The Yes Album

I'm punk innit so this sort of shit brings me out in hives, and it doesn't even have Rick Wakeman and his capes on it.

Like rush but boring

This is and has everything I love about so-called rock music: power.. melody.. mystery...great musicianship... catchy riffs... majestic yet accessible. Don't let the 4 rather long songs put you off if you've not experienced this before, and it may take some time to sink in but it's best listened either in headphones or fully immersed stereo - and loud! Starship Troopers is my personal favourite here but each track stands out for different reasons. Chris Squire's growly bass and band vocal harmonies are specifically individual standouts throughout. 9/10. 5 stars.

This fills me with dread. Again, I will try to shed any preconceptions before listening, but my impression of Yes is great cover art, terrible 10 minute prog noodling. And with that, I am met by 10 minutes of noodling in 'Yours is No Disgrace'. Imagine the worst excesses of Pink Floyd, but without the oddball charm of Syd Barrett's era, or the arthouse fury of Roger Waters' era. Essentially, David Gilmour's Floyd. Yuck. Then there's a noodly acoustic thing. It's innofensive but pointless. Now we're getting into serious prog with Starship Trooper, which has three sections listed. It's not based on Robert Heinlein's novel to the best of my knowledge, and therefore has nothing interesting about it. I've Seen All Good People also has three movements (said in the bowel sense of the word) but is shorter and marginally less painful. The middle of it sounds like Status Quo, and I would rather listen to Status Quo than this, and that is saying something. Something interesting happened at the start of Perpetual Change, but in keeping with the name it ended after 20 seconds. Then it went back to the same tired musician's music as it had before. Apparently this album's success stemmed from a postal strike meaning that only London chart returns could be processed in the week of its release, artificially inflating it's chart position. This makes sense of a lot of this for me. You can see why a lot of people hate Prog. I don't - Floyd, Hawkwind, Rush and Caravan bloody rule. This sort of noodly awfulness is why people hate Prog.

Some grown ass white men have Dungeons & Dragons; I have classic Yes albums. Finally something I actually own! If this album is on the list in place of “Close to the Edge” that’s a shame, but I’ll take what I can get. Steve Howe is on my guitar Mt. Rushmore.

The Yes Album is 'ok'. It is not bad, and there are some catchy moments where it is enjoyable as an afterthought, and then that is it: an afterthought that might slowly creep into your humming lexicon over years of exposure. It has that classic rock appeal in 2021 that would make this ideal for any rotation in some place like a garage or shared workspace. The music is benign, to put it nicely, and the vocals are easily ignored. It is prog-rock after all, and the whole ignore-me-while-I-am-over-here-doing-my-own-thing just bleeds from this album. So this listener will do just that, not even curious enough to wonder what it is that is being missed here.

I am not a fan of prog, not a fan. Did not hat e this as much as I expected; The B3 keyboards of Tony Kaye is far less pretentious and widdly-widdly than the subsequent synthesizer overkill of Rick Wakeman. New boy Steve Howe hasn't gone full prog yet, either. This still sounds like a rock band, as opposed the the over-arranged clever-clogs, full blown progressive of the 70s that was right around the corner. As with all prog albums, moments of rock and roll appear, only to be lost in a swamp of tedium. All talk and no bloody trousers. Even Classic Rock magazine thinks this album is not up to par (but could have been., and they _like_ this stuff. According to wikipedia, they were on the verge of being dropped by their label, but avoided this by using an opportunity to manipulate the charts to goose the release until it got its own sales legs. prog: it's the emperors new music.

