TORMATO

Yes seemed to have lost their way a little at this point in their development. There is very good material on this album, notably Silent Wings of Freedom and Release Release, but some of the material is twee (Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven) and Don't Kill the Whale, though a decent pop song, is a little worthy. Not enough quality prog in this album to make it one of the better ones.

Not as bad as most yes fan would make you believe, I always considered this one on par with Going For The One. But this is rather aimless but so is its predecessor but this one album does not have that great coverthat graces the previous one nor does it have Awaken. But the average track here are maybe even slightly better than the ones on Going For The One - Awaken excepted.

So to most Yesheads .... I was really happy to re-hear in their last tour Don't Kill the Whales (or is it the Welsh? ;-)O) ) and I remebered to re-listen to this album and can tell you that while it is no early or mid-70's classic , this fares better than all of their 80's and most of their 90's stuff.

Longtime favorite of mine; complex, involved, driving. Each of the members do what they do best and each shine through. Granted, the age of the band comes through in the lyrics but still a very well put together album.

I really like this record. Very strange and different from another Yes albuns, this album holds an unique atmosphere. Chris Squire´s work is outstanding on this record, and together with Drama, it was his Swan Song, before his transformation (during 80´s Chris was playing as a ladder for Rabin´s guitar pyrotechnics)... The sound here is also very particular (some keyboards stuff I heard only in this record) maybe it was because the late 70´s brand new synths became obsolete in a very short time period.. Anyway if you don´t know this record, buy it! It is not prime crap like Rabin´s period during 80´s.

It's funny, but for all the criticisms people make, I find this one to be one of my favourites. One song in particular that gets ROASTED is Circus - we all know why (candy floss crap), but otherwise it's a great little piece of composition and singing. And I wonder how many people have made the same connection that I have between SH guitar here and on TFTO? That fiery, subliminal melody stuff is all over both albums. Another criticism I've heard is the lyrical content. The only difference between this and previous albums is that the subject matter for the most part is comprehensible, as opposed to Anderson's usual cut and paste (and we like that too) method of writing. Sure, there're UFOs arriving, cosmic circuses turning up, whale issues and attacks on the music business to release their grip, but hey, why not. If anyone can tell me what the hell CTTE is all about, I'd be happy to sit down and listen. Elsewhere, CSquire's bass playing is exemplary throughout, and really showcases not only his transendental phrasing, but also an amazing technical range both from a groove pov and the counterpoint stuff he's known for. Release Release has him playing 6/4 under a 4/4 SHowe riff, and it works perfectly, pure genius. There's been talk of poor production, and while it might be said that the sound isn't as 'widescreen' as other albums, the individual elements all come through very clearly on the Rhino reissue. It has a demo feel to it somehow, but that doesn't dilute the music especially. If anything, it gives it a bit more immediacy.

It may not be a coincidence I never play this album from beginning to end. Two reasons for that. First : 4 shorter songs on either side which is unusual for Yes ; Second : some songs seem out of place on this record. "Circus of heaven" is a Jon Anderson song, not a Yes song, an odd track which isn't bad at all but pointless on this album. "Release, release" is another misplaced song on Tormato, a desperate effort to adapt their sound to 78-rock. The ballad "Onward" is nice but doesn't seems to go anywhere. When Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson gather their forces, there's something magical going on. "Madrigal" is a track with wonderful sounds of the harpsichord and the Spanish guitar of Steve Howe. Eventhough I do suspect them to try to get in the charts again like they did with wonderous stories. "Future times and Rejoice" are pretty decent songs but they do sound as leftovers from "Going for the one". "Don't kill the whale" was the first single. In this song, Yes do succeed in making an accessible prog-pop song, nice one ! Also the lyric for this song is great, it's a statement against the hunting of whales. It's written in a period of time when consciousness of the environment was new. This kind of lyrics was new for the band, before this album Jon Anderson used to sing lyrics about abstract natural elements and religion. "On the silent wings of freedom" is the highlight of the album, this starts with mysterious bass lines, then turns into a wonderful atmospheric song and then every musician shows you his skills at the same time, typical Yes !

Every Yes Rhino remaster contains several bonus tracks. These bonus tracks are early versions of album tracks, single versions, b-sides or rough ideas for songs. The Tormato remaster has 9 extra tracks. "Abilene" is the b-side of a single. Not bad but forgettable and completely outdated. "Money" should have been called Going for the one part 2. The Yes version of "Some are born" is quite interesting, this would end up later on Jon's second solo album "Song of Seven" . But you can tell, it's not a finished song. "You can be saved" could be saved by a splendid guitar line which isn't there. The first guitars on "High" would suit as an nice intro but the rest of the song is rubbish. "Days" is just a nice lyric from Anderson without chorus or music. Too bad they didn't develop "Countryside", it has some nice melodies and vocal harmonies. This could easily have been a decent song. "Everybody's song" is also worthwhile checking out for being an early version of "Does it really happen" with Jon Anderson on the vocals. Those jams are interesting as you can get an idea of the writing process. Most interesting of the bunch is a hidden track, an orchestral version of "Onward" without the vocals. What a surprise it still sounds damn good !

For those who don't know Yes, please don't start with this album, you may not want to listen to their masterpieces of the seventies and that would be a shame. Don't judge them on this one, they can do better. This isn't a favorite album for Yes-fans but it has its moments. It's obvious Tormato is one of Yes' weakest albums from the seventies and hard to believe it was the same band who did "Going for the one", which is one of my all-time favorite albums by the way, a year earlier. But when compared to some of the stuff that would follow in the 80s and 90s, it's not bad at all.

This album is one of the less addictive and catchy from YES. WAKEMAN's keyboards are really weak! They are not majestic. There is something (many things)wrong in this album! Anderson seems to sing alone, without knowing that there is music! Howe's guitar is bizarre. The bass is good in many bits but it is not convincing enough. My favorite ones are "Onward" and "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom". Better than "Topographic Oceans", but disappointing given the fact that there was the marvelous "Going For The One" before.

Tormato is one of the bands most interesting releases. Where many Yes albums have a strong cohesion in both style and concept Tormato tnes to be sporadic and hyper, kind of all over the place. Of course I like it that way just as I enjoy the cohensiveness of "Going for the One" or "Tales" The songwriting is strong as well with the rock blues sound of" D'ont Kill the Whale" and the solid rockin of "Release, Release" with a great into by Wakemen and Howe it's great to hear the band cover these styles and play them with abdanon... Of course "Ufo" has the could have been a great tune tag all over it with great bass and Keyboard work. My only gripe is the annoying guitar by Howe in the background of the beautiful Squire penned "Onward". There isn't a weak tune on this album and it's hard not to give it a 5... I will give it a 4 but really it's a 4.5 star...get it and ignore the put downs just to listen to Steve Howe "Chuck Berry" it on "Release, Release" makes Tormato one of their best!

Eh, not the tastiest fruit to fall from the vine. The electricity and saturated sound of their last album is audibly absent, making "Tormato" feel thin and uninspired by comparison. Over time, good songs emerge, but not since "Tales From Topographic Oceans" have I had to look this hard to find them. Given the players involved, you wonder, what was the problem? Well, for starters, RICK WAKEMAN's keyboard arsenal is less than magical (perhaps some blame belongs to the short-lived Birotron) and CHRIS SQUIRE's bass sounds neutered. Thus, the sparkling at the high end and liquid rumbling at the low end are gone, resulting in what sounds to be their most muffled production since "Time And A Word" (although TULL's "Broadsword And The Beast" may be a better analogy). Now, onto the good news: the old magic does reappear (albeit briefly) on "Rejoice", "Madrigal", "Release, Release" and "On The Silent Wings of Freedom." STEVE HOVE's guitar gambols nimbly through the arrangements, whether twining itself around WAKEMAN's keyboards on "Madrigal" or skipping through "Future Times". JON ANDERSON's voice sounds blanched some of the time, a problem exacerbated by the dry medium of vinyl, but he remains the glue that holds the band together.

As a final curtain call for the fab five, "Tormato" is a disappointment, sounding at times more like a JON ANDERSON record (e.g., Song of "Seven") than a YES album. Even so, "Don't Kill The Whale" isn't a proper ambassador for this musical outpost, so fans will eventually get around to owning (and, YES, even enjoying) "Tormato". But by no means should this be one of the first five YES albums you own.

A more pop record than anything they have done it before, maybe that's why they parted ways for the next record... anyway, the compositions become more light and short, a little bit more "sticky" and with a different point of view (the first experience with ecological side with -don't kill the whale-) but the most important thing is the sound or the soul of it, that has a cracked link or a lost bond in that chain, like the warning for times to change... however, the artwork of the record is fantastic, odd things for a prog record.

Maybe the first signs of Yes looking to become more 'commercial' in approach.Mostly shorter tracks but none are actually bad, their just isn't an' Awaken' amongst them.Still some good stuff though with 'On The Silent Wings of Freedom' and 'Arriving UFO' that well demonstrate Yes's great ability as players.This might be 'Second Division Yes' but still 'First Division' when measured by any other standards.

Now, I wonder why is it so hard for prog reviewers to give a bad rating? OK, I am not a fan of YES and I particularly do not care a lot about their carrier after "Close to the Edge". But come on! This album is lost in space, trying to meet "Arriving UFO" in the "Circus of Heaven" on a "Silent Wing of Freedom"!!! The band obviously thought, in order to catch up with Punk/New Wave trend, it is enough to shorten the compositions! No way, guys: with such an awful high pitched and irritating sounds of Wakeman's keyboards, Howe's aimless guitar solos, Anderson's screaming and ridiculous sound effects similar to the kids toys, I would give you zero chance. "Madrigal" (nice Wakeman harpsichord) and "Don't Kill the Whale" (a socially engaged YES lyrics?!) saves from disaster, but overall - bad album.

This remains my favourite Yes album. The arrangements are driven by Alan's drumming (his best ever?) and Rick's harmonised bass sounds, while Rick and Steve are often playing against each other. The result is a sound in which there are very talented musicians vying for attention and space, making the whole approach much more avant garde than most Yes music, and much more akin to jazz. The songs themselves seem to be trying to be conventional in structure, but don't manage it - there's just too much going on. Even so, they are strong enough to hold the music together. I can see why not everyone likes this one, but the overall effect is exhilerating. Not to be missed.

In 1978, Prog Rock bands were having problems, because Prog Rock was losing popularity, and the record labels wanted these bands to have hits for the Radio. So, the bands had to make some compromises to keep record label executives "happy". The Disco Music peak year was 1978, with John Travolta, the Bee Gees and Donna Summer in the Radio all the time. The overrated Punk music also was a fad. I call it overrated because for me it was mainly noise recorded by people who only knew how to play 2 or 3 chords in their guitars (with some exceptions, like "The Clash"). "New Wave" was better. But for me, among all these musical styles, Prog Rock became a relief, because it had higher quality than the Radio music of those years.And this "Tormato" album appeared in 1978, like GENESIS `"...and then there were three..." and ELP`s "Love Beach". All these albums have in common that they were not very appreciated and were seen as albums recorded by bands in decay. But for me, in comparison to "Saturday Night Fever", these albums were "gems".So, an album like "Tormato", released in that year, it was better than the Radio music of that time. But if I consider "Tormato" in comparison to other YES`s albums, it`s not as good as some of them. But it still has some good things. "Future Times" is still progressive, with White and Squire playing like a metronome. "Rejoice" is the celebration song of the tenth anniversary of the band. "Don`t Kill the Whale" is an "Ecological" song. "Madrigal" has a harpsichord and a string arrangement by Wakeman. "Release Release" is mostly a "conventional rocker" song (maybe composed to please the label) with very good drums by White. "Arriving UFO" has some "UFO sounds" played by Wakeman in his keyboards. "Circus of Heaven" is a song more adequate for an Anderson`s solo album. "Onward" has an orchestral arrangement and is one of the best songs of the album. The best song of this album is "On the silent wings of freedom", with Squire`s "Harmonised Rickenbacker Bass" and very good drums by White, supported by Wakeman`s keyboards. In this album, both Squire and Wakeman had new "devices" and instruments. Squire plays his "Harmonised bass" (I think that it is really a sounds effect device) in most of the songs, and Wakeman uses his Birotron (a new version of the Mellotron?) and the Polymoog in several songs.

This album is somewhat underrated. It's Yes return to shorter songs and the compact, concentrated format brings out their best in some of the songs. The first part (the old side one) is excellent. Varied, rich in melodies and ideas. Apart from the last song, the second part is much weaker. Still, you get some 25 minutes of Yes at their best - the four-star rating is for those 25 minutes.

Definitely an underrated album, Tormato suffers more from its stupid name and appalling cover - with Steve Howe definitely coming off worst on the back sleeve photo - than the actual music inside. As a pre-teen this album, which had been out for a year or so, was both the first Yes AND the first prog LP I'd heard, although I haven't given it an extra star for sentimental reasons. The problem is it's so patchy - a stunning start with that Howe/Wakeman spiralling riff on Future Times leading into what I still think is an incredibly uplifting piece of music, but then Don't Kill The Whale plods, and the guitar solo has somehow always sounded just WRONG to me. Madrigal is all very nice and twee, I suppose. Release, Release has only one interesting part (where the vocals on the "Lost and wondering" bit kick back into "Power at first..."). Arriving UFO is among the craziest things the band have ever done. What IS that at the end? Speeded-up vocals? Circus of Heaven I've come round to over the years, and the lyric is rather nice and Sinfield-Karn Evil 9-type stuff, Onward is a beautiful Squire ballad and the closer, On The Silent Wings Of Freedom, is the other standout track. Bass heaven! Think Geddy Lee was listening? Check out YYZ a couple of years later... This was the last hurrah for the "classic" lineup until 1996. Every Yes fan should own it, but it doesn't translate well outside the prog world.

Tormato was always going face an uphill struggle after GFTO. But hey it is still very good. ' Future Times/Rejoice', ' Onward' and ' Silent Wings Of Freedom' confirm this. It is also important to note that there were the beginnings of disharmony in the band at the time. Wakeman's constant restlessness together with Anderson's more syrupy spiritual sounds coming thru highlighted different directions personnel were wanting to take. Jon Anderson's collaboration with Vangelis shortluy after was a wonderful union in itself and Tormato began to show the seperate journies band memebers were going to embark on. Excluding the ever present Chris Squire of course!' Don't Kill The Whale' is equally a great campaign song. Don't dismiss Tormato, it is a worthwhile addition to any Yes catalogue.

This is the only YES album that deserves a "one star" review. It is aimless, meandering, and with some downright embarrassing lyrical ideas. Wakeman's keyboard tones on this album are irritating and he and Steve Howe seem to be crawling all over each other to fill every single space before the other one gets there. On several cuts (e.g. "Future Times"), Anderson appears to be shouting just to be heard above the din. Squire's trademark bass tone has been processed into oblivion. "Circus of Heaven" even has a blatant bass mistake that the band didn't care enough to go back and "punch in" to get it right. This album represents the decline of Prog Rock in the face of Punk and Disco and it has all of the hallmarks of what the Punks detested in Prog -- aimless soloing, airy-fairy lyrics, and assorted posturing. After this album, and a couple of other supposed "Prog" albums that shall remain nameless, my "loyalty" shifted to the kind of thing Robert Fripp, Peter Gabriel and Eno were interested in at that time. Talking Heads "Remain in Light," or Robert Fripp's "Exposure" are much more "progessive" (in the real sense of the term) efforts than something like "Tormato" which, at this point, was more-or-less "REgressive" rock. Believe me, I AM a huge YES fan, and a huge Prog fan, despite this review, but a band that took us to the heights of "Close to the Edge" and "Relayer" should be held to a higher standard than others. "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is a shining YES moment, and "Onward" is a nice ballad, but YES had lost its experimental edge and was really an "MOR" (Middle-of-the-Road) band, by this point. In my mind, they would never recover from this debacle and the subsequent departure of Jon and Rick. Get "The Yes Album," "Fragile," "Close to the Edge," "Topographic Oceans," "Relayer" and "Going for the One." That's the classic sequence. After that, there's the first two albums and the live "YESSONGS" and "YESSHOWS" collections. If you have those, you have all of the important work from YES.

I just can't believe this album was released just a year after Going for the one, which is excellent and certainly one of my favourite Yes albums. In contrast, Tormato is a poor album compared to all the earlier Yes records. The highlights are nice ballads "Madrigal" with great harpsichord by Rick Wakeman, "Onward", and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom". The other songs are not interesting and very easily forgettable. And the cover is ugly indeed:) So if you want to try Yes, definitely start with an album released before Tormato. This one is really just for collectors/fans.

I am in the minority around here, because I wasn't really all that impressed by "Going for the One." So the best thing I can say about its follow-up, "Tormato," is that I wasn't especially disappointed by it. Of course, since it's a Yes, album, it will always have something going for it, and this album certainly has its share of solid performances, particularly in "On the Silent Wings of Freedom," which is as impressive a showcase for the talents of Squire and White as anyone could ask for. The main problem with this album, however, is the songwriting, in my opinion. There just isn't a single song that seems to have any sort of melodic focus --- "Onward" and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" are the only songs on this album even approaching the level of songwriting we're accustomed to from these guys, and they would be throwaway tracks on any of their classic albums. This album also features what I believe are the two worst songs in Yes' 1970's repertoire, "Release, Release" and "Arriving UFO." The latter song in particular is an exercise in extreme irritation that in parts sounds like it would have made a good theme song for the television show "ALF." The fact that these two songs were included on the Rhino box set, but "And You And I" was left off, sort of makes me wonder who's making the decisions around there. Overall, if you're a Yes completist fanatic like I am, you'll probably get off on some aspects of it, but the casual fan should probably stay away.

I'm an old school punk who believes that great music is great music and YES were a great band....TORMATO is one of their most reviled albums but as far as I'm concerned it's an album with a kind of immediate groove that caught me because of its (dare I say it) pop overtones. Jon's voice on "Rejoice" is powerhouse and "Arriving UFO" is both ridiculous and catchy as hell. There are a few bummers (what else would one expect from YES in prog's twilight years) such as the embarrasingly pathetic "Circus Of Heaven". All in all however TORMATO is not the horror one expects.....

Oh oh, i'm sensing a little bit of poppish sounds here, and yes of all people, (cough)nevermind, yes there a slight different direction this time but still a great Listen, i haven't got a favourite track on this record as i find all the tracks ok,didn't "genesis" do something similar with 'attwt'you know went a bit poppier but Still kept the prog elements inside. Not the best "yes" album to start off with but i Still recommend it. Perhaps a different direction is a good thing.

This is one of my favorite YES albums and also a forgotten one. I admit that it sounds like no other YES albums, but it's still very good. Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman do an excellent job here, and show that this line-up marks the YES golden age.

My favorite songs are: FUTURE TIMES / REJOICE, excellent beginning; MADRIGAL, oh Madrigal, one of the most beautiful songs from YES, where Rick's harpsichord combined with Steve's spanish guitar sounds great; RELEASE, RELEASE, the best of all, very strong sound, I wish to listen to it live in a concert; ONWARD, beautiful; ON THE SILENT WINGS OF FREEDOM, strong too, and very good finish to this excellent album.

ARRIVING UFO and CIRCUS OF HEAVEN are rare, but still good musically, and DON'T KILL THE WHALE is good, but commercial.

We have our classic yes line up again of Anderson, Squire, Wakeman and Howe, plus Alan White on drums. This line up made up the love it or hate it "Tales From Topographic Oceans", as well as the disapointing "Going For the One". "Tormato", named after the Yes Tor, follows a similar pattern to going for the one but is split into 9 tracks. Yes haven't had more than 5 tracks on an album since Fragile in 1972. It is said that Rick Wakeman was disapointed with this album. He left after this and threw a tomato onto the album cover to show his disgust.

"Tormato" has quite a promising start, don't expect any epics on this album, as this album has some rather disapointing shorter tracks which aren't as proggy or as atmospheric as all their albums between 1971's "The Yes Album" and 1974's "Relayer". This makes this album quite a dissapointment and it is clear that musically this is no way as good. "Future Times" and "Rejoice" are good, not great, but they start this album off in quite a positive trend. There is some very harsh sounding piano and synth work and the bass sounds less apparent. The vocals aren't up to scratch either but Jon still has a lovely voice.

As the album goes on it sounds less impressive. "Dont Kill the Whale" and "Madrigal" are dull and boring and don't really show off anything that Yes can normally do. They haven't pushed themselves at all here and it is very evident. "Release, Release" is quite lively but it sounds so irritating. For some reason there are cheering sounds followed by some drum work with a guitar solo over the top, well its ok, not much to cheer about though. This track gets humourously dramatic and frantic. Jon puts in some emotion but his voice, alongside the high pitched keyboards, sounds squeaky. Overall side 1 of the album deserves to fall just inside the 3 stars category.

Side 2 kicks off with the stupidly annoying intro to "Arriving UFO". The vocal work is good here but not much praise can be given for the rest of the band. There is a horrible piano section that the begining leads into. This track ends with a funny piano section, kind of similar to Gates of Delirium but sounds much worse. Some of the guitar work is commendable but by now the album sounds boring and irritating.

"Circus of Heaven" has a promising start as far as this album is concerned. Jon rushes his way through lots of poor lyrics, there is barely any noise made by the band but Chris Squire gets his soptlight, there is quite a mellow and dreamy atmosphere here which is then destroyed with the most horrendous ending, Damion Anderson talking about tigers and lions! It's hard to believe this is actually Yes!

"Onward" is quite tolerable, not too bad really, a quiet moment with some good orchestration, it is not wild and frantic like the songs before. This track is short and doesn't build to anything, this album is barely prog. "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is nothing new, bringing this album to a terrible close. A big disapointment here, it barely sounds like effort has gone into this and it is definetly a step back from what Yes have delivered before. This one is even worse than "Going for the One".

Oh and just so you know, to quote from the album booklet, "Yes Tor is situated two and a half miles from Okehampton, Devon in England, on a clear day, from the top, you can see far away places with strange sounding names". Also, "Thanks to Damion for being a chip off the old block on Circus of Heaven. Hahahahahahahathisalbumsuckshahahaha.

Ok well, for some odd reason I feel compelled to defend this album. Well, in all truth...there isn't an "odd reason" to be found. This album deserves to be defended as far as I see....and it really should be taken more seriously. Perhaps scathing music critiques just ride under my skin to such an extent that I feel justified in saying what I am about to say. This is the album (other than of course Tales) that people love to hate. I can't figure out why. Now I must admit that at first songs like Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven seemed to me to be a bit trite and to an extent downright cheesy. But then I allowed my mind to be opened. I stripped away all the social baggage (because that's what it is) that require us to think that songs such as these are bad songs. They most certainly are not. Someone had mentioned Steve Howe's guitar playing......stating that it was annoying and not inventive. Well I don't know what album this guy was listening to but Steve Howe is one of the MOST innovative guitar players I have ever had the fortune to hear, and this certainly continues into and through the Tormato album. For anyone to say that his guitar solos on this album lacked "inspiration" is quite frankly garbage. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE plays guitar like Steve Howe. Release, Release MIGHT be an attempt at a catchy pop tune to some people with an uneducated ear, but speaking as a musician.....DO YOU REALIZE HOW COMPLEX THAT PIECE IS?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!.........Rhythmicly it is extremely DYNAMIC. POLYMETERS ALL OVER THE PLACE. I DARE anyone to find the beat in that piece cause YES does a masterful job at disguising the "true" beat, that is to say the downbeat. Another stated that Madrigal was boring.....HA!......Madrigal is a beautiful piece of music that is played deliciously. Oh and the chords they use in that piece are so gorgeous. Not to mention the beautiful word painting by Jon Anderson. Oh yeah by the way......just as a side note those who label Jon's lyrics as nonsense...anyone with half a brain can see that it's word painting and what beautiful word painting it is. A track thats not given alot of credit is the first track...Future Times?Rejoice. It is beautiful. Simply beautiful. Chris Squire is simply amazing (as always). What unique and just downright inspiring bass lines come that man's fingers. His bass lines aren't bass lines, they are more, much much more. They are melodic. Oh yeah and while I'm in fast thought here.....I do not know how anyone could call this album COMMERCIAL.....or even saying that it is an attempt at being commercial......HELLO PEOPLE.....you dont write songs like Madrigal, Arriving UFO, Circus of Heaven, Silent Wings of Freedom, and Future Times and think you're going to be commercial. Anyone who says this has lost their mind. Now dont get me wrong I'm not saying that this album is in the same league as Close to The Edge, Fragile, or Relayer...or even Tales From Topographic Oceans. All I'm saying , is that this album should be given more credit, and be seen NOT as standing shoulder to shoulder with towering giants like Relayer, but should be seen for what it is within itself. My whole deal is.....WHAT'S THE PROBLEM HERE?!.....The music is intelligent, complex, beautiful, daring, and innovative...all things we praise YES for. I mean what do we want...we bash them over the head for doing great albums like Tales from Topographic Oceans and then bash them over the head when they do albums like this. If the music isn't up to your liking then that's simply what it is...."NOT UP TO YOUR LIKING", but this certainly has nothing at all to do with the quality of music they are producing. HAHAHA trust me... this is NOT a bad album....like I said I myslef had to get use to some things on the album, but once I got used to it was able to really appreciate it. Give it a chance people.....listen to it a couple of times. For those who hate this album, you can do either of three things (as you can do with any piece of music)......1) GET OVER IT!!! 2) find out why you dont like a specific thing 3) Explore ways that help you to better appreciate something. Well folks, that's all I mean to say.....Have a great day!!

This quite weird album by YES begins their transition phase from the 70's to the 80's. The sounds are very clean and treble oriented, and the compositions vary from a commercial style to more experimental tracks. I listened through this without prejudices, as I had heard only "Yesterdays" and "Close To The Edge" by the band before I listened to this album first. "Don't Kill The Whale" is the nature's preservation themed hit song, and a quite pleasant one. "Release, Release" is a fun, fast rocker, only some added sounds of cheering crowd felt a bit unnecessary to me. Other good tracks are medieval like "Madrigal", opener "Future Times/Rejoice" and the jazzy "On The Silent Wings of Freedom". Not an essential album, but I recommend anybody to listen at it, as the music is quite unique, though not great if compared to the classic material of this band.

This is a unfairly under-rated album! Ok,you can't set it on one level with Close To The Edge (best prog record of all times), but the band plays really well forward on this album. After this record they would lose ground, but "Tormato" is still far away from disappointment. It's the same like with Genesis' "And Then There Were Three" from the same year, they had with "Follow You, Follow Me" one big hit on the album, so all old fans screamed: crap! They overlooked the rest of the record with their anger about that. So it's with "Tormato" and the famous ballad "Onward". In my humble oppinion it's a fantastic song, very nice. I wonder about many people who gave this record less than 3 stars, because this album shows the technical and compositional potential of Yes perfectly, and includes with "Future Times/Rejoice", "Don't Kill The Whale" (superb guitar by Steve Howe!) and "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" at least three all-time classics of Yes, which are so over-looked that it's a shame! 'nough said.

It was always going to be hard for Yes to top Going For The One, and they most certainly failed in that respect here, but this is by no means a bad album. Being in GFTO's shadow was always hard, and after that people had expected a return to CTTE's epic stylings (the likes of which had nearly happened in the brilliant Awaken), but what you find from this album is different - they are leaning towards a poppier sound, but they still retain their prog and their rock elements.

The opener, Future Times/Rejoice, is a great start to the album, being one of the album's stronger numbers, with Jon's voice sounding as good as ever and Rick's keyboards still up to the task. However, it does grow tiresome after a while. Afterwards comes Don't Kill The Whale, which is a great track, with a brilliant keyboard solo from Rick and some great guitar work from Steve Howe. On this album, though, one thing is lacking - Chris Squire's bass isn't that noticeable throughout, and if you compare it to the follow-up album, Drama, the bass almost isn't there. I also didn't like that Rick used almost the same keyboard sound in every song, meaning that the songs did get quite tiresome. Don't get me wrong, the keyboard work is still brilliant, but more variety would've been nice. Alan White, though, is as good as ever. After Arriving UFO, thing start to fall apart - you have the weak Circus of Heaven and the unremarkable Onward. On the Silent Wings of Freedom is a nice little number, but still not up to the standard of the first half of the album. Release, Release is probably my favourite track here, along with the beautiful Madrigal.

This isn't up to the standard of the previous offering Going For The One, but that standard is incredibly high. This is by no means a terrible album, but I just feel they could've done better - it is not one of their worst (in fact, my least favourite is probably Relayer), but it's no where near up there with the classics.

In usual disagreement with most people's assessment, Tormato adds to the list. Tormato for me was the most defining album of Yes moving away from the ostentatious, yet always awesome, super orchestrated albums to a more compact digestable material. And for sure the best one of the Going for the One, Tormato, Drama era. I've always believed that progreesive music was about progreesion hence the root of the concept. That doesn't always mean that it progresses towards what the listener wants to hear. Funny how that works. As a matter of fact it's the only one of those I can listen all the way through from the album era I mentioned before. But these are just my opinions. Enjoy listening.

Key Tracks to check out - On the Silent Wings of Freedom Arrival UFO Release, Release Onward Circus of Heaven

Well this album is not terrible. Great playing all round, and good lyrics (mostly). It opens up with the rocking Future Times/Rejoice, which rocks pretty good at times, yet it remains melodic. Steve Howe solos almost the whole time. Song 2, Don't Kill the Whale, is pretty good, featuring good melodies and guitar playing from Steve Howe. Madrigal is a nifty little ballad with some great acoustic guitar and great lyrics. Release, Release has some goofy lyrics at times, but its CHorus more than makes up for it, and it's very melodic. Arriving UFO is the worst on the album. Its got some good music, but the lyrics are absolutely terrible. Circus of Heaven is very soft and melodic, and relaxing, although the end is not very good, in which Jon Anderson talks to some kid (his son in actuality) about the circus. Onward is a great great song, with great bass from Squire and great lyrics and vocalizations. On the Silent Wings of Freedom is pretty good too, with more thunderous bass playing from Squire and great melodicness. So the only really low point is Arriving UFO, with the ultimate high points being Future Times/Rejoice, Madrigal, Circus of Heaven, and Onward. Still, this not quite up to snuff with Yes's older material.

Like all YES music, the more one listens, the more one appreciates.

I have had this album, and then CD since it was released, and enjoy it today more than ever. It is one of my YES favorites now.

The use of rhythms is incredible, over fairly simplistic chord movement. The sounds wrested from the instruments, and the emotional playing from all memebrs is stunning.

Alan White masterfully brings the song changes about, and is very powerful in Release, Release, Silent Wings of Freedom, and the Future Times/Rjoice sequence.

Steve Howe. Wow. Over his career he stays as creative and able as ever. I thought he was over the top when this was released. Turns out my own musical immaturity would not let me really hear what he had done.

I HATED Arriving UFO. Now it is almost my favorite piece of the set. Just amazing.

Rick Wakeman adds a lot, with his great use of the Multi-Moog and the vast array of Harpsichord additions. Madrigal is so wonderful. It's a wonder the keys didn't fly apart, he was smokin' em so bad :)

And Squire. Oh my. Chris, you are a unique addition to the musical world. I admire your ability and creativeness so much. What bass lines. Melody, power, subtlety, counterpoint, punch, sublime ethereal MUSIC! Where did this man GET this talent? He was playing this way right off the bat.

Well - I think this album IS essential.

Today I have it at home and in the car so I can always pop it in the player.

