Yes (Yes album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Rolling Stone | (positive)[3] |
Yes is the eponymous debut studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes released on 25 July 1969 by Atlantic Records. Recorded during their first year of their formation, the album displays the band's early musical direction of performing rearranged cover versions of songs by pop, jazz, and funk artists. Yes includes covers of "Every Little Thing" by The Beatles and "I See You" by The Byrds and original material, much of which was written by singer Jon Anderson.
Yes was not a commercial success upon release and failed to enter the UK chart, but it received a considerable amount of positive reviews from the UK and American press. "Sweetness" and "Looking Around" were released as singles which also failed to chart. Yes was remastered in 1994 and 2003; the latter contains several previously unreleased tracks including a rendition of "Something's Coming" from West Side Story.
Background
The original line-up of vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford remained intact for the album's recording.
Lester Bangs favourably reviewed the album in Rolling Stone, writing that it was "the kind of album that sometimes insinuates itself into your routine with a totally unexpected thrust of musical power."[3]
Anderson is credited on the original LP as "John Anderson" as he hadn't adopted the "Jon" spelling at this time.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beyond & Before" | Chris Squire, Clive Bailey | 4:58 |
| 2. | "I See You" | Jim McGuinn, David Crosby | 6:54 |
| 3. | "Yesterday and Today" | Jon Anderson | 2:53 |
| 4. | "Looking Around" | Anderson, Squire | 4:18 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Harold Land" | Anderson, Bill Bruford, Squire | 5:45 |
| 6. | "Every Little Thing" | Lennon–McCartney | 5:46 |
| 7. | "Sweetness" | Anderson, Bailey, Squire | 4:35 |
| 8. | "Survival" | Anderson | 6:23 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Everydays" (single version) | Stephen Stills | 6:23 |
| 10. | "Dear Father" (early version #2) | Anderson, Squire | 5:51 |
| 11. | "Something's Coming" | Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | 7:09 |
| 12. | "Everydays" (early version) | Stills | 5:18 |
| 13. | "Dear Father" (early version #1) | Anderson, Squire | 5:31 |
| 14. | "Something's Coming" (early version) | Bernstein, Sondheim | 8:02 |
Personnel
- Jon Anderson: lead vocals, incidental percussion
- Peter Banks: guitars, vocals
- Chris Squire: bass guitar, vocals
- Tony Kaye: Hammond organ, piano
- Bill Bruford: drums, vibraphone
- Paul Clay: production
- Haig Adishian: cover design (UK)
- David Gahr: cover photo (US)
Notes
In a news/blog post on 20 September 2010, Bill Bruford commented about the track "Harold Land" - "Harold Land was a hard-bop tenor saxophone player, dead now, but quite why we named a song after him I can't remember".[4] The song is about the effects of war on the named character, and bears no relation to the life of the sax player Harold Land.
"Every Little Thing" (starting at 1:55) contains the main guitar riff from The Beatles song "Day Tripper".
"Sweetness" is featured in Vincent Gallo's first movie as a director, Buffalo '66.
Reissues
- 1989 - Atlantic - CD
- 1994 - Atlantic - CD (Remastered)
- 2003 - Rhino - CD (Remastered with bonus tracks)
- 2013 - Rhino - CD as part of The Studio Albums 1969-1987
References
- ^ a b c http://www.allmusic.com/album/yes-mw0000654289
- ^ Eder, Bruce (2011). "Yes - Yes | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^ a b Bangs, Lester (2011). "Yes: Yes : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Bill Bruford news archive". www.billbruford.com. Retrieved 11 August 2011.