I have been on bit of a Yes kick as of late and have been listening to several albums. That got me thinking about these two most debated and probably most criticized of all Yes albums. There has been no shortage of negative remarks about both albums on this website. That said, I revisited them both recently for the first time in a while and compared them as complete pieces of work.
My conclusion is that I enjoyed 'Open Your Eyes' substantially more from beginning to end. I would dare even say that I was reminded that I rather like the album. 'Close to the Edge' it isn't, but it doesn't aspire to be either. As more of a revisit to the style of the Rabin years, it is pretty successful to these ears. The songs range from good to very good, but I can't say that there is anything on it that I truly dislike.
On the other hand, 'Union' was and still is a challenge to actually get through without jumping tracks. There are moments of quality on it (Lift me Up, Saving my Heart, Miracle of Life, The More We Live-Let Go), but overall the album's negative reputation is pretty well deserved. It is an inconsistent mess. The real disappointment for me with this album has always been with the ABWH material. I was a big fan of the ABWH debut album at the time of release and would have preferred that they continue on as is. That said, the material on 'Union' more attributed to the ABWH line up is pretty consistently lackluster. One can only guess what a true follow up to the debut album would have been like before Jonathan Elias got involved, but it is hoped that it would have been better than how the material plays out on Union.
There is no doubt in my mind that Union is the nadir of the Yes discography. In many ways, it is really not a Yes album in the truth sense of the word and thank goodness for that considering the results. 'Open your Eyes' on the other hand is a bit unfairly maligned in my opinion. It too isn't a true Yes effort as much of the material came from the already existing Squire-Sherwood combination. Some more input from Howe would have been a plus as well. Regardless, it works much better overall than Union and for what it is, it's a pretty entertaining listen to these ears. Though it certainly isn't at the top of the Yes star ratings, it also isn't something that the band need be embarrassed about.
Bookmarks