Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Wombles..., 23 April 2006
When this album was first released in 1989 one newspaper pundit termed it as one "whose sublimed redundancy makes the work of the Wombles appear profound in comparison".Well I have nothing against Mike Batt and his furry pals but this album sure knocks spots off Orinocco and co.
Yes were in a legal mess at the time and so Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe were not able to use the name Yes. Instead they hit upon the catchy 'Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe' and toured playing lots of old Yes numbers to a very high standard augmented by the well known bassist Tony Levin in place of 'Fishy' Chris Squire. They also recorded this album and seamlessly slotted in many of the tracks from it to the set; so much like clsssic Yes tracks they sound.
The opening track 'Themes' sets the scene for what is to come very well with its extended instrumental breaks and nonsensical lyrics. 'Fist of Fire' follows and it's a much shorter piece with strident keyboard playing from Uncle Rick. Next up is a ten minute version of the single 'Brother of mine' which is one of those tunes which you cannot get out of your head once you've listened to it. Some nice keyboard playing again from Rick who really does seem to come out well into the mix throughout the early tracks. 'Birthright' follows and it's a somewhat slow burner of a protest song. Track five is the albums highpoint for me. An absolutely beautiful song called 'The Meeting' which is really just a duet between Andersons vocals and Wakemans keyboards. Simply fantastic - the song was even revived for the 2004 Yes tour. The next two tracks 'Quartet' and 'Teakbois' are for me the albums low points. Both doodle somewhat with 'Quartet' name checking a number of old Yes songs in the lyrics. Neither were played live which bears out the fact that they were probably not the bands favourites either. The final two tracks exit in style with the agressive 'Order of the Universe' seaging into the melancholy final track 'Let's pretend' (co-written by Vangelis).
So there you have it, 59 minutes of largely Classic Yes by any other name.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Time Warp to the Zenith of Progressive Rock, 7 Sep 2001
By A Customer
Here is the Classic line-up of the band YES, reunited, minus Chris Squire, after not playing together for over a decade. This album is the quintessential Yes of Yesterday. It has strong lyrics, multiple levels of orchestral sound and a positive message that says YES. The absence of Chris Squire on bass is competantly filled by ex-King Crimson member Tony Levin. This album is a must have for any fan of Yes or Progressive Rock music in general.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's Still Yes!!!, 11 Aug 2007
I don't care what the name of this band was. Any band with Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe in it, managed by Brian Lane, releasing an album with a Roger Dean cover, and touring playing predominantly Yes music is Yes, regardless.
Jon Anderson had left Yes after the tour for their Big Generator album and wanted to bring the spirit of seventies Yes back, and making music in the late eighties. The lineup he assembled is four fifths of the Yes band that recorded Fragile and Close To The Edge in 1971 and 1972 respectively.
Yes fans might be wary about the lack of Chris Squire's distinctive bass and vocals here, but with the experienced Tony Levin supplementing the rhythm section on his famous stick bass, Squire's absence is only a very minor issue.
The music on this self titled album is very good indeed.
'Themes' opens with some nice Wakeman piano before exploding into a kind of samba song, before changing into a more proggy piece. An extaordinary opener.
'Fist Of Fire' is lively track with lots of trumpeting keyboards and synthetic drum effects. It's a number that reminds me of early Asia.
Next track is the epic 'Brother Of Mine', a ten minute piece with lots of time changes and memorable themes/anthems. This was an unlikely choice for a single, but was a minor international hit at the time.
'Birthright' is the best cut on the record, with lots of atmosphere, brooding menace and a top vocal from Jon Anderson.
This is followed by 'The Meeting' which counters the dark feel of the previous track beautifully. It's a lovely, Anderson/Wakeman duet with a charming vocal, and some dreamy keyboards.
'Quartet' continues a sequence of genuinely entertaining songs. It's a little bit twee in places, but certainly never dull.
Next track 'Teakbois' is simply awful. Yes doing reggae meets samba is frankly the stuff of nightmares and doesn't belong on an album this good.
'Order Of The Universe' restores some order and is a good slice of arena rock. In fact, it almost sounds like the kind of track to be found on eighties Yes albums 90125 and Big Generator, which is ironic considering Jon Anderson left the group on the strength of those kind of songs. It was also another minor hit single.
'Let's Pretend' is a decent, low key acoustic guitar based track to close the album, co written by Vangelis.
The production by Chris Kimsey (Killing Joke, Marillion, The Rolling Stones) is slick and uncomplicated, and he seems to get the best out of Rick Wakeman, who puts in some career best keyboards in my opinion.
Also the fusion of world music with prog actually works on most of the tracks, just forget 'Teakbois'.
The only downside is the overuse of synthetic drums. Bill Bruford is too good a drummer to be supplemented by percussive effects, and you find yourself wanting to hear him let rip on a proper kit.
All in all though, a quite superb record, at it's best listened to on a summer's evening with a long, cool alcoholic drink or two.
Roger Deans artwork is awe inspiring too. It's a shame that despite considerable commercial success, this was the only album the group made. However, I still consider this a Yes album, and anyone who can catch the 'Evening Of Yes Music' live video will see the potential of what this band could have achieved.
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