Sure, I could try to be objective here. So many criticisms could fairly be levelled at Yes and all they represent: excessive, bloated prog with overly academic philosophising. In albums like this one, there’s often more focus on showing off instrumentally than concise songwriting, and don’t even get me started on those outfits. Could any music be less cool than this? The fact is, “The Yes Album” has long been one of my favourite albums of all time. In my teenage years, the band had already started to look like the mythical creatures they might have sang about. Prog still lived in a dark and secret place, vanquished from the mainstream, and hearing this band for the first time felt like unlocking a whole new language. When I listen now, I still get a kick out of the intro to “Yours Is No Disgrace”, with the whole band giving it their all. The perfectly paced “Wurm” sequence at the end of “Starship Trooper”: one of the best build-ups in rock. The harmonies and countermelodies used in “I’ve Seen All Good People”, enough to give the Beatles a run for their money. The thrilling instrumental break in “Perpetual Change” when we get two totally different recordings overlapping, panned hard left and right before the main hook returns. Any gripes people could have with prog rock are executed so well here, with such energy and enthusiasm that it’s hard not to just enjoy the ride. What’s more, “The Yes Album” captures the band in their more accessible early stages. It’s pre-Rick Wakeman and his myriad of keyboard solos, when the rot started to truly set in. While there might be many instrumental passages here, all of them hang on to some choppiness. It’s easier to be breathlessly swept along, rather than constantly checking the time and getting sick of the noodling. Chris Squire’s trebly bass is deliciously high in the mix, forming one of Yes’s many hallmark sounds. Guitarist Steve Howe had only just joined the band and does incredible work, from the duelling guitars at the climax of “Starship Trooper” to live acoustic showcase “Clap”. I’ve written this review as an unapologetic classic prog fan. I’m long past the point of trying to get anyone else into Yes, but I’ll snap up any opportunity to talk about why I love them.

A brilliant prog album that showcases Yes at their peak. It shows them moving away from making a regular album with 8 songs on it to having 6 songs where some are extended epics and others are quick and easy. Listened to this one before and it’s still easy to lose yourself in

How many fucking yes albums are in this list. No.

An amazing introduction into progressive rock. I really enjoy the bass in the tracks because of how clear it is. There's nothing really else to say other than that it's one of the greatest albums of all time. Highlights: 1, 3, 4, and 6.

Great stuff, I love they mix the bass hot. Great musicianship, solid guitar fills and solos.

The opening to Yours Is No Disgrace is such a jam. I'm less sold on the vocals to be totally honest, but everything in between is fantastic. I'm also enjoying the bass lines a lot. The more of the song I hear though, the less the vocals throw me off. But still, the guitar work >>> vocals in this track. The Clap is a nice breather after Yours Is No Disgrace. Starship Trooper is really funky, and I always appreciate a song with movements. The second movement is fantastic, I love the guitar in it. No thoughts, head empty, just vibes. I've Seen All Good People has some FUN organ work. One of my favorite instruments, honestly. Again, vocals aren't selling me, but the instrumental behind the track is amazing. The opening to Perpetual Change is AMAZING. I love love love it. Overall, this was a fun album, with a lot of insanely cool instrumental work that was hampered in my opinion by the vocals. If it was purely an instrumental album, I would have loved it so much more.

Fantastic! Already listened twice and will definitely be in regular circulation. Note: this is an album that is best listened to cover to cover.

Yes has always been a great band to mellow out to and enjoy. I am enjoying these moments of discovery.

I really like a lot of prog rock and prog metal, and I know yes is a big part of that, but I've never been able to really get into them in the past. This album was better than expected, but the song I recognized 'all good people' was definitely the low point IMO. There were good instrumentals throughout and i found myself enjoying a lot of it, but feeling embarrassed by other cheesy pieces. It's a 3.5 that I will begrudgingly rank up to a 4 because I gotta back up prog as a genre.

Yes is one of those bands you either connect with or you don’t. They’re incredibly talented and their music doesn’t really have any flaws per se. The most you can ding them for is a little self-indulgence (ahem, "Perpetual Change"), which is true of a lot of bands of their genre/era. Short and sweet review, this album is really good, but I didn't connect with it as much as I did with Close to the Edge. It includes two of the all-time great, must-hear tracks from the band, “I've Seen All Good People” and “Starship Trooper.” The inclusion of the live instrumental "The Clap" was a weird choice that I don’t think served the overall album very well. Fave Songs: I've Seen All Good People, Starship Trooper, Yours is No Disgrace, A Venture

This album is the epitome of Yes: oddly long songs that are only connected through the key and some sporadic lyrics. The rhythms and sounds make each song feel like a road trip through the mountains, and even though I don't like how lengthy they are, I can appreciate it. Favorite track: The Clap

Meh

Awesome!

