The Yes Discography: July 2015

Friday, July 31, 2015

Fragile (4 of 19)

Line up: Chris Squire: Bass
Jon Anderson: Vocals
Bill Bruford: Drums
Steve Howe: Guitar
Rick Wakeman: Keyboard

If The Yes Album was the album where Yes truly found their identity, it was on this album, Fragile, that they took every bit of their potential and maximized it. Fragile really has it all, the incredible writing and musicianship, the "random imagery" style of lyrics, (which I went into a bit deeper on the last post) the epic compositions, and now Rick Wakeman has been added in place of Tony Kaye to maximize yet another area of potential.

The addition of Rick Wakeman might even be the most significant thing to take note of on this album. Whenever a new member is added to a band, the dynamic is bound to change for better or worse...luckily, the replacement of Tony Banks with Rick Wakeman on keyboard was one of the finest examples of a positive change for a band in the form of a member replacement. Wakeman really is one of the greatest keyboardists that prog has to offer. To me, the three classic prog keyboardists would be Tony Banks,(Genesis) Keith Emerson (ELP) and of course, Wakeman. But the thing that makes Wakeman stand out so much is that he is able to take the more atmospheric approach that Banks knew so well, and combine it with the extreme chops of Emerson, becoming probably the most well-balanced of the three, and in turn, adding an endlessly interesting array of sounds, melodies, and solos to the Yes sound.

It probably helps that Yes had already been fine tuning their unique sound for three albums prior to this release, and just what they needed to sort of push themselves forward that last little bit was the addition of an eager and ambitious keyboardist in the form of Wakeman. It should also be noted that I be no means dislike Tony Banks, as he is a more than adequate player. But when compared with the Prog God that Wakeman is, it becomes easy to see why some might belittle him.

Rick Wakeman was noted for bringing a very large variety of synths onto the stage with him

So lets talk about the album format, which is one of the things that makes Fragile so unique and interesting to listen to. Spread about the album there are five individual contributions by each of the respective members of the band, allowing for four group contributions taking up the main pieces. Having the album spaced out this way allows the listening experience to take on a really interesting turn not really seen on many other albums. Since each of the group compositions are really big, complex, and quite epic in length, (Long Distance Runaround being an exception in terms of length) the individual tracks sort of allow some breathing room, so to speak. That is not to say the individual songs are not complex, since that is far from the case, it's just that they allow the listener some time to sort of prepare for the next big composition.

Of all the individually composed pieces, Anderson's and Squire's seem to always be fighting for my number one spot. Anderson takes a vocal idea and layers his voice many times on top of each other, taking on all of the harmonies. It has such a unique feel though, and the melody is really quite beautiful. Also, what's not to love about the repeated lyric "Tell the moondog, tell the marcher?" For Squire's piece, he takes a really cool 7/8 bass groove, and plays it in a variety of different styles throughout. Also, I do really love Wakeman's arrangement of Brahms 4th, as well as Bruford's composition, in which he has each member play a different piece of his drum kit on their respective instruments, allowing for a somewhat chaotic and dissonant, yet nonetheless interesting, short piece of music. Howe composes another solo piece called Mood for a Day, it doesn't quite live up to Clap, his solo guitar piece on The Yes Album, but it is still quite good in spite of this.

Fragile was the first Yes album to feature the bands distinctive logo

Now, on to the group contributions, kicking off the album is the hit Roundabout, arguably the bands most well-known song to date. Squire's bass line in the beginning is simply iconic, and one of the most recognizable bass lines of all time. The whole piece is really just fantastic. The organ breaks are irresistible to air drum along with, the melodies are memorable and catchy, the quite bits are soft and delicate, and then of course, the organ solo is just awesome!

The next group composition comes in the form of South Side of the Sky, a fast paced, high energy song, with some incredibly well composed melodies. In the middle, the piece quiets down quite a bit as Wakeman takes over with a very memorable piano melody almost reminiscent of something Rachmaninov might play. All in all, the song is an awesome way to close off the first side of the album.

Long Distance Runaround is a bit a step back in terms of length, but not at all in terms of quality. It's a bit poppier than the rest of the songs composed as a band, but that actually stands in its favor as it ends up becoming the sort of lighter song that the album might have been missing. It is also quite deceptively complex, as maybe the more tentative ear will pick up when listening to it closely.

But the best of the group compositions doesn't show up until the finale, Heart of the Sunrise. Wow, I really can't do a piece like this justice just by writing about it. It kicks off immediately with a bombastic unison played by the entire band, before coming to a sudden halt with some quick breaks, and then settling into a highly inventive bass/drums groove. The vocals don't kick in until several minutes in, but when they do, Anderson is at his absolute brilliant best, most notably in the stunning chorus. Having studied and played a lot of classical music myself, I have no qualms in saying that the overall compositional structure of this piece is just masterful. And the transitions...if there was ever a time to use the word orgasmic to describe something in a piece, it would be to describe some of these transitions, particularly after the first chorus. The piece reaches its climax with the second appearance of the beautiful chorus, before simmering down at past the ten minute mark, making Heart of the Sunrise the bands longest song at the time.