After their very inspired, varied and lush sounding masterpiece "Going for the one", for me this album was a kind of "cold shower", what a disappointment, in fact the same bad experience with "Tales.." after "Close to the edge"! I have to admit that "Tormato" has appeared more times on my record player than "Tales.." because I'm really delighted about "Don't kill the whale" (emotional vocals and splendid Polymoog runs) and "Madrigal" (wonderful classical atmosphere) but the other songs don't appeal to me. In order to explain that awful front cover, I think that the musicians felt subconscious guilty about the musical result of this album...A KIND OF FREUDIAN SLIP!

2 2/3 stars

The thing is that this is actually not essencial at all and is only for fans of the band ... this is Yes at their weakest in the 70s ... and sounds like the band ran out of gas. IT also contains awful sound quality and a keyboard sound that makes me beg for mercy :(

Future Times/rejoice 5/10 : decent opener, but the introductory riff is awful and the guitar sound sounds thin! The rejoice section is a nice sing along piece though.

Don't kill the Whale 6.5/10 : the lyrics are cheesy, and the vocals are so so, but the guitar soloing all over is amazing! also it has the only good keyboard solo of the album.

Madrigal 8/10 : this is good, very very good. Great harpsichord, great melodies, great guitar, it is a shame it is so short.

Release Release 6/10 : umm ... This is Yes trying to try arena rock, but they can't even stay on 4/4 !!... this is hilarious! and a self parody with a drum solo with cheering so out of place. But overall it is good and it has a good guitar solo after the end of the drumming.

Arriving UFO : 5/10 : mediocre and silly ... However : the synth riff, while corny, is great, and the guitar solo that sound like alien speaking sounds so strange and unique that is very captivating to me.

Cicrus something 6/10 : very pretty instrumentation and steve howe excelled in this track, but the lyrics are cheesy, especially when jon anderson and his son finish the track.

Onward 7/10 : soaring vocals, great guitar riffing, nice melodies .. so what's wrong? .. its too repetitive and is always the same!

On the Silent Wings of Freedom 6/10 : the messiest yes song I ever heard ... they are trying to progress and sound unique, but it fails at so many levels. The first 4 minutes are very good though, and chris Squire has rarely done better riffing than here.

So, the verdict is that this is more for fans, no prog rocker would like to get an album of the best band at its worst on the 70s side (there are weaker albums to come like Big Generator, 90125, Union, Open Your Eyes)

My Grade : C-

The most interesting part of this album is Squire's new choices in bass equipment. This is where this lineup of the band had almost completely drained itself. The songwriting actually seems to be dated from itself, and songs like Arriving UFO are welll... actually laughable. Also, there's not any kind of melodic and songwriting growth shown on this album either, Rick Wakeman's sound seems to be unpleasantly force-fed by this point. With no real highlights and an incredibly uninspired tone, this album is for Yes collectors.

What a big regret I experienced the first time when this album was released. It was not like the kind of YES music like "Relayer" or "Close To The Edge" or even like the predecessor "Going For The One". The first time I heard "Future Times / Rejoice" I said to myself: "What? Is this Yes playing something like this?". So, it did not really hook me at all and I only played one song when I played this album and it was "Circus of Heaven". Why? I liked it very much with the fact that the music has a very strong melody, a bit upbeat tempo and most interestingly with the inclusion of child's voice (Jon Anderson's son) at the end of the track. Awesome. It became my all time favorite. As life got tougher and I could not afford to purchase another cassette of rock album no more, so I kept playing my old cassette collections. Whenever I got bored, I played Yes "Tormato". It took me roughly a year to reach the point when I could say: "Wow! It's an excellent album!". Indeed, it is.

"Don't Kill The Whale" is a song that has created great and positive impact to me especially the wonderful composition and encouraging lyrics. The composition is really unique with a great combination of keyboard and guitar works. The vocal harmony is also great. I also enjoy this song in "Yesshows" version. It's magnificent man! "Madrigal" is another great track with Rick Wakeman's rapid-fire keyboard work heavily influenced by classical music. "Release, Release" is a great rocking song the band has ever made. "Arriving UFO" is another song with a peaceful nuance. "Onward" is a great mellow track with continuous flow of keyboard sound - it's memorable. The concluding track "On The Silent Wings of Freedom" is another track with rich arrangements.

Overall, it's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!

Progressively yours, GW

Tormato.

The very word conjures up the unwelcome idea of having to defend Yes's artistic vision to the truly loyal fan. Witness all of the reviews here that try to drum up enthusiasm for the album while acknowledging that there isn't much enthusiasm for the album to begin with. The story of how a band member threw a tomato at the artwork for the cover (which was then adopted as modified) is the perfect comment on this album as a whole.

Tormato.

It was nearly universely acknowledged as the standard by which a crappy Yes album was to be judged for almost twenty years. Some people thought that Drama was worse than Tormato because of the loss of Wakeman and Anderson and the addition of the Buggles. Some people thought that Big Generator was worse than Tormato because of BG's near total immersion into pop music. Some people thought that Talk was worse than Tormato because they felt it was essentially a Trevor Rabin solo album with a few Yes members in the supporting cast. But Tormato was, for nearly twenty years, the quintessential bad Yes album. (Happily, for Tormato supporters, that role has finally been supplanted by Open Your Eyes.)

Tormato.

Even the name Tormato sounds tired. Yes had been an amazingly productive band in the '70's, releasing 6 albums in 6 years beginning with The Yes Album in 1971. They had generally released material of outstanding quality in that time as well. The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One were alll top rate albums. How many groups could pack so much quality into so little vinyl? Relayer and Tales from Topographic Oceans, although not as immediately likable, clearly were complex and demanding albums as well, with musical ideas and execution that demanded as much (or maybe even more) from the band. Is it any wonder that by 1978 they sounded tired?

I think it makes more sense to review this album by band member contributions rather than by tracks, so let me try this.

Jon Anderson: Jon's vocal quality and expression was never better than in the late '70's and early '80's. As another instrument in the sound pallette, Jon cannot fail to please. Lyrically, however, Jon really falls down on this album. He falls into the trap of producing lyrics that sound campy. In the tracks on Close to the Edge, for example, Jon's lyrics were majestic and obscure. Arriving UFO has lyrics that sound unimportant and vaguely ridiculous. Circus of Heaven (Jon's featured piece) sports lyrics that spout a trite and conventional philosophical idea. Madrigal's lyrics, although not quite as bad, still sound like on of those seven minute Peter Gabriel sci-fi epics that Genesis used to record.

Chris Squire: What a rough album for Chris! The brilliance that sparkled in so many earlier albums has nearly evaporated. The only track on which Chris shines musically is On the Silent Wings of Freedom, which sadly is Yes's only complete failure in the epic composition category, as even the worst track on Tales manages to hold our interest through parts of the composition. On the other hand, his ballad Onward is a competent if not exceptional song, despite the fact that his own bass playing is uninspired. (The Keys to Ascension version of that song, on the other hand, shows what could have been done with it.)

Steve Howe: In this album, Steve nearly gives up the accurate and more classical style that made him famous on tracks like Starship Troopers, Roundabout, and And You and I. He seems to devolve into a more generic hard rock style. Which is not to say that he is not still precise, his work on the strange but satisfying track Don't Kill the Whale, still impresses, while the new style fits well with "Release, Release." On the other hand, Future Times and On the Silent Wings of Freedom really sound like Howe phoned his parts in.

Rick Wakeman: I tend to think of Tormato as the album where only Rick was on form. Both Madrigal and Arriving UFO showcase Rick's abilities at his best, and he does his best to save that monstrosity, Circus of Heaven, as well. Also he plays a fairly energetic part in "Don't Kill the Whale," managing to lift that song above mediocrity.

Alan White: Alan shines in this album too. The obvious thing to mention would be his solo in Release, Release, but his percussion work in On the Silent Wings of Freedom is top rate as well.

Tormato

In the interest of completion, I suppose I should give my opinion of the different tracks as well.

Future Times/Rejoice: Below average quality. Actually this starts out quite badly and only reaches mediocre when we hit the Rejoice section.

Don't Kill the Whale: Average. Yes's attempt at a single is exactly what a single should not be: it sounds strange and uncomfortable on the first listening, even for fans who expect Yes instead of the latest pop prophet. Listen twice or thrice and you will find this more likable, however.

Madrigal: Good. Jon and Rick give us great musical performaces despite Jon's average lyrics.

Release, Release: Good. Probably the track on which the group combined the best. Again, it doesn't really have the Yes sound, but it has a lot of energy and fairly good performances (at least) from every member.

Arriving UFO: Below Average. Rick tries his best to salvage this mediocre tune, but in the end, he does not succeed. If you are a Wakeman fan, on the other hand, upgrade this to Good.

Circus of Heaven: Awful. This sounds like it belongs on Jon Anderson's Song of Seven album (which was also awful except for the title track and Days.) Wakeman fans will want to upgrade this to below average, as Rick's contributions are pretty good.

Onward: Average. A decent ballad, but nothing exceptional throughout the piece. If you want to hear this, I really suggest that you listen to live version on Keys to Ascension instead, where everybody somehow manages to rise above the material.

On the Silent Wings of Freedom: Below Average. Yes's poorest attempt at an epic ever. Chris and Alan bring a decent foundation to this song, but nothing much interesting is built on top of it.

This album marked the end for the great Prog band called Yes. It also marked the last great piece of music they ever did. Ironically that track was called Future Times. Ironic because musically there would be no more future times. Release, Release is dreadful & the rest of the album poor. On The Silent Wings Of Freedom would have been a good track had they bothered to record it properly. It was as though the band tried to sabotage any musicality they ever had. Do not buy this album unless you have a big budget or can get Future Times as a single.

I'd even add another star if Cosmic Jon hadn't tortured us with "Circus..." and "...Whale". I really like the bass effects Squire throws down and classic Howe riffs abound, but they're used in often annoying tunes....and don't get me started on the cheeze factor Wakeman brings 'round. My guess is the band was fraying, but they had enough decent numbers in the bag to squeeze out one last wheelbarrow full of money out of the classic line-up.

Either way, any real fan of the band should own a copy. I'd given it the obligatory bi- annual spin for yonks until I dug it out and dug it again.....not a bad disc at all.

THE GOOD: "Silent Wings..."

THE BAD: The lyrics to "Arriving UFO"

THE UGLY: The damn cover!

A lot of cutting remarks have been made about this album - in large part justifiably so. I remember waiting for its release as the follow up to Going for the One; Chris Welch in Melody Maker had even pronounced that it could be the best Yes album ever. Well he was wrong, although there are some good tracks - "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" was the best with an almost funky sounding bass from Squire;"Onward" was a beautiful song, great done live. On the other hand we also got the twee "Circus of Heaven" with Jon's little lad (aahhh...) and the awful "Don't Kill the Whale". The cover says a lot - they're all looking on different directions; and the pun on the albums name (Yes Tor in Devon/tomato) was abysmal - bring back Roger Dean I said (which they did!). The production values were not as good as the Eddie Offord days. Still it's worth a listen; but they'd come a long way since "The Yes Album" and "Fragile" and were starting to run out of road.

Once again, the band are confused as to their direction, and once again it works against them. It was their first real dog since the muddled TALES, but at least there you could tell what they were trying to go for. Here it's anyone's guess. They seemed to be flying in every direction at once.

They seemed to be trying out a whole bunch of different styles on this album-from AOR-styled arena rock ("Don't Kill The Whale", "Release, Release") to out and out MOR pop balladry ("Onward")-none of which fit well. And Anderson's lyrics border on self-parody at times. "Don't Kill The Whale" is mawkish and sanctimonious, "Arriving U.F.O." is just plain silly, and "Circus Of Heaven" (complete with a treacly walk-on by Anderson's kindergarten-aged son Damion) drowns in an excess of cutesy whimsy. The band are not helped by Wakeman's questionable decision to excise most of his tried-and-true keyboard equipment in favour of the screeching, braying sounds of the Polymoog, rendering even some of the album's better moments unlistenable.

Still, moments of Yes' former greatness manage to shine through. "Future Times"/"Rejoice" is a bit of a humble little couplet, but it grows on you in a big way. And "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is classic Yes. I wish Wakeman had chosen to solo on his Minimoog rather than the obnoxiously shrill Polymoog, but musically it's the strongest thing here by far.

In a nutshell: another disappointment that caused Wakeman to bail.

Wonderfull, not their best album, maybe more commercial (they tried but failed), but it's still a grat album, really good, I think it's a masterpiece, always progressive, you can't follow the beat!

With yes adopted a different approach on Tormato. Initially, they moved away from the famous art of cover of senior and in the place employed an image of a beater in a costume and had splashed with tomatos on top. The representation encourages me to think of the sauce salad that burst but it was not carbonated and I had it everywhere my trousers. A terrible work to find the paper towels to take care of all this tomato substance.

In any event, yes went hand in hand with more friendly approach by radio on Tormato. Not one of the songs is more than eight minutes length and good number of them creates the sensation to me as I drop myself in bottom from an axis from elevator seeking from the toys and the bicycles in the store from toy. Future times and are delighted is quickly as a plane sprinkling with the jet in bottom of the traps of jungle of a fate of parking of airport. The vocals concise and are harmonized like soda cards bottles in their sines. Do not kill the whale is full with the cetacei that I suppose with the viscous play and Rick Wakeman of keyboard resembling wet noodle and biscuits of fortune. I can line all that in my truncated pullover of turtleneck. Madrigal simply put to me to sleep and made think me of introducing my pillowcase. Can we become worst?

In fact, after this which it starts to better be. Release, the release is a powerful song completion of energy more in conformity with Siberian Khatru in its stylings and total punch. The white of Alan makes some marvellous executions of drum. Although it is not any Bruford, it can certainly whip it until a frenzy of bright work. Jon Anderson makes a terrible effect sing its heart outside on this one. But the things acidify slightly on the UFO of arrival. It must be inspired by the mania of UFO which had accumulated during decades with all kinds from small gray abroad coming from Mars and Uranus and probably from centauri of alpha. They were here and making with cattle mutilations and human removing and putting few balls silver plated in their noses. Jon Anderson must be insane to expect something on the lines of a first meeting due Messie when they make insane things with our cows and people in the fields.

At all events, we move with the circus of the sky where I guess that the kids of Anderson speak about the bears about nouns and the cotton sugar refinery and dinners and such of television. It is but too nice for me and incites me to think of the pink lower trunks and the small balls scrambled on the pyjamas hammer-dotted lines. The things improve with ahead, although I smell myself slightly wasted in this moment. If you eat burst mass, you would appreciate really this. Ends of Tormato with on the quiet wings of the freedom, which is anthemic in its call and gently more robust than the remainder of the album except the release, release. It is a large end and I appreciate that they did not rinse this one to the bottom the sink with water salts flat and saved him to be monotonous and to obtain a low row of me. Nevertheless, it is such.

Tormato is certainly one of the releases more nonpopulars close yes, but it is not as bad as the grated refuse as they would release in the Eighties and the beginning of the Nineties. Thus I can only conclude that it is not essential, but am always good for your ears and nose. It feels like tomatos! Thus, since they require three holds the first role for these estimate, then me must suppose that I will give it that three holds the first role and then while I proceed at the end this review I must conclude that it should have three holds the first role and not more and not less than three the first role holds. Yes the ventilators will want to have this in their collection, though it has three holds the first role. --JB

this album is (mostly) not given the respect it deserves! YES had shown us, repeatedly, their musical prowess and how 5 dudes can sound like an orchestra. great lyrics though usually ambiguous , tight jams, etc. ... YES had proved themselves, and here YES says to the world, "...hey guys, here's some songs." ... JUST some songs. Theyre not trying to prove anything. which makes this album somewhat unique. "...hey guys, here's some songs." ...think about that. im kinda tired at the moment i hope what i wrote makes sense!

ps. the quote provided was never actually said by any band member

Have to admit, this was the first album by the band I bought new in the store. Seeing that I didn't get into prog until '77, I did have their older albums and just loved the covers. Little did I know after seeing the cover to this one, (worse prog cover ever?) I'd be in for a shock, musically. Honestly, taken as a whole, it's not the worst around, almost the worse) but for Yes, it's definitely the worst from the 70's. I rather listen to their first two then this for two reasons: 1) I can't stand Squire's bass sound, it dominates and sounds so damn ugly, 2) the mix is so chaotic, with instruments clogging, battling, struggling just plain trying to garner your attention overpowering the song, ('Future Times', 'Don't Kill The Whale', 'Release, Release', and especially 'On The Silent Wings Of Freedom'). I would rather listen to the mediocre 'Circus Of Heaven' with its sickly sweetness just because I can catch my breathe after listening to all the chaos before and after. UGH! You can see this coming after their last album, 'Going For The One' which I'm not to fond of either. At least that one had one superior song, ('Awaken'). Plus, for me, they rebound with their next album. But 'Tormato'? It should have been the master tapes splattered on the record sleeve, not a tomato. Sorry for being so harsh, but Yes is a favorite and at this time in their lives they were most likely a burned out husk of a band that needed time off to regroup and change their sound DRAMAtically. And they did. Thank GOD! 2.5 stars.

I have a soft spot for this album: the keyboards are thin and digital sounding (a process begun on Going for the One), the arrangements are messy and a little random, the bass is a bit overwhelming at times, the cover is a disgrace and the lyrics hit an all time low - speaking for myself I much prefer the ones where poetry wins out over meaning (Fragile / Close). But having said all that, this album came out at a special time in my life and there are great resonances. The openers are superb - flying through harmonic changes with a breathtaking speed, this is Yes tuneful but daring. Release, Release works as a heavier statement, Madrigal has some lovely touches (but lacks the sophistication and panache of Turn of the Century), Onward has a charm somewhat marred by the guitar arrangements and Circus of Heaven is one of the Wondrous Stories (children's version). As has been said before, this is not an album to convert any newcomers to Yes, and is one of their weaker pre-80's offerings, but still head & shoulders over most of the releases it accompanied.

Well, every band makes mistakes. Rush had theirs with "Grace Under Pressure" and "Test For Echo", Dream Theater screwed up with "Falling Into Infinity", et al. This is Yes' mistake. Why? Well, the music is somewhat poorly written, and the arrangements are VERY slap-dash. The production, also, is downright awful. Take "Release, Release", for example. The 5 guys seem to be crawling all over each other in what amounts to an impenetrable wall of sound . "Madrigal" is a gorgeous piece, though; driven by a classical guitar and some sweet vocals from Anderson. It all goes to [&*!#], however, with "Circus Of Heaven". Oh My God...horrible. Noisy and cacophonous, with a totally random, scattershot walk-on by Jon's young son, Damion. Upon hearing him and his dad's sugary cooing, I wanted to put my fist through something. But since I was coming back from a road trip, the only thing I could've put my fist through was the dashboard, and that would not've been very thoughtful. So, 3 stars. It has its moments (Madrigal, On The Silent Wings Of Freedom), but more often than not, it's hampered by awful lyrics, sub-par production (this coming from the same group that gave the world "Going For The One" and "90125"!!!!!!) and noisy, random arrangements. Yuck. Luckily, "Drama" is growing on me, and will be reviewed at a later date.

Ah, the much-maligned Tormato album. Perhaps suffering from the very high standards set by its predecessor "Going For The One", Tormato has been criticised by some as being a weak Yes album, but is this fair? - let's review the evidence.

"Future Times/Rejoice" is a good, but not brilliant opener. Alan White plays a major part here, from the military snare of "Future Times" to the bizarre rhythm of "Rejoice". "Don't kill the whale", Yes' animal rights protest song, was a single at the time, personally I like the synth solo but this is merely an average Yes number. "Madrigal" is a short but beautiful harpsichord/acoustic guitar piece with a nice Anderson vocal and "Release Release" is probably my favourite track on the album, featuring Quo-style guitar from Steve Howe and a drum solo from White complete with overdubbed audience. I particularly like the choruses and the ending is great.

Side two brings us to "Arriving UFO" - I remember an article in Melody Maker about the recording of the album and it said this track sounded like a Yes classic in the vein of "Yours is no disgrace". Well, it's not quite that, the keyboard sounds are a bit naff, but still a good song.

What can I say about "Circus of Heaven"? A typical Anderson number building up from the triangle and bass opening, but the lyrics are of the sort that give Yes a bad name and I wonder what Anderson's son thinks of the ending now. "Onward" is a good Squire song that really comes to life with the stunning vocals on the live version on "Keys to Ascension. On this version, Howe's guitar is a bit annoying - the song works much better with him on acoustic guitar. The final track, "On the silent wings of freedom" is a Yes classic featuring a great Squire bass riff. He often plays it in live versions of "The Fish" along with the "Tempus Fugit" riff.

The cover highlights the "Tormato/Tomato" pun (based around Yes Tor on which is a rock formation on Dartmoor for those who don't know) and is another Hipgnosis effort, not one of the best Yes covers. Overall the albums is a bit of a disappointment compared to Going For The One but still worthy of at least 3.5 stars.

I’m not sure there is a whole lot to be said about Tormato really, other than it was the last album to include the most famous lineup of the band until the underwhelming Union more than a decade later.

I would think that for the most part someone will either like this album or they won’t, and I doubt if repeated listens will change that opinion one way or the other. Those new to the band in 1978 were probably more likely to find the album appealing than long-time fans, as the songs are all highly accessible and don’t require a whole lot of knowledge of the band or even of music in general to appreciate. Those who cut their teeth on works like “Close to the Edge”, “Gates of Delirium”, or even “Yours is No Disgrace” probably find this album a bit disappointing. There is nothing resembling an epic track, and the songs that are here don’t really seem to demonstrate any kind of conscious approach or progression from the band’s previous works. It just seems like the band put out an album for the sake of putting one out. The record did well commercially, but few of these songs show up on any subsequent compilations, greatest hits collections, or even live albums.

“Future Times” is about the most generic-sounding Yes song I’ve ever heard. Wakeman’s keyboards are prominent but not particularly impressive. Anderson’s vocals seem just a bit tepid. Howe’s guitar work is pretty good throughout the album, but I wouldn’t call it inspired or anything.

The modest hit single from the album was “Don’t Kill the Whale”, an unconvincing but rhythmic tune that is for the most part dominated by Howe, with a couple of short jaunts mixed in by Wakeman. And speaking of Wakeman, he seems to be just noodling quite a bit, especially during Anderson’s vocals parts. It’s a catchy tune, but nothing you’d really expect from a band of Yes’s stature.

I do like the keyboards and mellow guitar on “Madrigal”, but this actually sounds like some kind of Irish folk song, and wouldn’t even be recognizable as a Yes song were it not for Anderson’s voice.

“Release, Release” sounds more like the Yes of the mid-70s, but here again Wakeman is rather uninspired and Squire seems to be almost invisible. Frankly, Squire doesn’t really stand out anywhere on this album.

The weird “Arriving UFO” really seems to be a bit of nonsensical filler. Wakeman throws in a wide variety of sound effects, but the appeal of this song is for the most part lost on me.

“Circus of Heaven” actually begins as if it is building up to something substantial, but after about four minutes of ‘building’ it becomes apparent the buildup is all there really is. The goofy kid babbling at the end is really unnecessary.

I like the overall mood of “Onward”, but really this is more of a song for a single B-side, or maybe as a respite piece for the band in concert. I can picture the couples hugging and waving their disposable lighters as the soft lights wash over the concert hall as I listen to this one.

Yes had always been known for including at least one lengthy, complex central work on their albums. I suppose “On The Silent Wings of Freedom” is supposed to be that song for Tormato, but despite its length and the awkward tempo changes in the second half of the song, it seems to be more of a mechanical exercise than an inspired, passionate work.

I’ll admit I bought this when it came out, and wore my allegiance to Yes on my sleeve amid the onslaught of disco and new wave that was filling the airwaves at the time. This was at least better than most of that crap. But it doesn’t wear well with time, and is not even fondly remembered by the members of the band themselves. The story that the tomato on the cover was a result of Wakeman throwing it at the artwork in disgust speaks volumes about the lasting impression of this album.

It’s probably a must-have for ardent fans and collectors, but that’s about all. Two stars.

peace

What hapened to MyYes ? The lineup is the same as for GFTO but there are no comparison between albums. Format of the songs is extremely shorter than usual. As for Genesis, I made a huge break from 1978 and 1999. I purchase their second part of their catalogue since then. This was my first one (together with "Drama"). The good opener "Future Times - Rejoice" is a standard YesClassic song : brilliant Howe, great Anderson and solid rythmics. The track could have been developped a bit longer, but with this album, we are far from the lenghty YesCompostions. Their ecological and commercial "Don't Kill The Whale" is aslo a pleasant song. It is their first "political" song. This song anounces the forthcoming Yes ("Owner"...). "Madrigal" is a short and sweet little ballad. A marvel of a YesMelody. "Release, Release" is quite rocky and melodious : the ryhtm being similar to the one of "Parallels" there's even a short drum solo in the middle. It's a good way to close side one.

"Arriving UFO" is the weakest track so far : it is inconsistent, jumps from one theme to another without anything to link them. It is like a kaleidoscope of several instrumental and uninspired pieces. Very poor. "Circus Of Heaven" is an accoustic track, but lacks in harmonies. It sounds real bad. "Onwards" is a magnificent YesBallad : wonderful melody, very emotional Jon, discreet piano/keyboard (this is general to this album : Rick is not very present). It reminds me of "Wonderous Stories" or "Soon" from earlier works but less imposing. "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is a vigourous YesTrack, but it is way too speedy. It is the longest song of the album. The intro lasts for about 2'30" and is quite repetitive (as the whole song). It lacks desperately in good vocal harmonies. The more the track advances, the more boring it is. IMO, it sounds as a demo track : jam like session leading nowhere.

There is a remastered and expanded version for "Tormato" : NINE songs for almost 35 additional minutes (almost double the original album). "Abilene" is a nice rock ballad with good guitar in the background. Vocal are smooth and harmonious. It could have replaced some of the poor tracks of the album. A good bonus track. "Money" is a jazzy and useless tune (even as a bonus). "Picasso" and "You Can Be Saved" are mellow tracks with little interest : no feeling and tasteless. "Some Are Born" is good, could have made the album : nice harmony combinations (Howe and Anderson), intrumental parts are not really structured but maybe it is due to the fact that the song was rejected quite soon ... "High" is another good bonus, it should have deserved a bit more attention to make it a decent album track. "Days" is a "solo" vocal from Jon (it lasts for only 58 seconds, hopefully !). "Countryside" is an accoustic / folk tune quite dispensable. "Everybody's Song" intro starts with the typical YesHowe sound and one thinks: hey, maybe a lost jewel ... Well after forty seconds you know that it is not a jewel. This quite lenghty song (over 6'30) is bass oriented and rather dull. Have a listen and you'll understand why it didn't make the album. It is one of their weakest effort so far (on par with "Time & A Word"). Unfortunately, the worst is to to come. Two stars.

Tormato.. The record with the most annoying production, as well as the worst yes album at it's time of release. The band were pretty disjointed at this point, which is fairly apparent from the sound of the record. at 1978 the whole prog thing was generally over, with punk and disco taking the mainstream by storm.

The album is in complete song format, and each song is very simple in structure, some being a little drawn out (Silent Wings) and others just being bright and annoying (Release Release, Arriving UFO, Future Times/Rejoice) The best of the album are sort of a condensed version of their earlier sound, and are very enjoyable to listen. (Don't Kill The Whale, Madrigal, Circus of Heaven, On The Silent Wings of Freedom) Onward is Yes' venture into the Emo genre, and I'm not sure I like it.. ;)

Wakeman has picked up a very, very annoying keyboard sound, it's shrill and obnoxious, and present on just about every track which ruins half the album for me. The rest of the band are in top form, Squire playing quite great, and Howe pounding out great solos as usual.

Sub par album, don't get it with your expectations too high, because you'll probably be disappointed!

If this had been the debut offering of a young, burgeoning group the consensus would have been that they had potential and just needed more experience and maturity. But this was the NINTH studio album from arguably one of the most creative and influential progressive bands in history and also one of the biggest acts in the music business at the time. For the loyal, devoted fans that bought every single one of their records and helped to sell out nearly every arena they performed in, this was a travesty. Could this really be Yes? It was like going to your favorite five-star restaurant and, instead of a delicious entrée, the waiter brought you a plate of nine different varieties of cheeses. Adding insult to injury, when the bill arrived you found that you were charged the same as your usual gourmet dinner!

The first thing you notice is that someone (Rick Wakeman, it turns out) has pelted the cover with a rotten tomato. If that wasn't enough of a tip off, the opening song "Future Times" with Chris Squire substituting his usual fat bass tone for an overprocessed guitar effect quickly indicates that something is amiss in Yes land. With a quasi-military march for a foundation the tune never escalates into attack mode at all, something you've come to expect from them. "Rejoice" is really just more of the same except they do achieve some interesting dynamics toward the end. "Don't Kill the Whale" is a mess. A miserable attempt at a hit single. (Is Jon Anderson actually singing "dig it, dig it?" What?) "Madrigal" is fair musically and Steve Howe turns in a nice acoustic guitar bit but it sounds like Jon is trying to see how many words he can fit into a line here and it gets way too busy. "Release, Release" is a straight-ahead rock and roll song with decent changes but the whole thing sounds frantically rushed. Then you get a drum sequence from Alan White that features fake crowd noise in the background! (What the.?) "Arriving UFO" is as useless as its title and here they try too hard to be sci-fi, employing funny-sounding gimmicks. There's even an explosion! (What was that? The Death Star?) Wakeman tries to save it but Howe seems to be at a loss as to what he should play. "Circus of Heaven" is just weird. (Yes playing bad reggae?) And, though Jon has given the world some indecipherable lyrics from time to time, these take the cake. Then, after a quiet section, the song just fizzles. Thank goodness for "Onward" because it's by far the best song on the album. It's a beautiful love ballad with a great melody, nice harmony vocals, atmospheric guitar work from Howe and excellent orchestration. Too bad it's so short-lived. "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" starts with Squire using another thin guitar effect in a longer-than-necessary solo before the band finally kicks in. I know it's hard to fathom but I think Jon is actually trying to sing higher than he needs to here (perilously near dog-whistle territory) and the tune seems to meander without purpose. (Where's that stoned former producer Eddie Offord when you need him?) Finally we hear some stirring keyboard fills toward the end but even Wakeman's valiant efforts can't save this one. Mercifully, after less than 42 minutes of music, it's over.

It's common knowledge that I am only one of legion that disparages this collection of tunes. If there was such a thing as a prog comic he could do ten minutes of shtick on this album alone. I can hear it now: "Know why they called it 'Tormato?' Because 'Love Beach' had already been taken!" (Cue groans from audience of proggers.) But seriously, I'm amazed at how some Yes fans tiptoe around this one like the family pet's "accident" in the middle of the living room. Especially when some of the band members have gone on record as saying the group had no direction and no focus when they were in the process of creating this disappointment. When you consider that the last studio recording we had heard before this one had been the awesome, inspiring "Awaken" from "Going For the One," this defied reason. No wonder first Rick and then Jon left the fold afterwards. You might think I'd award the dreaded one star rating to "Tormento" but I'll consider giving it two and here's why. I prefer to believe there was some strain of progressive rock virus going around in 1978 that affected not only Yes but fellow juggernauts like Genesis and ELP, causing them to release cheesy stinkers, as well. What a nasty bug it was.

Aw, heck. Who am I fooling? This is awful and I can't, in good conscience, give it any more than a single star. I realize that things were bad in Progland at the time they recorded this booger but there's just no excuse for it. This is when Yes hit rock bottom. Shame on you guys.

