Yes [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: Yes
Producer: Paul Clay; Yes; Bill Inglot
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Yes: John Anderson (vocals, percussion); Peter Banks (guitar, background vocals); Tony Kaye (piano, organ); Chris Squire (bass, background vocals); Bill Bruford (drums, vibraphone). Recorded at Advision and Trident Studios, London, England in Spring 1969. Originally released on Atlantic (8243). All tracks have been digitally remastered. Yes: Jon Anderson (vocals, percussion); Peter Banks (guitar, background vocals); Tony Kaye (piano, organ); Chris Squire (bass, background vocals); Bill Bruford (drums, vibraphone). Recorded at Advision and Trident Studios, London, England in Spring 1969. Originally released on Atlantic (8243). All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Peter Banks (vocals, guitar); Jon Anderson (vocals, percussion); Chris Squire (vocals); Tony Kaye (piano, organ); Bill Bruford (vibraphone, drums). Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Liner Note Authors: Mike Tiano; Tony Wilson . Recording information: Advision Studios, London, England (1969); Trident Studios, London, England (1969). Photographer: David Gahr. Yes' debut album is surprisingly strong, given the inexperience of all those involved at the time. In an era when psychedelic meanderings were the order of the day, Yes delivered a surprisingly focused and exciting record that covered lots of bases (perhaps too many) in presenting their sound. The album opens boldly, with the fervor of a metal band of the era playing full tilt on "Beyond and Before," but it is with the second number, a cover of the Byrds' "I See You," that they show some of their real range. The song is highlighted by an extraordinary jazz workout from lead guitarist Peter Banks and drummer Bill Bruford that runs circles around the original by Roger McGuinn and company. "Harold Land" was the first song on which Chris Squire's bass playing could be heard in anything resembling the prominence it would eventually assume in their sound and anticipates in its structure the multi-part suites the group would later record, with its extended introduction and its myriad shifts in texture, timbre, and volume. And then there is "Every Little Thing," the most daring Beatles cover ever to appear on an English record, with an apocalyptic introduction and extraordinary shifts in tempo and dynamics, Banks' guitar and Bruford's drums so animated that they seem to be playing several songs at once. This song also hosts an astonishingly charismatic performance by Jon Anderson. There were numerous problems in recording this album, owing to the inexperience of the group, the producer, and the engineer, in addition to the unusual nature of their sound. Many of the numbers give unusual prominence to the guitar and drums, thus making it the most uncharacteristic of all the group's albums. [Its first decent-sounding edition anywhere came with the 1997 remastering by Atlantic.] ~ Bruce Eder Though Yes's name quickly became synonymous with '70s prog rock, their 1969 debut is a far cry from the epic vistas they would later explore. Like many '60s bands, they covered the Byrds (the metaphysical "I See You") and the Beatles ("Every Little Thing"). Inspired by the likes of Vanilla Fudge and Rotary Connection, they turned these songs inside out, radically changing the tempos and creating their own elaborate arrangements. The end results often bore little similarity to the songs' original versions. Guitarist Peter Banks (who eventually formed the very Yes-like aggregation Flash with Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye) has a much less cerebral approach than his successor Steve Howe. Though not as facile, Banks is alternately subtle and jazzy ("I See You") and electrifyingly riff-oriented ("Looking Around"). All the elements that would soon make Yes a household name were already in place, but YES is the sound of a great band gearing up for greater things. It's nevertheless an ultimately substantive and satisfying debut. Though their name quickly became synonymous with '70s prog rock, Yes' 1969 debut is a far cry from the epic vistas they would later explore. Like many '60s bands, they covered the Byrds (the metaphysical "I See You") and the Beatles ("Every Little Thing"). Inspired by the likes of Vanilla Fudge and Rotary Connection, they turned these songs inside out, radically changing the tempos and creating their own elaborate arrangements. The end results often bore little similarity to the songs' original versions. Guitarist Peter Banks (who eventually formed the very Yes-like aggregation Flash with Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye) has a much less cerebral approach than his successor Steve Howe. Though not as facile, Banks is alternately subtle and jazzy ("I See You") and electrifyingly riff-oriented ("Looking Around"). All the elements that would soon make Yes a household name were already in place, but YES is the sound of a great band gearing up for greater things. It's nevertheless an ultimately substantive and satisfying debut. Yes' debut album is surprisingly strong, given the inexperience of all those involved at the time. In an era when psychedelic meanderings were the order of the day, Yes delivered a surprisingly focused and exciting record that covered lots of bases (perhaps too many) in presenting their sound. The album opens boldly, with the fervor of a metal band of the era playing full tilt on "Beyond and Before," but it is with the second number, a cover of the Byrds' "I See You," that they show some of their real range. The song is highlighted by an extraordinary jazz workout from lead guitarist Peter Banks and drummer Bill Bruford, that runs circles around the original by Roger McGuinn and company. "Harold Land" was the first song on which Chris Squire's bass playing could be heard with anything resembling the prominence it would eventually assume in their sound, and anticipates in its structure the multi-part suites the group would later record, with its extended introduction and its myriad shifts in texture, timbre, and volume. And then there is "Every Little Thing," the most daring Beatles' cover ever to appear on an English record, with an apocalyptic introduction and extraordinary shifts in tempo and dynamics; Banks' guitar and Bruford's drums are so animated that they seem to be playing several songs at once. This song also hosts an astonishingly charismatic performance by Jon Anderson. There were numerous problems in recording this album, owing to the inexperience of the group, the producer, and the engineer, in addition to the unusual nature of their sound. Many of the numbers give unusual prominence to the guitar and drums, thus making it the most uncharacteristic of all the group's albums. Its first decent-sounding edition anywhere came with the 1997 remastering by Atlantic. [Note: In January of 2003, Yes was reissued by Rhino Records in a newly expanded and remastered edition, with crisper, much closer, more intimate and powerful sound, new notes by Mike Tiano, and six bonus tracks that enlarge the running time by 38 minutes. The latter are comprised of two early renditions of "Dear Father" (a single that surfaced in a very different rendition after the LP), early and finished versions of the "lost" B-side "Something's Coming," and "Everydays" in its single version and an early attempt. The main virtue even for the casual listener will be the improved sound, which captures the nuances and the delicacy of the playing better than any prior edition, matching the 2001-vintage Japanese "paper sleeve" series remastered version, which had none of these bonus tracks]. ~ Bruce Eder

The longest-running prog-rock group in the business, Yes flew on the strength of Jon Anderson's high, angelic voice and the group's instrumental virtuosity. The band began in England, rising from the ashes of pop-psych outfits like Tomorrow, Bodast, and Mabel Greer's Toyshop. Extending the technical facility of psychedelia and downplaying the trippiness, it helped forge the template for progressive rock and reigned as its most popular practitioners in the '70s. Over the years, Yes has weathered personnel changes, lawsuits, and changing public tastes while holding on to its original vision.

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