The Top Ten Yes Albums

On By Thaddeus WertIn Progressive rock10 Comments

Yes Logo

Inspired by fellow Progarchist Erik Heter to post a “Top Ten” list, here are what I believe to be the ten best Yes albums. Whether you agree or disagree with my choices, feel free to add your two cents’ worth in the comments!

Yes Talk

10. Talk

An album by the Rabin/Anderson/Squire/Kaye/White configuration that never got the respect it deserved. I’ve always had a soft spot for it, particularly “The Calling” and “Endless Dream”. It strikes a nice balance between the full-on pop of 90125 and the prog of the band’s glory days. Check out Time Lord’s essay on this album here.

 

yes 90125

9. 90125

Speaking of 90125, the charm and attractiveness of its songs cannot be denied. It won Yes a new generation of fans, and when I need a dose of classic ’80s rock, it’s the album I go to.

 

 

545488_YES_Progeny_LP_Jacket_Cover_13630.indd8. Progeny

Before this recent release of seven concerts from 1972, I would have placed Yessongs here. But the raw sound of these recordings makes them a really fun listen. Hear Rick Wakeman’s keyboards channel a local jazz DJ! Hear Jon Anderson tout a local vegetarian restaurant! And hear a young band at the peak of their powers playing the entire Close to the Edge album.

Tales_from_Topographic_Oceans_(Yes_album)

7. Tales From Topographic Oceans

In the rock world at large, this was considered the epitome of self-indulgence. I think Yes were ahead of their time. Nowadays, it’s normal for a prog band to record a 30-minute epic. In this album, there are some truly beautiful passages of music.

 

Yes Drama

6. Drama

Probably a controversial choice for this slot, but I love this album. It’s notorious for having Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes instead of Jon and Rick, but “Machine Messiah” and “Run Through The Light” are excellent songs. Chris Squire’s playing on this album is some of his best, as well.

 

Yes Fragile

 

5. Fragile

“Roundabout”, “Long Distance Runaround”, “Heart of the Sunrise”, no self-respecting fan of prog music can be without this classic.

 

Yes Album

4. The Yes Album

This is the one where all the disparate elements of Yes first gelled. “Starship Trooper” and “I’ve Seen All Good People” defined early-70s FM radio in America. I still get chills listening to it.

 

 

relayer

3. Relayer

The harsh sound of the original mix of this album turned me off, but Steven Wilson’s new one is a revelation. It’s a shame the Patrick Moraz edition of Yes didn’t record more. They made some wonderfully challenging and exciting music.

 

Yes-close

 

2. Close To The Edge

The pinnacle of the classic lineup (and Bill Bruford’s finest hour). A contemporary symphony that will endure for a very long time.

 

Yes Going

1. Going For The One

The punk explosion of the mid-70s lit a fire under Yes, and the opening title track features some of Steve Howe’s most aggressive guitar. “Parallels” rocks unbelievably hard, while “Awaken” is my favorite long-form Yes song. For a much better and comprehensive appreciation of this album, read Erik Heter’s review here.

 

Agree with the list or disagree? Was I wrong to leave out Tormato or Magnification? Let us know in the comments!

 

VIDEO: “Heartstrings” by Frost*

On By Kevin WilliamsIn Progressive rock1 Comment

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade (!) since the release of “Milliontown” by Frost*.  It was an album that seemingly came out of nowhere and didn’t sound quite like anything in the genre – a dense, dynamic, keyboard-heavy, and at times industrial-sounding album full of killer playing and plenty of memorable melodies.

The brainchild of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jem Godfrey, “Milliontown” remains one of my all-time favorite albums. I’m not sure a week has gone by in those 10 years without my giving at least one or more tracks from it a listen. Since then, the band released a follow-up album, “Experiments In Mass Appeal,” played quite a few gigs, went through some lineup changes over the years in the rhythm section department, released a couple live albums and bonus tracks, and has been an on-again, off-again unit since “Experiments.”

Well, the band is very much on again as Godfrey, John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena, Kino), bassist Nathan King (Level 42) and drummer Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson of late) have recorded “Falling Satellites,” their third full-length album and first in nearly eight years.

Never a group to do the obvious thing – a look at their many “Frost* Reports” and live videos kicking around YouTube will more than prove that point – the Frosties gathered at Rockfield Studios several years back to record some of their tunes live off the floor.  One of those tracks,”Heartstrings,” is well known in the Frostiverse, but will see its studio debut on “Falling Satellites,” which will be released May 27th.

(By the way, it’s not like you need me to connect any prog dots for you, but if Rockfield Studios sounds somewhat familiar, it could be because Rush recorded “A Farewell To Kings” and “Hemispheres”at the Wales-based studio)

Taken from “The Rockfield Files” DVD, Godfrey excerpted and posted this beautifully-shot and edited video for “Heartstrings” earlier this week. Enjoy!