Dear friend, you write: It essential that reviews do not simply say "this album is great", or "this album sucks", without the reviewer expanding WHY they have come to this conclusion. Reviews should BE OF REAL USE AND INTEREST TO OTHER PROGRESSIVE MUSIC FANS, WHO CAN THEN BENEFIT BY FINDING NEW AVENUES FOR THEIR MUSICAL EXPLORATION. Thus, i will try not to use the word great in my review. Album Tormato is considered by most of the fans to be weak, but IT IS NOT TRUE. Yes, it contains shorter songs, yes, there are no complex conpositions as close to the edge, but there are a lot of perfect and catchy and enjoyable songs. I can hardly tell which one is the best. I like them all and they are all different. To name some of them: Circus of heaven is a fragile piece of music, beautiful melody driving us to the clean land of childhood; Future time might have been easily a longer track, but it is compressed to the classical song form introducing the unique music and masterships of YES; onward is a soft ballad with a special atmosphere which is hardly to hear elsewhere. It is really an unique album, one of my most favorites of yes (CTTE, Fragile, Tormato, 90125, magnification). yes album are all different and unique, but this one is outstanding even in the context of YES discography. It resembles me ATTWT by genesis, which as well contains short songs. To conclude, i do not understand people who on the one hand admire close to the edge and on the other hand name tormato a crap. it is snobish and not fair. In my opinion, if the yes musicians had wished they would have made short songs from close to the edge theme, or one big composition made of themes present on tormato. It is their freedom and i am happy they have produced some many faces and forms of their talent. Thanks.

Ok, everyone. I am a long time progressive rock fan, and this is a great site for me. This will be my first review. Be gentle. The first time I heard Yes it was the Tormato album. I was a teenager and a friend of mine told me that when he went to London on a trip he was talking music with his cab driver, who told my friend that Steve Howe was the best guitarist in rock and roll. Naturally, being a fan of Eddie Van Halen, I had to check it out. I found a discount copy of Tormato at the record store and listened to it. At first I didn't get it. It sounded nothing like the overproduced and overmanufactured music I was used to hearing. Yet I could tell it was much more complicated. It was something I would have to grow into. Now, 25 years later, I look back at that album and realize that a lot of lifelong progressive rock fans, and dedicated Yes fans don't seem to get it either. They don't feel it lives up to some of the monumental work that came before it in the Yes catalog. I can see their point, but would like to add my perspective. I think Tormato is the best album Yes did combining outstanding musicianship and a lighter touch. My personal favorite Yes song is probably The Gates of Delirium, but it isn't a fun song. It's a war. It almost makes you break out in a sweat, and then when Soon comes in, I almost sigh audibly, like a cool breeze just blew through me after a blistering day of labor in the summer sun. Tormato is not like that. Tormato is just a cool breeze, not as transcendant as the breeze at the end of the turmoil of Gates, but in and of itself, Tormato is an album that makes me feel good. The song structure is more typical, no 15-minute epics that everyone is so fond of. Some may say they sold out that way. I disagree. I don't see how someone can stay stagnant, never change, and be said to progress. The topics are comparatively understandable compared to typical Jon Anderson output. I like dense lyrics but, let's get real, Jon is singing to himself in a lot of the classic stuff because he's the only one who knows what he's takling about. The lyrics on Tormato are accessible. There is also a positive vibe running through the album. You can't say that with all their stuff, nor should you be expected to. But Yes at times came off as a little intellectually stuffy, and Jon had his head so far up in the clouds I couldn't really relate. But here you find yourself listening to the best lineup of rock musicians ever assembled really blowing it out and enjoying themselves in a way that doesn't feel self-indulgent. It sounds like they're smiling while they're playing. It also sounds more spontaneous while still being well-crafted. Many of Yes' albums don't have the spontaneity this one has because the lengthy, very scripted musical progressions sound very layered and controlled, albeit it in a great way. Tormato has a wildness and a freedom about it, which may be why the last track "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is as stellar as it is. The single from the album , "Don't Kill the Whale", just rocks in a way only Yes could rock. It sounds almost as if it were recorded live, and Steve and Rick really go to town on some of the most catchy riffs Yes has ever recorded. "Madrigal" and "Onward" are just beautiful with a capital B! The arrangement on "Onward" is especially unique. Even while you are reveling in the incredible harmonies and keyboards, you're forgetting that the arrangement you're hearing is like no other ballad you've ever encountered. I also like "Circus of Heaven" and the personal touch Jon adds by including his son on the vocals. There's a lot of wonder in that song, and even though his son in the song doesn't fully appreciate what he's seen, there's not really a sense of hopelessness, but of looking forward to the day when the boy can look past toffee apples and clowns and also appreciate the marvelous spiritual and cultural matrix that surrounds him as an inhabitant of this planet. Since this was my first Yes experience and I grew to love the album, I began to search their music. I found many great albums, some undoubtedly better than Tormato, but I never found the same wild, free, exciting atmosphere I found when I listened to this record. Fragile was close at times, and was a better album. But Tormato, for me would always be the definition of the positive vibe that inspired the band's name: Yes. I haven't gone deep into the structure of the songs. You've probably already heard them anyway. And I haven't mentioned the other great songs--namely, "Release, Release"--But I wanted to give my impressions, and see if you may have felt some of the same things. Because, for me, the best progressive music also makes you feel, not just think. And I feel Yes' Tormato, though much maligned by hard-core fans, stands on its own as a great album. It makes me feel good.

I think this one's badly underrated. Sure, the songs are shorter and aren't as epic but it must be incredibly hard to come out with Close to the Edge and Relayer every time. It's definately harder to get into though. It was one of the first albums of Yes I owned and I ignored it for so long. I fell in love with it in time, though. The quality of songs is excellent still and everyone that made Yes great is there. Jon's voice, Wakeman's drunkenly gerat keyboards, Squire's in your fass bass, Howe's great guitar work that is featured even more on this album, and Alan (what can you say about alan, he's a great replacement for Bruford and is irreplacible himself). My two favorite songs are ironically the shortest ones here. "Don't Kill the Whale" is catchy with brilliant solos from Howe and Wakeman and "Madrigal" is a beautiful followup. Jon's voice is as good as ever, not need mention Wakeman's magnificent keys. "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is another song that sticks out. Alan and Chris are on fire on this one and really drive it throughout most of it. Final analysis: Great, but not as good as previous outings. It's hard to hit a homerun every time, this was more like an RBI double or triple.

Signs of trouble becoming more obvious.

When prowling the used record stores back in the day, one would go to the Yes section and find a copy or two of each title and then about 15 copies of Tormato. They couldn't give the thing away. Is it that bad? Or course not. Next to anything that would come after Drama, Tormato looks pretty fine. But like Going For The One it is about one-half good and one-half not. Lots of reviewers here think GFTO is so much better than Tormato but I think they are in similar territory. If you take the good songs from Tormato and marry them with "Turn of the Century" and "Awaken," you'd have one really solid album.

So which are the good songs on Tormato? Future Times/Rejoice, Madrigal, and On the Silent Wings of Freedom. A few of the other have nice moments as well. Only "Don't Kill the Whale" and "Release Release" make me reach for the "skip" button. "Madrigal" is a real gem which should have been taken further.

The album has a rather unfinished or rushed sound to it as if they were laying it down before the songs had been properly rehearsed. Howe's guitar is maniacal in places and sometimes this sounds really fresh and exciting while other times you wince a little bit. Wakeman seems especially disconnected to me as it he were not really listening to the others, sort of going it alone. Jon's vocals again reach the irritating space on things like "Release Release." Squire and White do their best to keep things in respectable waters.

Tormato can be an enjoyable listen occasionally but is not one of their more successful albums. The album cover is an unfortunate and perhaps ironic mess that said a little bit too much about the music within. Yes fans should probably own this album but certainly not until you've heard everything that came before it. 2.75 stars.

WHERE IT STARTS TO UNRAVEL, SADLY!

Now in 1978, veteran prog bands were proposed two choices: stay relevant and adapt or disappear!!Even YES one of the main prog band and the most successful one knew it was no longer the time to produce 3 songs album , not to mention 4 -20mn epics on a double album. So where do we go from here? We release TORMATO!!!

So what is there in ''Tormato''? a mixed bag of goodies , bad stuff and some average music. The longer track lasts less than 8 mns and almost all the tracks are in the 4-5 mns range; this is like going back to ''Time and a Word'' minus the innocence. And by looking at the cover artwork with futuristic graphics with our musicians all wearing sunglasses, you know you are not going to hear ''The revealing science of god'' part 2 anytime soon

What was side 1 definitely stinks , big time for some songs! Have you ever listened lately to ''Future Times'' and the horrible ''Release, Release'', maybe the worst YES song ever recorded (i know, many more to come!) Terrible songwriting, terrible WAKEMAN synths sounding and for the first time, The vocals of JON ANDERSON sound forced and are getting on my nerves rapidly. Only the ballad ''Madrigal' and to a lesser extent the cheesy ''don't kill the whale'' save the side 1 from total disaster.

Ex-Side 2 redeem the album somehow, but by no stretch it is a return to glory. Wakeman still sounds horrible on ''Arriving Ufo'', but Steve HOWE is still on fire and the song is not bad. After that comes a kiddie song where Jon ANDERSON is joined by.... his young son. Actually it's not bad, a little bit corny for sure, But ANDERSON delivers another beautiful melody , only him can come up with and the lush instrumentation brings some fresh air after a kind of rough beginning. And guess what, more good things to come: maybe the highlight of the album , a beautiful ballad ''Onward'' penned by CHRIS SQUIRE, almost as good as 'Soon'' from ''Relayer''.A real treat! The album ends with the longest track album ''on the silent wings of freedom'', not bad, not great YESsong, pleasant but you will never find this title on any YES 'best of'' albums. I don't if it's me but it sounds like ANDERSON, HOWE and WAKEMAN are forcing a little bit, they are sometimes trying too hard and they are way over the top by overplaying or singing. Sometimes less is more.

I have a problem giving stars to this album: 2 or 3 stars. As i have been maybe generous for some other recordings from YES, i'll go with 2 stars; we have to be honest; even when you like a band, you have to admit when it stinks. 2 stars.

Tormato was a big change for Yes. Here they took a more song oriented approach and abandoned their extended epics from earlier years. This was an ongoing trend for prog groups as many a label wanted to see more hits. Whether this is what was affecting Yes' deterioration or the band was just plain uninspired is open to debate. It's probably a little of both.

Even though Tormato was more radio friendly than its predecessors, it does have a few good moments on songs like Future Times/Rejoice, Release, Release, Arriving UFO, and On the Silent Wings of Freedom. Even so, these songs lack that "Yesness" that one could instantly pick up from earlier classics by the band. In many ways, Tormato sounds like the precursor of 90125 and other subsequent albums. It also sounds like a group running out of ideas.

A mixed bag, but a good album too. Not essential in anyway. Three stars. Yes fans should probably seek this one out. Others should consider getting their earlier masterpieces before looking for this one, unless you can find it cheaply.

It is widely acknowledged by the prog intelligentsia that this was a downturn for a beloved band. But when you listen to fools, the mob rules, and if heard as simply an album of fresh new music (in 1978) by a gifted group, a quality selection of songs is revealed. The big difference between this and previous Yes offerings is that the songs are shorter and more concise, trimmed of the flavorful fat a growing Prog fan craves, leaving only the lean and easily- digested parts. And perhaps that's what commercial music does so well, but it doesn't mean Yes ceased to be a symphonic rock group.

'Future Times' starts things strong with the band sounding in top form; a familiar Jon Anderson lyric, Alan White's military snare drum, Rick Wakeman shining bright as always and sporting his wide variety of synths, organs and other weapons of mass construction, Steve Howe harmonizing with everyone masterfully and showing his versitile skills, and the irrepressible Chris Squire doing what he does better than anyone on the planet. 'Rejoice' is equally fit, full of strong melodies. 'Don't Kill the Whale' is silly and dated but held together by good music, blistering noodles from Howe and a bubblegum Biotron part by Wakeman. A move toward the pop market? An unforseen coup brought about by worried men in suits? Or maybe just an uncharacteristic ditty by a band expected to always support a tradition of Prog excess. Wakeman's harpsichord carries 'Madrigal' which has Howe's Flamenco dabbles and Anderson's nu-religious rantings, and 'Release, Realease' is old-time rockin' Yes awkwardly connecting symphonic with early rock 'n roll. 'Circus of Heaven' has queasy sentiment but also some carnival oddities from Rick. The very pretty 'Onward' is led by Howe's bright staccato and Anderson's sweet vocal, and is one of the few genuinely touching love songs by this legendary ensemble. And 'On the Silent Wings of Freedom' features Squire's classic harmonized Rickenbacker, White's tighter-than-tight beats, and a great arrangement showing off the years together and natural instincts this outfit boasts. All in all this record is just fine, even good, and in hindsight doesn't deserve the cold shoulder it got from both the prog and pop camps. Three solid stars.

Probably the most unapreciated Yes album of the classic period. Post going for the one, everyone in Yes is ready for a break, wants to make a solo album, or needs to tend to a family. They went on and made Tormato anyway's, not a bad album, but apparently Yes thought so, Wakeman, and founder Jon Anderson left after the albums tour.

As for the musical aspect, it's quite good, Howe is experimenting with many different guitars and different distortions. Squire is going back to his old style, with a wah wah peddle and his typical rythmic playing with the squire rickenbacker sound. There, however is a bad side to the music. Alan White unfortunately, is sticking with what he did on Going for the one, and is strictly playing o fill's, and nothing that sticks out, which is completely controdicory of his performance on Relayer. Rick Wakeman is at his altime worse, playing the same keyboard patch the whole time, playing a twinkly little synthesized sound, nothing else.

The opener Future times/Rejoice is one of the best songs, with amazing guitar that sounds a bit fruity, but amazing none the less, and of course Jon's voice sounds amazing as usual. Followed by probably the greatest song, dont kill the whale, which is Yes' most straight forward song from a lyrical perspective, and with Howe's most straight forward guitar solo which is excellent as well! Beyond those two song's the album meander's with some songs like the mid evil Madrigal, with nice vocals and lyrics, and Release release a steady rocker, but lacks the gates of delirium kind of power to really impress me. Then there's Arriving UFO, with some interesting keyboards, but everything else is dull and boring, even the lyrics, which are above par for normal Yes lyrics are very lame. Circus of Heaven confuses me, Yes is a band that perfors to an audience that is 90% men, then they make this song, a pretty little song with only keyboards and vocals, my thirteen year old sister thinks this song is cute, there must be something wrong. Onward is Beautiful, easily squires best song lyrically, and Jon just sings his heart out to a very interesting electric guitar, if you want an even better version, get keys to ascension! On the silent wings of freedom is another excellent track with some amazing bass and guitar work, the only thing keeeping this song from being the best on the album is wakeman's keyboard.

Not a bad album, I would have to say that Jon and Steve are the two who really stick out more than the others. Jon's performance on future times and onward are very heart felt and move with the music, more than fight it with different timing and stops. Steves speed is phenominal on the silent wings of freedom, the little fills hitting fifteen notes a second (exateration), are cool enough to make satriani jealous. But there is lack of inspiration and new and exciting material to make this album very well loved. Actually it might just be the lack of energy, which Jon Andreson says was a major factor in the creation of this album. Either way, if you are a major Yes fan, this may diapoint you a bit, I like it, because I think a bit of change for a band is goos, but I dont like it to the exctent of giving anything over...

3***

After some years in Prog Archives I have courage to make a review of Tormato, because being a YES fan is hard to say something unpleasant about a band that not only like, but also introduced me to Prog.

It's no secret that "Tormato" is not one of the strongest moments of Yes, to be honest, in some moments they border the extreme limits of cheesiness and have no excuse, Rabin is not here and they have the almost possible best formation except Bruford who will only join for a worst album like "Union".

The album starts with "Future Times" surprisingly is a good song despite Wakeman's keyboards choice is not the best and Jon sounds extremely more acute than usual. Despite this problems, the structure is well elaborate, with nice changes and solid keyboard PERFORMING, good start.

The catastrophe begins with "Don't Kill The Whale", the lyrics are so bad that I miss the days when Jon didn't tried to make sense, the band seems like a blind person left in the middle of a glass factory without a cane, the keyboards are horrendous, poor Alan White tries to keep the level with a decent drumming, but there's nothing that can save this.

"Madrigal" is at least coherent, the synthesized harpsichord with Jon's voice and Steve making nice acoustic backgrounds is to say the least a breeze of fresh air after the previous aberration, not one of their best tracks but at least can be listened.

"Release Release" is an attempt of returning to old days, good Rock & Roll with Baroque touches, Wakeman is pretty decent and White is simply amazing, another strong point in the album.

Now it's turn for something even worst than "Don't Kill the Wave", "Arriving UFO" can just be described as an atrocity, please Jon, when you try to make sense you mess it, the keyboards are frightening not for mystery or obscurity but because they are horrendous, use the skip button or listen it at your risk.

Oh no, I talked too fast, "Circus of Heaven" must be the cheesiest song I ever heard, the story tries to be pompous and even mythological but it's pure cheese, I can't understand why Wakeman and Howe didn't left the sessions at this moment, please avoid it at all cost or your good memories of YES might be damaged for ever, to make it worst Jon's kid section pretends to be nostalgic and tender but it's pathetically ridiculous.

"Onward" is an improvement (well anything would be an improvement at this point), the structure is simple, mainly vocal oriented with Jon going in crescendo and Rick supporting him makes believe there will be a sudden explosion that never happens, seems as an incomplete track.

The album ends with "On the Silent Wings of Freedom", starts with a good guitar and drums work by Steve and Alan with some touches of Rick's keyboards, nice but takes nowhere and Jon's voice doesn't add too much, a short instrumental break in the middle makes us believe there will be a change but sadly nothing happens and they go back again to the beginning. All I can say to describe it can be summarized in six words: Predictable, boring, repetitive and too long.

I heard the urban myth that the cover and the name of the album have it's origin when Rick Wakeman after watching the anodyne cover threw a tomato to the art, if this is true, it's the least it deserved, the cover says nothing and Tor (The originally chosen title in reference to a rock formation in Okehampton - England, which would have left the rest of the world asking what the hell they wanted to say) was a worst name for the album.

The only reason why I don't give one star is because the Rabin era albums are worst, but for that moment of YES history, this was the lowest they could get, specially with such a great formation.

Two stars and I believe I'm being generous.

Well, I really don´t agree with the low grades most of people here gave Tormato. I remember when it came out and I just loved the album then, as most of my friends did. Today I hear it again and I still think it´s fine 70´s Yes. Ok, ok, it is nothing like their classic trilogy (The Yes Album - Fragile - Close To The Edge), but I like it more than Tales From Topographic Oceans or even Relayer. At least it is not as pretentious and unreasonably complicated as those two mastodons.

Like the album before, Going For The One, the group seemed to be looking for a more simple approach to music and in my opinion they quite succeeded. There are a bunch of fine songs here and most of them work pretty well after all those years. It is only a pity that Anderson and Wakeman left not long after Tormato was completed. I wonder how good Drama could have been WITH them... But., alas, this was not to be. Anyway, Tormato is still classic Yes with all its glory with shorter songs. The very last Yes studio album that sounds to me like the classic progressive Yes I knew and loved when I was a teenager. Of course they´d release some good stuff after that, but things were never the same again.

Highlights: Future Times, Don´t Kill The Whale (always a favorite), On The Silent Wings Of Freedom.

Contrary to what some reviewer said, I like to hear this album from start to finish. If not all the songs are of the same category as others, there is no real weak track either. Even the somewhat silly (and nice!) Circus Of Heaven or the romantic Onward have their merit and still sound good to me

Tormato was released at a time when prog music was treated as a joke by critics, press and general public. It was a bold move and they came out with their heads held high. I loved it then, I loved it today. If you´re a real Yes fan, this is a must have.

Rating: maybe it should get 3.5 stars compared to their classic stuff, really, but I´ll round up to four to counterbalance the much unfair beatings this album had received here.

Some thing's.... not right.

Following close on the heels of the sound of their previous outing Going for the One, Yes releases this mixed effort. This is an album who's befuddled sound has, well, befuddled many listeners over the years. From it's confusing Hipgnosis cover art (Hipgnosis is great, but what was going on here?), to it's strange name (Yes - Tor as originally planned would have been much better even), to it's even more misplaced music this album is certainly a difficult to really "get". There is a bunch of good material on here, but this is definitely where Yes started to lose their classic sound.

Though some of the songs here are good, each one could have been much better. With inner-band tensions strengthening it's no wonder that the playing by the artists is not as tight as normal. Wakeman's keyboards and Howe's guitar, while normally beautifully synchronized and acting as one another's counterpart are, here, contrasting each other sharply. Tracks like Arriving UFO is a great example of this, as the synth presses forward and almost entirely hides Howe's guitar work. Don't Kill The Whale is one of the better songs on the album with it's catchy riffs and (now) somewhat tacky lyrics, but it still shares the contrast, not allowing Wakeman's playing to shine through at all. Madrigal and Circus Of Heaven both seem a bit misplaced on the album, and the latter is incredibly inaccessible, and somewhat strange with Jon Anderson's son giving in some voicing. Onward, though slow, is still a fairly well done track that all the instrumentation seems to work on, and perhaps it's low key speed is the reason. It seems throughout the album that syncing the instruments is the biggest problem here, wrtting some different, more corresponding parts definitely would have helped here.

(And so why 3 stars instead of 2 or 1 you might ask, well:)

There are some great songs here, and a couple overlooked Yes classics from the GFTO era. Some of the tracks here, including the great Future Tines/Rejoice and On The Silent Wings Of Freedom are truly great. A bit odd sounding to the listener, but they still all work as good Yes songs. These songs are the way the album should have worked, and though the instrumentation does still waver a bit on both, but both still manage to be the heavy, symphonic, imaginative band that we know and love from the early 70s. Release Release is also worth mentioning, a good track, if a bit scattered at times. It's too bad that these tracks got stuck in this era of Yes and weren't recorded earlier when the band worked truly well together.

Conclusion:

Even with all it's ups and downs this still turns out to be a "good" album, definitely not essential, but when listened to while forgetting everything you know about Yes there is something to like about this album. 3 stars, a good album that could have been so much more.

...and it was looking so good after GFTO! Seriously though, turning down a blind alley after the success of 'Going for the One' - great album, duff cover - seems to be a hallmark for Yes. They did it with Topographic Oceans (blinding album, but there was nowhere to go after it), and Big Generator, and let's not even go near Drama....

In spite of many comments about track length, there is nothing wrong with doing lots of shorter tracks, just they need to have some purpose. Let's see....

1. Future Times/Rejoice (6:45) A great opener - offering the energy of GFTO

2. Don't Kill The Whale (4:56) This has Jon Anderson stamped all over it - a good single but a bit outside of the normal Yes canon?

3. Madrigal (2:23) The sort of thing that used to turn up inside of their great album-side works - 'Soon' springs to mind. Reminiscent of the solo works of Fragile, too

4. Release, Release (5:47) Fast and furious, again GFTO

5. Arriving UFO (6:03) I've always suspected this as being a Rick Wakeman cast-off. The lyrics are a bit 'Criminal Record', and a strong dose of 'No Earthly Connection hangs around.

6. Circus of Heaven (4:30) Anderson solo work - there is no other excuse. A strong hint of where he was going, down that blind alley!

7. Onward (4:02) Syrup. Stodgy. Tedious. Why have this when they had Abilene - the B side of DKTW

8. On The Silent Wings of Freedom (7:47) A sudden turn back and look over the shoulder to 'Awaken'.

Splat!

With their history of tastefully designed sleeves especially by (but not limited to) Roger Dean, the warning signs were clear when Tormato appeared encased in a very uninspired cover complete with tomato splatters. Unfortunately, those signs were all too accurate, and the music the album contains is in the main, equally uninspired.

If "Going for the one" indicated that Yes were willing to explore a less complex style, the subtle changes which appeared there are brought to the fore here with all the subtlety of a flying mallet. While Trevor Rabin is often attributed (blamed?) with steering the band in an 80's pop direction, "Tormato" shows that Yes had such inclinations long before his arrival.

To be fair, it must be remembered that when this album was made in 1978, prog had fallen decidedly out of favour, with punk enjoying its 15 minutes of fame. Many other prog bands such as ELP and Genesis, were also re-inventing themselves in an effort simply to survive.

The story goes that Steve Howe was becoming increasingly frustrated with Rick Wakeman's dominance in the overall sound, and that the two were not getting on. This appears to be borne out by the subsequent departure of Wakeman (and Jon Anderson) prior to the recording of "Drama".

The main problem I have with "Tormato" is that it is not very prog. That in itself is not necessarily a criticism, but in the case of Yes we have come to expect them to over elaborate, not to leave songs under-developed. There are plenty of hints of what might have been in songs such as the opening "Future times/rejoice" and the closing "On the silent wings of freedom". The latter has many of the right ingredients, but the arrangement is messy and the production unfocused.

The band's desire for further singles success is apparent with "Don't kill the whale", a surprisingly stark and straightforward plea from an era before being green was fashionable. Ironically, this track also features some of the best work by Wakeman and Howe to be found on the album. It is though Jon Anderson's domination of the song writing which in turn leads to this being a very lyrical and vocal album, and therein lies its shortcoming. Had Howe and Wakeman spent less time watching each other, and more time doing what they do best, this could have been developed into another fine album.

"Release release" features a brief solo spot by Alan White on drums who is subsequently joined by Steve Howe on guitar. While clearly a studio recording, the sound of a crowd cheering is added, presumably in a vain attempt to generate some feeling of excitement. "Onward" is another notable track since it is a rare Chris Squire composition. I would have liked to have heard him singing this himself, as it is clearly written for his vocal style.

In another touch of irony, Anderson's son probably sums up the album best when he speaks at the end of "Circus of heaven". He says, "Oh it was OK, but there were no clowns".

The bonus tracks on the remastered CD almost double the length of the album. They include "Abilene", the B side of the single "Don't kill the whale" in the UK plus a number of demos and unreleased songs. A couple of these, "Days" and "Some are born" ended up in different form on Jon Anderson's second solo album. In some ways, these bonus tracks are more exciting than the album itself. The version of "Some are born" for example shows how the song might have been developed from the simple pop song on "Song of seven" into a Yes classic. We even have an unlisted bonus bonus track to end, a lovely soft symphonic instrumental number. The remastered CD also includes a decent booklet recounting some of the history relating to the album.

By the way, the album name is derived from a hill in South West England called Yes Tor.

Who throw that tomato?! Wakeman did!! This is the first Yes album I've ever heard,so it will always be special to me.First song I heard is the Circus of heaven-something new for me in that time... I used to listen to it all the time,and still-to this day it's always exciting. Madrigal-a perfect song... I cannot add or take anything to this track...Sublime! Onward is the gem on the album-their best ballad after Turn of the century IMO...it always cools me down Release,release is a solid up beat song with a standard blues riff,and anderson sings in a pure minor!! It sounds funny but it's a great combination,really...and he chorus is kick ass-IS THERE LACK OF CONCENTRATION???!!! This album is probably not what fans expected after Going for the one...,everyone thought the next one will be even better, but this is the album which stands on a turning point for Yes.After Tormato,Jon and Rick left the band...Sob, sob... This is the first POP album by Yes,therefor,it's not adored by the fans...But it has it's shining moments,and I listen to it very often.and when I do, I listen to the WHOLE album,after all it's Yes-and Yes has never been BAD,but only DIFFERENT from time to time. Farewell,farewell...

I'am an italian YES-fan and I cant say alot about the meaning of lyrics. Anyway I can tell about the music, being a prog- rock afecionado by many years (and also musician). About this album i can say that, OK it has shorter compositions and maybe not much tiead each other by a unique theme, anyway it is an album that really works! Very beautiful compositions, very nice arrangements , interesting and unique esperiments coming from the YES factory. Finally , there isnt any ugly or not interesting songs inside it! (very rare after the seventies). Starting from Future Times/Rejoice ... beautiful melodies .. interesting arrangement on the first one and good energy in the latter. Dont kill the whale ...nice song , good solos, complex armonies. Madrigal ....amazing classical piece ... a short perfect opera! Release Release ... a taste of YES ...in a version slightly hard rock ... never heard before ... and still an experiment well done. Arriving UFO ... original!! it the first listening it sounds like they are using alot of synths ...instead the most is done by bass/guitars and few effects... Steve Howe does such an amazing and original work with his Gibson Les Paul in this track !! ... Onward ...amazing melodic song Circus of heaven ... is a filler-song ...but its nice .. finally On the silent wings of freedom ... the most jammin' song of the album ...not such a great composition but sounding well and show how intricate can become one YES session... beautiful breaks of wakeman inside ... beautiful... I think a YES fan and a fan of this genre of music in general should own this album ... its really one inch from the best albums .. its the last one of the YES magic period. For me its quality and value is very close to the Going For the One album and better than the Relayer album in its overall rating. Get it , you wont regret at all!

Okay here comes the low point, and altough its not as bad as some whuld want to make you blive it is by Yes epic standards bad. The sound especialy Ricks keyboards are as many have pointed out simply chessy. Well lets talk about the songs i like. Don't Kill The Whale a very good pop prog song very chatchy and strong melody and playing and for this song wakemans chessiness keyboards actauly works and fit in very good somehow sounds like a real hit song. Madrigal also a pretty good litle song with the best palying by Rick on the album, Circus of Heaven have embaresing lyrics yes but the song itself i actualy like, Onward might be the best thing on here a very good ballad and the ending mini epic On The Silent Wings of Freedom is okay but not realy up too thiere past standrards. I have seen some people complain about Jon's singing sometimes and i never agreed but on this album i actualy see what they mean on songs like Future Times/Rejoice and Release, Release it sound like hes trying way to hard and yust sounds stupid and anoying. I got the 2004 remaster and to be honest most of the bonus tracks are pretty bad and dont help the album to get a higher rating in anyway the exception being the wonderfull and way to short Countryside one of the best songs on the album toghter with Onward. the rest of the bonus songs i culd live without. In the end i somehow like this album a bit and was almsot thinking of giving it 3 stars but i gues that whuld be overating it since theres to mcuh bad songs and chessiness goin on, so i whent with 2 stars. Collectors/fans only. I can see how some fans that dig the more pop side of Yes whuld liek this album tough. I dont got anything agains good pop but i prefer the Tales era of Yes very much over this.

An interesting example of what happens when talent and absurdity coalesce into a completely lop-sided miasma of complex rhythms, fine singing despite silly lyrics, sloppy guitar work despite improved experimentation, and inane keyboards despite nothing. Tormato is about as mediocre as it gets.

First, let's talk about the songs. There are a few compositional highlights to be discovered, say in the opening number and in a few places in Release Release and Silent Wings of Freedom, but the rest is like a messy whimper of what Yes music is all about. Don't Kill the Whale? Arriving UFO? Circus of Heaven? Give me a break! These are hands-down the worst tunes the band has performed up to this point. While Yes tunes always have a mystic, cryptic edge to them, these are just lyrically silly, breaking down to syllabic la-la-la's an unacceptable number of times. So, as far as songwriting goes, this is a single step above complete disaster-- the end of the album will more than confirm that to the listener and may actually be the worst ending OF ALL TIME. I was all for ending that horrible Wakeman solo early, but this sounds like they ran out of tape at the studio and said, screw it!

As if the songs weren't disappointing enough, the group's performances sound a lot like they're phoning it in. Howe's guitars are all over the place-- and not in a good way; his solos are sloppy, twangy, and as a general thing uninteresting. Jon's vocals lack energy, as does White's (as usual) unremarkable drumming. But, by far the worst offender of prog-fisted, uncreative, and TACKY playing is that saccharine stink coming from Mr. Wakeman's corner-- whose organs and synthesizer chime out what is, in my opinion, the WORST sounding keyboards ever. I hope Casio gets royalties from this album's sales, because every note the former maestro plays sounds as if it's coming from the cheesiest, cheapest, toy- store keyboard imaginable. Every moment of coolness the band begins is shattered as soon as he touches the keys. Fortunately, the incomparable Chris Squire retains some level of instrumental dignity, as he cranks out some fine bass grooves behind the scenes, especially when in the wah-wah feel of the group's early releases.

