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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Jan 9, 2006 18:01:42 GMT -5
I did a post once before, either on YL or here, asking for Great Album Hat Tricks, meaning 3 great albums in a row.
Instead of just asking for a list, I'd like to get a little more discussion going as to WHY they were so great. I enjoy Pete's posts because they start good discussions. I hope to do that here. If you have more than one, I ask that you do only 1 per post, to spice things up.
Yes-
The Yes Album
Fragile
Close to the Edge
For their first two albums, Yes had a variety of styles; rock, jazz and the emerging "progressive" rock that they were helping to invent. But the songs at this time were the basic 3-4 minutes which were standard in rock-n-roll. Yes also covering several rock songs by the Beatles, the Byrds and Richie Havens. They hadn't recorded any true "classics" yet, although diehards hold songs like Then and Time and a Word in high regard.
By the time Time and a Word reached the streets, one major change had occured in Yes-guitarist Peter Banks was gone and Steve Howe took his place. (Howe is actually pictured on the cover, although Banks is still on the back.) This was step one in a change to the "classic" Yes lineup.
Yes then recorded The Yes Album, an appropriate title since it is their consumate album, IMO. Gone were the basic 3 minute songs. Yes was now doing longer pieces. Four songs that were over 6 minutes in length each bookended two smaller pieces. Anywhere between 1 to all 4 of these songs gets classic rock play today.
From there became what is probably the most recognizable album in their cataloge-Fragile. (Debatable when you get to 90125.) Step two had taken place in Yes history, and it was a biggie-keyboardist Tony Kaye was gone (to return in 1983) and multi-talented Rick Wakeman had taken his place. Once again, 4 extended pieces were the highlight of the album. The remaining 5 pieces were solo performances of each of the members (yes, Jon Anderson had a solo-his voice was multi-layered with very minimal instrumentation. But I believe he played all those instruments.) Once again, at least 2 of these legendary extended pieces still get radio play today. Also of note with Fragile was it was the first album cover by Yes to feature the wonderful Roger Dean artwork.
With their next release, Yes got even more experimental. There were still two extended pieces, the beautiful And You And I and the slightly rockin' Siberian Khatru, but for the first time, Yes put one piece over an ENTIRE record side. The title track, Close to the Edge, was a multi-part suite that is an enigma in Yes history; Yes fans love it, while as far as critics went, it was another nail in the coffin. There was no official lineup changes before this album, although I believe drummer Alan White played on one track. Original drummer Bill Brufford would leave the band upon completion of this album, and Alan would officially join, completely the "classic" Yes lineup.
Although classic it was, they didn't make records quite as great as these three. Pushing their luck after the 20 minute plus Close to the Edge, with their next album, they put 4 songs over 4 sides of a double album. This didn't endear them to critics who were brutal to the record.
Not until the revamped lineup put out 90125 did we hear Yes quite this good.
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Post by Pete70s on Jan 9, 2006 18:16:26 GMT -5
To me, these are the three Yes albums that really matter. I've never heard anything off their first two releases, but I own all three of these on CD.
I had "Tales From Topographic Oceans" on vinyl, but never even GOT to the second disc before getting bored. WAAAY too overindulgent. I also owned "Tormato" on vinyl, of which I liked "Don't Kill The Whale" and "Release Release".
But this great Hat Trick is them at their peak. I like Fragile the most, because it's the first album I got into by them, but also The Yes Album had some great gems like "A Venture", "Perpetual Change" and "Yours Is No Disgrace". Not to mention "Starship Trooper"!
Close To The Edge is very listenable for a side-long piece, and I LOVE the opening riff of "Khatru".
As far as 90125, I own it but don't really listen to it much. I do like "Owner.." and "Leave It", but my tastes are more 70's than 80's in general, and being so into the "Classic" Yes, I guess I just never give it a proper chance. I should, though..
