The Ten Best Albums by YES Ranked
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- Andy is a drummer, producer and educator. He has toured the world with rock legend Robert Plant and played on classic prog albums by Frost and IQ.
As a drum clinician he has played with Terry Bozzio, Kenny Aronoff, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and Mike Portnoy.
He also teaches drums privately and at Kidderminster College
I was also disappointed when I listened for the first time to "Tales...", but when I relistened to it in my 40's I was surprised how incredible it sounded to me. A record for older people :)
and the steven wilson remix changes it for me for the better
I am a big prog-head and love all the epics, prog albums, etc. But I think 90125 has its very own place in music history, and it was an outstanding missing link between prog and the 80s. Thank you Andy for giving it its rightful place in history!
I agree with you, Jesus; 90125 is excellent. I also love Talk from that Trevor Rabin era.
They redeemed themselves.. BROUGHT IN younger fans. 90125.
Glad you think Awaken is the best prog track of all time... it certainly is my favourite. It's just so grand in its scope and Rick's pipe organ work is sublime. I remember Wonderous Stories on TOTP back then and its such a lovely tune. For those reasons alone GFTO is my fav Yes LP.
And Parallels and the title song which really rocks.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer agree... I always play the opening of Parallels anytime I come across a Pipe Organ preset on a keyboard... ;)
The Yes Album will always be #1 for me and the one I listen to most often. Steve Howe was bursting with ideas and guitar tones and he's never played better on an album. Every single solo is genius, with melodic ideas inspired by the guitarists who influenced him, Chet Atkins, Wes Montgomery and Les Paul. Most songs on the album became staples of their live shows. And Chris Squire made a huge impact writing the material, before the Anderson/Howe era began.
1. The Yes Album 2. Close to the Edge 3. Fragile 4. Going for the One 5. Relayer 6. Drama 7. Tales from Topographic Oceans 8. Keystudio 9. Time & a Word 10. Yes
Glad to see 90125 here. The fact that many people find that challenging is exactly why it needs to be here - like you I find more depth in it everytime I play it. The 90125 live video was cutting edge for the time too but really is bonkers!
90125 drew this then-12 year old kid into Yes. I wasn't aware of their history at the time, not having anyone around me that was into them, so they were new to me. To me, it's the production and arrangements more than anything; listen to it on an old Panasonic receiver through JBL 2X12 speakers, which is how I binged on it in our family den (which became a before-bed ritual for weeks). I know every single note and syllable on 90125. And yes (😂) I have since checked out pretty much all their other works in the decades since.
Funny how Yes has 2 decade defining songs that couldn't sound more unlike each other, the other being Roundabout. 90125 is my #5 favourite album of all time.
I think side 2 of Relayer is as good as side 1, probably making it my favourite Yes album. I think it's a perfect album.
You placed 90125 perfectly IMO. It's a brilliant album. There weren't many 'old' bands who could have made something so fresh sounding and ground breaking at that time. Rick Wakemen said he would have loved to have been part of that project.
1) Close to the Edge
2) Relayer
3) Going for the One
4) Fragile
5) The Yes Album
6) Tales from Topographic Oceans
7)Time and a Word
8) 90125
9)Yes
10) Fly From Here
Thank you for posting your list. I have similar thoughts as you except I never listen to Fly From Here. Other reviewers place it fairly far down on these worst to best lists. I just listened to it end to end. I absolutely loved it.
I can totally see why you would put it in your top 10.
It’s better than the Ladder, it’s better than Keystudio. Those are ones a few reviewers place ahead of this. A few very good tracks on those, but as an album, Fly from here is way better.
I’m curious of what your 11th - 12th pick would be. I’m most familiar with the 1-9 you noted.
Thanks again!
@@nickfabiano7795 I came to it kind of late, there was a very tight competition.
My 11th and 12th?
Tough question.
Magnification and Keystudio are the two that pops up in my mind.