This really is the death-cry of THE classic prog-rock band, and should be listened to only to remind fans how amazing their other albums are.

Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 2 Lyrics/Vocals: 2 Style/Emotion/Replay: 2

Rejoice! Don't Kill The Yes!

I'm surprised to see so many people, even many people whose musical tastes I generally share, trash this album. I think this is an excellent album! Wakeman's keyboards are excellent and all over the place. The band allow themselves to have fun here, as opposed to on the very serious and classical sounding Going For the One album. Indeed, the slightly more cheerful feeling reminds more of Fragile than any other 70's Yes album.

I also feel that the five individual members are allowed equal space on this album. Steve's guitars and Rick's keyboards are given an equal amount of space. Rick even get a co-writing credit for the beautiful Madrigal (something unusual on Yes albums). Chris' bass is loud and bottom and sounds great (as usual). Jon's vocals are also great (as usual) and Alan hands in some great drumming.

In my opinion this is yet another fantastic Yes album, and I generally prefer it to the somewhat sterile Going For the One. There is no Awaken here, but the album as a whole is more consistent.

An underrated and often misunderstood album. Highly recommended!

I don't take this album in a great interest because half of those tracks, in my opinion, are horrible. 8- track Yes album without one epic, isn't a Yes album indeed. The maximum lenght of a song is 7 minutes, what are we talking about? It's not real prog stuff, art rock with a great reserve, middle- quality. I dissapointed in this, but it also has some excellent things.

Future times/Rejoice - vigolorus song, not bad for opening, melodic and not boring. 5/5 Don't kill the whale - singleof Tormato album, also not bad. Stylistic is charming, bass section is a real thing, one real thing this album can brag. 5/5 Madrigal - barocco style art song. Most dislikeble track 3,5/5 Release, Release - same thing as with Madrigal, but it's more melodic 4/5 Arriving UFO - booring one. Dislike this Wakeman's melodies 4/5 Circus of Heaven - booring too. Intro is kinda garbage. Best moment - between 3:05 and 3:59 4/5 Onward is a fantasic ballad by Cris. Love this song so much, hearing time after time, this album is obliged to this beautiful track! 5/5 On the Silent Wings of Freedom - my favourite on this tape! Fantastic bass riffs at the beginning. Intro as a instrumental medley is a great idea. Steve's guitar is not bad too. Good tempo of Alan and charming keyboards by Wakeman - this is a real treat for old Yes fan!!! 5/5

Average mark - 4,4, so it'll be 4 stars - excellent addition, no more.

Never understood the disdain for _Tormato_. A decent follow up to _Going For The One_. Yes get a little preachy on _Don't Kill The Whale_, but it was a great message for its time and in its current state - universally accepted that it's probably not a good idea to be killing whales(or any other creature for that matter) at the rate of extinction. _Future Time/Rejoice_ and _On The Silent Wings of Freedom_ both classic Yes tracks that should be included in any Yes concert for surprise purposes. _Onward_, gets my vote for best ethereal Yes track in their discography. Of note, if you're a fan of Mike Oldfield's excellent mid-80s period(QE2, Crises, Discovery), _Tormato_ is a precursor to Oldfield's '80s period to my ears (which I hold in high regard...Jon Anderson appearing on the aforementioned Oldfield LPs). Steve Howe's guitar is very snaky in an Oldfield-way(it's been noted his guitar sounds _kinda weird_ on TORMATO). That, in itself, should be worth checking out the underrated _Tormato_.

Look in the dictionary under 'Curate's Egg' and you'll see 'Tormato'. While the album as a whole is rightly panned by reviewers, parts of it are excellent. Thing is, reviewers disagree on which parts.

So, why is this album panned? Because, unlike any other YES offering before now, this album is far less than the sum of its parts. The band were in a musical vacuum, unsure of themselves, and had assembled a studioload of gimmicry to try to make a 'new' sound. WAKEMAN unveils the dubious Birotron, while SQUIRE squeezes out a rather unusual tone from his bass. Compositionally the album is the definition of uneven: three slabs of the direst cheese, a couple of rather schmaltzy ballads, two hard rockers and (thankfully) one mini-epic in the tradtional YES style. The resultant lumpy feel and sharp sound of the album is difficult to like.

A candidate, then, to be cherry-picked; the better tracks will end up on your own playlists, while the rest will be discarded. 'Future Times/Rejoice' and 'Onward' (barely) make my playlist, while the two rockers are a pleasant listen once in a while. The rest of the album never, but never, gets played.

Ah, but 'Future Times/Rejoice' is such a misleading start. The two-part track lasts less than seven minutes but, in my opinion, is every bit as wonderful as the epics from 'The Yes Album', 'Fragile' or 'Close to the Edge'. For the first time since that latter album CHRIS SQUIRE is asked to play his bass as the lead instrument, and HOWE and WAKEMAN do what they do best: fill in the gaps. ANDERSON abandons the banal, direct lyrics of the previous album and teases us with deliberate obscurism, even reminding us of their 'hit' 'Roundabout' with the line 'ten true summers long'. But it's SQUIRE who dominates: listen to the octave-length slides as the song opens in jubilant fashion. During the song his bass spits and growls like a cornered leopard, while WHITE propels the music forward with an honest beat. I repeat: for the first time since 1972 the band's music has that astonishing depth afforded by SQUIRE's work. Up and down his range he goes, The rumbling backing the 'Dantalion' lyric is echoed a moment later at the 'hot metal' lyric, and I adore the sound he makes as ANDERSON counts away at the conclusion of the song.

But it is with the too-brief 'Rejoice' that the teasing is done in earnest. What a marvellous bass line! Where has that YES funk been? For me, this under three-minute track beats anything else they did post-CTTE. WAKEMAN solos away shrilly, and the song comes to a satisfying conclusion. Time for one last immortal SQUIRE run at the 6:20 mark as he soars up the fret, and the song ends. There's not a more uplifting song out there.

Which makes what follows all the more unpalatable. 'Don't Kill the Whale' is execrable. The lyrics are the main culprit: prog rock is complex rock, and such unforgivably banal lyrics trivialise both the music and the subject. 'They worship their own space/In a moment of love, they will die for their grace', ANDERSON says about the whale. Oh, really?

'Madrigal' passes in two underwhelming minutes, and might have sounded quite nice as a moment of respite between epics on a better album, but here it's completely irrelevant. 'Release Release' reprises the 'Going For The One' sound, harsh and angular, but with SQUIRE again in evidence. No idea what the point of the drum solo and accompanying canned crowd noise is: a SPINAL TAP moment, perhaps? This has got to be tongue-in-cheek - one would hope, anyway. As an aside, HOWE turns in an excellent performance here, but the composition's not good enough to make me care.

Oh dear, what have we here? 'Arriving UFO' and 'Circus of Heaven' confirm my opinion that ANDERSON ought not to try to make sense. The first of these tracks is quite acceptable musically, but with this track and the next, as well as the 'whale' track, YES throw themselves into the New Age arena, all beads and incense, wide eyes and intensity and fervent belief. Fine, it's a legitimate belief, but not so naively expressed. And what's this about: one the one hand ANDERSON tells us not to mistreat the whale, but he waxes lyrical about a circus. Sorry, Jon, have a think about that one.

'Circus of Heaven' is plain embarrassing. We're a thousand miles removed from the heights of the opening track.

'Onward' is a pleasant ballad, spoilt somewhat by the orchestration, and features a gentle love lyric. Can't argue with that. And the album finishes with 'On the Silent Wings of Freedom', a very good rock track with SQUIRE and WHITE ripping out some good work and HOWE and WAKEMAN earnign their keep. The only trouble is, it's not a patch on what they are capable of compositionally.

Look, this isn't the worst music ever committed to vinyl, but there are some stinkers here that mean listening to this from start to finish is a chore. Seven fabulous minutes and another fifteen of interest isn't a great return, but it's a mark of the band's loss of their core identity that they couldn't produce anything better. Curate's egg, indeed. I still think it's worth it, but understand those who don't.

This is probably the most criticized album out of the ones YES released in the 70's. While I can see where most of those criticisms are coming from, I think the album is much better than it is given credit for.

The main problem with "Tormato" is in my opinion the lack of a coherent style in the songs, especially comparing the record with all the previous albums, even including the more-boring "Tales From Topographic Oceans". It's like the band members didn't know where they wanted to take the group now. At moments, it would look like they still wanted to continue on the progressive-rock path; there are other passages where the direction is clearly different. The band was at a breaking point, and it reflects on the music.

Not only does the disc lack a coherent style but the songs are of different, uneven quality. On one side of the spectrum we have good tracks like "Arriving UFO"," Future Time/Rejoice" or "On the Silent Wings of Freedom." On the other, we have mediocre songs like the ultimately baffling "Onward" or the pop-oriented but not-catchy-or-memorable "Don't Kill the Whale". And even in the good tracks there's no consistency. The one that opens the album is the best example: a short-epic split in two parts where the normal flow and musical connection between both is difficult to grasp.

The performances are, as always, very effective. Anderson's may be the weakest one, especially in "Don't Kill the Whale" (which also has poor lyrics that don't do the mammal any favor) and "Release Release" (a good song otherwise). Wakeman and Howe seem to lack chemistry in this album. Squire plays by the book. White delivers efficiently but unimpressively.

In the end, we're left with a flawed album that is actually enjoyable if listened to with low expectations. For fans of "Close to the Edge" or "Relayer" this record will be a disappointment. The right rating would be 2.5, and without that option I'll round up this time and give it three stars for the entertainment factor and the generally-satisfying performances.

Full 3 stars for me,indeed!What I can say for this album.The first one I want to mark is that the recording has sound close to poorness - I don't want to say that the songs are horrible,but the sound is something like blunt just like on Tales from Topographic Oceans.Of course,there is big difference between these two albums.Tormato is middle album;Tales from Topographic Oceans has music for a masterpiece and overall quality close to masterpiece!But the problem with the sound is almost the same.Tormato contains some fresh and special songs with good ideas.As whole it is weaker than other Yes' albums in terms of too many things,especially in the songwriting.I really believe it is a candidate for the weakest Yes' album of the 70s.But it still carries the energy of the previous giants.

Yes - 'Tormato' 2.5 stars

This album was the start of the inconsistency projected in the latter half of Yes's career.

While Yes was still able to retain all their members for the period of more than one album (since Close to the Edge), this one was a very shaky one. This album was documented as one where Yes was just unsure of themselves and differences became apparent even regarding issues of where to live. Some of the problems existed outside of Yes, like the absence of the essential producer of Eddie Offord. Taking his place were five different producers, coming and going at different times, really leaving the album unpolished and robbed of any potential.

Technical and personal issues aside, this album contained a few good numbers. Right off the bat with 'Future Times/Rejoice' and the hit 'Don't Kill the Whale' came out with some new and refreshed Yes taste. The album doesn't hit any points near the height of the first two besides the ending beauty 'On the Silent Wings of Freedom'. The track contains some of Chris Squire's best bass work, sometimes having a tone and style John Wetton used on King Crimson's 'Red'.

I can only recommend this to fans really, but the remaster with the bonus tracks is REALLY good. I am very surprised these songs didn't make it to the album, unless they were just not finished in time.

After so much evolution as a band, having constructed their own sound and produced masterwork after masterwork, it is a little strange to see the giant backward step Yes made with this disjointed album. Yes were almost back in the world of Time and a Word. Everything here lacks the majesty and substance of previous releases, and the production is muddy. Chris Squire's bass is swamped with effects and lacks the clear punch from prior recordings. The mixing sound more like what one would find on the bonus tracks on later releases of Yes classics. One highlight to this album is Rick Wakeman's synthesizer work, which rings out loud and clear. At best, it's decent rock music; at worst, it's comparable to the B-sides of a progressive rock band that's barely together.

"Future Times / Rejoice" Kicking off with a fairly exciting keyboard riff and some bass, Yes's ninth studio album shows promise. I've always enjoyed this song, and wouldn't mind seeing it performed live. It has an elevating vocal melody, and this is probably Anderson's best vocal performance on this album. I never cared for how "Future Times" goes right into "Rejoice." The two sections should have been separated, as they bear no relation to each other. The melody is awkward and the music jumbled together. After "Future Times," it's pretty safe to reach for the skip button.

"Don't Kill the Whale" This was a minor hit single, having a simple structure and an animal-friendly message. To me (and like many songs here), this one just doesn't sound like Yes, but it isn't a bad song.

"Madrigal" Wakeman's harpsichord meanders under Anderson's vocals. There isn't much to it, but it's brevity somewhat excuses that.

"Release, Release" This is one of the better tracks of the album, and has a similar feel as "Don't Kill the Whale," even if the composition is completely different. Alan White delivers a drum solo over the noise of a "screaming audience." I like that Squire gets some vocal time by himself on the bridge, and I enjoy the vocal melody quite a bit. In the end, the bass stands out (finally).

"Arriving UFO" This is the quirkiest on the album, but I don't really see the point in it. The vocal melody doesn't fit the music much at all. This music sounds like that of an amateur progressive rock band, and I could never get into it. The last part of it sounds like old video game music.

"Circus of Heaven" If the last song was the quirkiest, this is the second so. It's fun, but like most of the songs on the album, make it hard to take Yes seriously given their previous output. Guiltily, I'll admit to enjoying this song, even though it is far from a Yes classic. Anderson's son makes an appearance as the child speaker during the middle.

"Onward" This is a quiet song that has no variety whatsoever. It isn't bad by any means, but if one has heard what Yes is capable of on previous albums, the recording of this will remain a total mystery- Squire should have used it on a second solo album.

"On the Silent Wings of Freedom" Sadly, this is the closest to progressive rock Yes gets on this album. Squire finally steps into the spotlight as a bassist. This, however, is far from Anderson's best vocal performance, and Wakeman sounds a bit sloppy on his solos. This is some of the muddiest music Yes has ever done, and can be stressful to even listen to.

Art is all about perspective. Remember Tales? That album is a fine example of that notion... those who expect arguably meaningless diversions in a family-pack will love it; who see it with humbleness will label it as pretentious and boring.

Something similar happens with Tormato. In my opinion, it shouldn't be taken so seriously. Leaving aside all motif or reason to shorten the songs, make them more melodic or accessible than other Yes albums, it's quite a fine record. My advice to people in this ambit would be to review each album as an individual work; we seem to lose the temper and become biased as we compare albums like these to CttE or TYA... It's the same band, with a different direction. Would it hurt to look at it from a different angle as well?

Future Times opens up the game. The synths at the beggining already sound like celebration, the lyrics making the usual Jon Anderson trip into space kingdoms and melancholy ...the tears that separate. Rejoice makes a reference to the ten years of glory in wich each present member of the band had a good share, diving in changing seasons and the usual roundabout-charged metaphors.

Don't kill the whale has a quite catchy startup guitar riff, high and bluesy, not like the usual Howe stuff. The vocals seem kinda screechy at first (in fact the whole song seems to be) but after the first listen they are quite easy to digest, and they talk of holy beasts and the morality involved in taking part of their death. The high-pitched guitar solo and the (this is me making an assumption) keyboards from Rick echoing agonizing whales are the sort of love-or-hate kind of embellishment a song often gives a chance. They're okay by me, quite conceptual.

Release, Release opens in the tradition of the previous song, with a sort of bluesy kind of riff. This could be your daily Yes song from the Fragile era when the background wasn't always filled with (cool) synth stuff, if only it was a bit slower- paced. It's like Tempus Fugit and Heart of the Sunrise having fun in a motel (by candlelight).

Arriving UFO is a laugh, love the simple bass-line, and the lyrics are quite singular, depicting the belief in UFOs. The synths recreate the clumsy arrival of a spaceship.

I personally love the idea of Circus of Heaven, this one goes for the Yes purists. Look at this metaphor... A father shows the child The Circus of Heaven, an amazing, spectacular parade of chimeras and angles, and whatnot, your lifetime experience... However, by the end of the journey, the kid wonders where were the clowns and elephants. Yeah, the phoenix and the flying carpets were quite a thunder, but after all, where is all the fun? Where's the clown throwing pies at others' faces? You could safely say that Tormato is Yes throwing a pie at the Close to the Edge era... It's just a laugh, mates. A good one.

Onward is one of those beautiful, poetic love songs, cooked with a Yes recipe. On The Silent Wings of Freedom is by far the most prog track on the album, lengthy (though still not classic Yes lengthy) and complex, take it as a message of assurance, Yes hasn't lost it's virtuosity, even when going by the easy road.

Expecting nothing else but a fine record, Tormato delivers one. It's fun, it's cute and it's humble too. Yes purists, relax. As I see it, this is the band taking a break... You can't always demand the same formula, as good as it can be. This is Yes having a picnic. Labeling it as a masterpiece would obviously be going over the board, but otherwise, what's the real crime here, anyway? Having fun?

Tormato - from 1978 is an album not very well recived by Yes fans and not only by them. To me is a good album all the way, less intristing than previous ones, for sure, even less good than next one Drama, but still a pleasent album to listen. The progressive elements are still present on every piece, on some of them in bigger quantity, the musicianship is tight as always, nothing to complain about it. The keys of Wakeman are good, the voice of Anderson is not necesarly excelent, but is well done and enjoyble, the guitar of Howe made some intristing chops, so a winner to my ears. The year of 1978 was a turning point in many progressive bands,because of the punk and disco scene who were at the peak then, but Yes manage to release a good album, like their country fellows, Genesis, Jethro Tull, and many more. All the pieces to me are good with a plus one Don't Kill The Whale or Arriving UFO, the rest are also good. So a pleasent album to me, I don't understant why is treated so bad, the progressive music is still present making Yes to be still in business. 3 stars for sure, a good album that desearves a better view.

Roger Dean(Yes logo) + Hipgnosis(cover-work) = Tomato disaster!

After the highly acclaimed Going for The One, which was supposedly a return to their classic sound(Close to the Edge, Fragile), which I admit it is, but in my opinion in a much weaker strength in composition, came Tormato. Yes quality of composition in here is like the one of their first 2 albums, but the difference is that this one has the, sort-of, style of their classic Prog stuff, but just very weak elaborated and written, also this album being made after Relayer, Tales, CTTE, etc, also makes it highly dissapointing, though I usually don't take account on that.... Now to the songs:

Still something that reminds you a bit of the old Yes: These are 2 songs, the opener Future Times/Rejoice and the closer, On the Silent Wings of Freedom. As you may notice, they're also the longest songs in the album, though not ''really'' long, since the maximun they reach is the 7 minutes. Anyways, that's not really the point. The opener features a good/decent composition, with some time changes, but the musicianship as mentioned before really doesn't sound Yes. The awfull synths just are un-bearable. The rest is OK for Yes standards. Then, On The Silent Wings of Freedom, showcases a exciting bass intro, still the annoying synths are here, but the great bass work and classic Yes guitar-work makes this song the best of the album, as well as the only one memorable, though because of the album having such low quality, this song looks like ''WOW!'', but it really isn't, not even close.....

The rest of the songs are weak, not awfull, but weak, just un-inspiring, no good musicianship, NOTHING! It lacks of Yes' classic energy, well-thought compositions, and stunning solos.

I really have nothing more to say, their following album, Drama, is much better, with fresh ideas, and the great musicianship is back. I really can't recomend you this album, unless you want to collect all Yes albums....

2 stars

This is by no means a Yes classic, but I do also feel that it is a little underrated and unfairly vilified. There is still a great deal to enjoy on this album, made, of course, at a difficult time for many bands in the genre.

What doesn't help is the production, which is shocking and makes the band sound as if they are calling from a phone box in deepest Papua New Guinea. I also hate the album sleeve, and (sorry) the Amercanisation of the title itself.

As I said, though, there is still a lot to enjoy on the album. When Anderson soars with See it All, See it All, 'till Tomorrow, accompanied by Howe's guitar, you remember just why you love the band in the first place.

I really like Don't Kill the Whale, and not just because of the ecological message which now seems somewhat ahead of its time. It's simply a catchy tune well executed.

Madrigal sees Wakeman on form with a pleasant accompaniment to a slightly throwaway Anderson lyric. Release, Release, though, is a mess, almost as if the band were , ill advisedly, trying to jump on the revolutionary punk bandwagon. It doesn't work at all, sounds dreadful, and is utterly misplaced.

Arriving UFO starts the second side off, and is a particular obsession of Wakeman's. It is by no means a Yes classic, but I do like the Reach Out sequence at the end.

Circus of Heaven is, to me, the finest track on the album, even though it really is untypical of most of the band's output. I just love the concept of a little boy (Anderson's son contributed to the vocals and was probably no older than my son is now) seeing all of the wonders of the universe, beautifully sung by Anderson, parading past him and then expressing disappointment that there was no candy floss, toffee apples, or clowns! Who said that Jon didn't have a sense of humour?

Onward I find to be a fine love song, very much enhanced by the brass element augmenting Squire's gentle and fluid bass line. It is also a great track live.

And so to the last song, On the Silent Wings of Freedom, which is somewhat more in the vein of epic tracks of yore. The trouble is, though, it's a poor epic, far too messy and bitty to have a coherent whole around Squire's bass, Wakeman's somewhat lazy keyboards, and an understated vocal performance by Anderson.

This line up of the band disintegrated shortly after the resultant tour (when I saw them for the first time in the round), very upset and disillusioned with each other and the music business as a whole. Personally, the LP sounds to me as if they needed a break from each other, but I wish it hadn't taken quite so long for this lineup to come together again. However, the breakup did absolutely usher in a completely new era for the band, and one that would, eventually, augur in a completely new direction and success. That, however, is for another review!

Three stars - absolutely good, but non-essential.

This is probably the most underrated Yes album. In it, we see Yes with a different sound from the other albums... But that's not bad ! There are some great songs here. Let's see each one:

Onward: a calm song, almost... romantic ? Nothing compared to 'And You And I', but it's good. 3,9 stars.

Madrigal: clearly, a Wakeman song. We hear some influences of baroque music here, mainly by Rick's keyboards. A calm and melodic song, easy-listening... 4 stars.

On The Silent Wings of Freedom: it has an exciting rhythm, mainly by the fast drums and melodic bass. A 'shocking' song, with good lyrics. 4,3 stars.

Future Times/Rejoice: good synthesizer works and great vocals. A good rhythm. 4,3 stars.

Release, Release: a Rock-oriented song, it has great drumming from Mr. Alan White. It's very energetic and has some fast parts. The chorus is awesome, and the whole song is very melodic. 4,45 stars.

Circus of Heaven: the most beautiful song on the album, very melodic, catchy and childlike. The inclusion of the child voice (Jon's son) was well thought. Great song. 4,6 stars.

Don't Kill the Whale: one of the best songs on the album, for me. Great lyrics, great guitar solos and one of the best synthesizer solos of Wakeman, I really like the sound of that synth ! The song has a catchy beat, given by the drums and the bass. Great, 4,65 stars.

Arriving UFO: a nicely elaborate song, it has cool spatial effects. The keyboards and the guitar are awesome. Very interesting rhythms. The best tune on the record. 4,7 stars.

So, although it's not a masterpiece, it's a good album and deserves 4 stars. Bye-bye 70's, hello 80's...

I must enjoy Yes's body of work too much as I don't consider TORMATO the abyss that most claim it to be. I am willing to admit that ''Circus of Heaven'' is one of the corniest things they've ever done, and the keyboards and bass sound very different (respectively like butterflies and sewer water), but I'm not seeing a monumental failure here.

In particular, ''Future Times/Rejoice'' opens the album on a powerful chord. Poppy in feel, but very uptempo and relentless in that regard. Yes's attempts at unusual styles are probably what set off fans the most as they try Medieval music (''Madrigal''; sounds like Gentle Giant in a way), punk (''Release, Release'') and symphonic ballads (''Onward''; easily the weakest track). The overall rougher sound is annoying at first, but I've since gotten accustomed to it and learned to appreciate ''Don't Kill the Whale'' and ''On the Silent Wings of Freedom'' for what they're worth.

It's more awkward than previous Yes albums, but there's plenty of material to keep the prog fans interested.

Sherman, let's set the way-back machine for 1978. Yes has just released their latest LP, Tormato, and something is happening within the band. Yes, the troops are restless, and it's showing in their material. After a great return to form with 1977's Going For The One, the kids in the back seat are at it again. This time it's Jon and Rick who can't quite keep their eye on the ball, and we get this collection of disconnected and not quite exiting songs. There are a lot of GOOD moments, but just very few GREAT ones. And why does Wakeman insist on playing with such boring and lifeless keyboard voices ? Can't Rick be creative, or is he just too lazy ? Circus Of Heaven does not make sense on a Yes record, it should have been stuck on an Anderson solo LP where it would fit in ! Well, at least Chris' bass work is lively, and really picks up some of the slack left by those lay-abouts. Steve really shines too on Release Release and Don't Kill The Whale. Tormato is not an unpleasant listen, and is actually quite fun in spots. However, it's certainly not the Yes we came to know and love on their earlier masterworks like Fragile and Close to the Edge. And fortunately there were better days still to come !

Wow.

What can be said about this train wreck of good intentions. The entire record is lost in a morass of ideology and weak musical ideals. The album starts promisingly enough; Future Times is a song in classic Yes fashion, with noodly keys and guitars, quasi-cosmic lyrics, and thumping bass/drums...but quickly goes nowhere. Don't Kill The Whale is more of the same...promising start, but quickly devolving into banality despite the hot bass line. Naive lyrics which were charming in the early days of the band have become trite given the time of punk realism. Madrigal adds literally nothing to this mix. With Release, Release we have at least somewhat of a groovy tune which somewhat salvages the mood with some tunefulness with a great chorus. The next two songs are utterly tuneless, single-handedly almost demanding the punk revolution; Arriving UFO and Circus Of Heaven just plain suck (pardon my limited review, but no other words quite capture the lameness of these tunes). Onward does nothing to improve the mess, providing a quiet respite to the event. At the end we are provided some respite, as "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is actually quite a ripping tune in the classic Yes form. However, it proves too little, too late, as the damage has already been done.

If you are a hardcore Yes fan, you may take something away from this one...but this is certainly NOT for the uninitiated. 2 stars at best.

This is an odd place to start reviewing Yes's albums, but after a long period of time, I gave this one another listen and decided to write my impressions on it.

TRACK-BY-TRACK IMPRESSIONS

Future Times/Rejoice, that in its comparatively short 6 minutes contains all the distinguishable elements of Yes sound, opens the album. Not up to their best, but pleasing and worth the listen. Don't Kill the Whales catches your attention for the good guitar work. It's listenable but not particularly memorable - like Madrigal, that actually sounds very close to a song of the same name by Rush from Farewell to Kings. Release, Release is more of straight-forward rock and roll, also nice guitar, some strange and absolutely pointless crowd noises that confesses its intention - sound like Arena Rock. Arriving UFO and Circus Heaven doesn't really have much to display.

The greatest moment of the album, to me, is Onward, a beautiful ballad written by Chris Squire. One should listen to it not expecting the typical Yes, but judging it by what it proposes itself to be: a beautiful, moving love song, a task that it fulfills with honours, mostly because of Jon, in what I consider one of his best vocal performances, but also because it is very well-crafted as a whole: simple, yet nice lyrics, great melody and effective, minimalistic guitar that fits perfectly with the orchestration. Some have written that it is repetitive, but one should really pay attention to the details and try to catch the beauty of the instruments and its subtle variations. I feel it's really hard to keep indifferent to Jon's interpretation. "Well-crafted", actually, is an adjective that doesn't fit the rest of the album.

On the Silent Wings of Freedom, that follows and closes the album, is a completely different story. This one is supposed to be a classical Yes piece, yet it fails in everything those classical Yes pieces accomplishes: the bass might be technically impressive, but it's not captivating like others of Chris's works; Steve's guitar is pointless: it doesn't seem to fit in the song, like it was thrown in it randomly; and Jon's vocals, in clear contrast with the preceding song, sound strange and even off-key sometimes (or probably was it the whole band that was off-key). Many prog fans tend to applaud any song that is moderately long, has some tempo changes and sounds vaguely "epic". But really, this one is uninspired and can't be called a highlight only because tries be the most faithful to traditional Yes music: it pales in comparison to anything Yes recorded before in that genre, actually like most of the album

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

This album lacks cohesion, is a mix of disconnected songs that point in different directions hardly arriving anywhere. Of the musicians, I can highlight Steve's guitar and Jon's always sharp vocals, and it's no coincidence that when they both fail, in the final track, everything else falls apart. Most of the songs are never entirely good, and eventually it's Steve who saves the day.

The clear highlight is Onward, probably because it's the one song with a clear identity that doesn't sound like a parody of classic Yes, and sounds like they really put some thought in to it. Future Times/Rejoice is also a good moment. But then only three (maybe) good but (certainly) flawed songs and three disappointments - very little accomplishments for a band like Yes. So I give it 2 stars, but don't miss the chance to listen to it at least once to check out Future Times/Rejoice and Onward. Maybe you might even like On the Silent Wings of Freedom too.

From a classic Yes line-up an album which is not a classic, but essential to all Yes fans.

I have always liked everything they have released. That's not to say that all of their albums are great, but that I have not disliked a single one of them. Tormato is no exception. Coming after the magnificent Going for the One Tormato might seem to be a great disappointment, but to me it's not.

The sound of the album is quite similar to GFTO but with a bit lighter tone in the production as well as in the compositions as well. All of the songs are less than 8 minutes long, and it even contains a minor hit single (Don't Kill the Whale).

Tormato contains some great songs like Future Times/Rejoice, Don't Kill the Whale, Release Release and the absolute highlight On the Silent Wings of Freedom. Madrigal is a nice short ballad in the vein of Wonderous Stories but there are some weaker songs like Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven. They are not bad songs by any stretch, but weaker than the rest of the bunch here.

I personally like this album much, like almost any other Yes album, but like I said in the beginning, Tormato is really not essential unless you're a Yes fan. For others, it's good but non-essential. Therefore 3 stars while for me it's 3,5 stars.

Where Yes' previous albums fell on the right side of the Edge, this one stumbles over it in a quite disgraceful way. The songwriting is very mediocre at best. Short songs without much of a hook or melodies worth remembering.

It doesn't start all too bad though. Future Times, Don't Kill the Whale and Madrigal had the potential to be decent tracks. However, Wakeman chose to butcher each one of them with the most pointless drivel he ever got out of his annoying mosquito-moogs. Even in 1978 that moog sound had been dated for ages.

Release Release is interesting for the slight punk vibe it has in the verses, similar to how the Police would sound later. But they kill it again with a terrible bridge and chorus. Arriving UFO is another directionless track with very bad melodies. And don't get me started on that synthesizer again. On Circus of Heaven and Onward, Anderson comes up with a better melodies but it hardly feels like Yes material.

The first 3 minute of Silent Wings sound promising but they spoil it after 3.30 minutes with nasty breaks and modulations that are completely disjointed from the verses.

I'm a bit between 2 and 3 stars. If you could make me a remix with all of Wakeman's parts left out, I might end up with 3. Oh, and spare yourself the extra tracks of the re-issue if you don't want things to get too shameful.

Yes had gone pretty much as far as the could figure out how to on Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans, and Relayer. On Going For The One, they proved that they knew how to write music of various moods quite excellently.

They found themselves in '78, being regarded as dinosaurs as the musical landscape shifted away from progressive rock, yet fully accomplished in the genre they had been a huge part of. So what did they do? The made Tormato.

With 8 tracks, this album had the most songs since Fragile, although this time they are all band pieces (unlike fragile, which was 4 full on songs and five solo pieces). All the songs are short, with On The Silent Wings of Freedom being the longest at just under 8 minutes. For sure, Yes had decided to play a little differently this time.

