The Ultimate Yes

Performer: Yes
Engineer: Dave Dysart; Kam Dahlin; Steve Howe; Patrick MacDougall
Producer: Eddie Offord; Jonathan Elias; Paul De Villiers; Tim Weidner; Tony Colton; Trevor Horn; Trevor Rabin; Yes; Bill Inglot; Bruce Fairbairn; David McLees (Compilation); Yes (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Yes: Jon Anderson (vocals); Peter Banks (guitar); Tony Kaye (keyboards); Chris Squire (bass, background vocals); Bill Bruford (drums). Recorded at Advision Studios, London, England in 1969-70. Originally released on Atlantic (8273). All tracks have been digitally remastered. Yes: Jon Anderson, Trevor Horn (vocals); Bill Sherwood (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Trevor Rabin, Steve Howe (guitar, background vocals); Peter Banks (guitar); Igor Khoroshev, Geoff Downes, Patrick Moraz, Rick Wakeman, Tony Kaye (keyboards); Chris Squire (bass, background vocals); Bill Bruford, Alan White (drums, percussion). Producers include: Tony Colton, Eddie Offord, Yes, Trevor Horn, Tim Weidner. Compilation producers: Yes, David McLees, Bill Inglot. Recorded between 1969 & 2003. Includes liner notes by Chris Welch. Personnel: Billy Sherwood (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin (vocals, guitar); Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Trevor Horn (vocals); Peter Banks (guitar); Geoffrey Downes, Patrick Moraz, Rick Wakeman, Tony Kaye, Igor Khoroshev (keyboards); Alan White , Bill Bruford (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Tim Weidner. Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Audio Remixer: Paul Fox . Liner Note Author: Chris Welch . Recording information: Los Angeles, CA. All of the Yes hits are here -- there are numerous edited versions for either radio or for singles, such as on "America," "It Can Happen," "The Calling," and "Homeworld." In addition, there is a remixed version of "Big Generator." Disc three offers three acoustic tracks in versions of "Roundabout" and "South Side of the Sky," with a solo Steve Howe six-string read of "Australia." ~ Thom Jurek All of the hits are here, just as they are on every Yes compilation. There are numerous edited versions for either radio or for singles, such as on "America," "It Can Happen," "The Calling," and "Homeworld." In addition, there is a remixed version of "Big Generator" that adds nothing to the original. Disc three offers three acoustic tracks in versions of "Roundabout" and "South Side of the Sky," with a solo Steve Howe six-string read of "Australia." ~ Thom Jurek Yes' second (and least successful) album was a transitional effort; the group trying for a more produced and sophisticated sound through the use of an orchestra. Even so, the results weren't conventional, because the group didn't tone down or turn down its sound. Much of Time and a Word relies on bold, highly animated performances by Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, and Tony Kaye. Additionally, by this time the group was developing a much tauter ensemble than was evident on their first LP, so there's no lack of visceral excitement. "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" was a bold opening, a highly amplified, frenzied adaptation of the Richie Havens song, melded with Jerome Moross's title music from the movie The Big Country. Somewhat more successful musically is "Then," which keeps the orchestral accompaniment to a minimum and allows Kaye and Banks to stretch out on organ and guitar. "Everydays" is highlighted by Anderson's ethereal vocals and Kaye's dueting with the orchestra. A surprising amount of the material here seems rather tuneless, but the group was solidifying its sound and, in the process, forcing Banks out of the lineup, despite some beautiful moments for him (and Tony Kaye) on the prettiest parts of "The Prophet," a piece that also contains fragments of music that anticipate Yes' work right up through Tales from Topographic Oceans. "Astral Traveller," as a title anticipates, the themes of future group work, though they still don't have the dexterity to pull off the tempo changes they're trying for. By the time the record was completed, Banks was out of the band, which is why Steve Howe, his successor, ended up pictured on the cover of most editions. The 1997 remastering does make the orchestral accompaniments work better than they did on the original LP. ~ Bruce Eder Yes's second album is the last to feature original guitarist Peter Banks, and also the last to adhere to the debut's tendency toward elaborate covers of material by other '60s artists. The swirling, transmogrified version of Richie Havens's "No Oppoortunity Necessary" finds the band departing further from their source material than ever. A sweet, understated cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Everydays" provides some valuable contrast to the predominantly broad, sweeping arrangements. Tony Kaye's big, reedy Hammond sound is augmented by the string arrangements of Tony Cox, which push the band further toward the inevitable rock-classical fusion. On "Then" and "The Prophet," Jon Anderson takes early, tentative steps toward the spiritual/mystical/ecological mindset from which he would draw often for Yes's lyrics. The buoyant "Sweet Dreams" and the unabashed power ballad of the title track represent the remnants of the band's grounding in '60s pop. Yes' second album is the last to feature original guitarist Peter Banks, and also the last to adhere to the debut's tendency toward elaborate covers of material by other '60s artists. The swirling, transmogrified version of Richie Havens' "No Oppoortunity Necessary" finds the band departing further from their source material than ever. A sweet, understated cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Everydays" provides some valuable contrast to the predominantly broad, sweeping arrangements. Tony Kaye's big, reedy Hammond sound is augmented by the string arrangements of Tony Cox, which push the band further toward the inevitable rock-classical fusion. On "Then" and "The Prophet," Jon Anderson takes early, tentative steps toward the spiritual/mystical/ecological mindset from which he would draw often for Yes' lyrics. The buoyant "Sweet Dreams" and the unabashed power ballad of the title track represent the remnants of the band's grounding in '60s pop. For a band with outsized ambitions like those of prog-rock pioneers Yes, it makes sense to release an anthology that spreads itself out grandly over three discs. With its third disc, a home for 20 minutes of newly recorded bonus tracks, the appropriately titled ULTIMATE YES stops just short of box-set length (there have already been two of those to tell the group's story), but finely chronicles Yes's long career. Through a maze of head-spinning personnel changes, almost every album is touched on, from the early post-psychedelic phase (the title track of TIME AND A WORD) to the first musical muscle-flexing of guitar hero Steve Howe ("Yours Is No Disgrace"), the arrival of keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman (several tracks from milestone FRAGILE), and the band's high-water mark, CLOSE TO THE EDGE (the almost funky "Siberian Khatru"). "Tempus Fugit" from the under-appreciated, sans-Jon Anderson DRAMA, and a trio of tracks from the "comeback" album 90125 represent the finest of Yes's '80s output. Latter-day tracks ("Lift Me Up," "Homeworld") find the band's might undiminished decades into the journey. Hardcore fans will have all this material already, but will be drawn in by Disc 3, containing four brand-new pieces recorded in an "unplugged" acoustic format, including interesting re-workings of FRAGILE's "Roundabout" and the epic "South Side of the Sky."

Uncut (6/03, p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...[The album] continued to expand the basic rock format with increasingly symphonic arrangements..." Uncut (6/03, p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...[The album] continued to expand the basic rock format with increasingly symphonic arrangements..."

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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