ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE

The other faction of Yes comes together on a good effort on this self-titled album. Yes frontman Jon Anderson collaborates with Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Keyboardist Rick Wakeman and Drummer Bill Bruford outside of the official Yes lineup at the time of Anderson, Rabin, White, Squire and Kaye. The collaboration is most undoubtedly better than anything Yes put out in this period....in fact, it's more Yes sounding than Yes! Still not classic Yes, but better than the commercialised version led by Rabin back in the day.

The album features one of my favorite Roger Dean covers. Absolutely stunning. And the opening lyrics seem to send a shot across the bow of the other Yes faction (Be gone you ever piercing power play machine, cutting the musical solidarity).

For me, though, the album doesn't really get going until the third track Brother of Mine, a 3 part, 10 and a half minute epic featuring a soaring Howe solo folowed by Wakeman's fantastic keyboard riff leading into the third suite, Long Lost Brother of Mine. Truly a great track in the grand Yes tradition.

Birthwright is the best track on the album and I could only wish that ABWH had done more as a group due to this track. Absolutely great song about the detonation of a nuclear bomb in Woomera, Australia by the British in 1954 and its effect on the Aborigines in the region (some of whom weren't notified of the bomb detonation.) Ex-GTR frontman Max Bacon co-wrote this wonderful song.

The Meeting is next, and along with Let's Pretend are a couple of softer, yet weaker tracks on the album. they just don't fit in with Brother of Mine and Birthright.

By far the weakest song is Teakbois, which sounds like the background music of any Carnival Cruise ship. Why oh why would this be included on any album for public consumption? Probably the worst of any song put out by any member of Yes in any project or compilation.

Order of the Universe picks the album back up a little bit, but after the disappointment of The Meeting, Let's Pretend and Teakbois, the album is relegated to 3 stars.

Bruford was once quoted as saying this band had potential if it had stayed together longer than the 5 minutes that it did...........and I wonder the same thing, regardless of the misstep that is Teakbois.