of Yes in the 70's. The bass of Squire and the keys of Wakeman are missing as the songwriting, nothing that moves you only Steve Howe playing is bringing a little fun. This one will not require many spins on my cd player, it's going back on the shelf.

A surprisingly pleasing release from Yes that I waited before reviewing. I'm glad I did as this album takes a few listens to connect with, where the music makes sense, and I find myself enjoying it a good deal more than I did on first listen. A sign of good song writing.

The opening song, 'The Ice Bridge' I found a bit cheesy on first listen, but in time I caught the mood and the good energy there. I like how Jon Davison sounds and the melodies he chooses here, not typical and quite lovely. Nice keyboard/guitar interplay toward the end. A pretty decent opener.

"Dare To Know' I find gorgeous. I really like Steve Howe's writing style, and the guitar-driven instrumental passages he employs between vocal passages. The sense of wonder, and the beautiful morning sound that Yes has succeeded well with in the past, is all over this one, and it took a beautiful morning in my car to really appreciate this one.

'Minus The Man' is a simpler track, decent enough, though I don't find it on the level of the first 2 tracks. I don't mind it, but I'm glad the majority of the album doesn't sound like this.

"Leave Well Alone' is classic Howe, landing somewhere between older Yes and solo Howe. This is a fairly upbeat track, employing minor chords (in typical Howe fashion) and I really enjoy this one. Possibly my favorite track on the album, and perhaps the most 'progressive' sounding track. Good melodies, exciting instrumental break. One of my favorite things they've done in many years.

'The Western Edge' is enjoyable too, one of the tracks where Jon Davison's writing channels Jon Anderson.

'Future Memories' is the prettiest track here, again sounding Anderson-esque, when he latches on to a lovely melody. Nice supporting guitar work from Steve on this one. In the early years Yes' pretty side was quite lovely, much more so than in later years. This is somewhat closer to the pretty side of earlier Yes.

'Music To My Ears' starts off with a nice guitar melody, but once the vocals are in it is not one of my favorites. The chorus sticks with you as a melody that is hard to get out of one's head, which can be a good or bad thing. I don't find the melody particularly engaging, so this one is probably my least favorite on the album, including the 3-track ep.

'A Living Island' is a beautiful track to conclude this collection. The mood here, has a sense of positive wonder, I didn't catch on first listen. This reminds me a bit of the last track on the Anderson/Stolt album. The interwoven vocals are quite nice. The 2nd half of the song is particularly nice. A nice finale to the main album.

The bonus ep:

'Sister Sleeping Soul' I really like. Mandolin based track, which to me sounds like a beautiful summer day. Not as interesting as 'Long Distance Runaround' or 'Your Move' but a very positive feel and what would have been probably the best track for airplay back in the day.

'Mystery Tour' is a fun track, nothing special at all, but I do like Steve's acoustic guitar play. The lyrics are fun and interesting but I won't give anything away. Another earworm, but the melody is ordinary, to me. So... one to take it for what it is.

''Damaged World' I really have a soft spot for. What can I say, I like Steve Howe as a songwriter when he does something different that is uniquely his style, and though this is nothing brilliant, I find it to have very catchy and pleasing melodies. It is nice when Jon's voice comes in. The guitar melody between lyrics I also find enjoyable.

No 'Close To The Edge' but a nice release, and one of the best Yes has done in the last 3 decades to my ears.

My 8 Cents worth. DISCLAIMER I know its only my viewpoint and opinion.

I have listened to it now around 10 times through. I was very pleased with it the first pass, I had refrained from listening to ANY of it until the release, so I went in totally fresh to hear the whole thing at once. I did however read all the reactions for the past weeks, so I was imagining some pretty poor results, so granted my expectations were LOW.

I know that the argument for YES or NO YES is out there, and my view is that the recipe that makes YES the special band we love is the writing and chemistry of the big three: Jon A/Squire/Howe. those three are the ingredients that make the music that is the magical part of YES lore. Thus, for this album to feel Yessy its Howe plus the simulation of the other two ingredients(proving their importance to the recipe). BUT Billy and Juano do an outstanding job of providing the flavors needed to feel like a YES album.

So I knew going in that I was getting something that I am just lucky I am able to get at this point in the journey, some fashion of YES still doing what they can to make music. better than no Yes? arguable. After H/E I would have said YES! Stop now. But this album made me sentimental and touched a Yes nerve that I appreciate and allowed me to enjoy it. I was SOOO disappointed in H/E, mostly due to the incomplete production, clearly the album was released way before it was done properly. There were moments that showed great promise, but clearly their touring cut the process short and the decision(to Howe's point) to release it anyway was not too wise. So much of it sounded demo/like. The break in Living in a World of our own is so bad it hurts. So Quest solves that issue right off...the production is far superior. And the completion of the ideas is valid here, the songs sound DONE.

