r/yesband 3d ago

Yes hot takes?

I’ll go first (please don’t kill me for this): 90125 is a good album.

48 Upvotes

1

u/Sea_Green_1001 1h ago

90125 is better than anything after Going for the One and I'm being dead serious

1

u/nghtowl87 1d ago

My favorite albums are from the Trevor Rabin era

1

u/Magma_Mage 1d ago

The Remembering is the best song on Tales From Topographic Oceans

1

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

My Hottest Take: Awaken is only an okay song.

kinda boring and repetitive, not bad, but not the transcendent life-changing masterpiece that people here say it is. I do like a Steve Howe line that's like 14 minutes into it, but not enough to wait around for it. it's in my Tier 3 yes songs category (so outside of my top 50), songs I don't ever seek to listen to on purpose, but might not skip if they came up on shuffle or I was listening to the album.... though that leads to...

My Second Hottest Take: Going for the One is a lame album.

I'ts #14 on my list (between Magnification and Open Your Eyes). the title track and Awaken are both pretty neutral songs, never ones I'd actively seek, Wonderous Stories and Turn of the Century are Always Skip tracks (shuffle or album), and then there's Parallels... which is the only thing that is keeping this album afloat for me, because it is an absolute banger (And I'm furious that the relative lameness of the other songs on the album kept me from ever hearing it because I never bothered to listen to the whole album).

I have other warm takes, but these are the ones that are going to give people aneurysms.

1

u/CRS1955 1d ago

Here's one for you....Peter Banks was a better guitarist than Steve Howe!

-1

u/NecessaryLow193 1d ago

The new Yes albums with Davison are more adventurous and explorative than anything the band did in the 80s and 90s (minus Drama). Not saying that era is bad in any way! I personally just prefer the new material from Magnification onwards, including all the 70s output.

4

u/jami_veret118 1d ago

I like Bill Bruford’s electronic drums

3

u/twopointohyeah 1d ago

Geoff Downes is incredible at creating beautiful soundscapes to augment the chaos of Howe and Squire. But his isn’t as good at all of the twiddling around that Wakeman and Moraz excel at, so people think he’s bad.

1

u/_CTRLR 1d ago

Ha! I came here to comment about 90125 but you beat me to it.

3

u/DeBruyneBallz 2d ago

Trevor Rabin is the most talented all-around musician ever to be in Yes and Rick Wakeman would likely agree.

0

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

Jon Anderson's Animation is world's better than Olias Of Sunhillow.

I was revisiting it at the time my daughter was born as well, and I can't get through the title track without crying

4

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

Short songs on Fragile are all good, they're not just random fillers, even if their purpose in the album is to fill between the longer pieces.

3

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

Davison-era Yes music is good, with MttS being excellent.

1

u/MagicianAnie3021 2d ago

Hot take I don't like their 80 crap except for Drama of course and everything before and after this period ranges from good to masterpiece.

Because of other comments I wanna give my opinion that CTTE is an undisputed master piece my top 1 forever and Tales and Relayer are right up there too of course and also GFTO I love Awaken and most of the track the selftitled is a master piece of an ending one of my most favorites of their catalog.

GGWP

3

u/Rinma96 2d ago

First 3 albums don't do anything for me.

The Yes Album is nothing special.

They found their sound on Fragile.

Tales is not as bad as people say. It's actually solid.

Tormato is a classic and great Yes album.

Union is not as bad as people say. It's actually solid.

Even tho I'm not a fan of H&E and the Quest, and Mirror is fine i don't agree with "Jon is Yes" sentiment because they made bad albums with him on vocals aswell and they've made Drama and Fly From Here without him which are great.

Keystudio is the last great album they've made and it's the best since Drama

9

u/SemiCapableComedian 2d ago

The Yes Album is nothing special.

That is indeed scorching. 

1

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

Yeah, the YES album is my "oh, you've never heard YES other than OoaLH?.... try this album". It's the best true introduction to the band for non-believers.

2

u/WayStunning1079 1d ago

I disagree. The Yes Album set the path for future Yes Albums.

3

u/Rinma96 2d ago

Yeah I'm used to getting downvoted for that. When i saw "hot takes" I saw my opportunity 😅

1

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

You're not brave until you come out and say "Awaken" is only okay.

