Album title: Yes
Artiste: Yes
Nationality: British
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1969
Grade: A
Previous Experience of this Artiste: Big Generator, Union, 90125, The Ladder, Close to the Edge, Fly From Here, The Keys to Ascension Also the
ABWH album, which was essentially Yes under another name.
The Trollheart Factor: 5
Landmark value: It's always a little bit of a gamble, looking at debuts. Many of the first, or in some cases even second, albums from bands who went on to be huge in the prog rock scene are not what you would necessarily think of either iconic or technically prog. Look at Genesis's first effort, or the debut from The Moody Blues. Look at Rush, or David Bowie. None of these bands produced what could in some cases even be marginally recognised as a prog debut, and yet many of them went on to become prog giants. Such I feel may be the case with Yes's debut, and yet, given the huge impact they had on the prog scene, I feel it only fair to look into this album, if merely to see how much their style had changed by the third album. So in terms of Landmark Value, I would say very little, but given that it was the first the world heard of Yes, perhaps more than they could have expected.
Tracklisting: Beyond and before/ I see you/ Yesterday and Today/ Looking around/ Harold land/ Every little thing/ Sweetness/ Survival
Comments: When bass player Chris Squire was introduced to a young barman near The Marquee club, musical history began to write itself. With drummer Bill Bruford and pianist Tony Kaye joining, the band Yes was formed and they released their debut, self-titled album. It opens on “Beyond and before”, which has already the sort of close-harmony vocals that would become one of the band's staple sounds as well as Jon Anderson's unmistakable high vocal. It's a lot more guitar-driven than the later Wakeman-controlled soundscapes that would characterise albums such as
Tales from Topographic Oceans, Close to the Edge and
Going for the One, but even here you can hear that this is more than just a simple rock record, and for the year it has some very deep lyrics and clever ideas.
Much jazzier is the cover of The Byrds' “I see you”, quite hippy and psych; reminds me of very early Supertramp, like the kind of thing that would surface on their own debut released the following year. Can't say I really like it, but then I'm no fan of the winged ones. It does however give Yes their first real shot at an extended instrumental jam, something that would become a mainstay of their own compositions and lead, in time, to the accusations of pointless noodling and technical wankery that would dog them, and by association, most of the bigger bands in prog rock as the seventies drew to a close. For now though, it was different and very acceptable, even exciting to hear such sounds.
“Yesterday and Today” is one of only two songs penned by Anderson solo, and is dripping with his spiritual sentimentality, a lovely little soft ballad that perfectly suits his high alto tenor vocal, backed mostly by just acoustic guitar and piano. “Looking around” gets things moving again, and this time Kaye has a chance to really make an impact on the keys, putting in quite the solo; in fact, in places he pretty much takes over the song. This influence carries on into “Harold Land”, where the song is introduced by a powerful keyboard solo, and it's quite a dark song, decrying the futility of war and the cheapness of human life, something fairly new in music at the time. The rhythm and pacing are almost incongruously light and breezy, with some really nice guitar touches from Peter Banks and another extended solo from Kaye.
Another cover is up next, this time it's The Beatles' “Every little thing”, which rocks along at speed, the guys even throwing in the guitar riff from “Day tripper” for good measure. Clever, but I'm not a Beatles fan either (yes, I know
Abbey Road is up next!) and the song does little for me, nor I believe did it do anything for the credentials of the band who would grow up to be godfathers of the prog rock movement. “Sweetness”, on the other hand, is just beautiful, another gentle ballad and the first song written for the album between Squire and Anderson. While it kind of has hippy Beatles overtones it's something you could see being absorbed into what would become the core Yes sound. “Survival” then is the longest song on the album, and the closest I suppose you could come to a mini-suite, with its instrumental intro that fades away and leaves a soft acoustic guitar before Anderson's equally soft vocal joins the tune. This is the other song he composed solo, and it's certainly been worth waiting for, a very fitting closer.
Favourite track(s): Yesterday and today, Harold Land, Sweetness, Survival
Least favourite track(s): Every little thing
Overall impression: To be honest, though it's nowhere near a prog masterpiece or even a totally recognisable prog album, this has more pointers to the direction Yes would take than I had expected. Definite markers showing how they would blossom and grow, develop and evolve into one of the biggest and most popular bands in the prog rock scene.
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