Hay Doug! Dead and Company (formally Grateful Dead) just played there last show ever on August 10th, and in remembrance of Dead and Company, will you be making any more videos on there music? If you do I recommend mostly there live music because it’s better than studio version.
A great band in 1971 because in many ways they were already great. I've seen pro musicians talk about getting into Yes via albums like 'Fragile', but then checking out the 1969 debut and being equally blown away.
And the exit of Bruford and entrance of Alan White gave us the perfect iteration of the band!! I was happy with Bruford’s dissatisfaction with Yes’s direction and his decision to leave. White gave Yes a more satisfying rock base to the group…
I hadn't realized how young the band were when they recorded this. Jon was the oldest at 26, the rest were 21-23. The musical maturity on this album is just amazing.
This video is exactly what we did 54 years ago... sitting around with friends, listening for the first time, and discussing every nuance to evey song in every way... Thank for the memories.
That's how I first listened to Fragile, Farewell to Kings, and Everybody Knows this is Nowhere with a friend back in HS. They were all his albums. Years later, I turned the tables and we listened to my Bruckner 7th (von Karajan with the Berlin).
Gotta say it. Bruford brings the swing to progressive rock and makes it special. Howe's Atkin's style-picking with all the other stuff he's doing makes it special also. Squire just tearing into the bass at this point. Powerful and aggressive yet still musical.
My all time favorite Yes album. My brothers turned me onto this when I was just a little kid. Probably why it’s my favorite. How is it that I’ve heard this SO MANY times, yet it can still give me goosebumps?
I recall at university, when this album came out, a neighbour in my hall of residence (whom I hardly knew) invited me to listen to it, and the first track blew me away, especially the bouncing guitars. The amusing thing was that he was deaf in one ear but could still appreciate the stereo.
Geddy Lee: "I was turned onto this by a good friend back in the day when Yes were just breaking. Of course I loved Chris Squire's incredible bass...and am still a huge fan. Quite amazing. But Yes provided an incredible array of intricate arrangements and a musicality beyond belief. They are often knocked for being too complex but I don't agree. There is a simplicity and elegance to the songs. I always found them both accessible and adventurous." Yes were voted by Louder/Prog readers as the number one progressive artist of all time.
I was a medical student in London when I first heard this. I was well-versed in the classical repertoire and rock and Motown. When I heard this it was as if an alien spaceship had landed with these otherworldly sounds and SO different from everything else I had experienced. But magical!
The Greatness Of Chris Squire: Repeating the same two or three notes over the last minute or so of Perpetual Change and then driving the song home as he drops back into the Melody.
The excitement and joy in your face and your voice when you discovered "all we are saying is give peace a chance" buried beneath the main vocals in "I've Seen All Good People" is giving me life. Your enthusiasm for music is why I love this channel so.
(Starship trooper)And sounds of twin reverb, distorted oscillations of bass guitar. So pleasing to the ear! I had a fender cyber twin I played bass through that amp and figured I'd go close to the sound of Chris Squire. My motivations for my choice of joining the Military service by Robert Heinlein after reading this book.
One of the all time greats! As a drummer, I was always confounded but amazed at Bill Bruford. He considered himself more of a jazz drummer, and brought his particular timing and rhythmic sensibilities to Yes.
Nice to release this, Doug - thanks ❤ The big organ chord slabs at the end of All Good People always get me. Tony Kaye is understated but very much there. Also on the piano on A Venture. Perpetual Change is perhaps my all-time fave from this album. Love it ❤ It is at least partly about the then-recent moon landings and the immediate talk of conquering the stars. And all the time, we don’t know what we have right here at home… and we are slowly killing it: And there you are, Saying we have the moon, so now the stars, When all you see Is near disaster gazing down on you and me, And there you're standing, Saying we have the whole world in our hands, When all you'll see, Deep inside the world's controlling you and me You'll see perpetual change You'll see perpetual change
That was awesome! I hadn’t listened to this whole superb album in ages. One of my favorite memories from the many times seeing them live was at the 2013 Yestival in Philadelphia. They played three entire albums, this plus CTTE and GFTO. Our seats were close enough that I could see Chris count through the polyrhythm section in Perpetual Change (which could easily go off the rails live). It made him seem more like the rest of us.
I’ve listened to these Yes albums so many times over the last 45 years, but it still surprises me that I automatically hear the beginning of the next song before it actually plays; and it thrills me to no end watching Doug discover these incredible pieces of work now, even as every amazing twist and turn of every track has been a part of me for decades. I also love now being taught by Doug about some of the technical stuff that I had just taken for granted!
Perpetual Change is my favorite piece on this album. Doug, because you're a Classical Composer, I hope you'll give this a listen at least half a dozen more times, because I think you'll really appreciate all that they're doing here. I believe in the section you referred to as polyrhythmic, that they're playing in 2 different time signatures at the same time, and if you're not familiar with Wes Montgomery, go watch him play. Steve is basically paying homage to Wes in that slowed down section. Just beautiful playing all around by everyone. The constant changes in this piece never cease to amaze me. It makes my Top Ten pieces of YES music.
@@yes_headexcept for Bruford’s meandering and boring solo…I can’t listen to it and thanks to digital files I edited it down to 30 seconds and now I can enjoy PC! Thank God Alan White redeems live performances!
