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.

Yes: The Quest (2021)

 Yes had intended to quickly follow up 2014’s Heaven & Earth but were sidelined by the 2015 death of Chris Squire, and an extended regrouping period (which saw several impressive concept tours), and then the covid lockdowns. Finally, in 2021, a new Yes album emerged. It was the first to feature Billy Sherwood on bass, assuming the role that Chris Squire had held down since the day he founded the band. It was also the first album to feature current Yes drummer Jay Schellen, here in a limited percussion role, alongside the late Alan White (who makes his final appearance on this album). This as also the first Yes album to be produced by Steve Howe, as he now is the captain of the ship. 

The result is a fantastic album, every bit as majestic as the Roger Dean painting on the cover. This is a different Yes, but it is still Yes. There is a lot of prog on this album, especially on side one, with “The Ice Bridge”, as well as the soaring “Dare To Know”, which Howe sings in tandem with Davison, and is accented by an orchestra (recalling Magnification, somewhat). 

Written by Davison & Sherwood, the magnificent “Minus The Man” is a benchmark for the new era of Yes. It takes a few passes before it sticks. Once it sinks in, it really sticks. This is augmented by an orchestra as well as the following, three-part “Leave Well Alone”, written by Howe and sung in unison between he and Davison. This has a feel more in line with what you might hear on one of his solo albums, or maybe ABWH. That said, it is a really solid piece with about forty different sections and one wicked swing. The outro jam (“Wheels”) is stunning. 

Aside from superior production, one big thing that The Quest had going for it was that they weren’t trying to chase a pop single. This is a prog record. These songs are cosmic, they are clever, they are out-there, and they aren’t trying to be anything but what they are. 

“The Western Edge” is a very uplifting, grand little epic that probably treads the closest to single territory of all these songs, while still maintaining the vibe of the album. This leads into the mostly acoustic “Future Memories”, written solely by Davison. This is a moody little song that is very well written, and very deep and personal. It is a bit different for a Yes album but it works and does so beautifully. 

Next up is Howe’s “Music To My Ears” which has some solid moments but is ultimately the weakest song on the album. The band does a noble job making is work, and it definitely has the ability to get stuck in your head, but it’s just a bit juvenile. 

Fortunately that’s not the case for the three-part “A Living Island”, which closes out the main part of the album. Co-written by Davison and Geoff Downes, this is yet another in a series of phenomenal album closers. This features some great, understated playing, including a very light, but incredibly effective drum performance from Alan White, with Jay Schellen’s percussion coloring the background. One of my favorite latter-day Yes tracks. 

Included with the album was a bonus disc, featuring three additional songs from the sessions - on the vinyl edition, it’s just side four. The most successful of these is “Sister Sleeping Soul”, which absolutely could have been a single. And should have. I get how it doesn’t quite fit on the main album but this is one hell of a track. Just complex enough to be intriguing but also catchy as all hell (I am certain to wake up with this in my head tomorrow). 

Written by Steve Howe, “Mystery Tour” is a far-too-literal homage to the Beatles, set to a super catchy, strummy pop song. It’s a fun one but definitely belongs on a bonus disc. As does Howe’s “Damaged World”, which he sings. It’s not a bad song but it’s more of a songy song, and definitely would not fit on the main album. This sounds about as far from pretty much any other version of Yes as ever, but still has that same spirit. 

Sadly, this was to be Alan White’s final work with Yes, before his 2022 death. Up to that point, he had the longest unbroken tenure in Yes (50 years), appearing on every album and tour since he replaced Bill Bruford in 1972. Jay Schellen is an amazing drummer, and I look forward to cheering him on, but Alan will be forever missed. 

This concludes the studio discography. Until May, that is, when the new album, Mirror To The Sky, is released. I am looking very forward to that. It’s been a lot of fun revisiting this catalogue, which I usually do a couple times a year. My best friend turned me onto them in late 1987, when we were 13, and I have stuck with them ever since, no matter the album or the lineup. I look very forward to the new album, and the one after that, and the one after that…

Next up, the live albums.

