Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Yes - Keystudio CD (album) cover

KEYSTUDIO

Yes

 

Symphonic Prog

3.59 | 521 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
2 stars Regrettably, not a key album

The two "Keys to Ascension" double CD sets consisted of a mixture of live tracks, and new studio recordings. All the studio recordings from both albums have been gathered together here into one album. As such, this is really a compilation album rather than a bone fide new release. Personally, I would have preferred it if the "Keys to ascension" albums had been released as separate live and studio albums, and thus "Keystudio" represents the first step towards that.

The tracks here are more in the traditional Yes mode than those on say "Open your eyes", with "Mind drive" lasting for over 18 minutes. Rick Wakeman's performance, especially on the tracks from the first of the KTA albums is notably understated. He seems to be so far back in the mix as to be almost superfluous, and appears to have had little involvement in the song-writing and track development. His involvement in the tracks from KTA2 is a bit more obvious, but still by no means as strong as on the classic Yes albums.

While there are some good pieces of music here such as the aforementioned "Mind drive" the tracks as a whole lack real inspiration. It is almost as if the band are trying to rediscover the old formulas, but do not quite succeed.

In retrospect, it may have been better for Yes to have released Keystudio as an official album at the time of the "Keys to ascension" albums, and to have given it a more inspired title! The live tracks from the KTA albums could then have been bundled together, and would have fitted neatly onto a double CD. As an official release in its own right, "Keystudio" would have reassured fans that the band were once again keen to explore their prog roots, by developing tracks beyond the limitations that 4-6 minutes imposes. By setting them alongside their illustrious peers such as "Close to the edge", "And you and I", "Revealing science of God", etc., Yes merely succeeded in highlighting the comparative weakness of their new material.

Easy Livin | 2/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this YES review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.