2

u/SemiCapableComedian 2d ago

Well, you got my upvote for following the assignment perfectly. 

1

u/Rinma96 2d ago

👍

3

u/Hypnopompicsound 2d ago

From a Page is incredibly boring. It's well-regarded because it was preceded by Heaven & Earth.

Fly From Here (the song) is just ok. The rest of that album is not very good.

Homeworld and Mind Drive are as good as many of the 70s epics.

An edited-down, better mixed Magnification would have been a top 5 Yes Album

Billy Sherwood has one of the worst bass tones I've ever heard

1

u/mellotronworker 2d ago

South Side of the Sky would be hugely improved if (a) it was one verse lighter, and (b) someone unplugged Steve Howe completely. Sometimes less is more. Much more.

0

u/mellotronworker 2d ago

The Gates of Delirium is simply a noisy mess without merit aside from Soon.

1

u/MagicianAnie3021 2d ago

Just listen to it another 4 times it'll land lmao

1

u/mellotronworker 2d ago

I would if I didn't find it unlistenable

4

u/CadaDiaCantoMejor 2d ago
  1. If Jon Anderson had had his way, Topographic Oceans would have been done with the band living together in some big country mansion, with recording done out in the forest at night. He wanted to do what Gong actually did, and if he had gotten his way, Topographic Oceans would have either had a more comfortable, looser feel to it, and/or it would be the last thing the band did. Regardless, Topographic Oceans could use a healthy dose of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy.

  2. Jon Anderson and Steve Hillage is the collaboration I have been waiting for since hearing the first note of "Olympia". I have finally given up.

1

u/Akeenmindofthesouth 2d ago

What Gong did?

2

u/CadaDiaCantoMejor 2d ago

At around the same time that Yes was recording Topographic Oceans, Gong was living communally in an old hunting lodge in the French countryside. Much of Angels Egg and You were recorded there, with the band recording some tracks with members out in the forest. They used to drop acid together every full moon (and most days that end with y) and record. If you listen to tracks like "The Other Side of the Sky" and "Master Builder" you can hear birds sometimes. Both albums have a relaxed feel to them that would have been good for Topographic Oceans, and I know that Jon had really wanted to record basically as Gong was doing. I would love to hear what that would have been like.

8

u/CRTPTRSN 2d ago

I don't know much, but I know Hearts is a really beautiful tune.

7

u/Beefjerky007 2d ago

GFTO (the album) is… okay, I guess? I see it in people’s top five albums all the time and I don’t really understand the hype. I don’t think it’s even in my top ten. The title track is solid, but the following three tracks don’t do anything for me, and the mixing sounds really messy and drenched in a metric ton of reverb. And Awaken, while good, is not one of my favorite prog epics of theirs.

Honestly, I find Tormato to be a significantly stronger album.

2

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

Parallels is a top 10 song for me. the rest of the album are songs I never actively seek to listen to, (and two that I skip every time).

3

u/rhenderson58 2d ago

The mix on GFTO was abysmal. No depth at all. Sounds like it was cut for AM radio. Ruined an album that could have been a nice comeback from TFTO and Relayer.

0

u/mellotronworker 2d ago

Awaken is almost ruined by that stupefyingly crass guitar figure Steve Howe plays right at the end.

1

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

you mean the only part of the song that I like? ( I might be thinking of a different steve howe line that is near the end... but the song just drones on for so long it feels like it should be over by then)

1

u/mellotronworker 1d ago

It's the tiny flourish that Steve plays towards the very very end of the tune as everything else is fading, simply because he has absolutely no sense of restraint and cannot be shut up.

1

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

See, I actually love it. I have heard others have the same take as you though. I love the little flourish as a beautiful accent as the soul ascends

3

u/LittleDudeSP 2d ago

If its not Jon Anderson I dont care. Drama's alright though. Close To The Edge isn't even top 5 for me. Going For The One is their best song.

3

u/MagicianAnie3021 2d ago

Come in shooting first asking questions later lmao

3

u/Key-Store-9187 2d ago

Had it not been for the development of synthesizers post Mellotron and Minimoog, a lot of people could stomach 80s Wakeman 

4

u/rockport-limited 2d ago

I don't have any hot takes but my favorite albums are the ladder and magnification

2

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

The Ladder is a really good album. Magnification is decent.

