YES

Honestly, I don't even have to write anything descriptive. Listening to the album is all you need to know that it is 5 stars all the way. But I have to have 100 words here, so I might as well continue. First of all, every musician on the album was a brilliant genius and in the top users of their instruments of the 70s, if not of all time. Secondly, the songs (there are three) on their own are amazing, from the gentler but not less incredible "And You And I" to the grooving prog rock song "Siberian Khatru," and of course the masterpiece, "Close to the Edge." All three songs are some of the greatest of all time, with the title track being so great it could be argued that it is the greatest prog song of all time (though I wouldn't necessarily agree with that). Overall, not only is this one of the most influential albums of all time, it is also one of the greatest, and essential to any music collection of any kind.

Here's a review that I did not think I could arrive upon until very recently. About a month ago, I went onto Apple Music and downloaded the most recent Yes album, Mirror to the Sky. I must say that I've been pleasantly surprised by this offering from Howe, Downes, Davison, Sherwood, and Schellen. Previously, I've studiously avoided any Yes albums released since Fly from Here. In fact, on one level, I feel that I'm a "traitor" to Jon Anderson. The very regrettable fashion in which Howe, Squire, and White used the 2008 occasion of Jon Anderson's respiratory illness to jettison him from the band remains, to me, suspect. In 1980, I grew to like Drama not only based on the quality of the music, but also because Anderson and Wakeman voluntarily "recused" themselves from the band.

In March of 2013, Squire, Howe, White, Downes, and Davison performed at the Hard Rock Live venue in Biloxi, MS. At the last minute, I resolved that, although I strongly disagreed with the less than "gentlemanly" fashion in which Squire, Howe, and White parted ways with Anderson, my daughter and I would drive from New Orleans to attend the show. Especially in the wake of Squire and White's deaths, I'm glad we did. We arrived at the juncture in which the band began the vocal section of "Close to the Edge," continuing through the balance of the album. Then, Squire and "company" played "The Yes Album" in its entirety. Although I found Geoff Downes keyboards, overall, low in the mix, Downes emerged in the forefront as he "nailed" Tony Kaye's piano parts from a "Venture." Due to time constraints imposed by the Hard Rock live venue, we were denied the third section of this album tour, "Going for the One." Fortunately, I was later able to watch a performance of "Going for the One" from this tour on YouTube.".

"Fast forward" to 2016 . . . . We now have another incarnation of Yes: Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman (with bassist Lee Pomeroy and drummer Louis Molino III). Courtesy of my oldest son, he and I attended the ARW concert in November of 2016 at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans. Simply put, these five gentlemen delivered a truly poignant Yes concert. (Also noteworthy in my recollections ? this concert occurred in the wake of the election of a certain, dubious personage to the American Presidency). 2Mercifully, 2017 brought with it the extremely, long overdue induction of Yes into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Part of me, in the spirit of Marlon Brando's refusal of the Oscar for Best Actor for the Godfather, has held the notion that the eight members of the band inducted that night would have been justified in refusing this honor . . . ! Regardless, Anderson, Howe, Rabin, Wakeman & White with Geddy Lee as bassist delivered the obligatory, but largely welcome rendition of "Roundabout." Perhaps even more welcome was the performance of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman & White with Howe supplying the bass line on a Rickenbacker. Ah, yes, "Stand on the Hills of Long Forgotten Yesterdays."

As of this present time, I have yet to listen to any of The Quest; no matter, the strength of Mirror to the Sky will lead me back to The Quest. Mirror to the Sky exemplifies many of the qualities one would expect "worthy" of a Yes album . . . . Previously, I referred to Jon Davison as "pseudo" Jon Anderson. The weight of the band's performance on this, their latest album has helped me remove the designation of "pseudo." I believe I can speak for all "Yes freaks" in my ever present grief regarding the losses of Chris Squire and Alan White. Through their performances, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen help us deal with this sadness with their evocative presence of their mentors . . . . Geoff Downes is dominant in Uncommon Place, One Second is Enough, the ending of Cut from the Stars and the opening of Luminosity. Otherwise, the keyboardist adopts a more "supportive" role throughout, deferring to crisp orchestrations of Paul K. Joyce and the performance of the FAMES Orchestra in Skopje, North Macedonia.