Prog? Yes

Instrumentally, Yes are a fine group and this is displayed on the album via lengthy suites, featuring plenty of guitar and keyboard interplay. Vocally, they're a bit iffy, there's some nice harmonies, but I feel they lack a strong lead singer for the material. Jon Anderson sounds like he would be better off singing in a pop group. I quite enjoyed 'Your Move', which is the first part of 'I've Seen All Good People' plus the solo Portuguese guitar instrumental 'Clap' (recorded live) displays the technical prowess of guitarist Steve Howe. Overall it's well above average, but there are better prog albums. That is quite a cool album cover though.

The album starts with a loud declaration of 1971 sounds - Hammond organ, Rickenbacker bass, then a burst of beedly-beedly guitar playing and finally the banked harmonies of Jon Anderson. Some very nice and intricate guitar work on The Clap. And next is the full experience of Yes making progressive rock on Starship Trooper. I find the whole album very bitty - very well-executed, but so many disparate ideas cut and shunted together. I can hear definite Beatles echos in here, especially on Perpetual Change

Yes at their dad-most with weak writing and lotta cheese (not the good kind).

This album shows plenty of promise, and I hope we get to hear later albums which ought to fulfill… hahaha only joking, the machine and its evil sense of humour gave us Fragile the day before, and while I dislike this less, the problems are the same. Grooves ruined by fidgeting. No memorable songs because they need hooks and probably repetition and that’s boring. The ghost choir singing. Elves, probably. Paging Trevor Horn for some help here.

Awesome first song on the album to kick things off. The all good people is an absolute jam which I knew of but didn't know the name and honestly didn't really care for until hearing it on this whole album and now I have relistened to it 3 times. Such a great progressive rock album. I am happy that Yes finally got their breakthrough on this album after the third try of albums

This is the start of Yes' classic run. The stuff that everyone who is even a casual fan knows starts here. "I've Seen All Good People," "Starship Trooper," "Yours Is No Disgrace" ... these are concert staples that would pretty much be in the bands' live setlists even now. I have heard them so many times in so many different line-ups, but this is the first group, the line-up that gave us these songs. I liked Peter Banks in the previous two albums, Time and a Word is really great. But The Yes Album is definitely brought up a level with Steve Howe. His guitar work is all over the place (but in a good way). I think the only things I dislike about the album are: 1) the ending to "I've Seen All Good People." It always feels like the record player is running out of battery power. Real lack of energy there. 2) "A Venture" fade out. The song itself is... okay, but the fade-out always made me wonder what happens if the song continued. But then, when you do get to hear the extended piece, it was probably good that they faded out after all. 3) Starship Trooper - the opening portion of Wurm always feels repetitive to me. Kaye's keyboard work could have been so much more. Live versions with Wakeman really show what this piece could have been in the studio. It's a shame here. So really, it's the ending of songs the band seemed to have a problem with. Something they would tighten up on their next album. But as it is, I'm nitpicking, because I would still listen to this album pretty much all of the time. I do get a little tired of "I've Seen All Good People," only because it was played on the radio WAY too much. Live versions work better for me, really. Still, a damn good album.

I remember the first time I heard this album. I bought the CD and put it on a boom box in my bedroom, hanging out with my girlfriend. It was the first Yes album I bought, and I only knew the 80s Yes sound that was played on MTV and pop radio when I was a kid. I already knew that I liked progressive music from the Pink Floyd and Rush albums that I was into, but this took it to a whole new level. Steve Howe became one of my favorite guitarists and that was mainly due to the impact of this album. It is and always had been my favorite Yes album. Chris Squire's bass line on “Yours is No Disgrace” still fills me with awe even decades after I’ve first heard it. The intense solo that keeps switching channels at the end of “Starship Trooper” used to get blasted in the car almost daily as well as the crazy speaker shifting solo in "Yours is No Disgrace" . This is another easy 5-star album. I probably didn’t even need to listen to it again because it’s etched in my brain but of course I did.