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Jan 12, 2006 17:39:56 GMT -5
To me, these are the three Yes albums that really matter. I've never heard anything off their first two releases, but I own all three of these on CD. I had "Tales From Topographic Oceans" on vinyl, but never even GOT to the second disc before getting bored. WAAAY too overindulgent. I also owned "Tormato" on vinyl, of which I liked "Don't Kill The Whale" and "Release Release". But this great Hat Trick is them at their peak. I like Fragile the most, because it's the first album I got into by them, but also The Yes Album had some great gems like "A Venture", "Perpetual Change" and "Yours Is No Disgrace". Not to mention "Starship Trooper"! Close To The Edge is very listenable for a side-long piece, and I LOVE the opening riff of "Khatru". As far as 90125, I own it but don't really listen to it much. I do like "Owner.." and "Leave It", but my tastes are more 70's than 80's in general, and being so into the "Classic" Yes, I guess I just never give it a proper chance. I should, though.. Their first 2 albums are good. Not at this level of course, but good. You may want to check them out if you can for free. Some interesting stuff. Don't Kill the Whale is definately the highlight of Tormato. You really SHOULD give 90125 a few more listens. You say your tastes are more 70s, but I know how much you like the 80s stuff still. I remember you saying you liked Collective Soul because of so much guitar. Well 90125 is very guitar dominated. While Steve Howe was a guitar virtuoso (and one of my top 5 guitarists), Trevor Rabin rocked hard. I still LOVE It Can Happen and Leave it, but the last 3 tracks (Our Song, City of Love & Hearts) are big faves of mine. |
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Post by Pete70s on Jan 12, 2006 18:05:40 GMT -5
To me, these are the three Yes albums that really matter. I've never heard anything off their first two releases, but I own all three of these on CD. I had "Tales From Topographic Oceans" on vinyl, but never even GOT to the second disc before getting bored. WAAAY too overindulgent. I also owned "Tormato" on vinyl, of which I liked "Don't Kill The Whale" and "Release Release". But this great Hat Trick is them at their peak. I like Fragile the most, because it's the first album I got into by them, but also The Yes Album had some great gems like "A Venture", "Perpetual Change" and "Yours Is No Disgrace". Not to mention "Starship Trooper"! Close To The Edge is very listenable for a side-long piece, and I LOVE the opening riff of "Khatru". As far as 90125, I own it but don't really listen to it much. I do like "Owner.." and "Leave It", but my tastes are more 70's than 80's in general, and being so into the "Classic" Yes, I guess I just never give it a proper chance. I should, though.. Their first 2 albums are good. Not at this level of course, but good. You may want to check them out if you can for free. Some interesting stuff. Don't Kill the Whale is definately the highlight of Tormato. You really SHOULD give 90125 a few more listens. You say your tastes are more 70s, but I know how much you like the 80s stuff still. I remember you saying you liked Collective Soul because of so much guitar. Well 90125 is very guitar dominated. While Steve Howe was a guitar virtuoso (and one of my top 5 guitarists), Trevor Rabin rocked hard. I still LOVE It Can Happen and Leave it, but the last 3 tracks (Our Song, City of Love & Hearts) are big faves of mine. I like 80's stuff, but some 70's bands definitely "lost it" in the 80's, like Chicago, and (forgive me) Heart.. I do like the hits off of both 90125 and Big Generator, but never bothered to look further. Perhaps I will. |
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Post by Ken on Jan 13, 2006 2:54:23 GMT -5
With these three albums IMO Yes really proved just how great they were as musicians. Like Pete, Fragile was my introduction to the band. I was around five or six I guess when I first heard it in our basement rec room. Both my brothers owned copies(on vinyl and 8 - track) and my oldest brother has Close To The Edge on LP as well. I loved the sound of the record - Bruford's snare drum Chris Squire's treble heavy bass sound and his playing was phenomenal. Jon's vocals on Heart of The Sunrise and Southside Of The Sky are amazing. Roundabout just blew me away when I first heard it - no question about that LOL. By the mid 80's I had Fragile (on LP + cassette) and The Yes Album on cassette as well. At that time one of my local FM stations had both Starship Trooper and I've Seen All