DPRP Yes Christmas Special

My bits from the two-part DPRP.net Christmas Special feature on Yes:-

Yes - Close to the Edge

DPRP Review update 79 of 2013

...Close To the Edge established Yes as a major act and opened up the possibilities for the band itself which were taken to the next level on Tales From Topographic Oceans, an album that ironically would have no doubt benefited from being recorded for CD as the necessity to fill each vinyl side would not have been an issue and self-editing would have naturally taken place. Close To The Edge also paved the way for Relayer, the 'give anything a go and see what happens' mentality paying huge dividends there, and Going For The One where Awaken is, to me, the final appearance of the Close To The Edge spirit. Success and a mellowing over time undeniably diminished the experimental creativity of the band and anyone hoping for Yes to again produce music to compare with their early to mid-'70s peak is deluding themselves. The band still plays well and can wheel out the classics to good effect when called upon and that is very gratifying for the long-term fan but Close To The Edge and its follow-up albums remain as testament to a wonderful group of musicians and a spirit of wide-eyed optimism that has been lost in these more cynical times.

Yes - Tormato

DPRP Review update 80 of 2013

...not great but worthy of exploration, an interesting but transitional album that was always going to be difficult to make. The Yes sound is altered, not as fundamentally as on the next two albums, but there is seemingly a desire to move things forward which is let down by limitations in some of the writing and a lack of confidence amongst the band as to what the finished album should sound like. Save the over-ripe fruit and veg, Tormato is not the nadir of Yes' output and has some fine moments.

Yes - Big Generator

DPRP Review update 80 of 2013

...Big Generator is an album that emerged from a difficult gestation but, thanks to Rabin, has some fine moments. It's nowhere near a classic, however if it was any other band it would almost certainly be more highly regarded. It bears no resemblance to the Yes of old and was ultimately a further step along a cul de sac that finally resulted in a u-turn back to more typical Yes material once Rabin had left the band after the Talk album. In the '80s/'90s equal numbers of fans seemed to vilify Trevor Rabin for ruining the band as lauded him for being its saviour. From our vantage point over a quarter of a century removed, there is no doubt that Yes would have continued in some form whether Rabin had got involved or not but he is to be credited for widening the band's appeal and exposing it to new listeners. Yes members have a habit of picking up with each other and then moving on again but the gravitational pull of the band is too much for most of them to fight against. I've always been a fan of Rabin's playing and he is certainly a rare talent but from where I sit writing this now I think that it would have been far more interesting if Cinema had been allowed to prove what it could do under its own name without the re-branding and reintroduction of Jon Anderson and all the baggage that went with it. No doubt Cinema too would have ultimately been pulled apart by the rampant black hole that is the spectre of Yes which would then have naturally risen again phoenix-like. But money, or the thought of it, does funny things to people and if I had the opportunity to use Coca-Cola as my brand name I doubt that wild horses would convince me to use 'Jez's Fun Soda' instead. An entertaining and fun record. Just don't expect Close To The Edge and you'll be fine.

Yes - Union

DPRP Review update 80 of 2013

...Throughout, the material is pretty good and there are few weak moments. I'm sure that if it were not for the debacle that was the politics behind its release Union would have been considered a success and not suffer the stigma that it currently does. The fact is that the album exists and it is worth hearing so stow away any preconceptions, ignore the background and "but who plays what" games and just enjoy it.