As producer and master "of all things with strings," Steve Howe guarantees continuity with the fifty-five year tradition of Yes.

So, perhaps in the future, this Mirror to the Sky incarnation of Yes might just pay the Crescent City a visit.

I've enjoyed most of Yes' modern day albums up to and including The Ladder (1999), Magnification (2001) and Fly from Here (2011). However when Heaven and Earth came out (2014), I didn't race to buy it (for whatever reason) but waited to hear the word on the street- which turned out to be an almost unanimous 'nothing to see here' (I'll be digging in to review it this year though).

Then The Quest came along (2021) with it's interesting first single that caught my ear. Reviews on YouTube seemed fairly positive, if reservedly so. Seeing how beautiful the Roger Dean artwork design was, I was tempted to buy the vinyl (I haven't yet, but I'll review the full album this year).

Which brings us to today in 2023 and the release of Mirror to the Stars. It marks the first Yes studio album in 50 years without mainstay Alan White on the drum throne due to his passing, and the second album without the late and great Chris Squire on bass, replaced by Billy Sherwood.

Praises for this album seem fairly universal across YouTube. I also did a reaction video to the first intriguing 'single' Cut From the Stars (click here for the video reaction). Now, as I dive into the full disc, the main question on my mind is: will the rest of the album be as good? Will it be an upbeat affair?

Overall it's very 'new' sounding material for modern Yes, and by that I mean there is a distinct unfamiliarity about it. They've successfully carved out some new paths here, to my delight. It will, I believe, earn itself a unique place in the Yes discography of about 22 studio albums.

Does it match Yes in it's prime with classic albums like Close to the Edge? Come on! Can anyone match that, never mind the modern Yes? Many have tried, and frankly that's an unrealistic expectation. Does it bring something distinct and fresh to the table? Actually yes, it does. It is compositionally unique, varied and progressive. Is it super edgy? I couldn't honestly just blurt out 'no' to that. I have to think about it. It is edgy as far a progressive music is concerned, but not edgy literally. It's got a soft edge compared to the world of modern prog and it's many new extremes.

What's different from a majority of the Yes discography on this album is the missing vocals of Jon Anderson, by many considered the authentic voice of Yes. I tend to differ on that position. After all, Yes is expected to be around in various incarnations hopefully for decades or centuries, if the original vision for the band pans out. This requires some humility and open mindedness for all Yes fans- even me, I admit.

Jon Davison has a softer, gentler voice than Anderson- even if they have a similar timbre, which is a huge consideration since Yes are expected to perform many of the old classics live- and they are a busy touring band still. On songs like Luminosity Davison's vocals are quite appropriate (great synth work as well), but on All Connected for example, I can't help but miss Jon Anderson belting it out.

I can only touch on lyrics briefly as I don't focus on them like I do on composition as a writer myself... Hmm... Yup, they're fine. Oh, wait. Circles of Time is exceptional as a reprieve from our current attention-demanding culture..."I'm caught in a circle of time..." Howe plays beautiful acoustic guitar as well as ambient pedal steel reminiscent of To Be Over (Relayer). I really think this song, soulfully sung by Davison is going to garner attention from outside the Yes circle.

Someone in the band sounds hauntingly similar to Chris Squire, by the way, and I have to admit I like that. It's really hard even for me to adapt to the changing faces of Yes, despite all my pontificating.

Mirror to the Sky, the 13 minute track and namesake of the album deserves special attention. It's solid and generally in the Yes tradition, but a much softer-edged affair. It doesn't have the intensity and bite of the Gates of Delirium or the gravity of Awaken, but it is a thoughtful and gently inspiring piece incorporating symphonic strings. It keeps interesting throughout with a great variety in the dynamics- Howe's solo work being consistently a pleasure to the senses and the tune finishes on a strong note- perhaps hinting more long Yes songs are to come?

The new drummer Jay Schellen is great. Since a majority of the album is upbeat we get to enjoy his work on all tracks except Circles of Time which is a quiet song at the end of the album. (By the way, I'm not reviewing the 3 bonus tracks- just the main album itself).