Steven Wilson Wins Again

On By Bryan MoreyIn Progressive rock1 Comment

I’ve been super busy this spring break writing my senior thesis, and as such I have listened to a boatload of music. I finally got the chance to listen to Steven Wilson’s album of covers from 2014 (released throughout his solo career), Cover Version. To be honest, I’m unfamiliar with all of these songs, but the first track, “Thank You,” originally by Alanis Morissette, really stood out to me. The music is so simple, but Wilson’s delivery of the lyrics is amazing… emotional… beautiful. It is simultaneously melancholic and hopeful.

Thank you, Mr. Wilson.

Oktopus — “Eyes Open” from Worlds Apart @OktopusUK

On By Time LordIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Oktopus is the band formerly known as “Progoctopus” who released an excellent EP in 2015 called Transcendence. It was one of my favorite pieces of music in 2015 because all four tracks worked together as an epic whole.

I was sad to hear that vocalist Jane Gillard who did that EP with them was leaving the group. Her vocals were truly outstanding on the EP. But now the band has a new album coming out at the beginning of April. The preview track, “Eyes Open,” is fantastic and now I can’t wait to hear what this trio is up to.

I actually hate the band’s new name and I much prefer “Progoctopus” because that name, apart from being lovably goofy, had a definite rationale: with Jane, the band was a quartet, and so if you do the math on four sets of hands, you arrive at the requisite eight for the titular prog action. I’ll take a prog octopus any day over just a plain octopus. It’s bad enough having a “k” in the octopus’s misspelled name, but if the creature can’t even do math, then I’m sorry but it would take Roger Dean doing the cover art to win me over to this new name.

Now on to what I love about this band. I love the guitar sounds with this group. And the jazz element that seeps in is definitely cool and sets the band apart. Keep up the amazing music, guys, and I can’t wait to hear what this full album has in store for 2016. If the preview track is any indication, the songwriting and musicianship promises to be top notch throughout.

TFF 2016 Update: Chateau Ste Michelle 17 June — Tears and Kooks International (Tears for Fears Travel Fans)

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rock1 Comment

So, this is unconfirmed… Tears for Fears are scheduled to play at Chateau Ste. Michelle this summer for the winery’s annual concert series. This news broke in the MorningStar this week and thankfully so. Big credit to Silver Kitty and fellow travel fans in Australia for keeping us updated on this one. We placed the […]

via TFF 2016 Update: Chateau Ste Michelle 17 June — Tears and Kooks International (Tears for Fears Travel Fans)

VIDEO: John Petrucci Plays DREAM THEATER’s “My Last Farewell” — Prog Sphere

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Ernie Ball Music Man presents Match the Master with John Petrucci! It’s your chance to win a private master class with John Petrucci, a VIP Dream Theater experience, gear from Ernie Ball Music Man, Mesa Boogie, Fractal Audio Systems, Sterling by Music Man, TC Electronic, Dunlop, DiMarzio and Ernie Ball. In this video, Petrucci is playing…

via VIDEO: John Petrucci Plays DREAM THEATER’s “My Last Farewell” — Prog Sphere

Skyclad – Tracks From the Wilderness (Review) — HEAVY METAL OVERLOAD

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

What makes a great cover version? There’s only one question you have to ask: does the band covering the song make it their own? Skyclad’s cover of Thin Lizzy’s Emerald is excellent. It’s faithful to the original song but the more metallic, aggressive and threatening delivery along with the clever use of violin to handle […]

via Skyclad – Tracks From the Wilderness (Review) — HEAVY METAL OVERLOAD

Happy Easter

On By Bryan MoreyIn Progressive rock2 Comments

Happy Easter, Progarchy. Today is the day when Christians all over the world commemorate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, conquering sin and death so that we might have eternal life, if we believe.

Check out this great video of Marillion and Dream Theater performing the song, “Easter,” way back in ’95. Enjoy.

Transatlantic’s “We All Need Some Light” is also fitting. Here’s a video from their KaLIVEoscope 2014 show. The song starts around the 4:00 minute mark, after a duet with Morse and Stolt.

New John Bassett EP Coming

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

John Bassett the man behind Arcade Messiah & KingBathmat has announced a 4 track Post Rock Ambient Ep “Aperture” which will be released 3rd April.

A short preview of the EP can be heard here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXVwpg2JnEE

John says “I took a small break from recording the latest Arcade Messiah  project to put together something completely different, a mellow small collection of post rock, ambient style songs, the whole process was completed in spontaneous manner over 12 days“.

The Ep will be available to pre-order from March 28th, and released on April 3rd through the bandcamp page – https://johnbassett.bandcamp.com
John Bassett – Aperture EP
1. Break The Wall
2. Joy In Despair
3. Awaiting
4. Jenna

For further information, press pack, Promo downloads for reviews or features, request interviews etc contact – chris@stereohead.co.uk

Progarchist Birthday: Tad Wert!

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

To one of the finest men I know.  Happy birthday, Tad.  So glad to be your friend and fellow Progarchist!

hb TAD!.001