DRAMA by Yes: Lost Classic or Justified Dud?

i like it, of course. i want to be a proper yeshead!

Also, "Flush the Fashion" is fantastic, the best thing Alice did in years.

"Tempus Fugit" is no more ska than XTC's "Living through Another Cuba," but I believe Allmusic were referring to the hiccupy tempo of the track, which -- if you erase the mandatory porkpie hat/white towelling socks from your mind -- could conceivably sound ska-esque.

And I love to play those first bars of Does it really Happen? on bass.

A classic.

Me: So the Buggles had a song called "I Am a Camera." Then they both joined Yes, who re-recorded it... as "Into the Lens."

Lisa: [guffaws]

Me: That about says it all about Yes.

Actually, it appeared on Drama first, so The Buggles were the ones to re-record it (for Adventures in Modern Recording).

There's another song this line-up performed live ("We Can Fly From Here") that I hope sees release with the next upcoming remastered reissues that are coming out...

This line up of Yes is in fact the only one I've so far seen live* Horn was okay as lead vocalist on stage, but fluffed a few of the high notes in the 'classics'.

(*but I may put that right this year when they tour UK again)

I just snagged the new reissue of this with all the extra unreleased tracks piled on. "Dancing Through The Light" is a straight-up Buggles track that could have been on the playlist in some anonymous early 80s "new wave" dance club. I'd totally pick it as one of my choices for "anarchist disco" (or whatever it's called).

I can only imagine the amount of steam that poured out of turtle-boy's ears when this came over the studio speakers.

Though interestingly, "Dancing through the Light" was recorded while Anderson and Wakeman were still in the band, not the Buggles--that's Anderson singing 'Dance through the Light', not Horn. Obviously, it was still a rudimentary idea at that point. That and the last four tracks ("Golden Age", "In the Tower" and "Friend of a Friend") are from the aborted 1979 sessions the Tormato line-up held in Paris. "In the Tower" is quite a beautiful (if incomplete-sounding) track...glad to hear a cleaned up version of it being released.

Wild! I snagged my copy from slsk, so I don't have the full liner notes on this.

Hey Jeff, if you want to stroll down memory lane:

http://www.forgottenyesterdays.com/tour_listing.asp?s=5&tname=10&SortBy=tDate&so=asc&navb=4

Thanks, Joe! :) I was at the Brighton show and the reports posted on that site are painfully accurate.

Yeggles on tour may have been a bit underwhelming, but 'Drama' still stands up IMHO. Since I last posted on this thread I've mentioned on one of the many other Yes threads that keep popping up these days how wonderful the reissue is. I share your disappointment about the absence of 'We Can Fly...' (and indeed no "finished" Yeggle version of 'Go Through This') on the CD though. Perhaps they were never recorded?

Oh, and I did get to finally see the classic line-up of Yes live last year, and superb they were too.

Inspirational verse, a la Christgau:

You walk, the way
You take, the path
To be, assured
You draw, a graph
The scale, you use
Is all, on black
Be brave, the weight
Will make, the heat
There is, no way
To take-it back.

Amen, brothers.

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1920058

Tom Terrell = the AntiMarsh?

(Did Dave Marsh say something about Yes and the racial makeup of their audience?)

No, just an offhanded, tongue-in-cheek quip (that Marsh is from NJ and hates prog rock "because it is so removed from the taproot of rock and roll, rhythm and blues"), etc).

June 25, 2005 - Dates are now available on the Tour page for The More Drama Tour, which features Alan White's band White (with Geoff Downes on keyboards), Chris Squire with the Syn, and Steve Howe solo acoustic/electric. The performances will end with a "Drama-tic" encore with the four Yes members (who recorded the album Drama).

Still like Drama though...

2x YSI = I will love you forever.

Oooh seconded!!!

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=70230

You have to be a member tho...

I think this is the only tour where the band often received boos and jeers...

Yes I would truthfully like to hear this. Carry on.

Sting, apparently.

http://www.marksmart.net/gearhack/sitar/sitar.html

http://youtube.com/watch?v=feJ6IwEZOPI&search=buggles

Trevor Horn - born to be a producer, not a frontman, alas

lol, i just listened to Does It Really Happen - that song rocks despite the daft lyrics. Squire's vocals are really up front on that one.
and Downes horn-like synth on the outro really paved the way for his immortal Only Time Will Tell bit with Asia.

i am a camera

all is meant to be

I *finally* found some mp3s of one of the Drama tour shows. It's really, truly and utterly embarassing because of Horn's inability to fill Anderson's shoes in a live setting. Had to get rid of said bootleg or else I'd never be able to listen to Drama again.

i'm getting all yessed out tonite - DAMN YOU, BOOZE!

Cannot listen to this album without skipping half of it. I can (and occasionally do) even listen to Tormato in one piece.

weird, this is easily one of their best, and so much better than tormato. this album is kind of evil and weird sounding most of the time! horn's vocals are great.

This album rules!

Alright, I'm going to listen to this tonight also

Steve Howe's guitar solo on "Temput Fugit" must be one of the best solos ever.

Fuck yeah!

Steve Howe's guitar solo on "Temput Fugit" must be one of the best solos ever.

-- Geir Hongro, Thursday, November 22, 2007 11:59 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Link

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fuck yeah!

-- Alex in NYC, Thursday, November 22, 2007 9:13 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

Good lord--Geir and Alex in agreement? Mark my words: The Apocalypse is nigh!

whatver J$NOT

hoho--like that's original!

I and Alex agree on most hip-hop, so it isn't a first. :)

have we mentioned that the Drama lineup (plus the new singer, and no Jon Anderson) is back?

http://heavyrocktheplaylist.blogspot.com/2011/03/yes-new-album-fly-from-here-out-in-july.html

I like this album, probably my 3rd fave after Yes Album and 90125.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JvCQ1kMjFQ

new album cover art to stare at while you are stoned:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/akmonday/YES_-_FLY_FROM_HERE_COVER.jpg

Tracklist :
“Fly From Here – Overture”
“Fly From Here – Pt I – We Can Fly”
“Fly From Here – Pt II – Sad Night At The Airfield”
“Fly From Here – Pt III – Madman At The Screens”
“Fly From Here – Pt IV – Bumpy Ride”
“Fly From Here – Pt V – We Can Fly (reprise)”
“The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be”
“Life On A Film Set”
“Hour Of Need”
“Solitaire”
“Into The Storm”

Bonus track: "Twist and Shout"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR-DKEcDtt8

looking forward to this, despite the jon anderson impersonator lead singer. my faith in this band is pathological

Well, that excerpt playing thru the end sounds very close to the Buggles' "Fly From Here" so here's hoping at least the production has that old (late 70s) Trev Horn touch.