What we find here is a bit more playful Yes than we had had before. They had proven all that they could do, so were free to play around a bit more with lyrical themes that might never have graced previous Yes albums...lyrical things where the lyrics were more 'concrete' than "A seasoned witch can rearrange your liver", "High Vibrations Go On", or "Chased amid fusions of wonder." Instead, Yes find themselves singing about saving the environment, love, and a Circus from Heaven.

This gives the album its own charm, but makes it far less essential than the previous 6 Yes albums. The opener, Future Times/Rejoice, is a nice upbeat song that is always fun to hear but never really leaves much of an impact when it's over. Don't Kill The Whale features Yes singing to save the environment, including Jon Anderson singing "Dig It, Dig It" (no blame could be placed on any Yes fan surprised by this). Madrigal is a nice acoustic piece that, again, does not leave much of an impact after it's over.

Release Release is another nice, upbeat track, about similar in quality and feel to Future Times/Rejoice. This is a song that is simply about the joy of Rock and Roll, and shows that Yes, despite all that they had done before, really appreciated standard rock and roll music. It even features an audience cheering in the middle, reflecting the connection between performer and listener.

Yes gets a little silly with the next couple of tracks, Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven. Any Yes fan who had spent hours bragging to his friends about why Yes' incomprehensible lyrics and amazing musicality made them awesome probably did not show either of these songs to those that they had bragged to, for they are pretty much the opposite of those tracks. Fun little tunes, although again they don't leave much of an impact, and they even feel a little awkward. Circus of Heaven features a cameo by Jon Anderson's son, Damien, at the end, which is somewhat cute but again must have come as a huge surprise to Yes fans who loved their previous work.

Onward, the next song, is probably the song that's most explicitly a love song that Yes has written since Steve Howe joined the band. It is pleasant and one of the better songs they penned in this era, although not the best version of the song.

On The Silent Wings of Freedom is a rocking track with catchy bass lines (which Chris Squire would feature in the WhiteFish solo section of their concerts in the future). Overall, it does not quite do as much as any recent Yes song that has been around the 10 minute mark since they released The Yes Album.

The best songs are probably Don't Kill The Whale, Onward, and On The Silent Wings of Freedom. The ironic part is that, the versions of Don't Kill The Whale and Onward on this album are not the best, and On the Silent Wings ... is far from essential. Live versions of Don't Kill The Whale is much more powerful live; check out the 'Live at Montreux 2003' version. Onward is pleasant here, but it is beautiful live on Keys to Ascension 1, where it is dominated by Steve Howe's guitar rather then Rick Wakeman's keys.

If you are a fan of Yes, this album could be a great listen, although it will not follow any preconceived notions about what a Yes album was up to this point. If you are not, there really isn't anything so great in this album that you should purchase it.

Yes had lost it with this album. The main problem with this album is that most of the lyrics are completely usless from most points and do not reflect anything from previous albums. The music is okay, but the production isn't very good. Thank god their next album was Drama, if it wasn't for that album and the following studio album, Yes probably won't exist anymore today with their popularity. The lineup is pretty classic, Jon Anderson (Lead Vocals), Chris Squire (Bass guitar, backing vocals), Steve Howe (Guitarist, backing vocals), Alan White (Drummer) and Rick Wakeman (Keyboards) which is probably one of the best lineups for yes, the same lineup that created Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973) and Going for the one (1977), but they made this album, which is to say, subpar.

The album starts with a decent opener. "Future Times/Rejoice" is pretty good. The lyrics are a little odd, but some of the best from the album. The music is very good here, though the guitar and keyboard sounds get a little annoying for me. First off, the guitar is very thin sounding to me, and it just dosen't sound like the good old Steve we know. The bass guitar is pretty awesome for this song, Chris is pumping some good effects and good harmonies with Jon and Steve. Alan plays a good military-style drum beat. "Don't Kill the Whale" is a very good non-prog song (in fact, most of this album isn't prog at all!) it clocks in at four minutes, and its filled with some great soloing by Steve, and some cool basslines. The lyrics are really wierd, well, they are great for an animal protest song, which is what this song it. Rick plays some really "different" keyboard soungs on this track, but they sound really cool to me. "Madrigal" is really short, but incredibly sweet. Its by far the best song besides the last track. The lyrics are definatly excellent, and Jon plays the harpsichord on this track! Its song great playing by him, and it makes the track unique. The vocals are very good, and the guitar is very good, not much I can say about this two minute track other than its awesome. "Release, Release" is a different song, its kind of cool though. The lyrics are honestly terrible, but I can stand that, though the vocals aren't great either, the overall music is alright. Chris isn't playing a Rickenbacker 4001 like he has been playing for a very long time. The bass tone he is getting is much more bottom-end, without much distortion or effects like his usual sound. I'm sure it might be his Fender Jazz Bass that he plays a few times around this era. Rick plays some mean keyboards, but the guitar is definatly lacking. "Arriving UFO" is one of the wierdest and worst tracks on here. It's wanna be futuristic sound, and its so wierd. The lyrics are absolutly terrible, nothing very speicial to me, and not very futuristic to me, like the music. The piano should not be in this track, it kind of ruined it a little bit. The vocals are alright though. "Circus of Heaven" is another silly track, the bass guitar and the drums are the only good thing about this track. Everything else is really uplifting and odd. The lyrics are silly and wierd, the guitar is very uplifting and odd to me, its just an odd and silly track to me. I don't get uplifted by this track because of the lyrics, though. "Onward" is a good track, its very sad. The piano into is really depression and somewhat scary. The vocals are very good on this track, and the lyrics are acutally very nice here. The guitar is very good, Steve at his best on this part of the album. "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is very good, another great track. The music is definatly excellent. The guitar part is great, and the keyboards and guitar are simply stunning for this song. The vocals are great for this song too, but the lyrics, again, are really odd for this type of song.

There are some moments where this album is excellent, really good, and there are a lot of moments where this album is terrible. There are too many terrible spots to give it anymore than a one star rating. I love Yes, but this is the only album I can't stand.

Yes is one of the colossus of progressive rock with a really long history of ups (really high ups) and downs (surprisingly low downs) and it is commonly accepted that their highest moment started in 1971 (The Yes Album) and ended in 1977 (Going For the One), although they produced some fine albums before (Yes and Time and a Word) and after (Drama, The Ladder, Keystudio, Magnification, etc.) of this so called "golden era". Tormato is the second and last album for more than a decade of one of the most acclaimed formations of the band because of their classic masterpiece Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973,my personal favorite) which reformed after the recording of Tales... result of the substitution of Wakeman by Patrick Moraz (after Wakeman left unhappy with the recording). After almost four years of a highly successful solo career (with the production of albums such as The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur... and The Criminal Record), the "Wizard of Keyboards" returned to record the great Going for the One album.

In 1978 as a follow up of Going For the One the lineup of Jon Anderson (vocals), Chris Squire (the only constant member of Yes on bass and backing vocals), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Alan White (drums) and Steve Howe (guitars) , released Tormato which was received with high expectations which weren't completely fulfilled, hence it isn't as highly regarded as its predecessor and Tales from Topographic Oceans.

This album represents the transition between Yes' "golden era", which is considered to end with Going for the One, and the not so acclaimed more accessible and radio oriented 80's era (with the exception of Drama). Here we have a mix of 100% progressive rock pieces and some less prog oriented songs.

The most progressive songs are: Future Times/Rejoice, On the Silent Wings of Freedom, Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven.

And the "transitional" (I don't know how else to call them) songs are: Don't Kill the Whale, Release Release, Onward and Madrigal.

Future Times/Rejoice: is one of the few definitive progressive rock songs on this album and one of the closest to the "classic" Yes sound. It is dominated by great keyboard riffs courtesy of the "Cape Crusader" accompanied by a prominent bass and Jon Anderson's beautiful and esoteric vocals with the addition of some excellent guitar licks. 4

Don't Kill the Whale: is quite a nice song with some uninteresting and sometimes cheesy lyrics about (as the title announces) preventing the killing of whales. Anderson's vocals are the focal point of the song with some guitar soloing by Howe and a good support by the rest of the band. 2.75

Madrigal: a great ballad starring Wakeman on harpsichord and Anderson's characteristic "esoteric" vocals with some support by Howe on some acoustic guitars. 3.25

Release, Release: a fun upbeat song with some decent performances by the band (specially by Squire), somehow similar to Don't Kill the Whale's general atmosphere. Far away from Yes' characteristic sound. 3.25

Arriving UFO: here the band is closer to the progressive rock sound but still distant from what they did during the early and mid 70's. This is an odd song with some hints of their previous style but dominated by a weird keyboard sound by Wakeman. 3.5

Circus of Heaven: in the odd progressive vein of the last track the band presents a good performance with some more weird sounds and lyrics. 3.5

Onward: an amusing ballad that could fit better on an Anderson solo album with an instrumental background to the typical Anderson lyrics. 3.25

On the Silent Wings of Freedom: is the most progressive song of the album. Its highlight is Squire's bass playing, while Anderson and Wakeman have done better. At the end is a very well accomplished piece of music but is still far from their best. 4

Total: 3.44

This album shows a band in transition looking for some radio attention (which they got with Don't Kill the Whale) but still wanting to keep their progressive roots. It has lots of potential and could've been better but it is not bat at all. (and it is probably the reason of the split of the band after this and a completely new lineup for Drama just preserving Chris Squire and Steve Howe in the band)

3 stars for a not so well accomplished album by one of the pillars of prog and one of my favorite bands. Recommended after getting all the previous Yes discography, Drama, The Ladder , Keystudio (and/or Keys to Ascension) and Magnification... at the end is worth having....

Well, the infamous Tormato. Every Yes fan has an opinion good or bad or mixed. For me, this is a mixed album. Some great classic songs, some okay material, and then some Jon Anderson frufru songs thrown in. I really like Future Times, Rejoice, Don't Kill the Whale, Release Release, and The Silent Wings of Freedom. I find these to be solid Yes songs. Onward bores me although it is not really terrible. Madrigal is acceptable but nothing great. The rest is wasted on me. WAY too much happy/elfin Jon Anderson music for me. I have never really been a huge ANderson solo fan and Circus of Heaven and Arriving UFO remind me of solo Anderson too much. Plus, they are just plain dumb lyric wise. So, overall, because of the good songs I would give this a 3.5 stars (3 stars)

AWHHH!!!

'Never judge a book by its cover' so they say, but in this case it is absolutely correct. What were they thinking? Where are the beautiful Roger Dean covers? Yes is one of my absolute favourite bands. Ever since listening to the first few minutes of Close To The Edge way back circa 1975 I have been enthralled by their brilliant musicianship (no matter what line up) and song craftsmanship, but this effort is terrible. Jon Anderson's 'lovey dovey' awefull lyrics are just too much on this album. The songs are weak and uninspiring and this album leaves me cold. The only song worthwhile listening to is 'Don't Kill The Whale' with Chris Squire's 'over flanged' bass line sounding brilliant. If this was your first Yes album that you have listened to, please please do yourself a favour and have a listen to ANY other Yes album other than this one. .

Yes' entry into the rather depressing 1978 sweepstakes among long time prog groups is situated in the middle of the pack. Flashes of former brilliance are not hard to find, but they may be somewhat outnumbered by failed attempts to adapt to the scene inundated by punk and then new wave.

The album begins relatively strongly with "Future Times/Rejoice" and "Don't Kill the Whale". Particularly in the latter, all members rock out convincingly in an ode to conservation. Wakeman even approximates whale sounds on his solo, and if you were studying biology back then you would have been impressed that the group at least knows the scientific classification for these beasts. One of the other strengths of "Tormato" is the variety of tempos, with pleasing mellower cuts like the entirely acoustic "Madrigal" and the romantic "Onward" contrasting with the generally high pitched activity.

On the downsides, some of the melodies could use a little work, like "Release Release" and "Approaching UFO", and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" should have stayed instrumental throughout its length, as it simply doesn't stand as a song. Also, and this is sort of an insult and a compliment to both bands, but the tinny synthesizer slapstick, apart from sounding uncomfortably like contemporary STYX, remind me of ELOY on their backsliding 1983 album "Performance". In other words, it took ELOY 5 more years to succumb to the vagaries of the times, but when they did they did so by adapting 1978 YES!

Not quite the attack of the killer tormatoes some would have you believe, this YES release is a very weak 3 star effort.

UPDATE: Another overly-harsh review that doesn't correspond with the "good but non-essential" rating. The 'half-decent' tunes I mention, are in fact entirely decent, I like them in a different way to the seriously proggy earlier stuff. But my opinions on the bad tracks remain full of criticisms and tomato-related puns.......

REVIEW: You say tomato, I say Tormato, lets call the whole thing off...

I wrote in my 'Going for the One' review that that album was an example of Yes trying to expand their audience without forgetting they were a symphonic prog band. This rotten record shows the band THROWING PROG OUT OF THE WINDOW and attempting to get "down with the kids". As you would expect for the creators of 'TFTO', it fails. When Rick Wakeman threw that piece of fruit, he sure as hell hit the right album with it. I mean, there are some very occassional juicy parts, namely 'On the Silent Wings of Freedom' and 'Arriving UFO'. But these are outnumbered by the pips.

'Don't Kill the Whale' was a respectable single with an important message, and is thus forgivable. 'Release Release' is quite well executed too. It's the softer, squidgier songs that turn me off. Particularly the irritatingly sweet 'Circus of Heaven'. No prog-head can digest such fruit. With regards to the popular 'GFTO' again, that album opened up to the world of shorter songs, but remained relatively progressive. So by this point Yes had two roads ahead of them. Unfortunately, 'Tormato' continues down the commerical road, waving goodbye to anything tasteful. Why is it cringeworthy? Because it wants to be commercial but isn't. I mean, if Yes had knocked the Beegees of the no. 1 spot, then their commercial change in direction would have been justified. But even the disco-digging general public ignored 'Tormato'.

Splat. The filler is abundant in this "bad fruit". A few songs on here are potential prog epics. Their potential was never realised. For those half-decent longer tunes, and the guilty pleasures on here: 3 stars.

I've been a big Yes fan for over 30 years, so decided on an album that makes me crazy for my first review. For me Tormato is one of those albums that should have been left in the studio. The almost classic line up (Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, and White) put in a lifeless, passionless effort here. There are a few moments of good material, but I find most of it boring or unlistenable. 1-Future Times/Rejoice-Wakeman's high-pitched keys are very distracting and the song sounds like poor left overs from Topographic Oceans. 2-Don't Kill the Whale-great message and okay song, attempt at a short form, radio playable hit. 3-Madrigal-nice melody at times, but overall a nondescript piece that is forgettable. 4-Release, Release- The intro is a tease of something good to come, has some interesting guitar work, but it doesn't deliver. As soon as the verse comes in we get Steve Howe playing 3 chord 50's/60's era rock riffs. Please, that's not what I want from a yes album. 5 and 6-Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven-perhaps 2 of the worst Yes songs ever from this line up. I find both unlistenable and very annoying. 7-Onward-a beautiful melody and a song that has some emotion. One of the bright spots on this album. 8-The Silent Wings of Freedom-Best track by far. Good playing, interesting music, and a strong finish to what was a poor album.

It is unfortunate, at least for me, that this followed the rather strong and enjoyable Going for the One. When this line up stayed together after that album I had hoped for an interesting and exciting project, but got a rotten tomato instead.

As the bass riff from "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" invaded my consciousness, even as the opening guitar part rocked my world, I was blissfully unaware of the fact that I was supposed to be taking Yes "oh so seriously really". Add an impatiently frenetic and bouncing tenor vocal line and I naturally thought 'what's not to like'? When Jon sang "dig it", I "dug it"! All of it. From the Arriving UFO's to the under-appreciated unicorns and the hunted whales, I totally "dug it".

For, as I'm sure you've surmised by now, Arriving UFO was my introduction to the arpeggios of the mighty Rick Wakeman. Future Times/Rejoice was my introduction to the curiously odd phrasings of Jon Anderson. Tormato was my first introduction to "Yes"!

Even the much maligned "Circus of Heaven" created an ambient tapestry of fantasy and wonder not entirely unlike "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Rather than deride it as inane, I still contend that the song makes a valid observation about how our own immaturity can result in us missing a bigger picture of wonder and amazement all around us.

OK. I'll readily admit that just as certainly as I benefitted from first hearing this album without carrying any burden of lofty expectations based upon past masterpieces, I now am somewhat handicapped by hearing it with a shortage of objectivity regarding its rightful place in the band's discography.

To me, Tormato is - and always will be - "Good to the last Splat". But someone tell me please! What is the name of the A&R Rep who approved that album cover?

Tormato Rare album to actually lend credit to the 'I just couldn't make myself listen to it more than once to make this rushed knee-jerk reaction review' standpoint. The name itself is, or should be, a combination of torment and the ancient Sanskrit word for festering yet shiny dung. Obviously the band would be much too technically gifted to produce an utterly meritless turd if it weren't for the combination of terrible production and serious lapses in taste on the part of every band member.

Wakeman is here shinier and generally less pleasing than an arse-pimple. Squire has somehow acquired an utterly vapid, gutless tone, White's bag of tricks are a cheap and transparent plastic covering thrown over the stained furniture of the album's rhythms, Howe is more or less unremarkable and his trademark tones are draped over directionless parts. Anderson's chant-y and rather unmemorable melodies are here slammed into a number of songs with no real focal points, which robs most of his power. While Yes have hardly been the example par excellence for hard-hitting lyrics which are simultaneously accessible and guttural, Anderson's lyrics have never been so insufferably dumb or lazy as Tormato's and nor are the vocal arrangements very special.

The ultimate failure of Tormato doesn't come down to any failure by any particular member, but to the fact that everyone (except White, who's trying as hard as possible not to impress us) is trying to show off simultaneously with no particular concern for the actual songs. And the production and tone choices mean that all these separate half-arsed attempts to impress us fall flat in an overly busy mess. Future Times/Rejoice is an upbeat little number with a bit of vaguely countrified drumming and hideously messy and shiny production. The synth choices are hardly great, and Wakeman somehow manages to make even the organ sound wimpy. On the plus side, you can look forward to the Future Times when Tormato will have stopped.

Don't Kill The Whale. 'Our last heaven-beast' is sadly betrayed by Jon's moodless and thoughtless writing. Much as it's become the figurehead for the album's criticism because modest commercial success from short songs isn't OK, I genuinely think it represents the album's best musically. Fairly punchy, hilarious harmonies and a sort of balance within the piece that's not really around anywhere else here. Also, whatever you think of the song, Anderson singing 'dig it dig it' could've made music hall.

Madrigal comes from another world where Yes aren't the world's most tasteless band in 1978. Harpsichord, lush classical guitar and Anderson's vocals fit together very well. If 'Celestial travelers have always been here with us', they're probably now leaving early with a mumbled excuse and downcast eyes pretending not to know mystic J.

Release, Release ? the instrumental noodling will probably be considered a highlight, and for moments it's not that bad ? the transition at about 4 minutes in is pretty cool, the opening is solid, Squire has some funky bass near the end. Howe doesn't really pull off rock and roll, and added cheering doesn't lighten a bland drum solo or make it feel live.

Arriving UFO. Wakeman's uncharacteristic bit of organ echo fiddling lightens this unmemorable bit of trite Anderson writing. On the plus side, hilarious and the aforementioned organ. On the minus, the chorus melodies and a lot of the writing is banal.

Circus Of Heaven ? the inclusion of a child's voice deflating Anderson's maddening list of adjectives was slightly funny, but the song is otherwise pretty unredeemed. Anyway, using irony does not a good song make.

Onward: a bit of supple vibrato doesn't disguise a very boring melody and a general lack of instrumental writing. The keyboards (presumably Wakeman) are admittedly a fairly uncanny imitation of a dire over-orchestration.

On The Silent Wings Of Freedom is not a lost classic, nor is it really progressive rock of the calibre we expect from Yes. The awfully thin (as much the fault of the production as anything) rhythm section focussed opening is redeemed only by a couple of Howe's more liquid solos though neither of these seem to actually be aiming anywhere.

The problem with the whole is that there's nothing remarkable, surprising or (thank god) particularly memorable about Tormato. The problem with the individual parts is that they are, basically, Yes parodying itself.

Save the somewhat redeemed Don't Kill the Whale and Madrigal, an awful, awful album that the die-hard Yes fan will buy anyway. Recommended for anyone working on an incentive program to stop online piracy. Another positive thing about Guantanamo Bay's closure is that this album no longer has a place in the civilised world.

Rating: One Star. But not a very shiny star. 4/15 Favourite Track: Madrigal or Don't Kill The Whale

"No Clowns"??? well, how interesting, I hear no less than *five* of them on this record!

I apologize for this perhaps a bit disrespectful title for this review of a record by perhaps The #1 Musical Love of My Youth, but I well remember my utter disappointment at my first hearing of Tormato, especially after its fantastic predecessor, Going For The One, which is still among my Top Three of Yes Albums Of All Time (and I'm pretty sure it's there to stay forever).

The 22 years-period after its release hasn't manage to soften my opinion for all that much. It's not that it's "bad", it isn't. But the whole of it does come across as a final, somewhat forced, attempt from an uninspired, and even tired band. Apparently, the sheer joy of the reunion with Rick Wakeman, which was so very apparent on Going For The One had waned (for various reasons as I've read - Wakeman had become a Swiss Tax Exile by then, to name just one of those) - the usual fire and passion that makes up for the best of Yes' efforts is just blatantly absent on this one.

Looking at the credits, you could already notice the upcoming crack between Anderson and Wakeman on one side, and Squire, White and Howe on the other one, and it also shows in the performances - or should I say, the presence? - of either of these two rivaling Yes Squads on this album. The only one who really seems to have his heart present on this album, is Anderson. For the better, but sadly enough, for the worst parts of it as well.

Strangely enough, Anderson and Wakeman still manage to come up with the best part, the gorgeous ballad Madrigal, clocking in at a mere 2:23 minutes. This intimate acoustic little song is just lovely, with Wakeman on the harpsichord and Howe on Spanish Guitar, neither of them falling into any kind of an overdose-trap. Anderson's warm lead vocal, and not to forget Squire's great background vocals (what a fantastic sense of harmonies that guy always has!) deserve a mentioning for the positives of Tormato as well.

I also like Release, Release, which may sound strange, as it is in its essentials no more than a straight-forward rock song (no wonder with Squire/White being on the credentials list) - but it works out well, despite the silly fake live concert-audience sounds being mixed in somewhere halfway. Alan White (by far the most underrated Yes member of all times) does a great job on his drum kit here. At least the band sounds a bit fired up in this one, and Anderson does very well on the vocals. I especially like his jazzy modulation on the final "Power at first to the needs of each others days..."-part (whatever those lyrics may mean, but hey, that's a question one should never ask about any of Anderson's lyrics...).

But then. The BAD side. I will refrain myself from summing up every glitch, but there are a few that truly deserve a mentioning. Arriving UFO, with its completely uninspired 'disco'-bleep bleeps keyboard sounds from Wakeman. The Birotron? Please get rid of that horrible thing at the nearest pawn shop, Rick!

And thereafter - the absolutely dreadful Circus of Heaven. Too saccharine for comfort - don't even try to listen to this if you happen to have any form of caries, you will find yourself forced to run to dial your dentist immediately. Might I be as nasty to rename this Anderson-debacle of a 'song' as "Everything You Never Wanted To Hear From Jon Anderson And Then More"??? Fortunately, he decided to keep this kind of garbage reserved for his solo-albums over the decennia that followed this album, so I could happily manage to avoid it ever thereafter! "No Clowns". No kidding, I mean. Literally!

In earlier, happier, times in Yes' career, there used to be one Mr. Chris Squire, the ultimate Beast-on-the-Bass, to be able to balance the score on the Anderson Whimpy Airy Fairy- factor. Alas. Not on this one. His Onward is a decent ballad - intimate and friendly, and it works out well (especially the vocals, no surprise, as Anderson and Squire make a wonderful tandem for that matter), but makes no difference to the overall 'subdued' feeling about Squire's performance on this album.

I've seen many people hail Squire's On the Silent Wings of Freedom as being the 'saviour piece' on this album, but alas - nope. It indeed starts off very promising, but ends up getting stuck up in that same one-way-alley as most of the other material, with that awful "lalala"-chorus popping up at the conclusion of it. A failed attempt at an 'epic', no other words to describe it. Too bad.

As you can see, I only reviewed the official 1978-release here, not the re-releases with bonus-stuff. I have heard them, though, but as it wasn't at all capable of changing my opinion, I won't bother to comment on it. Of those, only B-side Abilene is worth a friendly mentioning.

Well, the verdict seems pretty clear to me here. Yes, Tormato surely has its moments, but NO, it doesn't at all stand up to the levels of what anyone might have expected after the marvellous Going For The One. As I myself consider a three stars-rating (meaning: GOOD!, just a reminder for all you folks who give out 3-, 4- and even 5-stars ratings like confetti) way too high for this one, a two stars-rating seems appropriate, but only because of the appearance of Madrigal and some other slight positives that I've managed to discover. If it weren't for those, the verdict would indeed have been "for completionists only", aka, one star.

In hindsight, 20/20-vision, the clear sign of the upcoming Downfall of one of the greatest progrock bands ever. But no misunderstandings, I still give it a turn-or-two, at times. It's still YES. Draw your own conclusions...

Tormato is a good album with interesting songs like Release Release but it's not the better Yes album I saw. It's surely better than Big Generator or 90125 as I think and in overall better than Drama but it's not Close to the Edge or Relayer at all. I enjoyed two songs particularly: Release, Release and Arriving UFO. The rest of the album never hit me with interest but was not bad. When I first heard of the album, I was a bit excited because it was the album after the incredible Going for the One but it eas only a bit disapointing.

It's a good album with a lot of so-so tracks. It can be really dispointing.

I would say this album is slightly worse than the previous (which I do not hold in high regard) ,mainly because it does not have anything to match "Awaken". Like that, this had one good and one dodgy side.

SIDE ONE

The album starts in fine style with "future times/ rejoice" which I consider an overlooked gem in their catalogue. It seems to be refreshingly in more of an authentic Yes soundworld than side one on "Going for the one". This pair of tracks actually has some proper progressive moments but it perhaps seems unnaturally foreshortened. Certain parts sound if they needed to be expanded for fullest impact.

"Don't kill the whale" is an enjoyable little song; inventive in its own way. It continues Anderson's obsession with the marine mammals but on a greatly different scale to TFTO!

"Madrigal" is a beautiful miniature, similar to, but better than "turn of the century" unfortunately too brief.

"Release, release" revives the rock radio-friendly sound of the previous album. Its not a bad song, with song ideas but has some blandness about it partially production, partially performance.

SIDE TWO

This is where the problems start. "Arriving UFO" is a 6 minute oddity. The vocal melody is attractive but the accompaniment is awful. There are contrasting harder instrumental passages that do not really cohere. Then a strange romantic tune on electric guitar. Just when we had thought this had finished, it returns. For another 2 minutes.

This UFO appears to have brought "The circus of heaven" with it. This track is even worse, one of the lowlights of Yes's career. About this embarrassment, little needs to be said.

"Onward" is better, a decent song albeit with a show-tune feel about it. Unfortunately the performance is insipid and the song had to wait decades for a good live version. The addition of sentimental violins and french horn does not help.

So far side two has been by far the worse cut of any Yes album to date. However this side does have one redeeming feature. "On the silent wings of freedom" begins with a lengthy jam (not the best and rather tinnily recorded) before resolving into a big guitar tune. Then Anderson arrives and sings a powerful vocal tune. So far so good. Then the chorus hits. This has the Buggles-like banality which is a foretaste of their next album "Drama". The chorus simply does not fit the rest.

OTSWOF is the best track on side two, but far from being a YES classic. I certainly remember that it was not sufficient to make my listen to the side two stinker of this album.

rating for original album 2.5 (4 for side one, 1 for side two)

BONUS TRACKS

"Abilene" is lacklustre, with the faintly aspirational lyrics of the coming decade. "Money" is a lively rockabilly number but with an annoying voice over by British chancellor Dennis Healey (voiced by Rick Wakeman) in the background over the whole track. "Picasso" sounds like a solo Jon Anderson track. These three tracks if anything, decrease the rating of the album, since they add up to 10 minutes of boredom. "Some are born" also sounds like a Jon Anderson solo, but with memorable vocal line, a bit like his work with Vangelis. But the song sounds unfinished. "You can be saved" is much the same, Anderson singing over a lush synth 'halo' behind him. It sounds unfinished, but the song is a good one. Either of this two songs deserved more a place on the album than the execrable "circus of heaven". The following "high" is a lacklustre rocker, distantly recorded. "Days" is simply Anderson alone singing a vocal line which seems vaguely familiar. It lasts 1 minute. "Countryside" is an attractive song which begins interestingly with slowly strummed guitar chords. Badly recorded again. So far nothing remotely progressive but "everybody's song" starts with a wandering bass before going into "does it really happen" (sung by Jon Anderson) which appears on the next album (not sung by Anderson). This 6 minutes appears to be a run though of ideas without being fully formed. "Hidden track". The gimmick of having a 'hidden track' at the end of bonus material added to a 30 year old album is very tiresome. In this case it is sentimental orchestral arrangement of "Onward" which bring this album to an unsatisfactory close. There is nothing among this bonus material which is worth owning.

In my humble opinion this is an album that would deserve a better note than only 3 stars that it receives here in P A. Maybe the problem of acceptance of the disk begin for the cover, that if didn't have the logo of YES in the top left corner in yellow letters (that contrast well with the bottom "blue jeans") it would pass easily with a punk-rock disk, for this reason I opened this space in my comment because as "the first impression is very important." However, if we leave aside the cover and we analyze the musical work contained in the tracks that it composes the disk, will see that the album presents great instrumental moments as the track 1. " Future Times/Rejoice" in whose opening and along the time they stand out the "dialogues" between Rick Wakeman's keyboards and Steve Howe's guitar. The track 3 "Madrigal" is the "return to the midlle age" with Wakeman's harpiscord. The track 4 "Release,Release" a rock'n'roll and symphonic prog mixture "crowned" by the "nervous" Howe's guitar and the duet to Anderson's voice and Wakeman's keyboard. The track 5 " Arriving UFO" and all his musical experience . And maximum moment of the disk the track 8 " On The Silent Wings of Freedom " with the distorted Squire's bass, the "delayed" Steve's guitar, the syncopated White's drums, the (at the same time) angelical and of command Anderson's voice and still the "spiraled" solo of Wakeman's keyboard . In spite of not thinking this is a work to be in the same level of "Going for the One" to which I gave 5 stars, consider a 4 stars disk, without a trace of doubt!!!

Still classic Yes line-up (and Anderson is here as well), but the music is not same as before. Possibly, band is trying to find his way on new musical reality of late 80-s. Result isn't satisfying though.

Music is still really melodic, but instead of organic mix of symphonic sound and rock there we can hear symphonic pop-rock, and it's far not the same. Songs are less complex, more accessible, and often looks as self parody. Musicians are very professional, and Anderson tries hard there, but musical material is real disaster.

So, we have possibly Yes worst album , coming from 70-s there. Quality musicianship saved the album from being useless, but it's really far not these great music band played very few years ago. (Happily very soon same band with very different line-up will release one of their great album - "Drama").

Can't recommend this album to no-one who knows taste of real progressive rock, still not so bad release for pop-rock fans.

"Tormato"

I never thought an album of Yes, one of my favorite bands ever of progressive rock, could share my views that way.For one hand I like 4 tracks: "Do not kill the whale" (it's a single but So what?), "Madrigal", the beautiful and sincere "Onward" and the splendid "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" (the last remnant of the old Yes). On the other hand, the other four tracks ("Future Times / Rejoice" , "Release, Release", "Arriving UFO"and "Circus of Heaven ")... well, they are not to mim.They are horrible!

