OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW

I really need to get a new copy of this. My LP still has the 99 cent sticker from the used record store from thirty some odd years ago. And the sound quality, due to the number of times I played this over the years, has been quite diminished. Nevertheless, this is still quite a good album.

When I first heard this, I found it hard to believe that Jon Anderson played all of the instruments here himself, as he never seemed to play much with Yes, save for an occasional acoustic guitar (I always wondered if it was plugged in, or just a prop to keep his hands from flopping around - see "Yessongs" if you don't know what I mean - or sometimes a random small percussion device). But subsequent recordings have shown that Anderson, while not a pure master of any instrument, is no slouch either.

Here, on his first solo album, he weave a mystical fairy tale around somewhat Yes-like, but also new-agey music, with some of the tribal themes he later explored in more depth. The songs are all nicely written, with the lush harmonies that he first showed in in songs like We Have Heaven, from the Fragile album.

For a Yes fan, this is a must. For a prog fan, this is almost a must. But you should at least hear it.