Not a big fan of Drama or Tormato, if anybody would ask me.
I happen to like Tormato. I remember my friends not liking it but I secretly did.
I’m trying Magnification. A lot of people seem to like it so I’ll give it a listen.
I actually like the new one Mirror to the sky. A few very strong tracks on there
The original Fly From Here ...???
Great video Andy, I’need to check out Magnification again. I’ve not really given it a proper listen tbh. I thought you were going to pick Fly From Here as your late period choice. It’s the one that feels most classic Yes to me - well kind of Drama period Yes. Worth a listen if you’re not familiar with it. Great channel, keep up the good work, cheers, Dave
I absolutely agree with you on 90125 and the mastery prog achieves when it pulls the composition in and applies good song writing. For me Rush are the best example of this during their 80's period, which the older I get the more and more that becomes my favorite period. A Show of Hands is their best live album imo-the band at their absolute peak.
Yes is also my favourite prog band. For me, Tales is their masterpiece.
Love your take and perspectives on the genre, the music (composition), and the band. You actually helped me rediscover what it was that entranced me about Fragile. Also relate to your appraisal of GFTO as a 'knowing' album and agree that Awaken is the archetype of the genre.
As an old time fan, my ranking is a bit like this:
10. Fly from Here
9. Drama
8. Tormato
7. Time and a Word
6. Going for the One
5. Relayer
4. Fragile
3. The Yes Album
2. Close to the Edge
1. Tales
Very impressive listing of the top ten YES albums! Probably the best such listing I have seen posted. My own list seems pretty close to this. What you said about 90125 and Fragile is spot-on. I do not understand why so many YES fans disparage 90125 and Big Generator.
The music is just fantastic, and it is what progressive music masters can do with more popular music when they are not delving into making the epics. (I will be disappointed if you do not have Big Generator at least as high as #11 or 12.)
My list:
1) Close to the Edge
2) Fragile
3) The YES Album
4) Going For the One
5) Tales
6) Relayer
7) 90125
8) Drama
9) Big Generator
10) Magnification
The YES Album has such iconic and memorable songs I have to put it above Going For the One, despite “Awaken”, which I agree may be the very best of their songs and the greatest prog song ever. But then, the epic songs “Close to the Edge” and “The Gates of Delirium” are right there with it. Fragile and The YES Album are almost a tie for me. There is so much on Tales that is good and it is so epic that it seems expected that there would be a few spots which lag a bit. I think they were trying for a Close to the Edge, side one, times four. I think they achieved the antipated result on side one of Relayer, but side two does not compare to side two of Close to the Edge. (IMO of course)
😅
A lot of what you said I found myself agreeing with. The Yes album was my first purchase as somebody told me I'd love Starship Trooper. I did. One of my all time favourites. Topographic Oceans I really didn't get until I bought the recent Steven Wilson 5.1 mix. Played it a few times and it just clicked. Love it now, except "The Ancient". Not so keen on that one😂.
Drama I've always loved. Tempus Fugit is a fave. Bit of a Police Synchronicity era feel so I was always going to like it being a big Police fan.
90125 blew my mind when it came out. Very clever concise Rock/Pop. I'd add the album Talk too to the list. Amazing production and some great songs.
Love Going For The One too. Awaken and Parallels are classics.
you ranked them as I would have ... Owner of a lonely heart was the song that got me hooked and the 90125 album. And then I bought Close to the edge, which was a shocking change for me .... I didn t know what to think ... I thought those were two different bands (some might say), but I gave em another chance, bought Fragile and was hooked, then came the Yes Album and I was an addict ... and then all the other 70s yes recordings ... Tomato was actually the only disappointment
Totally agree about 90125!
Sound chaser is a brilliant track listen again !
This is a solid list. May be a couple of things I'd shift, but not much. I totally agree - Bruford shines on the first album. Magnification is the best album they made after 1990. 90125 is one of the best albums of the 80s. Awaken the absolute best Yes song ever. All of your takes are solid!
