MAGNIFICATION

This holds a place in Yestory (portmanteau of ''Yes'' and ''history'') for the band does not have a proper keyboardist here. Instead, they use an orchestra; initially, that sounds like a horrible idea, but the way everything is arranged makes the orchestra sound like a separate instrument, as if the keys weren't really missing.

The compositional output has improved on this album compared to the effort on THE LADDER; only one bad pop song in ''Don't Go'' and two unmemorable tracks in ''We Agree'' and ''Soft as a Dove'' are MAGNIFICATION's only faults. However, if you're looking for blowaway tracks akin to ''Awaken'', ''Close to the Edge'' or ''South Side of the Sky'', you're in for a lame surprise.

The two epics here are the best the album has to offer, but neither achieve the compositional heights Yes's 70's classics do. ''Dreamtime'' has many interesting rhythmic interplays, but the two-minute orchestral-fest at the end knocks it down from essential Yes listening. The title track is the closest thing to a Yes classic with a ''Schizoid Man'' type of ending.

Like I've said before, the compositional quality is not quite there compared to when Yes kept dumping out classics. A song like ''In the Presence Of'' sounds quite ''ordinary'' in the Yes- canon even if it still has a magic to it. If you're new to the group, put this album on the backburner until a few of their classics are acquired. Yes fans should own this, but it's not a strong classic album.