YES - Tormato (1978)

An uneven mess of an album 

Octopus II wrote: I have always had a soft spot for the Tormato album. Whilst visiting friends, I was lucky enough to see them at London Wembley Arena in 1978 on one of the six nights they did there. These were the only UK dates they did to support that album. I think I'll give the album a spin now.

It's Onward and upward with the ninth YES album - quite literally upward, as Tormato is named after Yes Tor, the second highest peak in Dartmoor - or it could be because Rick Wakeman didn't like the artwork for the original Hipgnosis-designed album cover and threw a tomato at it, allegedly. Aside from the artwork, the making of the Tormato album was not without its usual Drama, where the often Fragile relationship between band members was Close to the Edge of breaking point with internal disputes over the direction of the music. The album climbed The Ladder of success though, reaching No. 8 in the UK and No. 10 in the USA. Jon Anderson's song Don't Kill the Whale - with its topical eco reference to Greenpeace and Las Vegas casino owners - was the only major single Release Release from Tormato, and I suspect that's the only song anyone remembers from the less than impressive Tormato album these days. There was Talk of another YES album in 1979, but that all came to nothing and Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman both temporarily left the band. Jon returned for the 90125 album in 1983, but Heaven & Earth had to be moved to persuade Rick to return for the re-Union album in 1991, which he clearly regretted as Rick Wakeman now refers to it as the Onion album, because it always makes him cry.  

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - January 15 2024 at 08:02