The GOOD: *Billy's vocals sound so good! I wish he would produce his vocals like this more often! *Billy's bass is very good too. Nice Squire ode. Fish is my favorite musician of all time, so I appreciate Billy as the understudy, does it well. *Juano sounds much more involved and comfortable. *I hate to say it, but even STEVE's vocals sound Ok here. Someone must have bought Melodyne or something...lol. Usually Steve is unbearable when audible! *No cheesy sounds from Geoff. Nice choices. *Songs are interesting, and well layered. Some glorious guitar for sure.

THE BAD: *the best part is that the BAD is not that bad to me. Mostly choices. which is the best news. rather than bad quality as in H/E. *the sad but true biggest issue is poor Alan is just at Ringo level here. ALBIET he is far far better represented than on H/E. But I think the whole of the limited power on the album centers around his limitations. I love Alan(met him, he is sooooo nice). But I wish Jay would have shared drum duties. *I WISH Billy had sung some harmony on all songs, more consistency with the three part harmonies would have served the Yes feel so much better to me. especially considering both Billy and Steve sound pretty ok on here. *I WISH they had built up some of the moments that had huge potential. a few I am sure we all agree were screaming to explode to grand levels. But stayed more subtle. *Geoff is far too low in the mix, and clearly the album is Steve-centric. I do pine for balance in key and guitar presence, that is a Yes-like approach. So I would have loved to hear more presence from Geoffs parts. *Beatle song needed to be JAPAN only!

THE ICE BRIDGE: I loved it. Very nice drive from Billy/kinda had that Spirit of Survival spy bass going on. Geoff seems most active here, but not sure how much came from the Monk piece(lol. not touching that one). I like the coda, the main riff is so good/Howe. The leads are ok all things considered. The singing is Jon A+D, a friend even asked me if Anderson had rejoined! lol. I love the subject and the lyrics. Great start to the album.

DARE TO KNOW: I was expecting a Burt Bacharach song based on what everyone was saying. I was so pleasantly surprised when I finally heard it. Beautiful Howe melodies on guitar. Love the verse guitars, and the main melody gets treated guitar then orch then slide...the melodies vocally are nice. I thought the song was a mini-epic in a very subtle way, again I wish it would have exploded, but alas it did not. NOTE: that last coda on acoustic sounds a lot like the coda from Subway walls? I was waiting to hear "transcend!"

MINUS THE MAN: finally get to hear Billy sing. He and Juano blend well together. This song is very Billy. Having his solo albums, you can hear his style in writing clearly. Really nice guitar added. I wonder if Billy or Geoff is doing the keys, they sound a bit Billy like. I know the song is mid tempo, but It doesn't bother me too much. I like the Billy vocal so I look forward to this song for that harmony reason.

LEAVE WELL ALONE: To me, this one and Dare to Know are the most intriguing and interesting songs on the album. Both have multiple parts that I cannot wait to get to as I listen. This one has that groove to open, but lots of guitar defining the melodies. I concede the transitions on this song between parts can me a bit of the weak point, but again Alan is not in form to be a huge fill power peak to enable part endings and punctuations. the verses are lovely on acoustic, and the riff guitar break is not the most impressive of all time, but its serviceable enough as a melodic guitar break. I wish again more keyboard was evident, that run with a strong Moog would have been cool. Now the BEST moment on the whole album is in this song, that coda....the chords are beautiful. and I give Alan credit for his best moment with those flams. This part starts and I am sure we all salivated hoping to hear it climb to Awaken or Wurm heights! lol. but that was not the choice they made, they kept it at the level of mini epic ness. I will say thought that this is my favorite part of the album. I would love to hear Neal Morse Band cover this song! lol, and just blow up that coda.

THE WESTERN EDGE: Billy's voice without multiple effects works for me here. I love it. the song has glorious slide guitar. and there are great moments of vocal harmony that make me feel good. Again, I wonder if Billy is playing keyboards(wink). they sound so solo album-ish. I love the acoustic verses. All the acoustic moments on the album are pretty nice. I can easily hear Squire singing on this(tear in my eye). The tempo picks up, so i think the slide guitar is what keeps folks from feeling this is an uptempo song a la Ice Bridge. Again, I wish that there was just a bit more distinctive keyboard playing here, to break up the paddy ness.

FUTURE MEMORIES: Great guitar feel. I like it. I love the melody of the vocals. Juano gets to write Juano. I love what he does. NOTE his two major contributions on H/E were my favorite moments. Here he continues the feel. I actually love the chorus, don't want to make another memory without you. I also wish Squire was around to sing with him(tear again).

MUSIC TO MY EARS: Ok, not a very Yes like title, a very Howe like title that Anderson would have changed to 'Earthbound Glider" or something...lol. The song is nice in the sense of the minor key melody is not too cheezy. the chorus melody is very nice, but the lyric is not engrossing enough for me. Not the strongest song on the album. But not as bad as I was reading.