Steve Howe is so cadaverous

yeah he must be the oddest looking man in rock.

Alan White's developed a weird accent hasn't he?

he lives in portland or something and has for a long time, so maybe that has something to do with it (I didn't listen to this but I know he has lived in the US for ages)

iTunes has the whole thing up with 1+ minute excerpts for most songs

kinda sounds more buggles than yes with a little bit of asia thrown in, much more MOR than Drama
horn's production is pretty sweet so at least there's that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLkuKXt-nec

The excerpts sound ok. That new guy's voice ... nope. Too Dennis DeYoung for me.

wonder 1) if 'overture/part 1 - 6' will be one long epic or seven separate tracks and 2) how jon anderson feels about all this

"yesia," anderson mutters under his fairy breath, checking the record cover out

http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/2011/06/riding-tiger-review-of-fly-from-here.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCeEjUHi8Qs

whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

when did this happen and how did i not find out about it

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CtjAeK4GUvM/TZRzJ7n7zYI/AAAAAAAABGY/a1FgGGz9-Rg/s400/yesrobshanahan.jpg

this is the single most impenetrable band photo i've seen in ages

not out yet, not till early july, i think. that band photo is pretty o_O, definitely, especially the buggle in the middle

can't get over the way steve howe looks

i kinda feel like if you jumped on his head he'd disassemble like those skeleton koopas in mario, then just reassemble himself and continue soloing

with that bola tie he looks like a cowboy wizard standing next to a disembodied, sunglassed buggle head. love it that squire is working that necklace of orc teeth or whatever it is

could this possibly be any good? they seem to be decent about every other album since '90125.' by that pattern, this one should be okay, since 'the ladder' rules and 'magnification' blows

i'd expect it to be like a solid 3.5/5 album. wouldn't think they're doing it for money at this point and obviously have had a long goddamn time to work on it.

I don't think this was one of those albums that gestated over a long time. It seems more like it was done fairly quickly using songs that had been laying around for a while in different states of completion. These dudes have been touring frequently for the last few years as Yes (and Howe in Yes AND Asia) so seems like they found a chunk of time once touring stopped to get together with Horn and crank this one out. Either way, except for some cool Horn production touches, I'm not holding out hope for this to be more than average. The iTunes samples point to it being blah.

i seem to recall a few Yes members talking about doing a new "Tales"-type album, 4 songs 80 minutes, for release in 2009 or something, so I guess I just assumed parts of that ended up here?

haven't heard the samples yet but "Homeworld" alone gives me hope for new Yes

If I love every album from The Yes Album through Going for the One and am lukewarm towards Drama and 90125, are there any albums since then that I should definitely check out?

Maybe I like Tales as opposed to loving it...

Can( think of one, sund4r. True proggy Yes in the 70s sense ended in the 70s, imho. And on a bum note - with Tormato.

I've listened to all the previews for this a number of times. I'm a big Drama fan. I don't think this is quite that calibre; on the other hand, it is miles beyond anything that has come out under the Yes name since 90125. There are a scattering of tracks here and there that are good there is a huge amount of crap too.

If I love every album from The Yes Album through Going for the One and am lukewarm towards Drama and 90125, are there any albums since then that I should definitely check out?

Probably not.

Btw. the stuff linked above sounds like this may be their best albums since.... well.... since "Drama".

best album even

If I love every album from The Yes Album through Going for the One and am lukewarm towards Drama and 90125, are there any albums since then that I should definitely check out?

you should definitely check out 'the ladder.' the two epics -- "homeworld" and "new languages" -- reach the same dizzy space circus place of classic yes. "lightning strikes" sounds like a preview of 'merriweather post pavilion.' there are a few way way corny songs but overall it's worth your time if you love the early stuff

The problem about "The Ladder" is that it is produced by Bruce Fairbarn, and as such approaches a kind of hair metal sound that sounds nothing like classic 70s prog.

best album even

― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, June 15, 2011 12:15 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

O_o

geir there aren't a lot of swirling organ runs in any hair metal i've heard, like there are in "homeworld." that's more a classic 70s prog thing. and "lightning strikes"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEdh48lNuSs
and "face to face" sound nothing remotely like hair metal

I love The Ladder and always feel guilty for loving it. If Only You Knew probably ha a lot to do with that.

it's a weird album. it's ok. it's probably the best of talk-open your eyes-keys to ascension-ladder stretch, but the songs aren't very memorable (none of them in this entire era are).

I like magnification, but I don't really like the orchestra on it.

I love Magnification. All the choons are 4/4 but I really like how well the orchestra just plugs in.

i <3 jon anderson but he has been incapable of anything but twee new age shite for 20+ years

i was on this thread mostly for nostalgia and cheap lols once i heard the new lineup was making a record but horn being involved intrigued me
horn/downes wrote much of the new album and it sounds to me after listening to all the samples that they have managed to make a record that is not an embarrassment - which is the best you can expect from a yes album in 2011. it's sort of "soft" and very buggles-y, no real Drama-ish rocking out, but a credible effort all around. if the classic lineup dudes manage to live for another 2-3 years i'm sure they'll get together for one more go and benoit david will go back to the tribute circuit.

Having to do overtime again so I'm chucking some of this. Currently The Ladder. Did Drama yesterday, loved it more than I did upthread

aside from the corny songs, "if only you knew," "finally," and "it'll be a good day" (which isn't horrible), i like 'the ladder' a lot. it's a "return to form." i'm as impressed with them for getting their heads together enough to record such a strong album thirty years into being a band as i am with the cure for recording their best album, 'disintegration,' ten years into it. i realize that perseverance and longevity aren't exactly the first qualities that most people (me included) look for in rock bands, but there's something (hesitate to admit it) inspirational about how dynamic the epics are and how "lightning strikes"/"can i"/"face to face" are at once manic and bizarre while referencing ancient touchstones, like their own "we have heaven" and the kinks' "phenomenal cat." i acknowledge that this is a quirk, even pathological, like i said earlier

if this new one is a patch on 'the ladder,' i will be stoked

and the kinks' "phenomenal cat."

pretty sure that's just a stock loop that came with mellotrons

if the classic lineup dudes manage to live for another 2-3 years i'm sure they'll get together for one more go and benoit david will go back to the tribute circuit

Ooh, I don't know about that. I interviewed Wakeman a couple of weeks ago, and he said that there was no way the classic line-up would ever reform now. He's still sore on Anderson's behalf, that Squire/Howe/White weren't prepared to hang fire while Anderson had his health problems. Wakeman's next project is a three-way with Anderson and Rabin, by the way.

Then again, I pushed him a bit and he mumbled "never say never"...

Wakeman's next project is a three-way with Anderson and Rabin, by the way.

UH-OH

I saw the classic lineup play in '03 and they were on fire. One of the best shows -'ve ever seen. IMHO they should've bowed out after that tour. Gone out as champs.

