Wakeman WILL attend RRHOF Induction; snubs Howe, White, Bruford in the process

[miamiscot]

The Ladder is so good. To these ears it was the best Yes album since Drama...

Just finished listening to Fly From Here and Heaven & Earth, back to back. Certainly not Close To The Edge but I found myself enjoying them quite a bit. What's wrong with me!!!

[dpt3]

When it came out, I thought the Ladder was a very credible attempt to regain some mainstream visibility. It didn't work unfortunately but it had a nice balance of the trendy (world music in the 90s) and classic Yes elements. And the world music sound came very naturally to Yes. On the Ladder, they didn't appear to be pandering for a hit the way that "Don't Go" did for example.

That being said, I got sick of the Ladder within a couple of Years. I still like Homeworld but the rest of it I could live without ever hearing again.

Yeah, I listened to it *a lot* when it came out, and thought it was pretty decent at the time, but "Homeworld" is the only thing that's really stood the test of time as something I'll actively seek out to listen to.

[bondegezou]

I love "Face to Face."

Preach it, brother.

Henry

[JJ88]

I do think The Ladder is a very slick sounding album, maybe too much, but the songs are the best Yes had managed in years. 'Homeworld', 'New Language', 'Face To Face', 'The Messenger', 'It Will Be A Good Day', all strong. I think it's overproduced but 'Lightning Strikes' is also a good song. I think that commercially speaking, it probably should have done better than it did.

Magnification is a little sleepy by comparison and let down by a few real howlers like 'Don't Go' and 'Soft As A Dove'. I do like the title track, 'Spirit Of Survival', 'Can You Imagine', 'Dreamtime' and 'In The Presence Of' though.

To be honest I'd be happy with new albums by either camp as good as these, let alone their peaks of earlier decades.

[Scott Bails]

"Don't hold your breath for a reunion" - Steve Howe.


Forgive me if this was posted already - so many Yes threads going, these days.

[bondegezou]

"Don't hold your breath for a reunion" - Steve Howe.


Forgive me if this was posted already - so many Yes threads going, these days.

Too many threads! If only someone could organise all the key facts and quotes in one place!

Henry

[bRETT]

"Don't hold your breath for a reunion" - Steve Howe.
.

Better to link to the Yesworld interview, from which "Team Rock" cribbed its story. Does this site ever write anything of its own?

http://yesworld.com/2017/04/askyes-q...we-march-2017/

[yamishogun]

I do think The Ladder is a very slick sounding album, maybe too much, but the songs are the best Yes had managed in years. 'Homeworld', 'New Language', 'Face To Face', 'The Messenger', 'It Will Be A Good Day', all strong. I think it's overproduced but 'Lightning Strikes' is also a good song.

To be honest I'd be happy with new albums by either camp as good as these, let alone their peaks of earlier decades.

Those are the six songs but the only one I have to skip is "If Only You Knew". For all I know, it might be a good song since I only heard it three times but my memory says not.

If Yes pulls off an album like the Ladder, I'd be stunned. With H&E, I was just hoping for 20 minutes of good songs - like Magnification - and instead I got a cool 3 minute part of "Subway Halls."

I think each Rabin led Yes album has been different, and I expect the new one to be pretty unique as well. I think there are two reasons the ARW album hasn't been finished: Rabin wants it to be great and the tone of the album probably has changed over time. A third reason - I can hear Trevor telling Jon: "No, we aren't using your The More We Know B-sides!" just as Geddy told Alex as they started writing Vapor Trails: "None of that Victor crap is getting on this album!"

[Scott Bails]

Better to link to the Yesworld interview, from which "Team Rock" cribbed its story. Does this site ever write anything of its own?

http://yesworld.com/2017/04/askyes-q...we-march-2017/

Thanks, Brett. I know that "Team Rock" does this, but didn't know where the actual quotes were from.

[Paulrus]

I do think The Ladder is a very slick sounding album, maybe too much, but the songs are the best Yes had managed in years. 'Homeworld', 'New Language', 'Face To Face', 'The Messenger', 'It Will Be A Good Day', all strong. I think it's overproduced but 'Lightning Strikes' is also a good song. I think that commercially speaking, it probably should have done better than it did.

Magnification is a little sleepy by comparison and let down by a few real howlers like 'Don't Go' and 'Soft As A Dove'. I do like the title track, 'Spirit Of Survival', 'Can You Imagine', 'Dreamtime' and 'In The Presence Of' though.

To be honest I'd be happy with new albums by either camp as good as these, let alone their peaks of earlier decades.

I coincidentally re-listened to The Ladder again last night. IMO it's got more hits than misses, and the good stuff is always really enjoyable. I just love little bits like the Latin-flavored prelude (Mellotron?) to "Lightning Strikes". It's those little details that often made classic Yes music so fun to listen to.

But I think what I like most about The Ladder is that it sounds like the entire band was creating something together, rather than one or two guys driving everything. I give a lot of credit to the strength of that one to Bruce Fairbairn (poor bastard.)

[jrw]

Too many threads! If only someone could organise all the key facts and quotes in one place!

Henry

Perhaps you could do that in your spare time.

