Is anyone a fan here? (I know the answer is "yes", but I thought I would be polite. 
)
Is anyone attending the 50th Anniversary celebration in Philadelphia on July 21st? I'm seeing it and the show in the Fillmore that evening. Here's info on the fan fest:
I am a fan of Yes, my favourite album is the Yes Album.. Believe it or not, there are still albums that I have, though have not heard yet!!!..... 
Beat me with a hitting stick
Since your thread popped up, I might go over their stuff this weekend!... 
I am a fan of Yes, my favourite album is the Yes Album.. Believe it or not, there are still albums that I have, though have not heard yet!!!.....
Since your thread popped up, I might go over their stuff this weekend!...
You should! They are very good. 
Have you gotten any of the Steven Wilson remixes/remasters? HIGHLY recommended, esp. "Tales from Topographic Oceans", "Relayer", and "Fragile" - the other two ("The Yes Album" and "Close to the Edge") are very good too, but the other three are doubly-specially good.
You should! They are very good.
Have you gotten any of the Steven Wilson remixes/remasters? HIGHLY recommended, esp. "Tales from Topographic Oceans", "Relayer", and "Fragile" - the other two ("The Yes Album" and "Close to the Edge") are very good too, but the other three are doubly-specially good.
I have all Yes material, though certain albums did disappoint me, some great albums though. From my previous post, will have to listen again this weekend, I promise!...
I do have Steve Wilson material, but not sure what you mean by remixes?... Probably not, only the originals.
I have all Yes material, though certain albums did disappoint me, some great albums though. From my previous post, will have to listen again this weekend, I promise!...
I do have Steve Wilson material, but not sure what you mean by remixes?... Probably not, only the originals.
Here you go :
I will add to this thread over the weekend.
As I said in another thread, I have become a fan of Yes in 2004. I have all their albums. My personal favourites probably differ from the taste of the average Yes fan. I am not that keen on Relayer, but have a soft spot for Union, which is normally regarded as one of their weaker ones. The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge are real highlights, but I also love the Trevor Rabin - dominated albums. I saw them live only once during the Fly From Here - tour.
I find it highly remarkable, that any new member is allowed to incorporate his personal style into the music. Patrick Moraz, Trevor Rabin and of course The Buggles had a strong impact on the sound of the band. That is why it is really true, that Yes are musical chameleons, which is not a bad thing....
As I said in another thread, I have become a fan of Yes in 2004. I have all their albums. My personal favourites probably differ from the taste of the average Yes fan. I am not that keen on Relayer, but have a soft spot for Union, which is normally regarded as one of their weaker ones. The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge are real highlights, but I also love the Trevor Rabin - dominated albums. I saw them live only once during the Fly From Here - tour.
I find it highly remarkable, that any new member is allowed to incorporate his personal style into the music. Patrick Moraz, Trevor Rabin and of course The Buggles had a strong impact on the sound of the band. That is why it is really true, that Yes are musical chameleons, which is not a bad thing....
Yes, many Yes fans (including some of the band themselves) are not fond of "Union". Rick Wakeman jokingly nicknamed it "Onion" because he said it made him cry every time he listened to it. I like it fine, mostly because it led to the Union tour (which was stellar). Really, the problem with "Union" is that they had the wrong producer for it, and the label was far too involved in its creation - music should be left to the musicians, not the "suits".
Yes, it is amazing how much each permutation of the band reflects the members, old and new. There is a core "Yes sound" and the current members for any given album sculpt it into a new creation. I really liked "Fly From Here" too - that album also divides opinion. The tour for it was great! The Rabin-era is actually what made me a Yes fan in the first place - that's why I'm amused by older fans who dismiss him and his involvement in the history of the band. I would have never discovered the older Yes without the 90125 Yes - and there are many Yes fans who got their start in the same way.
I'll tell you what might make you reevaluate the "Relayer"/Moraz version of the band is to listen to some of the live performances from his time with Yes - those shows were absolute blinders! I love Wakeman and his time with Yes, both studio and live; however, the Moraz live shows were jaw-droppingly awesome. 
I love Yes, I mean it!!.. But certain albums lack depth IMHO... I'm a huge fan of Jon Anderson, but feel the music does not centre around him.... Peter Nicholls(IQ) another master vocalist, appears to have captured his talent. The music in IQ surrounds all the musicans involved. To me Yes, apart from the Yes Album is probably their best!!.... Tormato and Fragile close 2nd
Not sure if it's my albums, but Yes ought to be around and starting today. Their sound is very good, but feel blandness or similarities amongst tracks...
Don't get me wrong, but Yes are a great band!.....
I'll tell you what might make you reevaluate the "Relayer"/Moraz version of the band is to listen to some of the live performances from his time with Yes - those shows were absolute blinders! I love Wakeman and his time with Yes, both studio and live; however, the Moraz live shows were jaw-droppingly awesome.
The only live albums, I have, are Yessongs and Keys to Ascension I and II (also the dvd).
I'll tell you what might make you reevaluate the "Relayer"/Moraz version of the band is to listen to some of the live performances from his time with Yes - those shows were absolute blinders! I love Wakeman and his time with Yes, both studio and live; however, the Moraz live shows were jaw-droppingly awesome.
The only live albums, I have, are Yessongs and Keys to Ascension I and II (also the dvd).
