Yes Studio Albums - Best To Worst

1. Drama

1. Close to the Edge
2. Relayer
3. Fragile
4. Going for the One
5. The Yes Album
6. Tales from Topographic Oceans
7. Yes (debut)
8. Magnification
9. Open Your Eyes
10. Talk
11. The Ladder
12. Drama
13. Time and a Word
14. Fly from Here
15. 90125
16. Tormato
17. Big Generator
18. Heaven and Earth

1) Relayer

1) 90125, Close to the Edge, Fragile (I'd put Fragile slightly behind, but really better than the 3 followers)

1. Fragile
2. Close to the Edge
3. Relayer
4. The Yes Album
5. Going For The One
6. Drama
7. Keystudio
8. Tales From Topographic Oceans
9. Yes
10. 90125
11. Talk
12. Tormato
13. Magnification
14. Time And A Word
15. The Ladder
16. ABWH
17. Big Generator
18. Union
19. Fly From Here
20. Open Your Eyes
21. Heaven and Earth

Edited by TheGazzardian - July 05 2015 at 23:26

Edited by Intruder - July 16 2015 at 09:50

01) The Yes Album
02) Close To The Edge
03) Fragile
04) Drama
05) Going For The One
06) 90125
07) Relayer
08) Time And A Word
09) ABWH
10) Talk
11) The Ladder
12) Yes
13) Tormato
14) Magnification
15) Keys To Ascension 2
16) Big Generator
17) Fly From Here
18) Tales From Topographic Oceans
19) Union
20) Heaven & Earth
21) Keys To Ascension
22) Open Your Eyes

1. Close To The Edge

Jonathan68 wrote: 01) The Yes Album 02) Close To The Edge 03) Fragile 04) Drama 05) Going For The One 06) 90125 07) Relayer 08) Time And A Word 09) ABWH 10) Talk 11) The Ladder 12) Yes 13) Tormato 14) Magnification 15) Keys To Ascension 2 16) Big Generator 17) Fly From Here 18) Tales From Topographic Oceans 19) Union 20) Heaven & Earth 21) Keys To Ascension 22) Open Your Eyes

This list is flawed beyond argumentation.The Ladder before Tormato, Magnification, Tales', and Open Your Eyes? Utterly laughable. Also 90215 before Relayer? You gotta' be kidding. It belongs in the lower 10. But I guess it's to each his own.

5 * Relayer, Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans, The Yes Album, Fragile
4* Going For The One, Talk, Big Generator, Fly From Here, Drama, Keys To Ascension Studio, Union, 90125, Magnification
3* Tormato, Time And A Word, Yes, The Ladder, ABWH, Yes Symphonic
1* Heaven And Earth

Open Your yes which, ironically I've not heard as PA people really discourage me with near unanimous disapproval. ;)

It may be the remastered and expanded ABWH might boost it but the lack of Squire's presence and the repression of Levin's sound make it a nice prog rock album but a tad insipid, worse was to come. The first two are Yes finding their ambitious feet the top rung is the most amazing stuff. Tormato has quite a few excellent songs but as a band effort of cohesion it's not happening. Circus is dreadfully twee.

The other 4 star albums have a lot of terrific ideas and show how versatile and robust Yes can be. More than their fans it seems. Trevor Rabin's renamed Cinema (oh what's in a name) underlined how dogmatic and reactionary the Fragile fans can be. Great songs, the epics are there but more brief and re expressed over several songs. This is apparent on Union - I found Side 2 (I had the tape then) to be the epic piece (just not indicated as such) while side 1 had all the songs. A rather good album let down by audience perception of the politics involved.

Magnification has  a lot of very nice material but the MOR sentimentality that appeared on the Ladder was appearing on some well performed material. I do not like MOR sentimentality. What I like is the Yours Is No Disgrace intensity you get from the unedited versions on Progeny. Steve Howe leading Yes in a blazing version featuring music I'd not heard before. It may be that keeping things confined to the studio might omit the best bits.

As for insipid - Heaven And Earth (fine title, but the material has all the strength of a used tissue).

Thought I'd include the Yes Symphonic album - sort of unplugged in the studio with David (as he then was ) Palmer doing the orchestrations. I like it, plus I also think it is quite good (not the same thing) and it's likely to be overlooked. This was made at The Kinks Konk studio, just down the raod freom me at the time. Not that such a fact has any relevance, it's just bonus content.

Speaking of which and to (try to add) depth and thirst for knowledge here how are we PA Yesfans enjoying the remasters and what do we think of all the bonus tracks? Like e'm? Or should they be anthologized outside of the album identity. This probably does not apply to content on DVDs.