Yes: Yesstory
Artist: Yes
Title: Yesstory
Acquired: Early 1990s at the Exclusive Company on Madison's west side
Rating: 6/10
I figure if you were looking to get beaten to a pulp in 1977, all you would have had to do was head to the Roxy in London just as a Pistols gig was letting out, and loudly wax enthusiastic about the world music portion of "Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soleil" from "Tales of Topographic Oceans" by Yes.
As a child in the early 1980s, I heard "Roundabout" on the radio and loved it. I hadn't heard rock music like this before - so many different sections, woven together into a cohesive structure. Also, it rocked pretty good. And it was so long - like a rock symphony or concerto or something, not merely a rock song. I was fascinated.
I didn't find out for a good ten years or so which group had done that song, though portions of the tune stuck in my memory. When I did find out, I immediately rushed out to buy a CD that contained it. I settled on Yesstory, a two disc career overview of Yes (budget constraints preventing me from purchasing Yesyears, the four disc treatment).
I'm not generally big on "Greatest Hits" type compilations, although they do serve their purpose. I guess that makes me more of an "album guy" than a "singles guy". Especially for a pretentious prog-rock group such as Yes, something is stolen from the tunes when they're removed from whichever grandiose concept album they previously occupied. Context matters. That said, there can be good compilation albums, and bad compilation albums.
My main problem with this particular compilation album is that I suspect the average fan would be just as well off buying "The Yes Album" and "Fragile" as buying this compilation, assuming that two regular Yes albums cost the same as one two-disc compilation Yes album. Six consecutive songs (of 20 total songs) on Yesstory are from those two albums, and for me they constitute the strongest portion of the compilation by far. Leading up to these six songs the only particular highlight is "Survival", and nothing after them is as good (though it's a pretty high standard to meet). Actually, at one point towards the end, the whole thing threatens to careen off a cliff, as we're treated to the Yes-does-disco embarrassment of "Don't Kill The Whale," from the horribly-named album "Tormato" [sic]. It's a wonder they ever recorded again after that travesty.
As for the aforementioned six consecutive quality cuts, my favorite remains "Roundabout," which is still a great song and an extremely excellent performance. The other two tracks from "Fragile" are also very well-played and -composed. I have no doubt it's the best album of Yes' career, even though I haven't heard the other songs on it. Its immediate predecessor, "The Yes Album," suffers only in comparison to "Fragile" - "Yours Is No Disgrace" being the highlight there, although "I've Seen All Good People" is more immediately recognizeable.
After the tracks from those two albums is the 19-minute "Close To The Edge," which is pretty good but not as wonderfully-performed, followed by the 21-minute "Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soleil," which is about as pretentious and overblown as it sounds. Listening to disc 2, you may feel despair start to creep in when you realise that more than 46 minutes of your life have passed, and you're only four songs in. From there the songs mercifully get shorter, but not particularly good, other than the unusual slide-guitar-drenched "Going For The One" and the huge 1983 hit "Owner Of A Lonely Heart."
All in all this is a pretty descent compilation, but as mentioned I think I would prefer to own "The Yes Album" and "Fragile," and go from there. I wouldn't miss most of the rest of this stuff. 6/10.
Title: Yesstory
Acquired: Early 1990s at the Exclusive Company on Madison's west side
Rating: 6/10
I figure if you were looking to get beaten to a pulp in 1977, all you would have had to do was head to the Roxy in London just as a Pistols gig was letting out, and loudly wax enthusiastic about the world music portion of "Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soleil" from "Tales of Topographic Oceans" by Yes.
As a child in the early 1980s, I heard "Roundabout" on the radio and loved it. I hadn't heard rock music like this before - so many different sections, woven together into a cohesive structure. Also, it rocked pretty good. And it was so long - like a rock symphony or concerto or something, not merely a rock song. I was fascinated.
I didn't find out for a good ten years or so which group had done that song, though portions of the tune stuck in my memory. When I did find out, I immediately rushed out to buy a CD that contained it. I settled on Yesstory, a two disc career overview of Yes (budget constraints preventing me from purchasing Yesyears, the four disc treatment).
I'm not generally big on "Greatest Hits" type compilations, although they do serve their purpose. I guess that makes me more of an "album guy" than a "singles guy". Especially for a pretentious prog-rock group such as Yes, something is stolen from the tunes when they're removed from whichever grandiose concept album they previously occupied. Context matters. That said, there can be good compilation albums, and bad compilation albums.
My main problem with this particular compilation album is that I suspect the average fan would be just as well off buying "The Yes Album" and "Fragile" as buying this compilation, assuming that two regular Yes albums cost the same as one two-disc compilation Yes album. Six consecutive songs (of 20 total songs) on Yesstory are from those two albums, and for me they constitute the strongest portion of the compilation by far. Leading up to these six songs the only particular highlight is "Survival", and nothing after them is as good (though it's a pretty high standard to meet). Actually, at one point towards the end, the whole thing threatens to careen off a cliff, as we're treated to the Yes-does-disco embarrassment of "Don't Kill The Whale," from the horribly-named album "Tormato" [sic]. It's a wonder they ever recorded again after that travesty.
As for the aforementioned six consecutive quality cuts, my favorite remains "Roundabout," which is still a great song and an extremely excellent performance. The other two tracks from "Fragile" are also very well-played and -composed. I have no doubt it's the best album of Yes' career, even though I haven't heard the other songs on it. Its immediate predecessor, "The Yes Album," suffers only in comparison to "Fragile" - "Yours Is No Disgrace" being the highlight there, although "I've Seen All Good People" is more immediately recognizeable.
After the tracks from those two albums is the 19-minute "Close To The Edge," which is pretty good but not as wonderfully-performed, followed by the 21-minute "Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soleil," which is about as pretentious and overblown as it sounds. Listening to disc 2, you may feel despair start to creep in when you realise that more than 46 minutes of your life have passed, and you're only four songs in. From there the songs mercifully get shorter, but not particularly good, other than the unusual slide-guitar-drenched "Going For The One" and the huge 1983 hit "Owner Of A Lonely Heart."
All in all this is a pretty descent compilation, but as mentioned I think I would prefer to own "The Yes Album" and "Fragile," and go from there. I wouldn't miss most of the rest of this stuff. 6/10.
posted by RDConz at 6:28 PM
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