A LIVING ISLAND: a pretty nice song. Somewhat straightforward. Finally some clear Geoff showing. the beginning sounds Gabriel to me. Once it gets going its a song I could hear Anderson signing. The breaks are nice with acoustic guitars. Again the keys/synths are low in the mix. The whole album I think misses the power of a good synths presence balancing the lovely guitar parts that take centerstage. The song ends with a pretty strong final part. I am sure we all feel/wish it would have elevated to a huge crescendo, it teases that, but again the choice was to be what it was. I can totally hear JA on this one! as a closer its a nice way to end the set.

BONUS: SISTER SLEEPING SOUL: should have been placed on the main CD, right before the Island. MYSTERY TOUR: cut it. dump it. never tell anyone you wrote this! lyrics hurt my heart. DAMAGED WORLD: I actually like this one as well, Steve doesn't sound so bad(as I have heard in the past).

overall. I am really enjoying this album a great deal. there are lovely layers to absorb. And I am very pleased that the production is well done(whether to everyones taste or not). The mix is well done(again, whether to my taste or not with keys). the drums are the obvious limitation, and Steve did what Trevor H did on FFH, placed them where they were not so painfully obvious...H/E Alan was forefront and brutally naked to his state of health.

I am very happy to hear that this is better than I imagined. Paul Mc still puts out music, and my best hope is that I get some sense of Macca, and in this case I can say my best hope is that this assembly gives me some sense of YES, and I say most of this surely does. even if a bit on the lite or trite side, it still sounds very much like yes.

Steve is the centerpiece, but thats the last real main ingredient, maybe thats the best course at this point.

YES returns, YES releases their 21st album just after the pandemic; YES, which has fewer and fewer original members, can it still do YES after its last controversial releases? 8 tracks including 4 with paragraphs, the pleasure of dreaming of the famous progressive drawers inside said track, just that makes you want to. Well, I'm not going to tell you about the history of the group otherwise you will be hit in the head; go let's see what it's all about.

"The Ice Bridge" immense, the title I imagined, boosted, convoluted, energetic Yes with its lockers and other drawers, everything to forget the absent members, a simply bucolic pleasure which confirms that the mayonnaise is always well taken. "Dare to Know" softer, too predictable, I begin to understand the outburst of certain columnists, then digress with Steve's eternal guitar and there it (re) becomes beautiful as in the good old days; final where the magic guitar still has an effect in a decrescendo; note the simultaneous singing of Jon and Steve on it. "Minus the Man" and the romantic ballad embellished with violins, the voice that looks like Jon, the one whose early fans have not yet digested his departure / ousting, the bass well accentuated also to imitate, the guitar seems on the other hand, she is still so young, a title that is in fact overdone. "Leave Well Alone" and its Japanese intro in the pure tradition, a more complex piece than it seems with a starting song which will be boosted by one of Steve's most beautiful solos for ages, paradox of the sensation between used and magnificent or Magnification? ; a sound that I heard in the last CARAVAN which makes me say that we are in the original Yes no matter what.

"The Western Edge" and a track that will draw on the sounds of yesteryear with bass, vocals and keyboards; finale with marshmallow guitar explosion, syrupy but oh so melting, too short on the other hand lacking a progressive moment. "Future Memories" arrives with its acoustic rhyme to tell himself that Jon doesn't just have his first name, he has a voice; digression like on an "old" track from the GENESIS with the Hackett which gives off some pleasurable notes, but hey Howe also has a hell of a handle; rhythmic, nervous, current bar emotion. "Music to My Ears" starts off with a different, harmonic, delicate, ethereal tune; hilarious track far from the sound still flowing in my ears, heady chorus, reassuring guitar, regressive ballad rhyme, track running out of steam. "A Living Island" for the last title, pompous, musical and vocal hymn, bordering on symphonic pop, beautiful but overplayed, a very good ersatz of the group; this finale which goes back to the fundamentals of the first tracks with a very up-to-date, creative and yessian soul, which goes back to the second side of the album if you enjoyed having it on LP.

The CD or LP2 with "Sister Sleeping Soul" borderline country folk ballad, everything is well placed, but too short, too predictable? "Mystery Tour" title twice that's good it's on the bonus, all that to say that it's cutesy pop and that luckily it has nothing to do with the main CD, except this recognizable and enjoyable guitar among all. "Damaged World" on the track where the synths seem to come from GENESIS 2nd epoch, yet another consensual track, Canterburyen for the final orchestral development, goes everywhere.