This is the album where Yes became Yes. Sure, it wasn't until the next album that Rick Wakeman cemented the "Classic Yes" lineup, but this album is absolute prog rock perfection. The two previous albums suggested what Yes was going to become, but this album found the missing ingredient with the addition of Steve Howe. Not a weak track on the album. The first four tracks are simply amazing: Yours is No Disgrace rocks. It's about the Vietnam war, but you would probably never guess only by listening to the typical Yes-obtuse lyrics. The fantastic opening riff punches so much harder live, but sounds great here also. The song takes you on a journey of different styles, all fantastic. Then we hear Steve Howe's excellent imitation of Chet Atkins in Clap (as he says, "not THE Clap, thank you very much"). Then one of the absolute Yes greats: Starship Trooper. Man, those guitars - Steve Howe just tears through this song. The last part (Wurm) absolutely takes you into space - every member of the band is on the top of their game in this song (and let's take a moment to acknowledge Tony Kaye - kicked to the curb after this album but did an admirable job here). Of all the songs on the album, this one most shows where Yes was heading from here. I've Seen All Good People is a classic rock radio staple and has so many great moments: The first section has some of the best harmonies in a rock song and then you have to give tons of respect to the jam section at the end. A Venture is the weakest track IMO - not bad, but it has a lot to measure up to on this album. Finally, Perpetual Change is a solid track. It probably took me longer to get into this one than others, but nothing can compare to the first four tracks on this album. Absolutely perfect album and an easy 5.

Guitar virtuoso Steve Howe enters the fold, and at last Yes finally begin to understand what they’re capable of. Unorthodox arrangements and bewildering lyrics, Jon Anderson’s ethereal voice, Chris Squire’s delicate bass, Bill Bruford’s jazz-tinged drumming, Howe’s commanding guitar-all combine for a true prog masterpiece, and the start of a truly epic run for Yes.

Quite beautiful. Great musicianship. Great bass tones, crystal acoustic guitar clarity for some reason. Also keys and synth sounds are also on point. These combined with the artistic rhythms and vocal harmonies are something that Yes definitely had down in this ear of the band. It's a safe 5 stars whilst not being my favourite of theirs.

The first 'proper' album that I ever bought. Absolute stone cold classic and in the top 3 of all Yes releases in my opinion along with Yessongs and controversially for many, Relayer. Steve Howe's guitar playing - superb. Chris Squire's bass likewise. Just also love Tony Kaye's keys as well. Again, in my opinion the best keyboard player they ever had, which says a lot given that Wakeman and Moraz are extra special too. Nothing sweeter than Anderson's voice, and this is when Yes lyrics were still mainly of this planet. Mustn't forget Bruford too, a top quality drummer.

Great album and the first of the classic trilogy of albums. From 3 part harmonies to blistering solos and bombastic bass lines this album doesn't disappoint. Rick Wakeman joins on the next album and the band really takes off.

Yes is one of my all-time favorite bands. I don't know how many times I have listened to this album before, and I have listened to individual tracks from the album at least a dozen times more than I've listened to the album as a whole. "Yours is No Disgrace" is a great way to start off the album. Bill Bruford (drums) and Chris Squire (bass) lay down a foundation and provide a propelling force through the whole song. There are great examples of what Steve Howe (guitar), Tony Kaye (keyboards), and Jon Anderson (vocals) bring to the mix. There is a reason that all 5 members get song writing credit for the first track. Most of the album fits in the same mood. Steve Howe's instrumental "Clap" feels out of place between "Yours is No Disgrace" and "Starship Trooper". "A Venture" is a little weak as well, but none of the songs are bad. The rest of the album is great. I will listen to this album again.

I really enjoyed this album. I’m not terribly familiar with Yes but I’m glad I gave this a listen. There is a lot of jazz and classical influence and the album is structured into several mini-suites that challenge the rock form.