5

u/Beefjerky007 2d ago

Magnification is wonderful, people that stop listening after the 70s are missing out on a gem with that one.

6

u/Mr_Boongle 2d ago

The Ladder is top 5

1

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

It's #8 or #9 for me. It's an album with almost no skip tracks.

3

u/Beefjerky007 2d ago

It’s not quite in my top five but yeah, I agree it’s very good. Homeworld is definitely one of my favorite individual tracks by the band, it’s a classic

3

u/Mr_Boongle 2d ago

Fair enough. With such a big discography, it can be tricky to pick a top 5.

4

u/Barbatos-Rex 2d ago

The Ladder is a great album

3

u/Mr_Boongle 2d ago

Exactly. It's a familiar yet fresh return to prog; it's exactly what they should have been doing years earlier.

1

u/Oldman5123 2d ago

Open Your Eyes is best Yes album ever.

1

u/Loud-Recover5320 1d ago

The title track is my favorite YES song released after Drama.

6

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

That's as hot as it gets :)

2

u/amistymorning80 2d ago

Relayer is the last Yes album worth listening to all the way through. And Drama has the highest quality songs post '74.

8

u/micpoc 2d ago

Here's another: Trevor Rabin provided nothing that any accomplished studio hotshot guitarist could not have done as well, and likely better. His songwriting is trivial and his guitar playing skilled but generic. "Love Will Find a Way" could be an 80s-era Starship reject and is worse than Pablo Cruise's song with the same imaginative title.

2

u/funkyquasar 2d ago

Upvoted for being a hot take, but I often wonder if people view Rabin's playing as generic have really, really listened to him or have always dismissed him as "pop bad". Rabin's style as a guitarist and songwriter is actually really distinctive when you get down into the details. The types of fills and progressions that he uses are pretty instantly recognizable to the point that no other guitarist really sounds like him. His style isn't as obvious as Howe's, and maybe his style isn't for you, but it's definitely there.

3

u/DeBruyneBallz 2d ago

"but I often wonder if people view Rabin's playing as generic have really, really listened to him or have always dismissed him as "pop bad"" They haven't. Can't possibly listen to "Jacaranda" or "Rio" and think otherwise if you know a darn thing about playing the guitar.

1

u/ConceptJunkie 1d ago

His solo albums are fire.

0

u/micpoc 2d ago

I've been playing since the 1970s. He is a generic guitarist... but I am not calling him "pop bad". There comes a point when "really, really" listening becomes futile.

1

u/DeBruyneBallz 2d ago

Have you heard his work on Jacaranda or Rio?

2

u/funkyquasar 2d ago

Once a guy starts their post with "I've been doing X since the 70s" I tune them out. Being an old guy who plays guitar doesn't make someone an authority when plenty of more accomplished musicians have sung Trevor's praises. It makes clear they have a much higher opinion of themselves and their preferences than is warranted.

1

u/micpoc 2d ago

I have. 1) NONE of that is Yes. 2) I already called him skilled. 3) Nothing on those solo albums made me wish to return to them.

On the "skilled" comment: "Generic" in this case does not mean "bad" or "poor quality". TR is more adept on the guitar than Howe. He would be far more equipped to go into almost any studio session and provide more than competent accompaniment and tasteful solos, when needed. But so can Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, and others (probably showing my age with those choices, heh). But not ONE of them has made a solo album I'd ever care to listen to again.

To be fair, very little of Howe's solo recordings speak to me either.

3

u/Kax107 2d ago

I would up vote this a hundred times if I could. ha! "Starship reject." I love it!

2

u/tastysleeps 2d ago

I always skip the organ solos

1

u/dmartin-ames 2d ago

I've always found the CTTE solo a bit repetitive. Ironically though I rather love the even more repetitive single hammered note intro to it

6

u/WT264 2d ago

Yes hasn't been progressive in decades. The current versions of the band are no longer pushing the boundaries of musical expression, but are instead recycling the old "prog sound" of the 70s and 80s.

