THE YES ALBUM

There are so many things I could say about The Yes Album, I don't know where to begin or what to include and what to leave in the Akashik Records for later revelation. Is it my favorite Yes album? Sometimes. Does it define their sound? Largely. Does it encapsulate all that they have to offer? No, it doesn't. But it does contain my favorite Yes song, "Yours Is No Disgrace." I'm not even going to try to descibe what I think any of these songs sound like, but I will say that I love the arpeggiated guitar Steve Howe adds to the very bright major section that pops up every so often, and I think Tony Kaye predated both Rick Wright (see "Any Color You Like") and Tony Banks [see "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"] by 2 years in using the synth lead sound he uses in this song... not that he was trying to, but it's a very good synth line. Above all, the song contains my favorite Yes lyrics. As for Yes lyrics in general, I love their positive message, and I think their songs were easier to understand before this album, yet more deep and profound later on, so right here we have the most universally effective version of them, with such great lines as "lost in losing circumstances/that's just where you are" (I always felt special emphasis on the word "where" in that line), and of course, "if the summer change to winter/yours is no disgrace." The whole song, along with the whole rest of the album, is composed and arranged perfectly, with the songwriting level they acheived on Time and a Word stretched to the limit, and the arrangements opening up to a new dimension into what was developing at that time into what we now call progressive rock. Even if The Yes Album doesn't define Yes' whole career, it could serve as a good example of the genre, even if it doesn't sound exactly like every other prog album out there, and even though "Yours Is No Disgrace" doesn't sound exactly like every other song on The Yes Album, it could define it, so I will forgoe describing in detail the awesome space rock of "Starship Trooper" (I do want to mention really loving those great snare and kick fills that Bill Bruford plays in the verses in that song, though) and "Perpetual Change" in favor of recommending all who hear "Yours Is No Disgrace" on the radio next time you hear it to check out the whole album, unless you don't like that song, of course.