I've listened to all the previews for this a number of times. I'm a big Drama fan. I don't think this is quite that calibre;

Really? I've been listening to them too and I think they suggest something with a wider scope than Drama. Hopeful.

the '07 tour was pretty good too.

when i first got dish installed there was this channel that broadcast recent concerts by bands like Rush, Yes, and the Moody Blues. The Yes one was particularly awesome, though Steve Howe's cadaver was kind of awkward. also, I don't think there was a single non-white person in the audience which struck me as pretty odd (but not really)

was it the one with chris squire wearing spandex?

I will listen to this where I listen to everything by the new Yes: in my friend's car.

We saw them about a year and a half ago with the new singer. It was a really good show -- but let's be clear:

Steve Howe can BRING IT. He may look cadaverous but the guy absolutely tears it up live.

when is this thing going to leak?

don't remember the spandex but they were all dressed pretty ridiculously. I agree about Howe though. Seems like he does nothing but play guitar.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CtjAeK4GUvM/TZRzJ7n7zYI/AAAAAAAABGY/a1FgGGz9-Rg/s400/yesrobshanahan.jpg http://www.yesworld.com/images/yes2011-home.jpg

I can't work out which one is the 'shop

second one I think, I guess to make it seem less like horn is a member of the band this time out.

I wonder who farted btw

howe is a vegan, so him.

this has leaked btw (actually it's already out in japan).

certainly the best thing with the Yes name on it since 90125; you could say it's a bit too smooth, maybe, and the buggles demos and drama-era yes-castoff 'we can fly from here' are the best things on it by far, but it's better than it has any reason to be. new vocalist is completely fine and doesn't ape anderson through the whole album. doesn't really sound like 'drama' either.

Digging it, actually. Only a few songs in. Nice glossy spacious old school Horn production. : )

"i saw you at the air race yesterday, april showers. . . ."

this new one reminds me that rio came out a little while after drama

Alright - my opinion: It seems to lose its way after the "Fly From Here" suite (yep. With an "Overture" and everything.) though the Chris Squire-sung track is an enjoyable enough attempt at the "90125/Big Generator" vibe. The solo Steve Howe track is filler - why didn't that just end up on one of his own records? "Life On A Film Set" ( another Buggles leftover) has an odd early Crimson/ELP feel and it almost works. Overall it feels...lackluster, down to the playing. No amazing playing from Howe or Squire - more like they're filling space. Or they're thinking of lunch.

there's also a little too much asia going on and . . . yoso maybe?

and the buggles suite doesn't hang together all that well, on first listen, at least -- concept's alan parsons project loose, 'i robot' or 'turn of a friendly card' or one of those

but still i'm a sucker for these vibes. would love to smoke a bowl with j anderson the first time he hears this, to see the look on his face

"sailor, beware. there are storm clouds"

Yeah, I'm a sucker for it, too. Especially the Trevor Horn touch and those big synth parts (haha!). Kind of happy Jon wasn't part of this one, actually. He deserves better.

amen

squire's song doesn't sound too far off his solo album, or that syn reunion album from a couple years ago, at least for the first minute. then. . . .

okay, "life on a film set" could be a buggles reunion song. that's more like it

ween, "the hour of need," the mollusk or white pepper

gerard johnson (st. etienne and then a bunch of yes associated stuff) co-wrote 'man you always wanted me to be' which yeah, does sound like that Syn album, very poppy (so is hour of need. actually I could imagine Sarah Cracknell singing that one. can't you?)

whoah. almost as hard for me to imagine sarah singing on a yes album as beth gibbons. lisa gerrard i could see. but i had no idea about gerard johnson's association with squire. that enough blows my mind

The whole Fly from Here suite is not too bad but it sounds awfully like a pastiche. imo Bumpy Ride is Yes's way of saying "look we can do the trickier stuff, omg look an irregular time signature and now it's getting faster LOOK" and almost works despite sounding incredibly self-conscious.

In its entirety the album just washes over me. Sometimes I swear I can hear the arthritis grinding away at these old buggers.

That's a pretty fair description--on the plus side, nothing on the record sounds godawful or even embarrassing-- on the whole it's a very inoffensive album, with no real high or low points to speak of. Production is clean but not rich, same synth sounds throughout. On first pass I guess the final track is the best, though I can't really remember how it goes.

Same! I hear the end track with its On the Silent Wings of Freedom-style guitar work and think "oh yes this is that good track at the end" and then it ends and I instantly forget what it was.

That sums up the album for me — its middling inoffensiveness (p much as you said) is nice while it lasts but it doesn't leave an impression. I don't know whether I'd prefer them to have taken a few chances and risked producing a respectable turd.

Having said all that, it's most definitely a true Yes album in every way that matters.

album's growing on me, even the suite. took a few listens with 'the ladder' too. this is one of the few albums i'd endorse listening to on shuffle. i think the sequencing kind of sucks and the suite doesn't hold together well enough to work as one piece. taking it apart and letting "movements" shuffle in between "songs" has me enjoying the subtle "themes" common to each of the "movements" better than when i listen to it straight. man do i put in work for this band

ahahahaha

Usually the work pays off, that's why we keep doing it. I'll keep your shuffle suggestion in mind btw; I can imagine how much better this album would work with the dull second half being spiced up by that recurring motif.

that's what happens, for me at least. plus, instead of one forced suite, and then a bunch of songs, the whole thing becomes one long interconnected listen

Yes has never worked with running themes outside contiguous suites iirc, perhaps they should formally give it a go in their dotage.

there might be some recurring melodies etc scattered throughout 'topographic oceans,' not sure. that one's defeated me so far through the years. i'm all ears if they record more after this. i hope if t horn's not on board again, that at least they use a strong producer of his caliber; that's what seems to have worked best since way back with eddie offord. would love it if they gave it a go with like eno or fridmann (or albini or kanye) but somehow i doubt that's in the cards

it does seem to be the beginning of a new era, although it probably depends on how much longer the dudes can hold up (unless they're gradually passing the baton to a whole new generation via oliver/benoit, like a cricket team or something)

(providing squire is prepared to let go even in death)

chris squire and keith richards will outlive us all

The suite has really really grown on me. I must have played it about 15 times now. In terms of greatness it's better than Machine Messiah/In the Presence Of, but obv it's not up there with Awaken/Delirium/Close to the Edge. Squire's bass work is fantastic and David's voice really suits the material.

Also this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_from_Here

According to Squire, the title track is the band's eleventh epic piece

Only eleven?

