UNION

Union is the 13th full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Yes. It´s a bit of an odd collaborative effort which features eight former and present members of the band collaborating in different constellations plus Tony Levin guesting on bass on some of the tracks.

Let me say from the start that it´s very audible that the title of the album isn´t very suiting for the content. The album gets off to a good start though and after the three first songs I was actually thinking that this could be a pretty solid album ( nothing like the classic albums by the band of course). From song four Lift Me Up everything starts to go wrong though and the good start to the album is soon forgotten. After the 65:25 minutes long playing time is over I´m quite exhausted and it´s such a pitty because when Yes decides to play some progressive parts they really shine. Too bad those parts drown in AOR tinged sugary pomp pop/ rock most of the time. Of course it´s professional and well composed but it´s not very interesting to these ears. An aquired taste for sure. The biggest problem is the inconsistency of the material though. It´s too obvious that the songs were recorded by two different constellations of the band and as a consequence the album sounds fragmented.

A 2 star rating is the most I´m prepared to give for Union and my impression is that this album should be regarded as one of the low points of Yes discography. Enter at your own risk.