Fragile was the first album to feature a cover painted by long-time collaborater Roger Dean

The last thing that really needs to be noted about this album, is that it is the first album to feature a cover drawn by their long-time collaborator Roger Dean. Maybe this doesn't sound like such a significant thing, but any real Yes fan will probably tell you that yes, it actually is a significant thing. His covers, and this one particularly, were able to perfectly capture the surreal leanings of Anderson's lyrics, and thus were for me, the final step toward making Yes the band that they were at the time. The lyrics and the covers seem to point to bigger, better worlds, maybe to the possibilities that mankind could achieve in the future, or could have already achieved were we not so destructive. These types of themes are really what seemed to fuel the bands music, as well as the whole prog scene in general, the idea of infinite possibilities, and endless ambition. Maybe in the future these meanings have changed, especially for the people who grew up in the 70s, who would maybe now say that the covers can be seen as a reminder of what the world once was to them, and the possibilities they saw in the past, but weren't lived up to in the future.

Regardless of the meaning behind Deans paintings, they are seen by most as an essential part to the overall aesthetic experience of listening to and enjoying the music of Yes.

All in all, Fragile is a masterful, intelligent, and thoroughly enjoyable album that has stood the test of time incredibly well. The fact that their next album would even manage to surpass it is even more extraordinary, but more on that next week.

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Friday, July 24, 2015

The Yes Album (3 of 19)

Line up: Chris Squire: Bass
Jon Anderson: Vocals
Bill Bruford: Drums
Steve Howe: Guitar
Tony Kaye: Keyboard

Three albums into their career, Yes finally reached their defining album in the form of The Yes Album. This is the moment where Yes really became Yes, for me at least. Sure, there was great playing on the first two albums, as well as great melodies, tight vocal harmonies, excellent base lines, and most of the things that tend to contribute to the overall Yes sound, but it was on this album that Yes took that sound and used it to the absolute best of its potential.

The main thing that stands out on this album, and really makes it what it is, is the recent addition of new guitarist Steve Howe. The extreme diversity not only of his playing, but also of his tastes really seems to have pushed the band to new heights of compositional ambition. And it really show here. While the longest songs on the previous two albums would only reach the six to seven minute marks, here we are treated to three nine plus minute tracks, much greater diversity in the overall approach of writing, and a seemingly endless ambition from all of the players to put their absolute best into their performances. And wow, the performances are fantastic, not just from Howe, but from everybody. Bill Buford sounds incredible as ever, and Squire especially seems to have really come into his own here, further developing his own unique style.

The Yes Album marks the first album by the band to feature the playing of long-time member Steve Howe

Straight from the first notes of the epic opener Yours is No Disgrace, it is clear that Yes is playing for keeps with this album. We are immediately treated to some intricate unison playing from the entire band, before breaking off into some classic Yes styled vocal harmonies, and continuing for nine full minutes of prog rock glory, with some beautiful quiet moments, intricate playing, and the all-around makings of what has become quite the Yes classic at this point. The melodies are lush, and for the first time Jon Anderson has fully seemed to develop his lyrical style, referred to by many as "random imagery."

I personally love the idea behind the whole "random imagery," and the notion that maybe a songs lyrics don't have to necessarily tell a story, but can rather try to evoke a certain feeling through the usage of well...random imagery.

The band really doesn't slow down in terms of quality or creative energy for the entire album. Clap, a solo acoustic guitar piece performed live by Steve Howe is an excellent, technical and incredibly fun piece that really shows off what an incredible player Howe is. Starship Trooper is another brilliant showcase of everything that the band does best, featuring outstanding vocal melodies, and just fantastic musicianship, from a compositional standpoint, as well as just for its sheer inventiveness. All in all, it's one of my favorite songs that the band has ever done. I've Seen all Good People is another real classic. The vocal melodies in this one might even be better than in Starship Trooper, and the closing jam is just awesome, it's not surprising that this one became something of a radio hit, since it also manages to be pretty accessible.

The only filler for me probably comes in the form of the track Perpetual Change, which isn't really bad, but just isn't quite up to snuff when put against the rest of the tracks. The closing Perpetual Change seems like something of a forgotten classic. I really love the jazzy piano playing, and once again, the vocal melodies are just excellent.