1. Close to the Edge
2. Tales
3. Tales
4. Tales
5. Tales
6. Gates of Delirium
7. Awaken
8. Endless Dream
9. Mind Drive
10. In the Presence Of
11. Fly from Here

^ my guess (based mainly on length)

unless they're gradually passing the baton to a whole new generation via oliver/benoit, like a cricket team or something

kind of doubt this, since they already fired oliver.

things aren't going so well

http://www.examiner.com/classic-hard-rock-in-national/yes-keyboardist-geoff-downes-responds-to-negative-fan-reviews

"And oh yes – Downes broke out his keytar to kick it into full gear. It must have been nice to break out of that keyboard cage."

the reviews of the shows are incredibly bad and the bits I heard are embarrassing. makes me suspect that Horn played a much larger role in shaping this album than suspected. The setlists for this tour are terrible too; Yes makes their best album in many many years and only plays one song from it, instead pulling out all the aged warhorses everyone associates with Anderson?

It sounded to me like White's drinking might be an issue as well. Regardless, I'll be skipping this since I hate Styx. If they get it together and tour again next year and focus on this record I'll go, but they're kind of running out of time.

crosslinking in case some of you have missed it --> Yes solo albums S/D

(live performance recorded by an audience member this week)

I have only made it thru the suite this far -- but the chorus has been stuck in my head for days. Loathe as I am to suggest it, it's one of the best melodies they've written -- and has a fantastic arrangement to boot. Plus, Chris sounds awesome.

Oh and my friend (owner of said car mentioned upthread) saw them in Nashville this wknd and said they were awesome.

i thought it was all terrible but the new singer irks me. the arrangements are not in the vein of cool early Yes

lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgzgAn1N3oI

good god

lol omg

love that the guitarists reshuffle slightly, seeming to have this instinctive knowledge that they should align into a quo-like straightline formation upon the arrival of another guitarist (/guitar-shaped object-wielder), ready to synchro-rock

I only made it through the first two minutes, did I miss something awesome

http://www.conncerts.com/images/806_Yes_0988_se.jpg

no!, i too drifted after someone with a non-novelty instrument took the limelight. it's just that he drifts towards the other guys & they, like fighterplanes, just seem to quickly re-organise, ready to do that weird, synchro-herk-&-jerk thing that status quo do in a straight line, shoulder-banging in unison. it doesn't even go anywhere & happen, it just seems to be an innate, reflexive move.

0:30.

At some point I'll find the John Tenniel illustration that Squire reminds me of in those videos.

This one?

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jtennielireland.JPG

My God. Terrible. Even Howe is playing like some Guitar Center® salesman.

I like parts of Howe's solo there. And Geoff Downes is really great; check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b35x2Q3pUAw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGTF_Ijt4xo

This one?

I was thinking more this

http://www.knowledgerush.com/wiki_image/d/d5/Tennieldumdee.jpg

but with bad hair

I like parts of Howe's solo there. And Geoff Downes is really great; check this out:


--timellison

that keytar solo fucking rules, sorry! don't think Geoff Downes doesn't have a sense of humor about the whole thing. they're also playing pretty good; I think they're redeeming this tour, from what I've read. I'll go see them if they go out again without Styx and actually play the new album (which I love).

i would put up a poster of downes brandishing that keytar. new album rules. not as good as 'drama' (what is?) but there are four solid jams on it that could go on a 'classic yes ii.'

threads that link diamonds of light to the satanic mills

'yes' should change their name to 'no'

no room for haters of this record. I mean, listen to the stuff Yes has hoisted on us since Big Generator, and then listen to this, and then get back to me and tell me that FFH is a bad album. It is not. Yeah it's kind of a Buggles album but it is still pretty awesome.

Drama sucks to

hey, lorax is a piece of shit

that's uncool, despite lorax expressing a wrong opinion

Yeah it's kind of a Buggles album

Part of what's so stunning about Drama (and perhaps this one) is how much inserting "Buggles" into "Yes" still worked as Yes.

album of the year

can't get over the way steve howe looks

i kinda feel like if you jumped on his head he'd disassemble like those skeleton koopas in mario, then just reassemble himself and continue soloing

― frogbs, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 23:47 (5 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this description is perfect

the reviews of the shows are incredibly bad and the bits I heard are embarrassing. makes me suspect that Horn played a much larger role in shaping this album than suspected.

this is basically otm. live footage of that tour that i've recently seen and heard is frankly embarrassing—not howe's playing or anything, but the backing vocals in particular are just horrific. horn most definitely cleaned things up for the album.

that said, the 'fly from here' suite holds up really, really well. i've played it a few times recently and it's not irksome or *anything*.

oh and benoît david got boned so

yeah fly from here: a classic yes album. if they do another one they'd better get horn back, but I think they drained that well with FFH. too bad they're now touring old albums again and have kicked this to the corner but they probably aren't really up to supporting it any longer.

squire reckons they'll start recording later this year, no idea who'll be in the sessions though (apart from jon davison, the new singing bloke)

I hope their latest shows are good...I saw a version of "Close to the Edge" from 2011 w/ Benoit that was really quite awful, seemed slow it felt like most of the band was struggling staying in tune with each other. Dunno if it's a lack of practice or if they're just old. The 2011 ELP show was sad (and hilarious) for many of the same reasons. Emerson was mashing the keys as though he was wearing boxing gloves. Then again, Van der Graaf seem to still have it...

good for you for seeing contemporary shows by prog vets. I really did think for a second about going to see UK last fall, but it wasn't in the budget at the time.

only saw VdGG, not the other two. the Yes performance is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwHnbN5eysc

not really prog but the Moodies still put on a good show!

I seriously considered seeing them in aus, but the thought of standing in a room full of people like this

http://www.moawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/patron-brian-cadd.gif

was too much to bear

I saw Yes in 2003 and it was fantastic - classic lineup, sounded great. I'm happy I caught them then. FFH is an ok album, especially because of Horn's tasteful production, but they're pretty much coasting on fumes at this point.

I did see them in 2004 or 2005 and they were very good; it was kind of drained of any real inspiration, but they could still play (especially Howe)

xp yeah, recycling 30yo material is the giveaway. also that squackett album isn't terrific.

that's almost worse than saying it's bad

it's just there

like skirting boards, in that they do their job, and occasionally someone might notice that there's a skirting board and go 'oh that's nice'

People actually NOTICE skirting boards?

somebody did once

o_O

I'd only ever notice a skirting board if it was filthy, or someone had decorated it with glitter or something...

or if it were releasing a load of rehashed classics in order to recover funds from an expensive divorce

new Yes singer is actually quite good. he sings for neo-Yes imitators Glass Hammer so it makes sense that Yes would snap him up. actually Glass Hammer is a pretty sweet band in their own right. but you gotta go pretty far down the prog hole to wanna dig them up.

damn lots would be different if yes fans hadn't booed trevor horn on the drama tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBWY8oAnnww

this or 90125 is my favorite yes record, can never decide

i love them both. always wondered how much of a hand horn had in replacing himself with rabin, before jon anderson joined back up

Been listening to Drama and it's way better than I expected.
"Machine Messiah" has some really great bits, love the excitement with Squire and Horn singing together. I'm grateful Horn didn't try too hard to mimic Jon.
"Does It Really Happen?" and "Tempus Fugit" are fantastic too.