[Mikhael]

You are correct sir---Mind Drive and That that is---are return to 70's form in as much as any band can recreate there greatness

I don't see how anyone can say that. Those are poorly connected random bits, that are in no way even close to the compositions of the 70s. Mind Drive had some decent bits, but the piece was meandering at best.

[yamishogun]

Perhaps you could do that in your spare time.

He might have some spare time if he didn't have his obsession with Ye -- oh, wait....

This reminds me to put in a request. Henry said that every Yes album has previous music that wasn't used by the group. I'd be curious if he could point me to a place on his site that shows this, if written.

Yes - A remake,but by definition nothing not used since the first album.
Drama - ?
90125 - no previously unused songs. Cinema transformed into Yes
Big Generator - ?
Talk - no previously unused songs. 'Walls' was probably written first wit Hodgson but for a Yes album.
The Ladder - ?

[Scott Bails]

But I think what I like most about The Ladder is that it sounds like the entire band was creating something together, rather than one or two guys driving everything. I give a lot of credit to the strength of that one to Bruce Fairbairn (poor bastard.)

Great observation.

I don't see how anyone can say that. Those are poorly connected random bits, that are in no way even close to the compositions of the 70s. Mind Drive had some decent bits, but the piece was meandering at best.

Yep - totally agree. I just don't get the gushing over "Mind Drive." I mean, I like it, but people go way overboard in their praise, IMO.

[gojikranz]

He might have some spare time if he didn't have his obsession with Ye -- oh, wait....

This reminds me to put in a request. Henry said that every Yes album has previous music that wasn't used by the group. I'd be curious if he could point me to a place on his site that shows this, if written.

Yes - A remake,but by definition nothing not used since the first album.
Drama - ?
90125 - no previously unused songs. Cinema transformed into Yes
Big Generator - ?
Talk - no previously unused songs. 'Walls' was probably written first wit Hodgson but for a Yes album.
The Ladder - ?

theres a demo bonus track on Tormato for does it really happen called everybody's song although I read somewhere it actually dates back to the Moraz days.

[Zonefish]

I just don't get the gushing over "Mind Drive." .

Maybe this will put it in perspective...the song gets overly praised because after a long slog through the dry desert of Yes-less Yesness, it was a concerted attempt to recapture the vibe of the past. It "sounded" like the Yes in our dreams. Therefore its shortcomings get overlooked because the intent was there. I personally like it, but it's not CTTE.

[Scott Bails]

Maybe this will put it in perspective...the song gets overly praised because after a long slog through the dry desert of Yes-less Yesness, it was a concerted attempt to recapture the vibe of the past. It "sounded" like the Yes in our dreams. Therefore its shortcomings get overlooked because the intent was there. I personally like it, but it's not CTTE.

Well, I mean, you could say the same thing about "Endless Dream," too.

[ronmac]

Too many threads! If only someone could organise all the key facts and quotes in one place!

Henry

The facts are few and far between. It's the speculation that takes up all the space.

[Derk]

The prelude to Lightning Strikes is note for note the intro to Phenomenal Cat by The Kinks from the Village Green Preservation Society. I have no idea why.

[Mister Triscuits]

I love "Face to Face."

Phenomenal Cat by The Kinks from the Village Green Preservation Society.

This thread's getting Kinky!

[Vic2012]

Maybe this will put it in perspective...the song gets overly praised because after a long slog through the dry desert of Yes-less Yesness, it was a concerted attempt to recapture the vibe of the past. It "sounded" like the Yes in our dreams. Therefore its shortcomings get overlooked because the intent was there. I personally like it, but it's not CTTE.

Pretty well nailed it. I liked Mind Drive instantly, and still do.

[infandous]

Maybe this will put it in perspective...the song gets overly praised because after a long slog through the dry desert of Yes-less Yesness, it was a concerted attempt to recapture the vibe of the past. It "sounded" like the Yes in our dreams. Therefore its shortcomings get overlooked because the intent was there. I personally like it, but it's not CTTE.

Yeah, I'm gonna agree with this. I was downright excited the first couple times I listened to it. Of course, with time I've come to realize why I was excited and also that it's not really that great of an "epic". I do still like it, but it certainly doesn't rank up there with any of their 70's epics.

I will say that the two studio tracks on the first Keys album only excited me when I saw the playing time. When I actually listened to them, they didn't seem all that good at all (though That, That Is had a couple interesting bits, including the intro).

That said, I haven't really cared for much of anything since those Keys albums. I like some of Magnification, but I always felt like there was WAY too much Jon. Don't get me wrong, I love Jon's vocals, but it just seemed like the album was wall to wall Jon (and Chris, I guess). It just gets tiresome and I found myself wondering where the great instrumental bits and solos went. The Ladder I haven't heard in almost 20 years, and was never crazy about it, but I did always think Homeworld was good. I should probably listen to that album again, but I don't own it and have no real desire to acquire it.

[bondegezou]

just as Geddy told Alex as they started writing Vapor Trails: "None of that Victor crap is getting on this album!"

Pshaw! Victor is a better album than any subsequent Rush release.

Henry

[Gizmotron]

I like macaroni and cheese.

[Sean]

Clipboard01.jpg

'Nuff said!