Kicking off the trilogy of albums where Yes were at their most powerful creatively, The Yes Album is a classic of prog rock. A perfect balance of bass, keyboards, guitar and drums, with insane hippie vocals and some fantastic harmonising bringing it all together. The mammoth opener Yours Is No Disgrace is a sign of things to come, with Yes laying the ground work for their future prog epics. A fantastic song in its own right, it lets all the members shine, especially Howe and Anderson. The ending section of Starship Trooper is one of my favourite pieces of music, with the whole band building towards musical ecstasy. The dueling guitar solos at the end are a highlight The fantastic harmonising I mentioned really shines through on I've Seen All Good People, with Anderson, Squire and Howe nailing the three-part harmony. My only real issue with the album is all but 2 of the tracks fading out instead of working out a "proper" ending, but it's not really much of a detraction.

easiest 6/5 of my life

Always been one of my favourites

Tremendo album

Great album

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think The Yes Album is the first Prog Rock album that actually sounded fun, rather than like some jazzy byproduct created by dudes who like to smell their own farts. No doubt about it, Yes would end up in their own flatulence huffing phase a few years down the road from this, but they at least managed to crank out a few genuinely exciting and fun records before they crawled so far up their own ass that Rick Wakeman took to having Chinese food delivered to him in the middle of their sets on the Tales of Topographic Oceans tour.

Do I love this album? Yes. Am I biased towards anything that's considered progressive rock? Yes. What's the name of this band? Yes. Here we have my second Yes album, fittingly called The Yes Album. I loved Fragile, and I also really loved this album too! The style is basically the same across both albums which makes sense when you realize they both came out in the same year. The Yes Album only has 6 songs, but as is to be expected with prog rock, they're quite a bit longer. They're not too long though. The longest song here is the album's opener, "Yours is No Disgrace," clocking in at just under 10 minutes. I really like all of these songs. I especially like the back-to-back "Starship Trooper" and "I've Seen All Good People." Jon Anderson's vocals are fun and engaging. The instrumental work is excellent all throughout. Bass, guitars, keyboards, drums, you name it. It's all great. Overall, this is an outstanding album. I'm not entirely comfortable calling it better than Fragile, but I'm definitely thinking it. And I haven't even gotten their most acclaimed album yet with Close to the Edge! The moral of the story is that I really like Yes. High 4/5.

Classic Yes sound. I have always liked their instruments, but I don’t care for the vocals. 3.5 stars rounded up - this album is short and sweet and leaves some wanting me.

When this album popped up for me on my tracker for the 1001 albums, I audibly said "Yes!" aloud. I love Yes. I have loved Yes for a long time, and had a big prog rock phase a while back. The Yes Album is an interesting one for me, because I always knew of its existence, but I wasn't sure when I would go back to give it a listen. I'm glad I was given the excuse to check it out, given my love for Fragile and Close to the Edge. I see this as the Meddle of Yes' discography. It acts as the point where you can see when they find their footing. Steve Howe had made his way into the band, which is easily one of the best things they could have done for themselves. And the energy that would carry them forward into having one of the strongest runs of albums in the 70's shows up here. John's voice is as beautiful as ever, Chris Squire's signature bass sound is delightfully sharp, Steve's guitar work is amazing, and Bill's drum sound is so bright and snappy, which fits his style of play perfectly. I see this album as their Meddle, and I see Starship Troopers as their Echoes. It may not be as ambitious, but it shows them experimenting with their longer, multi-phased song structures they would become known for. Specifically the section titled "Würm". This part is so heavy and psychedelic, and has one of the best jams Yes has ever done period. Easily the most striking moment on the whole album. I have to speak on one gripe I have with this album though. I think Tony Kaye does a fantastic job as the keyboardist up until this point. But just like how Steve Howe was an addition the band needed to succeed, Rick Wakeman is in the same boat. Although technically not with Yes until after this album was released, I can feel the gap left when he is not the one behind the keyboard. He is probably the single greatest prog keyboardist of all time, and maybe just in general across all rock music, and that golden age lineup of Anderson, Squire, Howe, Wakeman and Bruford is absolutely unbeatable. I think for the first album from Yes that can truly be considered a substantial piece of work, that set them on the map and would help them become one of the leading bands in the progressive rock movement of the 70's alongside other giants like King Crimson, Rush and Pink Floyd, they did a stellar job.

