Yup, for me as well. I'm not sure how much closer you can get to the perfect record. Not saying it's my all-time favourite album, but there's nothing in it which is out of place, boring or wrong and it just sounds amazing from start to finish.

just made a beeline for the Yes album, although I somehow lost my copy of Close to the Edge so i'll probably regret it when the remastered CD arrives in the post...
but yeah, starship trooper

Relayer is good for a laugh, but as cliche it may be I will always dislike Topographic. Threads like this always get me to give it another listen and it just leaves me cold every time

some slightly baffling Last.fm popularity statistics:

Fragile - 108,810 listeners
Highlights (the very best of Yes) - 59,978
Classic Yes - 52,168
Close to the Edge - 43,591
90125 - 41,482
Keys to Ascension 2 - 37,726

eh?

I love Relayer, it might have the cheesiest Yes moment (cha cha cha CHA CHA) but I still consider it one of their classics. Gates of Delirium is one of my top 5 Yes tracks, Soundchaser is awesome (I don't care what anyone says), and To Be Over is one of the more underrated Yes songs.

I can understand the hate for Relayer and Tales though even if they are among my favorites. Tales is not without it's faults for me, I think The Ancient is pretty meh and they should have ditched that track entirely, and The Ritual could have been just 5 minutes shorter because that drum solo near the end is just really out of place. RSOG and The Remembering though are just perfect.

They're certainly the last albums I want to recommend to people who want to get into this band, because they're the kind of albums only Yes fans can get into. The Yes Album and Fragile are obviously the first albums to recommend to people who are curious about this band.

I think Tales is a great album. It just happens to be a little too progressive for some. No instantly recognizable classic rock hits.

Uhm...Never really listened to them, but I will maybe give it a shot ;)

nah, i just find it boring and self-indulgent. They certainly weren't thinking about the audience with that one (although from what you hear of their studio practices they hardly ever were in the first place!)

I think too many people confuse long with boring and self indulgent.

I don't know why people lay this on Yes while not doing the same for classical music, jazz or Godspeed You! Black Emperor!

well Godspeed! and 'Tales' are boring (compared to their best work), but I'm not under any illusions as to song length (come on I'm a Relayer fan fer chrissakes) and it's just a personal op. I just always found that record to be endlessly meandering, never quite ending up anywhere, i.e. boring.
I love a lot of bands/ records that you might consider 'musician's music' but this is beyond the pale for me, as dreadfully common as that might be I just think it happens to be crap. And you know what, I think for something that's not at all enjoyable to listen to it really IS too long!

Well Yes was always the epitome of self indulgence, and I mean that in a good way.

There's a very good part in the recent BBC doc 'Prog Britannia' (it's on youtube) where Bill Bruford compares the two opposing creative practices of Yes and King Crimson...
Yes were a hippy-style democracy, always cutting each other off, debating and taking hours to decide over a chord sequence; Crimson was Fripp's ruthless autocracy where there was no method... other than bring your talent but leave your musical past at the door.

Agreed.

Prog is undeniably self indulgent. I never understood why that was bad though.

I'm assuming that at least one of you have seen the Yesyears documentary all 2 hours and 14 minutes of it. I think yes has had more line-up changes than any band in history.
http://www.progarchives.com/progress...4161062005.jpg

13 times I believe.

But I dunno about the most. What about P-Funk?

A band I find I have difficult time taking seriously anymore. Their 2/3rds hired guns for whatever $$$$$ tour George has planned next to support his crack habit.

They have members who perform wearing diapers and that's why you don't take them seriously?

But I guess if we're talking about "official" lineups you could be right, Yes might be the record holder.

I like the Fragile album. Close second was the yes album. although 90125 isn't too shabby either.

Yes is one of those "gotta have" prog groups. i would rank Yes #3 on my prog band list of greats.

Who's #1 and #2?

Number 2 is Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Number 1 King Crimson


satisfy your curiosity?

sorry, the Fall beats all comers when it comes to line-up changes.
Also, 90125 doesn't get enough credit, it's an 80's classic dammut

Greg Lake fan?

Greg Lake is certainly up there among my favorite bassists. Top 20 at least.

My favorite bassist is Tony Levin, but Squire is easly #2.

Not a die-hard fan, but I have a Greg Lake t-shirt .. ;)

Yes, easily way up there for me too. I was just saying that im reply to that quote because Lake was a member of both groups. Squire is #2 for me too, behind Geddy Lee.

That's the coolest thing i've ever heard in my (what now seems to be somewhat pathetic) life. I couldn't be more jealous of you.

Favorite bassists: Levin, Squire, Bootsy, Flea, P McCartney, Wetton, Lee, JPJ, Entwistle, Watt, Geezer, Claypool, Deacon, Rutherford, Lake, Bruce, Lesh, Harris, Cox.

I'd also like to mention Kim Gordon, Tina Weymouth, Kim Deal, Belinda Butcher and D'arcy Wretzky. Cuz chick bassists are not only hot, where would alternative rock bands be without them?

