His lyrics are often almost randomly generated words and that is my problem with Yes - there's little or no deeper meaning in many of their songs.

I agree. Especially on an album like tales from topographic oceans.

Hi,

I am not sure that we can comprehend a lot about this universe ... that is so much bigger than even our imaginations can come up with ... after all we are just inside a little tiny ball in the middle of nowhere ... just look up at the sky, specially on a clear night.

My main concern is that our "human" outlook is way more important to our minds than it needs to be, and all it does is cause more and more separation and wars in the end about which deity gets a picture in your hallway that you barely notice when you walk by to go to bed!

There is a lot, in the old books ... and as an example, a friend of mine and I have been writing a series of poems called "BARDO" ... and it really has no direct references to the old book, but somewhere in the middle of 50 pages of poetry, I came up with the idea that there are no dragons at each "portal" ... and that is a fabricated image in our minds, because we FREAK OUT each time we come across something we don't know ... and my poems, all of a sudden had a "darkness" completely removed ... no longer was there a fear or a desire to hide or not go through that "next door" ... which is so difficult for all of us.

Our cultures (specially western culture) is not based on history ... it is based on the stuff that various churches have instituted over the past couple of thousands of years, and a lot of that "scripture" is being contested, only for "modern scholars" to continue telling us children stories about Leda screwing a swan, or a Witch out of her mind killing her children and her ex's new wife ... while possible I suppose, the likelihood is that a mother won't do that ... specially one with the "gift" of sorcery who would better understand the nature of her powers and arts better.

Jon's voice is fine and he is honest and clear with it ... the only sad thing is that he has not been able to continue the spiritual journey that he had started with, and I know why, and have discussed it directly, but am not interested in sharing it ... it is, a personal journey and if you don't get it, why are you throwing stones at Jon? 

yes he has said that---sound poems that evoke a feeling---I love his voice during the classic period---during the Yes west period his voice was a bit annoying at times----but maybe it was the music.

In his late period as good as Mind Drive is in parts his lyrics and his voice are ok in places and annoying in other ways--but-- In the Presence Of ---he captured a perfect blend of voice and lyrics again.

Hercules wrote: His voice is annoying at times, but at other times quite lovely. His lyrics are often almost randomly generated words and that is my problem with Yes - there's little or no deeper meaning in many of their songs.

At times, Jon's voice can be heavenly, but at others it's grating me if if I was some kind of three-years cheddar, ready to be wastedly melted on a bad pizza.

chopper wrote: I believe he has said that he chose his words for their sound rather than their meaning but I don't have a problem with that or his vocals.

Yup, I also read that, but he said that to probably to avoid discussing at length what he was trying to say.

While I didn't really enjoy his collabs with Vangelis, nor most of his solo work, his 1994 release, Change We Must is an outright masterpiece, in my opinion. Here his voice shines. 

This, with absolute spades

Change We Must remains one of my favourite albums, a wonderful piece of work.

Let me be perfectly clear. I was NOT throwing stones as Jon. I happen to like his vocal style and his way with words which even if they weren't created with a specific meaning in mind have a magical quality that one can read a multitude of interpretations into.

For the record my favorite record of all of his records be it with Yes, Vangelis, Animation, or Solo remains this one - 

When seasoning a witch I'd advise flakes of sea salt, a good pinch of freshly-ground black pepper and some thinly-sliced garlic.

Really though you're better off just making a soup out of them. They can be tough as old boots.

I'll do one better than that. It's my favorite album period. 

As for Jon's voice I once read an interview or saw an article or something that said his voice is actually above the range of a tenor. It's interesting that in the early days of Yes he sung in a lower register because he was sort of ashamed of his higher voice or maybe wanted to sound more masculine or something. By the time they did Fragile his natural voice was unleashed and you can hear the difference between his singing on something like "heart of the sunrise" and "no opportunity needed no experience necessary."

Jon Davidsons voice is very annyoying and whiney ---sounds like Jon Anderson on helium....it's the difference between a kazoo and a clarinet. 

BTW--His voice on Vangelis--So long ago so clear is sublime

It might sound cheesy, but hearing him sing on songs like that sends me to another world, it's so beautiful.

I mean...I've thought to myself, "What the hell are these lyrics?" many times, but in the end it doesn't really matter, as long as it sounds good.

I always thought he was saying "Awaken venomous touch!" I was like, why is Jon Anderson singing about snakes or spiders or something?

Wasn’t it Accrington?

yep you're right , no idea where I got that from 

See the thing about Yes lyrics is if you forget them, you're probably screwed. They don't make quite enough logical sense a lot of the time to figure out what the next line was probably supposed to be about, lol. Love em though.

I agree with my Welsh friend. 

Please enjoy this little bit that I recorded at a "Voice of Yes" show in Chicagoland some years back:

hI,

It wasn't intended to you directly but to everyone else ... like you, that has been for a long time (along with TFTO) one of my favorite albums ... and a special one for my heart!

My only comment is that too many of these comments listed above are all towards a top ten orientation and individuality and words well written and placed are not considered a part of top ten, because the audience is the boss, and the artist is a nobody!

That's the one thing that scares me about "progressive music" ... too many of those folks around!

his voice angelic, his lyrics devilish (devilishly hard to understand).