Yes - The Yes Album

Released - February 1971

Genre - Progressive Rock

Producer - Yes & Eddy Offord

Selected Personnel - Jon Anderson (Vocals/Percussion); Steve Howe (Guitar); Tony Kaye (Piano/Organ/Synthesiser); Chris Squire (Bass); Bill Bruford (Drums/Percussion)

Standout Track - I've Seen All Good People

In 1971, progressive rock had existed for a few years but the handful of bands who were destined to become the eternal giants of the genre were still struggling to really develop their signature sound and truly capture the hearts and minds of the public. King Crimson, after their seismic debut In The Court Of The Crimson King, had effectively given up on ever being a truly successful band, deciding instead to follow the musical whims of iconoclastic head honcho Robert Fripp. Genesis had yet to do anything I'd consider particularly essential (I find 1971's Nursery Cryme immensely tedious). Pink Floyd's Meddle saw the first stirrings of the sound that would go on to make them one of the world's biggest bands with the release of The Dark Side Of The Moon. And Jethro Tull were busy fending off accusations that Aqualung even counted as a prog album at all. But then there was Yes, the curious and colourful little band who'd released a debut album that was immensely promising but didn't necessarily feel like it demonstrated a band who could be more interesting or exciting than their musical peers at the time. In the two years since that debut, however, Yes had honed their sound and their musical complexities and ambitions and now stood poised to release their masterwork, their most consistent and accomplished album and one that would finally see them achieve mainstream success. 1971's The Yes Album was the first record by the band that I listened to all the way through (having complained about having no time for Yes throughout my time at uni) and I was blown away by it on first listen. They never made anything quite as good as this again, though the years immediately following its release would see some incredible work from them that came very close, but this would be the early pinnacle of their achievements.

Since 1969's Yes, the band had gone on to record an album called Time And A Word which, in an attempt to introduce an unexpected variation on their established formula, featured a full orchestra accompanying their own performances. The orchestra itself is a great addition to the sound and makes for some great moments, but the songwriting in general just isn't up to par and the album is fairly forgettable (although the title track is an absolute Yes classic). Dissatisfied with the process of recording alongside an orchestra, founding guitarist Peter Banks left the fold and was replaced by Steve Howe, a figure who would become another cornerstone of the classic lineup and a key ingredient of the band's success even up to this day. Whether or not the arrival of Howe was instrumental in their subsequent recording of their finest album, or whether they were poised on the point of achieving greatness before he arrived isn't for certain, but the band we see on The Yes Album is one that's far more assured, confident, fresh and brilliant than the one seen on their two previous albums.

I feel fairly confident that few prog bands are able to balance virtuoso complexity and exhilarating musicality with a masterful command of a simple, memorable tune or hook quite like Yes. Pretty much every song here manages to do everything necessary to impress the typical starry-eyed, open-minded prog fan while still having enough classic tunes for anybody who just enjoys simply brilliant music to have a whale of a time with this album. "Yours Is No Disgrace" veers from a breathless fusion jam featuring heavy use of Tony Kaye's syncopated organ and Steve Howe's psychedelic, incendiary, almost cartoonish guitar solos, to a simple sing-along refrain, always anchored by Chris Squire's trademark thudding bass. "Clap" is Howe's first solo contribution to the Yes discography and, while it's an enjoyable sprightly acoustic guitar number, it's perhaps the only moment on the album that feels a bit like a supernumerary. Fortunate, then, that it segues into "Starship Trooper," a shoe-in for one of the finest Yes songs. The song's first half is a similar retread of some of the colourful guitar and organ jam motifs from "Yours Is No Disgrace," but the final section (a Howe composition entitled "Wurm") is the most incredibly well-paced and satisfying crescendos in musical history. As Howe's guitar slowly repeats the same few chords, the entire band gradually starts joining in around him as the phrase builds in intensity before Howe's jubilant solo and Squire's explosive bass crash in during the final moments and deliver the most cathartic climax to any prog song.

It'd be a shoe-in for the album's finest moment if it weren't followed immediately by the wonderful "I've Seen All Good People." For a band known for their lengthy instrumental passages and indulgent solos, Yes really do have a knack for writing really beautiful pieces of music when they put their minds to it, and the first part of "I've Seen All Good People," titled "Your Move," is the most beautiful thing they ever recorded. Jon Anderson's vocals strike the perfect note of wide-eyed, declamatory optimism over Howe's acoustic guitar part and a joyously pastoral recorder part before Kaye's organ sends the whole piece into the stratosphere and lurches it into its rockabilly, party tune finale. Hands down, it's Yes's finest moment. After three of the finest songs of the band's entire discography, it's inevitable that things wind down a little for the album's closing moments - "A Venture" is fine but not outstanding, although "Perpetual Change" recovers things with some more classic moments, particularly further evidence, if any more were needed, of Howe's insanely clownish and eye-boggling proficiency at a ridiculous guitar solo.

With The Yes Album, Yes really capitalised on the fledgling potential they'd shown on their debut, and they deliver in spades. No longer did they sound like an interesting new band who might go on to great things - they sounded like a band in total control of their sound, knowing exactly what they were good at and how to go about it, and simply having a great time being in their element and creating incredible music. While the history of music, particularly prog, is full of bands achieving such greatness and going unnoticed by the paying public, The Yes Album successfully, and deservedly, thrust the band into the mainstream and laid the groundwork for their most iconic and successful work over the subsequent years (although, for my money, none of it would quite match the majesty of this one). One final revision needed to be made before Yes could achieve such greatness, though - a new kind of texture and sound would be added by the recruitment of new keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who would complete the band's classic lineup for their next record.

Track Listing:

1. Yours Is No Disgrace (Jon Anderson; Chris Squire; Steve Howe; Tony Kaye & Bill Bruford)

2. Clap (Steve Howe)

3. Starship Trooper (Jon Anderson; Steve Howe & Chris Squire)

4. I've Seen All Good People (Jon Anderson & Chris Squire)

5. A Venture (Jon Anderson)

6. Perpetual Change (Jon Anderson & Chris Squire)