Prog Recommendations/Featured albums - Yes: Magnification

This time, I'm Going for the One Yes album with no keyboard player: Magnification is the 19th Yes studio album (excluding the ABWH album) and the final album with Jon Anderson. Magnification is also The Yes Album with the sole distinction of having a four-piece line-up with no keyboard player, with orchestral arrangements taking the place of the keyboard parts. This would mark the first time the band had worked with an orchestra since the Time and a Word album in 1970. Igor Khoroshev was originally intended to play keyboards on the album, but he was involved in a backstage "incident" with two female security guards when he came Close to the Edge of being arrested during the non-stop Relayer race of the U.S. Masterworks tour. There was Talk of recording another album after the tour, but to avoid any further Drama, Igor Khoroshev was dropped from the Yes line-up. The four-piece line-up for the Magnification album featured a re-Union of regular Yes members:- Jon Anderson; Chris Squire; Steve Howe & Alan White. The recording process went fairly smoothly, apart from Steve Howe's Fragile ego being slightly dented by having his guitar parts swamped by the orchestral arrangements. Magnification was released on September 10th 2001 in the U.K and was originally intended for release in North America on September 11th 2001, but Heaven & Earth was rocked by the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC, and the album was rescheduled for a later U.S release on December 4th 2001. The album barely made it onto the bottom rung of The Ladder in the album charts upon its release, only reaching No. 71 in the U.K, and No. 186 in the U.S Billboard 200, and only lasted one week in both charts. Magnification turned out to be one of the worst-selling Yes albums, in complete contrast to the best-selling 90125 and Tales from Topographic Ocean albums. Magnification has been a Big Generator of debate amongst Yes fans over the years, contrasting between those who love the album, and others who regard it as something of a bad Tormato in the Yes canon. I really like the Magnification album though, and if you Open Your Eyes and ears and give the album a listen, then maybe you'll gain the Keys to Ascension too, or maybe you won't, whichever the case may be. Anyway, it's time for me to Fly from Here and listen to some more Yessongs.

With more than 1200 ratings and a 3.73 score I don't really think this album is over-looked. But it's true that it is not much talked about.

When it came out I was pleasantly surprised. After the mediocre Open Your Eyes, the OK The Ladder and the "let's try to sound like Yes" studio tracks on the Keys to Ascension albums, I didn't expect much, but Magnification indeed proved to be "somewhat" a return to form. They sounded fresh again, inspired and were at the same time moving forward, instead of harking back. Some great tracks, some good tracks and no dud... And it led to the best Yes concert I've attended to (in Amsterdam, where the Symphonic Live was recorded).

Cristi wrote:

a good album, better than the previous two albums they did and better than anything they did afterwards.

Pretty much my thoughts, too. I wouldn't call it a gem though, just... good.

Yes, Magnification is... Magnificent

That's a unique point of view.

If you want really good but completely overlooked Yes material, then frankly there's more than enough on Keystudio. Smile

This time, I'm Going for the One Yes album with no keyboard player: Magnification is the 19th Yes studio album (excluding the ABWH album) and the final album with Jon Anderson. Magnification is also The Yes Album with the sole distinction of having a four-piece line-up with no keyboard player, with orchestral arrangements taking the place of the keyboard parts. This would mark the first time the band had worked with an orchestra since the Time and a Word album in 1970. Igor Khoroshev was originally intended to play keyboards on the album, but he was involved in a backstage "incident" with two female security guards when he came Close to the Edge of being arrested during the non-stop Relayer race of the U.S. Masterworks tour. There was Talk of recording another album after the tour, but to avoid any further Drama, Igor Khoroshev was dropped from the Yes line-up. The four-piece line-up for the Magnification album featured a re-Union of regular Yes members:- Jon Anderson; Chris Squire; Steve Howe & Alan White. The recording process went fairly smoothly, apart from Steve Howe's Fragile ego being slightly dented by having his guitar parts swamped by the orchestral arrangements. Magnification was released on September 10th 2001 in the U.K and was originally intended for release in North America on September 11th 2001, but Heaven & Earth was rocked by the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC, and the album was rescheduled for a later U.S release on December 4th 2001. The album barely made it onto the bottom rung of The Ladder in the album charts upon its release, only reaching No. 71 in the U.K, and No. 186 in the U.S Billboard 200, and only lasted one week in both charts. Magnification turned out to be one of the worst-selling Yes albums, in complete contrast to the best-selling 90125 and Tales from Topographic Ocean albums. Magnification has been a Big Generator of debate amongst Yes fans over the years, contrasting between those who love the album, and others who regard it as something of a bad Tormato in the Yes canon. I really like the Magnification album though, and if you Open Your Eyes and ears and give the album a listen, then maybe you'll gain the Keys to Ascension too, or maybe you won't, whichever the case may be. Anyway, it's time for me to Fly from Here and listen to some more Yessongs.