THE YES ALBUM

I am a 4+ on this one. It is my second favorite Yes album, just behind Close to the Edge. I could probably listen to the whole thing in my mind. But an excuse to listen to one of my favorite albums of all time, sure, twist my arm. This is the band's 3rd album after 2 underrated albums with Peter Banks on guitar. Steve Howe's arrival, however, takes them to the upper echelon of prog bands.

Track 1 - Yours Is no Disgrace

Yes shows that they have fully arrived on this one. The big Bonanza style riff kicks off the album in style! Kaye's organ adds a nice touch. But when Howe starts playing his lead riffs, you know you're in for something special. Those scale runs at around 1:10 are fast yet smooth. They add a layer of excitement to the track. There is a taste of synth as the intro ends. Then Kay sustains the organ on low notes for the brilliant harmony vocals to take over. The second verse finds Squire and Bruford swinging away to establish the rhythm. Kaye would depart the band after this album as he didn't want to get into playing more synths, which his successor would fully embrace. However, he does a nice job with the parts he plays here. We reach the quiet harmony vocal section with Squire's walking bass line under the voices of Anderson, Howe and Squire himself. Their blend of voices proved to be a winning combination for the rest of the decade. Squire's slightly distorted bass riff is nasty in the best possible way. Howe's panning wah-wah break brings us into an extended instrumental break. There is a brief acoustic part, before Howe begins playing sustained notes. That is followed by a jazzy guitar solo section. Kaye plays pastoral organ coming out of the solo. Squire starts the walking bass part again while Howe strums an acoustic to set the stage for Anderson's pristine tenor vocals. Bruford is just providing accents in a subtle manner. Squire joins Anderson with harmonies on the second part of the vocals in this section. The wah guitar part serves as a wakeup call for the band to start grooving again. Hove plays the triplet pattern he played in the intro and the song concludes with an ascending synth. Yes' first true masterpiece of a song (and there are more on this album alone).

Track 2 - The Clap

It should have just been called "Clap" but received the unfortunate "The" from a misinterpretation of Anderson's introduction on this live recording. While this piece may be one of Howe's most overplayed acoustic solos in concert (the other being "Mood for a Day" from the next album, Fragile), there is no denying its brilliance. Howe's ragtime fingerpicking is beyond difficult to replicate. NO-ONE else was playing like this in a rock band in that era. Howe showed himself as a force to be reckoned with. The notes just cascade beautifully as the piece develops. The ending is absolutely superb.

Track 3 - Starship Trooper

Ready for another masterpiece of prog? Here you go! Howe's phasey guitar arpeggios and Squire's masterful bass playing, along with Bruford's clean drumming and Kaye's subtle organ sets the stage for Anderson's angelic vocals. This opening section is called Life Seeker. The tremolo effect on Squire's bass really sets his tone apart from other bassists. At around 3:20 Howe's dazzling fingerpicking acoustic skills accompany Anderson & Squire's fantastic harmony vocals. This is the beginning of the Disillusion section of the piece. The cascading vocal harmonies at around 4:35 are a stroke of brilliance. Kaye's organ begins to build subtly beneath the surface as we approach the end of the Disillusion section of the song and head into Wurm. This instrumental closing section is based on a 3- chord riff Howe brought with him from his previous band, Bodast. Those three chords provide an amazing platform for the band to build upon for some incredible playing and a slow-build crescendo. The bass drums and keys along with guitar overdubs fade in on my right side as the original riff continues on my left. Squire's bass lines are expertly building tension. Kaye's creeping organ and Bruford's drumming take us to the release of tension at 8:23 with Howe's guitar solo. He is playing short phrases that are panned from side to side, effectively creating a guitar duel with himself. The song is a masterclass in composition and arranging. An all-time classic.

Track 4 - I've Seen All Good People

While many Yes fans will complain that this song has gotten worn out over the years, I am always taken by the fresh, bright sound of the vocal harmonies and Howe's brilliant use of a "Portuguese 12-String Guitar" (AKA Vachalia). The a Capella harmony introduction starts us off in style, followed by the bright sounding Portuguese 12- String. This opening section of the song is called Your Move, as the lyrics use chess playing metaphors in the lyrics. Bruford and Squire accent the "1" of each measure, and guest musician Colin Goldring (from more obscure British proggers Gnidrolog) provides overdubbed recorder harmonies. The vocal arrangement here is nothing short of amazing. I love the subtle backing harmony vocals quoting John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance". Kaye's organ swells (that sounds dirty but isn't meant to be) as we approach the end of the Your Move section and head toward part 2, the rocking "All Good People" section. While the main riff is a variation on a standard bluesy type of riff, the guitar fills that Howe plays are mind blowing. Bruford and Squire's rhythm section playing is so tight, you couldn't slip a dime between them. Yes, the harmony vocals are repetitive, but it works as a sort of mantra for me. I just noticed that when looking at the time codes, that the two sections of the song are exactly half of the song. Kay plays some nice boogie piano riffs in here. Howe's guitar at 4:40 is simply amazing. The organ swells again and provides backing for the vocal harmonies that close the song that modulate to a lower key on each repeat as the song fades out.

Track 5 - A Venture

This underrated song kind of gets dwarfed by the bigger pieces around it, but there is a lot to enjoy in its relatively brief 3:19. The song fades in with brilliant piano from the underrated Kaye, and nice jazzy guitar riffs from Howe. Squire provides the rhythm in the bass as the vocals join in. Bruford's drumming is very subtle, as Anderson hits a brilliant high note after the 1-minute mark. I like the acapella vocals (with some instrumental accents) at 1:20. Howe plays great guitar fills throughout. I have seen some speculation that Banks is actually playing guitar on here, but it seems pure Howe to me. Kaye plays some nice piano parts as the song fades.

Track 6 - Perpetual Change

And yet another Yes masterpiece. There is a brilliant intro section that leads to the first verse which is pretty quiet. Howe's tremolo guitar and Kaye's piano sit nicely atop Bruford & Squire's rhythm section. I love the call & response type vocals in the chorus. One of the great things that Yes does here is that each verse and chorus is a slight variation of the one before it. It's never the exact same thing. Howe plays a solo at around 4 minutes that morphs into a Wes Montgomery jazz style lead. However, the most brilliant section starts at around 5:09. A 7-8 section gets panned to the right while a completely different part fades in on the left. Then Howe and Kaye layer parts on top of that. That high synth sound brings us back to the vocal parts. The verse at around 7 minutes has a completely different groove than the ones before. The outro of this song is amazing. Bruford & Squire keep things cookin' with little accent parts at the end of each segment, and more parts layer themselves in each time. We fade out on this part.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

This is the beginning of Yes' classic period. They really found their way on this album. As I mentioned earlier, I think the 2 albums with Banks are quite good, but they crossed into greatness with this one. This is the first of what I consider to be a golden trio of Yes Albums. I always say that I like this one better than Fragile, but the distance between them is miniscule. This is a definite 5 out of 5 for me, and I can't believe it's only at number 33 on the list (Prog Magazine's 100 Greatest Prog Albums of all time).