I think "Into The Lens" and "Run Through The Light" let the album down a bit. They aren't without good qualities but you could have had a stunning EP without them.

Many of the bonus tracks are great. "Song No. 4 (Satellite)" is a really great instrumental.

The Paris sessions with Anderson and Wakeman are pretty good, especially "Dancing Through the Light"; but "Golden Age", despite fun parts has Anderson going into self-parody with his singing about a bright future (and that sort of optimistic vision thing is one of my favourite things about him, so he must have been doing it badly here).
But I'm not surprised they didn't use these songs, they needed some work.

Been listening to this XYZ demo with Jimmy Page (I could have swore there were more Zeppelin members in XYZ) and it has a version of "Golden Age" and "Can You Imagine" (which ended up on Magnification). There is an hour's worth of demos elsewhere on youtube but I cant be bothered right now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek6smE65LlI

I meant to say XYZ has a version of "Song No. 4 (Satellite)", NOT "Golden Age".

Listening to more Squire singing, sometimes one of the Ween guys really do sing like him.

welcome to the light -- now everything is okay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SB2vqwNARo

yesssss

gettin' all yessed out rn

Yo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCyX139-mCw

Apparently, there is a new version of Fly from Here and Trevor Horn re-did the vocals on it!

There were rumours going around about this for a couple of years, but yeah it turns out this is exactly what they've done!

I'll look forward to getting to revisit the album. There are some new overdubs apparently, also.

already ordered it. Fly From Here was a late-period masterpiece from this band, their best album since 90125 IMO. Should have been their last. I guess now it kind of will be.

in the north sky times flies fast to the morning

be brave the wake the way the east

I fucking love Fly From Here and will be all over this.

i just read a trevor horn interview from this week where they asked how he benoit david took the news he was being removed from the album and horn was like "i dunno, we didn't talk to him" and said the problem with david's performance on the record was because he was 'french canadian' and had a hard time with the english words. hilarious. I feel bad for the guy; but I'm still totally into a full Horn sung version of this album and eagerly awaiting it.

Yah was thinking about while listening to a recording of We Can Fly From Here from the original Drama tour. It's kind of fascinating that Horn has the drive to complete this creative vision all these years later and the others are on board. Pretty remarkable.

A review! Of sorts - doesn't say much. But, yeah, amd waiting for this though will buy a download. Not paying the crazy PledgeMusic prices for a cd.

https://progreport.com/yes-fly-from-here-return-trip-album-review/

well this sounds good "A bit more decay on the drum reverb here, somewhat deader strings but punchier tone on the bass over there, and myriad small instrumental additions, subtractions, and adjusted backing vocals levels give Fly From Here-Return Trip a darker tone and intriguing change to the sonic space; on the whole, Horn’s remixing makes it sound as though the band have all moved in closer together to play, but in a larger, stiller room."

Drama was always the darkest Yes album to me

Go to 30 minutes in. Sounds like Drama!!

https://marlowfm.co.uk/listenagain/index.php?programmeID=79&episodeID=29704

Well... not really but it's very good.

Steve Howe...I love you, man but why'd you have to sing lead on that one tune? Awful.

I've always dug the chorus harmonies on "The Man You've Always Wanted Me To Be". Really 90125-sounding with the particular reverb Horn used there. Sound even more like '83 now :)

much love to benoit but this return trip is dope in a way the original isn't, worthy of buggles / drama legacy; even "bumpy ride" is listenable. trevor made so many better production choices to complement his singing. and it's tearjerking to hear squire's vocals higher up in the mix

has it leaked or did you get a copy already? because pledgemusic has been mum to me.

i bought it on pledgemusic this weekend and got an email link a few hours ago

the files are a bit fucked up though, and the songs cut off early. people have been complaining, and i suspect they caught it before they were about to send out more

really looking forward to a non-fucked up version. what i've listened to so far rules, despite how irritating the early cut-offs are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVz_wMhXwRc

that new one is ill! og one is more raw (of course)

I'm pretty sure that Brix Smith talks, in her book, about fucking Geoff Downes on one of her early trips to London pre-Fall.

It's only alluded to but she talks about a prog rock keyboardist who also had a separate Number 1 chart hit at the time.

apparently those who bought downloads only now have access to non busted files; people who bought other versions still out of luck.

it sounds beautiful. i thought CDs and vinyl weren't available yet? even on random it makes more sonic sense than the original version. the data kerfuffle these past few days kinda enhances the 'wizardly futzing with beloved mixes (RIP Chris Squire!) over years' vibe. extended "hour of need" has more energy than all of heaven & earth. even more dying to know now what anderson-rabin-wakeman are recording with horn throwing this out there

extended "hour of need" has more energy than all of heaven & earth.

yea but so does a dead dog

"i thought CDs and vinyl weren't available yet?" they aren't but I assumed buying those meant access to the downloads. If someone would like to YSI to me that would be awesome as I can't wait to hear this.

ARW are recording with Horn? I didn't realize that; that's great news. Looking forward to that. it's too bad these guys can't get their shit together.

two competing YES camps -- steve howe, chris white, geoff downes, jon davison; anderson, wakeman, and rabin -- just like in the hyper-competitive ABWH pre-union days. don't think they're recording with horn, though, but who knows

*alan white

it's too bad these guys can't get their shit together.

― akm, Wednesday, March 28, 2018 5:56 PM (seventeen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's fucking comical at this stage!

just announced their 50th anniversary tour today. so dumb and depressing.

been listening to this show though and it's the best concert of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu2TJAchJiU

yeah no way am i bothering with this 50th tour. Even though they are dragging along poor Tony Kaye (or they said they were, but the last thing I saw didn't see his name on it)

I liked them with Davidson (and Squire) fine enough a few years ago, they were alright; considering I'd never actually seen yes live I was happy enough with it.

wow, I didn't know there was a well-recorded gig out there with Moraz. alas, this is ILX, so I can't listen to this until late at night

I agree that the infighting is getting ridiculous but I dunno, the time for a "real" Yes reunion that could've borne some real fruit was probably like....2007. Like, the entire lineup (save for Howe) is pretty much all dudes who have been accused of ruining the band. I will say that ARW sounds quite interesting. If they made a studio album I bet it would be pretty good (see: that Jon A./Roine Stolt disc)

also, lmao @ the prospect of a Union 2...make it happen boys!!!

