CLASSIC YES

This was my introduction to Yes. Apart from "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and to a lesser extent "Roundabout", I had never heard any of their music. The first time I listened to this, "Heart Of The Sunrise" blew me away and "Wondrous Stories" bored me to tears. The two live songs here("Roundabout", "All Good People") didn't really sound good for something recorded in the late 1970s. Overall it was a good introduction to the band.

This collection made me want to get into the band's 3 most popular albums(TYA, Fragile, CTTE), but made me skeptical of anything that came after(and to a certain extent before). If I were to change anything it would be to replace the live songs with the studio versions; and switch "And You And I" and "Wondrous Stories" with "Siberian Khatru" and "Don't Kill The Whale", respectively. "Wondrous Stories" is such a wimpy, unmemorable song. I can't believe this was a hit. I thought everyone was listening to punk at the time. Apparently not. The most popular song of 1977 was Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life", so "Wondrous Stories" isn't far off.

This would be 5 star stuff if the changes I wanted were made. But as it is, it's still a good compilation and a great place to start for a newbie. Although, once you get all the 1970s albums you will rarely listen to this again. Nothing essential, great introduction. 3 stars.