This and "Tales From Topographic Oceans" is the most controversial albums of Yes .. but at least I like "Tales ...".

And what happened to Rick Wakeman's keyboards? Where are the church organ in "Close to the edge" and "Awaken"? And Mellotrons of "And You and I" and "Tales ..."? Here there is only synthesizers bastards that make my ears bleed! What a disappointment, Rick!The only good thing he does is the harpsichord in "Madrigal".

The truth is that "Tormato" this album is ill-worked, as it was admitted by them members.His had potential, but ... His successors, the album"without-Anderson-and-without -Wakeman"and the pop fase"with-Rabin-and-Kaye "is much better.

A NICE BUT SLOPPY ALBUM

BACKGROUND: Yes were one of the most loved bands of the 70's progressive rock movement. The previous six album to Tormato were 'The Yes Album', 'Fragile', 'Tales from Topographic Oceans', 'Relayer', 'Going for the one', all six are amongst the most loved prog albums to this day. A year after the lauded 'Going for the one', Yes came out with Tormato, so how is it?

ANALYSIS: I actually like the material on 'Tormato' (or Tormento, for those of you who don't like it!), and think that it is nicely diverse, for example the medieval 'Madrigal', the tender ballad 'Onward', the rocking 'Release Release', etc.

I must be the progarchives adversary, everyone else was saying that 'Don't kill the whale' was a 'Great Pop Song' and that they hated the "rediculous" 'Arriving UFO'. But I was really disappointed by Don't Kill The Whale; sure it's got great lyrics, but the song itself is sloppy, really sloppy. Anderson rushes through a few (brilliant) lyrics before 1:45, and the remainder (more than half) of the song was a lot of aimless soloing. I thought 'Arriving UFO' was interesting, and found Wakeman's birotron (Bore-o-tron for those who think it stinks, I think there are quite a lot of you out there) to be really enjoyable. I thought this was a really pretty song.

But this album is sloppy. From performing to song structure to song-writing, this is a sloppy album. The only really well done song is 'Onward', a tender ballad, and the brief 'Madrigal' the other songs are sloppy; what with Wakeman and Howe soloing as fast as they can and Anderson singing as fast as he can to try and keep up with the band. Actually 'On the Silent Wings of Freedom' starts out very good, slips around 3 and a half minutes, progressively (no pun intended) becomes worse until the very moment 7:10 when the song becomes excellent again. But it's over not long after that! 'Release Release' is a good one, a stab at a rocker, done Yes-style. The chorus is catchy and there is some good instrumental music as well.

CONCLUSION: The material on Tormato is likable, but it is done quite sloppily. I know YES are a prog band, but I feel as though this album is quite sloppily done; the songs are not structured well and so forth. I am not quite sure of the rating, but 2 1/4 (2.25) seems about right.

In advance to its time. Unfortunately Tormato represents a jump in the 80s even being released in 1978. In general I forget this album, only Don't Kill the Whale, sometimes played live, is able to make me remember its existence.

I see lack of ideas on big part of the album. Release, release is an exception. A song in line with at least Going for the One with some interesting parts and with these non-trivial passages and changes in the signature typical of the best YES.

What happened to Wakeman actually? While Howe, Squire and partially White play on their usual high standards, Wakeman seems lost somewhere else and Anderson sounds just high-pitched. Let's forget "Arriving UFO": If aliens listen to this song they'll likely go back home.

The old YES can be heard on the closer "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom", but also this is just a good track, not a masterpiece.

This is one of the few albums in the YES discography that I can easily do without. However it's not too poor. Good for fans.

An album, just for fans!

Just one year after the grandiose "Going for the One", Yes released their album entitled "Tormato" which despite not being a bad one, it has nothing to do with their best compositions, it is far from being at the same level of those masterpieces we know. Despite the line-up is the same as its predecessor, this time they did not find the correct formula.

One may think that this was just like a "warning: the 80s are coming" but actually no, this album has that 70s sound, the fact is that the music is not so brilliant nor interesting as they used to be; and another thing, don't blame the 80s because the next album (Drama) is much stronger and of course good.

Well, let me remind you that I do not consider this as a bad album, not at all, the thing is that we already have a point of comparison, and it is evident (at least to me) that Yes released much better albums than this, so that's why I started saying that this would be only an album for Yes fans, like me, not really an album I would gladly recommend to newcomers.

The most known track on here is "Don't Kill the Whale" which also has a video. An nice short song with great Howe guitars and cool music. Other songs such as "Madrigal" or "Onward" are weak tracks that left much to be desired. However it also has its nice songs, pay attention to "Arriving UFO" and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" and you will enjoy them.

My final grade will be two stars. Better get other stuff, this was a lowdown. Anyway?

Enjoy it!

Tormato.

One of the most maligned of Yes albums.

I'll have to admit, I was disappointed when it came out. But in hindsight, it's not so bad. Emerson Lake & Palmer released "Love Beach" that same year, Gentle Giant released "Giant For A Day", Genesis put out "And Then There Were Three". This album is better than any of those. What it's not is anywhere near as good as any of the previous Yes albums since Steve Howe joined the band.

It has some decent songs. Future Times/Rejoice, Release, Release and On The Silent Wings Of Freedom are all good, but not great Yes songs. And none of the remaining tracks are bad, just not up to the standard we had come to know from Yes.

Compare them to the Rabin band albums, or "Open Your Eyes", and this album sounds good.

I could not take this album oh so seriously really!

If there's ever been a cringe moment, it's Tormato. On the previous album, we had the soaring Awaken. On Tormato, we have Don't Kill the Whale. FAIL! I honestly don't know how this sudden dirth in musicianship could have happened in such a short space of time. The liner notes of the Rhino remaster say that they tried to write more concise songs to emulate the Top 10 success of Wonderous Stories, and this could not have backfired worse. You know Yes, right? That band that's known for writing long songs and using symphonic arrangements? Yeah, they released an album of 'Top 10' songs, and it's a joke. It's a joke, but there are some entertaining moments though!

The first track, is a two-part song called Future Times/Rejoice, and I honestly couldn't care less about it. The entire song is grating on your ears, extremely squeaky, unmemorable, and downright unpleasant. What's more it's almost 7 minutes long and it seems to take forever to get through. Howe's guitar sounds horrible! There are moments of goodness, but they are extremely brief.

What you're probably here for is the single that somehow wormed its way into the Top 40, Don't Kill the Whale. In fact, this track actually isn't that bad to begin with. Howe's guitar intro is very memorable, and Squire's funky bass is simply sensational! The lyrics about whales are very silly, but somehow enjoyable. At 1:43 the band set off on an instrumental that doesn't sound bad at all, and you could see this song becoming a hit until 2:30 where it all starts to go wrong. The song just sounds completely weird, and rather dissonant. What's more, this is pretty much the rest of the song! There's no verse to finish with, just the weird instrumental thing. So they failed to even write a good single! This really shouldn't be that hard for the people who wrote 'Close to the Edge'. (By the way, if you want all your visions of Yes as an amazing band pissed upon, look no further than the music video to this song. That's right, a music video. Warning: Watch video at your own risk. Yes cannot be held responsible for any vomit on your floor.)

This album is going really well isn't it? Let's put on another wonderfully forgettable song! Madrigal is mainly based around Wakeman's harpsichord. This track is very short, and very inoffensive, and you'll forget it as soon as you hear it, due to there being absolutely nothing interesting in it.

Now we actually get to a good song! When I say good, I don't mean that it has the high level musical quality of songs like 'Heart of the Sunrise'. No, no, no not at all sir. This track is actually extremely entertaining, and you won't get bored of it or fed up. After the awkward 3/4 intro, the song turns into an upbeat rock-y song. The verses are extremely enjoyable! There is also quite a few time signature changes, which we all love. There's even a drum solo! I think it's quite cheeky that Yes decided to include the sound of a cheering audience in the background to this solo. It's like when a TV show uses canned laughter. However this is a minor quibble. I have to say, I just love this song for how silly it is. If you're going to hear this album, listen to this track first!

Next up is Arriving UFO, and this is Yes at their silliest. And I love it. Jon singing lyrics about UFOs is great, and you have such classic bad lyrics as Put your feet on the earth, it is green. The music sounds silly, but there are some good moments in there, and this song is really memorable.

You know how I just said Arriving UFO is Yes at their silliest? I lied. They set a new height of silliness with Circus of Heaven. However, this is mostly Jon being silly, whereas on the last track it was the whole band. After tons of extremely silly lyrics, the song actually starts to sound sentimental and serious, and it's actually slightly touching. Jon's 5 year old son even makes a guest appearance (awww)! Still I'd be a bit embarassed to grow up and live with the fact I was in such a silly song.

Onward is a song that is somewhat reminiscent of Time and a Word. This would have done much better as a single than Don't Kill the Whale. The one bad thing about this song is HOWE! What the hell is he doing? The song sounds so beautiful and peaceful without his constant plucking in the background. Completely ruins an otherwise beautiful track.

The intro instrumental to On The Silent Wings Of Freedom, is much longer than you expect it to be the first time you listen to it. Squire's signature bass is given a proper workout here. Actually it's only at around 2:30 when Jon comes in. Some of this track is extremely cool. Lyrics like On the back of your forty-second screamdown are sung very powerfully. If you have the patience to put on this song, you'll find that it is actually quite interesting most of the way through.

Tormato is undoubtedly Yes's worst album of the 70s. The tracks I enjoy the most, are only enjoyable because they are silly. Not only is the quality of the music poor, but the album is also terribly produced, with instruments sounding in the wrong place a lot of the time. This also marks the first time Howe has ever annoyed me! The Rhino remaster includes far too many unintersting bonus tracks. With the splattered tomato on the album cover, it is hard to take this album seriously, and that's probably how it should remain. As a result, my review of this album hasn't been too serious either. To sum up, this is a terrible album with some good moments.

Tormato is where Yes fans consider the band's material to start heading downhill. I can't disagree. I find the music here very uninspired and bland for Yes.

"Future Times/ Rejoice" is good enough a song, and follows a nice near-marching beat. It definitely sounds like Yes, but lacks any fantastic structure. The track is good while listening to it, but it doesn't stick in mind at all.

"On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is the last track on the album and sounds like it could've been on Relayer. It features the same style guitar playing as that album, but also features some random noises that serve no purpose. This is the most progressive track on the album, and I consider it to be the best of the album as well despite it's flaws.

Besides the first and last tracks on this album, all the other tracks only seem like above-par pop rock songs. I honestly can't say I'd suggest this to anyone for any reason besides the last track which is decent at best.

Ok, now this is just a bit too much fun. I'm all for the band enjoying themselves in the studio, but somebody had to bother to come up with some decent songs. And I'm all for assimilation of trends, but not at the expense of good taste.

Three problems abound here. The first and most critical, of course, is Anderson's songwriting. One might have guessed with Going for the One that he hadn't lost a step in writing more normal songs, but hoo boy one would guess wrong. There's one start-to-finish good track on here, one, and Anderson did not write it. Yup, "Onward" is a beautiful Squire ballad, with nicely moving lyrics and a lovely vocal melody - only the slightly inappropriate synth part mars it in the least bit. But the rest, ALL of the rest, is significantly flawed in some way.

The second problem is the arrangements. You know, I've enjoyed Yes' virtuousity and creativity in their arrangements as much as anybody. I like Howe's active guitar lines, I like Squire's hyperactive bass, I like Wakeman's synth meanderings, and I like White's take on polyrhythms. BUT NOT ALL AT THE SAME TIME. You cannot have success with everybody trying to solo and be overactive at once without somebody somewhat holding down the fort, and that is what utterly annihilates this album. It's like the egos of every band member suddenly flared up into an unstoppable beast, with all of them constantly trying to outdo the others (well, sort of - Howe is active on the album, but there really isn't a single decent guitar solo to be found). The result is that it is rare indeed on this album for anybody to be laying a solid foundation for the other members - I understand that that's more or less how free jazz works, but at least when it occurs in that context, it isn't over banal pop tunes that sound as if they were thrown together in about ten minutes.

Along the same lines is the choices of tone by Squire and Wakeman throughout. Squire's bass tone sounds hilariously stupid throughout the album, forcing itself higher in the mix without the additional benefit of actually doing something halfway interesting (though he pretends to, of course). But what is far worse is what happens to Wakeman, who somehow loses all semblances of good taste in his keyboard pallete. The sounds he coaxes from his various kinds of synths must have sounded dated a week after the album was released - perhaps he thought this would help make the album sell better, but in retrospect they're a large part of the reason this album is their weakest of the 70's.

Finally there's the problem of production. Before the 2004 remaster fixed some things, it was HORRIBLE. It was dry and papery, and none of the instruments cut through with any sort of crispness. The lack of any sort of decent separation in the instruments, combined with the fact that they're all galumping out in a nonsensical manner, ended up creating a cacophonous mess. The 2004 remaster made the sound better, but even it couldn't solve another problem; for the first time, Anderson's voice actually comes close to annoying me, as he shows neither force nor any sort of ethereality in his singing on this album.

Ok, don't get me wrong - there are some aspects of the album that enjoy, as I haven't given it a *. "Future Times," once you get used to the annoying instrumentation and production, is reasonably enjoyable (until, of course, it cuts into its second part, the dull "Rejoice"). "Madrigal" is somewhat pretty, with a nice harpsichord underpinning it. "Circus of Heaven" actually has some gorgeous vocals, the only time on the album I can say that, and the arrangements are surprisingly pretty. "Release Release" has some interestingly tricky guitar work at times, and is (in theory, at least) whacky enough to work. And the concluding "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" has a fairly interesting introductory bassline, and the rest of the intro isn't horrid either.

On the other hand, "Madrigal" has an alarmingly awkward vocal melody. "Circus of Heaven" has extremely trite lyrics and another awkward vocal melody, not to mention that I can easily understand how many would be annoyed at the chiming in of Jon's son Damian at the end. "Release Release" has horridly corny arrangements and a ridiculous "live" drum solo near the end that short circuits any enjoyability it might otherwise have. And "OTSWOF" ... eek. The lyrics are stupid beyond words, and that's only compounded by the fact that the song has COMPLETELY lost steam by the fourth minute or so. I, for one, cannot STAND those "majestic" sounding chimes in the middle of the song, as the track does absolutely nothing to justify such an attempt at majesty. And this horror lasts for eight minutes, of course.

(I should note that I've heard one version of the track I like quite a bit, from the 1979 Wembley show)

Oh, and two of the other songs are pretty much just terrible. "Don't Kill the Whale" has more stupid lyrics (it's quite interesting that, as soon as Jon started trying to write "normal" lyrics, he suddenly couldn't think of anything decent to say), and it just sounds way too trashy and gross for my tastes. Then there's "Arriving UFO," which is slightly fun to listen when on, I guess ... until my brain kicks in in the slightest and lets me know what a dumb song I've just heard. The melody is of decent quality, and the lyrics might be funny in their own way, but then there's Wakeman. The "alien" noises are a bit of a hoot, but the rest of his keys are annoying and cheezy enough to make me want to bang my head against a wall. Where did your sense of good taste go, Wakey?

Indeed, where did your sense of good taste go, Yessy? I mean, I guess I can understand enjoying the fact that Yes is "having fun," but I want good songs. And well-constructed arrangements. And production that doesn't make my brain cramp. Not this, thank you.

I have to admit that Tormato is a bit sketchy in places. Unfortunately, the group were unsure of themselves musically at the time. Still, not everything went splat! There are actually some really good moments here. The opening "Future Times/Rejoice" is quite decent and the minor single "Don't Kill The Whale" not bad either. I have always liked "Release Release" as well. Although in this reviewer's opinion, "Onward" is the best track. It's a very worthy Yes song. The quaint, harpsichord driven "Madrigal" and "Circus Of Heaven" are nice enough too with Jon Anderson's burgeoning spiritual connections showing up. Tormato certainly isn't the best place to start with Yes. The band's earlier material must be heard first. But I do think Yes fans should own this. My rating: 2.5 stars or 5 out of 10.

Tormato is the best album Yes have recorded in my opinion. After more than 30 years I still listen to it regularly. It is all fresh material, each track being a gem on its own. The mood is distinctly positive, starting with Future Times/Rejoice, a nice play with 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures based on a common pulse for both songs. This is followed by the hit single Don't Kill The Whale, which captured some rare mass appeal in the charts. Madrigal takes down the pace with a sparse arrangement between Anderson's vocals and sophisticated yet very engaging classical accompaniment. A highlight for music lovers with open minds. "Side one" ends with the intense rock song Release, Release, featuring Alan White and strong vocal lines.

"Side two" starts with a puzzling mood change in "Arriving UFO", a perfect spot for this slightly weird composition. It is followed by Circus Of Heaven, featuring pleasant melodies for a tale of nostalgia and family life. Onward, like Madrigal, must be counted as one of the most stunning and unusual arrangements for a rock band to record, breaking down musical boundaries. The album ends with On The Silent Wings Of Freedom, a wall of dense performance from all band members, leaving a high spirit. Overall, the sound of Tormato is unique among Yes albums. It marks the peak of Yes music.

"Tormato" is the 9th full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Yes. The album was released in September 1978 by Atlantic Records. The album was genereally ill-received by critics and fans alike, but still managed to crack the top 10 lists in several countries. Several members of the band have since stated that Yes, at this point, felt unsure about their musical direction and that creative differences, with Chris Squire, Alan White and Steve Howe on one side of the fence and Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman on the other side of the fence, didn´t make the recording and mixing process any easier. After touring for the better part of a year in support of the album, the differences had become unbearable and as a consequence Jon Anderson and shortly thereafter Rick Wakeman left Yes.

...I don´t know if it was the internal strife or other factors that had an impact but "Tormato" just isn´t quite on par with the band´s earlier material. I´d say the opening track "Future Times/Rejoice" is the highlight of the album, but I actually enjoy most of the tracks. At least to some extent. They generally don´t sound as inspired or creative as the band´s earlier output but I most definitely wouldn´t call "Tormato" a bad album. The production is professional, the musicianship is outstanding as ever (those harmony vocals are just yummi) and the tracks are full of progressive details despite the generally shorter song lengths and decreased structural complexity. The lyrics might be a bit cringe worthy at times, but really! That´s almost always been the case with Yes lyrics if you ask me.

So while "Tormato" is arguably Yes weakest album from the seventies, I still think a 3 star rating is warranted.

Much people says that 'Tormato' is a bad Album, a wall in Yes career. Obviously this album si not a masterpiece in YES discography, but is an addaption of YES sound to following 80s one. Tormato is an irregular and inconsistent album, not a conceptual one. But Highlights eclipse shadow moments.

1. Future Times/Rejoice (6:45) Circus, ludic and party style -specially on Keyboards- With classic stop&go 'Yes' changes.

2. Don't Kill The Whale (4:56) with 'release, release' they are the first YES direct radio songs. In my opionion is YES effort to win some other fans... For me, great songs for the highlights of live performances. Steve Howe's guitar sounds like future ASIA's performances

3. Madrigal (2:23) Great moment by Howe's acoustic guitar... but the track is too short, I think it could be a great start of an epic one, not a prolog of 'Release, Release'

4. Release, Release (5:47) Without arena effects, it could be a good direct song. I stand up the different chorus style, instead of early YES albums ones

5. Arriving UFO (6:03) Ridicolous and strident space effects. Failed song project in my opinion. Supertramp or ELO could have done better.

6. Circus of Heaven (4:30) Return to circus, ludic and party sounds. Another failed experiment. The end of the song sounds like a lullaby, with children words...

7. Onward (4:02) Great ballad. In the same line of 'Turn of the Century' and 'Wonderour Stories'. Jon Anderson highlights of the album. Good work of Howe`s guitar + Wakeman`s piano.

8. On The Silent Wings of Freedom (7:47) The highlight of this album. Bass work is excellent, superb! (note. For me 'Tormato' and the following 'Drama' are the best moments of Squire Bass work) . In my opinion this song is one of the bests song in YES history. Many sound changes with a modern and evolutioned style. Nice work of Alan White at percussion.

Finally, for me is a 7/10, 4 stars.

Brash and lively, perhaps indicative of what was needed at the time. Less indulgant, more focused. In some cases it works, in others a failed song isn't perhaps allowed to develope, so it remains lost.

Occasionally, like in 'Future times/rejoice', they sound like a band at the top of their game. The changes in mood and tempo are extreme, but pulled off with aplomb. Alan White should've been well pleased with his efforts. The percussion is exciting and catchy.

There are two beautiful gentle numbers, 'Madrigal' and 'Onwards', which allow Jon Anderson to express what he does so well.

'Circus of Heaven' seemed poignant and effective 30 years ago. Today, it's over in a flash, and is less so. That's my fault though. I'm older.

If the cracks of any impending change are to be seen, then they reveal themselves in the last song 'On the silent wings of freedom', because although complex, it's a right mish-mash of ideas without direction or theme. However, as I never noticed it all those years ago it would be unfair to criticise it now.

When this album came out it was perfectly acceptable. It represented the last evolution of the 70's style Yes, and maybe even one of the last examples of the genre before the desert of 80's music took control.

There are 3 tracks that need to be heard by all Yes fans. Ignore the bad press. It''s more rewarding than you think.

Throw a rotten tomato at the downward spiral of prog.

It is difficult to know what happened here but this was a brand new beast that still garners mixed reactions from the Yes faithful. I want to like this but it is impossible when it is full of such dire tracks and awful lyrics that never resonated with me. As always certain tracks jump out as excellent examples of symphonic prog. The problem is it is a rather inconsistent album and most of it seems to have been ignored both commercially and in the prog circuit. Indeed the songs rarely trouble a Yes concert set list.

There was nothing wrong with the band lineup, in fact it was the much celebrated lineup of Anderson, Squire, Wakeman, White, and Howe. In the same way as "Going for the One", the album is more accessible, poppy and seemed to be designed to reinvent the sound, brushing aside the prog elements that made the band so endearing to pave the way for a radio friendly approach. It did not work, as it alienated fans and did nothing to generate new fans with its list of mediocre tracks. There is very little to recommend this apart from the intriguing 'Don't Kill The Whale', the wonderful wild and wacky delight 'Arriving UFO', and the soaring 'On The Silent Wings of Freedom'.

Now for the bad points and there are rather a lot of them. The album starts with a benign piece of nonsense 'Future Times/Rejoice', which starts okay and then meanders into some very boring noodling. 'Madrigal' is pretty but that is about it. 'Release, Release' is forgettable and over complicated. 'Circus of Heaven' is just plain silly and never takes off with the worst lyrics that may be classed as a guilty pleasure, but it is rather grounded in polyphonics and pointless soloing. 'Onward' is forgettable, beautiful, but tripe with Howe overdoing it on the finger plunking.

There is not much else to say, except this is a step down from "Going for the One" which was a huge step down from the excellent standard of the previous albums. It is ironic that the album cover has a tomato thrown at it; perhaps this was a rotten tomato from the fans who were disillusioned by this new approach. Yes were on a downward spiral and believe it or not it actually became worse as the 80's kicked in, effectively destroying the prog genre for a time.

i must admit, Tormato was far from my introduction to Yes. being a late Yes-discoverer, i had the luxury of picking up what i wanted and in which order...

the first Yessong i heard (Heart of the Sunrise) remains, to this today, one of my favourites. in my opinion, there is very little that Yes have played since then that comes close to the remarkable intro on that one and then all 10+ minutes of awesome music.

then, almost disastrously, i picked "Tales from Topographic Oceans", which I barely managed to listen through once...after years, i went back to it and i guess i just hadn't been ready the first time!

coming to Tormato, nothing on this album is as absolutely fantastic as "Heart..." or "Close to the Edge" or their early all-out mega-prog rock. but its got several pieces that try really hard:

Future Times/ Rejoice - interesting to say the least Madrigal - magical Jon close to his best Arriving UFO - not quite "classic" Yes but a good song nevertheless On the Silent Wings of Freedom - which sounds like it could have been on "Relayer" with a little more refinement...

so, in all, a pretty good album, just not the best Yes ever...

Tormato was an album revealing a band with serious issues. First off, as Rick Wakeman observed at the time the production on the album feels rather flat, which doesn't help the fact that the songs feel tight and claustrophobic. Trying to produce shorter tracks and steering away even from modest epics like Awaken from Going For the One, the band ended up producing overstuffed compositions which often (as in the case of Freedom and Release Release) sound like the band had written one of their usual side-length tracks and then trimmed the climatic portions of it. The band simply has no space to breathe - there's several tracks where Steve Howe seems to be soloing constantly, simply because there's no other way to cram his ideas into the running time of a track.

It doesn't help that the compositions are also just a muddled step down from the crystal clarity of Going For the One. Don't Kill the Whale is amusing enough but forgettable, but the others lurch into self-parody all too regularly. (Has Jon Anderson ever sung anything as ridiculous as Arriving UFO?) Closing not-quite-epic On the Silent Wings of Freedom is the other album highlight, if only because it suggests what the band were still able to accomplish in a longer song format, even then it's hardly essential if you already have the albums from The Yes Album to Going For the One.

Tormato would end up being Yes' weakest album since Time and a Word or the self-titled debut, but at least those two albums showcased a band who were growing into their prime. Tormato, by contrast, captured the group in decline. That said, there's still material of interest here, and it's pretty evident that the band were already looking into adopting more modern synthesisers and production techniques, which at least indicates an attempt to recalibrate their sound with changing times, even if some of the novel technologies they play with here have ended up dating a little poorly.

Tormato is definitely Yes' weirdest album, a headscratching deviation from pretty much all the directions it could have seemed they would have taken next at the time, but it's still very high in quality, and a near great album. I'm all for weirdness in music, so the strangenesses in the music do appeal to me, "Arriving UFO" being the most affected by this change, with very loud, effects laden guitars almost talking over lyrics about extraterrestrials with another truly creative arrangement all set to a very spirited, joyous melody. Pretty much all the rest of the songs are something different for Yes as well: "Future Times/Rejoice" also bears the same snappy, upbeat spirit, with a great catchy rhythm and arrangement, "Don't Kill the Whale" is a great enviromnetalist anthem who's music is somewhat up with the times, but with a little touch of psychedelia, and the closer, "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is one of the most layered tracks they'd done up to that point. (A very good bass sound on that song, by the way.) The only thing that slightly mars the album is that some of the perfomances seem uncharactaristically messy for Yes. Some people complain about that synth sound that Wakeman uses - it may not be the best he's ever used, but I was more thrown off by them being slightly off with the drums, and the band sounding kinda rushed in general, but maybe that's the sound they were going for. I still have a feeling there are probably better (probably live) recordings of the aforementioned track, as well as "Release, Release" (what is up with those backing vocals at the end of that one?) out there. Oh well, the songs are all good, (with possibly the exception of "Circus of Heaven", one of the few Yes songs I've never really been able to get into), and the all of the lyrics have taken on a new level of importance and conciousness this time around. There are some very intruiging sounds throughout the album, and a good amount of energy that's easy to connect to. Tormato also posseses Squire's "Onward", one of the most beautiful love songs ever written.

Ah, the dreaded Tormato!

Tormato is one of the most infamous albums in the Yes catalogue. Often cited as their biggest "jump the shark" moment, the album is despised even by many hardcore Yes fans.

I picked up the album several years ago and I have listened to it numerous times since then. My brother listened to it as well, providing a second opinion on this oft-ridiculed work. Our assessments were pretty much the same: It's not that bad!

I will give you that the lyrics to "Don't Kill The Whale", "Arriving UFO", and "Circus Of Heaven" are pretty weak, but musically Tormato isn't nearly as atrocious as its reputation indicates. "Future Times/Rejoice", "Release, Release", and "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" easily stand out as on par with tracks off the preceding Going For The One or even some material from their most highly acclaimed albums.

I also happen to find "Don't Kill The Whale" pretty darn catchy and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Sure, the lyrics are like picking up a blunt object, swinging wildly and missing - but dig that bouncy beat!

Even when to comes to the weakest tracks on Tormato, like "Circus Of Heaven", which sort of meanders aimlessly for four and a half minutes, I find Yes has produced much worse.

Bottom line: Tormato is definitely not another Close To The Edge or Fragile. Sure, in the context of the time it was released, released (sorry, couldn't resist), I can see how it could be viewed as a lesser effort. But it's easily better than most of the stuff the band produced after their next effort, Drama.

The album cover is pretty awful though! Yuck!

Highlights: "Future Times/Rejoice", "Release, Release", "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom"

Three and half stars if that were possible.

Yes under an eight-minute limit! Now, things are changing and seriously. Call it the crisis, call it the punk, call it generational relay, tha fact is over ten years had passed after rock became psychedelic, hard, progressive and so on, and little brothers and sisters had come of age, so it was a change or die deal for most of the bands and Yes -time has showed their consistency- took the path of constant renewal.

Shorter pieces but not worse music necessarily. Anyway, not all the songs/ themes reach it, so Tormato (in origin, Yes Tor, after the rock formation in Dartmoor National Park, a much better name to suit Yes music and "philosophy") is not a brilliant album.

The mini suite opener, Future Times / Rejoice; Madrigal; Release, Release; Onward are among the best of them.

Of all Yes' albums, none manage to split the fan vote in same way as 1978's 'Tormato'. Cherished by some, loathed by others, 'Tormato' finds Yes stuttering across a stylistic crossroads with blind-fold firmly fastened. This was, of course, Yes' ill-judged answer to the awful punk rock onslaught that had from 1976 started to cast it's ugly shadow over Great Britain, with the same career-threatening fate also befalling many of their progressive rock colleagues who were faced with a stark choice in this darkest of musical hours: split-up, or go 'commercial'. Although still featuring many elements of their trademark symphonic sound, 'Tormato' is notable for it's short songs, sentimental edge and polished production values. Whereas the previous years 'Going For The One' had hinted ever-so-slightly towards this new direction, it still featured a couple of lengthy epics in the mould of their classic, early-seventies guise. However, for many, 'Going For The One', which saw the return of star keyboardist Rick Wakeman, would prove to be the last truly decent Yes album of the 1970s(and in all probability their least 'classic' release). 'Tormato', which features the same line-up of Wakeman, Steve Howe(guitar), Jon Anderson(vocals), Alan White(drums) and Chris Squire(bass) would prove popular throughout the USA, yet it's poppy sheen found many detractors in the group's homeland, and for good reason. This is Yes at their most churlish and simplistic, reeling off a messy and over-produced album filled with sub- standard tracks that barely resemble the seminal epics and sharply-structured instrumental passages found on the likes of 'Close To The Edge' and 'Relayer'. With only the driving, environmentally-concious rocker 'Don't Kill The Whale' deserving any kind of mention, 'Tormato' therefore goes down as one of the group's real low- points, charting a sugary pop-prog sound from a group running out of ideas. One for the die-hards only.

One thing I will never understand is the hate for this album and all the love for GFTO. Both are weak compared to Relayer but also about equal in terms of quality. I actually prefer Tormato to GFTO. Slightly. Possibly the worst title of any Yes album and certainly one of the worst album covers. Wakeman throws a tomato at a picture and you call the album Tormato and release it that way? Whatever. The criticism about the production and Wakeman's choice of keyboard sounds seem fair. The playing and compositions, however, are far better than most would have you believe. Some don't like the lyrics on this album. Maybe they don't like songs about whales, UFOs and children's stories but prefer to hear Jon Anderson sing about moving movements on lawns instead.

