Featured CD - Yes : Tormato

[Duncan Glenday]

PerAllmusic's (not very complimentary) opinion:

The '70s model of Yes runs out of gas. Recorded in a morale slump and an impending haze of drink, Tormato's decent tunes are sabotaged by Rick Wakeman's increasing penchant for cheesy textures and the band's thin overall sound. "Don't Kill the Whale" was their last successful single for years; the soaring "Onward" almost but not quite redeems the twee silliness of "Arriving UFO" and "Circus of Heaven." Of special interest is the pounding "On the Silent Wings of Freedom," which pushes Chris Squire and Alan White to the front of the mix, establishing the kind of aggressive and straightforward rhythms that would propel the band through the '80s. Bass freaks, take note: this tune also marks one of the few appearances of the Dipthong pedal, accounting for Squire's distinctive "bow bow bow" sound.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/tormato-mw0000202014

[Brian Griffin]

If I'd realized how badly the wheels would be falling off the "movement" very shortly, I probably would have appreciated this one more back in the day

I like it a LOT more now than I did then

BG

[Soc Prof]

I was surprised how good some of the outtakes from this one are when I got the Rhino remaster.

I think it is a good (not great) but uneven album. Wakey uses way too much Polymoog on this.

[Sunhillow]

I think this album starts great, with Future Times/Rejoice, which I think ranks among Yes' best tracks, and Don't Kill The Whale, which is a great song too. But it's downhill from there, though Onward is a good song too.

The worst thing about Tormato is that IMO the most 'proggy' tracks ('Arriving UFO', 'On The Silent Wings Of Freedom', 'Release') are also the duds.

But this is all a luxury view in hindsight. I've discovered Yes through 90125 when I was 14, and I worked my way back in their catalogue quickly, discovering the heights and lows soon, spending time with it accordingly. Needless to say, Tormato didn't get as many spins (yet still more than probably ALL material releases after 1990).

[JJ88]

When I first heard this album about ten years ago, I was really horrified- how could they lose the plot so quickly after GFTO? But over time I've come to re-evaluate it a bit...maybe because I've since heard the rest of their albums!

Certainly 'Future Times/Rejoice' and 'Onward' hold up well IMHO- showing how they could condense their aesthetic to a more 'user-friendly' format. On the negative side, there's the lyrical silliness of 'Arriving UFO', that synth solo in 'Don't Kill The Whale' and the infamously twee 'Circus Of Heaven'. The rest is basically inoffensive. 'Madrigal' at least puts the synths on the backburner a bit, 'Release Release' arguably looks forward to the rockier sound of 'Drama'. 'On The Silent Wings...' has some interesting ideas but it feels too condensed and the climax is really a damp squib.

I certainly prefer the production to GFTO, but it has a sort of 'cramped' feel. What I think really 'dates' this album more than most previous Yes albums is the heavy emphasis on then-contemporary sounds. I really loathe the synth sounds on this album and that effect Chris Squire keeps using doesn't do it for me either.

I think there's a parallel with the equally confused 'Love Beach', although 'Tormato' is better than that it's still nowhere near Yes' best.

[Progbear]

Shows just how much Eddy Offord was necessary. Sonically, this album is dreadful, it seems to have been mixed to suit the individual members' egos, rather than with regard to good taste. And maybe Eddy could have talked Rick out of the ear-shredding keyboard sounds: using a Polymoog as your main axe is just a bad, bad idea.

Then again, most of the compositions are cringeworthy, so improving the sound would only go so far. That said, I do like "Future Times/Rejoice" and OTSWOF, and hearing them without Rick's Polymoog making my ears bleed would be most appreciated.

I seem to be one of the few who doesn't find "Onward" to be a saving grace. It reminds me uncomfortably of Dan Fogelberg, John Denver and all those other "sensitive," drippy 70s easy-listening balladeers.

[Digital_Man]

I will never ever understand all the hate this album gets. I can probably think of 5 YES records worse than this one. It might even be better than T&AW imo. I certainly think it's better than at least 50 percent of the albums they did after Drama. The weakest tracks imo are "release release" and "madrigal" and even those are tolerable. I suppose I can understand why people don't like "circus of heaven" but I happen to really like that one. Yes it pales in comparison to what came before it but I don't think it does when comparing it to what came after it so much.

[Digital_Man]

I see I am in the minority for liking this album but that's ok. Here, look at the reviews for it in the wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tormato Even Piero Scaruffi didn't like it too much.

I admit I'm a bit of YES fanboy anyway so there you have it. I can't really be that objective with these guys. I do still sometimes refer to a certain YES album as "close your ears" though.

[Trane]

If I'd realized how badly the wheels would be falling off the "movement" very shortly, I probably would have appreciated this one more back in the day

I like it a LOT more now than I did then

BG

Indeed.... But take Awaken out of GFTO, and I think Tormato is actually better on the average than the rest of GFTO

I think this album starts great, with Future Times/Rejoice, which I think ranks among Yes' best tracks, and Don't Kill The Whale, which is a great song too. But it's downhill from there, though Onward is a good song too.

The worst thing about Tormato is that IMO the most 'proggy' tracks ('Arriving UFO', 'On The Silent Wings Of Freedom', 'Release') are also the duds.

nope, the worst thing (dud) about Tormato is its atrocious artwork.

