YESTERDAYS

YESTERDAYS is now a historic relic, only of interest to those who are keen on collecting Roger Dean cover art. For about two decades this album was the only place where you could hear Yes' magnificent ten-minute version of Paul Simon's "America", first on LP, then on (unremastered) CD, unless you happened to own a compilation album entitled THE NEW AGE OF ATLANTIC. But that old problem has been now solved once and for all, since "America" appeared, in all its glory, as one of the bonus tracks on the most recent remaster of the classic album FRAGILE.

The remainder of YESTERDAYS consisted of tracks from Yes' first two albums, as well as the eminently forgettable "Dear Father". As previous reviewers have pointed out, YESTERDAYS was an excellent example of a record company trying to cash in on Yes' newly found fame. Since the album was also bought by lots of Yes fans who already owned YES and TIME AND A WORD, and who simply wanted to get their hands on "America", why didn't Atlantic include the riveting "Something's Coming", which used to be even more unavailable than "America" once was, and which is related to it in several ways? (To start with, "Something's Coming" is from WEST SIDE STORY, a musical Chris Squire actually quotes from in his bass line to "America"! The band also gave both songs similar instrumental arrangements.) Were there copyright problems, perhaps?

I also have some doubts about the tracks that DO appear on YESTERDAYS. It always seemed a pretty lame decision to have the band's two most commercial tunes ("Time And a Word" and "Sweet Dreams") simply follow each other. At least one of these should have been replaced with the equally early "Beyond and Before", "The Prophet", or even "Every Little Thing", all of which are more ambitious and pack far more punch.