MAGNIFICATION

In the Prog Archives.com introduction to and history of Yes, the assertion is made that Going for the One was the last, great Yes album. Perhaps. Or, if we consider Magnification, perhaps not. Here, Jon, Chris, Steve, Alan and Larry Groupe' and orchestra expand John Lennon's 'Love is all you need,' elucidating William Blake's exhortation 'to see infinity in a grain of sand' and 'eternity in an hour.'

Jon, Chris, Steve, and Alan demonstrate a real willingness to take a great risk. Those who know progressive rock know how critical the keyboards are. To a certain degree, no keyboards are akin to football without a pigskin. In testimony to this central role of the keyboards, absence accentuates this centrality. To address this absence, Jon, Chris, Steve, and Alan arrived upon a strategy that informs just about all of progressive rock, a full range of orchestral support. Sure, the position of keyboardist in Yes has been the most volatile of positions, reflecting an attitude of 'manifest destiny' by the band regarding its evolution and elements of manipulation and band 'politics.' I think much of the history of Yes is exemplified by this quotation from Cool Hand Luke: 'What we have here is a failure to communicate . . . .'

Now, in 2020, one might state that, of the plethora of its varying members over its 50 years, the exemplar lineup of the band remains Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford/Alan White. It is important to remember that, although Bill Bruford delivered stellar percussion and songwriting to the studio release of Close to the Edge in 1972, it was not until the late 80's with Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe that he played any of it live. To this end, Close to the Edge live has largely been the result of a man, inserted as a 'pinch hitter' under real duress and who has remained in the 'game' ever since, Alan White.

On the surface at least, Magnification is the result of communication among Jon, Chris, Steve, Alan, and Larry Groupe' and orchestra. On this album, the great centrifugal force always at the center of Yes has been 'suspended.' To me, I find on Magnification little to suggest the lamentable state of affairs that developed as the band prepared for its 2008 tour and the ensuing grand 'lack of communication' that endures to this day. . . . On Magnification, the participants 'hold little back.'

'Magnification,' 'Dreamtime,' and 'In the Presence of' constitute roughly half of the album and could very well be considered the nucleus of a latter day Close to the Edge or Relayer. I have often thought of 'In the Presence of' as '2001: And You and I.' Notably, Larry Groupe' composed an orchestral conclusion to 'Dreamtime' that pays respect to the composer Aaron Copland. Where would our progressive heroes be without the work of Copland, Stravinsky, Bartok, J.S. Bach, Beethoven, and, to quote Rick Wakeman, 'The end is listless.' Significantly, Wakeman returned to tour with Yes in the early 21st Century to participate in live performances of excerpts from Magnification.

Since 2015, how can any of us listen to 'Can You Imagine' without real melancholy as Chris Squire sings, 'Can you imagine seeing life from the other side?' The song suggests that we might need a 'guide.' On one level, Yes' music has been a search for that 'guide.' Consider, 'Astral Traveler,' 'Starship Trooper,' 'Close to the Edge,' 'The Revealing Science of God,' 'To Be Over,' Going for the One,' and, of course, 'Wonderous Stories.'

Jon, Chris, Steve, and Alan did take a great risk on Magnification, one that has yielded a majestic final product.