Indeed the album starts fairly strong, and if it does fail to maintain the same "cruising quality" throughout the rest of the album (though I like Release), I don't find it sinks nearly as bad/low as that horribly schmucky Wonderous Stories... Madrigal is probably my low point on Tormato

I'll probably revisit Tormato fairly soon (via my library system), though my memory of it needs to be refreshed (especially side B)

[Brian Griffin]

No love for "Release Release"?

I think it's one of the best post Relayer cuts they did

Perhaps due to the canned audience loop?

It's some serious high energy Yes in any case

BG

[Zeuhlmate]

I'd rather put any of the previous albums on repeat than listen to this one.

[BravadoNJ]

the late 70's weren't really a creative time for Yes. i guess the band was out of ideas after doing their solo albums.

[Progatron]

I love side one of this album and "Silent Wings". I've never warmed to "Onward" - it's a nice song but it doesn't do it for me. "Arriving UFO" is lousy, but I admit an almost morbid fascination with it at times. Like looking at car accident photos. I simply cannot tolerate "Circus Of Heaven", one of the worst songs in their catalogue.

Everything else works for me. When I saw them in '02, they resurrected "Don't Kill The Whale" which was an odd but pleasant surprise.

This album is flawed, but has some great cuts and does not deserve the reputation it has.

[Vic2012]

I only heard for the first time a few years ago (the last few years have been a blur so I don't remember when I first heard it but it was relatively recent). My impression is that most of it isn't bad at all but it was a transitional period for them. It sounds kind of directionless. The "Yes sound" is still there but there was a conscious effeort to NOT do any epic tracks and keep the songs compact. It was proggy Yes, but a little more lean and some ideas were half-baked. I'm not surprised that they imploded after this album. But overall it's not bad. Compared to GFTO and Drama it's just there. It's not crap, it just sits there.

[Supersonic Scientist]

If I'd realized how badly the wheels would be falling off the "movement" very shortly, I probably would have appreciated this one more back in the day

I like it a LOT more now than I did then

BG

[/QUOTE]nope, the worst thing (dud) about Tormato is its atrocious artwork.[/QUOTE]


ONSWOF is my favorite and Onward will always remind me of some "special times" I shared with a sweet girl I once knew.

I'll never forget the shared disappointment me and my friend Bob experienced when I came home with this and we listened to it together. I clearly recall us looking at each other with puzzled looks on our faces as I was flipping the album over to side two, both silently praying that side two would SAVE this MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT.....

[progman1975]

Two Words: Release, Release

[Brian Griffin]

The "Yes sound" is still there

This

BG

[Jubal]

This one caused me to swear off Yes for a while. No I never bought it, but I certainly heard it. Every track on this is completely forgettable. It even has one of their worst album covers ever. They didn't even bother to tempt fans to buy it with a RD cover.

[Sputnik]

Aside from Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven (neither of which I find un-listenable), I actually like this album pretty well. Silent Wings is up there with my favorite Yes songs, a total tour-de-force in my opinion, and one that I often use to show people what Yes can do without them having to listen to a 20 minute cut.

Maybe some of this is nostalgia as this was one of the albums that got me into Yes, but I still get chills when I hear some of this material, so I think I do genuinely like it. I understand the many criticisms, but somehow none of that matters to me when the album is actually spinning. For me, they never did anything better than this again. Drama is about on par with this album for me, some good stuff, some meh. And after Drama I lose interest.

Bill

[Vic2012]

Oh, by the way, I'd take Tormato over 90120 (or 90210). At least it SOUNDED like Yes, and Howe and Wakeman were on it.

[Man In The Mountain]

Love this album a LOT. Always have. I read the complaints about it, and have no idea what anyone is talking about. Arriving UFO kicks ass. I think Tormato might be too Wakeman heavy, and Howe light, for people's liking. I dunno. There are so many worse YES albums to choose from, why keep hating on Tormato? If Tormato came out next week, we would all be raving that YES is back to form with a brilliant new album.

To me, it fits clearly in the 70's string of great albums. Great tour as well!!

[Adrian]

No love for "Release Release"?

I think it's one of the best post Relayer cuts they did

Perhaps due to the canned audience loop?

It's some serious high energy Yes in any case

BG

That's my favorite track from the album. Musically and lyrically.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

I find it difficult to separate this album from the tour as I got the record and went to the concert about the same time. The tour was the best I had ever seen Yes. They were in the round, which was unique at the time, and the stuff they played from Tormato sounded great live and improved my overall opinion of the material. Circus of Heaven was an embarrassment and to think they released it as a single!? The rest is pretty darn good Yes music!

[lazland]

I loved this album when I got in on release, and still enjoy it to this day.

Taking aside the rather poor production, there is a lot of good stuff. Actually, my favourite remains Circus of Heaven, which I have always found rather entrancing. Future Times/Rejoice are very strong openers, and I always thought Onwards was one of Squire's strongest compositions for the band.

I think it has been rehabilitated in recent years a little bit. The fact is that the era of side long epics was well and truly over, and would not return for some years. This album was merely a recognition of that, and they would take this direction to 90125, which I also really enjoy.

[trurl]

I think this would rank with the great Yes albums if they had just... y'know, made the album instead of just recording a bunch of demos and putting it out Everyone got lazy and fed up. But 75% of the music is really good. (The other 25% is, admittedly, pretty lousy.) All in all, I like it. It still has a Yes spark of the ol' magic buried under the lame Polymoog and goofy harmonized touch-wah bass.