Yes to record another album

[enpdllp]

Or why do the tour at all?

Besides the obvious answer, $$$, it is a way to make sure Davison's voice could handle the punishment of touring with Yes before recording the next album and going on tour to support the new album. I am quite sure Yes does not want to go through the same ordeal they went with Benoît David.

[Neptune]

AWESOME. That is great news.

Would be a real pants-kicker if Jon Davison got along with Howe and the rest of the bunch so damn well that they got that inspirational fusion and wrote ... something out of this world. Something that blew intelligent listeners' minds as much as Close to the Edge or Going for the One did in its day.

That would take one hell of a lot of effort and energy and focus and ... all the other things you have when you're in your 20's.

Can always hope that the professional people that Yes are currently or have consisted of - people that have been there, had experience with doing it before, will be truly inspired heroes once again - and enjoying the hell out of the journey.

In my opinion, Glass Hammer seems to be working that vibe.

[meimjustalawnmower]

why do YOU go to work everyday?

[Jacob Holm-Lupo]

... something out of this world. Something that blew intelligent listeners' minds as much as Close to the Edge or Going for the One did in its day.

One of countless reasons why this is not going to happen - some of the more obvious are that CTTE and GFTO are once-in-a-career kinds of albums, and very much the product of youthful hubris - is that Yes, unlike some other 70's bands I can think of, have not kept up their chops. I don't know if Steve is even half the player he was in the 70's. He sounds ok on Fly From Here - ok but not impressive. The ok-ness is to a large part because of Horn's magic, I suspect. I think there's a lot of cutting&pasting that's gone into that album. And even with a talented producer's "assistance" there is nothing on the album that even comes close to the magic Steve worked on albums like Relayer and GFTO. Chris' playing is also significantly toned down. It doesn't bother me - he still has his killer tone and well-chosen notes, but he most certainly is not the fretboard athlete he used to be. And Alan... well, he puts in a solid performance, but it is very bread&butter/workaday stuff. It sounds worryingly sedate compared to his work on Drama, for instance.

So basically, even if by a miracle the guys came up with complex, inspired and energetic music, they would not be able to convey either the complexity, intensity or energy as musicians.

Wow, that all sounds very negative, I know. Let me reiterate for the 1000th time: I loved Fly From Here. It was a mature, dignified and well-conceived record that could have put the band into very honorable retirement, ending on a high.

[Neptune]

Well put, Jacob.

[Scott Bails]

So basically, even if by a miracle the guys came up with complex, inspired and energetic music, they would not be able to convey either the complexity, intensity or energy as musicians.

I don't agree with this AT ALL.

[JKL2000]

<< I loved Fly From Here. It was a mature, dignified and well-conceived record that could have put the band into very honorable retirement, ending on a high.>>

Except for the whole "abandoning Jon" thing.

[VickiLynn]

Me too. He's hunky!

That too, but I just love his bass playing! I'm not a musician, so maybe I'm not a great judge of his ability, but I really appreciate his playing on Fish Out of Water, one of my favorite albums

[Scott Bails]

<< I loved Fly From Here. It was a mature, dignified and well-conceived record that could have put the band into very honorable retirement, ending on a high.>>

Except for the whole "abandoning Jon" thing.

Only if you think he was "abandoned."

[JKL2000]

Only if you think he was "abandoned."

Even if you don't think they "abandoned" him, it would still be hard to see it as ending their career on a high note if their nearly life-long vocalist was too ill to participate.

[80s were ok]

It was really Trevor who made Fly From Here great, and also his old chemistry with Geoff. All the best tunes were old Buggles material, and Trevor's production coaxed the best out of the band. If the new Yes is minus Trevor, I suspect that for the first time I won't really bother with a new Yes. I didn't care for Steve and Chris' material on FFH.

Fruminous?

[enpdllp]

Even if you don't think they "abandoned" him, it would still be hard to see it as ending their career on a high note if their nearly life-long vocalist was too ill to participate.

If Fly From Here ended being Yes last studio album, it would have ended their career on a much higher note than if they had ended their career with many of their previous studio efforts.

[ItalProgRules]

Wasn't most of the record full of Trevor and Geoff songs?

Horn cowrote Into The Storm. Btw, many I've read many articles from classic rock and prog magazines saying that Yes will record a new album after they wrap up the three albums tour, but none say how long the recording process will take or when the album will be released. I'm glad that Steve has quite Asia to focus on Yes. Also, I hope Jon D will have a very big rule in the writing process. Also, I hope this album with be a mix of The Yes Album, CTTE, and GFTO, since they are playing those full albums on tour. Or why do the tour at all?

In the Jon D. interview that I posted the other day, Jon D. says he and Chris are already writing. Which I consider to be great news. I liked FFH well enough, but I have a feeling that an album with Jon D. might just be something special, especially if he's very involved in the writing.

I base this on mybelief that Jon D. has a true feel for and understanding of YES music in a way that Benoit David, while a fine vocalist, simply did not.\

One thing I learned from the Jon D. interview was that he was formerly a professional bass player. double-bass solo spot on "The Fish???"