The history of this band is so ridiculous that I could actually see it happening even though everyone thinks it's a shit idea!

whatever happens, this 'return trip' is easily the best yes album since the ladder, maybe even 90125. hats off mr. buggle!

man the people on the yes board hate it lol

broke down and bought a download. this is quite a different mix; it's not just the vocals, the songs are quite radically redone. nice.

fuck a yes board

yes board hosts some fussy bros

and yeah it is the best album since 90125; it was before this reworking though

not sure i like this reworking of sad night at the airfield though. feelings may change.

this version of into the storm is pretty great though

the ladder rules. bruce fairbairn 'got' yes the way both trevors (horn and rabin) do. and igor khoroshev may have turned out to be a sleaze but his stuff is moraz-worthy at its best. the epics bookending it -- "homeworld" and "new languages" -- are awesome (my favorite post-drama ones besides "hearts" and "real love"), and "lightning strikes" is basically the sonic blueprint for merryweather post pavilion, though for sure there is some saccharine filler absent from fly from here

messed up "bumpy ride" is a happy accident; chopped and screwed it's not that bad!

To all fans of YES,

Following on from yesterday’s incorrect assurances from PledgeMusic to customers that the Fly From Here – Return Trip download issues were fixed, we are now very aware this is not the case. Whilst we are confident the flac files are working correctly, we are aware our third attempt at delivering MP3 files still contains errors, namely within track 5 ‘Fly From Here Pt. IV – Bumpy Ride’. The error here lies solely with PledgeMusic, our ingestion of the files provided to us by YES, and our subsequent digital delivery to you, the fans. We apologise unreservedly to all fans of YES, to the band, and all who work with them. We have fallen short of our own standards in delivering content to paying fans and customers. Please direct any and all frustrations with this situation to PledgeMusic, rather than YES, who are an innocent party in this situation.

As it stands, we still do not have an immediate fix for these MP3s, but we have people working constantly to rectify the situation. Any customer who wishes to claim a refund is absolutely entitled to do so and we would ask you contact Customer Services via the site https://www.pledgemusic.com/site/help or to email h✧✧✧@pledgemu✧✧✧.c✧✧.

The Fly From Here – Return Trip CDs have now landed in our warehouse and we have instructed our Fulfilment team to dispatch these as quickly as possible, with shipping beginning today. There are no technical problems with the audio on the CD edition.

Once again, everyone at PledgeMusic apologises for the repeated failed attempts at delivering the MP3 downloads you purchased.

I'm pretty sure that Brix Smith talks, in her book, about fucking Geoff Downes on one of her early trips to London pre-Fall.

It's only alluded to but she talks about a prog rock keyboardist who also had a separate Number 1 chart hit at the time.

Not to derail the thread or anything... but she'd have been 16 or 17? Dave Stewart is also a possibility.

I surmised it was Downes when I read her book last month.

yesss "Homeworld" is so good. my introduction to Yes was a 3-disc comp and on first listen I remember thinking that was the best track

also lmao at this download debacle. what the hell is going on? how is this so hard?

that said I'm really glad to hear this is good - I liked the original FFH quite a bit, but this project just seemed like the pettiest, most pointless thing on its surface. hopefully I'll eat those words.

I'm baffled that pledgemusic doesn't know how to make some mp3s from flac files. WTF.

and people wonder why no one buys music anymore. but it's worth the irritation. it sounds like an homage to chris squire, trevor moved to make an album as good as the first one he recorded with his and geoff's childhood heroes. it's not just trevor replacing benoit's vocals but like he decided to fully rejoin, like geoff did. he completely remixed it and got howe and geoff in to record newer awesomer stuff. give yes a chance, that's all it's saying first song to last. "maybe that's the way it goes when you try to change the world . . . armies of angels are starting to form" sung by the "machine messiah" guy is borderline "tempus fugit"

it sounds like an homage to chris squire, trevor moved to make an album as good as the first one he recorded with his and geoff's childhood heroes. it's not just trevor replacing benoit's vocals but like he decided to fully rejoin, like geoff did. he completely remixed it and got howe and geoff in to record newer awesomer stuff. give yes a chance, that's all it's saying first song to last.

I actually don't know much about the Yes quarrels. Such a shame Howe cant be in the Jon and Rick band.

it's not that he can't, it's that he won't.

"Also wonder whether Horn’s wife passing had an impact on him deciding to “rejoin the band.” Tempus Fugit indeed."

haha, my read on this was "horn's wife hated Yes so much that as soon as she died he was like, "cool, now I can be in Yes again!"

What are the main beefs in Yes? The only one I know is Peter Banks apparently being shut out of a performance.

one of the big ones towards the end were jon thought chris was a drunk and the rest of the band thought jon was a diva

anderson got sick quite some time ago and couldn't commit to a tour so squire and howe replaced him (with Benoit David first; then the EXACT SAME THING happened to Benoit and they did the EXACT SAME THING to him, and got Jon Davidson, who, in both voice and name, is a Jon Anderson/Benoid David hybrid grown from seeds); that's the main thing. Current beef is kind of around ARW deciding fuck it, we're also Yes, and touring as Yes.

yeah also squire was a drunk and anderson is a diva.

basically I'm glad I don't know any of these guys in real life. the only one who is probably anything close to a normal person is Alan White.

i heard some serious INSIDE info a while ago that the whole band was very resentful towards Jon when his young ex wife won a bunch of right to their songs in a divorce and there was no going back after that.

geoff downes fuckin sucks on keys btw

Holy fuck, how do you win songs your husband had a hand in? That's scary.

This is what Rick said to me about the situation in 2011:

I find it weird that Jon’s place in Yes has been taken by the former lead singer with a tribute band. There have been some strange episodes, but this is up there with the strangest of them.

When Jon was very ill, five or six years ago, the right plan would have been to wait until Jon was fit again, in two or three years’ time. But for reasons known only to themselves, three of the guys said: no, we’re going to go out. Personally, I think you can’t have Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant, and you can’t have The Who without Roger Daltrey, so how the hell can you have Yes without Jon Anderson? But they decided that they could.

I don’t have anything to do with it. As far as the classic line-up is concerned, that will never see the light of day again. Yes was always a special band, and now it has turned into a gigging band. It’s trotting around, playing as many shows as humanly possible, and it’s just a great shame.

Is there a sense in which you still feel like a member of the band, even if you’re not officially part of it?

It’s like saying: does Bobby Charlton still feel part of Manchester United, even though he doesn’t play? Of course you are. But as regards what’s been going on for the past five years, this doesn’t have anything to do with me at all. I’ve changed clubs, as they say.