YES released a very good album with undeniable charm, resolutely optimistic and faithful in this sense to the spirit of the group, of origin or of different eras. YES can sleep soundly, he still has some under the sole but a punchy title longer than 3 bland bonuses would have been an undeniable plus; in short, glad to have listened to it from all angles to make this little mumble. If the 3.5 existed I would have put it, too bad it will be 4 to fight against the irreducible.

At first listening I said: What? Let's Step Beyond, and Believe Again, To Ascend to the Light of The Ages. The base of Yes-world (maybe not only to me) was Squire's heavy rock music balancing with Anderson's positive attitude themes. You know: YES (not NO) My biggest problem with the album the lack of these two things: too few moments of real rock music style, and too much ballad-like musical themes in minor chords. Do you know how many songs end with a clear major chord on this album? 2 out of 8: The Western Edge and A Living Island. All the others are pessimistic in a musical way. So there is too few Darth Vader and almost nothing of Luke Skywalker (as Squire called his heavy themes versus Anderson's happy ones). It's mostly Han Solo :-) It is Yes music Minus The Men :-)

Then I had to modify my review several times, because the more I listen to this album the more I like it! I'm glad if any incarnation of Yes makes music, and goes on Tour. They still can make far better music than almost anyone else in our days. No doubt, The Quest is a difficult stuff. There are no such (on the Yes level) straight forward songs like Step Beyond, It Was All We Knew or Hour of Need. The whole material is harder to get into than previous two Yes albums. And overall it takes maybe a longer time while one makes friends with. But - trust me - worth it! The Ice Bridge: After the first two notes I thought I accidentally started to play Touch & Go from ELPowell :-) Thick orchestration, a very dynamic bass line. A plenty of blending of the lead vocal was strange a bit at the first few times. The Howe-Downes duel is nice! Dare to Know: A complex piece of music with orchestra and with a lot of ideas. It was maybe a mistake to promote the album with this. Minus the Man: My biggest positive turn around compared to the first listening. What a bass line throughout the song! Nice vocal parts as well. I like the ascending chords of the chorus, it is very Yes (BEST MOMENT #4). The overall sound here and there is quite thin. Leave Well Alone: Huh, many switches of many themes. I personally love the 3rd part (BEST MOMENT #1), constructing beautifully, dividing 6 beats to 3-3 then Alan to 2-2-2, when Howe lets go his hands on a loosely-jazzy way like on The Yes Album. It could be a next Wurm, if a cathartic end had been developed. Unfortunately they have missed this opportunity. Doesn't matter, I'm eager to listen to this 3 minutes anytime, any number of times. The Western Edge: The finest progressive rock moment on the album (BEST MOMENT #3), with a nice dissonant vocal, finally a bit faster tempo in the middle. Listen to Billy Sherwood! He quotes Squire in a fantastic way on the whole album. Bass line orchestration as well as vocal harmonies! Hats off Billy! Future Memories: A song with beautiful melody, the rock drummer was given a recreation time :-) Music to My Ears: I love the verse, one of the cutest melodies of Yes history (BEST MOMENT #2), second time further varied, decorated. Lovely! I would have inserted this verse once again before final chorus, too. Almost radio-friendly song but diminished chords break the easy-listening. A Living Island: That lukewarm melody in the first half won't be my favourite. In the second half a kind of finale tries to begin but it doesn't really work. They should ask Neal Morse how to do it!

It must be happened this way: Right after recording the first disc the boys have found the book titled "How to play major chords".

Sister Sleeping Soul: The merriest moment of the whole album (BEST MOMENT #5) in a joyful style of Jon Anderson. IMHO it would have colored the main disc. Ah, and Geoff is back in the studio! Fine fills with the synth. While previous song should have been on the main disc, the last two songs should have never been on a Yes record, unless several years later on an album titled 'Rare takes and mistakes'. Mystery Tour: As a big Beatles fan, and tried to search something in common with the Beatles musically, but there's nothing besides 'Love-love-love'. If ever Steve Howe happens to compile an album with the title: 'My best songs', this should NOT be included. Damaged World: A little light music, starring Steve Howe. We like Steve 'cause he is one of the best guitarist in the world, not for his singing abilities. Downes tries to make up what he missed on disc 1 with synth and organ solos.

Each musician plays his part well, Howe demonstrates his full arsenal, Sherwood and Davison are very OK, Downes is supressed to me and White is correct as always. All in all I can hear the hard work in this project, and love this music more and more day by day. I know that everyone prefers different parts from the long and varied palette of Yes history. Personally I'm missing such uplifting songs as Believe Again, To Ascend and Light of the Ages, which were just the perfect way to reproduce the essential universe of the band, fill me with happiness, put a smile on my face, and make me shout inside: YES. Common Steve, Jon, Billy, Geoff, Alan! Keep up the good work!

A Good Yes Album

This is a good Yes album. There is plenty of very good music to enjoy here: The Ice Bridge, A Living Island, Future Memories, and more.