The production is great. Everything sits well together and sounds alive. Still, I have long-wished Yes would bring back retired producer Eddy Offord. Better yet, I wish they would return to an analog tape-based studio, as I consider it to be part of the classic Yes sound. There are plenty of lush sections, even some very elegant parts featuring actual symphonic musicians performing as with the Magnification album.

The album is full of compositional surprises -one can't absorb it all in one listen. There is a tendency to be unpredictable and newfangled, even if in a retro-rock way such as Living Out their Dream which shows some influences from surf-rock to my ear, taking into account Howe's playful leads on guitar. A breath of innovation has encircled the Yes camp. There's lots of harmonies on the album- another characteristic of the classic Yes vibe.

Steve Howe's work on the album is great too. He sure loves his fuzzy slide guitar. Personally, I've always yearned for him to don some heavier guitar tones now and then- even a bit of a more metal sound, but that's never going to happen- and doesn't seem part of his DNA. No harm done though- Howe is one of the greatest benefactors to rock guitar ever.

I have to wonder, what triggered the band's new greatness? Did Steve Howe have an epiphany? Howe is not slowing down in output despite his age. He's as prolific as ever- owing in part to his life-long healthy vegetarian diet and lifestyle. He would look cool if he smoked a pipe like JRR Tolkien though. He's on that wise-wizard level (maybe Rick Wakeman can loan him a cape or two from his closet?).

Living out the dream seemed a bit 'different' to me on first listen, but with repeat listening I'm digging it- along with the rest of this album. The bass has some cool goings-on: great guitar solo, and I like the conga slaps.

Overall my expectations have been exceeded, though they weren't too high I'll admit. Onward and upward, I say.

(Again to be clear, I am not listening to the bonus tracks for this review as I want to focus on the main work of the album alone and will save them for listening to somewhere down the road. I'm interested to see how well the main disc can stand on its own).

YES carved out a very respectable and unique album that compliments and enriches an already expansive discography. It's might just earn back some straying Yes fans as well as garnering some new respect and appreciation.

Yes is one of the greatest bands of all time, but here we have an album that in some respects can be held up as an example of how NOT to produce this legendary band. It is overwhelmingly positive and uplifting with song titles like Love Shine, No Way we can Lose, Wonderlove, and New State of Mind...but does it open our eyes to who Yes really is?

This album supports my thesis that Yes are at their best in an analog tape-based studio like back in the 70s, where options are limited, forcing the band to make key decisions that uphold only the fundamentals that make Yes 'Yes'.

And what are those fundamentals? One essential would be Chris Squire's bass, which on this album gets softened and squashed back into the mix instead of being like a massive stone boulder integral to the Yes sound that it is. It needs to be a foundation- along with the drums, for the rest of the band to build up and out from. The drums are not too bad sounding but seem to lack oxygen and space at times.

Another fundamental to the Yes sound is Jon Anderson's vocals which are largely great on this album and I can't find much to fault with them (as with almost anything he has done in his long career). There does seem a lack of leadership from the keyboard department though, and after some research this is self-explained. Several people are credited on keyboards including Igor Khoroshev, Jeff Porcaro of Toto, and mostly by Billy Sherwood (who was tasked with the heavy load of recording and mixing as well). Not that the keyboards weren't interesting and tasteful throughout the album but you can sense the effect this had on the album as a whole. By the conclusion of the album Sherwood was officially part of the Yes line up.

Another Yes hallmark are the multi-part complex harmonies and backing vocals. There are plenty here, maybe even much more than usual and done thicker than usual as well, like on the opener New State of Mind.

The Open Your Eyes album is undeniably ambitious and heart-warming. There are loads of great Yes moments. I enjoy Steve Howe's work on this album which is refreshingly varied and diverse as he happily pecks away at his guitar. In fact I'm surprised Steve made out as well as he did on this album. Really, Open Your Eyes is a Trevor Rabin- appropriate album. It could have benefited from his powerful Van Halen-like tones blasting from stacks of Marshall amps- a vibe Steve Howe has mostly avoided- except for the Yes Drama album of course (which ironically foreshadows and predates the Rabin-dominated 1980s Yes). The story is that Howe and Anderson came into the album late, as Squire and Sherwood had worked out much of it already according to Wikipedia). Open Your Eyes is a rather playful pop prog rock album. In many respects this album doesn't lack anything- much was brought to the table, but there are no side-long epics, or any longer songs in fact. It has an abundance of great melodies and Yes-y ideas but unfortunately they don't get to shine to their maximum potential.

