I feel like we've gotten to a point of fuller acceptance that Yes is more of an ever-changing *idea* than a "band", at least in the traditional sense. Just as Rick Wakeman predicted back in 1991, Yes has continued, all these years, with an ever-evolving membership, akin to a symphony or a baseball team. Each configuration of the band has been unique, each one offering a different perspective, while always maintaining the same spirit and sense of purpose. Each lineup represents exactly what Yes needed to be at the time, despite not always being a conclusion derived from the most desirable of circumstances. And they have almost always delivered.
At this particular point, we have a Yes configuration that features longtime guitarist Steve Howe, who also serves as producer; Geoff Downes returned to the band in 2011 and has held down the keyboard slot ever since; Billy Sherwood, who has been a jack of all trades for Yes ever since 1988, was appointed as Chris Squire's successor by the man himself, and has held down the low end since 2015; singer Jon Davison takes a lot of shit for not being Jon Anderson but he has done a bang-up job ever since he joined up in 2012, both as a songwriter and an interpreter of the classics; lastly, we have Jay Schellen, who served as Alan White's understudy/stand-in/apprentice from 2016 until White's death in 2022 and, upon his recent promotion, is only the third drummer to record with Yes.
Mirror To The Sky is the 23rd album to bear the Yes name, and it comes hot on the heels of 2021’s The Quest. Word on the street, it’s one of the “Yessiest” Yes albums ever. I’m looking very forward to hearing this for myself. And so we dive…
First spin notes:
First off, I love the cover art. Most of Roger Dean’s offerings as of late have been sky-blue based. I like how this (and the live Royal Affair Tour) feature that starry night sky we first saw on Tales From Topographic Oceans. I’m also glad that the logo and lettering are back to a normal size. It was too big on The Quest and that cut in to Dean’s otherwise stunning painting. The gatefold follows the same pattern as The Quest but, sadly, we see no photo of Alan White. This is the first Yes release in 50 years to not feature White, to whom this album is dedicated. Fortunately we have Jay Schellen who does Alan proud, as he has done onstage for the last seven years.
Now, to the songs. First spin….
01) Cut From The Stars
This is the one song that I had heard previously. I have listened to it several times and I really dig it. I appreciate the use of the orchestra, and how it never seems to get in the way of the band. Billy Sherwood’s bass playing is off the hook. This song has a ton of sections, and a few unique bits, but it is also tuneful. It gets stuck in my head often already. The jam is great and reveals a new and exciting side of the band. Also, Steve Howe’s watery flange is killer. The more I hear this the more I love it.
02) All Connected
This is spacy, funky, and seriously one of the coolest things I’ve heard. Love the vocals. This sounds like every single era of Yes, at the same time, but also more like a hip, 21st century version of Yes. Clocking in at nine minutes, this track goes all over the place, has ten million sections, and is absolutely fantastic. If, for whatever reason, the energy on the opening track was not to be believed, this performance proves that this lineup is no fluke. This is not just a song; it’s a statement of purpose. This was also an advance single but I decided to hold off on hearing it and I’m so glad I did.
03) Luminosity
Another nine minute epic from the Howe/Davison/Sherwood team that brought the above. It’s a bit of slow one, and it’s played very well, but I may have to sit with this one for a bit. It is very cinematic, and pretty straightforward at times. This sort of space-folk vibe is quite nice, if perhaps not the most exciting. Sherwood lays down some slippery fretless bass runs and Steve Howe totally soars, especially on the outro. My only gripe is how they pronounce “luminous” as “lumin-iss” and not “lumin-us”, which would have sounded much better. A minor issue in an otherwise major piece.
04) Living Out Their Dream
This tune, from Howe & Downes, totally rocks and is fun but it is also incredibly silly. Davison and Howe’s voices blend really well here, and the middle jam is killer. But “living out their dream, covered in ice cream” - areyakiddingme? “Mouthful of glee”? No thanks, m’man. This one should have been on the bonus disc, methinks.
05) Mirror To The Sky
Clocking in at just under 14 minutes, this is the longest Yes song since “Mind Drive” came out, back in ‘97. This track JAMS. The band is 100% locked in and firing off everything they’ve got but, once again, it’s the orchestra that really makes this piece, in that it knows when to lay down and when to lay out. It makes those blasts, swells, and distant French horn cries, all the more stunning when they happen. I love the sentiment, “you’re my mirror to the sky”. There are some really great sections, and a great many of them too. This is prog but it’s not fiddly prog. It gets really slow and spacey after a while but it never gets boring. The ending is majestic, especially that break when it’s just the orchestra, and the band kicks in, to bring it home….fuck yeah. Decades from now, fans of some future lineup of Yes may very well count this among the band’s most classic epics.
06) Circles Of Time
This song concludes the main album. It’s a very pretty song, and beautifully produced, but it’s probably my least favorite of Jon Davison’s sole offerings. I love the sentiment of the lyric but “time circles/circles of time” is quite juvenile, and it’s just weird to end an album on a soft acoustic number. They easily could have ended with the above and we’d be none the wiser.
Fortunately we have bonus tracks:
07) Unknown Place
The first of three Howe-written bonus tracks is eight minutes long and, honestly, it is one of the best things on this set. I’m sure this was only cut from the album because of its length. That has to be the case. This is too good otherwise. In fact, it should be edited into a single. A most bonus track indeed.
08) One Second Is Enough
It should be pretty obvious that if you write a weird song and title it “One Second Is Enough”, the reviewers are going to have a field day with that. Okay, just so we’re agreed. No, really, this is a cool little tune, with a nice groove that you can bob along with, and a few rad changes. This definitely would not have fit within the dense epics of the main album but this is one of the better bonus tracks.
09) Magic Potion
This final Steve Howe-written bonus track is oddly cool but really weird and definitely best served on a bonus disc. The verses are the closest to yacht rock any version of Yes ever got. I feel like I should hate it but I really don’t. This is so damn tight. Sherwood’s bass is slippery AF.
First impression: I really like it. A lot. There are a couple bits that may take some time to sink in, but it’s fresh. It may sound like the same band from The Quest, but it’s no rehash. There is a lot of growth apparent in the writing and playing. Like other long-standing lineups that came before, there is a chemistry among the players that keeps getting stronger, the more they continue to create.
Yes - this version of Yes - is on a fucking roll. And, for their efforts, they are already enjoying their highest chart performance in years. Mirror To The Sky is a defining example of Yes in the ‘20s, a Yes whose time spent honoring the past has given them the strength and inspiration to continue the tradition.
If the rumor mill is to be believed, Yes is already working on their next album (their touring plans keep getting screwed up so they might as well stay busy). Will they be able to top this one? It will be tough but I can totally see it happening.
But not just yet. There is still way too much to unpack here, so now we move on to the second of what will surely be thousands of spins.
note: final proofing/editing occurred on my third spin, four days after the first. Not only do my initial thoughts remain, they have gotten even stronger (as they probably will, with every spin).
