TORMATO

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.

Share this YES review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Easy Livin
• Report this review (#148408)
• Buy YES music online with PA partners
• Show all YES MP3/Stream
• Go to YES page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Tormato page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for YES related discussions