Good People in heavy rotation and I REALLY got into those two songs. The harmonies on both are outstanding and Bruford's snare drum fills on "Trooper" were first rate. I remember learning to play the song shortly after buying the tape I also own both Fragile and The Yes Album on CD as well as Big Generator and I have 90125 on cassette - I know I really should upgrade to disc and I will, I promise  It's a great record - Leave it , It Can Happen, Our Song etc are all noteworthy tunes. Of the three listed I know Close To The Edge the least. Even though the vinyl was in the house, I really don't recall that much of it except for You and I which is great. I'll have to borrow my brother's album and give it a spin. |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 13, 2006 13:59:05 GMT -5
I found it! Cool new feature!  I agree that this trio of albums ranks among the best work of their career. I have all three of them, but as with Ken, I am not as familiar with Close to the Edge as the other two. Of the three, The Yes Album is the one I enjoy the most. A Venture has rapidly become a favorite of mine since I first discovered it several years ago, and Starship Trooper is very well done also. A very solid effort all-around. Fragile contains some excellent tracks as well. Other than Roundabout, 90125 was my first real introduction to Yes, back in 1984, and I still enjoy those tracks very much, especially Leave It and Changes. The style is a little different from their classic work, but it still holds up very well. |
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Jan 18, 2006 14:58:23 GMT -5
I also own both Fragile and The Yes Album on CD as well as Big Generator and I have 90125 on cassette - I know I really should upgrade to disc and I will, I promise It's a great record - Leave it , It Can Happen, Our Song etc are all noteworthy tunes. Don't feel bad Ken-although I had 90125 on disc, it wasn't one of my earliest disc purchases, and as you know I just got the upgrade for my birthday. That is essential as it has some great cuts recorded before Jon Anderson came back (including It Can Happen sung by Chris Squire which is longer with some different lyrics!). There's also some single edits and an acappella take on Leave it! |
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Mar 17, 2006 9:52:02 GMT -5
I found it! Cool new feature! I agree that this trio of albums ranks among the best work of their career. I have all three of them, but as with Ken, I am not as familiar with Close to the Edge as the other two. Of the three, The Yes Album is the one I enjoy the most. A Venture has rapidly become a favorite of mine since I first discovered it several years ago, and Starship Trooper is very well done also. A very solid effort all-around. Fragile contains some excellent tracks as well. Other than Roundabout, 90125 was my first real introduction to Yes, back in 1984, and I still enjoy those tracks very much, especially Leave It and Changes. The style is a little different from their classic work, but it still holds up very well. Thanks Dawn. I think most would say Close to the Edge is the least familiar of the three. A Venture is a sleeper! It's forgotten or overlooked being sandwhiched between two monster songs. |
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Mar 17, 2006 10:18:53 GMT -5
Their first 2 albums are good. Not at this level of course, but good. You may want to check them out if you can for free. Some interesting stuff. Don't Kill the Whale is definately the highlight of Tormato. You really SHOULD give 90125 a few more listens. You say your tastes are more 70s, but I know how much you like the 80s stuff still. I remember you saying you liked Collective Soul because of so much guitar. Well 90125 is very guitar dominated. While Steve Howe was a guitar virtuoso (and one of my top 5 guitarists), Trevor Rabin rocked hard. I still LOVE It Can Happen and Leave it, but the last 3 tracks (Our Song, City of Love & Hearts) are big faves of mine. I like 80's stuff, but some 70's bands definitely "lost it" in the 80's, like Chicago, and (forgive me) Heart.. I do like the hits off of both 90125 and Big Generator, but never bothered to look further. Perhaps I will. No question the hits off those are great-especially It Can Happen. But I'm thinking if you like those, you'd like Hold On, City of Love, Our Song and perhaps Changes. I love Hearts, but you may not like that cuz it's not as hard rock. |
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It's a great record - Leave it , It Can Happen, Our Song etc are all noteworthy tunes.