Speaking of Jonny boy, this will be his last Yes album for awhile (he will co-found a new group called Cinema who will be forced to change their name to "Yes"). Wakeman will also leave. Again. The next album has the New Wave duo The Buggles as members. It seems the members of Yes were keeping up with a lot of the current music at the time. I think another reason some don't like this album is the presence of some funk, reggae and R&B influences in the music. Tormato also sounds a lot more 'happy' than previous Yes albums did. Interesting for a band with a lot of in-fighting at the time. I like the tones that Chris Squire uses for his bass here but some do not. It sounds like he is using some kind of auto-wah (Mu-Tron III?) on his instrument of choice.

"Future Times/Rejoice" is not a bad opener. The keyboard sounds here really suck and tarnish what is otherwise a well-written song. This track features some of Alan White's best drumming on the album. I don't know if there was a whale-killing epidemic in the late 1970s or not but Jon felt a need to write a song about it. Dig it. I've always loved this song, a reggae-influenced mid-paced rocker. Features a great synth solo from Wakeman that leads into a cool slightly spacey mantra/chant section. Great symphonic ending as well. "Magrigal" is pure filler, sounds like the bastard child of "Wond'rous Stories" (another song I hate). Mostly a harpsichord based vehicle for Jon's vocals. "Release, Release" almost sounds like the bands attempt at punk. Overall a mediocre song. Some hate the mock 'live' part in the middle with the pointless drum solo and boogie-woogie guitar playing but I think it's the best part of the song.

"Arriving UFO" is one of the most criticized songs on the album, yet is one of the most interesting and one of the stronger tracks compositionally. It has a nice flow to it. I really like the rockin' instrumental parts. "Circus Of Heaven" is another song that usually gets universally bashed. Most of the hate comes from the fact that Jon's son talks in the song. As if that's reason alone to dismiss an entire song. Lyrically it is based upon a story Jon wrote for his son (you hear the child's actual response to the story). I like when bands throw in little things like that into their songs. Musically it starts off very tropical island sounding; it's hard to listen to this and not think of sunny beaches. Later on becomes more, uh, nighttime-y and childlike-y. I prefer the studio version of "Onward" to the much later Keys To Ascension live version. I really like Steve Howe's guitar playing on this song which reminds me of something else. Never really cared for it but it is a pretty little song anyway.

Album closer "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is the standout track. Howe and Squire sound great in this song. Love the instrumental buildup before Jon starts singing. Just about everything in this song is perfect and it's probably the closest Yes came to sounding like pre-1975 Yes since, well, 1975. There is no epic here but overall Tormato is perhaps a more 'proggy' album than GFTO. All in all, Yes would never reach the heights of the early 1970s again but the three albums they made after Relayer still have their fair share of good prog. I'll give this 3 stars.

What better thing to do on a fine Sunday afternoon than swimming against the PA current.

Opinions vary, tastes differ, but I still don't get what Yes did so terribly wrong in Tormato so that the good people of the PA "ganged up" on it and sunk it a whole star lower than the IMO weaker Going for the One and the somewhat disoriented and bleakish Drama (a product of the first hybrid Yes-Buggles lineup?)

I really don't see any poor songs on Tormato. My personal favorites are Release, Release and On the Silent Wings of Freedom. I do like long, but energetic and upbeat instrumental pieces. But the rest of the tracks are perfectly good and nothing needs to be skipped.

I am especially glad that Tormato is completely free from the OTT sofistication (which comes across as weirdness, if you ask me) that began to dominate and overwhelm the Yes's musical message in Relayer and Tales.

There aren't tracks that I don't like enough to skip. None below strong solid 4 stars.

The only common critical observation that I tend to agree with that the "fat lush" bass is less prominent on Tormato. I'd like to hear more Sqiure-like Squire, too, but then again: Tormato is Tormato; in order to be good in its own right, it doesn't have to sound like Fish out of Water or Schindleria Praematurus.

It's also true the quality of the sound is not stellar, but the music comes through strongly and clearly nevertheless. Maybe, Wilson can unbutcher is one day, as he has done with a few albums by Tull and KC>

Tormato remains at a distance of 34 years, a very interesting album showing how the Yes wanted went forth from the popular cliché progressive - experimental, of success and quality, to try something new for themselves rather than for the public, just as they had done a few years before with Tales From Topographic Ocean, including labor costs only years after its publication. There are burrs (eg grinding and upset On The silent wings of freedom, really bad!) This is obvious, we were in the punk era and Yes tried the magic that led them to compose Going For The One, the absolute masterpiece , l 'apex of their magnum opus. But this magic struggled to come out and Tormato certainly is not the best work of Yes Yet it is the songs of the bonus tracks (some published some not because it is simple incisions test ...), which makes us understand how , with the usual workings of hours of dining and multitrack overdubs, the new songs would have produced something more like the same Going for the one that horrible Drama album without Anderson and Wakeman doing misercordia penalty and at the same time. ... That is, at the bottom of the magic even more tired and sluggish, but was still present between Squire and Anderson's two founders, broke out for the first time, the friction which then led to the present output of Anderson from Yes and painful ballet new singers who try to imitate the great master uvula gold with ridiculous falsetto voices and more out of tune .... Too bad the album post Tormato has never seen the light and that the ideas in gestation were badly distributed between Drama and Anderson's solo album, but without the glue that made him immortal Yes, without the desire of daring and break out these great musicians have shown so far (1978-79). However Tormato + Bonus Track album is a must for those who know and love Yes and progressive Rock. And 'the album that marks the end of the classic progressive as commonly understood in the 70's.

We have arrived at a confused time period in Yes history, I have never really liked this album to be honest I can only listen to Future Times/Rejoice, Release, Release, Madrigal, and On The Silent Wings of Freedom and at that they are not even that great the rest is a mess, I have to talk about it though(really I have to talk about it, jeesh!!!). The album cover should indicate the album for you it's horrible and take it from a devout Yes fan like me. Legend has it that Rick Wakeman was so disgusted by the album cover that he threw a tomato at it, After this Yes disbanded because they didn't know where to go from this album. With all that said it still needs to be reviewed

Here is the track listing for this album:

1. Future Times/Rejoice-I like this song but really it doesn't really cut it for Yes, these are the same guys that recorded 'Turn Of The Century," really????, it's still decent and it deserves a listen 7/10

2. Don't Kill The Whale-I don't like this song very much and the solo by Rick in it, is rather embarrassing really come on guys you could do so much better than this.The lyrics are about saving the whale(which is awesome and very poignant) but musically it just fails.4/10

3. Madrigal- I like this piece quite a bit the best song on the album so far up to this point but not up to Yes's standards 8/10

4. Release, Release- This song is another good song from the album it sounds rather happy and I love that but again it is not up to Yes's standards and what they are capable of doing 7/10

5. Arriving UFO- This song should be avoided, if you don't want to disappoint yourselves stay away if so give it a listen 4/10

6. Circus of Heaven-I don't really like this song at all but it's Yes and it deserves a listen and that alone should merit it a listen but be warned. 4/10

7. Onward- Again it's the same thing I don't really seem to hear a difference on this recording from previous songs on the album 7/10

8. On The Silent Wings of Freedom- This is the best piece on the album but again it pales in comparison from other Yes recordings 9/10

Overall the album gets this and I hate doing it but it isn't that good at all really. It gets a 47/80 which out of 10 constitutes a little more than 5 out of 10 which constitutes a 2 star rating, no!!!! not Yes, but it sad but true. This album has caught on a little still not great but not bad. 3 stars Peace out!!!!!

Yes's 1978 album Tormato is one that i actually would like to hear them re-record using today's equipment. Some of the songs are strong, some are weak, yet all suffer from the same poor quality, dated, 80s keyboard sounds.

Over all, this album is weak and spotty, its best tracks being some of the best that they have ever done, and its weaker tracks being some of the worst they've ever done.

On this release, the best tracks, in my opinion, are the final two - Onward, a beautiful ballad, as well played as anything they have ever done in this vane (such as the "Soon" portion of Gates of Delerium). On the Silent Wings of Freedom is one of the top songs that is not an epic in the Yes pantheon - one of my all time favorites. Squire's effects on his bass are phenomenal.

Of the other tracks, Release Release, Madrigal, and Future Times/Rejoice are all pretty decent, but almost derivative. Don't Kill the Whale and Circus of Heaven should probably never been recorded. It's Arriving UFO, more than any other song that Yes has done, that makes me scratch my head. This could have been an absolute classic, but instead it sounds...cheezy and cheap. Argh!

This could have been a very good album, but what we get is subpar by Yes standards. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Okay, I admit it ... I'll never understand why this is such a hated album among Yes fans. Personally, I love the thing and can't get enough of it. All of the music is wonderful - who among us can turn their nose up at Chris Squire's Onward - and the musicianship is, as usual with Yes, top notch. Many hated Tormato because it was so different than any other Yes album before it, but come on, that's nothing new for Yes. Nearly every Yes album is a departure from its predecessor, the glue holding them all together is that unmistable Yes-style and musical craftsmanship. Well, I guess haters are gonna hate, but this is an absolute gem for me. And I also think it boasts some of Chris Squire's most mesmerizing bass playing.

Tormato is not quite as bad as some people make it out to be. There is some excellent material on this record, for example Future Times/Rejoice, On the Silent Wings of Freedom and Circus of Heaven. But the album has poor production and the synth and bass sounds are below Yes' previous standards. This really lets the album down, particularly when it is compared to the fluffy textures of Yes's previous, and even their later efforts. However, the production of the album makes it charming and unique among other Yes releases.

Tormato clearly was a confused period for Yes, as the songs seem to belong to about four different albums, all of them pieced together into a slightly disjointed work. We have some funky tracks and some light Jon Anderson tracks, but unlike most other Yes albums, the songs don't quite fit together. It is a bit like one of those puzzles with pieces that almost fit together, but not quite. But none of the album is cringe-worthy; most of the material is well written and played rather well.

I conclude by saying that Tormato is a good album, even though it falls short in comparison to many of Yes's other releases. The sound of this album is particularly flat on vinyl, so I recommend that you buy it on CD. A copy of Tormato on CD can be found cheap, and it is a nice album to keep in your car or bedroom for those times when you are in need of a light fix of Yes.

3 stars.

☮

2.5 stars. The beginning of the end almost for the band Yes. Four years earlier, they had released Relayer, a magnificent experimental record. In 1978 they came up with this underwhelming mish-mash of ideas. What happened? Maybe the times were just changing. Yes could no longer take risks with their music and had to adapt to the changing music industry.

Tormato has moments of music that recalls the 'good old days' of Yes. Songs like "Future Times/Rejoice", "Onward", and "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" all are fine in their own right, but they don't reach the heights as seen on The Yes Album, Fragile, etc. Other tracks just leave you wondering what the intent was. "Arriving UFO" and "Circus Of Heaven" are particularly strange.

The sound quality is also a bit disappointing. Tormato sounds flat, almost as if the life had been sucked out of the record and replaced with a tinny and hollow sound. Their previous effort, Going For The One, didn't have this problem. If you're a fan of Yes, you will probably like this one just fine, but for the casual listener there are much better albums you could choose. Tormato is a somewhat weak and underwhelming effort considering what this band had done in the past. To quote "Release, Release", "is there lack of concentration."

'Tormato - Yes (69/100)

There seems to be a general consensus that Tormato marked the end of Yes' winning streak. There had been personal differences arising in the band since Tales from Topographic Oceans, and combined with their conflicts of artistic vision and a greater level of alcohol consumption than should normally be attributed to a progressive rock act, suffice to say there was a steady foundation for things to fall apart. Though it seems to have earned its own small cult of respect as the years have passed, Tormato sounds undeniably disjointed and unrefined when compared to its predecessors- it's as if Yes were no longer interested in playing together, instead hopelessly entertaining a notion that inspiration and chemistry would suddenly start up again. In spite of the obvious lack of inspiration and synergy, Tormato still manages to be a fairly engaging and surprisingly underappreciated record, although the band's better bouts continue to weigh heavily against it by comparison.

Like the album's title, Tormato is itself an awkward portmanteau, pairing Yes' flashy progressive style with the then-nascent 80's pop kitsch they would deliver in the decade that followed. Like Yes' first two albums, Tormato seems to have flown under the radar, even for many otherwise-hardcore Yes fans. While the collective amnesia towards Yes and Time and a Word struck me as being criminally unfair, it's quite understandable why Tormato hasn't received much attention in hindsight. After all- virtuoso musicians they may be- who wants to listen to musicians without inspiration or passion? Listening to Tormato, I get the mental image of a band of musicians playing with their backs turned to one another- there's the general impression they're working together towards the same goal, but there's no collusion or chemistry between any pair of musicians here. "Future Times / Rejoice" is a finely written, atmospheric song, but it feels like the musicians have each fled to their own little worlds. Quite a few of the songs here are otherwise well written: "Onward" and "Madrigal" are two beautiful ballad-type tracks, and "Don't Kill the Whale" features some great melodic writing- I understand it became a minor hit for the band. Whatever the case, it's less the composition of Tormato, and more the respective execution that proves to be most problematic for the album.

While I appreciate the impact Rick Wakeman had on most of Yes' canon masterpieces, I've never been a fan of him outright; his attempts to reflect classical orchestrations seemed like an echo at best. However, by Tormato, my ambivalence has turned to disdain- there are parts here where it actually sounds like he's trying to sabotage the album. His synth solos are abrupt and seemingly aimless, and the budget tones he's chosen are becoming of a garage neo-prog act. The lack of chemistry may extend to Steve Howe and Chris Squire's respective noodlings as well, but Wakeman's carelessness is by far the most obvious.

By all means, Tormato is saved by Jon Anderson, who seems to have tried to compensate for the ambivalence of the others. So much of Tormato has his rose- tinted signature on it. "Future Times / Rejoice" and "Circus of Heaven" are each coloured with overt tinges of Anderon's psychedelic Romanticism. The beautiful slower tracks (and album highlights) "Madrigal" and "Onward" showcase his angelic vocal qualities. In fact, it's the more band-oriented tracks that fare less successfully here; "Release Release" is hyperactive and a little disorganized, "Arriving UFO" is rather boring, and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is a half-hearted attempt at an epic. It's possible Tormato may have been better-received had it been labelled as a Jon Anderson solo record. Yes' signature vocalist would fly the coop after this album and make way for some Buggles replacement; had he not returned to front the reimagined pop Yes on 90125, this album would have made a fine swansong for him.

An audibly compressed production, lack of chemistry and awkward flow all serve to hold Tormato back from its potential. It's a shame, really, because I'm convinced there was a great album lurking somewhere in its framework. Had the songs here been given the same attention to detail and drive as Yes had with Fragile or Close to the Edge, it would have been excellent. Of course, the same could be said about a great many albums we've collectively dismissed as mediocre. Tormato is scarred by its role as the beginning of the end for Yes, but there are a few gems here that are nonetheless worth the experience.

I almost never submit ratings only - this review of Tormato will come in under 100 words. In fact, this is only the second one I've done. I simply believe that Tormato deserves a better fate than an overall rating of less than 3 stars. No, Tormato's not Fragile, or even Going for the One, but it is a Yes album. That almost guarantees that it's worth investigating. There are some fine songs here; I'm giving Tormato 3 1/2 stars rounded up. I'm being generous, but this is a better album than many people regard it as.

The late 70's. When a lot of our heroes went broke, got fat, couldn't keep up with the times and still had an album or two left on their contracts. While groups like ELP were making "Love Beach, Genesis were starting their conversion to pop and Gentle Giant were defecating "Giant For A Day" on their fans. Yes were no different at this time, they were reaping the painful realities of the excessive lifestyles they were enjoying just a couple of years prior. Selling off their expensive cars and houses and going on tax exile to Switzerland. Prog rock in 1978 was now no longer in style as the bands were already considered dinosaurs. Rock fans were feeling more and more alienated by the huge, behemoth bands and getting more anamored with the accessibility of punk, new wave and especially disco. These set of circumstances ripped right through most of these bands leaving many casualties in its wake. Yes, at this point were still a concert draw and decided to wring out the last bit of creativity they could muster. Trying to scale back the complex song structures and longer pieces and write tighter more concise songs while keeping the fans happy will prove to be too big of an undertaking. While there are good and bad tracks on this album, the bad ones really do a number on this album and the good ones aren't good enough to elevate it. Also there is the squashed compressed sound of this album with everyone fighting for space thus creating a musical mess. There are too many instances of lyrics being forced to fit, too many moments of serious corn, terrible synth sounds and above all, they were not able to fit in with prog or the new wave. There was also the terrible album cover. Roger Dean again was not available and the job once again went to Hypnosis, who have done nice covers before but can't seem to do a good one with Yes.

The great: None. Nothing great here. Some great parts but no great songs.

The good: Future Times/Rejoice, Don't kill The Whale, and On The Silent wings of Freedom. I have always liked the way the album kicks off. The compressed sound is annoying but these songs aren't bad. Except for the overly corny synthesized whale sounds on DKTW. On The Silent wings of Freedom is probably the best tune on the album and its most prog-like.

The pretty good: Onward, Madrigal. Onward being a sappy ballad but done nicely with Howe playing a pattern while Squire plays a simple melody line. Thankfully no power chords! Madrigal is a nice but ultimately forgettable Jon Anderson ditty about celestial travelers sailing the seventh age living and growing inside of us(!)... Interesting contrast between a Spanish guitar and a harpsichord but it sounds as if they weren't sure which one would back Jon Anderson so they just used both. No interplay really but noodling by both as if they are not listening to each other.

The bad: Release Release. Here they try to sound spiky or new wave. Corny moment of fake crowd noise with an uninspired drum solo. The TV commercial sounding ending doesn't help either. Arriving UFO is truly awful. Bad lyrics revealing Jon Anderson's dream of getting beamed up or something?your guess is as good as mine. Goofy sounds and a directionless song that just peters out after 6 minutes of your life go by. Circus Of Heaven. This is probably the most reviled Yes song of all time. Jon Anderson going on about the myths of the constellations and his young song voicing his displeasure of it not being a real circus. Cute moment with the kid? absolutely. But on a rock album?

So there you have it. It's not total garbage after all it is one of the best lineups of Yes and there is some good melodies and playing on the album-even on the bad tunes. But the corny moments, the horrible compression, the fighting for space and the lack of good songs, doom it. Two and a half stars rounded up to three.

On "Going For The One" YES had come full circle regarding their musical differences and successfully reunited the lineup of Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Alan White, Chris Squire and Rick Wakeman. It was a transitional album that honed down the bombastic complexities of albums like "Relayer" and "Tales From Topographic Oceans" and simplified the song structures with the intent to fit into a changing musical world where simplified music had dethroned the earlier 70s perceived excesses. YES successfully crafted an album that stayed true to their sound while taking the first step into their progressive pop style without totally severing the progressive umbilical chord from the past by adding the beautiful "Awaken" to finish off the album and perhaps the era of fully progressive rock.

Their 9th studio album TORMATO finally jumps ship altogether from the full-fledged progressive rock of the earlier years and delivers one of their very first progressive pop albums that would usher in a couple decades of similarly inspired music to follow. The first thing about this album that confuses the first time listener is the question of just where in the world did they get the album title? Is a TORMATO a tornado that hit a vegetable market that happened to have all tomatoes that day? A craggy outcrop of rock on the summit of a hill in the town of Mato on the island of Sarawak in Malaysia? Or is it a radioactive tomato that morphed into a Godzilla type creature that is ready to devastate Baltimore? Guess again. The name was actually derived from Steve Howe's idea of naming the album "Tor" after the highest point in Dartmoor, England. The artist Hipgnosis who designed the "Going For The One" album also did this one and after Wakeman objected to the design he threw a tomato at it which ended up as the album cover of choice, so TORMATO is simply a combination of the "Tor" idea and the tomato being thrown. Not my favorite album title or cover either, but there it is.

Musically TORMATO is a strange beast which features virtuosic classical trained progressive rockers unleashing their full musical prowess into short radio friendly track lengths. It's actually kind of interesting if you can embrace the irony of it all. As horrible as this album is purported to be, i personally don't find it that way at all. No doubt i do find this to be the weakest album of their 70s output, but a weak album by one of the greatest prog bands in history is still a worthy album to experience and much better than some of the utter crap like "Union". Right from the get go "Future Times / Rejoice" embraces a musical glee with the vocals of Jon Anderson who seems to take lead on this album as the centerpiece which the musical "noodling" revolves around. While the melodies tend to be pleasant enough pop inspired songwriting, the virtuosic performances around them are a bit surreal to say the least. The lyrics of YES have always tended to be a little spacey and hippie dippy and they only become more so here whether it be about environmental concerns on "Don't Kill The Whale" or new age fantasies on "Arriving UFO."

Overall this is not a horrible album but after all i love good pop music as much as i love good prog. There are many examples where a band is successful in one style and is pathetic in the other. YES proves here that they have what it takes to create a very decent middle of the road album that peaks and troughs in both arenas of pop and prog. I assume the main objection to this album revolves around that it went in the pop direction at all, but for me that is not a problem as living in the real world of the day, YES also proved they had the foresight to see the writing on the wall and adapted to the new world without compromising the sounds and style they were known for. Ingenious if you ask me. I can honestly say i like every track on this album except for the "Circus Of Heaven" track which kinda makes me wanna hurl. While i wholeheartedly concede that this was indeed a major step down in quality and the beginning of a loathsome era for their original prog fans, i can only admire the tenacity of YES for steering their musical vehicle into arenas that kept them relevant at the time without totally watering down the music to unlistenability (that would eventually come). By keeping the band name alive and kicking was relevant for new fans discovering older progressive rock and wished to delve into their discography. Successfully maneuvering the business aspects of the musical world in the late 70s aside, i actually find this to be an enjoyable album for the most part and while not a desert isle pick it is by no means designated to the completists only file because i find the melodies on this one infectious.

In the end, this album was the breaking point for a band who was obviously placating a musical market to the best of their abilities and after this album and tour both Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman would jump ship leaving the band's future in question, but with hind-sight being 20/20 we know that the band would constantly reinvent itself in most unforeseen and unorthodox ways with some successes and unfortunately, ho hum, way too many that were not.

While i rarely find bonus tracks on the YES remasters to be essential this one actually has some total winners that for me are worth the price of admission alone. The track "Money" for example is so experimental and different from anything the band has done that you would hardly guess that it is a YES track at all.

3.5 but rounded up because TORMATO doesn't get enough love in these here parts ;P

The Winter Time Yes.

For me "Tormato" has always been a very special album in Prog Rock and one of the very best Yes ever produced. Their fifth best after the debut, "Fragile "and "Yessongs" triple live album and the prog mammoth "Tales from Topographic Oceans" from the Golden Age of Prog. Actually "Tormato" was the very first album I bought from Yes, back in early 1979 when I was a kid. It was simply wonderful in every sense at the time, in particular it had got a hell of a lot of energy, Never ever sounded "thin", well ´cos I never had crap stereo systems. Its musical landscapes and futuristic visions have always sounded... just bold and very interesting. At a time time when rock had already decreased into lame pop nonsense (read so called new wave, oh how ridiculous it was in 1976-80), punk and all the "new music" tried to bring something new and fresh in rock but just failed in everything really, was and still is pure crap. And years later after having really focused into "The Edge" I still thought "Tormato" is the very best Yes ever had, Because it rocked like a deer. Well, I hadn´t had heard "Fragile" and the monstrous "Yessongs" and "Oceans" yet but it still after those decades remains one of the very finest.

Yes, these old war heroes came with powerful "Tormato" and just kicked major ass. And what did the proud UK masters GENESIS, ELP, even VDGG do at the time? Don´t even ask, just don´t. Well, honestly Genesis´1978 offering is an excellent album but sadly they last great one. Only Jethro Tull, MMEB, King Crimson and Yes survived that "new wave" BS in 70´s, fortunately. After directionless (well mostly noise) and so boooring "Relayer", the Yes men came back with vengeance and showed to the World who the true leaders in Rock´n´Roll were (alongside Kansas, Rush and BÖC on the new continent), still after ten years´ career. Yes ! It was just the ongoing triumphant return of the maestro himself in the business, Rick Wakeman, It was the continuing Yes renaissance from a year earlier, begun with "Going for the One". Obviously using the latest technology he partly, willing or not, well that´s totally irrelevant, created a new sound for Yes, this time colder, winter sound, distant even raw at places. It was the sound of future times, the times unknown for man... not necessarily so pleasant we had used to hear, but never "thin" as so many try to prove in different forums, on the contrary. Interestingly, yes it was winter time I first heard the album, and it perfectly fitted the white & blue and so cold landscapes, namely its sheer beauty, yet cold as in Siberian hell... but we people here in North are used to coldness and certain remoteness. And the same with Chris Squire´s new sound w/ his mighty Rickenbacker, and his playing reached another level of creativeness & virtuosity. So did Steve Howe shine as well. It was all about future times, much colder for sure but very interesting. Yes, that´s the essence of Prog Rock, to seek out new sounds and new frontiers. And they attitude was very bold, even punky in a sense really. What a great band they were in 1978 !

Yes were the Star Trek of Prog. What else the masters could do ? They really were light years ahead of anybody, just exploring the boundaries of rock music. As they have been from the early days. Still, even with the masterminds evolution can take a leap backwards in the form of "Relayer", both in music and cover art, but evolution finds its way, in the end. Still, sadly "Tormato" is their last great studio album. For me it has been an unique masterpiece in Prog and music in general for nearly forty years. Only geniuses can create timeless work like this, and Alan White finally starts to shine and finally fits the band perfectly.

Album cover ? I have always found it somewhat interesting, unlike the grey and dull Dean effort in "Relayer". Suit man with tomatoes thrown on flex class? Obviously a Hipgnosis point of view? Suit man stands for those important people in the music business who always know exactly what is good for us mortal music consumers? So sarcastic against NW BS perhaps... or against what? Against Yes themselves? Was it Wakeman who threw those tomatoes ? Ha-ha! He must have... Not so many musicians have the guts to do such a thing. Even so, who cares. I stopped taking album covers so seriously really after seeing a WW2 tank on the front cover of the finest album Uriah Heep created. Ken Hensley wasn´t excited about either. It´s just some other persons fantasy really. So totally irrelevant because I never get fooled by the covers. And the cover is not even close the really bad album covers of Yes. It´s actually the most clever Hipgnosis ever did. Lyrics ? Is there something wrong about singing, say about "Circus of Heaven".... in the middle of future times? Of course not, how ridiculous that would be. It´s just prog... Also a matter of taste really. You either love Jon´s visions or just don´t, no problem here either. Actually, the lyrics are very positive, and those of the best written of any (prog) band really. Furthermore, here Jon apparently is trying to find a different vocal sound on some songs and he makes it very well, he almost gets aggressive and very fast in tunes like "Release, Release". Well, a man who appears to be like a reincarnation of Jesus Christ is never really is angry :) Anyway, Jon is finding the boundaries of his vocal abilities and manages to get total control in his performances. Masterful musician and a great human exploring his skills. A genius. A Gift of Gods.

The music, and the music only matters. Luckily Yes focused on (shorter ) SONGS and MELODY where their usually shine like no other band. And I´m not even a die-hard Yes fan. I´m just a Gabriel-era GENESIS fan (grin). Each tune in "Tormato" is a masterpiece, in its own right. Some call it versatility. I call it creativity. And surely something else in the whole genre, and even in Rock Music. Yes ! It´s only rock and roll. A very positive rock and roll :)

Thanks, Yes boys !

I've often thought that if this album had been given a Roger Dean cover, it would have recevied a better response from fans. The press had said the album would be called "Yes Tor", but, by the time it had come out the Tor had become Tormato. I can remember looking at the cover in the record store and having second thoughts about buying it - all these shorter tracks, the cover that could only have come out at a time when progressive bands were "dinosaurs" and no new band could get a contract unless they were "new wave". It all got a bit silly. I think it's important to remember that context when considering the record.

As for the music, "Release Release" doesn't do anything for me, but tracks like "Future Times/Rejoice", Don't Kill The Whale" and "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" remain favourites to this day. I recall Rick Wakeman saying that a bit more work and it could have been really special - I tend to agree with that.

What I would observe is that most of the tracks are easy to remember and you can sing along with them, in the manner of "Long Distance Runaround" and there's nothing wrong with that. I've bought too many progressive records in the last decade with half hour tracks, without any obvous tunes, some of which I have struggled to ever get into.

On yes, one more thing - 39 years after it came out I still play it a lot, which is what I'm doing as I write this.

Strange cover art, strange title and no more long suites. Is this the end of YES as we know it? Looks like it... One of the torment of this album are Rick Wakeman's keyboards, much too present and dated. Steve Howe's guitar interventions remain quite rare. To be honest, the guitar dominated songs seem to be the best passages here. However, more important, the compositions are pompous without providing the enchantment and evasion of the previous records.

The opener "Future Times / Rejoice" is a good illustration of the synthesizers problem of "Tormato". A little irritating, this song is barely listenable and hard to follow. On the contrary, "Don't Kill The Whale" is the best track of the disc. Essentially guitar-driven, this groovy melancholic rock contains beautiful Howe and Wakeman soli. Lifely and nice. Back to boredom with the baroque "Madrigal", which could have been included on an annoying solo album of Rick Wakeman. In contrast, the most surprising moment is the punchy "Release, Release", an energetic hard blues-rock! YES' response to the punk explosion? Maybe, however it does not necessarily result in a good song...

"Arriving UFO" sounds cheesy with its falsely futuristic sonorities, whereas "Circus Of Heaven" and "Onward" are more delicate, but unfortunately rather average. Nonetheless, the second half of the record is saved by the other good track, "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom". Also guitar dominated, this ender is sort of a cool spacey jazz/rock improvisation, the YES way.

"Tormato" is clearly YES' weakest studio release of the 70's. The magic and the ambition that could be found on "Relayer", "Close to the Edge" and even "Going for the One" is now gone. The music does not transport you to Roger Dean's world enough this time. Listen to "Don't Kill The Whale" and "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" though.

After the first recording sessions of the next album, "Drama", Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman will left the band, and another decade will begin...

Review Nº 75

'Tormato' is the ninth studio album of Yes and was released in 1977. It became for being the last studio album with the group's usual classic line up. In 1980 Jon Anderson left the group and returned only in 1983 with their eleventh studio album '90125'. After de departure of Anderson, Rick Wakeman also quit the band, because he believed that Yes couldn't continue without the Anderson's voice, which was one of the key elements of the band's sound. He only returned in 1991 with their thirteenth studio album 'Union'. 'Tormato' became a mark in Yes's musical career, because after it, there was no more stability in the line up of the band, with practically constant changes from album to album, in the future. This line up would only be joined again on their compilation album, 'Keystudio', released in 2001.

After 'Going For The One', it was also Hipgnosis who made the design for the art cover of 'Tormato'. However, the photographs taken by Hipgnosis for the album's cover were so impressive that Wakeman, displeased, decided threw a tomato to the pictures taken for the album. As the original album title was to be 'Yes Tor', due to a geological formation in southern England, the cover and the title of the album were adjusted accordingly to this new occurrence.