The real surprise is Leave Well Alone, which is nothing short of stunning. It's weird, which I expect when I first listen to Yes music. It is not predictable.

Another surprise is Sister Sleeping Soul, a pleasant tune that reminds me of Your Move or Nine Voices. Aside from a couple trite lyrics, it's great folk Yes.

Is The Quest better than Close to the Edge or Fragile?? Absolutely not. But it's better than many Yes albums, including Big Generator, Open Your Eyes, Fly From Here, Heaven & Earth, and others.

There are some stinkers here. Music to My Ears, Mystery Tour, and Damaged World should not have the Yes name on them.

Some people make a big deal about the lineup. If you accept Relayer as a Yes album, you accept Yes without Wakeman. If you accept Drama as Yes, you accept Yes without Anderson.

I cried when Chris Squire died, he is sorely missed. But it was his wishes that Yes carry on, and I am glad that they are making new music, 53 years after they were initially founded.

The album says YES! YES! YES! but my ears keep saying NO! NO! NO!

And such is the plight of a once mighty prog band reduced to its fading lifespan.

So let's get this statement out of the way:

YES in its prime were GODZ in every musical sense.

However even GODZ have an expiration date and YES has obviously exceeded it.

Personally after 2011's "Fly From Here" which was a decent if not outstanding album,

YES jumped the shark past the point of no return and truly where the band should've

Flown off back to wherever they emerged and called it a career well served.

Didn't happen. Chris(t) Squire - R.I.P. - obviously wanted the band to continue

And that means we are treated to substandard material for eternity!

THE QUEST is the official 22nd album under the YES moniker

But without Squire, is it really YES? This is the question at hand, ladies and gents

Squire has been replaced by Billy Sherwood as bassist but unfortunately

All i can think about is his collaborations such as with William Shatner

And then all i can do is cringe and guffaw and then cringe some more

Sure Steve Howe is back as well as is Alan White but is it good enough?

Well the best i can say is that it's not as bad as i imagined.

While THE QUEST provides an adequate slab of traditional symphonic prog,

It's just too by the books for a 2021 release although purists will rejoice

Jon Davison does an adequate job as an Anderson vocal stand-in but NO, NO, NO!

All sounded promising with the early release of the opening track "The Ice Bridge"

But after the opening highlight it all goes south. "Dare To Know" starts to sound like

One of those new age Jon Anderson albums. Not bad but certainly not YES either.

It continues to degenerate into nursing home prog. Ugh. Our heroes are flaccid. :(

A viagra moment occurs on "Leave Well Alone" kicks up the funk but if this is the best

A classic band like YES can conjure up on an album then perhaps celibacy is an option

Honestly it just gets worse and worse. Why? WHY? WWWHHHYYYYYYY????!!!!!!

I seriously don't understand why a band of GOD status in the prog world wants to

Tarnish its overall impact on history with such dross. DO NOT GET IT!!! NOT!!!!!

Cool to see a Roger Dean cover but visuals don't equal good music in the least

It's mind boggling how much effort went into this with such diminishing returns

An excuse for a tour or just a tepid bland album for the sake of releasing a new product?

I know not and really don't care but as a rabid YES fan (first album to "Magnification")

I am utterly bored and embarrassed by the last two albums. WHYYYYYYYYYY???!!!!

I honestly don't understand why a great band like YES would continue in this manner :/

Oh well, like it or not, here we are. YES has inverted me and now i can only say NO

That's right, not even MAYBE but NO! NO! NO! Me no likey! Completists only

Definitely good news within a very odd year, and happy sounding as almost every other YES album I've enjoyed so far. The Ice Bridge and Dare to know are probably the best 13minutes of the album, at least for me. A mirage maybe? Outstanding guitar playing by Howe and pounding bass by Sherwood, peaceful sounding and very Anderson-like vocals by Davison (an excellent fit for the band) but very a very flat intervention from Alan White and Downes, not quite sure why they sound so "hands tighten" here. Live Well Alone wakes up the listener again after Minus the Man made him dormant, cool funky tune, Howe's and Sherwood's show once again. Kind of jazzy and very retro sounding, I dig it. The Western Edge and Future Memories bring a more mellow and kind of romantic side of the band, guessing Davison's influence in the writing process maybe, like evoking lost or imposible love. Mostly acoustic and not very YES sounding, however still quite enjoyable depending on the listeners mood. Still not digging Howe's singing too much. Music to my ears does have some 70's symphonic teasers at points, relating to more complex music crafting episodes of the band. Definitely one of the best tracks of the album A living Island, a little too sweet and colorful, with a Neo Prog vibe to it, nice piano and guitar. Vocal harmonies also cool and precise. Like the cotton candy side of YES, chosen to close CD1. Sister sleeping soul opens CD2 and somehow it feels like a filler, although guitar licks save this overall mellow and flat psychedelic folky tune. Mystery tour and Damages World are unquestionably the weakest segment of the album, I don't know the whole story to it but it seems like the three tracks on CD2 were added to comply with someone's special request, I think CD1 would have been more than enough for a very overall good album. Mystery Tour is a rendition to the Beatles, to rock and roll, to the idols. Poppy and happy like it is supposed to be, another tune that would be a nice b-side perhaps but doesn't feel like pertaining to an album like The Quest and Damaged World is all Steve Howe and his voice just doesn't do it for me, although his guitar playing is wonderful as always. Not the type of song I was expecting on this album either. THE END