I feel like Yes have been beefing throughout their entire existence. I remember Bruford saying that the sessions for Close to the Edge were just hell. But things definitely go to another level when the creativity dries up and the money stops rolling in. After Trevor Rabin got in the band essentially became "Yes, Inc.", making decisions like booting Eddie Jobson in favor of Tony Kaye so they could reclaim the Yes name (as they'd have 3 original members). I remember reading a fun essay from the producer of Union detailing just how uninteresting these guys were in making new music - the whole thing was basically pieces of a Howe solo album + the producer's own shitty tunes, and they had 9 guys on hand!! Love this band but nearly everyone in it seems like an insufferable dick. Howe preventing Peter Banks from playing one fuckin' song during the Union tour is such a shitty thing to do. Downes going after fans who rightfully called out Heaven & Earth for being total garbage is also shitty. Jon A. seems like a nice person in general but he's definitely a diva. Wakeman is a good dude I guess.

Man Chaki I don't know if Geoff Downes is the best fit for Yes, but he is an awesome keyboard player! I'm an Asia fan, anyway. But I have this double LP he recorded for Geffen of all things in the late '80s and it has some serious side long synth jams.

"Believe Again" from Heaven and Earth came up on a mix for me yesterday and sounded great even if it's not chops-oriented and progressive.

i mean in a yes live setting playing Rick's parts. sorry should have been clearer!

Geoff is a good keys guy but, yeah, he's no RW.

Listened to Downes' "The Light Program" today. It has its moments but mainly meanders.

I'm glad I caught the classic line up in '03. One of the best concerts I've been to.

This is pretty excellent. Love the extended end to "Hour Of Need". True YES.

Only tune where I prefer the previous versions is "Sad Night..."

What are people listening to? Downloads because they bought the CD?

It's on the t0rr3nt sites

is this it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4iDzO2ZJfo

"Believe Again" from Heaven and Earth came up on a mix for me yesterday and sounded great even if it's not chops-oriented and progressive.

honestly I think a number of the songs on H&E are decent - I don't really mind how lightweight they are, Yes has always been like that

what gets me is how lethargic and strung out everything is. "Believe Again" is quite pretty but eight minutes is pushing it real hard. the tempos sound like they're 25% too slow. the members of the band sound like they're all 200 years old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBp1OP7j82E

Yes has always been lightweight?

I mean, they’ve always had that aspect to them. Obviously Yes at their best are heavy as balls.

To Be Over, bitches

Thanks for the youtube link. Liked this return trip a lot. "Bumpy Ride" still doesn't fit - if anything has gotten clumsier here - and "Fly From Here (Reprise)" failed to move me in this version. Otherwise, a successful re-boot. Well done, Mr Horn.

And...the link is gone.

Also, this post didn't date so well:

chris squire and keith richards will outlive us all

I'm listening to it now. This does sound really great, though to be fair I haven't listened to the original in about a year so I'm not sure how exactly this one is different. The best thing I can say is that you often forget you're listening to a later-day Yes album, it really does feel like it could've been released in 1981.

I have been listening to the 2011 release of Fly From Here a ton this week since I don’t have the new one and it isn’t on Spotify. And I have to say: it really rules. I don’t get the folks who are down on “Bumpy Ride” at all – it’s a nice little instrumental bit that sounds like it dates from the early 70s and at 2 min. pretty brief.

Also, read or saw somewhere that Trevor had laid down guide vocals in 2011 and instructed Benoit to follow them *exactly* – which makes me wonder how much Horn’s vocals from the new version are actually new or just cleaned up things he recorded back then.

I ASKED MY LOVE TO GIVE ME SHE-HE-HE-HELTER!!!

love this album. been on a big Yes kick this week - and weirdly found out my friends steve's dad co-engineered FRAGILE omg

my favorite yes album

xpost - woah what is his name?

I'm glad that over the past 25 or 30 years the reputation of this album has been elevated. I don't think anyone considers this a dud anymore.

I think of this as the last album of the original prog-rock movement, before any revivals, reunions or neo-prog pastiches (I'd also entertain votes for Moving Pictures, which came out the next year). The sound of the album is already on its way to AOR, and (unsurprisingly, considering the lineup) contains a fair amount of new wave, but something about the energy and boldness of this record makes me feel like it was the last shot of the original "progressive" aesthetic that originated in the late 60s.
Discipline, Peter Gabriel III, and what I've heard of Abacab and the 80s Tull records feel like part of another genre rather than a natural development of progressive rock (although I guess real hardliners would say the last progressive Yes album was Relayer).

I'd argue it's Going for the One!

Yeah, GftO, which is also the last Yes album I listen to. Moving Pictures definitely seems like a different aesthetic than Aqualung or Pawn Hearts to me, no less than Discipline.

You don't have to like Tormato very much to argue that, generically, it still ticks the boxes as a prog-rock record (maybe except for "Circus of Heaven" and "Onward").
I haven't heard the first Asia album but I really doubt it contains as much guitar heroism as Drama does.

like I wouldn't argue Drama is the last of the original prog wave, but "Tempus Fugit" maybe the last prog *tune*...the rest sounds too New Wave hybrid to me, not too unlike a bunch of similar acts...Numan, Devo, Oingo Boingo, The Buggles of course

the thing about a lot of those 77/78 releases - Tormato, And Then There Were Three, Missing Piece, Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome, Works & Love Beach, even Attahk (if that counts?) is that these bands all seem to be trying to transition away from prog, by simplifying things or writing shorter/hookier tunes. none of it pushes any boundaries. I guess you could argue that Trick of the Tail and GftO didn't push any boundaries either but they still felt like a full embrace of the prog sound - these albums "tick the boxes" because they didn't know what else to do

Full disclosure: I've never listened to Tormato.xps

UK were maybe the first newer band to transition from 70s prog to the looming 80s version - various Yes/King Crimson/Roxy Music alumni (plus Holdsworth) moving into late 70s pop-muso territory. Seems like a template for the Drama sound, although I'm not sure if they were a direct influence on Yes in that period.

Tormato's really bad

I'll stan for Tormato again, I love it. Very fun.

It's kinda cool how the tail end of prog and new wave dovetailed so nicely, and the early 80's second wave of acts had a healthy dose of new wave threaded through them.

Gentle Giant's 'Civilian' was one of the more successful prog-into-new wave efforts, not that it did them any good whatsoever. We can only be thankful ELP didn't attempt anything similar.

They went sexytimes, instead.

It's kinda cool how the tail end of prog and new wave dovetailed so nicely, and the early 80's second wave of acts had a healthy dose of new wave threaded through them.

Yeah, I sometimes want to wonder why Howe didn't just make e.g. instrumental folk or jazz fusion records instead of ... this stuff and Asia in the 80s but then I remember that they were actually mainstream pop stars when they were making the classic prog albums; makes sense that once you're in that orbit, you want to stay in it.