This album takes me right back to my childhood. Yes was my dad's favorite band so almost all of these songs felt familiar. I never realized how much Southern influence there is in Yes's music until today's listen. I always just put them in the "prog" bucket and moved on but there's a lot of solid, southern, 70s groove here. It's fun. It's interesting. It's a little cheesy but that's alright. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Is it timeless? Not even close. Hence the 4 stars.

Pretty decent album. had no idea "Your Move" was part of a medley.

Probably what sarcastic elbows said except squire and bruford are an amazing rhythm section. And the band does attempt melody as well as harmony and rhythm. That I don’t love it is probably more on me. I did like it more than I expected. But then Chris squire man. And bill bruford. In track four (all good children etc) are harmonies reminiscent of Crosby stills and Nash. Is this a good thing? It’s pleasant. You can’t deny that. PROG is something I should like, but don’t in general. There are notable and honorable exceptions of course - jethro tull. Early Queen. That part of bowies career. But the self indulgence wears me down with a lot of prog. This album is actually ok though. Fairly short and not too many vertical rectal disappearances. 3.5 rounded down because 4 is too high.

Fine. Middle of the road. Wouldn't turn it off, but might not seek it out.

Didn't totally pull me in, but fairly decent nonetheyes.

sounds like pretty basic rock with extra steps. not as much fun as eg Jethro Tull or Queen but OK [edit: aaargh!]

A lot more psychedelic than i expected. Lots of nice picky accoustic stuff like Leo Kotke then goes to space-age psych. Not sure it works together as a coherent album, but whatever... it was an enjoyable listen.

Nice

Eh

You're allowed one Yes album. This is not it.

The energy of this album jumps all around the place. I can hear its influence in the synth-pop that happened in the decades to come and even a bit of 90s alt folk rock. I wasn't especially grabbed by this album but I respect its craftmanship.

I guess my take on Yes hasn't changed much from what I listended to "Close to the Edge". The band is clearly talented, the production is over the top good, and there is no doubt that the band has a huge following and has influenced countless other bands and artists. For whatever reason, I personally just can't connect with the music. It feels showboaty and a bit sterile. There were moments in the latter half of "Yours is No Disgrace" and "Starship Trooper", where I picked up on something, but the whole vibe still feels like it's at an arm's length. Another review wrote that it was like rush, but boring, and I think that sums it up perfectly.

A Yes album, even The Yes Album, doesn't feel like a Yes album unless Rik Wakeman and Roger Dean is involved. Now, that's piffle. This is clearly a Yes album, it sounds exactly like Yes, the songs are firmly in the Yes scool of lyricism and thematics, and whereas Roger has become inseparable from Yes, Rick Wakeman's been in and out of them more often than the crew of HMS Queen Elizabeth with your mum. Now, I am not a Yes fan, I subscribe to the standard that Yes were bloated and bizarrely inane, despite the grandiosity of their lyrical and musical conceits. I understand that the fans consider Starship Trooper one of their monuments, and I acknowledge that the last movement of it has a proper driving frug. And that occasional frug is the best of Yes. However, between each instance of frug there's about 15 minutes of quite boring, quite charmless noodling. But how would a band like Yes grasp the aesthetic of less being more? They're Yes, not the Ramones.

Meh

Only artist where I’ve ever walked out of a gig. Self indulgent crap

I guess I'm starting to realize just how big the baby boom generation is, based on how many would have been needed to vote all these 70s albums into the top 1001.

No

No

Not good

A truly shite album. The remastered version apparently warranting two versions of The Clap and Starship Trooper (it does not warrant this!). Only good thing about this was that it ended (eventually).

Another uninteresting Yes album

At least it wasn't Rush. I'll stand by that part of my review.

You know that scene in Beetlejuice, where they're in the waiting room for hell? This is the music playing there.

