QUEST FOR THE STONES

"This Yak has reached maturity"

I've been following YAK since 2004 when they released the surprising Dark Side of the Duck, an album I left in the shelve for several months because of the horrendous name (Who could imagine that an album with such a title would be so good?) and I was impressed. Years later Martin Morgan contacted me for the release of The Journey of the Yak, which was even better, but even though they were close, the status of masterpiece kept avoiding their records.

Yesterday received a copy of Quest for the Stones and my first thought was:

"A Symphonic album with only two epics in 2015? This guys must be crazy"

But now I say pleased: "This is the kind of madness I love".

Since then I have heard it 10 times because it's like a refreshing trip to the 70's when Prog was king and musicians weren't afraid of being called pompous and self-indulgent by mediocre critics, so before boring the readers, let's go to the music

The album has only two instrumental tracks and is opened by the 24 minutes epic Quest for the Stones, a musical piece that has everything that a Prog fan like me loves, long and fluid keyboard solos with radical changes and a "Marvelous real" atmosphere in the vein of Borges or Garcí­a Marquez stories that captured me from the start. They are not afraid to play long Mellotron sections that recreate the spirit of the Symphonic golden era without any shame...And I love them for taking that risk.

The second epic Veil of Aeternum (19:25) maintains the atmosphere and the style, but has clear influence from GENESIS (Wind & Wuthering era) but with a different approach that prevents people of calling them clones. The music again is mysterious and carries some sort of magic in a story told out without words, which I won't try to describe to avoid the risk of ruining the musical experience of others?.Will only say that loved it from the first to the last note.

It's my opinion that Quest for the Stones is the best album that the band has ever released and the first one that I will rate with 5 solid stars, so..... If you're a fan of 70's Symphonic Prog with a modern edge, buy this album, you won't regret, and remember, it's for a good cause, because the money you pay goes for "Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary".

Seeing Ivan Melgar (for whom I have immense respect)'s five star review for this album intrigued my enough to prompt me to seek it out. Now I have gotten to know the album a little bit, so I feel ready to voice my opinion. Yak seems to have captured some of the essence of late 1970s GENESIS and CAMEL--melody and sound, not necessarily musical complexity. As a matter of fact, some of the foundational music sounds so rudimentary as if it was constructed purely to serve as a vehicle upon which melody and guitar and keyboard soli can shine (which they do fairly well). This is, for me, a treacherous slope, as I want my progressive rock music to to feel as if all instrumentalists are equal contributors to both composition and exposition. Even iconic instrumental virtuosi like John McLaughlin, Jean-Luc Ponty or Al Di Meola surround themselves with near equals and compose for the exposure and exploitation of the full talents of their sidemen. (Usually.) Perhaps I am wrong to try to put Martin MORGAN on that level (Is he ONLY a keyboardist as listed above? If so, how does he make all those keyboards sound like guitars?), but I find myself bored and disappointed in the simplicity of the four-chord foundations to each of the suites' multiple sections (which often drag on a bit too long, IMHO) as well as the simplicity of the work load demanded of his rhythm section. Martin has managed to create some wonderful, engaging melodies over these simple foundations, but, it's kind of like listening to TONY BANKS or GENESIS with all of the lyrics removed or the watered down version of CAMEL after Doug FERGUSON and Pete BARDENS had left. In my opinion, this band (or its leader) has some growing to do before it produces masterpieces of the quality and caliber of the other five star albums in PA's Top 100. This is a very good album, a very pleasant listen that takes one on a nice fantasy ride (or two), but no more. 3.5 stars, rated down for lack of anything truly new or innovative.

YAK are a British band that have been around since the early eighties but because of "life" this project was put aside until they released their first album in 2004. These guys have a sense of humour as witnessed in the title of that first album "Dark Side Of The Duck" and a later record "Does Your Yak Bite?". I agree with the majority that the all instrumental music here has a CAMEL/ GENESIS vibe as in "Snowgoose" and "Wind And Wuthering" but no not nearly as complex or enjoyable and i'm not big on either of those classic albums which is maybe in part why I can't get into this one. It just lacks anything thing that tugs at my emotions. I did think of Mike Oldfield but maybe only because this has two side long suites and it's all instrumental. There's certainly not the array of instruments that Oldfield employed as this is a three piece with drums, bass and keyboards.

