THE YES ALBUM

By the time 1971 first rolled around, Yes had released two albums - Their self-titled 1969 debut, and their 1970 sophomore effort Time And A Word. Although the two albums were great, they also showed that the band hadn't truly found a sound yet. Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and all the others had serious potential, but hadn't yet discovered the best way to use it. But in 1971, the band received a new member who would prove to be vital to the band's success - guitarist Steve Howe. With the arrival of the new guitarist, the band recorded and released their third album 1971's The Yes Album. Steve Howe proved almost instantly that he was a guitar genius, and the guitarist that would take the band to new heights (not to say his predecessor was bad, though.) I've Seen All Good People, one of the band's biggest hits, comes from this album. The song is mostly a melodic piece, but it features a straight-up classic rock outro that is priceless. And it, of course, is not the only worthwhile song on this album. Every song that is featured here is excellent in its own way - no two songs sound alike. Interestingly, one of the songs featured on the album, Clap, is a live version (the band put the live version on the album because they felt it was superior to the studio version they had recorded.) In the end, The Yes Album is one of the progressive rock act's finest hours. Though I did give it a 3 (good, but not-essential) I feel that all yes fans should have this album.