The Yes Album was the final album to feature the playing of Tony Kaye

The only real thing holding this album back for me, is that Tony Kaye just isn't as interesting to listen to as Rick Wakeman would be on future albums, and while he is far from bad, he is still holding them back from being their absolute best, as audiences would soon see on their next album.

So this is Yes in all of their beautiful, most blind ambition, with the epic song writing, ambiguous yet highly colorful lyrics, great melodies and mind numbing chops all intact and in full focus, and it really is a somewhat jaw dropping result, which I have very, very little to complain about.

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Saturday, July 18, 2015

Time and a Word (2 of 19)

Line up: Chris Squire: Bass
Jon Anderson: Vocals
Bill Bruford: Drums
Peter Banks: Guitar
Tony Kaye: Keyboard

After the moderate success of their debut, the self-titled Yes, the British progressive rock icons re-grouped the next year and gave us this. Released in 1970, Time and a word is what I would refer to as a "transition album." I'm not the first to use the phrase to describe an album, and I am certain that I won't be the last. However, I would like to somewhat dispel the negative connotation that the phrase seems to evoke in many. Every worthwhile band goes through transitions, that's what makes them worthwhile in the first place. To give some examples, I would view Meddle as a transition album for Pink Floyd, as they moved from the more tripped out psychedelia of their late 60s material, to the more progressive, space-rock oriented sound they would find on Dark Side of the Moon. I would also say that The Bends was quite an impressive "transition album" for Radiohead from the more pop-rock song based Pablo Honey, into the art-rock territory of Ok Computer. I love both of the albums listed, and I think that they were each highly important releases. For certain bands, the "transition albums" might actually be the most interesting to listen to, since they can capture two different sounds of a band without leaning too heavily on one.

Now that that's clear up, Time and a Word marks the transition of Yes out of the poppier material found on their self-titled album, but not quite yet at the full throttle progressive outings that The Yes Album, and future releases would find them. While this is quite interesting to listen to, unfortunately, it doesn't always work quite as well as I would like for it to.

Before picking the album apart too much, what are the redeeming qualities? Well, I can't speak highly enough for the musicianship here, particularly Bill Buford and Chris Squire are just playing their hearts out, and as a musician myself, I can't help but fall in love with some of the instrumental bits. Tracks like Everydays feature some of my all-time favorite Yes instrumental passages, and I don't make that statement lightly. Also, John Anderson really seems to come into his own here, taking full advantage of his brilliant voice, and adding some real balls to some of these vocal lines. Worthy entirely of its own mention is the absolutely brilliant title track, a long-time favorite Yes song of mine, boasting a brilliant melody, and all around fantastic musicianship and beautiful playing.

The original album cover was deemed as too controversial in America and was subsequently released under this cover in the US

My biggest gripe with the album, however, isn't so much an issue I have with the songs, it is more an issue I have with the tone, which feels quite inconsistent to me. The reason for this seems to be largely thanks to the orchestra which Jon Anderson decided to use on most of the songs. I think it's an issue of shooting too high too soon. I appreciate the ambition, however I don't think that Yes was ready to command a full orchestra, and as result, it often feels out of place, distracting from what would otherwise be fine compositions. It's clear that the excellent playing of Peter Banks and Tony Kaye was in large part sacrificed for the sake of adding in the orchestra, which is a shame really, because that's a lot of great talent gone completely to waste.

This isn't to say that the orchestra never works, because at times, such as in the high energy opener No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed, or the horns in the end of Then, we can see the potential that the orchestra could have brought to the Yes sound given the proper execution. But sadly it just doesn't quite work as I don't feel Yes was ready for such a big step forward. Fortunately, Yes tried their hand at incorporating the orchestral sound into their music again much later on Magnification, but we'll get to that later. Also, just like on the first album, there is some filler material here towards the end which, while not blatantly bad by any stretch, just doesn't quite cut it.

Due to disputes between Peter Banks and Jon Anderson over the matter of the inclusion of the orchestra, this was the last Yes album to feature the playing of Banks and thus ends the original Yes lineup.

So while I still do enjoy this album, and appreciate it for what it is, I find that it just feels a bit awkward in its execution, which is a shame really. Still, there are some amazing tracks here, and the beginnings of the exciting and dynamic playing that we all know and love from Yes are clear and evident on this album. So while I can't hate on Time and a Word too much, I still can't really love it either...it's a mixed bag, with moments of brilliance dragged down by flawed execution.

