Yes Albums - reviewed & ranked
by emptysquares

I started listening to Yes when they were still considered pretty cool and their intricate music, strange lyrics and ethereal vocal harmonies sounded to me to be something new. With the coming of punk rock in the late 70’s, Yes quickly became super uncool and in the UK the gestapo-like music press would keep it that way for the next 25 years.
In the 80’s, Yes began chasing US commercialism but Trevor Rabins ‘boy band pop with added guitar shredding’ formula held little appeal for me and it seemed that a group that once strived for originality were now trading in clichés. And so it was that I lost interest in Yes for the next 35 years or so.
In 2020, when the Covid-19 lockdown gave me some enforced free time I thought it might be interesting to catch up on the 10 or so studio albums that passed me by. Listening to their catalogue I was struck by how much time and energy they spent trying to repeat their brief 1983 commercial success when it must have been pretty obvious to everyone that their shelf-life as chart popsters was always going to be fleeting - what manner of teenager wants a poster of fucking Yes on their wall?
It seems to me that while Yes may have started life as idealistic 60’s dreamers, these particular hippies became accustomed to expensive lifestyles… and an existence as cult musicians from a bygone era was never going to pay the bills. And so began the long & futile chase for radio-friendly songs aimed to please an audience that was no longer interested. Sadly, much of their later material is compromised to some degree due to this.
Despite all this, the Yes back catalogue has a lot to offer and the band created some truly unique moments in rock history – and who knows, there may still be life in the old dogs yet.

• Chart updated: 02/07/2024 17:45
• (Created: 06/12/2020 11:23).
• Chart size: 29 albums.

There is 1 comment for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Yes Albums - reviewed & ranked has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 2 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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26. (=)

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe 

 Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe

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Frustrated with his lack of creative input with the Rabin/Squire outfit in California, Anderson headed home and hooked up with Howe, Bruford and Wakeman assisted by Tony Levin on bass. It never lived up to its promise as stylistically the songs were all over the place – ‘The Meeting’ and ‘Quartet’ sounded like rejects from a Lloyd-Webber musical whilst ‘Teakbois’ was a cringeworthy Dad-dancing calypso number. Also, Bruford had succumbed to the dreaded 80's drum technology which eliminated any subtlety and touch from his sound (ie - his strengths). Subsequent events ensured that ABWH were denied the chance to develop a distinctive style, leaving this album as a solitary footnote in the Yes story.
V:Jon Anderson; g:Steve Howe; b:Tony Levin; k:Rick Wakeman; d:Bill Bruford [First added to this chart: 06/12/2020]

Year of Release:

1989

Appears in:

42 charts

Rank Score:

157

Rank in 1989:

115

Rank in 1980s:

1,148

Overall Rank:

7,920

Average Rating:

 71 (50 votes)

Comments:

5

Total albums: 1. Page 1 of 1

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Yes Albums - reviewed & ranked composition

Decade	Albums	%
1930s	0	0%
1940s	0	0%
1950s	0	0%
1960s	1	3%
1970s	12	41%
1980s	4	14%
1990s	6	21%
2000s	2	7%
2010s	2	7%
2020s	2	7%

Artist	Albums	%
Yes	23	79%
Steve Howe	1	3%
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe	1	3%
Bill Bruford's Earthworks	1	3%
Chris Squire	1	3%
Jon Anderson	1	3%
Rick Wakeman	1	3%

Country	Albums	%
	29	100%

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
100/100	05/02/2021 16:38	TheDude85	43	95/100
95/100	12/30/2020 14:54	matterhornrider	93	93/100

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100/100

From TheDude85 05/02/2021 16:52

Very descriptive analysis and sincere approach to evaluating the work of this group. Tip of The Cap!

#269241 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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