Close to the edge...Drama....Fragile...90125....Big Generator...are my favorites...i love Arriving UFO from Tormato (incredible song)
oh ... and your appreciation for "Awaken" ... totally agree, plus Gates of Delirium.
My first Yes experience was hearing “Roundabout” (the short hit-single version) on the radio when I was a kid. So, accordingly, “Fragile” was my first prog album. I always loved the solo interludes on that album. That was also my first exposure to Bruford (not only my favorite drummer, possibly my favorite musician). “Close To the Edge” was (and is) stunning. I do remember being a little disappointed by “Tales…”, but rapidly warmed to it. I did have a major problem with “Relayer” when I first heard it. “Gates of Delirium” seemed pointlessly noisy which made it my least favorite ‘70s Yes album (I have since re-evaluated). “Going…” was really great. “90125” I liked for a couple of months and never listened to it again (perhaps I should have another go at it). Anyway, nice list.
Check out 90125 again, it surprising how it sounds now, much more like a 'Yes' album IMO
Topographic Oceans, like The Lamb Lies Down, were constricted by the confines of the album format. They both had to fill the 4th side.
Love your work.
Tales also had to fill the first 2/3 of side 3.
I'd have preferred a single LP, with Ritual and Revealing Science of God. I never got into the other two tracks.
@@scifiwriter98Same here.
Part of what makes "Tales" so epic is the very length of it. Yes, it does meander., It has a lot of filler in the way of repeating sections and long guitar solos, but it's true -- the very commitment to making something so immense seems more impressive than ever. I think what hurts it (and is rarely discussed) is the lack of a big finale. It sort of leaves the feeling of, "What the hell was all of that about?"
That's fascinating, Andy. Thank you very much. As a Yes fan since '72/73, I agree that 90125 is excellent, and would make my top 10. I would include neither Drama nor Yes. May I offer my own top 10:
A*: The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge.
A: Topographic Oceans, Relayer, Going for the One, 90125, Talk, Keys to Ascension (Studio 1&2), Magnification.
Great list! I think you nailed it...
my favourite yes album is Tales From Topographic Oceans
1. Close to the Edge 1.1 Relayer 3. Fragile 4. The Yes Album 5. Tales from Topographic Oceans 6. Going for the One. That’s it for me.
Outstanding list and justification. I feel the same way about Fragile's solo interludes. Like little parks or palate cleansers between the masterpiece Yes tracks.
Cant go wrong with any on your list. My personal favourite is the first Yes album I ever had - and what an introduction - Tales from Topographic Oceans - though looking back at my album purchase inventory that I did up to around the mid 80's I didn't rate it as high as CTTE or Fragile at that time, but over the 46 years Ive been listening to it it bacem my favourite about 30 odd years ago. I also have a lot of love for Tormato, bought when it first came out and loved it from the off - yes there are a couple of tracks that are a bit WTF moments but thats one of the appeals of it. And to those who dislike 90125 and Big Generator - if it weren't for them Yes would have ceased to exist.
I also loved the Trevor Rabin 'Yes West' albums and think Talk is fantastic - you could say they lost their way after Keys to Ascension though as after that, Magnification aside, most of what they did is ok, some is great though there is a higher perecentage of not so great against really good. It was a shame they never went any further with Oliver Wakeman as the stuff they released on From a Page a couple of years ago sounded promising though Fly from Here had its moments. Latest The Quest is a marked improvement on Heaven and Earth - though thats not too difficult a thing to do - and I think there is some nice stuff on The Quest, though I also think they got the track sequencing wrong, should have had Downes' keyboards up in the mix and dropped a couple of songs - ideally the two Billy Sherwood had a hand in writing - I also think they should have got a producer who would challenge the sounds and arrangements - someone like Bob Ezrin who worked wonders for Deep Purple. I think we all have to accept though that the days of Yes producing anything approaching 'classic yes' are well and truly over.