@@hurdygurdyguy1 Bill on his channel recently commented on that track, and admitted that his solo was flawed. Like Steve's in YIND from the Yessongs concert film, he's definitely searching for something and doesn't quite reach his goal. But it's the search that's often as rewarding as the end result.
This was the first of the 'peak three' which to me were The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge. I think they are each equally important because they each exemplify different strengths, The Yes Album is showcasing a rock band that has reached a stage of expanding beyond the sum of its parts and for the first time we feel every member stepping forward and yet in perfect balance witb the whole. I must admit, I really love Tony Kaye's keyboard work on this album, his sound fills everything out so well, and he seems to have really tuned in to Steve well, the two were like a single beast. Rick Wakeman would bring a very different sophisticated flavor to the next two releases, but Tony rocked and deserves more attention than he recieved.
The finger work on The Clap and Starship Trooper brings tears to my eyes. I don't think people notice what Steve is really doing here. Starship Trooper is so beautiful you get lost in everything that's happening.
For me this is the best YES album, I don't care what people say. I know what I like and I like what I know so, after Close to the Edge there's this one, up there in heaven❤
Big shout out to Tony Kaye. Maybe not flamboyant like Rick Wakeman but his underpinning of the tunes is part of this albums feel. Lovely tone to his Hammond too.
This album really withstands the test of time. I heard most of these songs for the first time on the live album Yessongs, where they really pack a punch (all with Alan except for Bill on Perpetual Change). But I've come to enjoy these studio versions with Bill - such a creative drummer. Starship Trooper was always a highlight from their live shows.
ISAGP contains several allusions to the music of John Lennon. A reference to John Lennon's work is in the lyric "send an instant karma to me", with "Instant Karma!" being a single released by Lennon in 1970. Another reference occurs just before the three-minute mark of the song, in the closing moments of "Your Move", where the chorus of Lennon's song "Give Peace a Chance" is sung by the backing vocalists under the main melody.
This album is wonderful. It charted in the UK as a result of a postal strike which meant that not all London sales returns were recorded but fortunately the strike did not affect record shops in areas of London where Yes had a big following. Clap was recorded at the theatre where Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula, worked as a manager.
It's great to hear Doug interpret Jon's lyrics in such a straightforward way as I have heard more recent interviews with the other band members and apparently sometimes they were saying to each other "what on earth is he singing about?" !
Starship Trooper live is hypnotic, Wurm has a transcendental quality. Almost everything from this album used to be on the concert playlists because it is just such a great album.
Thanks Dr doug it took me right back,I first saw yes in 1969 at a small college gig and the last time at the royal Albert hall, I still play the yes album here in Cambodia
I listen to this album semi-regularly. In a couple of weeks I'll be seeing Yes in concert with Deep Purple. Steve Howe holds the band together well even with the lineup changes. Thanks Doug.
The Big Generator tour was my first concert. Ever. That was high school. Saw Yes another time after that. Extremely fortunate to see Christopher Squire and Alan White play.
You noticed the tribute to Lennon in All Good People with the 'Give Peace a Chance' lyric, but did you spot the other reference in the lyric to Instant Karma? Also, in an interesting coincidence, Bill Bruford's replacement in Yes was Alan White, who'd previously drummed for John Lennon, including on the song Instant Karma.
Tony Kayes foot is in plaster on the sleeve, that's how I saw him hobble on stage with a walking stick at Shrewsbury Music Hall Tech Dance 22nd December 1970. I was 15, my first ever band! Came out a YES fan
Doug! I'm as chuffed as a monkey to share this classic album with you. Yes and Floyd were in constant rotation when I was a lad in the 70s & 80s. And they still are now that I'm an old man! Now back to your reaction.
Aha! But you don't feel old when you listen to this wonderful music.😊 I bought this album in 1972 when I was 16 and still have it, along with Fragile and Close to the Edge (album cover signed by Roger Dean...long story but I knew someone who knew that artist)
This album is among my favorites. I immediately am transported back to Columbia Missouri and a house full of musicians. We were members of an orchestra, and many rock and blues bands, and we played this album all night long, over and over. Guitars and basses were brought out, we had an old upright piano that was heavily abused that night, as we sussed out every song, banging out Bill's beat on anything we could get ahold of. None of us could hit the notes that John hit, but we had a Contralto opera singer who had a blast singing along. The Wurm continues to thrill me every time I hear it.
Your comment about strophic music, and how this is kind of strophic, but in reverse, with the same lyrics, but different music is a great point. As a singer and player, I've listened to this record since it came out, but never analyzed it like that. And great capture of "All We Are Saying, Is Give Peace a Chance" BRILLIANT! I never noticed that before, either. Little Easter eggs everywhere!
In "Yours is no Disgrace" the crazy panning is not engineers twisting knobs, it that the specific guitar tracks are hard panned so the effect is really Steve Howe's amazing multi tracking division of the part.
As one might have done in the pandemic, venturing into looking for new music I was heavily surprised by Yes. I was aware of them but it was just a matter of taking the time to actually listen. In conclusion, I consider Yes to be one of the most elegant bands I have ever heard. I realized with this I may not entirely scratched the surface with them. Still though, they become nothing but a favorite of mine.
