R&b From The Marquee

With the release of Fragile, Yes established themselves as one of the most progressive rock bands on the scene. With the recent addition of towering, silver-caped Rick Wakeman on keyboards, they raised their innovative brand of music to even dizzier heights. "Roundabout," which is still a standard on classic rock playlists, is an unusual track, coming in under four minutes, while "Heart of the Sunrise"–with its varied constituents molded together perfectly–goes on for as long as it needs. ~ Paul Clark

Yes' second (and least successful) album was a transitional effort; the group trying for a more produced and sophisticated sound through the use of an orchestra. Even so, the results weren't conventional, because the group didn't tone down or turn down its sound. Much of Time and a Word relies on bold, highly animated performances by Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, and Tony Kaye. Additionally, by this time the group was developing a much tauter ensemble than was evident on their first LP, so there's no lack of visceral excitement. "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" was a bold opening, a highly amplified, frenzied adaptation of the Richie Havens song, melded with Jerome Moross' title music from the movie The Big Country…

Yes' debut album is surprisingly strong, given the inexperience of all those involved at the time. In an era when psychedelic meanderings were the order of the day, Yes delivered a surprisingly focused and exciting record that covered lots of bases (perhaps too many) in presenting their sound. The album opens boldly, with the fervor of a metal band of the era playing full tilt on "Beyond and Before," but it is with the second number, a cover of the Byrds' "I See You," that they show some of their real range. The song is highlighted by an extraordinary jazz workout from lead guitarist Peter Banks and drummer Bill Bruford that runs circles around the original by Roger McGuinn and company…

Yes singer Jon Anderson has a voice so high it makes Minnie Mouse seem the epitome of machismo and the band's fascination with pompous and dull intergalactic fantasy make it a prime target for Saturday Night Live parody. But there's no arguing with the players' proficiency. Bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Alan White are all tops in their game. Tormato is far from the best Yes album, but the indisputable power of "Release, Release" where the band goofingly state "Rock is the medium of our generation" is worth the price of admission alone. Besides, just figuring out what exactly they mean with song titles such as "Arriving UFO" and "Don't Kill the Whale" is probably almost as cool as staring at the Hipgnosis designed cover. A period piece without question. ~ Rob O'Connor

The most important aspect of YESSHOWS is its display of the live interaction between the musicians. While Yes was never accused of being a "jam band," their elaborate, sophisticated arrangements require their own kind of musical telepathy between participants. That connection is apparent throughout the epic "Gates of Delirium" from RELAYER. The pleasure Squire, Anderson, Howe and company still get from playing together is especially apparent on their old chestnut "Time and a Word," a simple but very effective ballad…

Relayer is the seventh studio album by the progressive rock band Yes. Recorded and released in 1974, it is the only Yes studio album to feature Patrick Moraz, who replaced keyboardist Rick Wakeman earlier in the year.

With 1987's BIG GENERATOR, Yes continued in the synthesizer-laden, production-heavy mode that had made the band's comeback album, 90125, such a success. While some diehard fans found this era of Yes to be in contrast to the band's previous classically influenced art rock, this incarnation of the band had plenty of the strong musicianship and fantastical imagination that had propelled the group to legendary status in the '70s. Indeed, producer Trevor Horn and the band succeeded in creating an intriguing sonic landscape that only Yes could conceive…

Who'd have thought it? Magnification is the strongest, freshest set of new Yes material in a long time. Having thoroughly exhausted the world's supply of classically inclined rock keyboard players, the four remaining members of Yes have dispensed with that perennially bothersome ivory-tickling slot altogether. And so Messrs Jon Anderson, Alan White, Chris Squire, and Steve Howe have enlisted the temporary services of soundtrack composer Larry Groupe, whose cinematic orchestrations lend a thoroughly modern aura to the band's sonic palette…

Opening with a few bars of Stravinsky to set the adoring crowd on its feet, this once-three-LP set is Yes at their finest. This was, after all, probably the most mainstream act that had even provisional "prog rock" status, and their tunes show it. While "Heart of the Sunrise" may be one of the more modestly titled Yes songs (compare it with "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" or "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" or even "Total Mass Retain"), it also bears marks of the band playing at its most frenetic pace around Jon Anderson's soaring near-falsetto. Rick Wakeman's grand synthesizer flashes are more than textural, finding visual meshes aplenty with Roger Dean's cryptic cover art–most of which is shrunken or absent on this two-CD reissue…