YES

Yes's 1968 debut (set off the chain of events destined to change the world) was surprisingly good. I had heard Looking Around and Survival before, but I was impressed by Peter Banks' guitar work, especially in I See You. Their signature vocal harmonies are nice, although they will continue to perfect them in only a few years time. Obviously, this isn't Close to the Edge, this isn't Relayer, this isn't Going for the One. But it is good.

1. Beyond and Before- 6/10: Good opener. Starts with some simple distorted guitar, then the vocals kick in, influenced by Simon & Garfunkel. Slightly repetitive and a bit corny in sections, but this is still Yes.

2. I See You- 7.5/10: Biggest surprise on the album. I never knew Peter Banks was this good. Obviously, Steve is still leagues better, but still... This cover starts starts with some jazzy guitar and Jon's beautiful voice. The song would be decent if it was just this first part, but then they break down into a three minute solo. Pleasant surprise. Great drums by Bill here too. A lot of it sounds pretty jazzy.

3. Yesterday and Today- 7/10: Jon wrote this one. Short and sweet, nice and pretty. Quick little ballad. Some nice acoustic guitar and keyboards in the background. Jon gets to showcase his voice here.

4. Looking Around- 7.5/10: Ah, this song. Great keyboards from Tony Kaye (he was always very good, they only got rid of him because he only wanted to play organs and piano, and Yes wanted to use the Moog), and a nice, short and quick solo from Peter Banks. VERY upbeat song. However the vocals are the most memorable. The harmonies are great, interspersed with Jon singing by himself. Very well done (they wrote this one too (Jon and Chris)).

5. Harold Land- 6.5/10: They wrote this one too. Don't be thrown off by the lower rating, it's a very good song. I just like some of the other ones a bit better (and this reminds of Then from their next album, which is far superior to this song). This is definitely one of the highlights of the album though. Good bass, good keyboards, good prog song. This is probably the most progressive song on the album. Pretty vocals. Songs like Yesterday and Today, Looking Around, this one, and Survival really showed the potential they had for writing their own songs. (And once they stopped doing covers and added Steve Howe, they took off).

6. Every Little Thing- 6.5/10: Good cover of this Beatles song. Great drums, good bass, good guitar. This song opens with a great solo, which, in the classic style of Yes from later years, has great inputs from all of the members. However, this is still a Beatles song, not a Yes song, and some of the vocals are a bit cheesy for Yes. Certainly not the cryptic vocals of Awaken or Ritual.

7. Sweetness- 7/10: Very pretty song. However, it is a bit poppy for Yes. Nice background keyboards and nice subdued drumming in this ballad. The vocals are the best part of this song, and are probably second on this album only to Survival.

8. Survival- 9/10: Definitely the best song on this debut. Jon wrote this one and it certainly showcases his voice well. Great bass in the intro too, as well as catchy keyboards and guitar and good drums. However the best parts of the song come when Jon comes in. The rest of the band kind of fades out and leaves Jon and quiet acoustic guitar chords. Beautiful lyrics, even more beautiful vocals, great chorus, all around very good song. Don't doubt the fact there's life within you/Yesterdays endings will tomorrow life give you/All that dies, dies for a reason/To put its strength into the seasons. Great message. Fairly progressive too. This one ends the way it began.

The bonus tracks are good here too: Something's Coming and Everydays are good songs, and Dear Father was one of the best songs of their early years. It's a shame it had to be limited to a B-side and a bonus track.

The tracks are ordered very well.

Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to mention, this album does have great bass. However, I figured this was self-explanatory. We wouldn't expect any thing less. I will say that the bass plays a much bigger part in their later works.

Avg. 7.125/10; 3.56/10; 3 stars, good but not essential.

So overall, a decent first effort from the greatest band ever. They only get better...

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