I recommend the album "Fish out of Water" with Fish (Chris Squire) of course : ) The Video of "Hold out your hand" is still amazing! I find myself listening to "Tempus Fugit" every so often too, give it a listen if you will
Growing up in the late 1960s and 1970s I just loved Yes. Between them and the Doors, AM radio was never better. When I was in college in the late 1970s I really started to listen to complete albums, of course while getting stoned. Whenever someone put on Yes the mood changed in the room, all conversation stopped, we smoked and just became immersed in the music. Oh, those were the days, young, dumb, with no cares in the world except who was Bogarting the joint.😅
So back in 2021 I got into Prog Rock because a coworker pestered me to listen to Grace Under Pressure by Rush for like 4 months. This sent me down a rabbit hole that got me to listen to 90125 by Yes. This became a 6 month obsession where I listened to mostly Yes everyday, all day, as much as possible. I was ANNOYING about it. Yes truly become one of the most important things in my life. It helped me get through a stressful time in my life. All that to say “The Yes Album” was nowhere near a top tier album and to me and I thought it wasn’t that good honestly. But the more time that goes by it has solidified itself as my 3rd favorite Yes Album after “Going for the One” and “Time and a Word”
Doug, I really enjoy your reactions. After I have listened to these bands (the ones you have made videos on) and these same arrangements hundreds of times (and it can get uneventful), it is really great to get your fresh insights on these tunes. Thank you. Rock on.
In an old interview, Bill Bruford contends that he didn't really know how to play the drums in any traditional sense that would apply to YES when this album was tracked. He listened to his bandmates and contributed what he felt fit and damn did he succeed.
Great reaction to an even better album, Dr. Doug! There were 5 primary albums that I used to learn how to play the drums back in the early 1970s, in order: Ringo Starr of The Beatles and Abbey Road; John Densmore of The Doors and their debut album; Keith Moon of The Who and Who's Next; Ian Paice of Deep Purple and Machine Head; and, finally, Bill Bruford of Yes and The Yes Album. I learned from the masters!
Hands down one of the most epic albums in the history of music! "The Yes Album" is on par with Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Shostakovich, all of the greats!
I love how Tony Kaye BECOMES a rhythm section when Bruford and Squire play anything but root notes and downbeats. He was GENIUS in his intelligent arrangements to service a song over being flashy.
Jon's accent (and mine) are very specific to our home town of Accrington in Lancashire. When I was growing up I could tell from their accent if someone was from Bacup, a town over the hill less than 8 miles away.
@@XUKMUSIC Surely not that far, Padiham is only about 3 miles away and they have a very different accent ( l went to school in Accy for 7 years in late 60s early 70s.) Yes Album is still phenomenal all gifted musicians.
Hello Doug. This is probably my favorite Yes album and, in my opinion, one of the best albums in the history of rock music! It also has my all-time favorite Yes song- Yours is no Disgrace.
Thanks for reviewing the Yes Album, Doug! Glad you liked Perpetual change, which a little -known song except to fans and is so incredible live and remained in their setlist throughout the 70's. It was even in the most abbreviated Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks setlist I just saw a week ago! Did you notice the use of the vocal "bell chord " in Starship Trooper- a device not usually heard in rock music.
Great review Doug, thank you! A few nerd notes which I hope you'll have the chance to read: YIND - the first note you hear is not the downbeat; it's a half-beat behind the 1; borrowed from a cowboy theme (not sure what - Bonanza? Magnificent 7?). Bill does this in other Yes songs - the opening bass solo of Heart of the Sunrise, a little syncopated break in America - as I think he enjoyed toying with listeners' expectations. Clap: 100% Chet Atkins, and one of Steve's stated greatest influences along with Wes Montgomery and Les Paul Dilliusionment from Chris and Wurm from Steve had already been recorded in different songs with their former bands. When he first comes in under Wurm Chris is happy to play a sustained D against the G-Eflat-C figure, but thereafter sticks to the notes G, Eflat, Bflat and C, never again touching D, let alone B or E natural, which he could have done. Your Move: having recorders on a song - novel? - same year as Stairway to Heaven. Convergent evolution, I think, rather than Zep stealing the idea from Yes. A Venture is sort of polyrhythmic - the sung verse and the guitar play in 3, the drums and bass in 4 (mostly) Perpetual Change's "polyrhythm' bit - it's a repeated figure in 7/8, but the slower theme that comes in at one side is basically 7/4, so despite how it sounds it's not particularly complex. In the end, I think it's Steve's album, because he plays so many different styles so expertly, it's like the band saying "THIS" is where we're going. On the flip side, Tony Kaye, despite some solid textural stuff and the lovely piano in Venture, really doesn't have the often-thrilling presence heard on the first two albums: feels like the writing was already on the wall for him.
I believe the slower theme against the 7/8 in Perpetual Change is a cycle of 14 beats consisting of one bar of 6 and one of 8 in quarter time. Tony Kaye: "I just loved the textures and the sound of the Hammond. The ‘new’ equipment didn’t really appeal to me ... Jon and Chris, but particularly Jon, wanted to create this orchestral thing. And obviously, Rick fit perfectly because that’s what he was playing. And so it was a split that had to happen ... There was nothing bad between us. I went to see the band several times. I saw Topographic and a couple of tours in America. I love the 70s version of the band, I thought they were really great."
@@bookhouseboy280 well any way you measure it you get exactly 2 rpts of the fast theme for every one slow theme. Jon has been critical of Tony at that time saying he was only interested in buying clothes so there was some historical animosity. But I still think Tony's playing on the first 2 albums was far more exciting than what he does on TYA
@@sigil5772 I'm pretty sure Jon never said that about Tony, but he did say that sometimes it seemed as if Peter Banks was more interested in clothes. Perhaps the main reason why Tony stands out more on the first 2 is because Steve was filling more space with his guitar than Peter as Yes were now using more tracks to record.
