The Yes Album
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The Yes Album is an album by British progressive rock band Yes. Recording began in October 1970 and the album was released on Atlantic Records in March 1971. This was the album that finally set Yes's career alight, with the album reaching #7 in the UK and, eventually, #40 in the US, where it was a platinum seller. The Yes Album is generally considered a classic '70's rock album and a highlight of the band's long career.
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Track listing
- Yours Is No Disgrace / Yes (9:41)
- Clap* / Howe (3:17)
- Starship Trooper (9:28)
- Life seeker / Anderson
- Disillusion / Squire
- Würm / Howe
- I've Seen All Good People (6:55)
- Your move / Anderson
- All good people / Squire
- A Venture / Anderson (3:18)
- Perpetual Change / Anderson/Squire (8:52)
* Recorded live at The Lyceum, London, July 17, 1970
Personnel
- Jon Anderson: Vocals, percussion
- Chris Squire: Bass guitar, vocals
- Steve Howe: Electric and acoustic guitars, vachalia, vocal
- Tony Kaye: Piano, organ, moog
- Bill Bruford: Drums, percussion
- Colin Goldring: Recorders
Commentary
Often considered the first classic Yes recording, The Yes Album set the stage for the band's route to superstardom with Fragile and their epic masterpiece Close to the Edge. This was their first commercial success and, reportedly, it had to be or Atlantic was going to cut them loose.
Many features for which Yes became known are demonstrated for the first time on The Yes Album:
- The "democratic" balance of the band -- with each virtuoso member making his own significant contribution -- is seen here for the first time. While other bands were hiring orchestras to provide their songs with a fuller sound, Yes had the talent and the musicianship to be their own orchestra.
- Steve Howe appeared with the band for the first time and played a very prominent role throughout. His solo acoustic song, Clap (forever renamed by Anderson's mis-introduction on the live track) has always been a concert favorite of the band and their fans.
- The band began to explore longer songs with Yours Is No Disgrace, Starship Trooper, and Perpetual Change, foreshadowing the many album-side-length tracks that followed on Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans and Relayer.
External links
- Yes Lyrics: The Yes Album (http://yesworld.com/lyrics/TheYesAlbum.html)
- Prog Archives: The Yes Album (http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_CD.asp?cd_id=1826)id:The Yes Album