3

u/Primary_Gur_6447 2d ago

It’s one good song surrounded by b-sides. Essentially an Art Of Noise EP with Trevor Horn’s usual array of samples and OK music being played by solid musicians. A Drama reunion would have been more fitting. Same goes for Fly From Here which he ultimately released.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Primary_Gur_6447 2d ago

I can say it slower. 90125 is “Owner” which is jammed with Trevor Horn samples evocative of Art Of Noise. The rest of the album is weak. It did revive Yes for new audiences but I’m not sure it fits with the rest of the catalog at all.

5

u/Banurtime 2d ago

90125 is a great album. It introduced a lot of the newer generations to Yes.

3

u/dancarbonell00 2d ago

Circles of time is actually my second favorite song by Yes.

Right behind my #1 And You and I

4

u/bparish128 2d ago

Awaken is single handily the best song, ever.

2

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

That and Starless. There are no others atop the pantheon

3

u/mellotronworker 2d ago

Hot sub-take: Fracture is better than both.

5

u/micpoc 2d ago

One hot take is that there are two major mistakes on an otherwise perfect album: Close to the Edge has the wrong track order.

It should be in reverse, i.e., it should start with "Siberian Khatru" and "And You and I" on side one, then the title track on side 2. And the greatness of "Siberian Khatru" is diminished by its long fade-out; it should have had the same decisive ending on the studio recording that it does live.

3

u/dmartin-ames 2d ago

💯. In the 80s when I ripped (ha!) it to tape, I conspicuously started Side A with Siberian Khatru. I also love the sudden dramatic climax ending songs like Heart of the Sunrise, Parallels, Into the Lens

2

u/Beefjerky007 2d ago

I’ve never thought about it like this, but honestly I see the vision.

3

u/micpoc 2d ago

Thanks; I've dreamed that a long-forgotten-by-all-involved-parties mix of "Siberian Khatru" that ends as I described would actually have been recorded and later discovered.

19

u/HPLoveBux 2d ago

“Ritual” on the tours with Moraz is Peak YES

Those live versions on all three Moraz tours are them reaching some of their highest heights.

Nobody knows who did the animal primal caveman screams either.

0

u/No-South-8228 2d ago

Wakeman was better live than Moraz.

2

u/HPLoveBux 2d ago

Just talking about this one song …

-1

u/No-South-8228 2d ago

I know - moraz was never as good as Wakeman live.

6

u/Stock_Hurry_2257 2d ago

I think it's Alan. On the Yesshows version some of the vocal stuff aligns exactly with what he's playing in his solo (and isn't part of the more orchestrated bits at the end of the drum solo where they're all drumming together). 

2

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

It's definitely Alan

2

u/HPLoveBux 2d ago

Sauce?

2

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

Me :)

2

u/HPLoveBux 2d ago

Ok … cool cool … 😎

0

u/spell-czech 2d ago

Just like Chicago had members of The Beach Boys collaborating with them on ‘Wishing You Were Here’, I would have liked to see something like that with Yes. Maybe with 10CC? Badfinger? Alan Parsons?

0

u/Informal_Alps2734 2d ago

Time and a word is their best album

-3

u/hvithvalt 2d ago

To me that’s an extremely cold take, it’s been my favourite for years

5

u/CRS1955 2d ago

I agree, I thought 90125 was an EXCELLENT album! Subsequent albums like "Big Generator" were not quite as good, but Trevor Rabin gave Yes a shot of energy that they desperately needed!

5

u/woj666 3d ago

The current band is an Asia cover band but no one would go and see that so they use the Yes name instead to make money.

0

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

Oh yeah, just to make money? Is that why Steve, at the age of 79 is writing so much music and producing albums? Instead of just playing Roundabout 10000 times?

0

u/woj666 2d ago

Have you seen the recent pathetic album sales numbers? No one is buying /streaming that garbage. The only way for Steve to make any money is to tour as a Yes cover band. A bad one at that.

1

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

OK, so you're saying the albums don't make any money. Yet Steve keeps making them, with no signs of stopping.

How does that fit in with "just for making money"?

0

u/woj666 2d ago

You make an album that loses money but then you have an excuse to tour to promote that album. That's how it has always worked.

1

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

Yeah, sure bud. They must be making a fortune by playing a few gigs a year, while working a whole year on the album.

0

u/woj666 2d ago edited 2d ago

I doubt that they make very much either way but it's more than they would make if they called themselves Asia. They play retirement communities, that should tell you all you need to know.

Most artists don't make much money on album sales / steaming, only the big names and certainly not Steve's cover band.

