HEAVEN & EARTH

Yes

Symphonic Prog

2.29 | 782 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

My first impression of "Heaven And Earth"...

Jon Davison is excellent! An obviously better fit for YES than Benoit David (the previous vocalist featured on "Fly From Here"). I'm not a big fan of that cd and I'm afraid that this album is even worse. The material is substandard and... no rock whatsoever!!! The production sounds (for lack of a better word) cheap. It has a demo-ish quality to it. As for the arrangements... worst I've heard on any YES album (and I own each and every one).

The opening track "Believe Again" is by far the best! The Game is ok. Step Beyond and To Ascend are weak. In A World Of Our Own is really poor. Light Of The Ages has a decent chorus but way too long. Sleep inducing! It Was All We Knew is not good at all. The final cut, Subway Walls, has the first sign of prog on the cd, but somehow, still falls flat. Better than most of the album, but that's not saying much.

The drums on this record sound weak & thin. If I didn't know they were performed by the great Alan White, I'd have never believed it. The keyboards fair even worse. Dated sounds and uninspired playing. Not even close to the monster playing we've come to expect from YES. Uninspired playing all around.

I happen to love the Trevor Rabin era of YES. Even if you don't (and I know that's the case for many of you), you have to admit, that incarnation of the band rocked! This plays as just a step above new age music.

The worst thing I can say about this album is that it was very hard for me to get through, resisting the urge to skip to the next track or turn it off altogether. I was happy when it ended. This ranks as my all time least favorite YES recording. If there's a next album with this line-up, I hope that things improve drastically, in all respects but especially in the song writing department.

Proceed with caution!!!

gmahler | 1/5 | 2014-7-5

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Share this YES review

Social review comments () BETA

Review related links

Send comments to gmahler
Report this review (#1205369)
Buy YES music online with PA partners
Show all YES MP3/Stream
Go to YES page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
Go to Heaven & Earth page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
Search the Forum for YES related discussions