'Tormato' has eight tracks. The first track is divided in two parts 'Future Times' written by all band's members and 'Rejoice' written by Anderson. This is a good track, not as great as some others from their previous studio albums, but still is a track where we can even see some progressiveness. It's a good opening to the album and represents, for me, one of the best three tracks on the album. The second track 'Don't Kill The Whale' written by Anderson and Chris Squire is a very interesting song chosen to be released as a single with the aim of promotion the album. This is the Yes's animal rights protest song, the ecological message of the band. In those times, these songs had a respectable and important message when the environmental concerns were beginning to rise. The third track 'Madrigal' written by Anderson and Wakeman is the shortest song on the album but it's also an amazing piece of music. This is clearly a Wakeman's song where we can clearly see some influences of the medieval music. This is one of the three best songs on the album. It has great melody and it has also great harpsichord and acoustic guitar works. The fourth track 'Release, Release' written by Anderson, Alan White and Squire is also another interesting track. It's clearly a song influenced by rock, very energetic and with some interesting performances by all band's members. The fifth track 'Arriving UFO' written by Anderson, Howe and Wakeman is, for me, the most weird and weakest song on the album. It's an uninspired song that reflects the fascination for the star trips, so usual in those times, but that doesn't deliver in musical terms. I even don't like the way of singing of Anderson on the track. The sixth track 'Circus of Heaven' written by Anderson, represents another weak point of the album. I don't say that this is a bad track, but this is clearly an Anderson's song that shouldn't be part of a Yes's album. This song should be part of an Anderson's solo work, because has nothing to do with Yes. The seventh track 'Onward' written by Squire is a simple, calm and beautiful love ballad with excellent arrangement and orchestration, dedicated to his wife. This song is different, in style, of the rest of the album, because besides the orchestra there is few use of other instrumentation by the other band's members. The eighth track 'On The Silent Wings Of Freedom' written by Anderson and Squire is the lengthiest song on the album. It's the last of the three best songs, the third best track on the album. It's also considered the only song genuinely progressive of the album. It may be the favourite track on the album by some, perhaps due to its sound, which is more Yes than anything else on the album. It's a symphonic and a jazzy song with good individual performances by Howe and Wakeman, guided by the energetic drumming beat of White and the harmonious bass of Squire.

Conclusion: 'Tormato' is undoubtedly the Yes's album from the 70's less loved by their fans. Many believed that half of the album only serves to occupy space and others said it was a logical progression from 'Going For The One'. In my opinion none of them have reason. When the album was released I bought a copy and me and my friends liked the album. 'Going For The One' is one of the best albums from the band and 'Tormato' isn't as bad as many say. We mustn't forget that 'Tormato' was released in the high of the punk rock era, during which, Yes were seen as old dinosaurs of the progressive rock and were criticized by representing it. So, it's for me evident that Influenced by such musical ambient, they began to change some aspects of their sound and composing shorter songs, performed in a lighter style. So, it was born 'Tormato', a transitional album and an album that even the band's members themselves said that they weren't sure about some of the material on it. However, the album maintains the basic and unmistakable sound of Yes, unlike Gentle Giant's last studio album 'Civilian', where the band's sound is practically unrecognizable.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

[3,5 - 4 stars]

I consider Tormato to be quite an underrated album in Yes' discography. While there's no doubt that the band's sound started to become more commercial and accessible at this point, there are still some awesome songs on this record, and the overall quality is at least decent to very good. Though the music is not as epic and symphonic as before, it is definitely not cheesy or lazy either, and most of the tracks have some strong melodies, interesting, fresh ideas or twists to them. As for my favourites, I especially enjoy the Future Times/Rejoice combo, with memorable vocal lines and sort of futuristic aesthetic. Don't Kill the Whale is a fun little song, with one of my favourite Wakeman's solos. Release, Release is also a very cool track, with fast pace and some dramatic turns. Really love that one. On the Silent Wings of Freedom is probably among the most liked tracks on the record as well. The rest of the record is pretty good, just a bit less captivating. I think it's safe to say that Tormato was a fresh change of the band's image, and if you're interested in more than just symphonic prog and 20+ epics, then there's definitely much fun to be had with this record. I'd totally recommend it as a lighter, more easy going alternative to the band's 70's character.

Favourite tracks: Future Times / Rejoice, Don't Kill the Whale, Release Release, On the Silent Wings of Freedom

Least favourite tracks: Onward

Not so bad, actually.

While this album is largely panned, I think it gets a worse rap than it deserves. While I agree that Yes could have done better, if you compare this album to the albums that came later, there are very few that are better than this. There are indeed hints of greatness here. It seems to me that they did not spend enough time completing these compositions, nurturing them into something special, perhaps because they were under time pressure. The result are a number of songs with so much potential, but only half-realized. In particular, the songs "Future Times", "Madrigal", "Release, Release" and "Arriving UFO" are good but could have been great, as could have been "Onward" (which is still beautiful), and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom". The latter still manages to reach above the rest, it is such a powerful song - it could have been a real show-stopper. The most successful song here - in terms of reaching its potential- is the single, "Don't Kill the Whale". There is nothing I would have added to that one. The others are musical, but if they had been worked on more, and extended, could have been so great. So, the core musicality is there. There is only one song that I can't listen to here, "Circus of Heaven", which I find overly trite and sappy. The rest of the album is good and worth adding to one's Yes collection. I can listen to the rest all the way through easily (which I can't say for Drama, or any of the Trevor Rabin-based albums - Tormato is better than those). I give this album 7.0 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

Tormato has already been reviewed several times and as to be expected, the reviews are mixed, most people considering this album one of the band's weakest. Most of the classic line-up was involved in this album including Rick Wakeman back on the keys, Jon Anderson on vocals, Steve Howe on the guitar, Chris Squire on bass and Alan White on drums. Everything was set up for a great album. But because of dissention among the members, and the inability to agree on which direction the album should take, what we ended up with is a mostly disjointed album with terrible production. Wakeman had it right when he said that they ended up with good enough songs, but the production was bad.

There are some salvageable tracks here that would have become classic Yes songs on another album, specifically "Future Times/Rejoice", "Don't Kill the Whale", "Onward" and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom". But for the most part, you get disjointed songs, with solo sections that feel like they were just dropped into a track. I notice this mostly on "Release Release" where there is an annoying high pitched Hammond solo by Wakeman that doesn't match everything else going on in the song.

So, it's true its far from being their best, but it isn't their worst either. And, if nothing else, it ushered in what would become another classic in the next album "Drama". Someone needed to hit the reset button after this album, and after Jon and Rick left the band in 1980, that is what happened. And it was a much needed change that ended up saving the band in the end.

I remember being incredibly disappointed when this album came out, the production was awful and the good songs were thin on the ground and lacking melody,

Don't Kill The Whale was alright, the recorded version of Madrigal was no match for the live version they played on the Tormato tour, on which Anderson was accompanied by Rick Wakeman on Grand Piano (much better than the electric sounding harpsichord on here ) and Steve Howe on Guitar, a real missed opportunity, On The Silent Wings of Freedom is head and shoulders above anything on the album and is a classic Yes song.

Future Times/Rejoice - Release, Release and Onward all suffer form being average and lack melody, Circus of Heaven is Jon Anderson at his most embarrassing lyrically and musically, probably one of the worst yes songs he was involved with.

Arriving UFO is just nonsense and a very poor song

Fortunately Yes produced "Drama" after this and while some hardened Yes fans had credibility issues Horn and Downes replacing Anderson and Wakeman, the album was light years ahead of this in quality.

Time has not been kind to Tormato, barring one track it is an album best forgotten

I'm a bit of an outlier on a couple of points here. First, I don't mind the artwork. True, it's not Roger Dean, but it's ambitious and I like the color scheme. Second, I think "Arriving UFO" isn't as bad as some claim, and it seems unfair to lump it with "Circus of Heaven," as seems to happen regularly.

But where I concur with many Yes fans is in considering this among their weakest albums prior to the band's 1980 breakup. Personally, I place Tormato at the bottom of that list, alongside Tales from Topographic Oceans. Tormato is not a terrible album, but it's a letdown, even after the middling Going for the One. Reviewers have blamed the lower quality of Tormato on the lengths of the songs, the use of Dolby noise reduction, and even on the rise of punk rock. To me the issues are (a) continuing erosion of quality control, brought on in part by a self-inflicted touring-and-recording cycle; (b) lack of compositional input from Steve Howe (guitar) and Chris Squire (bass) - - or, at least, a lack of inclusion of their input; and (c) the absence of an outside producer in song selection, arrangement, and mixing.

From the bonus tracks released on more recent reissues, we can tell that the band had a sufficient quantity of song ideas; and given how quickly parts of Drama came together, it's clear that Howe, Squire, and drummer Alan White were capable of producing worthy contributions. But in my opinion, the problem is an overdose of keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Yes has traditionally been a guitar-based band, and to great effect. While the Wakeman-Howe balance was nearly perfect on their first two albums together (Fragile and Close to the Edge), by the time of Tormato there's either too much Wakeman or not enough Howe. This is true in both in the composition and the arrangements of the songs here. Among the downsides to this approach is the situation throughout the album where Howe and Wakeman seem to be playing simultaneous lead parts which fight for the same sonic space.

Combine this with mediocre material - - substandard, really, for this band - - and you have an album whose problems can't be fixed by lengthening the songs or bringing back Roger Dean. It seems like the issues were internal and related to personal disagreements, and when these were later resolved via the (temporary) departures of Anderson and Wakeman, a much more cohesive band emerged.

I believe I could justify either a two- or three-star rating for Tormato. I'm going with two because the LP pales in comparison to the other four Yes studio albums from 1974 to 1984, and thus, is really only for fans or collectors. Get Relayer (1974), Going for the One (1977), Drama (1980), and 90125 (1983) first. If you're a fan at that point, Tormato is certainly worth a listen.

Throughout this album, it feels like a whirlwind of confusion. Sometimes a bad thing, sometimes a good thing. They definitely saw fit to slingshot themselves back and forth from unique sounds to commercial-like songs. I found the bass to be underwhelming throughout the album, unfortunately. And the drumming is nothing to write home about either. In saying that, Jon, Rick and Steve definitely have their moments.

'Future Times/Rejoice' is a strong opener. Upbeat and feverish, with some beautiful guitar work from Howe which accompanies the vocals well. It then takes a sharp turn into 'Don't kill the whale' which presents an emotional performance by Jon. The lyrics are definitely cringeworthy though, so if you can get past that, the song itself is great. Then comes the short but sweet, 'Madrigal' which flows beautifully. The harpsichord accompanying the vocals is stunning, and the song is well structured. Definitely a shining moment for Wakeman. Overall Jon's vocals are majestic and soaring, but in certain songs (Release Release) it sounds a bit out of place. Also, the 'cheering' sound effect is bizarre, and the lackluster drum solo is nothing to admire. The middle of 'Release Release' also drags on too long, and to me, is not needed.

'Arriving UFO' probably has the most unique sound of all the tracks. Howe making his guitar sound like a chattering alien will always impress me, and Wakeman's brilliance shines on this song as well. Once again though, Jon's lyrics are not up to their usual standard. His voice not as heavenly as usual, and speaking of heaven.. 'Circus of Heaven' is one of the weaker tracks, sounding quite messy. It doesn't go anywhere and feels all over the place.

And onward to 'Onward'. Which to me, is not only one of their weaker tracks, but the worst. Both boring and melodramatic, it really flatlines and drags on without adding anything interesting at any point. The guitar sound is needling and uninspired.Sleep inducing.

To end the album, 'On the silent wings of freedom' is some of Jon's best vocal work. I have no idea what Howe thinks he's doing on the guitar for most of it, and once again, it sounds messy in parts but finishes strong. Overall I don't mind it, but prefer others on the album (Arriving UFO, Future Times/Rejoice, Madrigal)

This album is hit or miss, absolutely, but the hits hit very high, and the lows aren't unforgivable, just bland.

All you really need to assess from this album is in the opening song, Future Times. After the bright start it runs out of steam by the second verse. Likewise, in the concluding song, On The Silent Wings Of Freedom, it begins with a great bass line from Chris Squire, then comes to a grinding halt by the end of the song. In the middle of all this carnage is a mixture of good and bad. Don't Kill The Whale, is vintage Yes with good lyrics and some solid guitar playing from Steve Howe. Circus Of Heaven has potential and would have made an interesting track on a Jon Anderson solo album. The rest of the songs on Tormato are forgettable.

I've read that Rick Wakeman cans this album. He should take a major responsibility in how it sounds. His synths are totally uninspiring and have no connection with Steve Howe's guitar playing. In hindsight the management of Yes should have realized that the current lineup was unsustainable and made changes to it then. It happens to creative artists. They lose the synergies that come from pooling their resources. Their creative differences need not to have been allowed to progress to the early recording sessions of the Drama album before the band realized it was no longer feasible to work together. Maybe it was the friendships between the band members that worked against their creative interests.

Report this review (#2411064)
Posted Sunday, June 7, 2020 | Review Permalink

After the magnificent Going for The One and their subsequent successful tour, it seemed that the band was taking a new momentum, and with the most representative lineup of their flagship records (except for the Bruford / White alternation on percussion), there were expectations about what that Tormato, their ninth album, could contribute to the group's legendary discography.

And in my opinion the work was controversial to say the least, starting with the short length of the themes, something that had not happened since the distant Time and a Word of 1970 when Yes had not yet defined its course. On the other hand, also the absence of a central conceptual theme that gives it a sense of structure played against it and, most importantly, the mutation of the classic progressive to which we were accustomed towards a more domesticated and digestible proposal, would end up marking his destiny as the beginning of the end of the purest essence of Yes.

Tormato combines songs of great dynamics, such as the initials Future Times / Rejoice, two songs that do not pause between them, the rocker Release, Release, the bizarre Arriving UFO, or the longest song on the album, On the Silent Wing Of Freedom , with more calm and reflective moments, such as the beautiful Madrigal (I have always enjoyed the Anderson / Wakeman duets and the guitar brushstrokes of Howe accompanying them, naked almost in instrumental clothing), the childish and fun Circus Of Heaven, or the delicate ballad Onward, and there is even room to make a statement in defense of nature with Don't Kill The Whale.

However, the feeling of being in front of themes that don't go beyond the predictable, haunts the entire development of the album. The quality and virtuosity of the musicians take the compositions to the best possible destination, and at times they make them stand out, but there is no longer that sensitivity, depth and magic that were the band's trademark.

Tormato is the turning point of Yes, after which they would tend to travel less stony and complex roads, and closer to the rock standard that would be common currency in the eighties.

I always considered this album to be one of one of the most underrated Yes albums. The music found on here is not nearly as great as the music found on Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans or Fragile but it still is fantastic. The musicianship here is still top notch. Especially Steve Howe and Chris Squire. My favorite tracks would be Future Times / Rejoice, Release, Release and Arriving UFO. But every song on this album is great. I always consisted On the Silent Wings of Freedom to be overrated though. Overall I would recommend this album after you have heard all the classics. Fantastic album!

Review # 51

Totally underrated album!

"Tormato" was published in 1978 and, for some reason that I really don't understand, this album hasn't earned high popularity among the fans of YES and Progressive Rock in general; I'm not saying this album is on the same level as "Fragile" or "Close to the Edge", but this is neither a total waste.

Personally, this was the first YES album in which Alan WHITE could convince me as a decent replacement of Bill BRUFORD. All WAKEMAN, HOWE, and SQUIRE made great works with their instruments. The album is a great explosion of different sounds and rhythms.

"Future times/rejoice", "Don't kill the whale", "Release, release", "Arriving UFO" are songs with very powerful instrumentation, very in the same vein as "Relayer" but the short lengths made them more precise and direct. "Circus of heaven" is a beautiful soft ballad, very in the mood of songs from their first albums as "Yesterday and today" or "Sweetness" but with the undeniable touch of WAKEMAN.

Probably this album was conceived with the idea of making more hits oriented to pop music, but the the progressive style remains strongly in the record.

SONG RATING: Future times/Rejoice, 4 Don't kill the whale, 4 Madrigal, 3 Release, release, 3 Arriving UFO, 5 Circus of heaven, 5 Onward, 3 On the silent wings of freedom, 4

AVERAGE: 3.88

PERCENTAGE: 77.50

ALBUM RATING: 4 stars

It is usualy rated rather poorly here on PA and I can't fully understand why. Well partialy I see - returning to shorter tracks may be or had been disapointing at the time, but short tracks are nothing new for classic Yes and this album is still prog AF! I consider it strong statement from the band holding their prog ground with rich arrangements and VERY busy musicianship during very hard period for prog bands. Some went on the hiatus (King Crimson) some put out pop influenced half-decent offerings (ELP, Genesis) but Yes managed to gave us plenty of prog here. It is shorter, but if those motives were part of any of their earlier classics they would blend seamlessly. I would give it 4- 4,5 stars anyday so I rounded up to make up for other poor ratings. Less than three stars?? C'mon!

The ninth studio album by YES with the same line up as preceding 'Going for the One' album. Well, it was 1978 and progressive music had started to face its tough challenge from musically more accessible New Age. Although great album like Rush' 'Hemisphere' was still released in that year, other progressive majors like ELP and Genesis released respectively 'Love Beach' and '...and Then There Were Three', which are seen by many reviewers as a sign of decline in the progressive rock scene. Unfortunately YES was no exception. After their series of glorious standard-setting albums (at least ? from 'The Yes Album' to 'Going for the One'), 'Tormato' was lighter in composition.

One great thing in this album is that the bass and drums sections are really exciting and somehow dominant. The chemistry of Chris Squire and Alain White is just great and very creative. Check them out in 'Future Times / Rejoice' and 'Release Release'. The band also explored a lot of new sounds in all instruments (including studio sound effects), and the overall sound they generated. "Arriving UFO' is an example of the distinctive new sound.

'Don't Kill the Whale' is a short track with strong composition, catchy riff and great instrument playing. Rick Wakeman solo is awesome, both in the melody and its unique sound. 'Circus of Heaven' has a nice playful mood, with unique guitar sound (nice use of delay effect) and fluid bass riff. The wordy lyrics however makes unnecessary sense of urgency in Jon Anderson yet beautiful singing.

There are two tracks with calm mood. 'Madrigal' is a nice heartwarming song. The harpsichord sound for me is too high of a pitch. I like better the version of this song with piano such as in Rick Wakeman solo in 'An Evening with YES Music'.

'Onward' ; written by Chris Squire, has a nice guitar fills and vocal harmony. A great live version of this song with more dominant acoustic guitar is performed in the 'Key of Ascension'.

The last track 'On the Silent Wings of Freedom' is the longest track (7:47) in this album. It has remaining symphonic rock features, but the overall composition is a bit dull. Overall, this is still a considerably good album for progressive music fans, but in the catalogue of YES, it might fall into middle lower rank.

Review - #11 (Yes - Tormato)

Tormato is the ninth studio album released by Yes that follows up their previous album, Going for the One. It was released in September of 1978 and is their last album for quite some time that would have both singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman together before their departure from the band in 1980. The rest of the musicians present include Steve Howe on guitar, Chris Squire on bass, Alan White on drums, and Andrew Pryce Jackman who is credited with orchestrations and arrangements on two of the songs on the album. Tormato seems to generally get mixed reviews by the progressive rock community, which corresponds to how I feel about the album when listening to it. My opinion on it seems to differ every few months. At one moment, I feel as if this album is underrated, and at the next moment I feel like it is overrated (if it even can be). There are some truly great moments found on this album, but they are surrounded by a sort of mediocracy that persists through the entire listening experience. I feel as if any of these tracks were put on Going for the One, they would have fit almost perfectly. However, the biggest difference between Tormato and Going for the One is that this album doesn't have an Awaken to back it up. Still, I do believe that there is more here than reviewers give it credit for.

The first song on the album, Future Times / Rejoice, is my favorite on Tormato. Now, that doesn't mean it is equal to the greatness of Heart of the Sunrise or Starship Trooper, but within Tormato it is my personal highlight. Interestingly enough, it features Chris Squire playing bass with a Mu-Tron pedal effect which adds a very interesting element to the track. In fact, both Steve Howe and Alan White also do a great job within their respective roles here. Overall, it is a wonderful track that I continue to find myself returning to. Next, we are greeted to Don't Kill The Whale which is the single of the album. Despite preconceptions, the song is actually quite nice. It contains the best keyboard work from Rick Wakeman throughout the entire album in addition to Rick Wakeman displaying restraint on keyboard sounds. Rick Wakeman once said that the keyboard solo involved him adapting a sound that he had configured on his Polymoog which produced "weird sounds" that resembled a whale, interesting. The next song on the album is Madrigial and it is simple yet not disappointing by any means. I got exactly what I expected when hearing it was a form of English evening song that features Rick Wakeman on harpsichord. Jon Anderson does some beautiful vocals here as well, however, Jon Anderson does beautiful vocals throughout the entire album. In actuality, he is the largest saving grace on Tormato. He really gives it his all on every track! The last song on Side A on the vinyl is Release, Release. This song has a great energy to it that I am quite fond of. The instrumental section includes a crowd cheering with the guitar and drum solo, which Wakeman reasoned was added because it "sounded a bit dry" on its own. He recalled the crowd was taken from an English football match. In addition, Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun visited Yes in the studio and heard Release, Release, which he liked and suggested the whole album sound like it. However, the song was slightly difficult for Anderson to sing on stage as the many high notes in the song strained his voice, and it was dropped early into the tour. Overall, a very enjoyable track!

Side B of the album begins with Arriving UFO which is based on a tune that Jon Anderson had developed while watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind twice. This is a very unique track from the band that is surprising captivating. There is also a terrific build-up near the end that displays the array of keyboard sounds available to Rick Wakeman. However, Rick Wakemen's keyboard choices haven't aged all that well on this track and come across as somewhat annoying at points. Despite this track containing a lot of intriguing moments, I feel as if it was released underdeveloped and deprived of its full potential. Circus of Heaven is up next, and it tells the story of a travelling fantasy circus and its visit to a Midwestern town, featuring unicorns, centaurs, elves, and fairies. Its direction came from Anderson's pursuit to write songs aimed at children and gained inspiration from a book by Ray Bradbury. Rick Wakeman provides an array of keyboard sounds that revolve in effectiveness. Not to mention, the ending keyboards are completely unnecessary and doesn't fit the mood of the song at all. Onward on the other hand, is a superb ballad gives a sole credit to Chris Squire! It features orchestral arrangements by Andrew Pryce Jackman, who had worked with Squire as a member of The Syn and on Squire's solo album Fish Out of Water. Squire later considered "Onward" as one of the best songs he ever wrote. It is a truly moving song that is one of the best ballads Yes ever wrote. Lastly, we have On the Silent Wings of Freedom which includes Chris Squire playing with a Mu-Tron Envelope Shaper effect. At the start of the track, it seems somewhat aimless but soon develops into an intriguing mini-epic. Chris Squire's bass playing is notably brilliant as he takes a lead role multiple times throughout the track. However, similar to Arriving UFO, this feels somewhat underdeveloped and unable to obtain its full potential.

Overall, Tormato still remains to be any enjoyable listen with numerous highlights throughout. This album isn't bad by any means and is still better then anything I could ever write. However, when compared to what came before it this album doesn't really hold up as well. This is a good album containing generally good performances by some of the best musicians of all time. Tormato is a great album, but only a good Yes album. "I could not take it oh so seriously really when you called and said you'd seen a UFO."

"Tormato" is some kind of logical continuation of "Going for the One".

Not only did the band repeat the same line-up, but they also deepened their vocation for shorter and more direct songs. This time, they don't even include a long song like Awaken from their previous work, with the longest composition reaching less than eight minutes.

However, taking the songs individually, "Tormato" seems to me to be a more complete and compositionally superior album than "Going for The One", and I would even dare to say that for my taste it is their most enjoyable album since "Close to the Edge".

Therefore, I would encourage the listener to listen to "Tormato" without prejudices, forget about the bad fame that has always followed him, and enjoy the wonderful melodies that Howe, Wakeman and company created for this album.

Best Tracks: Future Times / Rejoice (Howe's guitar work is simply amazing, as are Wakeman's melodies towards the end), Don't Kill the Whale (one of the band's most recognizable riffs), Release Release (furious, rocking and with impressive instrumental work, drum solo included), On the Silent Wings of Freedom (the longest and most instrumentally complex composition on the album)

My Rating: ****

Future Times/Rejoyce On an often overlooked Yes album, this song is quintessential Yes. A really bright and energetic song with great musicality and terrific lyrics. 9/10

Don't Kill the Whale I know a lot of people love this song but its only pretty good in my opinion. Its short and doesn't say much, but it is an enjoyable tune. 8/10

Madrigal A rather unassuming song that gest better with each listen. Anderson was really fantastic on this track and the backing song was great too. Reminds me of Clear Days, though I wish this song had an orchestra behind it. 8/10

Release, Release Catchy and poppy in a great way, and the live drum solo in the middle was a joy to listen to. A really fun song overall. 8/10

Arriving UFO I actually hated this song originally. I couldn't get past how goofy this song was, "I could not take it oh so seriously really - When you called and said you'd seen a UFO." I mean, come on really. But as I listed to this track more, I found lots of really great musical moments in the song. Now, its goofy in a pretty nice way in my opinion. 8/10

Circus of Heaven Probably the first bad song the band has released. The decision to put a spoken child's monologue in the middle of the song was a questionable decision at best. Mediocre music otherwise. 4/10

Onward Really subtle but impactful. The backing music effectively built tension throughout the song, which Anderson released with his vocals. A very interesting Yes ballad, but I am absolute here for it. 8/10

On the Silent Wings of Freedom A pretty great song through and through, my only comment is that it ends rather abruptly. A high 8/10

Overall Thoughts: Tomato is a pretty underrated album in my opinion, and is certainly one that gets better with each listen. Its goofy at points and eclectic throughout which is why I initially rated the album at a 6/10, but as I got to know the music better, I realized how great this album actually is.

Weighted average of 7.7/10- A solid 8/10 in my books.

Yes continued down the path of shortening their songs and making their material more accessible, but now it felt like they were starting to run dry on ideas. Tormato, released in 1978, was Yes's weakest album to date. Its weak moments amplified the weaker moments of Going for the One and brought little of that album's positive attributes.

The band sound exhausted and going through the movements on quite a few songs. None of the songs top eight minutes (which, in light of the weakness of the material, is probably a good thing in this instance). The ballads here are awful, and it confirms that Yes should have focused on instrumental dynamism. "Circus of Heaven" has one of Jon Anderson's kids  on it (children are never, ever good additions to rock music), and "Arriving UFO" gets lost in its own weirdness. (The bevy of bonus tracks on the remastered CD release further underscore this issue. Almost all of them are crap.)

The strongest tracks on Tormato are all high-energy and relatively heavy for Yes's repertoire. "Future Times/Rejoice" and "Release, Release" sound like rough cuts of songs that could have been on Going for the One. They needed to be workshopped and fine-tuned, but there was something good there. "Don't Kill the Whale" is also quite enjoyable in its absurdity. The unquestionable high point of the album is Chris Squire's "On the Silent Wings of Freedom". Here, Yes's bassist gets a chance to flex and show off his unique playing style; the effects on his bass are courtesy of a pedal of his own invention. Though thanks to the synth tones and Steve Howe's particular style of playing, this song is unmistakably a late '70s song, it can be held up against any of their much better-known material from earlier that decade.

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

A rotten Tomato? After creating the superbly well produced Going For The One album you would have thought Yes would continue that streamlined and powerful sound on the follow up Tormato album. Unfortunately instead they fell into their old habits of cluttering up the recording with overtly complicted playing often playing over the top of each other (take a bow Howe and Wakeman) which detracted from the songs. Wakeman also introduced two new keyboards to the mix namely the Polymoog and the Biotron and there is certainly less of the big fat Hammond organ fans were used to .I personally quite like the new flavours these synths provide but they tend to lack sonic power. Also, if ever there is a case for a producer being essential to bringing out the best of a band then this album is proof. Eddy Offord was unavailable so they produced themselves and well-Tormato is the result. Having said all that I actually really enjoy this album a lot .The opening track "Future Times/Rejoice" is one of my favourite Yes songs."Don't Kill The Whale" shows again that Yes could produce a great Pop single and "Madrigal is also a very pretty song featuring some lovely harpsichord. The closing track one side one "Release Release" is a great little rocker. Side two starts well with the delightfully quirky "Arriving UFO" although the keyboards really do sound thin here. Anderson's "Circus of Heaven" is just too twee for words and I really can never get used to English Prog groups bringing in cod Reggae rhythms as is the case here, Squire's "Onwards" however is an absolutely gorgeous tune and features a particularly exquisite orchestral backing. Ironically the track I have the most problem with is the closing near eight minute closer "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom". I say "ironically" because "Epics" are what Yes supposedly do best but here the track just seems to take forever to get started with endless jamming mainly featuring Squire's insistent bass riiff. When it does get going, everyone seems to be playing over each other and the track comes to a sudden stop as if they had run out of tape. It is a shame because there are some great moments on it and it really could have been another Yes Classic. Tormato is one of those albums that seems to have been the subject of ever growing hostility among fans and critics alike over the years which seems odd to me because I remember when it came out it got generally favourable reviews. Of course the cover art doe not help with the squashed tomatoes on the cover as if the band themselves were saying "We hate the album too so we are throwing tomatoes at it!"As with ELP's Love beach so much negative comments about this album on the internet seems to stem from the reaction to the cover which is pretty stupid when you think about it. Overall while I definitely have problems with the production, Tormato is actually one of my favourite Yes albums.

Four tomatoes

What a joy and pleasure to write my first review for an album that just keeps ticking. A few quick questions. Have I listened to this album more than 5 times? Yes, many times over. Have I been a little disappointed in most reviews about it? Yes, but many are re-listening and starting to like it more. Tormato isn't a smooth listening album. On most albums, Yes has mastered the art of giving some rough moments to magnify the smoother ones. Tormato is an in your face, wonderful explosion of music with progressive rock equations that are meant to push the musical envelope at times. Does Tormato have any areas that could be called truly innovative and brilliant? In my opinion it does have a wonderful break in "The Silent Wings Of Freedom", where Howe and Squire bend sound down, and back up intertwining with precision. "Future Times Rejoice" is the opening song, and it is fast moving with bright sounds. It is actually done in two parts and really showcases the mastery of Squire. Great song

"Don't Kill The Whale" is the next song and is very experimental in the whale sounds that Wakeman produces. A very good and interesting song. I heard them perform it live in 2003 and it was great.

"Madrigal", a 2 minute folkish sounding arrangement is next and doesn't disappoint as we get a little rest before the song that troubled the critics start.

"Release Release" brought a few negative writeups for absolutely no reason other than in the theme of the album, inserted a crowd getting loud when Howe does a wonderful little choppy lead. Brit's are funny people usually, and this was a great moment of humor IMO. But the song is absolutely incredible. Drives hard and fast the entire time.

The first song on side two is "Arriving UFO", which to me is an absolute great Progressive Rock song. Just like "Don't Kill the Whale", Wakeman gives us just an amazing taste of the many sounds he can create as Yes shoves this baby out into the seats and grabs us with "This is Prog,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,get it?,,,,,,,Just a great song.

"Circus of Heaven" is a slow building very wonderfully arranged song that proves the patience that is Yes. Excitement builds for a child watching a parade. Just a wonderful song, and Squire reminds us of his greatness.

"Onward" is the next song,,,,,,,,,,,,it is a slow song but very well arranged and well done. Like "Madrigal" before "Release Release", this lets us breath before "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" starts.

"On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is another good Prog song that gives us a different, intentionally sloppy and loose mix at the beginning, then moves to the brilliant moment of Howe and Squire intermixing before the tight last few minutes.

Tormato to me is a wonderful Tale of controlled rage by a band fighting the times of the future they see coming. There are no head scratchers on this album. It is an excellent work of music by masters that again, stepped out of the box and gave us another very good Progressive Rock production. The mix is indeed edgy and choppy at times, the music volume seems to drift as well, but the biggest most wonderful aspect of this album is it didn't sound like any other album they had done before; which is another aspect of their many layered great attributes. In my opinion, there are 5 excellent true Progressive rock songs on Tormato with Wakeman, Howe and Squire shining throughout. Yes the album seems rebellious at times but it seems planned. Alan White gives us some time-delayed snare slaps that are very creative. Anderson is his wonderful vocal self, and the vocal harmonies which add to most songs are evident. Good for Yes, good for our ears and hearts and good to hear a unique prog rock album that stands alone.