TORMATO

Yes is one of the colossus of progressive rock with a really long history of ups (really high ups) and downs (surprisingly low downs) and it is commonly accepted that their highest moment started in 1971 (The Yes Album) and ended in 1977 (Going For the One), although they produced some fine albums before (Yes and Time and a Word) and after (Drama, The Ladder, Keystudio, Magnification, etc.) of this so called "golden era". Tormato is the second and last album for more than a decade of one of the most acclaimed formations of the band because of their classic masterpiece Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973,my personal favorite) which reformed after the recording of Tales... result of the substitution of Wakeman by Patrick Moraz (after Wakeman left unhappy with the recording). After almost four years of a highly successful solo career (with the production of albums such as The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur... and The Criminal Record), the "Wizard of Keyboards" returned to record the great Going for the One album.

In 1978 as a follow up of Going For the One the lineup of Jon Anderson (vocals), Chris Squire (the only constant member of Yes on bass and backing vocals), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Alan White (drums) and Steve Howe (guitars) , released Tormato which was received with high expectations which weren't completely fulfilled, hence it isn't as highly regarded as its predecessor and Tales from Topographic Oceans.

This album represents the transition between Yes' "golden era", which is considered to end with Going for the One, and the not so acclaimed more accessible and radio oriented 80's era (with the exception of Drama). Here we have a mix of 100% progressive rock pieces and some less prog oriented songs.

The most progressive songs are: Future Times/Rejoice, On the Silent Wings of Freedom, Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven.

And the "transitional" (I don't know how else to call them) songs are: Don't Kill the Whale, Release Release, Onward and Madrigal.

Future Times/Rejoice: is one of the few definitive progressive rock songs on this album and one of the closest to the "classic" Yes sound. It is dominated by great keyboard riffs courtesy of the "Cape Crusader" accompanied by a prominent bass and Jon Anderson's beautiful and esoteric vocals with the addition of some excellent guitar licks. 4

Don't Kill the Whale: is quite a nice song with some uninteresting and sometimes cheesy lyrics about (as the title announces) preventing the killing of whales. Anderson's vocals are the focal point of the song with some guitar soloing by Howe and a good support by the rest of the band. 2.75

Madrigal: a great ballad starring Wakeman on harpsichord and Anderson's characteristic "esoteric" vocals with some support by Howe on some acoustic guitars. 3.25

Release, Release: a fun upbeat song with some decent performances by the band (specially by Squire), somehow similar to Don't Kill the Whale's general atmosphere. Far away from Yes' characteristic sound. 3.25

Arriving UFO: here the band is closer to the progressive rock sound but still distant from what they did during the early and mid 70's. This is an odd song with some hints of their previous style but dominated by a weird keyboard sound by Wakeman. 3.5

Circus of Heaven: in the odd progressive vein of the last track the band presents a good performance with some more weird sounds and lyrics. 3.5

Onward: an amusing ballad that could fit better on an Anderson solo album with an instrumental background to the typical Anderson lyrics. 3.25

On the Silent Wings of Freedom: is the most progressive song of the album. Its highlight is Squire's bass playing, while Anderson and Wakeman have done better. At the end is a very well accomplished piece of music but is still far from their best. 4

Total: 3.44

This album shows a band in transition looking for some radio attention (which they got with Don't Kill the Whale) but still wanting to keep their progressive roots. It has lots of potential and could've been better but it is not bat at all. (and it is probably the reason of the split of the band after this and a completely new lineup for Drama just preserving Chris Squire and Steve Howe in the band)

3 stars for a not so well accomplished album by one of the pillars of prog and one of my favorite bands. Recommended after getting all the previous Yes discography, Drama, The Ladder , Keystudio (and/or Keys to Ascension) and Magnification... at the end is worth having....

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