Jon Anderson: Olias Of Sunhillow (1975)

 A lot of fans love this album and consider it to be a lost Yes album but it’s always come across as gobbledygook to me. I appreciate  that he created this completely by himself and, I mean, it really is one of the proggiest prog albums ever, it’s just…I dunno. It’s so airy-fairy. It has no muscle to it. It just drifts. Occasionally swirling, but mostly drifting. The playing and arranging are pretty fantastic, and there are some wicked passages, here and there. “Flight Of The Moorglade” is the closest thing to a Yes song that may be found here (they played this song on their brief 1976 Solo Albums tour) and the instrumentals are cool to zone out to as well. 

That is one thing about this album. Yes albums require a certain level of attention in order to properly enjoy. This, however, seems to work better when it is in the background, either of an activity or just meditative thought. Much of this is hypnotic, most of it is out there. 

Like Beginnings and Fish Out Of Water, Olias Of Sunhillow perfectly displays exactly what Jon Anderson brought to Yes, while not really sounding like Yes, further proving that Yes is far more than its individual players.

Chris Squire: Fish Out Of Water (1975)

Outside of Yes, Chris Squire was the least prolific of all the members (he was also always in Yes). In fact, he only ever released one album under his name. Fortunately that one album is phenomenal. 

As with the other albums, this doesn’t sound exactly like Yes but it sounds just enough like Yes to illustrate exactly what Squire brought to the band. The songs are all very well written and arranged, especially “Hold Out Your Hand”, probably the most celebrated Yes solo track. “Lucky Seven” is a very different avenue for Squire and is very cool. 

The best part of this album, even beyond the songs and musicians, is just being able to hear Squire singing lead. He possessed such a unique, fantastic voice that he could easily have fronted a band and that is perhaps the most frustrating thing about his lack of a substantial solo catalogue. 

Throughout this set, Squire is backed by a sextet of who’s whos, including Yes mates Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz, as well as King Crimson sax man, Mel Collins, and Canterbury journeyman Jimmy Hastings on flute. 

In fact, this whole album sounds more Canterbury than Yes. That, perhaps, is its greatest strength. This is especially evident in the jazzy, groovin’ “Lucky Seven”, with its sick sax riff by Collins, and the extended jams in “Silently Falling” are pretty wicked as well. 

Another perk about this album is that it reunites the Squire/Bruford rhythm section, after three years and a lifetime of development. As tight as Squire/White would always remain, Bruford makes this album. 

While it is a bummer that Squire never released another solo album (Conspiracy, Squackett, and the Swiss Choir aside), if you are going to make one album, and it ends up being as good as this, then you’re excused.

Steve Howe: Beginnings (1975)

 

I am generally not a big side project/solo album kind of guy but I have always loved this record. It took me years to reconcile myself with Steve’s voice out front but now I don’t mind it. The songs are great, and it’s very clear by listening to this, exactly how he helped shape the sound of Yes. 

Of course the whole is far greater than the sum and that’s why, if you listen to all the melodic players’ solo projects, none of it sounds exactly like Yes, but they all feature very specific ingredients that each member brought to the table, and those are easily identifiable. 

Over the course of the album, Steve is aided and abetted by a vast cast of players, including Yes colleagues Alan White (5 songs), Bill Bruford (2 songs), and Patrick Moraz (3 songs). 

This is primarily a vocal album but there are three instrumentals, including the twisted “The Nature Of The Sea”, which is just about as badass as anything Yes was doing at the time, and “Ram” which sounds like “Clap” on crack. 

The vocal songs are all pretty great and while, sure, it would sound better if Jon Anderson were singing them, they are all very well written, expertly performed, and quite memorable. 

Steve trading kicks with the horns on ”Lost Symphony” is one of the coolest things ever, and the orchestral arrangement on the instrumental title track is exquisite. 

Most point to Olias Of Sunhillow or Fish Out Of Water as the best Yes solo album but Beginnings is just as good, if not better.

Grateful Dead: Three From The Vault (rec. Feb 1971)

 

2/19/71 - show #2 of a six-show run at the Capitol Theatre. This night finds the original quintet quickly regrouping, after the sudden departure of Mickey Hart, after the previous night’s show. The band came into this run with guns blazing, and lots of new songs, and it was that momentum that kept them going. 

This evening featured the debuts of “Deal” and “Bird Song”, both of which are raw and to the point (a year later, both songs will be be giant), as well as several that were premiered the night before - “Playin’ In The Band”, “Wharf Rat”, “Bertha”, “Loser”, “Greatest Story Ever Told”, as well as their first stab at “Johnny B Goode”. I cannot imagine being a fan and coming into one of these shows and hearing these songs for the very first time. These would all go down as Grateful Dead classics, remaining in rotation until the very end. While nothing compares to a ‘73/74 version of any one of these songs, these initial takes are solid and quite fun. 

This entire run was recorded for Skullfuck, and was absolute 🔥 but none of it was used. While the original album is essential listening, this run (esp this set) is well worth seeking out.