I love this album. There are several eras of yes. It feels sacrilegious considering how high rick wakeman is regarded in the household I grew up in... But this is the best yes era. Pre-rick. This and time and a word have their best songs on them and for me this one pips it. If you came up with a riff, you could make a song. If you had 2 one could be a chorus, if you had 3 you could include a bridge. Every yes track here has like 19 and all of them are catchy, it's like a prog abba record. It's great and utterly ridiculous.

I am a huge yes fan. And this album is fantastic. Incredibly original. Amazing musicianship. Best Yes album after Close to the edge. Starship trooper. Cmon. Sick. Yours is no disgrace!! Saw Jon Anderson and the geeks recently. Both songs were performed and were fantastic. One of my favorite albums of all time. 5 stars plus.

This was incredible! It was rock and roll but so neatly composed... I would def listen to this again.

despite all of the Everything about me, i've never really gotten into prog. i have no particular reason for that; i certainly don't abide by any of those thought-terminating clichés oft-touted against the form's defining eccentricities. anyone who has the misfortune of knowing me for long enough will recognize that the easiest way to get me to listen to a record or watch a film is to describe it as "pretentious" or "self-indulgent." i often—not always, but often—conceptualize art first and foremost as a way of really Seeing the artist(s), i desperately Want to hear their dumbest whims and fixations, i don't want artists to rein it in; i want everything, i want you. so yeah, i have no problems with prog. on top of that, i like theatre kid shit. i like impressive musicianship, i like solos, i like sprawling interminable length on both the micro (song) and the macro (album) level. i like concept albums, i like story songs, i like Flutes and Organs and Mandolins and shit. and i've listened to and enjoyed tons of works that circle the Periphery of prog. i like a lot of krautrock and psychedelia. i like the Devin Townsend albums i've listened to—the most classically prog rock styled record that i've actively listened to recently enough to have any real memory of it is Steven Wilson's raven that refused to sing, which is an album that i love dearly. so why haven't i gotten into prog? i literally just haven't gotten around to it. it's not actually complicated. this is an unnecessary indulgence of an opening paragraph. but i like to practice what i preach. it's got the songs, baby! oh yeah, it does! big revelatory standout for me is starship trooper, it's glorious. the melody is just Soaring, all three parts are interlocking and playing off one another, the band sounds fantastic, it's total bliss. the final part (called würm, because prog is the fucking coolest thing in the entire fucking shit) is so good it's this brilliant crescendo to a totally cartoonish and euphoric guitar solo. it rips. i got chills. aside from that track, i like the conspicuously-titled solo guitar rag, "the clap." i think that's a good collection of things for a song to Be. the first track is super strong as well. Chris Squire's bass immediately jumped out to me. i'd sort of known through cultural osmosis and the memetic status of roundabout that Yes had a very prominent and virtuosic bass player, but it's still something that immediately hit me from the start of my listen. i love the harmonies all over this thing too, of course. i always love harmonies. oh and there's a song here that's, like, about chess. or, y'know, it uses the imagery of the chess game as a metaphor to describe th—they wrote a song about chess!! i Love chess!!! five stars.

Unexpectedly good

Throwback, rollerskating

I am a big Yes fan, and I knew most of these tracks very well before listening to this album today, but I was amazed by 1) how much I loved the songs I hadn't heard before, and 2) the fact that all of these amazing songs were released on the same album. I listened to this twice and it was awesome, five stars.

Listens: 4 or 5 Standout tracks: I've Seen All Good People, Starship Trooper Added To Library: TRUE YES! Second Yes album on the list. I still think I like Closer To The Edge more, but this album is also quite excellent. I just love how "I've Seen All Good People" and "Starship Troopers" are like 2 or 3 songs in one with each part being significantly distinct from the others. I've heard "I've Seen All Good People" before but had never really known it was a Yes song, and so when it came on for the first time I was like Ohhhh shiiit.

This is the 154th album I’m rating. I've only heard Roundabout and that was because of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Adding to my Playlist - Yours is no Disgrace, Clap, Starship Trooper, I've Seen all Good People, A Venture, and Perpetual Change. Not Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. Yours is no Disgrace - Just as good as Roundabout. Yes is a great band. All in all I liked 6/6 songs. Yes is great. Araki is right about them.