Thanks for that Terry, very interesting comments there. I know there are some serious Yes fans here who know the later stuff much better than me! And Talk is getting a lot of love. It's interesting how TFTO's reputation has only grown. Even in the mainstream media there seems a grudging respect for that. On Sky Arts this afternoon they had a (bad) documentary on prog and featured Yes a lot. Rather than mention pretend cows and haystacks, they said it was the peak of the genre which I think is true. No other prog band went so far out and yet sold millions. Apparently it was no1 here and no 6 in the US...wow....
Close to the edge, only. The best.
Looking forward to this one. #YesHead
I'm surprised to see _"Magnification"_ on the list. Not that I'd argue against it, but it seems to get very little attention compared to the albums from the 1970's and 1980's. Nice to see it mentioned here. I actually paused your video to give it another listen, and then returned to the video. 🙂
I had to do a lot of research on the later albums and I felt this one was the best of the post classic period.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer - Oh, I definitely agree with that. I think it's an excellent album. I hadn't really thought about it as "orchestra replaces keyboards", but that's a good description. And they do a masterful job at it!
Can I ask you for the link to Prog and Punk being related? You mentioned it and it’s something I’ve always felt too.
I'm a fan of big generator. When you learn that the term big generator refers to MUSIC you start to understand and enjoy it.
1= CTTE, Topographic, Relayer; 4 GFTO; 5= Yes Album, Fragile; 7 Drama; 8 Tormato; 9= Yes, Time and a Word.
90125 proved that bite-sized prog was possible.
It seems that Steve Howe was the compositional force in Yes. Could Jon Anderson have created Close to the Edge and Topographic Oceans on his own? What about ABWH?
I think Steve is the key (to ascension).
Tales
Fragile
Yessongs
That's all I need
I remember being in bed, poorly, aged about 11, and hearing A Venture coming up from the living room. Hooked from then... Would find it difficult to rank - like each for what they are.
1. Relayer 2.Close To The Edge 3. Fragile 4. Tales
Good top 10, Andy. I would rank Drama in my top 5. Although, Close to the Edge was the first album I heard 36 years ago, the first I bought was Time and a Word, so I have a soft spot for it and would replace Magnification for it.
I seem to be on my own in loving the original "Fly From Here" album. It grabbed me on first hearing and I love Benoit David's voice. I also have the "Return Trip" but don't care for Trevor Horn's voice quite as much and the arrangement of the "FFH" Suite is slightly different too.. Just my opinion, of course.
1. Close to the Edge
2. Fragile
3. The Yes Álbum
4. Going for the One
5. Relayer
6. Tales
7. Drama
8. Tormato
9. 90125
10. Yes
Magnification was Yes' last truly great album, in my opinion. Always had a soft spot for the debut also and interesting to hear the drumming picked up on,. I remember Squire saying that Bruford always finding higher frequencies on e.g. cymbals and snare pushed him to also play higher bass notes... or maybe it was vice-versa! Either way as a rhythm section the pushed into new sonic territory, for rock.
Thanks for listening
Andy....yes, 90125 is bloody brilliant. The greatest progressive rock song of all time VDGG Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End. IMO of course.