I guess I feel that, despite Horn and Downes, the new wave quotient on Drama is actually lower than on some of the other transitional records of the same era. I'd say hard-rock verging on metal is the dominant sound on well over half of it.
UK's first album is a very interesting example because, sonically, they are going in a stripped-down, radio-ready direction, but Eddie Jobson's compositional style is very oblique and far from catchy (explaining why the record didn't really take off). I would call them the last "new" prog band of the first era.

tormato is grebt bcz it inspired this post: The 120 Days of Shameless Bids for Publicity!

I only listened to Bill Nelson's 'Quit Dreaming...' for the first time the other day and it's fantastic, I know people talk a lot about 'Red Noise', but this was, to me, much more enjoyable and super new wave.

I've probably said it somewhere upthread but there's 2 tracks that really damage Drama for me, I really like the album but they're just filler. I honestly like Tormato a bit more, especially with the CD bonus tracks, there's some songs that ended up on Anderson's 2nd solo album that work amazingly well with just his vocals.

And YES to what Autumn says about Wakeman creating a great vehicle pileup in space!

The only Yes album I own or want to own, and absolutely a classic.

Yeah, I sometimes want to wonder why Howe didn't just make e.g. instrumental folk or jazz fusion records instead of ... this stuff and Asia in the 80s but then I remember that they were actually mainstream pop stars when they were making the classic prog albums; makes sense that once you're in that orbit, you want to stay in it.

its kind of hard to name artists who achieved that level of success who just fucked off and did what they wanted rather than chase sales. its pretty funny in the case of these prog bands who just suddenly became very uncool, massive respect to Genesis (and Trevor Rabin) for actually doing it. I also thought Gentle Giant's Civilian was quite good, but lets face it nothing was ever happening to this band, at best they get like 25% of the sales of Utopia

won't really defend Tormato much but I will say "Arriving UFO" is one of the most bonkers things they ever did

"Arriving UFO" was Jon Anderson making sure that Klaatu and Jefferson Airplane didn't get all the credit when the aliens landed.

every time I listen to this album it hits me how great it would've been had Yes just called it a day after this. they could've still done the 90125 stuff under Cinema or whatever the original name was supposed to be but to leave "Tempus Fugit" as the last song in their catalogue would have been perfect.

Atlantic Records wasn't going to let such a valuable trademark go unused.

they have several spots in their history when it would have been wise to stop: here; after 90125; after Big Generator; after Magnification; after Fly from Here. The only thing you can count on is that they will not stop and will continue to put out albums that half their fanbase detests

I still love this record.

"Also wonder whether Horn’s wife passing had an impact on him deciding to “rejoin the band.” Tempus Fugit indeed."

haha, my read on this was "horn's wife hated Yes so much that as soon as she died he was like, "cool, now I can be in Yes again!"

they have several spots in their history when it would have been wise to stop: here; after 90125; after Big Generator; after Magnification; after Fly from Here. The only thing you can count on is that they will not stop and will continue to put out albums that half their fanbase detests

after Talk might've been a good one too. I think they made some pretty decent albums in their nostalgia phase but I'm struggling to think of a single tune other than "The Ladder" (which fucking rocks) that would fit on a "best of" compilation

I'm not an expert in their later era but I do like "Mind Drive".

I think there are a few pretty good songs on Magnification, dunno if I'd slot them as 'best of all time' though. Into the Storm belongs on a best of though.

both the long tracks on the KTA albums remind me of Tales, where the cool bits are almost but not quite good enough to justify the length

the thing is with Talk they were at least trying to do something different and evolve their sound somehow, which made the proggier bits actually pretty cool. since then they've become a zombie band where the new records are basically irrelevant - even if they are fairly decent they are all kinda forgettable and the songs from them get dropped from the setlist the moment the album release cycle is over. none of it adds a thing to the band's legacy. obviously there have been a lot of bands in that position but Yes have been in this mode for so long it's become a major side story for them, particularly in some of the ridiculous lineups they've been trotting out this last decade. at this point you wonder what has to happen...does Yes die with Howe or do they just keep on truckin' somehow?

Steve Howe will never die so the point is moot

If howe kicks it soon and it's before Anderson I think Anderson would get the Yes naming rights (he already got the end of that ARW tour to be booked as Yes) and I could see him trying to squeeze another tour out of it with Rabin and whoever else they can get to join them. If Howe kicks it after Anderson I can totally see Sherwood helming this zombie band for another 25 years.

Looking at the Wikipedia entry for this album and holy shit if this isn't the most pathetic, passive-aggressive band dynamic:

In June 1979, the Yes line-up of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White completed their 1978–1979 tour in support of Tormato. The five reconvened in November 1979 to start work on a new album. After the various problems they faced while recording Tormato, Yes decided to work in Paris with Roy Thomas Baker to oversee its production.[3] Anderson and Wakeman entered the sessions with enthusiasm and wrote more material together than they had before, but the rest of the band felt the songs were too light and folk-oriented and started writing more aggressive and direct arrangements.[3] The growing internal differences, described by Anderson as a "loss of respect for each other", led to Squire, Howe, White and Baker coming to sessions late, which discouraged Anderson and Wakeman, the latter at times refusing to leave his hotel room to rehearse.[4] Conversely, Howe recalls Wakeman frequently throwing peanuts at White's drum kit during takes of a song he was getting tired of, which in addition to being very noisy and distracting through the other members' headphones took considerable effort to clean up.[5]

Anderson and Wakeman left the studio to drink Calvados in a bar; in Wakeman's words: "Jon and I got really quite depressed and started crying on each other's shoulders and Jon said 'This is not the band that I love, this is not the band that I wanted to keep on going', [and I replied] 'I'm with you, Jon'".[4] The sessions were ultimately called off after White cracked a bone in his right ankle while roller skating with Richard Branson in a nightclub, rendering him unable to perform for about six weeks.[6][7] Following a break over Christmas, the band reconvened in London for rehearsals in an attempt to salvage the situation. They failed, and Anderson and Wakeman left in March 1980.[8]

Had to have been hell, imagine wrapping up on Close to the Edge and saying "hm pretty cool guys but Imma go hang out with Robert Fripp now, he seems fun peace out"

I'm imagining this Wikipedia entry was negotiated by the most vicious lawyers each member could afford.

that Benoit David interview from the all yessed out thread was pretty eye opening, live touring musician sounds like an awful way to make a living

no need to update my wakeman spreadsheet lol: "self-centred infant, fat-fingered oaf"

I love "which in addition to being very noisy and distracting... took considerable effort to clean up"

Right? It speaks volumes about how petty they all are.

Alan White seems like he was a remarkably nice and affable guy given everything he went through

White cracked a bone in his right ankle while roller skating with Richard Branson in a nightclub

I need more detail on this incident before I can form a proper opinion