February 19, 1971 - The Yes Album

Welcome to 1971! My first release of the year came out on February 19, titled "The Yes Album", the third album by Yes. It was released only 7 months after "Time And A Word" and is the first album to feature Steve Howe on guitar, replacing Peter Banks. However the small orchestra that was used throughout that album does not continue on to this one. It's their first album to have no cover songs and it was also Yes's commercial breakthrough after their first two albums sold poorly. So everybody else seemed to like this album better, let's see what I think!

The first song on the album is "Yours Is No Disgrace" which opens with a catchy guitar riff by newcomer Howe as well as some organ. Tony Kaye switches from organ to synthesizer and plays a cool riff. Howe's guitar and Chris Squire's bass are both excellent as this song is off to a rockin' start. A long drone-y note sounds and we hear Jon Anderson's trademark high-pitched voice. Squire carries the song with some great bass while Howe wanders and flourishes. Kaye returns to play the synth riff from earlier before it changes to some slow bass and more singing. They return to the opening riff briefly but it's Howe's echo-y guitar that starts a new instrumental part. He plays a little solo as well before the shark back to the chorus. They play out one final verse and the song ends with some more cool synths by Kaye. Track 2 is a live acoustic guitar solo by Howe played at the Lyceum Theatre in London. It has a really cool beat to it and Howe plays lots of quick notes that sound awesome. It's a really cool 3 minute true guitar solo. The side ends with it's second track of nearly ten minutes, "Starship Trooper". It starts with more of Anderson's high singing and he is remarkably consistent with them. Kaye plays organ in the background and Howe's guitar wanders while Squire takes lead with some cool bass. Howe plays some more quick acoustic similar to last song, and then goes back to electric guitar for a new part with some wordless vocals. Anderson's voice never really shines for me, but it's also always solid. Howe plays a trippy riff that has both acoustic and electric guitars and Kaye plays some trippy organ as well in an extended slow psychedelic part that closes out the side.

Side 2 opens with "I've Seen All Good People" which starts with a three-part vocal harmony from Anderson, Squire and Howe. This definitely gives it more power and Howe plays the Portuguese guitar, which sounds similar to an acoustic. Anderson sings lead in the verses but Squire and Howe now sing their own background part. We hear some cool recorders by session musician Colin Goldring (Goldring, really?) and Kaye plays some cool organ during the second "do-do" part. The second section of the song has the same line that opened it repeated by the three singers, but in a rock and roll vibe now. It has some cool piano flourishes by Kaye and Howe plays an awesome guitar solo. Kaye finishes the song on organ as all three singers and the instruments progressively get lower and lower until the song fades out. Track 5 is a funky little rock song called "A Venture" which opens with some cool piano and solid guitar and bass as well. Anderson sings lower and quicker in the verses, and his more typical higher and longer notes in the chorus. Bill Bruford plays tome tight stop and start drumming as well, and Kaye plays a great piano bit to finish out the song. The final track "Perpetual Change" opens with a synchronized guitar and organ riff that sounds very epic. This breaks into a cool rock song with an almost immediate guitar solo by Howe. Squire's slow bass starts a new part where Anderson sings "inside out, outside in, every way". They repeat these 3 parts a few times, with the rockin' bits always the stand out to me with great guitar and piano. Howe plays a short guitar solo, before he kicks off a new part with another cool riff. Yes play two different pieces of music with different time signatures at the same time in a very cool section, with bass and organ dominating one ear and some crazy guitar in the other! They return to rockin' one last time before the band jam out the end of the record.

That wraps up "The Yes Album", and I thought (like everyone else it seems) that this was a huge step up for Yes. All the songs on this album are solid, especially the longer ones with four great songs over 6 minutes. Peter Banks was by no means a bad guitarist, but Steve Howe plays some amazing stuff on this record, and he also seems to add a bit of a jolt to the band. In my opinion this easily becomes their best album yet, with "Time And A Word" falling to second and "Yes" going to third. Yes just keep getting better with every album, I hope that progression continues!