Yes

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Yes

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"Yes" is the original debut album from Yes not to be confused with "The Yes Album," which was their third album but the first one with which most people would be familiar. "Yes" is not as strong an album, but it is a lot better than you would expect given the level of performance excellent you expect from the group down the road, especially since at this point you have Peter Banks on guitar and Tony Kaye doing the assorted keyboard work. Most of the songs are written by vocalist Jon Anderson and bass player Chris Squire, along with covers of songs by Lennon & McCartney ("Every Little Thing") and Crosby & McQuinn ("I See You"). It is rather strange to thing of the Beatle and the Byrds being major influences on Yes, but there you go. This is an album for lifelong fans of the group to check out, now that it has been reissued. Knowing where the Yes sound ends up, you can hear it in embryonic form, most notably on "Harold Land," which most anticipates the multi-part suites that would consume an entire record side on the group's best albums. However, when you hear the driving sound of the opening cut, "Beyond and Before," you will wonder who you are listening to. Banks does some interesting guitar work on both of the cover songs, especially the atypical version of the Beatles song.

This 2003 reissue is impressive because the bonus tracks add up to more playing time than the 8 original tracks on the album. The informative liner notes are from Mike Tiano. There early and finished versions of three songs, including "Something's Coming" from "West Side Story," which particularly fits Anderson's distinctive vocal style (you will be reminded of Yes' later cover of Simon & Garfunkle's "America"). The before and after approach with these bonus tracks is quite interesting. There are few opportunities this good to go back and look at what one of your favorite groups was doing when they were first starting out, which makes this expanded reissue of "Yes" a real treat.

Having bought the original shovelware version of Yes' debut when it first was reissued on CD in 1990, I was reluctant to buy the remastered version. What's wrong with the original version?

The remaster didn't blow me away like The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis did. To me, "Yes" sounds thinner than the original; maybe this because the dirty bass guitar isn't cranked up as much. The addition of 15 seconds to Looking Around was a surprise though.

The bonus tracks are good, but not essential (as say, "Squid/Octopus" on Van der Graaf's H to HE remaster is). The sonic range has been improved, but not drastically.

I recommend keeping your old version.

[DW]