If I remember correctly, the "10's" in Perpetual Change were written as two 4/4 measures followed by a 2/4 measure. I had the Yes Complete book with all of their sheet music through Drama and was always amazed at how they would change the time signatures to fit what they wanted to convey.
This was the first rock record where the bass was the star attraction. All my bass player friends wanted a Rickenbaker after hearing this. In the same week I bought this, I bought 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus so it must have been 1971 when I was 14. That was a good week.
Usually comment I don’t… But let me tell you this is the greatest true purist form of yes… I’ve seen yes more than anybody else in concert starting in 1973… This is the purest form of yes… But we all like awaken and we all like close to the edge But this is the purest form. it’s the best of yes
Congrats on 400k Doug!!!!! If there’s ever a chance to listen to the band Godspeed you black emperor, I would seriously recommend it. They are post rock, so rock but deconstructed, put into a more classical context… idk it’s hard to describe, but man, the album Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven is one of the most beautiful moments I’ve had with music.
An album I hold close to my heart, 'Your Move' was the first piece of Yes music I ever heard, due to the fact that my best friend (who had invited me over to his house to hear 'this amazing album' he'd just bought, back in February 1971) putting on Side 2 by mistake! Tony Kaye's organ chords sent me into another galaxy and a new direction in my rock music appreciation. A couple of weeks later I had saved up enough money to buy my first stereo record player, and the first album I played on it was The Yes Album. Since then, whenever I have purchased a new music player, be it turntable or CD player or whatever, the first album I play is The Yes Album. The perfect rock album!!! I must say, however, this remaster is not my favourite. I think there is too much separation on 'Yours Is No Disgrace', and during the polyrhythmic section of 'Perpetual Change' the second part enters far too abruptly, completely missing the build up and introduction under the faster keys and guitar riffs. Sorry for complaining, it's just that the original album is so dear to me. It was so great to listen to it with Doug.
I agree that recent remixes of many albums unfortunately embrace separation to a fault. It's especially problematic on albums like this where the original stereo mix was a little flaky to begin with.
Have you heard Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks, True? Best Yes album in decades. I'm actually shocked by how good it is and his voice is stellar at nearly 80 years old. Only negative is the cover art. There are 2 epics on it, Once Upon a Dream and Counties and Countries, both right up there with the best of their classics. Check it out!
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Hay Doug! Dead and Company (formally Grateful Dead) just played there last show ever on August 10th, and in remembrance of Dead and Company, will you be making any more videos on there music? If you do I recommend mostly there live music because it’s better than studio version.
The arrival of Steve Howe was the first step toward glory, followed with Rick Wakeman for Fragile. What a band !!!
Then the magnum opus with Close to the Edge
Yes, with Howe, Wakeman and Bruford behind them, you could say the group that Anderson and Squire had envisioned was perfected.
A great band in 1971 because in many ways they were already great. I've seen pro musicians talk about getting into Yes via albums like 'Fragile', but then checking out the 1969 debut and being equally blown away.
@@raymondhartmeijer9300 That reminds me to go listen to Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe's album. Havent' heard it in probably 30 years.
And the exit of Bruford and entrance of Alan White gave us the perfect iteration of the band!! I was happy with Bruford’s dissatisfaction with Yes’s direction and his decision to leave. White gave Yes a more satisfying rock base to the group…
I hadn't realized how young the band were when they recorded this. Jon was the oldest at 26, the rest were 21-23. The musical maturity on this album is just amazing.
This video is exactly what we did 54 years ago... sitting around with friends, listening for the first time, and discussing every nuance to evey song in every way...
Thank for the memories.
A lost wonder I wish we could recapture ❤
That's how I first listened to Fragile, Farewell to Kings, and Everybody Knows this is Nowhere with a friend back in HS. They were all his albums. Years later, I turned the tables and we listened to my Bruckner 7th (von Karajan with the Berlin).
@@tkengathegrateful4844and In the Court of the Crimson King and The Lamb Lies Down etc. All reviewed to the last note.
Gotta say it. Bruford brings the swing to progressive rock and makes it special. Howe's Atkin's style-picking with all the other stuff he's doing makes it special also. Squire just tearing into the bass at this point. Powerful and aggressive yet still musical.
My all time favorite Yes album. My brothers turned me onto this when I was just a little kid. Probably why it’s my favorite. How is it that I’ve heard this SO MANY times, yet it can still give me goosebumps?
I recall at university, when this album came out, a neighbour in my hall of residence (whom I hardly knew) invited me to listen to it, and the first track blew me away, especially the bouncing guitars. The amusing thing was that he was deaf in one ear but could still appreciate the stereo.
I happen to own an original (i believe first) pressing of the yes album. Sounds phenomenal bass fills the room like no other record i own.
Geddy Lee: "I was turned onto this by a good friend back in the day when Yes were just breaking. Of course I loved Chris Squire's incredible bass...and am still a huge fan. Quite amazing. But Yes provided an incredible array of intricate arrangements and a musicality beyond belief. They are often knocked for being too complex but I don't agree. There is a simplicity and elegance to the songs. I always found them both accessible and adventurous."
