YES

Yes

Symphonic Prog

3.29 | 1592 ratings

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The Crow
Prog Reviewer

The first Yes's album... And I have some mixed feelings every time I hear it!

This is not a bad work, but the sound of the instruments is bad, and I don't like the Jon Anderson's singing here. His voice seems afraid, without the power and sensitive feeling of later releases... He is like insecure, and his smirred vocals doesn't help to mend the weak production of the album.

Nevertheless, this record is interesting to know how the Yes's music increased its quality in a short lapse of time... Tony Kaye's keyboards had to be clearly surpased by the Wakeman's ones in the future, but they are not bad here anyway. And although I really miss the Steve Howe's guitar playing too, the usual experimental Yes's guitar passages are also here, like in I See You... And so are some of the Yes's trademark facts, like the strong Chris Squire bass playing, the good Bill Brufford's durms, the pop influences (Sweetness, Every Little Thing...) and the love for long instrumental passages (Harold Land, I See You...)

I have an unofficial Yes album wich is called "Sweet Dreams", and it has early Yes songs from "Yes" and "Time and a Word" played live on little places with a little audience... And these versions are very much better than the studio's ones! They are strongest, bravest... Songs like Sweetness, Looking Around, and the Every Little Thing's cover sound great in that album!

Best tracks: I See You (the most progressive and experimental track of the album...), Looking Aroung (a catchy song, with a fine keyboard's riff...) and Every Little Thing (good cover, with this odd western introduction...)

Conclusion: I think that Yes's "Yes" is not a bad album... But if you are not a Yes's fan, you'll hardly find something really interesting here. And of course, this record is not the right place to start with this band, because it offers not the real power of this great band. I suggest you to start with the albums they made with Steve Howe in the line-up... Specially "Fragile" or "Close to the Edge"! This debut is only for fans or collectors.

My rating: **1/2

The Crow | 2/5 | 2005-8-12

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