Yes: Magnification - An Over Looked Gem?

<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;">This time, I'm </span>Going for the One Yes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> album with no keyboard player: </span>Magnification<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> is the 19th </span>Yes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> studio album (excluding the </span>ABWH<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> album) and the final album with Jon Anderson. </span>Magnification<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> is also </span>The Yes Album<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> 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 </span>Time and a Word<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> 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 </span>Close to the Edge<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> of being arrested during the non-stop </span>Relayer<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> race of the  U.S. Masterworks tour. There was </span>Talk<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> of recording another album after the tour, but to avoid any further </span>Drama<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;">, Igor Khoroshev was dropped from the </span>Yes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> line-up. The four-piece line-up for the </span>Magnification<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> album featured a re-</span>Union<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> of regular </span>Yes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> members:- Jon Anderson; Chris Squire; Steve Howe & Alan White. The recording process went fairly smoothly, apart from Steve Howe's </span>Fragile<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> ego being slightly dented by having his guitar parts swamped by the orchestral arrangements. </span>Magnification<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> was released on September 10th 2001 in the U.K and was originally intended for release in North America on September 11th 2001, but </span>Heaven & Earth<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> 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 </span>The Ladder<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> 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. </span>Magnification<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> turned out to be one of the worst-selling </span>Yes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> albums, in complete contrast to the best-selling </span>90125<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> and </span>Tales from Topographic Ocean<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> albums. </span>Magnification<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> has been a </span>Big Generator<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> of debate amongst </span>Yes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> fans over the years, contrasting between those who love the album, and others who regard it as something of a bad </span>Tormato<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> in the </span>Yes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> canon. I really like the </span>Magnification<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> album though, and if you </span>Open Your Eyes<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> and ears and give the album a listen, then maybe you'll gain the </span>Keys to Ascension<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> too, or maybe you won't, whichever the case may be. Anyway,  it's time for me to </span>Fly from Here<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;"> and listen to some more </span>Yessongs<span style=": rgb248, 248, 252;">. </span>