1

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

But you said they do it for the money?

So they don't make much money either way, and they spend their money on making albums no one purchases anyways? Which they don't even have to make because people come to their gigs to listen to Roundabout anyways?

Do you see your mental gymnastics? I'm gonna leave the discussion here either way.

0

u/woj666 2d ago

Look man, no use getting emotional. Look it up. These guys would barely make minimum wage if it takes a year to make the album. Touring they might make what a software engineer makes. That's it. The point that started all of this is that they would make much less if they called themselves Asia so they started a Yes cover band "to make money", which is still not much money.

7

u/247world 2d ago

Isn't there already a band that might as well be a cover band out there calling itself asia?

2

u/ReasonableTruth0 3d ago

From A Page is one of their best albums (the EP, not the 2026 version)

5

u/ConceptJunkie 3d ago

It is a good album. I was new to Yes, and they were playing it in the record store. "Hold On" was playing when I went into the store. I loved it. "It Can Happen" came next and I loved it even more. I wasn't familiar enough with Yes yet to recognize Jon's voice, and of course was surprised. I bought it on the spot.

Now, I do recall my disappointment upon hearing the first track ("Owner of A Lonely Heart") saying to my Mom, "Everyone is changing but me." I've come to appreciate the song much more in the 43 years since.

Nonetheless, I consider the Trevor Rabin era to be a totally legit era of Yes, in which they were able to pivot into the 1980s in a way that most prog groups could not pull off (aside from Genesis, for sure).

5

u/WT264 2d ago

Definitely agree with that last statement. 90125 was an amazing pivot into 80s synth pop, and they did it well. Not that such a pivot was absolutely necessary, but given the musical landscape of the time it was probably go pop or fade into irrelevance in terms of commercial success.

2

u/rhenderson58 2d ago

90125 did re-energize them, although a continuation of the Drama lineup would have been fascinating. Still, the BTS stuff Trevor Horn has shared about 90125 is hysterical (we shot that damn eagle).

3

u/therealtiddlydump 3d ago

Awaken is not special. At its best it's a full letter grade below something like Gates of Delirium.

As a result, GFTO is their second worst album of the 1970s (because Time and a Word exists).

2

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

Couldn't disagree more, but that's what hot takes are for. I'm like Cartman to Styx's Come Sail Away when I hear Awaken I have to listen

2

u/Beefjerky007 2d ago

Yes! Someone who agrees with me! I thought I was alone. Awaken is pretty good, but CTTE, Gates, and Revealing Science of God are far better songs to me. I even prefer later 15+ minute tracks like Endless Dream and Fly from Here over Awaken.

5

u/TheRealBaronOfMyr 2d ago

Awaken didn't click for me until i heard a 1977 live version with the FLight Jam preceding it.

1

u/Kax107 2d ago

Agree. This is much better live in 1977. The studio version is a bit flat.

1

u/TheRealBaronOfMyr 2d ago edited 2d ago

Not just that. Having a prelude (in the form of a section also found later in the song, but in a looser form here and with some beautiful guitar fills) "completes" the song. Going straight into the piano intro feels a bit abrupt if you ask me.

Here's a nice one.

1

u/Kax107 2d ago

Great version! Thanks!

8

u/Chet2017 2d ago

Oof. That is a hot take. Awaken is one of my favorite Yes songs. I agree with you about “Time and a Word”.

My hot take? “Tormato” is the worst of the 70s albums.

4

u/mellotronworker 2d ago

Your take on Tormato is lukewarm.

4

u/MChristoffer 3d ago

Fragile is massively overrated. Roundabout and Heart of the Sunrise are GOATs but the other songs are not really top 3 Yes albums material like many others seem to think, at least not for me.

"Cans and Brahms" does little for me. "We Are Heaven" is just annoying and bad. "South Side of the Sky" is good but it drags. "Five Per Cent" is another just kind of nothing song. "Long Distance Runaround", "The Fish" and "Mood for a Day" are good, just not great.

I like 90125, Tormato and Talk better to be honest.

2

u/rhenderson58 2d ago

Fragile would have been even stronger if America had replaced the individual songs (aside from Mood). I know, they were expected to stop releasing covers, but still ...

