KEYSTUDIO

For some reason I never heard this album when it was released in 1996, but this is by the line- up that many Yes fans still feel to be the 'proper' one, namely Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe and Alan White.

In addition, it has to be said that this is a very enjoyable album, one that I am sure that I will play repeatedly. It has great vocals, plenty of harmonies and melodies, with some quite stunning solos. But, and there has to be a but, it just doesn't have any of the show stopping songs that Yes fans are used to. There is nothing on here that could stand up to "Starship Trooper", "Long Distance Runaround", "Yours Is No Disgrace", "All Good People" etc etc.

Maybe that is too much to hope for. It may not be classic Yes but it is still better than a lot of the prog that is available today, with "Foot Prints" in particular an attempt to bring together the Yes of the Seventies with the Yes of the Eighties and make it a band for the Nineties. Now where did I put that vinyl version of 'Going For The One'???

Originally appeared in Feedback #63, July 01