Yes were voted by Louder/Prog readers as the number one progressive artist of all time.
I was a medical student in London when I first heard this. I was well-versed in the classical repertoire and rock and Motown. When I heard this it was as if an alien spaceship had landed with these otherworldly sounds and SO different from everything else I had experienced. But magical!
Perpetual Change from Yessongs is a must listen. Stunning performance by Yes. Each individual is performing at their peak.
The Greatness Of Chris Squire: Repeating the same two or three notes over the last minute or so of Perpetual Change and then driving the song home as he drops back into the Melody.
Chris Squire was Yes' secret weapon. Moreso in subsequent albums.
Why rave about everyone but Chris Doug.
More than a bass player
The excitement and joy in your face and your voice when you discovered "all we are saying is give peace a chance" buried beneath the main vocals in "I've Seen All Good People" is giving me life. Your enthusiasm for music is why I love this channel so.
They have some of the coolest bass lines
(Starship trooper)And sounds of twin reverb, distorted oscillations of bass guitar. So pleasing to the ear! I had a fender cyber twin I played bass through that amp and figured I'd go close to the sound of Chris Squire. My motivations for my choice of joining the Military service by Robert Heinlein after reading this book.
The production and mix of this album is top notch! Everything is so clear separated!
This is the Yes I fell in love with! Was a great time to be alive.
One of the all time greats! As a drummer, I was always confounded but amazed at Bill Bruford. He considered himself more of a jazz drummer, and brought his particular timing and rhythmic sensibilities to Yes.
Nice to release this, Doug - thanks ❤
The big organ chord slabs at the end of All Good People always get me. Tony Kaye is understated but very much there. Also on the piano on A Venture.
Perpetual Change is perhaps my all-time fave from this album. Love it ❤
It is at least partly about the then-recent moon landings and the immediate talk of conquering the stars. And all the time, we don’t know what we have right here at home… and we are slowly killing it:
And there you are,
Saying we have the moon, so now the stars,
When all you see
Is near disaster gazing down on you and me,
And there you're standing,
Saying we have the whole world in our hands,
When all you'll see,
Deep inside the world's controlling you and me
You'll see perpetual change
You'll see perpetual change
Steve Howe said he was pleasantly surprised that the guys wanted to include Clap on the album. We were so glad they did, love his playing!
THE YESSONGS version of Perpetual Change is KILLER
Frankly, I think all of the Yessongs versions are better, especially "All Good People".
Life Long yes fan. They're albums helped to shape my life. When Steve is in the zone he is other worldly.❤
What I love about Doug is that he gives you the feeling that he’s talking to you individually. His enthusiasm for the music is infectious.
That was awesome! I hadn’t listened to this whole superb album in ages. One of my favorite memories from the many times seeing them live was at the 2013 Yestival in Philadelphia. They played three entire albums, this plus CTTE and GFTO. Our seats were close enough that I could see Chris count through the polyrhythm section in Perpetual Change (which could easily go off the rails live). It made him seem more like the rest of us.
One of my favorite albums. Still play it regularly.
I’ve listened to these Yes albums so many times over the last 45 years, but it still surprises me that I automatically hear the beginning of the next song before it actually plays; and it thrills me to no end watching Doug discover these incredible pieces of work now, even as every amazing twist and turn of every track has been a part of me for decades. I also love now being taught by Doug about some of the technical stuff that I had just taken for granted!
Perpetual Change is my favorite piece on this album. Doug, because you're a Classical Composer, I hope you'll give this a listen at least half a dozen more times, because I think you'll really appreciate all that they're doing here. I believe in the section you referred to as polyrhythmic, that they're playing in 2 different time signatures at the same time, and if you're not familiar with Wes Montgomery, go watch him play. Steve is basically paying homage to Wes in that slowed down section. Just beautiful playing all around by everyone. The constant changes in this piece never cease to amaze me. It makes my Top Ten pieces of YES music.
Appreciation for "Perpetual Change" comes into full focus with the 'Yessongs' version. Compared to that this version is almost a demo.
@@yes_head yes, it's a great version.
@@yes_headexcept for Bruford’s meandering and boring solo…I can’t listen to it and thanks to digital files I edited it down to 30 seconds and now I can enjoy PC! Thank God Alan White redeems live performances!
@@hurdygurdyguy1 Bill on his channel recently commented on that track, and admitted that his solo was flawed. Like Steve's in YIND from the Yessongs concert film, he's definitely searching for something and doesn't quite reach his goal. But it's the search that's often as rewarding as the end result.
This was the first of the 'peak three' which to me were The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge. I think they are each equally important because they each exemplify different strengths, The Yes Album is showcasing a rock band that has reached a stage of expanding beyond the sum of its parts and for the first time we feel every member stepping forward and yet in perfect balance witb the whole. I must admit, I really love Tony Kaye's keyboard work on this album, his sound fills everything out so well, and he seems to have really tuned in to Steve well, the two were like a single beast. Rick Wakeman would bring a very different sophisticated flavor to the next two releases, but Tony rocked and deserves more attention than he recieved.
The finger work on The Clap and Starship Trooper brings tears to my eyes. I don't think people notice what Steve is really doing here. Starship Trooper is so beautiful you get lost in everything that's happening.
Really glad you’re advocating listening to whole albums. The experience is so much more fulfilling.
