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.
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