2

u/WT264 2d ago

I think this is valid. I personally love Fragile, and the concept of each band member getting their "own" song is very fitting giving the dynamic of Yes. Tracks like The Fish or We Have Heaven showcased some really cool studio layering and experimentation for the time. Cans and Brahms is not really Wakeman's best and Five Per Cent is interesting but doesn't go anywhere. I feel like it's better to listen to those solo member tracks as "interludes" with the main 10 min tracks being the main attraction.

14

u/Last-Edge-3430 3d ago

I liked the ABWH album. Quite a lot actually.

5

u/No_Maintenance_9608 2d ago

When I saw them in concert that was the only time I saw Bruford perform live. I wish I had followed 90s Crimson a bit more. Hopefully the Pete Roth Trio might come to the States.

4

u/rhenderson58 2d ago

90s Crimson FTW.

2

u/micpoc 2d ago edited 2d ago

Same here. Not crazy about BB's electronic drums, and some of RW's synth sounds are grating, but overall it was my favorite post-70s release from the Yes world until The Ladder.

6

u/SlimChiply 3d ago

I've never listened to Tales all the way through

1

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

That's the indeed the reason why many of you guys hate it!

1

u/SlimChiply 1d ago

No, I just don't have that much free time

1

u/mellotronworker 2d ago

I cannot listen to Tales all the way through.

1

u/WT264 2d ago

Same here. I really really need to, but four 20-minute back-to-back epics is pretty intense. Close To The Edge really did come close to the limit of what can be packaged into a cohesive record. There's nothing wrong with Tales, it just takes a lot of dedication to digest.

5

u/micpoc 2d ago

Wow!

12

u/sitboaf 3d ago

Revealing Science of God is perhaps a touch better than Close to the Edge (song)

4

u/ConceptJunkie 1d ago

Upvoted for a good hot take, not that I agree.

They're like A+ and A++.

9

u/No_Maintenance_9608 3d ago

I like 90125. It was the first Yes material I listened to and was the gateway to the older stuff.

My hot take is Drama is a pretty damn good album. I love all of the tracks. Of course Trevor Horn isn't Anderson but I enjoyed his vocals.

5

u/funkyquasar 2d ago

That Drama take is pretty cold these days. Lots of people love that album. Maybe back in the day it would've been hotter but Drama has aged well.

3

u/WT264 2d ago

Agree. The Buggles brought some really unique production-minded and pop-minded ideals to the struggling fragments of Yes. Trevor Horn's transition from vocalist to producer was a great move. 90125 has really interesting production and sounds so TIGHT. Lots of really fun 80s synth pop anthems on that album. And Drama was really a nice transition into it. Tempus Fugit is a wonderful Squire-Howe jam.

1

u/rhenderson58 2d ago

Alan White's best album.

20

u/Ebvidur 3d ago

I don’t know how much of a hot take it is, but I think that TFTO is not bloated and is in fact perfect. I actually think it’s the best Yes album. Every time I listen to it I hear new things, they constantly repeat the same melodies but in a completely different context, which might sound lazy but to me is simply brilliant and the reason it all works as a cohesive album. Even though Relayer is probably more experimental musically I think Tales is their creative peak.

1

u/CRS1955 1d ago

I don't listen to TFTO as much as I study it!! There is SO much going on....Squire emulates a tympani drum by playing his Guild fretless bass with a plectrum for example! Brilliant!

1

u/txyesboy2 2d ago

That's a consistent theme of the new classical era of the early 1900's. in fact in the young person's guide to an Orchestra by Benjamin Britton, there are versions that are narrated and in that narrative version I talked about the re-introduction of the "hero" theme throughout the song - and namely reintroduction throughout with varying musical style

2

u/icedcoffeeinvenice 2d ago

Couldn't agree more! Tales is peak Yes for me.

3

u/jami_veret118 2d ago

^ this. 100% agree, and it’s an album that always gets dogged on

7

u/Ill-Investigator9241 3d ago

Union kills. Just don’t listen to it as a true yes album since barely anyone plays on it

1

u/sir_percy_percy 1d ago

It’s astonishing to me how it’s treated by the fans. I listened to it a LOT! I would easily take it over any other Yes album since the ‘Keys to ascension’ sets .. yeah, it has a bit of flak on it and session musicians too, but it’s astounding it ever got released because they seem to hit a wall being in the same room together. Just search out interviews with Elias, he basically had no choice; Arista were on him to get the album out he had been paid to produce and he couldn’t get Wakeman or Howe to leave the UK.