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Friday, July 10, 2015

Yes (1 of 19)

The artwork for the self-titled album Yes

Line up: Chris Squire: Bass
Jon Anderson: Vocals
Bill Bruford: Drums
Peter Banks: Guitar
Tony Kaye: Keyboard

What is it that In the Court of the Crimson King, Hot Rats, Stand Up, and A Salty Dog all have in common? Well, aside from all being fantastic albums, they were all released in 1969, and can be counted among the very first releases in the ever expanding "progressive rock" genre. Oh yeah, might as well throw the eponymously titled Yes into that list of albums. Among the list of entries up top, and more obviously, the later Yes albums such as Fragile, The Yes Album and Close to the Edge, it can be easy to overlook Yes, the album that started it all for the British visionaries. But in order to truly understand an artist (or group of artists, as it were) one must explore their past. I find that not only does this self-titled release bring a sense of fulfillment to the groups later, more accomplished works, but that it also stands the test of time as a testament to the power of the groups music based entirely on its own creative and artistic merits.

First let's talk context. 1969 seems like it was a great time to be a musician. The 60s pop craze was on its way out, and with the inclusion of prog, as well as jazz-fusion, it seems as though there was an increasing demand on musicians to be able to "play their instruments." Unfortunately, I wasn't alive at the time, but I can only imagine what an exciting time it must have been to be a musician. In the heat of all of this, we got Yes, a group who started out as a cover band, but slowly evolved, taking on their own sound and unique musical offerings. While this self-titled release wasn't the album that captured the hearts of fans as future albums would, it still holds a unique and respectable place among their incredibly impressive discography.

The Miles Davis albums Bitches Brew, (pictured above)
and In a Silent Way, both of which were released in 1969
were very influential in raising the bar for
experimentation within the setting of popular music.

All right, context aside, what is it that makes listening to the album Yes a worthwhile endeavor? Well, in a nutshell, what I feel makes this album special is it's ability to still possess the high standard of musicianship that Yes is known for, while doing so in a more compact, accessible format. No track reaches over the length of seven minutes, yet the chops, intricate yet catchy vocal melodies, layered harmonies and varied song structure remain intact, albeit in a more poppy format. Also in the foreground is a high strung, raw sense of energy that in later albums was replaced with more of a sophisticated sense of compositional perfection. Not that the later albums lacked energy, because they didn't, however I feel that in this album, the tracks boast more of a bold, simplistic sense of energy that you might find in a heavy metal band. It's sort of what you might expect if you took some of the heaviest, loudest bits of The Yes Album, and then made an album containing 85% of that material.

Kicking off the album is the excellent Beyond and Before, a classic sounding Yes track in every sense of the word. Catchy riffs, tight playing, layered harmonies and excellent vocal melodies abound, making for a highly appropriate track to kick off the first album of the groups career. Some other high points of the album include the extended jazzy break in I See You, in which we are treated to an excellent swing type of pattern by Bill Bruford, which Peter Banks solos over, leaving Chris Squire to eventually join in before the band comes back together to close off the solo section. We also find two very well written ballads throughout the album in the form of the tracks Sweetness and Yesterday and Today, the latter of which features a beautiful almost "Haydenesque" piano closing. The Beatles cover of Every Little Thing boasts a highly enjoyable jazzy instrumental opening, and proves to be an overall satisfying cover. The closing song Survival, an instant highlight, blends some truly beautiful vocal harmonies and makes for a fantastic closer.

Notable among the things that make this album enjoyable is the jazzy playing of Peter Banks, who's playing is only present on this album and the next. His playing brings a unique feel to the overall Yes sound which was absent from Howe's playing. It's not that one guitarist is better than the other, I personally probably prefer Howe's playing. However, for the sake of this album, I do greatly enjoy the unique stylistic offerings that Banks brings to the table. Also, Tony Kaye, who was only in the band for three albums before being replaced by the now legendary Rick Wakeman, brings his own unique spin to the Yes sound. While Wakeman was famous for his massive arsenal of creative and oftentimes atmospheric keyboard sounds, Kaye limits himself largely to organ, and a bit of piano. This brings more of a singular sound to the album, which is quite interesting to listen to actually.

Peter Banks is actually the member that coined the then temporary title for the band: Yes

The downside however, in having a more singular sound, is that the album does have some filler material. Tracks such as Looking Around and Harold Land, while not bad by any stretch, don't really stick out or offer anything incredibly new or interesting to the statements already made on previous tracks.

All in all, I think that this album will be enjoyed the most by the people who really like the classic Yes sound, but maybe get turned off by the more unapologetic experimentation used on the bands early to mid-seventies output. This is far more poppy in both tone and structure than anything on the list of prog albums I named in the beginning, and might actually appeal to a wider audience than a lot of other prog albums, which is what makes it unique and enjoyable by its own more accessible rights. It might even end up being the only Yes album certain people might grow to enjoy, if said person is turned off by some of the more self-indulgent tendencies of progressive rock, yet still wants to find an album written by people who can write great songs, and really, really play their respective instruments.

While it's not their finest, or most polished album, it's definitely worth a listen, not just to gain a greater appreciation for their later material, but also on its own merits, as a great album.

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