A LIFE WITHIN A DAY

An excellent album from start to finish. I am impressed with Chris Squires "rehabilitation" as of late, with the Syn, the new Yes album and now this. It is like he is trying again. Hackett does what he does best, which is add nuances to all the corners of the track that are not dominated by other sounds or textures. In a world of crap music, it is nice to hear well-crafted music being made. At times the tracks could be off of "Cured", of "Defector" and I love the Beatles touches. The harmonies are to die for, and I am surprised to hear Chris singing in a lower register, sort of the way Geddy has for the last 20 years. He still does his high bits, but it is still kind of weird to realize it's Chris. There are also some neat, almost avant-garde touches which I appreciate very much. Sadly, I fully expect a bunch of old drama queens to rip this record a new one because it doesn't sound "classic" enough. Screw that. Those days are gone, and I fully expect the artists I love to grow old gracefully and make music that is more akin to what is being produced now. What is REALLY FUNNY is to hear "Aliens Are Only Us From the Future", as it sounds nothing like the live bootleg versions that Yes performed with Benoit David and the unused studio version that was supposed to be on "Fly From Here" (also with Benoit). This is a classic, understated, beautiful record from masters of the craft of songwriting.