It's quite impressive to think that Yes's first album dates back to 1969, and that in 2021, 52 years later, they are still capable of putting out decent albums like this "The Quest".

The epic keyboards at the beginning of The Ice Bridge already tell us that this time Yes are coming for all. And although they only partially succeed, it must be admitted that the effort has certainly been worth it.

Perhaps this is not one of Yes's best albums. It's not even a truly memorable prog rock album, but it's certainly satisfying to hear Steve Howe's unmistakable guitars accompanied by long-time band musicians like Geoffrey Downes and Billy Sherwood, not to mention Alan. White, who already recorded with "Tales from Topographic Oceans" 49 years ago.

So even though it's not an album that will change your life, as long as you're interested in Yes, I recommend you listen to it. It is not brilliant, but at this point in life it is not necessary.

Best Tracks: The Ice Bridge (epic and dynamic), Dare to Know (has the best guitar work on the entire album. Wonderful) and The Western Edge (my favorite song on the album. I love its adventurous and evocative air)

My Rating: ***

New Yes is irrisistible so I had to immerse myself in The Quest . The album cover is beautiful Roger Dean mastery. It starts off with a familiar keyboard phrase I've heard from an old 80s TV compilation of UFO called 'Invasion UFO' so being familiar with this I was perplexed as to why they took this melody and turned it into a song. However the song itself is endearing with amazing keyboards and guitar trade-offs and some killer riffs. The Ice Bridge grows on you and opens the album with a treasure and there's an awesome film clip on youtube yesofficial channel. 

Dare to know follows with beautiful orchestration accompanied by the wistful lyrics reflecting on changes and the band know all about that. Chris Squire is now gone but Yes continues with the wonderful Billy Sherwood filling big shoes admirably. Overall this is a very nice track with Squires fingerprints all over it.

Minus the Man  could be a tribute to the loss of Squire. Notably the guitar process of Howe is absolutely wonderful. The Melancholy sound is counterbalanced by a frenetic string section in the orchestra. No, it's not the strongest song on the album but I love the orchestral flourishes.

Leave well alone is another very compelling track that holds my attention. It starts with a sprinkling of piano tinkles and then a steady rhythm glazed with guitar riffs and '80s style synths.  Primarily a folk song with odd lyrics as we venture down into the abyss.  It changes signature midway through and has some tasty guitar licks and harmonies. So again not a masterpiece but very listenable Yes as they move into a new direction. The 8 minute running time is brimming over with innovative ideas and musical detours. Again Howe just shines on the amazing outro.

The Western Edge is orchestrated with sweeping synths and symphonic embellishments. Another highlight on the album.

Future memories is a tribute to Rodger Dean in the official video on the yesofficial channel on YT. This is worth watching as it  augments the song so admirably. It is another gentle melancholy song sung well by John Davidson who wrote it. The sublime song has such a beauty it haunts you.

Track 7 is Music to my ears with a lilting piano motif and choir synths. The vocals of Sherwood and Davison are in fine form. The melody is upbeat and catchy and it's a gentle piece with a commercial sound.

A living Island concludes cd1 full of emotion and clearly shows a softer side to Yes. Davison sings with passion and it's a pleasure to hear such an upbeat song to close the album. Again the video on YouTube enhances  the enjoyment of the track. I recommend you find the channel to watch the new songs as so much effort has been put into augment the listening experience with Roger Dean's outstanding artwork on display. Invariably, the Dean landscapes accompany the soundscapes with a degree of emotional nuance.

The bonus CD is only 13 minutes long so is a bit disappointing but the songs are still worth a listen beginning with the pop sounds of Sister sleeping soul which is not too bad but the weakest track so far on the album.  The next track is Mystery Tour not The Beatles, not as magical, but it is about the Beatles as the lyrics are utilising Beatles titled tracks to this song's throughout which may be clever or ridiculous. I enjoyed it but it had a Weird Al vibe rather than a serious tribute to the fab four. The song  is mercifully short but funny to be honest. Damaged world concludes the latest Yes with delicious 80s synths and update melodies. Sherwood takes centre stage on vocals. So the full album is just an hour so why did we need 2 CDs?

