ANDERSON BRUFORD WAKEMAN HOWE

Jon Anderson left Yes after Big Generator, disagreeing with the musical direction of the band, heavily influenced at the time by the more hard-rock style of the active Trevor Rabin. But the singer was reluctant to give up the idea of no longer being Yes and summoned former prominent members of the band in the glorious 70's to attempt a reincarnation in the late 80's, even tempting Chris Squire to join them, which the bassist refused and with it also the possibility of using the famous monosyllable as the group's umbrella.

Anderson, together with Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe, sufficiently identified with the best years of the band, used their surnames to give shape to this Yes without a name, accompanied by bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson) and backing musicians. And this is when the controversy begins over the effective participation of Bruford, Wakeman and partly Howe in the recording of the album which, on the other hand, was built on discarded pieces from previous projects and ideas by Anderson, scraps of Howe discarded from Asia and GTR, among others, transmitting in its development the sensation of being faced more with a patchwork of pieces than with a harmonised and well-assembled work.

And while it is true that the proposal has points that do not favour it, such as the insipid beginning of "Themes", the failed and unnecessary attempt at Caribbean music in "Teakbois", or the candid and mellow simplicity of "Let's Pretend", it is also true that the album is closer to the traditional progressive spirit of Yes than 90125 and Big Generator, with very interesting pieces such as the intense "Brother of Mine", a reloaded version of the energised 70's prog vibe, the contentious "Birthright", the atmospheric melancholy of the heartfelt "The Meeting" and the fabled beauty of "Quartet" with its splashes of the band's legendary songs, enough tracks to consider it a more than acceptable album.

ABWH had a brief existence, only releasing that studio work and a follow-up reflecting the launch tour. After that, they reunited with Squire's Yes to form an exaggeratedly large group that buried any attempt at continuity for the quartet.

Very good

3.5 stars