Yes: Fly From Here - Return Trip (2018)

As mentioned before, following the release of Fly From Here, vocalist Benoit David was forced to leave the band due to medical issues and was replaced by Jon Davison, who remains the Yes vocalist to this day. 

However, in 2018, the mix was totally shaken up with the release of Fly From Here: Return Trip. While the initial 2011 release of Fly From Here featured Benoit David, who did a hell of a job, the album really was Trevor Horn’s baby. Half of the album was based on material that he wrote, some of which he sang with Yes during his time in the band, and the album bears his production stamp. Despite the “No Jon No Yes” detractors, the album was an artistic triumph. 

So when, in 2018, this revised and re-edited version of the album appeared, bearing the subtitle, “Return Trip”, I was intrigued. Horn went back in and trimmed down a lot of the title suite (which initially took up the whole of side one), as well as the rest of the album. 

He also completely wiped Benoit David from the album and replaced the vocals with his own. And, the thing is, it was a totally legit move. This is his project and, more importantly, this effectively reunited the Drama lineup and further validated that short-lived iteration. There is no reason why this should not exist. 

Except that it was a massive dick move. I mean, one of the shittiest things a band has ever done to an ex-member. Now, while it’s always great to hear songs sung by the composer, Benoit did an amazing job on the original album, and his performance is by far the superior of the two. Adding salt to the wound, Benoit was even airbrushed out of the band photo inside the gatefold. Were it not for the eventual release of From A Page, we may never remember that poor Benoit helped to save Yes and was stellar throughout his tenure. 

Not that Horn does a bad job. He is great. Some of the edits in the suite are pretty slick while others make little sense. His mix of the “Sad Night At The Airfield” completely recasts that song as a more ethereal experience and is really cool, despite being inferior to the original. Elsewhere, the fat is trimmed, and there are a few shifts in arrangement here and there. Around three minutes are cut, in total. I don’t think this really improves the piece, but I always appreciate alternative perspectives. 

This truncation allowed for Squire’s lovely “The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be”, to close the first side, rather than open the second. With the extended, jammy outro, this change is fitting. 

This also allows the dark, cinematic “Life On A Film Set” to open side two. This is another piece that is derived from an old Buggles demo, and is one that really benefits from Trevor Horn singing. 

Steve Howe’s “Hour Of Need”, which appeared on Fly From Here as a very pretty, folk-pop song, is given an extended intro and outro on this restored full-length mix. This definitely changes the song, as does Horn’s voice behind Howe’s. It is far cooler, though it’s totally understandable why it was edited to begin with. This outro jam is bangin’.

This leads to Howe’s solo instrumental, “Solitaire”, which is a really cool piece with a nice little chug that, on the original album, would lead right into the epic “Into The Storm”, to close out the album. 

On the Return Trip, however, this leads into a previously unheard song, ironically titled “Don’t Take No For An Answer”.  Written and sung by Steve Howe, there is no question as to why this was cut from the original album. It is, however, one more chance to hear a Yes song with Chris Squire’s bass, and I always appreciate that. 

Fortunately this ends and we get “Into The Storm” to close out the album. This sounds really great, especially the Horn/Squire blend. Is it better than the original? No, that would be impossible. Is it on par? Perhaps. 

The most noticeable difference between these two versions of this album is in the production. The original release was mixed and mastered much louder, or at least it was much hotter, crisper. Return Trip, however, is more refined. The drums are not as up front as before (but nowhere near as distant as on Heaven & Earth). The overall vibe is mellower than the original but everything still sounds incredible. 

While I love the fact that this exists, simply so that there is an official follow-up to Drama (one of my favorite albums ever), it does not compare to the original. Trevor Horn is a good singer but, honestly, Benoit David does a better Trevor Horn than the man himself. There was a lot more vocal muscle on the original.