Overall, it's great to hear Yes enjoying themselves and playing well and there are at least four treasures on here you can locate especially the first two tracks which are absolutely wonderful. Therefore The Quest is worth venturing  into but don't expect it to measure up to the classic Yes years.

Having read many of the reviews for this work, when I saw one expert review state 'THIS IS A GOOD YES ALBUM'', for some reason that statement drove me to action and I bought the album. I concur, THIS IS A GOOD YES ALBUM! I have been listening to Yes since I was fourteen years old. That gives me some perspective.

I would rank this above Drama, even with or slightly above Tormato. The current 3.0 rating doesn't pay it justice; indeed I think this is a case where a blanket number could be misleading. I'm going to give it four stars because it's a really 3.5; a Yes album with 4 stars is a really high bar and a rating of 3 stars from any other group wouldn't mean much'

Steve Howe and Alan White are the only 'original' Yes members, but I would point out that even those two composer/performers were not with the group for 'Time and a Word' or for the first 'Yes' album. Mr. Davison sounds enough like

Taking an evidentiary approach, 'Future Memories' and 'Music to My Ears' are fantastic songs. Then there are 'Sister Sleeping Soul', 'Mystery Tour', 'Leave Well Alone', and more'

Yes have returned after a seven-year absence to deliver an album no one was asking for. 2014's Heaven and Earth was a terrible, ignominious end to Chris Squire's impressive career. That record sounded like Air Supply doing a Yes cover album. In a contemporaneous review on my personal Facebook page, I remarked that that album "... is beyond bland. It makes milk seem spicy. This is beyond paint-by-numbers. This has less soul than a ginger." 

Unfortunately, The Quest continues in a pretty similar vein to its predecessor. This album is an improvement over their last release, but that is a pretty low bar to clear. Yes brings absolutely nothing new to the table here. The ills which plagued Heaven and Earth also hobble The Quest, a trend which seems to imply that there are inherent problems with this version of the band.

Vocalist Jon Davison appears to be a big part of the problem, but he's not the only problem. As much as I would love to blame Glass Hammer (Davison's former band and my favorite contemporary prog punching bag) for all of Yes's ills, I cannot do so in good faith. Some of the worst songs on the album were written solely by longtime Yes guitarist Steve Howe. 

Maybe Yes are just getting lame in their old age. The Steve Howe present on this album sounds nothing like the Steve Howe who furiously shredded on "Sound Chaser", or who would exchange solos with Rick Wakeman in live renditions of "South Side of the Sky" barely a decade ago. Certainly Chris Squire's passing in 2015 couldn't have helped the band, but he had his own history of writing absolute crap. (He and current Yes bassist Billy Sherwood were the primary architects of Yes's worst album, Open Your Eyes.) Moreso than either of these aforementioned factors, vocalist and founding member Jon Anderson's continuing exile from the band seems to be the primary factor hampering Yes.

Before I discuss the specific songs, I want to cover the weird structuring of this album. It's a bit over an hour long, but it was released on two discs: the primary, 47-minute disc, featuring eight songs; and the shorter, three-song, 14-minute second disc. Yes's label wanted a sub-50-minute album, but they also suggested that a second disc of additional tracks be added to the release. As an outsider, it's impossible to know what was in the InsideOut executives' minds when they made this bizarre request, but it feels like a way to milk extra cash out of the Boomers who will shell out extra money for a physical two-disc release just because they saw Yes was putting out a new album. I'll be covering all 11 songs from the two discs in this review.

The Quest features two songs which I would say are "good." Not great, but good. One of those songs is the opening "The Ice Bridge". Geoff Downes's synth tones in the opening moments are atrocious -- a recurring theme on this album -- but at least Billy Sherwood is doing a decent Chris Squire impression with his bass tone. The opening section of this song is fairly engaging and one of the more energetic moments here, and we are treated to some fairly nice synthesizer arpeggi. Howe does some good soloing near the song's end as well. It's attention-grabbing and technically impressive. Despite these good elements, this song feels awfully long. Not so long that it's ruined, but long enough to notice a drag. 

"Dare to Know" opens with slow and sweet guitarwork and sporadic stabs of orchestral strings and brass. The harmonized vocals are too light and sentimental, and the strings don't add anything substantive. The orchestral sections feel thoughtless and purposeless, and the coda feels pointlessly tacked-on. This is a conspicuously repetitive song, which makes its six-minute runtime feel interminable.

"Minus the Man" is even lighter and willowier than the preceding song, and the music is near sleep-inducing. The vocal harmonies are stronger, at least, but that cannot make up for the instrumental laziness. Alan White is barely present on this track. The strings are schlocky and uncreative, and it all sounds like a crappy version of something off Keystudio. Despite some flashy guitar flourishes, this is just a generic soft rock song. And Yes, you know you can write short songs, right? There's no need for this to be five-and-a-half minutes.

