Yes - 1971 [1986] "The Yes Album"

The Yes Album is the third album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 19 February 1971 by Atlantic Records. It is their first album with guitarist Steve Howe, who replaced Peter Banks in 1970, and their last in the 1970s to feature keyboardist Tony Kaye.

On Yes' first two albums, Yes (1969) and Time and a Word (1970), the quintet was mostly searching for a sound on which they could build, losing one of their original members -- guitarist Peter Banks -- in the process. Their third time out proved the charm -- The Yes Album constituted a de facto second debut, introducing the sound that would carry them forward across the next decade or more.

 Gone are any covers of outside material, the group now working off of its own music from the ground up. A lot of the new material was actually simpler -- in linear structure, at least -- than some of what had appeared on their previous albums, but the internal dynamics of their playing had also altered radically, and much of the empty space that had been present in their earlier recordings was also filled up here -- suddenly, between new member Steve Howe's odd mix of country- and folk-based progressive guitar and the suddenly liberated bass work and drumming of Chris Squire and Bill Bruford, respectively, the group's music became extremely busy. And lead singer Jon Anderson, supported by Squire and Howe, filled whatever was left almost to overflowing.

Anderson's soaring falsetto and the accompanying harmonies, attached to haunting melodies drawn from folk tunes as often as rock, applied to words seemingly derived from science fiction, and all delivered with the bravura of an operatic performance -- by the band as well as the singer -- proved a compelling mix. What's more, despite the busy-ness of their new sound, the group wasn't afraid to prove that less could sometimes be more: three of the high points were the acoustic-driven "Your Move" and "The Clap" (a superb showcase for Howe on solo acoustic guitar), and the relatively low-key "A Venture" (oddly enough, the latter was the one cut here that didn't last in the group's repertory; most of the rest, despite the competition from their subsequent work, remained in their concert set for years to come).

 The Yes Album did what it had to do, outselling the group's first two long-players and making the group an established presence in America where, for the first time, they began getting regular exposure on FM radio. Sad to say, the only aspect of The Yes Album that didn't last much longer was Tony Kaye on keyboards: his Hammond organ holds its own in the group's newly energized sound, and is augmented by piano and other instruments when needed, but he resisted the idea of adding the Moog synthesizer, that hot instrument of the moment, to his repertory. The band was looking for a bolder sound than the Hammond could generate, and after some initial rehearsals of material that ended up on their next album, he was dropped from the lineup, to be replaced by Rick Wakeman.

Yes released two studio projects before The Yes Album came out in February 1971. But nobody but the band's most dedicated fans really know about or ever listen to those pair of records. As far as most rock 'n' roll fans are concerned, Yes started on The Yes Album.
It was the first group LP to include all original songs. More importantly, it was also the band's first album with new guitarist Steve Howe, who replaced Peter Banks the previous year. Both elements lifted the material and the way it was presented. The template for almost every great Yes song, and nearly every album they made from here on, begins on these six tracks.

A key component to this new era found the band exploring more corners and areas outside of its usual boundaries. On their first two albums, no song runs longer than six minutes; here, half of the LP's tracks reach the nine-minute mark. Keyboardist Tony Kaye, who joined the group not long after singer Jon Anderson and bassist Chris Squire formed it in 1968, expanded his role, powering the album with his mighty organ, piano and synth fills. (He'd be gone before Yes' next album, Fragile, which was released nine months later, replaced by Rick Wakeman.)

The most significant musical advancement was the addition of Howe, whose classical- and jazz-influenced playing gives The Yes Album a defining heft that was missing on the group's first two records. He's even given a solo acoustic showcase, "Clap," which is the album's shortest song and the only one recorded outside of the London studio where the rest of the LP was made. (It was recorded onstage at the Lyceum Theatre.)

Howe anchors the album's best songs -- opener "Yours Is No Disgrace," "Starship Trooper" and "I've Seen All Good People," whose first part (titled "Your Move") became Yes' first Top 40 single in the U.S. But, really, the whole group comes together here for the first time. There's a tighter sense of camaraderie among the musicians, as instruments weave in and out of each other, and Anderson glides alongside it all with some of his most graceful performances.

In a way, it's Yes' most cohesive album as a band. As the '70s dragged on, the records started to reflect the individual members', rather than the group's, aesthetics.The band also started experimenting more with its songs, developing deeper layers of harmonies and structures, and, notably at times, using the studio as a type of playground, working with backing tracks and tape loops at various points during the sessions.

It all paid off, as The Yes Album climbed to No. 4 in Yes' native U.K. and reached No. 40 in the U.S. (The first two Yes projects had failed to chart.) The bigger breakthrough would arrive within the next year, when Fragile soared into the Top 5. But The Yes Album paved the way, chipping away at a proto-prog sound that would expand, before eventually caving in under its own weight, in the years to come. But here the field is wide open.

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Track Listing:

1. Yours Is No Disgrace (9:36)
2. Clap (Live) (3:07) *
3. Starship Trooper: Life Seeker / Disillusion / Wurm (9:23)
4. I've Seen All Good People: Your Move / All Good People (6:47)
5. A Venture (3:13)
6. Perpetual Change (8:50)

* Recorded Live at the Lyceum, London

Total Time: 41:56

Personnel:

- Jon Anderson / lead vocals, percussion
- Steve Howe / acoustic & electric guitars, Portuguese 12-string guitar (4), vocals
- Tony Kaye / Hammond organ, piano, Moog synthesizer
- Chris Squire / bass, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

With:
- Colin Goldring / recorders (4)