For me this is the best YES album, I don't care what people say. I know what I like and I like what I know so, after Close to the Edge there's this one, up there in heaven❤
I just love the beaming face Doug sports when he reveals, ok everyone, it's a Yes day! Cue beatific smile😃
Bruford is playing right foot to the slower of the two rhythms, and the hands play the fast one. Unreal.
Best band, ever. Period.
Big shout out to Tony Kaye. Maybe not flamboyant like Rick Wakeman but his underpinning of the tunes is part of this albums feel. Lovely tone to his Hammond too.
Sounds weird, but Wurm (my favourite!!!) reminds me of Ravel's Bolero, the way it builds up.
Consider Yessong's epic version of Perpetual Change. Simply amazing.
This album really withstands the test of time. I heard most of these songs for the first time on the live album Yessongs, where they really pack a punch (all with Alan except for Bill on Perpetual Change). But I've come to enjoy these studio versions with Bill - such a creative drummer. Starship Trooper was always a highlight from their live shows.
ISAGP contains several allusions to the music of John Lennon. A reference to John Lennon's work is in the lyric "send an instant karma to me", with "Instant Karma!" being a single released by Lennon in 1970. Another reference occurs just before the three-minute mark of the song, in the closing moments of "Your Move", where the chorus of Lennon's song "Give Peace a Chance" is sung by the backing vocalists under the main melody.
This album is wonderful. It charted in the UK as a result of a postal strike which meant that not all London sales returns were recorded but fortunately the strike did not affect record shops in areas of London where Yes had a big following. Clap was recorded at the theatre where Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula, worked as a manager.
Jon Anderson and band geeks are coming out with an album this month! The 23rd
It's great to hear Doug interpret Jon's lyrics in such a straightforward way as I have heard more recent interviews with the other band members and apparently sometimes they were saying to each other "what on earth is he singing about?" !
@Sunnywarm12 I just saw them on Sept 11th! Absolutely fantastic!!! 🎉🎉
Starship Trooper live is hypnotic, Wurm has a transcendental quality. Almost everything from this album used to be on the concert playlists because it is just such a great album.
Thanks Dr doug it took me right back,I first saw yes in 1969 at a small college gig and the last time at the royal Albert hall, I still play the yes album here in Cambodia
I listen to this album semi-regularly. In a couple of weeks I'll be seeing Yes in concert with Deep Purple. Steve Howe holds the band together well even with the lineup changes. Thanks Doug.
The Big Generator tour was my first concert. Ever. That was high school. Saw Yes another time after that. Extremely fortunate to see Christopher Squire and Alan White play.
You noticed the tribute to Lennon in All Good People with the 'Give Peace a Chance' lyric, but did you spot the other reference in the lyric to Instant Karma? Also, in an interesting coincidence, Bill Bruford's replacement in Yes was Alan White, who'd previously drummed for John Lennon, including on the song Instant Karma.
Thanks for the video. One of my fav Yes albums! Rock on!
Chris Squire was Yes' secret weapon.
Speak to me of summer.. long winters longer than time can remember..❤❤
Thank you. This album brings me back to hanging out with my brother with the stereo cranked to 11 and stoned AF. I miss you brother.
Tony Kayes foot is in plaster on the sleeve, that's how I saw him hobble on stage with a walking stick at Shrewsbury Music Hall Tech Dance 22nd December 1970. I was 15, my first ever band! Came out a YES fan
Doug! I'm as chuffed as a monkey to share this classic album with you. Yes and Floyd were in constant rotation when I was a lad in the 70s & 80s.
And they still are now that I'm an old man!
Now back to your reaction.
Aha! But you don't feel old when you listen to this wonderful music.😊 I bought this album in 1972 when I was 16 and still have it, along with Fragile and Close to the Edge (album cover signed by Roger Dean...long story but I knew someone who knew that artist)
This album is among my favorites. I immediately am transported back to Columbia Missouri and a house full of musicians. We were members of an orchestra, and many rock and blues bands, and we played this album all night long, over and over. Guitars and basses were brought out, we had an old upright piano that was heavily abused that night, as we sussed out every song, banging out Bill's beat on anything we could get ahold of. None of us could hit the notes that John hit, but we had a Contralto opera singer who had a blast singing along. The Wurm continues to thrill me every time I hear it.
Starship trooper is still one of my favourite songs ever...
I believe that reacting to Gentle giants will be a must ;)
Good recommendation
Your comment about strophic music, and how this is kind of strophic, but in reverse, with the same lyrics, but different music is a great point. As a singer and player, I've listened to this record since it came out, but never analyzed it like that. And great capture of "All We Are Saying, Is Give Peace a Chance" BRILLIANT! I never noticed that before, either. Little Easter eggs everywhere!
In "Yours is no Disgrace" the crazy panning is not engineers twisting knobs, it that the specific guitar tracks are hard panned so the effect is really Steve Howe's amazing multi tracking division of the part.
It was great music to grow up listening to. WE KNEW Yes was special
As one might have done in the pandemic, venturing into looking for new music I was heavily surprised by Yes. I was aware of them but it was just a matter of taking the time to actually listen. In conclusion, I consider Yes to be one of the most elegant bands I have ever heard. I realized with this I may not entirely scratched the surface with them. Still though, they become nothing but a favorite of mine.
Yes, like Rush, radiate positivity. They are fun rabbit holes to explore.
I grew up with that album in the 70s. The soundtrack of my life ever since.
