THE LADDER

Oh. what a difficult album to review! Yes was always my first love in prog, the reason why I fell for this genre in the first time. But, to be absolute frank, all their studio works after Tormato did not captivate me too much. The Ladder is among them. It has some great moments that made me remind of how special they are, like the opening Homeworld (The Ladder). Fantastic song that makes you believe the band is is fine form and promises a wonderful album. But then the album gets so uneven is hard to believe. There are some embarrassing moments (few) and some good moments, but nothing that stands to the opener. Really a pity.

I like this CD, by the way. I can stand their pop rock tunes. I can forgive the bad moments (although the brass arrangement on Lightning Strikes tempts me not to). After all, it´s YES! The greatest prog band that ever existed! But clearly nothing here stands up to their best 70´s work (aside from Homeworld). If you listen without prejudice, without comparing, then you might like it too. To me it´s a fans and collectors affair. But since I´m a fan, I enjoyed it. So, my rating keeps going between 2,5 and 3 stars, depending on my mood of the day. But it won´t be higher than 3, and not lower then 2,5. You hear, you judge.