Yes: Keys To Ascension (1996)

 After the tour for 1994’s Talk wrapped up, Trevor Rabin and Tony Kaye handed in their notices which opened the door for the return of Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. This would mark the first time since 1979 that the “classic” Yes lineup worked together, and their first course of action was to perform three shows, near Jon Anderson’s home in San Luis Obispo, which would be recorded for a live album. 

Their next move was to enter the studio and record their first material together in almost two decades. This new music was a step aside from the commercial stylings of the last several albums, and instead featured the return of extended, multi-sectioned pieces, and complex prog arrangements. Some of this sits among the best music ever created under the Yes name. The fact that it was created by this particular lineup made it even more special. 

And then they took this material and stashed it away as bonus tracks on the above-mentioned live album, which was then split into two volumes, released over a year apart. Much of this came down to their label, who felt that fans would be more apt to buy a new album for the live tracks. That was a naïve stance that totally backfired, ensuring that what could have been a triumphant comeback would be relegated to footnote status, at best. 

This fumbled rollout also featured the cancellation of a tour, which then led to Wakeman leaving the band for the fourth time, and Yes swiftly moving on from this debacle. They would soon co-opt a Chris Squire solo album and hastily turn it into a Yes album, which became Open Your Eyes, and then tour on the back of that with a retooled lineup, leaving the Keys era long behind. 

To add further insult to injury, the bulk of this was held back by label bullshit and not released until the following year, three weeks before the release of Open Your Eyes. This just led to confusion and hurt both albums in the process. 

It’s a shame because this material is outstanding. Some of the most collaborative music to come under the Yes banner for decades. Had fans gotten the opportunity to experience this music on the merits of itself alone, rather than present it alongside live performances of the band’s most classic pieces, I think this would have been incredibly successful. 

The 18-minute “Mind Drive” takes a riff that was born during the 1981 “XYZ” sessions and expands it into one of this lineup’s most impressive pieces. A singular giant while, at 19 minutes, the multi-sectioned “That, That Is” plays more like a song cycle than a unified piece but is no less astounding. “Foot Prints”, despite being almost ten minutes, is really catchy, and could have been a single. Anderson’s signature cosmic, hippy dippy, new age sentiments are all over these songs, especially the bouncy “Bring Me To The Power” and the epic “Children Of Light”, which originally started life as an unreleased ABWH track called “Distant Thunder”. Closing it all is a rare Howe/Wakeman collaboration, on the dreamy instrumental, “Sign Language”. 

All in all, this a killer album that is absolutely worth the extended effort required to access it. To date, this is the only Yes album to never be released on vinyl and that is something that drives me absolutely batshit crazy.