I recommend the album "Fish out of Water" with Fish (Chris Squire) of course : ) The Video of "Hold out your hand" is still amazing!
I find myself listening to "Tempus Fugit" every so often too, give it a listen if you will
Growing up in the late 1960s and 1970s I just loved Yes. Between them and the Doors, AM radio was never better. When I was in college in the late 1970s I really started to listen to complete albums, of course while getting stoned. Whenever someone put on Yes the mood changed in the room, all conversation stopped, we smoked and just became immersed in the music. Oh, those were the days, young, dumb, with no cares in the world except who was Bogarting the joint.😅
The '70s were freakin' awesome.
Love Love Love this whole album!! Insanely good!!
So back in 2021 I got into Prog Rock because a coworker pestered me to listen to Grace Under Pressure by Rush for like 4 months. This sent me down a rabbit hole that got me to listen to 90125 by Yes.
This became a 6 month obsession where I listened to mostly Yes everyday, all day, as much as possible. I was ANNOYING about it. Yes truly become one of the most important things in my life. It helped me get through a stressful time in my life.
All that to say “The Yes Album” was nowhere near a top tier album and to me and I thought it wasn’t that good honestly. But the more time that goes by it has solidified itself as my 3rd favorite Yes Album after “Going for the One” and “Time and a Word”
Doug, I really enjoy your reactions. After I have listened to these bands (the ones you have made videos on) and these same arrangements hundreds of times (and it can get uneventful), it is really great to get your fresh insights on these tunes. Thank you. Rock on.
In an old interview, Bill Bruford contends that he didn't really know how to play the drums in any traditional sense that would apply to YES when this album was tracked. He listened to his bandmates and contributed what he felt fit and damn did he succeed.
You said it all at the end Doug - wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Great reaction to an even better album, Dr. Doug!
There were 5 primary albums that I used to learn how to play the drums back in the early 1970s, in order: Ringo Starr of The Beatles and Abbey Road; John Densmore of The Doors and their debut album; Keith Moon of The Who and Who's Next; Ian Paice of Deep Purple and Machine Head; and, finally, Bill Bruford of Yes and The Yes Album. I learned from the masters!
Yes! was playing constantly in the 70's, we couldn't get enough!!
I play it constantly in my house :-) Happy New Year 2025.
Doug, I found your reaction to hearing GIVE PEACE A CHANCE in the background really emotional! 👍👏
Perpetual Change.. Jon writing a lyric that mere mortals can understand. 🤯
Hands down one of the most epic albums in the history of music! "The Yes Album" is on par with Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Shostakovich, all of the greats!
For me, this is a must own guitar album. It’s right there with the best of them.
Hugs from Brazil 🎉
Just love The Yes Album !
Everybody shines!!! My god. Thanks professor...thanks
One of my top 10 LP's from this 70-year-old !! Still love your reaction to "Heart of the Sunrise" from Fragile ! 💯💯💖👍✌
I love how Tony Kaye BECOMES a rhythm section when Bruford and Squire play anything but root notes and downbeats. He was GENIUS in his intelligent arrangements to service a song over being flashy.
I love Jon Anderson's Lancashire accent.
Jon's accent (and mine) are very specific to our home town of Accrington in Lancashire. When I was growing up I could tell from their accent if someone was from Bacup, a town over the hill less than 8 miles away.
Exactly though when I was 17 I thought his rhotic r's were more exotic
@@XUKMUSIC That's cool 🙂
@@XUKMUSIC Surely not that far, Padiham is only about 3 miles away and they have a very different accent ( l went to school in Accy for 7 years in late 60s early 70s.) Yes Album is still phenomenal all gifted musicians.
@@jackn4853 I've been in Los Angeles for 35 years, so I'm remembering my mate Pete who was from Bacup. I don't know anyone from Padiham. :)
I have such an emotional connection to this music. Only child so I played a lot of great albums om my Capehart stereo
Hello Doug. This is probably my favorite Yes album and, in my opinion, one of the best albums in the history of rock music! It also has my all-time favorite Yes song- Yours is no Disgrace.
Superb album that has been a favourite for many years, since 1971 probably.
Thanks for reviewing the Yes Album, Doug! Glad you liked Perpetual change, which a little -known song except to fans and is so incredible live and remained in their setlist throughout the 70's. It was even in the most abbreviated Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks setlist I just saw a week ago! Did you notice the use of the vocal "bell chord " in Starship Trooper- a device not usually heard in rock music.
Great review Doug, thank you! A few nerd notes which I hope you'll have the chance to read:
YIND - the first note you hear is not the downbeat; it's a half-beat behind the 1; borrowed from a cowboy theme (not sure what - Bonanza? Magnificent 7?). Bill does this in other Yes songs - the opening bass solo of Heart of the Sunrise, a little syncopated break in America - as I think he enjoyed toying with listeners' expectations.
Clap: 100% Chet Atkins, and one of Steve's stated greatest influences along with Wes Montgomery and Les Paul
Dilliusionment from Chris and Wurm from Steve had already been recorded in different songs with their former bands. When he first comes in under Wurm Chris is happy to play a sustained D against the G-Eflat-C figure, but thereafter sticks to the notes G, Eflat, Bflat and C, never again touching D, let alone B or E natural, which he could have done.
Your Move: having recorders on a song - novel? - same year as Stairway to Heaven. Convergent evolution, I think, rather than Zep stealing the idea from Yes.