Love Shine is great example of a song with fantastic potential but again, the vision was not carried through. The back up 'shine' vocals sound like they're coming out of a closet, and the synth bass line is so squashed it's almost inaudible. The song sounds rather two-dimensional, yet compositionally-speaking there's some truly inspiring sections and Howe is shining. Overall it's a really great tune that suffered an unfair fate.

Man in the Moon is a total anomaly on this album, and a real skipper, or should I say run fast and far in the opposite direction when you hear it playing. It is the worst- the very worst song under the Yes moniker ever produced.

It's not a total face plant, but certainly when you ponder the potential that was there, it's a real hair puller. Don't hurry to hear this album if you haven't, but for Yes super fans/ complete-ists it's an essential part of their history and needs to be appreciated for what it is. Maybe someday the album will get a total remix and remaster as it so deserves.

Despite it's troubled gestation and birth, the follow up to Yes' hit album 90125 in my humble opinion actually turned out quite well. It proved that band were still alive and viable. Aside from the questionable use of horns on "Almost Like Love ", and the lightweight exit piece "Holy Lamb", what we have is a record comprising a few minor "neo-Prog" classics in "Shoot High, Aim Low", "Final Eyes", and "I'm Running", coupled with pop-rock gems "Rhythm Of Love" and "Love Will Find A Way". A worthy result given the circumstances and musical climate of the time, that I think has earned it's place in the Yes canon.

Why did they do it?! What on Earth were they thinking? What was the record company or the YES management thinking? This is the "Keys To Ascension" album that should have been released. Why did they split it into two different parts and then release it with some live content which, incidentally, could also have been released itself, as a magnificent live album? I've got these (all three of them) albums and KEYSTUDIO is the one that I regard as being the standalone legitimate "Keys To Ascension" album by YES. It is classic YES - Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White - writing and recording real Yes music, as if they were transplanted back to the early/mid 1970's. It is a brilliant album which should get 5 stars but only gets four here because of how they've completely messed up this whole period. Of course I still put on the other (excellent) Keys to Ascension albums from time to time, mainly for the live content but KEYSTUDIO is the main go to album for me.

Yesmagic still remain?

It was very interesting for me to listen to how the next reincarnation of Yes played a concert. From the classic lineup, only Steve Howe and Alan White remain; other veterans include Geoff Downes, keyboardists Tony Kaye and Patrick Moraz are also mentioned in the credits, but their contribution is unclear. They are probably involved in performing compositions that were recorded with the group in the studio (Patrick Moraz in Soon, Tony Kaye in Sweet Dreams, Yours Is No Disgrace and Starship Trooper). I don't know, it wasn't clear during the concert, but I don't have the record or disk, I took this concert from the Internet.

So, my impression is not bad. But not perfect. Jon Davison is mostly convincing as a vocalist, but doesn't compare to Jon Anderson. (I remember that David Benoit sang almost like Anderson at the Live from Lyon concert, nevertheless, participation in the tribute band came in handy). I feel Jon Davison doesn't have the same vocal range as Jon Anderson, and if it sounds organic in studio recordings, not in classical yessongs.

I can say much the same about Geoff Downes. He's a great keyboard player, but he's no Rick Wakeman. And it's Wakeman's magical keyboard passages that are sorely missed in Close to the Edge and Starship Trooper (as well as Jon Anderson's transcendentally heavenly clean vocals). Although Steve Howe is very impressive. He does incredible things at his age. He weaves his incredible twisted guitar solos from song to song, lots of improvisations. Alan White's give solid drumming job without standing out too much. I think Billy Sherwood played a good show, but I miss Chris Squire's expressive bass guitar.

