THE YES ALBUM

So tasty! What a huge step forward from the first two albums (which were good in their own right); Steve Howe apparently was the last piece of the puzzle that made this group into what it perhaps THE definitive progressive rock band (which would just be further strengthened a year later with Rick Wakeman). I'm a little too young to have actually experienced this, but imagine this scenario: You are a fan of Yes from the first two albums, and you are disappointed to hear that Peter Banks has left the band. So you buy this album not really knowing what to expect from the new, relatively unknown guitarist. You slap the record onto the turntable, and sit down. The first track you hear is Yours Is No Disgrace and you are blown away by these wild, intricate jazz & boogie guitar lines being thrown all over the place. Wow, what an experience that must have been! And then after that you get Clap (NOT intended to be called "The Clap", as Steve now laments). And then comes Starship Trooper, and then...well, you get the picture: every track is a classic, apart from perhaps A Venture. More than just a great starting point for new Yes fans, I feel this would be the best album ever produced to try to convert someone who had never heard prog into a fan. Absolutely essential.