The band wisely realized this isn’t the time to redefine their sound, as Trevor Horn and Bruce Fairbairn had successfully done in the past ( Roy Thomas Baker, less successfully so). Crisp, spacious, lively and uncluttered, Howe’s mix gives the music room to breathe and make the most of what the musicians have to offer. Without further preamble, let’s dive right into the music.Ī clear highlight of “The Quest” is Steve Howe’s production. Bountiful indeed is the music produced by these aging Prog rockers, and so now we turn our sights onto a fresh album bearing the Yes name. This album review does not aim to address such endless and soulless debates but, as a side note, perhaps one should take a moment to actually celebrate the amount of music being created by many of those 19 members in current time: Tony Kaye is releasing his first-ever solo album, Steve Howe released his fine “Love Is” in 2020 and “Homebrew 7” this year, Geoff Downes teamed up with Chris Braide to release a remarkable new DBAalbum this year, Rick Wakeman released the lauded prog instrumental album “The Red Planet”, Sherwood/Davison/Jay Schellen actually started an entire new band Arc of Life in addition to Sherwood’s Prog Collective and other one-offs, Patrick Moraz has been popping up lately as a guest on various projects, Trevor Rabin is reportedly finishing a new (vocal) solo album and of course Jon Anderson recently released one of the finest solo albums of his career which featured cameos from many Yes alumni including a new guest spot from Howe. With the 5 current members representing the 19 total official members over 53 years’ time, it’s no wonder that fans will have their say about who is included or not, who their favorites are, and even what constitutes “real” Yes. Sporting a band roster which is over twice the length of most of its closest competitors, this might be one reason that Yes also carries the most contentious fan-base in the Prog world. Yes stands out from the progressive rock crowd not only on account of their legendary music but also in regards to the daunting size of their family tree. While it’s true that the current lineup contains none of the original members from those first two albums over half a century ago, make no mistake about the street cred of Yes: Alan White (who is indeed the only drummer at the drum kit on this album) is the longest-serving member in Yes’ history – Yes, even longer than Chris Squire at this point Steve Howe, of course, is the band’s most celebrated guitarist, having co-penned and played all of the 70s classic material and being lauded as one of rock’s most innovative players Geoff Downes, although appearing on only 4 studio albums, has been in the band longer than any other keyboard player Billy Sherwood’s name first appeared on the “Union” album credits after which he started touring with the band as early as the 1994 “Talk” tour and has been an official member for 2 studio albums, producing and assisting on others, as well as collaborating with just about every Yes member in side projects and finally Jon Davison, who has been in the lead singer role for nearly a decade. Most of you are likely coming to this review with hopeful anticipation and/or cautious trepidation, wondering if your favorite band is still up to snuff, or at least has anything worthwhile to share over 50 years after its inception. Revered, adored, critiqued, obsessed, Yes is a band who have made their mark several times over and yet somehow keep resurfacing for more. As one of the few bands who pioneered the form we now call Prog and are still making new music, this is a momentous release. Here it is, friends: the long-awaited twenty-second studio album from Yes.
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