What irks me is that this was originally intended to be an alternate view of this album but it ended up supplanting it instead. The original is out of print, and it’s not streaming anywhere, and that is a bummer. There is plenty of room in this world (and my collection) for both albums. The more Yes, the merrier. 

Benoit David deserves more.

 

Yes - Heaven And Earth (2014)

 

So now we come to the most maligned album in the entire Yes discography, 2014’s Roy Thomas Baker-produced Heaven And Earth. This album marked the debut of Jon Davison, who assumed the lead vocal spot after Benoit David left in 2012. After touring the Fly From Here album, as well as embarking on a few ”classic album” tours (stay tuned for those), it was time to make it official with an album. 

Unlike Benoit, Davison took the lead in the creative process, flying all over the world and writing individually with each member, as well as writing some on his own. This was a bold move but one that really could have paid off tremendously if they had Any Other Producer On Earth. I don’t know why they chose Baker. It didn’t work in 1979, why try again. His style is very hushed and precise - the opposite of Horn’s larger-than-life capture of the band on Fly From Here. The drums are mixed low and have no umph, despite Alan White playing the hell out of them. As a result, these songs come across as limp, which is really a shame because these are actually good songs. Well, mostly. They deserved more than what RTB had to offer. 

Davison sings in a tenor that makes him capable of singing the classics but is generally on the softer side than his predecessors’. It is quite distinctive, though, and he lets his own character shine on these performances. He’s not there to play a part, and I appreciate the hell out of that. Also, his voice blends perfectly with Squire’s, in a sound that is both familiar and fresh. His writing is clever but not too deep or out-there, and he can also get emotional as well. He’s done a hell of a job and has only gotten better over the years. 

Anyway….so the album kicks off with “Believe Again”, a complex, well-written song that could have been a decent fanfare but instead is muffled and restrained. It was released as a single and I’m not sure that helped the band much. 

“The Game”, co-written with Squire, had everything in place to be one hell of a single, including a killer performance from Davison, a singalong chorus, a nice positive message, but instead it was flattened in the engineer booth. 

While I may rail on the overall sound, the songs and arrangements are generally great. The only real dud moment is “Step Beyond”, which is a decent song that is marred by this really stupid synth loop that runs the whole fucking time. Co-written with Howe, and sung in tandem between he and Davison, this is saved by some great backing vocals from Squire, a few pretty cool sections, and a really fantastic bridge. The best part about this is it leads into “To Ascend”. Co-written by Davison and Alan White, this is one of the most beautiful songs to ever be released under the Yes banner. I defy any detractor to find something wrong with this song. 

Squire provides “In A World Of Our Own”, written with Davison, which has this slippery sort of swampy Beatles groove that is very uncharacteristic for Yes, as is the acerbic, snarky lyric. But it’s also a really cool song, and the last to feature Squire’s name in the credits. 

“Light Of The Ages” is the first to feature a solo Davison writing credit and is majestic, very Yessish. This could have easily fit on any one of their mid ‘70s releases. If only they had called Eddie Offord to produce. 

Steve Howe provides the strummy “It Was All We Knew”, which he sings in a duet with Davison. This is a nice little song but perhaps not necessarily at home on a Yes album. Shoulda been the Japanese bonus track. 

This all leads to the epic “Subway Walls”, which closes the album. Perhaps the proggiest moment on this record, this is a song that absolutely should have been played live. The orchestral intro recalls Magnification a bit, and this features some fantastic playing by Howe and Squire. However, this is another song that is totally screwed over by the production. Had Trevor Horn been behind the board, this would be a classic. 

Sadly, this was to be the last Yes album to feature Chris Squire (the only one who had appeared on them all), who passed away in 2015. While it’s a shame that he had to go out on such a gaffe of an album, he left that album with some of the finest playing of his career.