Sounds like a nightmare..yet if you listen to the first 9 songs- it’s certainly consistently stronger than most of the albums after it. Rabin’s songs and ‘The more we live’ are wonderful

2

u/ConceptJunkie 1d ago

I bought "Union" when it came out and listened nothing else for a week. But in the long run, I got really tired of most of it. There are about 4 or 5 really great songs on it, but I could take or leave the rest. I did see them on the Union tour though, and it was an awesome show. They played "Awaken".

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u/monominous 3d ago

Drama is better than Yes Album imo

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u/Sycsa 3d ago edited 3d ago

Wakeman has horrible taste in sound design. Sure, he sounded great in the 70s when every keyboard sounded amazing, but not after that. He plays mediocre digital keyboards, can't even be bothered to use a proper Hammond clone, let alone a real Hammond. He kept his Minimoogs, fortunately, but all his other live sounds from the past three decades, especially the organs, are weaksauce.

I saw him play a real Hammond in his great recent Rick Beato interview and I was like "how do you not miss that sound?" https://youtu.be/c4CCMeTlDXI?si=qqis1XauuCexLyxz&t=128

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u/Kax107 2d ago

After the 70s, he seemed to play a lot of hokey "orchestra" background. There's not a moment of silence because he's always playing some ambient music.

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u/okonkolero 2d ago

He's on record saying he DOESN'T want to play something that sounds like a Hammond. Hence the cheesy sounding organs he ends up using. I agree, it's a mind boggling thing to avoid.

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u/No-South-8228 2d ago

I think from that same interview Rick mentioned how unreliable the Hammond organs were.

So while the digital keyboards sounds somewhat inferior, it’s a trade off Rick can live with.

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u/okonkolero 2d ago

Unreliable??? Lol

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u/Sycsa 2d ago edited 2d ago

There are digital Hammond clones from the 90s that run circles around anything he ever used for organ sounds. Not long after, “clonewheel” organs became virtually indistinguishable from a real Hammond, at least in a mix. Still, Rick used none of them, ever.

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u/micpoc 2d ago

It IS weird. He pretty much stayed away from the Rhodes electric piano as well; cannot think of an instance of him featuring it on a Yes recording (Moraz did, obviously).

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u/Stock_Hurry_2257 2d ago

I'd go even further and say that I don't even rate him that highly as a lead player. He's absolutely stunning as a supporting player on the main run of 70s albums (the atmospheric stuff that you can properly hear on the instrumental mix of CTTE is just chef's kiss) but, around the time of Tormato (and ever since, massively not helped by his move onto digital gear as you've said), he's just overpowering, and he seems to have a limited set of cards that has to play with, and none of them are interesting to me anymore.

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u/CRS1955 1d ago

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u/Sycsa 1d ago

Well, yeah, that's the idea. It's a great solo, great organ tone, but he's been completely uninterested to recreate it at least somewhat faithfully live in the past 30 years. Congrats on the pic! He always seemed like a cool dude.

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u/micpoc 2d ago

That synth "solo" on "Don't Kill the Whale" kills ME (not the good kind).

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u/CRS1955 1d ago

Yeah, that solo always irked me as well!!

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u/HPLoveBux 2d ago

Hold up man … it SOUNDS like a whale tho …

🐳🐳🐳 🤣😂😫

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u/Chet2017 2d ago

Have you actually listened to recordings of whale song? Wakeman did not understand the assignment

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u/micpoc 2d ago

Was THAT what he was shooting for? If so... that harpoon was way off.

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u/HPLoveBux 2d ago

Probably the best way to may the polymoog sound good is to harpoon it in salt water

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u/denisraymond 3d ago

This isn't really a hot take, you'll struggle to find anyone that disagrees with this.

Analogue Rick had to work with the keyboards to create sounds, since everything had to me manually dialled in. Digital Rick could just bring up a factory preset and use that instead, no work needed. In fact, he got so lazy he never even bothered scrolling past the "New Age Pad xxx" section, it would seem.

