TIME AND A WORD

"No Opportunity Necessary..." is probably a track that didn't find room on the debut album, as it's not much different. They are using an orchestra, but on this first song there are just some strings at the end. I have to say that Tony Kaye and Peter Banks don't sound too different from Howe and Wakeman on this track.

"Then" is well played and arranged. In particular bass and keyboards make a great work, but the song is not yet mature. Also in this case the orchestra doesn't make great things. Only the brasses that appear in a sort of chorus are symptoms of an orchestra behind. Unfortunately the arrangement is better than the song itself.

The orchestra appears at the beginning of the jazzy "Everydays". This is really a good track on which keyboard and orchestra make the variations over the main theme carried on by Anderson, Bruford and Squire. After a couple of minutes a jazz tempo by Brufod introduces a more rocky section on which Kaye performs a very good keyboard riif helped by Banks, then they o back to the jazz-club mood of the beginning of the song. One of the best album's tracks.

"Sweet Dreams" is a taste of things to come. It's still far from the heights of CTTE or Fragile, but it's already a YES song. The one that I was remembering more before giving a spin to this album after a number of years

"The Prophet" looks like a patchwork of different short pieces grouped together. The result is quite good and for the first time the orchestral work is relevant.

"Clear Days" is a filler. Strings and Jon's voice for a mellow short song.

"Astral Travellers" is opened by a guitar fading in. It's one of the best things of the album. After the funky beginning, the central section of bass and guitar is excellent, then the track progresses very well. A great song with a great performance by Squire.

Finally the title track, something that the YES are still performing live after 40 years. (I should say 25 as the last time that I've been at a YES gig was about 15 years ago. However it's a great closer.

I don't like speaking of bonus tracks or re-releases, specially when I have the original vinyl, so I stop here. This is an album more solid than the first, very promising on which they might have saved some money by giving up to the non-needed orchestra. Good, but newbies please start from "The Yes Album".

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