^ i think you mean Tina Weymouth?... She was brilliant in several ways. See below. Say no to art students!



And Kim Deal = sooo not hot.

I only have one album (AMATEUR! :bonkhead:) 'The Yes Album' I think its their biggest. I bought it after hearing 'Yours Is No Disgrace' on Planetrock and it is excellent. I think they are very similar to Rush (of whom I have several albums). Also a mate has one called 'The Ladder' which I noticed wasnt on the list. Whats it like? Which one should i buy next?

Yeah weymouth, I don't get way I always say wayworth.

The Ladder is alright, the title track is a neat little song and it was used as the theme for the computer game Homeworld, if you ever played that game you might have heard it.

I recommend Fragile and Close to the Edge, they're the most similar to The Yes Album and they're the more accessible of their prog material. If you like those then also check out Time & A Word, which was their second album and it's very underrated.

Oryt I aint too big on games and aint ever played 'Homeworld'. I will probably get Time & A Word now that youve said its underrated. I like to go for the obscure ones first usually & the underrated ones are almost always the best (IMO).

You could of course do that, but don't forget Close to the Edge. If you ask me, it is the best prog rock album in history and absolutely amazing. Get it while you remember it, then you won't forget to pick it up when you're done with the more obscure stuff ..

Before you do listen to Close to the Edge, you might wanna read a review so you know what to expect. Maybe someone on MB has reviewed it. ;)

Alrite mate thanks very much, have jotted down and will probably buy both when I get paid tomorrow.
Also when it comes to Prog Rock I would have thought that Rush were the definitive band of the genre. I have found it interesting however that Yes are so popular. I only have one album (The Yes Album) which I think is their main one. When I listen to them though I find them pretty similar to Rush.
As for reading up on albums I just do it on Wikipedia; not always though its sometimes good to do what I call 'blind' buying.
Many of the bands/artists I have gotten into have just been random buys from amazon marketplace.

Rush and Pink Floyd are more well known today overall, they have the most appeal to classic rock fans, and unlike other prog bands they get a lot of radio play. Though old school Yes does get radio play from time to time.

While they're not as popular Floyd and Rush are now, they used to be more popular than both of them. Starting with The Yes Album, Yes were the most popular progressive rock band in the early 70s, they helped the genre break into the mainstream, after them Jethro Tull and ELP also got really popular, even bands like Gentle Giant and Van Der Graaf Generator enjoyed some mainstream success during that period, Genesis were not as popular with the media at that time but they made up for it with a cult following and a rapidly growing influence.

It wasn't until the mid 70s after prog's mainstream popularity was waning that Pink Floyd and Rush became mainstream bands themselves, they kept prog alive for the late 70s when the other bands careers were reaching a dead end, both because the media was now focusing on punk but also because their music was declining in quality. Tormato was such a failure that it lead to Anderson and Wakeman leaving the band, and that eventually led to Yes's transformation into an 80s pop group when Trevor Horn got involved with the band.

And yeah I get the Rush comparisons quite often, Yes had a good deal of influence on them.

I chose the rarely picked Yes Album. I can't deny CttE and Fragile's influence, but besides Roundabout and a few moments on CttE I can't say I liked where they were going/went.

I agree, Rush got me into progressive music single-handedly. I still listen to them religously to this day. As well as Yes, defianately two of my most personally influencial bands.

I do have to say however, I have so much more respect for Rush than Yes just because they were able to play all these years with the same lineup (minus the first album which was pre-Neil Peart). And grow and evolve as a group the way they did. There is definately something to be said about that.
I agree that Yes did have large influence on Rush.

You definately have to credit PF and Yes for launching prog into mainstream in the early 70's.

Alright Ive just bought the Yes albums 'Close To The Edge', 'Time & Word' & 'Roundabout (Live Album)'.
Should hopefully get them in next couple of days so will let you know how I get on.
Also thanks for recommendations.

What are your thoughts so far?

Close To The Edge, it has my favorite line-up:
Chris Squire - bass (5th album w/Yes)
Jon Anderson - vocals (5th album w/Yes)
Bill Bruford - drums, percussions (5th album w/Yes, leaves Yes for King Crimson)
Steve Howe - guitar and an assortment of other instruments (3rd album w/Yes)
Rick Wakeman - Keyboard (2nd album w/Yes)
Eddie Offord - Producer (3rd album as producer)

Actually it's his second, Fragile was his first.

I don't see how there can be a contest .. If there's anything I've heard that approaches the perfect prog album, it's Close to the Edge.

It starts with the "birth" of the title track which is a bit random and if it's your first time, you're not into prog or you're simply not patient, the album starts with the least accessible bits first. It goes on for 3 minutes or so and that might put some people off. In my own review, I suggested people new to prog/Yes try out the track "And You And I" first simply because like the other two, it's awesome, but I think it's the most accessible. Title track is my favourite though.

Fragile is good and so is the Yes album, don't get me wrong .. but they don't blow me away like Close to the Edge. If there's a problem with Close to the Edge, it's that I've heard it too many times.