For me 90125 is the ultimate masterpiece by Yes - Trevor Rabin is to me as a guitarist what Bruford is to you as a drummer
OK. Here we go. 'Drama'. It has some merits - Does it Really Happen?' and 'Tempus Fugit,' stand out - but the general feeling it leaves me with is one of disappointment. It should be borne in mind that quite a lot of this was concocted at the Paris '79 sessions, meaning before Anderson and Wakeman's departures, and before Yes realized that they needed to update their sound. So in one sense it is not so much a new beginning as scraping the last out of the old barrel. 'Yes'. This has got to better than 'Drama,' surely! It sounds so fresh and optimistic, and the playing is great. Possibly an unfair thing to do, but compare the angelic voice of Jon Anderson, and the loose, jazzy swing of Bill Bruford, with the uncomfortable rasp of Trevor Horn, and the proficient but heavy-handed stomp of Alan White. 'Magnification.' Yes. I agree with Andy on this one. Should definitely be checked out. 'Tales...' Um. Erm. That is. I mean. But then again. Suffers from 'double-album syndrome.' Cut it down to just one disc, and you'd have a top three contender, but 'The Remembering' and 'The Ancient' are in equal measure confused, meandering,tedious and over-stretched. 'Relayer'. Yes, I think I agree with Andy again, although I might reverse my marking so that, rather than a ten a seven and a seven, everything got an eight (still adds up to twenty four, though!!!). '90125'. No. It cannot be placed above any of the preceding, with the possible exception of 'Drama.' Just as Yes without Jon Anderson is not Yes, so Yes without Steve Howe is not Yes. Think what Frankie Goes To Hollywood would have been without Trevor Horn. Right. Nothing. Now think the same about this album. A producer's album, not a band album. 'The Yes Album'. Of course, it contains three, and possible four, of the ultimate Yes tracks (five if you add 'The Clap'), but for me it is the addition of Wakeman that elevates the band into the stratosphere - and I miss that element here. Having said that - 'Starship Trooper' ? Wow! 'Going For The One.' Yes, again, I agree with Andy. This is really the last great Yes album, in my opinion anyway. There is really nothing I can think of to criticize here, and 'Awaken' is the musical equivalent of a direct line to God. 'Fragile'. My friends had 'Fragile,' and I never saw any need to buy it myself. Didn't really like the solo tracks that much, which, contrary to Andy's opinion, detracted from it for me. Although once again I do have to exclaim Wow! - this time for 'Heart Of The Sunrise'. Which brings us to..... 'Close To The Edge'. The first Yes album I heard - well, 'experienced' might be a better word - CTTE opened up a new musical world to my 14-15 year old brain (this was in 1979). Seriously. That's what it did. It opened a door into a new world of music. It took me down a hallway to somwehere I had never been before. Really, I suppose it changed me. Yes - it's got to be at number one. Just before signing off, may I also give honourable mentions to three tracks off some of the other albums? Thank you. 'On The Silent Wings Of Freedom,' 'That, That Is' and 'Homeworld (The Ladder).'
Good list, I would add Talk instead of Magnification….
Big Generator isn't as consistent an album as 90125, but I think it's best moments are better. Shoot High Aim Low, Final Eyes, and Holy Lamb all have the YES recipe beautifully presented in concise form, and Live Will Find a Way is just a great pop song with one of the coolest guitar intros ever. That twelve-string sound is magical.
Great list and totally agree about Topographic , which I now appreciate much more. I would say Soundchaser is awesome , some of Alan Whites best drumming and The Moraz Moog solo is stellar. Looking forward to other bands you might cover , ELP ?
I always want to like that tune but I can never quite get into it. I think I should give it another listen....I am thinking of doing an ELP video as I get asked about them a lot and I'm not a huge fan. I think Trilogy is my favourite but even that has some silly tunes on there. Not keen on Greg's voice or Cal's drumming or Keith's Mrs Mills moments....
I'm listening again to Soundchaser again....I'm not so keen on alan White's drumming, especially at the start, not the sound or what he is doing, and then that twangy Steve Howe solo guitar seems there just to extend the tune, but the last three minutes are Yes at there best although they don't seem to know how to conclude the tune in their usual epic fashion. I stick by my original judgement.... :)
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer An evaluation of ELP would be really interesting. Would love to get your opinion on Carl Palmer...
@@martinbroten9467 I don't think you would, I don't like his playing.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Actually, my opinion of him has changed over the years. I used to be dazzled by the fancy stuff, but later came to think that there wasn't much else there.