I love this album, only knew of Roundabout and Owner of a lonely heart and I generally enjoy classic Prog. These guys feels like a solid precursor to Rush, dream theater and a lot of other prog in this same vein. It’s pretty cool to see the evolution over decades and where some it came from. Enough pop and melody to stay interesting without sacrificing the experimentation.

Fuck, yes…Yes! I own several physical Yes albums, this one included. Fragile, Close to the Edge, or Relayer are probably still my favorites, but this a terrific album. Prog Rock can get weird, and that’s sort of the point, but this album perfectly tip toes that line where rock ends and prog begins. I always found Yes to be one of the more easily digestible prog rock bands because their long stuff never seems to linger, and they never go overboard with goofball instruments, I’m looking your way pan flute lovers.

A classic album showing off all the best elements of Yes' music. Virtuoso musicianship, complex but accessible song structures, great vocals and mysterious lyrics you can't help but sing, etc. I love this album.

More yes! Yes please :D

Hell yes, no we're talking! Not my favorite Yes album, but man is it an enjoyable listen. Relative to most of what I've heard so far here, this album is a f***ing 11 out of 5.

No question, a classic, both in music overall and in my cannon of progressive rock fandom. The inventiveness of tracks like "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Starship Trooper", "I've Seen All Good People", and "Perpetual Change" is really unmatched given the time period. Wonderful.

no queria que terminara. fabuloso.

Fantastic album

Phenomenal from start to finish

There are few perfect albums in this world. It would be a shame to ruin this one.

Sounds in the way i like! I love that it has 2 voices and strange sizes. Also sometimes it sounds like few boys are playing in the dad’s garage after school (in a good way)

Amazing Every song is grandiose and progressive, never boring and endlessly cool

I’m a sucker for this band. This album was a blast; I’ve seen all good people is still one of the greatest. That organ!

I was not happy to see this one come up. I expected some self indulgent experimental prog rock. Instead this an absolute banger. Will definitely be playing again

Still great!

PDB. Fantastic musicians playing fabulous music.

Fond memories of painting to this record with my first teenage crush.

found a new one I didn't know! amazing

Another great Yes album

This was great. I was listening slightly passively whilst working, but then I went back diving into each of the tracks and I found it all very enjoyable. I'm more familiar with their next two albums - but this seems to be a really underrated gem in their catalogue. Well I guess not underrated, its on the list. Fave Tracks: I think I liked elements of all of them 4.6/5

The opposite of yesterday's album in many ways (Surfer Rosa by the Pixies)... the Yes album is tight, meticulously produced, perfect harmonies before the age of pitch correction, and some virtuosic instrumental work.

oh yes

No Need to listen to this one. Know every note by heart I love it so much. Not my favourite Yes album but certainly in my top ten all time favourites and Yes are in my top three favourite groups. I bought this album day of release from the famous Record Bar, Wakefield. It was an album I was eagerly anticipating after getting into Yes through their previous album Time and a Word. I was not disappointed as there is lots of spine tingling climatic music to be heard. I was in a hostel in Wakefield whilst a Police Cadet where a friend of mine at the time and we would lay on our beds in the dark continually listening to this album. This is why I know the album so well. I am an unashamedly a Progressive Rock nut so like others of my kind I figuratively wear this album like a badge of honour and consider it a rite of passage to know intimately. Regular readers of my reviews (that’s me only) will know it was my birthday yesterday and I so much wanted a classic album like this but instead I got Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. But fortunately I am still very much in a birthday mood as I am off into Leeds soon so watch and applaud the mighty Leeds United parade their Championship Trophy around the City. No doubt “ I’ve Seen All Good People” will be reverberating around my head as I cheer my heroes. There could be no better soundtrack to join my love of football and music together. 5/5 5/5/25

One of my favorite eras in music history. There is something brilliant about the non-complicated mix combined with music mastery, and virtually no limitations in track length. Makes me miss the times I never experienced