CHERRY FIVE

****NEWS FLASH****Long lost early recordings from YES have recently surfaced and have been released under the name Cherry Five! No kidding...OK I'm kidding, but I got your attention. This 1975 lost classic is everything a prog head could want...from that classic sound i.e. mellos, hammonds, Chris Squier bass tones (1969 tone, that is!)...to classic 70's prog compositions, i.e. lots of chord and rhythmic changes, great vocal harmonies, and overall lyrical weirdness. Cherry Five of 1975 sounded remarkably like Yes circa 1969. One listen to "The Picture of Dorain Gray" will confirm this, from their Xeroxed Yes harmonies, and a very Bill Bruford-like drumming style, to the aforementioned Squier bass rumblings. If you listen carefully, you will hear influences of ELP and PFM. Good stuff! I enjoy it more with every listen. What it lacks in originality (this is why I rated it a 4 stars instead of 5), it makes up for in energy and delivery. This is a fine album (and only album, unfortunately), by a damn good band! They would of course go on to become Goblin, and the rest is Italian prog history. Definitely worthy of many spins in the ol' CD player.

Bottom line: if you dig the first YES album, you will dig Cherry Five. No Kidding!