[trurl]

I've been bugging him to get them to play "Run To The Light" live with him on bass and Chris on piano. Guess it won't happen this time out :P If they ever did play Drama in full on a tour, there ya go

[notallwhowander]

I base this on mybelief that Jon D. has a true feel for and understanding of YES music in a way that Benoit David, while a fine vocalist, simply did not.

The impression I got was that Benoit David didn't see himself as a member of the band so much as a hired gun. He saw his role as one of showing up on time and hitting the high notes, rather than being part of the writing team.

[ScottAM]

I definitely thought "Into the Storm" was the best thing on FFH. I do enjoy Horn and the Producers and Drama and that whole angle, but if Yes is to record again I'd much rather hear material that approaches the direction of Into the Storm, so I'm hoping that Horn isn't directing and writing for this album. Sounds like he's not.

More Squackett is definitely welcome, and I'm still satisfied with their first album for what it is. Given Chris' pace though, I can't imagine seeing a followup coming out from them until 2015, so I won't be holding my breath on that one.

All that said, I don't take a single album or tour for granted. Any of these guys could pass away or have some major health issue arise at any time, so there's never a guarantee that they'll make it to the next album. I'm amazed they keep going at the pace they are (esp. Steve Howe, even without Asia). It won't last forever, so enjoy them now while we can!

[Scott Bails]

I've been bugging him to get them to play "Run To The Light" live with him on bass and Chris on piano. Guess it won't happen this time out :P If they ever did play Drama in full on a tour, there ya go

That would be very cool.

The impression I got was that Benoit David didn't see himself as a member of the band so much as a hired gun. He saw his role as one of showing up on time and hitting the high notes, rather than being part of the writing team.

I have the same impression.

If Fly From Here ended being Yes last studio album, it would have ended their career on a much higher note than if they had ended their career with many of their previous studio efforts.

Completely agree.

[Scott Bails]

It won't last forever, so enjoy them now while we can!

This is the attitude I take.

I'm not expecting another CttE. I just want a good album that I'll continue to listen to for years after it's released.

[Paulrus]

Chris has often said that the musical identity of Yes is the combination of killer vocals with killer instrumental playing. How closely the album stands up to past Yes highlights will depend on everyone remembering the script. But the big wild card here is Jon Davison. My main worry is that Chris and Jon will go off into singer-songwriter land, as was the case on songs like "The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be".

Also, I wouldn't expect a new album to be a return to the glory days unless the band and their producer worked hard to deliberately evoke that era. And in order to do that they'll need a healthy dose of Andersonification. AKA, space hippy cosmic wonderment, which I don't think anyone in the current lineup truly embraces (no matter how much weed Steve still imbibes. )

[ItalProgRules]

Yes, unlike some other 70's bands I can think of, have not kept up their chops. I don't know if Steve is even half the player he was in the 70's.

The folks who say this stuff are invariably the same folks who did not see them tour last summer. Howe played his ass off. Squire played his ass off and had 12K people so quiet a pindrop could be heard during his bass solo at the show I caught, followed by a wild ovation.

If you did see them tour last year, I apologize.

[Scott Bails]

I am glad it was released, but I had reservations with 'Fly From Here'. The biggest was the amount of 'old' songs written by Downes/Horn being used

I'll never understand why people have a problem with this.

Another was the relative lack of instrumental firepower; again, only 'Into The Storm' had much of that. That playing is a big part of Yes and they should embrace that, naysayers be damned.

This I agree with. I'm hoping this changes on the new record.

Having said that, despite the piecemeal origins of the songwriting, it largely holds up as an album better than most of their other latter-period works, which is a good thing. Having a strong, big-name producer clearly works for this band, I felt 'The Ladder' also works well for similar reasons.

Agree here, too.

[gregory]

FFH is a nice one-off album, with much care for "pleasurable" music. I bought it, listened to it, partly liked it, put to the shelf and completely forgot on the next day.
Albums like this brings nothing to Yes fine history, just a line in back catalogue. So if they'll do something similar to FFH, I'm not gonna take it))Enough of unremarkable newest albums, there are still so many great music to discover.

[zeprogmeister]

I quite enjoy Fly From Here but the main driver was Horn's production and who co-wrote a majority of the album. If he is not involved I wonder what they could pull off.

[Jefferson James]

"Touched like an Angel"

Touched by an anvil.

[Rael]

FFH is a nice one-off album, with much care for "pleasurable" music. I bought it, listened to it, partly liked it, put to the shelf and completely forgot on the next day.
Albums like this brings nothing to Yes fine history, just a line in back catalogue. So if they'll do something similar to FFH, I'm not gonna take it))Enough of unremarkable newest albums, there are still so many great music to discover.

That's pretty much how I felt. I think FFH is nice, but I haven't listened to it in months.

It's cool that some here still derive pleasure from the current lineup of Yes but it isn't enough to keep me hanging on anymore. As you say, too much other great music out there to discover.