I'm going to cheat and say Yessongs. It's got the best of all worlds -- including the entire album of Close to the Edge as well as Starship Troopers. And all live. If allowed only one Yes album, I would choose that one.
Prog rock = pretentiousness. People that talk about prog rock = even more pretentiousness. Me = guilty.
For me:
1 Tales from Topographic Oceans
2 Relayer
3 Close to the Edge
4 Fragile
5 The Yes Album
6 Going for the One
7 Drama
8 Magnification
That's it for me, none of the others come close and personally I don't think are worth buying.
Yes I know what you are saying. I do think 90125 is a masterpiece and the debut album is remarkable in many ways, but esp. Bruford's incredible drumming
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer For me 90125 didn't have staying power, I got bored with it very quickly. Yes and Time & a word haven't dated very well, they both sound of a time long gone. Come to think about it, the same thing applies to 90125, it's of the 80s. I hated the music of the 80s,there are some exceptions but not many.
I loved Tales from the beginning, I've never understood the hate it gets and in surround sound it's magnificent.
1) Close to the Edge
2) Relayer
3) Fragile
4) The Yes Album
5) Going for the One
6) Drama
7) Tales from Topographic Oceans
8) 90125
9) Yes
10) Time and a Word
Top 5 are firm, the rest could change order. I really don’t know the later albums very well.
Fragile>Close to the Edge. There I said it haha.
I understand Close to the Edge.
I don't understand The Gates of Delirium.
Maybe I need more listens.
My absolute favorite Band until I came across LED Zeppelin
I too like Drama a lot! Better than Tormato for me.
Topographic Tales; great road trip music thru nature, from the Berkshires to Catskills and the Rockies to within... I've always wondered if, instead of the weaker redundant parts of padding, if YES incorporated best aesthetic parts from Squires Fish out of Water to Wakemans Journey to the Center of the Earth into Tales... That would be something. What symphonic oceans of electric symphony. Bollocks to the daft myopic critics. Puranas unleashed. Imagination lands gone wild to wilder. To the ancient future. Atlantis and Lemuria rise from the see and Antarctica. Beyond debate. Decipher the sigils of pixelated notes . What's real? Existential melody of musicians digitized harmony. A gulf and chasm between eyes of diverse brain spasms. Convictions limited by the imposed unseen contradictions. Polyphonous sorties into the mercurial possibilities of the initiated. Translucent etherealized substance realized . Illuminated upon the transcendent epiphany beyond and merging with the horizon. ⚛️
I stopped listen to them after Close to the edge, what came next, Topographic oceans? I couldn't get through that mammoth slab of music. Seen them on the "going for the one tour" that was a pretty good album,
Not listening to TFTO and saying you like Yes is like drinking alcohol free beer 🍺 ....all I can say is you are missing a treat
"Magnification" is on this list and you dare disparage side two of "Relayer"??? Dear God man, you are dangerously close to having your "Prog Authority license" revoked. Now, say 10 Hail Marys and give me 50 push ups, and we'll try to forget this blasphemy ever occurred. "But don't let it happen again". 👽✌
Oh yeah, while I'm up here on my soapbox, what's the deal with so much hate for "Tormato"? It's like the "Wind and Wuthering" for YES. It's not a great album, but there's some good stuff on it, yet it gets overlooked or crapped on all the time.
🍅👍
relayer side 2 meandering? MEANDERING! what are you talking about? feel sad you haven't/couldn't connect with it but.... this was soooo unjust Andy
I do like it...it just...well goes on a bit....
tormato>>>>gfto. listen to tormato again for the first time. shit production, but the arrangements are all bonkers and it's easily the best harmony vocals yes ever did. the whole record is a surrealist journey
You must be joking 90125 is a terrible Yes album.
1. The Yes Album
2. Fragile
3. Close To The Edge
4. Going For The One
5. Relayer
6. Yes
7. Time And A Word
8. Tales From Topographic Oceans
9. Tormato
10. Drama