UNION

Rick Wakeman famously prefers to call this "Onion", because it makes him cry. I reckon that's a bit harsh, but it is really two shorter albums by different bands, rather clumsily melded together to form a whole.

"Union" was made by the two Yes factions which existed at the time, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe on the one hand, and Squire Rabin Kaye etc. on the other. While Anderson provides lead vocals throughout, the only other person who crosses over between the two is Chris Squire, who adds vocals (but not bass) to some of the ABWH songs. It is therefore easy enough to spot which track are by which combination but for the record the ABWH tracks are 1,2,3,5,8,10,11,13, 14, and 15, the Rabin/Squire Yes tracks being 4,6,7,9. The bassist on the ABWH tracks is Tony Levin, although he is playing in a session capacity only and not as official band member.

As can be seen, this is therefore a Union largely in name only. In retrospect, the album may have been afforded a better continuity if the tracks by each of the bands had been kept together, instead of the rather haphazard mishmash we have here. In terms of quantity, the balance is very much in favour of ABWH whose work constitutes about two thirds of the total time.

All that said, the first two tracks, "I would have waited forever" and "Shock to the system" may be by ABWH, but they have much more in common with the style of music Yes created with Trevor Rabin. Only the slight lengthening of the instrumental passages differentiates these songs from those on "Big Generator". Steve Howe slips in a brief solo acoustic spot with " Masquerade" which serves as a pleasant intro to the first Squire/Rabin Yes track, "Lift me up". If you enjoyed the sound of the aforementioned "Big generator", this will appeal too, indeed this track is similar to the title track of that album.

"Without Hope You Cannot Start the Day" sees ABWH reverting to the type of music which dominated their sole album in that name, the music remaining pretty straightforward and largely devoid of the true prog sounds we hoped for.

In all, and I know that it may be considered sacrilege to say it, I prefer the Rabin/Squire Yes tracks to the ABWH songs. There is a vitality to the New Yes numbers which is lacking in the AWBH ones. It appears to me that ABWH are running pretty much on empty, hence the "Union" of the albums. The music by the two factions actually fits together reasonably well here, the bands perhaps sub-consciously moving towards each other. While this is far from being a classic album by any form of Yes, I do feel it is often subject to too much criticism. As Yes albums go, this one is best described as adequate.

The tour to promote Union appears to have been much more successful than the album, with even Wakeman proclaiming it to be on of the most enjoyable he has participated in. The YesYears DVD which was recorded around that time gives an excellent insight into that period.

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