Yes: Fly From Here

Moving along, as we continue to prepare to hear the new Yes album, The Quest, we are revisiting the post-Jon Anderson years, and the many live and studio releases that have come during this time. The new album has been out for a few days now and, as always, the response is mixed. There are far more positive reviews out there than I had expected and I am pretty sure that most of the negative ones are from people who didn't want to like the album to begin with, or people who hate it on principle and will never actually hear it, but I will be the judge of it, with my own ears and opinions. Yes fans can be the worst, but I digress.

We last left off with a stunning studio EP called From A Page, which found Oliver Wakeman finishing four songs that he brought to the band, during his brief stint, which they recorded for what was to be their next album (and first since 1980 to not feature Anderson). While the band was making headway, there came a lull and they wound up short on material. The late, great Chris Squire remembered this one song called "We Can Fly From Here" that the 1980-81 Drama lineup had played live, but never recorded for an album. So he called up Trevor Horn and they got to talking about it and it turned out that there were other parts to that which had been worked up later by The Buggles, but were never used, and this led to Horn being tapped to produce this new album, and Yes turning "We Can Fly From Here" into a six-part, 30-minute suite.

Being that this was originally conceived with Geoff Downes on keyboards, it made sense that he return to the band, but that unfortunately meant curtains for Oliver Wakeman. I am really glad that his contributions eventually saw the light of day but, in the situation's defense, it is now 11 years later and Downes is still in the band.

Fun fact: "We Can Fly From Here" was originally a Buggles demo, from before Horn and Downes were part of Yes, and it was with this song that they initially approached the band and ultimately became part of the legacy. While it was not recorded for the album it was, along with another song called "Go Through This", performed live on the subsequent tour. That lineup fizzled before a second album could be made, so this was left on the back burner. It was only fitting that the next album to not feature Anderson would continue on this track.

Featuring stunning artwork from Roger Dean, the resulting album, 2011's  Fly From Here, is a fantastic Yes album. Sure, it's not perfect, but not all of them are anyway. Benoit David is in fantastic voice here, sounding more like Horn than Anderson, but also coming into his own a lot. The band sounds inspired and, while some of the songs are a bit weird and maybe an acquired taste, it really holds together well.

The set kicks off with the "Fly From Here" overture, which is a grandiose piece that is every bit a statement of purpose as the intro to "Machine Messiah", and touches on the various parts of this suite. Next up is "We Can Fly", which is the original song and it really has that Drama feel. Chris Squire's playing and singing is goosebump-inducing, and Steve Howe's guitar work is equally astounding. This track is Yes at the highest level, and proof that this band is always more than the sum of its parts, regardless of who those parts may be.

"Sad Night At The Airfield" comes up next and has a feel that is both dark and peaceful. There is absolutely nothing in the Yes catalogue that sounds even remotely like this. Benoit's voice takes on a deeper, more hollow timbre and proves that he was more than worthy of his position. The arrangement is very unique as well, and really illustrates the production genius of Trevor Horn. This is music that gets under your skin and glides along the surface of your soul.

The suite continues with "Madman At The Screens", which revisits themes from the first part of the overture and features some amazing vocal harmonies and rhythmic counterpoint that is just fucking wicked. This is one of the coolest tracks in all of modern Yes.

This leads to "Bumpy Ride", which is a really cool track that is mostly instrumental, written by Steve Howe, and features some jagged playing and cool twists. I'm honestly not sure how well it fits, within the scheme of the suite, and it seems that they drop a bit of the main motif in the middle just to make it fit, but fuck it. It is still really cool and the way it lands into the "We Can Fly Reprise" is pretty majestic. 

The album continues on with Chris Squire's "The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be", which is a bit simple for Yes but is actually a really good song. I always love to hear Chris take a lead vocal on a Yes album, and this is a great example. While his greatest strength was in tandem singing (either lead or harmony) but when he sings by himself, there is a subtle richness that comes out. Oh yeah, the outro of this is killer.

While not part of the suite, "Life On A Film Set" is another Horn/Downes song that was never used for a Buggles release. The whole "riding a tiger" thing I don't get, but the song itself is really cool, and has a similar mood to the suite. With several distinct sections, this is like a mini-suite in itself. The acoustic bit in the middle is one of my favorite things in the world. 

Steve Howe contributes the lovely "Hour Of Need", and I believe this is his first lead vocal on a Yes album, singing in tandem with Benoit. A short little strummer, it was later revealed that this is only half of the song, with some very contrasting, and complex, sections edited out. Of course I dig the full version most, but this is also cool. Howe follows this with a stunning solo piece called "Solitaire". I generally find things like this unnecessary on a band's album, but Howe's solo pieces are always really great, and this one leads into the amazing album finale.

The only piece credited to the full band, and the only one on this set to feature Oliver Wakeman in the writing credits (while he does not play on this recording, his keyboards to appear on a few other tracks), "Into The Storm" is a killer song that stands near the top of the Yes canon. The entire band is playing like pure fire. Squire is running his bass through that Tormato filter, and it gives a bit of a feel of that era (maybe a cross between "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" and "Tempus Fugit"). The vocal harmonies are tight and trademark Yes, and the production is stellar. This should be on every best-of from here on out.

While all of the material on this album is not of the same caliber, it is all fantastic, and this is an inspired set that should have been a bigger deal that it was. The musicians play at the highest level and Benoit David more than states his case for being in the band. Of course Jon Anderson is missed, but it all goes along, and it goes along well.

Unfortunately the universe can be a cruel maiden and, soon after this album came out, Benoit David was sidelined with a severe vocal issue and soon found himself without a band, replaced by current vocalist, Jon Davison. Ironic, given the way he got the gig in the first place. What goes around...

To add insult to injury, in 2018 Trevor Horn revisited this album. There were a lot of edits made, some new parts added in, some removed, an extra song added, "Hour Of Need" was restored to its full length, and.....all of Benoit's vocals were replaced by Trevor himself. One of the biggest WTF moments in rock history. The tough thing is, despite being a pretty shitty thing to do to Benoit, this actually made the album more legit. Horn is the one who wrote most of the album, and he was the producer as well, so it's his baby. Subtitled Return Trip, this becomes the Drama follow-up that it should have been, and is a stunning work. We will discuss this later. 

While the original is no longer in print, it is still easily found. Taken together, we get two different perspectives of the same album, both of which drive the point home that while Jon Anderson might be one of the most significant Yes members, his presence is not necessary to get the point across.