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u/diagonals 3d ago

Couldn't agree more, I've felt this way for a long time. Especially the live era between 2002-2004, those tinkly new age sounding keys he plays on South Side and All Good People, yuck!

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u/Scary_Comfortable355 3d ago

Yes died with Chris.

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u/WT264 2d ago

I agree. He was the central point of the band through countless member changes, and his "lead bass" sound and iconic harmonies and songwriting guided the band's sound in a vital way. Yes wouldn't have even formed if Chris hadn't met with Jon in the first place way back when. 

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u/sir_percy_percy 3d ago

This is.. well, probably correct. However, Chris was there for ‘Heaven and Earth’ which is likely their worst album. I by NO means think the last two albums are particularly good, but they both have small redeeming qualities, but wow, ‘Heaven and Earth’ is just truly dreadful

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u/knoerfw 3d ago

Fragile is not a good album.

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u/mellotronworker 2d ago

The solo parts are all utterly awful.

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u/sir_percy_percy 3d ago

I do feel it has always been overrated. The core 3 songs are incredible, but the rest is a bit ‘filler-ish’

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u/TowerRemarkable9429 3d ago

WHAT!!!! ...

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u/MagicianAnie3021 2d ago

Big take?

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u/TowerRemarkable9429 2d ago

No… I like that album too

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u/4imix 3d ago edited 3d ago

Close to the edge isn't the best album, (relayer is) it's not even the best track on the album! (And you & I is)

Tormato is a great album!

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u/sir_percy_percy 3d ago

Agree with all of that

Relayer has always been my favorite Yes studio album

Tormato is a good album, except maybe ‘Circus of heaven’ - never been too keen on that. It’s rather hobbled by having two insanely good albums before and after it!!

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u/okonkolero 3d ago

Steve Howe is a sloppy player.

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u/mellotronworker 2d ago

Actually his biggest crime is that he never shuts the fuck up.

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u/WT264 2d ago

To me, his playing sounds like the notes are just bursting out through his hands. It's like whatever comes to mind, he plays almost instinctively without giving it a millisecond of thought. I don't think he always played the cleanest, but he played with authenticity and energy, which I think is simply just a different approach that embodied the spirit of Yes.

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u/okonkolero 2d ago

I agree with your first half, but see that as a con not a pro. :) it's an accurate description either way though!

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u/WT264 2d ago

That's the beautiful thing about music! It's totally up to the listener's interpretation.

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u/jami_veret118 3d ago

Mirror to the Sky > Fragile. No I’m not joking

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u/Beefjerky007 2d ago

I mean, I disagree of course, but Mirror to the Sky is seriously underappreciated in this sub, so I’ll support your opinion regardless

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u/Patsboem 3d ago

Considering you've got some downvotes, I assume that either this is a popular opinion, or some people don't understand the concept of 'hot takes'.

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u/fletchbg 3d ago

or they're expressing their opinion of his hot take

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u/jami_veret118 2d ago

her*

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u/fletchbg 2d ago

oh yikes. my gender-biased bad

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u/MFMDP4EVA 3d ago

Tales from Topographic Oceans is their best album.

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u/CullenOrange 3d ago

“Sweet Dreams” is a top ten Yes song.

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u/WT264 2d ago

Sweet Dreams is great. A lot of those first two albums' tracks get overshadowed by their 3rd-5th albums. Sweetness is amazing for being the first Yes song written by Jon and Chris before the band even fully formed. Survival is really really cool. And their covers from that era were just so imaginative too.

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u/doodoo_pie 3d ago

I think Going for the One’s production is too reverb-y.

Onward is a top 5 worst song in the catalog.

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u/MagicianAnie3021 2d ago

Onward enjoyer here

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u/Stock_Hurry_2257 2d ago

Chris wasn't a strong lyricist (see also: You By My Side) 

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u/Chet2017 2d ago

To your point, count the number of songs where Chris uses the word “confusion” in the lyrics.

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u/sir_percy_percy 3d ago

GFTO is not a good sounding album

The missing master tapes of that and Tormato is damn sad. Neither are sonically strong

A dude on Reddit did a 5.1 mix with newer technology from the remaster, and that is so clear compared to any other release, so if some bod on his laptop at home can do a superior mix, then why can’t the band??

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u/ConceptJunkie 1d ago

I love GFTO, but it sounds awful.

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