- Jubilee offer: spend £10 or more on any product sold by Amazon.co.uk on or before June 6 and you can buy The Diamond Jubilee A Classical Celebration Album for just £2.50 Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Despite the addition of two new members to (most of) the classic line-up for this recording (named, rather unconvincingly, after an artwork by Yoko Ono in which spectators were invited to peer at the word "YES" from the top of a ladder), it's now touch-and-go when it comes to wringing still more ideas from these veteran prog-rockers. However, the late Bruce Fairbairn, second only to Mutt Lange in the barnstorming rock production stakes, succeeded remarkably well here. Enough of the traditional Yes elements are still present--Jon Anderson's unique voice, Chris Squire's clangy bass and so on--but dance loops, non-Western instruments and an excellent horn section all serve to move the lumbering vessel into fresh waters, with Latin and Afro-Caribbean influences adding a certain buoyancy. While it's likely that the majority of Yes's listeners will have followed the band for a large chunk of their 30-year career and will continue to buy their records as a kind of ongoing vote of thanks for the ground-breaking stuff the band produced in its heyday, this music is still more fun than the rest of us might have expected. --Roger Thomas
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
There seems to be very few chances to read a review of an album by Yes that doesn't start by slagging off the band, followed by two lines skimming over the music only to conclude with a closing paragraph repeating what a lost cause this band and this type of music is! If that's what you're looking for, best buy one of the so called 'serious music' publications. The album opens with 'Homeworld', nine and a half minutes of classic Yes. Why the band started producing short pieces of music is beyond me! 'Homeworld' is, quite simply, a class act!.... music at its best. I am not without a degree of critiscism for the album, I have to admit, that I'm not a great fan of 'Lightning Strikes', with its Caribbean rhythms and possibly even touches of Ska! However, this track is easily listenable and should not spoil your enjoyment of the album. 'Can I?' is a short track during which among the many rhythms and multi-track vocals, an excerpt from, 'We Have Heaven', from the classic, 'Fragile' album makes an appearance. From here, each track flows beautifully to the next and the album builds in intensity towards the penultimate track, 'New Language', (another 9 minute epic), during which, each band member has an opportunity to demonstrate their skills. The final track, 'Nine Voices', brings the listener back down to earth, ready to return to track one and start listening to the album all over again. This album is definitely not back to the classic days of 'Fragile', 'Close To The Edge', 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' and 'Going For The One', ( which contains the best piece of music I have ever had the pleasure to listen to......... 'Awaken'!), but after all the recent personnel changes, 'musical differences', and general silliness, I think we're getting there! A fine album from one of the finest bands ever to grace this planet!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
During the last years, Yes have released the brilliant, very Yes'ish »Keys To Ascension« albums, followed by the semi-commercial »Open Your Eyes« album. So, putting the band's newest release »The Ladder« into my CD player, I did not know what to expect. The opening song »Homeworld (The Ladder)« - which is also the album's longest track - is promising, though. The well-known and unique Yes sound, yet with something new to it. Something kind of modern, a little more rock'ish. But still unmistakably Yes. Although Trevor Rabin left Yes many years ago, several of the songs on the album makes you think he is back. Perhaps because he influenced the band towards more commercial, more catchy, more simple music. And as »The Ladder« is somewhere in between commercial and classic-Yes, his influence still stands. However, songs like »Lightning Strikes« and »Can I?« make you think about some of lead singer Jon Anderson's solo album stuff. As it is with most Yes albums, this one gains points the more you listen to it. For the Yes fan, »The Ladder« will not be a classic in 10 or 20 years. But so far, it is the band's most successful attempt to create more popular music, without really compromising what the Yes fan knows the band for. »Homeworld (The Ladder)« remains the album's clearly best song. My other two favourites are the two last tracks, »New Language« which like »Homeworld (The Ladder)« plays over more than nine minutes, and »Nine Voices (Longwalker)«. Concerning the different versions of the album: The poster included in the »European Strictly Limited Edition« is a good example why the items included in good ol' vinyl editions cannot be used in CD's just like that. The format is simply too small. Another edition, the »Enhanced Compact Disc«, contains a demo of »Homeworld«... which turns out to be a computer game with battling spaceships, a screensaver which has nothing to do with Yes, and a short interview with (not Yes but) Jon Anderson about (not Yes but) the song used for the game. The game is not even included! In my opinion, buyers are cheated by the labels on these CD's. Instead, the buyer should get the whole lot in one »World Strictly Unlimited Compact Disc Edition Enhanced With Purely Relevant And Interesting Yes Stuff«...!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
There's no doubt at all that the much loved Yes band has really hit new heights with their latest studio album "The Ladder", a great improvement on anything released since "90125" in the mid eighties. Great credit for this achievement must be given to producer Bruce Fairbairn, for successfully keeping in reign Anderson's tendency for occasional tweeness and the whole band's tendency for OTT "flash" at times. Witness "If Only You Knew" - a stately ballad which could easily have descended into mush but which actually is as polished and well defined a song as Yes have ever put out - beautifully emotional yet controlled three part harmonies throughout and a really strong vocal from Anderson whose vocal powers seem not to have declined one jot. For tight guitar riffs laced over with exhilarating Hammond, look no further than "Face To Face" which showcases Steve Howe at his most precise for many albums. In fact the playing of Howe and Chris Squire alone make the investment worthwhile. All in all, a record of great variety and absolutely impeccable standards from all concerned. Don't miss this one!!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A few rungs short
Jon Anderson has been the driving force of Yes. He has some great things within him but has some quirky things that border on childish or just religion or Love. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Michael Smith
Just bland music dressed like Yes.
I remember that by the time The Ladder was about to be released, the band promoted it saying that it was their return to the "Classic Yes" sound. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Beowulf
Late Period Classic
After a few-too-many overpolished AOR outings, and the directionless "Ascension" studio tracks, this almost-classic Yes lineup came closest to recapturing the spirit of their best... Read more
Published on 28 May 2007 by A. Miller
Anderson, shut up for a moment, will'ya?
The problem with this monstrosity is that Anderson won't shut up for a moment. Nothing musical happens here: There are no build-ups, breaks, endings etc that are in any way... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2007 by Tom Pitsis
YES AT TOP TOP FORM
Despite Some lines changes in the band in recent years this has to be by far the best for a very long time much better than the Union album 1991, well anything is better than that... Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2004 by Marc Davis
Yes - back on form - at last!
I have to admit that orignally this CD left me cold. After the opening track, Home World it seemed to drift into endless vocals and unnecessary ethnic influences. Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2001 by daveo@metadata9.freeserve.co.uk
What went wrong????
This is twee-ness taken to the extreme!! Other than it being the best produced YES album I have heard in terms of sound quality, I cannot say anything good about it. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2001
AWESOME! Is this the beginning of a new classic Yes era ?
"The Ladder" IS a classic Yes album. Any true fan will rank this alongside (if not above) the likes of "Fragile", "Close To The Edge", "Going For... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2000
Best Album since Fragile
Having been a devoted fan of YES since Fragile I think that The Ladder is one of their best albums so far. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2000 by ps@grangehurst.freeserve.co.uk
I am sorry but no!
Whilst I was a great fan of Yes music during the Wakeman/Bruford period I feel the band has lost the way these days. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2000
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
