Yes are a UK Progressive Rock band that formed in 1968 and despite the many lineup changes, the occasional splits within the group and the ever-changing trends in popular music, the band has continued on for over forty years and still retains a large following.
1972's Fragile introduced Yes' highest-powered line-up, as the silver-cape wearing, 12-keyboard-hauling Rick Wakeman replaced the mediocre Tony Kaye. But the question is, what was Fragile? Their egos? The battle between the perfectly balanced arrangements - as on classic rock radio staples "Roundabout" and "Long Distance Runaround" - and each virtuoso's need to grandstand, vented through five solo interludes?
All that firepower could have ruined the band, yet on Fragile, they put songcraft firmly over indulgence. The intriguing middle section of "South Side of the Sky" might've blown up like a laser light show had they recorded it in the late 70s, and even though the band had a knack for crescendos and flighty, eagle-centric lyrics, they were more likely to get high through chugging guitars and Bruford's precise drumwork than outright bombast. "Heart of the Sunrise" still holds up as a deftly constructed proto math-rock epic, and Jon Anderson would never sing a lyric as plainly as "I feel lost in the city" again.
With Wakeman on board, Yes have undoubtedly entered what some consider their most fertile and successful period. They enjoyed enormous commercial and critical success around the world and became one of the most popular concert attractions of the day. They also notably benefited from the tremendous advances in live music technology that were taking place at that time, and they were renowned for the high quality of both their sound and lighting, which eventually made them the most popular and longest lasting of the quartet of bands that defined progressive rock in the early 70s. Genesis, ELP, and King Crimson were the others, and listening back to them, it's easy to see why Yes won out. For all their lengthy songs, virtuoso musicianship and softheaded philosophical musings, Yes were fundamentally approachable, even radio-friendly. Try listening to "Roundabout" or "I've Seen All Good People" without getting them stuck in your head.
Of course, there's a certain ridiculousness to the grandiose Roger Dean artwork, would-be poetic lyrics ("Battleships, confide in me and tell me where you are!"), and multi-part suite naming formulas - but then, that's part of why Yes got listened to in the first place.
This is the very album that made them famous and although it retains a certain "usual" progressive sound with organ, synthesizers and mellotrons, it remains even to this day marvellous!
Let's Go Get It!
1972's Fragile introduced Yes' highest-powered line-up, as the silver-cape wearing, 12-keyboard-hauling Rick Wakeman replaced the mediocre Tony Kaye. But the question is, what was Fragile? Their egos? The battle between the perfectly balanced arrangements - as on classic rock radio staples "Roundabout" and "Long Distance Runaround" - and each virtuoso's need to grandstand, vented through five solo interludes?
All that firepower could have ruined the band, yet on Fragile, they put songcraft firmly over indulgence. The intriguing middle section of "South Side of the Sky" might've blown up like a laser light show had they recorded it in the late 70s, and even though the band had a knack for crescendos and flighty, eagle-centric lyrics, they were more likely to get high through chugging guitars and Bruford's precise drumwork than outright bombast. "Heart of the Sunrise" still holds up as a deftly constructed proto math-rock epic, and Jon Anderson would never sing a lyric as plainly as "I feel lost in the city" again.
With Wakeman on board, Yes have undoubtedly entered what some consider their most fertile and successful period. They enjoyed enormous commercial and critical success around the world and became one of the most popular concert attractions of the day. They also notably benefited from the tremendous advances in live music technology that were taking place at that time, and they were renowned for the high quality of both their sound and lighting, which eventually made them the most popular and longest lasting of the quartet of bands that defined progressive rock in the early 70s. Genesis, ELP, and King Crimson were the others, and listening back to them, it's easy to see why Yes won out. For all their lengthy songs, virtuoso musicianship and softheaded philosophical musings, Yes were fundamentally approachable, even radio-friendly. Try listening to "Roundabout" or "I've Seen All Good People" without getting them stuck in your head.
Of course, there's a certain ridiculousness to the grandiose Roger Dean artwork, would-be poetic lyrics ("Battleships, confide in me and tell me where you are!"), and multi-part suite naming formulas - but then, that's part of why Yes got listened to in the first place.
This is the very album that made them famous and although it retains a certain "usual" progressive sound with organ, synthesizers and mellotrons, it remains even to this day marvellous!
Let's Go Get It!
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