Like Drew i'm a little confused that they don't have guitar listed as part of the instruments used here as i'm sure I hear plenty of that in the title track. Maybe it's a guitar-like sound that they get through the keyboards? Anyway i'm not a fan of it whatever it is. I much prefer the second suite called "Vale Of Aeternum". It opens with the birds chirping and mellotron-like sounds. Those guitar-like sounds arrive around 2 1/2 minutes in. The bass stands out a little more a minute later. We get a calm with mellotron-like sounds as these two themes are repeated later on as well.

Obviously there are many fans of this Symphonic album but the keyboard sounds just don't do a lot for me, still I can appreciate what they've done here so 3 stars it is.

Yak is back. I now, corny! After reading the recent reviews (both the 5 and 3 star ones) as well as reminiscing on the quality of their previous release, the eventful 2008 'Journey of the Yak', I went out to add this to my purchases, pretty confident in nailing another winner. Just to witness a 2 track album that runs 45 minutes was enough to get me enthused further. Yak remains the brainchild of composer and keyboard maestro Martin Morgan, ably supported by drummer Dave Speight and bassist Gary Bennett. Morgan is a virtuoso who can handle a wide variety of keys but what makes him somewhat original is his use of an electric guitar patch that gives his ivories a powerful tone. He also uses a flute patch to great effect. Comparisons to Genesis (in its instrumental packaging) as well as Camel is utterly founded and unashamedly so. Reliant on synthesizers, piano, organ and that guitar solo sound, Morgan really gives the production a full and meaty palette, well anchored by the more than able rhythm section.

The first epic, the 23 minute 'Quest for the Stones', opens on a soundtrack-ish tangent, very orchestral and sorrowful, then shuffles along majestically, cresting and diving then swooping around for another loop, keeping things intense and interesting throughout. There are no gratuitous exhibitions of technical prowess, instead relying on emotional impact and symphonic tolerance, evident on the elegant piano passages that litter the arrangement. Bennett's bass rolls alongside like a true partner in crime. Old school prog chock full of nostalgic winks and nods, bubbly synthesized passages that soar, scream and wallow on multiple levels, exuding a strong audacity and flowing change.

The second and final track is an outright classic as 'Veils of Aeternum' is probably closer to vintage Steve Hackett, very propulsive and bright, loaded with a ton of solos that sound like the Hacker, slippery and tone conscious. Some cool bass slapping from Bennett that comes from out of nowhere, always challenging and never boring. Flute frills and pastoral pools of reflection add to the mystery.

Not overtly long by any stretch (pun intended), the album has a fine flow and is perfect reflective instrumental prog. They reinvent nothing, nor do they claim to aspire to anything else , only improving a style that has had a lot of staying power over the decades. The cover art is quite humorous as one can clearly detect a mighty knight in flashy armor, sitting atop his trusted yak, whilst refreshing itself in a Sherwoodian brook. A solid follow-up and a worthy addition to any collection.

Short, compact review for a short and compact album.

4 Pursuit of Nuggets

Yak have been putting out a string of releases that have essentially consisted of them struggling to find their feet. The unexpected success of Dark SIde of the Duck - essentially a solo project by Martin Morgan putting some old Yak compositions on record for posterity's sake - saw a brief experiment in the old line-up getting back together which yielded a couple of inessential oddities (Does Your Yak Bite? and The Rutland Chronicles) before they went their separate ways again. Journey of the Yak was essentially a blueprint for Yak Mk. II, with new collaborators Gary Bennett and Dave Speight signing on and a new Yak lineup solidifying in the process of recording the pieces there.

With this album, everything seems to have finally come together for Yak, with a stable lineup allowing them to bring to fruition a newly matured sound in the form of two epic pieces (they'd be side-long numbers in the days of vinyl) which take Yak's all-instrumental Camel-inspired style to new heights. Perfectly matching the high fantasy concepts their titles suggest, the pieces feature excellent keyboard work from Morgan who really has space to stretch out his wings here - no doubt to the surprise of anyone who thought that yaks couldn't fly. All the hard work of previous albums has yielded fruit here, and the end result is magnificent.