TIME AND A WORD

About a year [after their debut], Yes released their second album, Time and a Word. Yes stuck with a sound comparable with their debut for most of it, but they continued to tentatively spread their artistic wings. Much like the last album, this album features a pair of covers, but they're amped-up, rearranged, and turned into that nascent brand of progressive rock. The whole album features the use of a small orchestra. It's consistent but unobtrusive. I wouldn't necessarily call it a smooth integration, but it works, and it adds a distinct flavor.

The songwriting on Time and a Word is more mature than on the debut. Cuts like the title track, and "Astral Traveller" sound more in line with the band's best-known sound. Extended instrumental sections on "Then" and "The Prophet" also foreshadow eventual suites like "Starship Trooper" and "Close to the Edge".

Guitarist Peter Banks expressed reticence about working with an orchestra, and he left the group shortly before this album was released. In my view, he was the obvious weak link in the band. Chris Squire's bass often took precedence over Banks's guitar, and the few solos Banks had, while competent, were not to be missed. Nothing about them particularly stood out, though he did have a skill for jagged, angular strumming which worked well with this early incarnation of the band.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/03/24/deep-dive-yes/