The playlist a pleasant surprise. I hear classic songs and old rarities Sweet Dreams, Soon, Madrigal - we rarely heard them at Yes concerts. I'm glad that the band didn't concentrate on the material from their latest album, Heaven and Earth. Instead, we have a decent overview of five decades of their creativity. The concert is not perfect, but worthy of attention. Solid three stars

Heavily influenced by the ways of Trevor Rabin, inclined more towards hard rock structures than progressive ones, "Talk", the fourteenth album by Yes, prolongs the mood of "90125" with a crystalline and clean production, but also irregular in its development, with tracks such as the opening "The Calling", the soporific and inconsequential "Real Love", and the insipid "State of Play" and "Walls" (in collaboration with Roger Hodgson of Supertramp), of which few passages are salvageable beyond the occasional timid guitar chord by Rabin or some melodic flash of Jon Anderson.

On the other hand, some pieces improve the general perception of the album, such as the peaceful and diaphanous "I Am Waiting", the interesting beginning of "Where Will You Be" and, above all, "Endless Dream", a very successful composition divided into three parts, the first and the last as a prologue and epilogue respectively, which moves through different moods, remarkably chained together, and where Anderson's angelic voice, the versatile and dramatic use of piano, synthesizers and Rabin's whispered slide guitar, more in line in this case with the requirements of the song, stand out. It is surely one of the best pieces composed by the band in the 90's, underrated in my opinion, and a sign that the DNA of the golden era of the Brits was still present and still inhabited by the surviving members.

After "Talk", Rabin would leave the band for good, with Steve Howe taking his place again from then on. Tony Kaye, who had not played much on the album, after rejoining the band since "90125", also left the band.

"Talk", all in all, is a step forward after the musical mess that was "Union". A little better than average.

2.5/3 stars

As previously mentioned, this is a masterpiece, and not just Yes's best album, but ultimately up there with the likes of Kind of Blue, as possibly an all-time great album. I had this on vinyl when it came out and it probably saved my life as a traumaticed tennager, and ultimately led to my life working in the music business. To me, what makes the album great , is the delicate but focused pacing and use of dynamic shifts, with a sublime beauty. In terms of musicality, lets just say that a number of contemporary composers that I have worked with consider this a very special album, and hold it dear to there hearts. One final thing, is the incredible production and sound of the record, a clear representation of the pinnacle that was the early seventies recordings, when studio techniques and mutitracking enabled sublime and dazzling possibilities.

I am sure I am not the only one who groaned when I realised there was a new Yes album being released. There is no doubt that 'The Quest' was fairly dire and unworthy of the name 'Yes', with its only saving grace being it was slightly better than 'Heaven & Earth' (not hard), and now we have another line-up of the band with the death of Alan White. This means that only Steve Howe is left of the group we all know and love so much, with Jon Davison (vocals), Geoff Downes (keyboards), Billy Sherwood (bass, vocals), and new boy Jay Schellen (drums). Interestingly, this means that everyone apart from Davison has also been a member of Asia. Even during the Seventies, Yes were not as consistently great as we all like to remember (although progheads on PA have 'Close to the Edge' listed as the greatest progressive album of all times), with 1977's 'Going For The One' the last truly stunning album from the band (in my opinion), with just two of the ones since then being truly indispensable, namely 'Drama' (I know this was Yeggles but I love it) and 2011's 'Fly From Here'. Only Steve and Geoff are here from that last release, and interestingly also from 'Drama', and the band have been through some turbulent times over the years.

Consequently, I am not sure what I expected from the latest release, but the bar was set incredibly low, and I was sure they would not be able to reach even that so when they surpassed it I must admit to being quite surprised. Bringing Sherwood into the band to replace Squire was always going to be the way to go given his style, and he has certainly upped the clunkiness to ensure he fits in perfectly. I was at Davison's first ever gig with Yes, here in Auckland, and it may have taken him quite some time, but he is now singing with some authority and sounds as if he now belongs there as opposed to just warming a seat until someone else returns again. Downes also appears to have looked back to previous albums and is no longer attempting to drive the band in a direction which was not right for them, while Steve Howe also seems more settled.

Does this make 'Mirror to the Sky' an essential Yes release? No, but it is certainly the best since Davison became involved and given the lack of White and Squire that is possibly not expected. I found I could listen to this all the way to the end without cringing, and there are some high points here and there, which is certainly a step in the right direction. I have been playing this more than I expected, and while I will always mourn the lack of Wakeman and Anderson due to what they bring to the group, this is a nice middle of the road release which for the most part I found I enjoyed, not something I thought I would ever say again about a new Yes album.