If you can, pick up "Yesshows" - the "Going For The One"/"Tormato" live tracks (and early tracks) have Wakeman on the keys, but, on "Gates of Delirium" and "Ritual", Moraz shines through. Those albums you already have are very good. 
As I'm sure many will also think, for me their peak is the Yes Album-Fragile-CTTE sequence. I always thought one of the best things about them was that Squire/Bruford rhythm section. But fair play to Alan White, he came in with very little notice and you can hear on Yessongs the energy and different dynamics he brought to the band.
I have some affection for the first two albums, there are some really nice tracks on them. I find Topographic quite tedious apart from Ritual, and only really like Sound Chaser on Relayer. That said, the live version of Gates of Delirium on Yesshows is very good, sharper and with a better flow to it - it's just I find the studio version an unengaging mess. The 'Soon' section is good on both, especially the live one.
Going For The One has some good tracks, Awaken being the best, especially the slow build of the second part. My main problem with that album is the shiny, clattery, top-end production, which didn't improve much on later re-masters. Tormato is a frustrating album, it has really good stuff like Future Times/Rejoice, Onward and Silent Wings but it also has rubbish like UFO and Circus. At least the production is a huge improvement on GFTO. (With those albums I also liked that they had a very different approach to the album artwork. It kind of bugs me that so many prog rock albums adopt that same sort of Dean-style fantasy landscape look but maybe fans find it useful as a sort of indicator of the content and style of the music. But I liked Yes's temporary break from that style in the same way I like the starkly different look of the Lamb's artwork compared to the albums either side of it).
I'm really not a fan of Drama at all, though Tempus is good. That tour was the first time I saw them. 90125 has a few decent tracks but I wasn't a fan of the FM-rock feel it had. Big Generator seems to me one of their most overlooked albums. I thought it struck a really nice balance between the newer feel of the Rabin era, and the more 'traditional' proggy Yes approach.
After that album, I really lost touch with them and haven't kept up with their albums at all. I asked some friends recently to make recommendations from the post-BG albums that I will follow up on at some point. But although not having followed the albums, I've seen them on stage 4 times during the same period, starting with the Union tour. I enjoyed the show, if only as it remains the only time I ever got to see Bruford perform live. And although for me Jon Anderson kind of is Yes, when I saw them perform without him (with Benoit David) it was actually a pretty good show with a nice setlist.
I had done a ranking of all Yes albums on the old forum a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, I have lost the original file and so I did it again. I cannot say, if my new list differs from the one on conforums, but this is my personal ranking of today:
01. Close To The Edge
02. The Yes Album
03. Fragile
04. 90125
05. Tales From Topographic Oceans
06. Going For The One
07. Union
08. Relayer
09. The Ladder
10. ABWH (not technically a Yes album, but in my personal perception)
11. Talk
12. Big Generator
13. Drama
14. Magnification
15. Keystudio
16. Tormato
17. Fly From Here
18. Open Your Eyes
19. Time And A Word
20. Heaven And Earth
21. Yes
Backdrifter, if you ask for recommendation for anything beyond Big Generator, I would go for Magnification, because it is so special. A complete orchestra replacing Rick Wakeman. Quite interesting with some great tracks on there. The Fly From Here Album is great, too. Talk would be the most obvious choice for me, if you like Trevor Rabin.
Big fan, my second favorite prog band. My favorite albums are Fragile, Close to the Edge and Going for the one and I appreciate some songs of the new Rabin course. When they managed to keep the noodling in check and focus on the songs, they were really something.
Backdrifter, if you ask for recommendation for anything beyond Big Generator, I would go for Magnification, because it is so special. A complete orchestra replacing Rick Wakeman. Quite interesting with some great tracks on there. The Fly From Here Album is great, too. Talk would be the most obvious choice for me, if you like Trevor Rabin.
Okay thanks - although of the post-BG albums you ranked Union, The Ladder, ABWH and Talk above that one? I saw a tour where they had an orchestra, I don't know if that coincided with Magnification. It was okay, but I generally prefer bands without orchestras.
The Ladder and ABWH are quite what you would expect. Talk also. Union is quite a mixed bag of Yes West and Yes East. Magnification is different. It is hard to recommend something, because tastes may vary...
Is anyone a fan here? (I know the answer is "yes", but I thought I would be polite.
Is anyone attending the 50th Anniversary celebration in Philadelphia on July 21st? I'm seeing it and the show in the Fillmore that evening. Here's info on the fan fest:
I just got word that my ticket has been posted!
I can't wait until July 21st!
I listened to Yesshows today. Gates and Ritual didn`t convince me really. Don`t Kill The Whale is fantastic, though. The original is a real stinker, but this live version shows the potential of the song. Time And A Word sounds great, too.
Once a year I give Relayer a chance. I've been doing it for years now and still it eludes me. I know the band absolutely love it, they have said so on several occasions and that's probably why I keep try to see what is it I am missing but Soon aside, I can't seem to get into it. Any fan?
I listened to Yesshows today. Gates and Ritual didn`t convince me really. Don`t Kill The Whale is fantastic, though. The original is a real stinker, but this live version shows the potential of the song. Time And A Word sounds great, too.
OK - you gave it a shot, and the Moraz era just doesn't seem to satisfy you. Nothing wrong with that! A lot of Yes fans agree.
Yes, those other two live versions are very good!
