TIME AND A WORD

"Time and a Word" is the 2nd full-length studio album by by UK progressive rock act Yes. The album was released through Atlantic Records in July 1970. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from 1969 and features the same five-piece lineup who recorded the debut album. Guitarist Peter Banks was however fired from Yes a couple of months prior to the release of "Time and a Word". Banks was not satisfied with the direction of the music and it created tensions with the other members of the band. They finally had enough and Banks was fired and replaced by Steve Howe. "Time and a Word" was not as well received by the critics upon release as the debut was, but it managed to chart in the UK, which the debut never did.

"Time and a Word" continues the semi-progressive rock style of the debut album, but adds an orchestra to some tracks, ultimately making this a very different sounding release to the debut (which was one of the things Banks was very unsatisfied with, another was producer Tony Colton). The album features six originals and two covers of "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" by Richie Havens and "Everydays" by Buffalo Springfield.

The material are well written, intricate, and memorable. Although I agree with Banks that the orchestra parts really don´t suit the songs and they could easily have been left out, and would probably have made the material better. Highlights include "Then", "Astral Traveller", and the uplifting and beautiful title track, which closes the album. "Everydays" is also a standout track in my book, but "Time and a Word" is a consistent quality release with both progressive moments, more instantly catchy melodic moments, and a couple of harder rocking moments too (although you would of course never mistake Yes for a hard rock band).

The musical performances are on a high level on all posts, from the jazz rock influenced drumming by Bill Bruford, to the busy and creative bass playing of Chris Squire, to the powerful and innovative guitar playing of Peter Banks, to the adventurous and clever organ/piano work of Tony Kaye, to the unique sounding voice and vocal delivery of John Anderson (and the many well arranged harmony and choir vocal parts). Yes were a force to be reckoned with already this early on in their career. It´s obvious that they had collective skills that few other contemporary artists could muster. There´s so much power, passion, and intensity to the performances that it´s hard not to be impressed by what you´re listening to.

Later remixes/remasters have cleaned up the original sound production, which was a little rough around the edges, but the original album was pretty well sounding too considering the time of recording (December 1969?February 1970). So upon conclusion "Time and a Word" is a good quality release. It´s not the giant step forward from the debut album, that one could have hoped for, but bigger changes were lurking around the corner, and in the case of "Time and a Word" less will do. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.