YES is prog, right?

also eloy, some steve hillage, some john mclaughlin, oh man and who else?

i can suggest a few obscure japanese bands like angel in heavy syrup and marble sheep and the run down sun's children.

Can't forget Van der Graaf Generator. More of the "Eurpoean" school of 70s progressive music, this British band was fronted by the esteemed Peter Hammill. His vocals are not to everyone's taste, but they never lack commitment and his lyrics are some of the best out there. Thinking man's (and woman's) prog with absolutely NO concessions to commercial appeal. My favorite album of their is the most controversial one, which is the live album "Vital." Punks like Johnny Rotten have called that album influential, and it's purported to be the only prog that the British punks thought had any credibility--not that I give a crap what British punks like....I just include this for the record :-) This is Peter Hammill at his most raw and agressive, and the band is totally of the same mindset. The album takes songs that were much more stately in their earlier incarnations and puts a wild, crazy energy into them. Some of the sickest fuzz bass you'll ever hear--the bass amps purportedly had to be bolted to the stage floor on that tour. Cellos and violins sawing madly away while the rhythm section thunders and Mr. Hammill peels the paint. Wild stuff, and now out on CD in it's full version (previous editions were missing two songs).

Also, check out Nektar ("Recycle"; "Down to Earth") and Aphrodite's Child ("666"). Also, Chris Squire (bass player for Yes) has a wonderful 70s solo album called "Fish Out of Water."

ps. "Awaken" is definitely the greatest song ever recorded. When I saw Yes do it live in the round in '79, I was a convert for life.

"Rick Wakeman is God"

Word.

Since a few people have been asking about chronologies and dates of Yes music and such, I present:


A brief history of Yes and the band’s recordings (opinions are entirely mine, of course), listed by studio album, in order:

“Yes”, “Time and a Word” – late 1960s releases, Beatles-influenced and often bluesy, before the arrival of Steve Howe. Interesting as historical works, but for me not worth owning.

“The Yes Album” – Howe arrives (Tony Kaye on keyboards), first great album, containing the classics “All Good People” and “Starship Troopers.” Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Howe, Kaye 1970

“Fragile” – Wakeman arrives and Yes is truly born. “Roundabout” is a major hit single, despite being 8-odd minutes long. Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Howe, Wakeman 1971

“Close to the Edge” – for many the definitive Yes album, for many, the greatest prog album ever. The 18-minute title track still blows us away. Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Howe, Wakeman 1972

“Tales from Topographic Oceans” – Bruford leaves before this, feeling he’s done all he can with the band; chooses Alan White as his replacement. A double record, four songs (one on each side). Long, proggy, mind-boggling, turns off a lot of people, including Wakeman who leaves (the first of many times!) after the tour. Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman 1973

“Relayer” – far from simplifying their sound, Yes became even more “proggy” and extreme with this album. No major label would ever allow an album like this to be released today! Patrick Moraz replaced Wakeman. “Gates of Delirium” a 21-minute anti-war epic, is like nothing Yes has done before. Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Moraz 1974

“Going for the One” – the band rested for three years and did solo albums, of which Chris Squire’s “Fish out of Water” is the notable stand out. Reconvening, Wakeman rejoined (“because Yes was writing songs again,” he said). Often thought of as the band’s last great album, with its exceptional writing on “Turn of the Century” and “Awaken.” Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman 1977

“Tormato” – the storm clouds gather. A weak follow-up that has some nice songs (“Madrigal”, “Silent Wings of Freedom”) and some lousy ones (“Arriving UFO”, “Circus of Heaven”). The album sounds rushed, the playing is a bit sloppy at times, but for the first time since Fragile and CttE, the line-up is the same in two consecutive albums. Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman 1978

“Drama” – the album that divides Yes fans like no other. Is it really even Yes? Personally I like it. Anderson and Wakeman decide they’ve had enough and depart after some aborted recording sessions (later known as the Paris Sessions, pretty awful stuff). Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes join, the tour tanks, the band breaks up. Horn, Squire, White, Howe, Downes 1980

“90125” and “Big Generator” – the 80s incarnation of Yes, that achieved considerable pop success. Howe went on to form Asia with Downes, also hugely successful. These albums aren’t total losses, but I don’t care for either of them. Kaye returns and Trevor Rabin is the new guitarist. Anderson, Squire, White, Rabin, Kaye 1983 and 1986

“Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe” – Anderson becomes tried of pop and wants to do prog again, Squire continues with Yes. Squire owns the name “Yes”, but Howe owns the classic Roger Dean Yes logo, so neither can be used by the other. As one commentator put it, Spinal Tap could not have envisioned a more absurd situation. So, these four got together under their own name and produced a Yes-like album that has some nice moments. As the name implies, it’s Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, with Tony Levin on Bass 1989

“Union” – eventually ABWH and Squire’s Yes decided to combine forces, resulting in a ridiculous and uneven album that is just a mix of new ABWH tracks and Yes tracks, played by the respective bands, with Anderson singing on both. Less-than-memorable songs, though the tour was quite excellent. (deep breath): Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, Squire, Rabin, Kaye, White 1991

“Talk” – the union didn’t last long, and the band was back to its 1980s line-up. An average album, with one decent long song, “Endless Dream” Anderson, Squire, Rabin, Kaye, White 1994

“Keys to Ascension I and II” – the much-hyped reunion, a couple of one-off concerts and two new CDs of live and new studio material. As for the studio music, “Keys I” is largely forgettable, “Keys II” has a very nice 18-minute song, “Mind Drive” which could well have been recorded in the 70s. It didn’t last. Wakeman was already gone again before the albums were released. Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman 1996 and 1997

“Open Your Eyes” – a better title would be “Cover Your Ears.” Despite Howe’s presence, mostly pop drivel influenced by Billy Sherwood, the band’s producer “rewarded” with a spot in the group. 1997 Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Sherwood

“The Ladder” – a significant improvement, bringing Russian keyboardist Igor Khoroshev into the mix (he had guested on the previous album). Definitely some good music here, though not all of it. Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Sherwood, Khoroshev 1999

“Magnification” – both Igor and Billy are gone, and the remaining four team up with a symphony orchestra. Again, like “The Ladder” some nice material, nothing that really blows me away, but much better than their pop efforts. Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, orchestra 2001

Since then, there have been no new albums, and frankly, I don’t think there will be.

Anderson, Squire, White, Howe, Wakeman reunited (yet again!) for a world tour, which was fantastic! One of the best shows I’ve ever seen of them. But instead of capitalizing on that, they went their separate ways again and got involved in other projects (Howe deemed it necessary to re-join Asia…).

So, there you have it, Tim’s biased and completely unauthorized guide to the Yes studio discography. Basically every album from “The Yes Album” to “Going for the One’ are must-haves, everything else can be decided on a per-album basis. I own every one except the first two, 90125, and Open Your Eyes.

Rhino Records has re-released all of the old catalog with the original artwork in the CD packages, plus loads of bonus tracks and studio takes as extras, usually at decent prices ($11.99 or so).