A Venture is sort of polyrhythmic - the sung verse and the guitar play in 3, the drums and bass in 4 (mostly)
Perpetual Change's "polyrhythm' bit - it's a repeated figure in 7/8, but the slower theme that comes in at one side is basically 7/4, so despite how it sounds it's not particularly complex.
In the end, I think it's Steve's album, because he plays so many different styles so expertly, it's like the band saying "THIS" is where we're going. On the flip side, Tony Kaye, despite some solid textural stuff and the lovely piano in Venture, really doesn't have the often-thrilling presence heard on the first two albums: feels like the writing was already on the wall for him.
I believe the slower theme against the 7/8 in Perpetual Change is a cycle of 14 beats consisting of one bar of 6 and one of 8 in quarter time.
Tony Kaye: "I just loved the textures and the sound of the Hammond. The ‘new’ equipment didn’t really appeal to me ... Jon and Chris, but particularly Jon, wanted to create this orchestral thing. And obviously, Rick fit perfectly because that’s what he was playing. And so it was a split that had to happen ... There was nothing bad between us. I went to see the band several times. I saw Topographic and a couple of tours in America. I love the 70s version of the band, I thought they were really great."
@@bookhouseboy280 well any way you measure it you get exactly 2 rpts of the fast theme for every one slow theme.
Jon has been critical of Tony at that time saying he was only interested in buying clothes so there was some historical animosity. But I still think Tony's playing on the first 2 albums was far more exciting than what he does on TYA
@@sigil5772 I'm pretty sure Jon never said that about Tony, but he did say that sometimes it seemed as if Peter Banks was more interested in clothes. Perhaps the main reason why Tony stands out more on the first 2 is because Steve was filling more space with his guitar than Peter as Yes were now using more tracks to record.
@@bookhouseboy280 omg you're right I mixed them up d'oh! What was the beef between Tony and Trevor Horn tho?
@@bookhouseboy280 and yes for sure Steve did fill the sound.
YES! 😊 Truly a classic album!
If I remember correctly, the "10's" in Perpetual Change were written as two 4/4 measures followed by a 2/4 measure. I had the Yes Complete book with all of their sheet music through Drama and was always amazed at how they would change the time signatures to fit what they wanted to convey.
Always loved this album.
So good. I wore out my tape cassette version of this album in my Sony Walkman!
I started a classical guitar curriculum because.of, " The Clap". Steve Howe has no formal training. It makes you want to tear your hair out with envy.
This was the first rock record where the bass was the star attraction. All my bass player friends wanted a Rickenbaker after hearing this. In the same week I bought this, I bought 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus so it must have been 1971 when I was 14. That was a good week.
I don’t think anyone else played bass as if it was the lead guitar. Chris Squire was an amazing musician.
Never apologize for singing man, f****n love you Doug.
It is definitely worth your while to listen to Yes's first two albums!
The critics knocked them, but I love them!
What do the critics know anyway!?
Usually comment I don’t… But let me tell you this is the greatest true purist form of yes… I’ve seen yes more than anybody else in concert starting in 1973… This is the purest form of yes… But we all like awaken and we all like close to the edge But this is the purest form. it’s the best of yes
“Clap” also reminded me a bit of Leo Kottke, an amazing guitarist.
Congrats on 400k Doug!!!!! If there’s ever a chance to listen to the band Godspeed you black emperor, I would seriously recommend it. They are post rock, so rock but deconstructed, put into a more classical context… idk it’s hard to describe, but man, the album Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven is one of the most beautiful moments I’ve had with music.
A song from their earlier albums, Time and a Word, has been played often at concerts later. I love it as a great early Yes example.
I first listened to this album in ‘76 when my brother John first bought it. I was in sixth grade at the time 11 going on 12. I was blown away.
An album I hold close to my heart, 'Your Move' was the first piece of Yes music I ever heard, due to the fact that my best friend (who had invited me over to his house to hear 'this amazing album' he'd just bought, back in February 1971) putting on Side 2 by mistake! Tony Kaye's organ chords sent me into another galaxy and a new direction in my rock music appreciation. A couple of weeks later I had saved up enough money to buy my first stereo record player, and the first album I played on it was The Yes Album. Since then, whenever I have purchased a new music player, be it turntable or CD player or whatever, the first album I play is The Yes Album. The perfect rock album!!! I must say, however, this remaster is not my favourite. I think there is too much separation on 'Yours Is No Disgrace', and during the polyrhythmic section of 'Perpetual Change' the second part enters far too abruptly, completely missing the build up and introduction under the faster keys and guitar riffs. Sorry for complaining, it's just that the original album is so dear to me. It was so great to listen to it with Doug.
I agree that recent remixes of many albums unfortunately embrace separation to a fault. It's especially problematic on albums like this where the original stereo mix was a little flaky to begin with.
Doug lost both my legs still in hospital really enjoy ur reactions vids totally enjoy ur attitud😊im😅
Great Album, Perpetual Change is the Hidden Gem!
I love wakeman, just as much as the next guy; however, I cant imagine this material without Kaye. There's just something about a screamn organ!
Have you heard Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks, True? Best Yes album in decades. I'm actually shocked by how good it is and his voice is stellar at nearly 80 years old. Only negative is the cover art. There are 2 epics on it, Once Upon a Dream and Counties and Countries, both right up there with the best of their classics. Check it out!
The best Rock music the world will ever know? Yes! 😁