The other good song on this album is "Leave Well Alone". I hate Steve Howe's plinking koto, but this song features one of the rare moments of propulsion on The Quest. Downes deploys more regrettable synth tones, which feel like they'd be more at home in an '80s action movie soundtrack, but I can overlook that for the time being. The quiet, acoustic opening verse contrasts well against the energetic intro, and the oscillation between acoustic and electric is done well. There are some more nice harmonized vocals around the midsection, though the transition into the third section of this song is disappointingly simple. I expect more from these guys. You're Yes, dammit. Be flashy! At least Howe's closing guitar solo is pretty decent. I wish it had a bit more muscle to it -- maybe a rougher tone with a more energetic backing. Upon repeated listens, though, this closing movement feels like a watered-down retread of the "Würm" section of "Starship Trooper". All things considered, I'll take what I can get.

The first words in my notes for "The Western Edge" are "gutless, fluffy bull[&*!#]." It's a bad song, plain and simple. It is gutless, fluffy bull[&*!#]. At least White provides a pretty good performance on drums. In my Yes Deep Dive, I mentioned that moments on Heaven and Earth reminded me of Christian worship music, and I'm getting those same vibes here. This piece isn't too far off from something I'd expect to hear the pastor at a youth group playing. Howe's soloing feels (especially) derivative of his own past performances, most notably on "Soon".

The acoustic guitar-and-vocals opening of "Future Memories" isn't bad. This is helped by the fact that Davison sounds more distinct here. He doesn't just sound like a Jon Anderson impersonator. Unfortunately, this sorta-promising opening dissolves into dull, sappy balladry. This song is long, insipid, and self-important. 

"Music to My Ears" opens with similar uninteresting balladry, but this time piano-led. There are more worship music vibes here too. Who thought this stylistic shift was a good idea? I'm going to blame Davison. The verses give me flashbacks to my time in religious school, and it makes me want to vindictively worship Satan, even though this song isn't explicitly Christian, and I'm an atheist. The chorus is surprisingly decent, featuring slight hints of jazz. There's also a cool discordant moment with downward-swirling guitar and synth. Despite the good composition, this passage lacks any impact. It's too clean.

Disc one of this 1.5-disc release ends with "A Living Island". It's more insipid soft-rock, adult-contemporary inanity. It sounds like music I'd expect to hear in a commercial. I'm not sure why that is, exactly, but that impression just goes to illustrate the safe blandness of this song. The lyrics don't help either, as they're both self-important and vapid.

Disc two is mercifully short (three songs, 14 minutes) but features some of Yes's worst music. "Sister Sleeping Soul" has vaguely "Eastern" vibes and sounds like a much worse version of "Nine Voices". Yes has previously pulled off this vaguely "Eastern" aesthetic many times. I think a reason it falls flat here is that Jon Anderson is a huge hippie who is super into that sort of stuff. There's no passion behind cuts like this in Yes's current incarnation. It's just a stylistic veneer trying to cover for the band's lack of ideas. The synth part on this song is better than I would have expected, though.

What follows may be the worst song in Yes's discography. To quote my first-reaction notes again, "This is cringe." Prepare yourself for the worst Beatles homage ever, with "Mystery Tour". This is more bland, soulless, uninspired acoustic pop-rock, but now it's been blended with "Tee-hee aren't I clever?" lyrics that shoehorn Beatles song titles into the lines. We get it, you like The Beatles. I like The Beatles. Most people like The Beatles. They were an immensely influential musical act for multiple generations. But writing a song this bad feels like an insult to their legacy. True, The Beatles wrote songs with goofy lyrics sometimes, but they were known as an act capable of having fun. Yes is not. Yes is a famously pretentious band with songs about metaphysical nonsense.

I would expect a song like this to be written by a high schooler who thinks all modern music sucks, there's been no good music since 1980, and that they're being creative by using well-known song titles as lyrics. But at least a teenager would put out something with more energy, spine, and genuine enthusiasm than this piece of crap.

It's not like what Yes was aiming for is impossible to pull off, either. King Crimson's song "Happy Family" is about the break-up of The Beatles. A section of the song "Octavarium" by Dream Theater has lyrics not-dissimilar to what we find here. The big difference here is that both of those songs have well-written, original music that doesn't sound like it was farted out by a creatively-devoid chimp with an acoustic guitar.

"Damaged World" sounds just like the previous two songs on this mini-disc. I don't have the energy to bash it after writing the above paragraphs. Just trust me. It's bad. 

The Quest isn't good. Don't listen to it. I doubt you'll like it. It's low-energy, it's uncreative, and it doesn't even have the aesthetic trappings of Yes's usual sound on most songs. There are a couple of good songs here, but the bad far outweighs the good. Had they omitted disc two, the score would be higher, but not by much.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2021/10/18/album-review-yes-the-quest/