Yes The Word is Live

Many call Yes' brand of progressive rock "symphonic rock." The term means that the group produces arrangements in the vein of a symphony using typical rock instrumentation. With Magnification, Yes has taken that a step further, adding a symphony orchestra. The orchestra is not simply thrown over the top, though; the songs were written for this particular grouping. Yes has flirted with this type of thing before. Released in 1970, the Time and a Word album featured a string section, but the complete integration is what makes Magnification a superior work. The material on the CD is pretty standard modern Yes fare, but the addition of that symphony really does create a whole new texture. It also seems as if it inspired the band, and some members put in performances that are head and shoulders above their recent work. The album does have its weak moments and gets just a little over the top at times, but there are a lot more moments that shine than dull ones.

Spanning four discs and nearly 100 tracks, Dreams is one of those rare box sets that tells a story while delivering the definitive word on its subject. Its success has a lot to do with its status as Polygram/Bill Levinson's sequel to the acclaimed hit Crossroads, which summarized Eric Clapton's winding career perfectly. They follow the same approach here, gathering pre-Allman's recordings from the clan, including cuts by the Allman Joys, selecting the hits from the classic years, and adding stray cuts by solo projects to the mix. It's a smart move and it results in a terrific box that truly offers the definitive word on one of the longest-running dramas in Southern rock. Yes, the Allmans reunited rather successfully after this box, so none of that material is here, but it's not missed – this is the story of the band. AMG

In a world inundated with sales books on getting to yes, this audiobook recommends just the opposite, focusing on how increasing your failure rate can greatly accelerate your movement toward ultimate success. Go for No! chronicles four days in the life of fictional character Eric Bratton, a call-reluctant copier salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself in a strange house with no idea of how he got there. But this house doesn't belong to just anyone! It belongs to him…a wildly successful, 10-years-in-the-future version of the person he could become if he learns to overcome his self-limiting beliefs and overcome his fear of failure.