YESSONGS

Even though I don't listen to Yessongs very often anymore, it has no other place to go but on top. It was the defining album of my childhood, the reason I became a musician. It is often knocked for the poor recording quality, but IMHO, that's one of the things that truly makes it great. Yes writes oustanding music, but on early studio albums where they wrote there best music, much of the sound is overly compressed. The dynamics are subdued to the point that the majesty of the composition is hiden. Especially when compared to Genesis and ELP who didn't seem to have a problem transposing their energy to the studio. Really interesting when you consider Eddie Offord's involvement in both yes and ELP. The rawness and power of the live performance almost made them a completely different band. The addition of Alan White for the majority of the album played a part in this as well. It seems that the less technical, yet more powerful and wide open playing style of AW infused a new energy into the other musicians over the highly technical, yet dynamically conservative chops of Bill Bruford. Another element that left a feeling of emptiness to some of their studio was the obligatory 70's fade out. The staccato end of Siberian Khatru, down to the last "AH!" was a symbol of the gratifying completeness of this album. The foldout Roger Dean art also left a lasting impression.