Yes: Albums Ranked Worst To Best
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2019
- Going off format to talk about one of my favorite non-electronic outfits, the legendary prog-rock band Yes! (And since I'm never gonna review any of these albums or talk about Yes again in any future videos, I went in more detail than usual for these things...)
Support me on Patreon: / thewonkyangle
There's only a very small handful of bands and artists I'd be willing to go off format like this for, maybe 4 or 5 others, so me discussing non-electronic music in detail like this will NOT be a regular thing on this channel. At the very best it'll be like a once-a-year thing, I dunno. I just felt like doing this as a one-off, asked my Twitter followers if they'd be interested, and their answer was the name of this band, so I went ahead with it. Why not? But yeah it's just a one-off. Will be getting back to Biosphere and other stuff like that right after this.
More countdowns & rankings: • Countdowns & Rankings - เพลง
updated for 2023: Open Your Eyes < The Quest < Union < Talk < Yes < Mirror To The Sky < Heaven & Earth
relistening to The Quest, I have to say that album is just awful, full stop. say what you will about Heaven & Earth, it may have really weak production and overall feel like a way more lifeless and bland version of what the band used to be, but it did have three tracks I genuinely liked, a few halfway decent hooks, it's not the worst thing in the world. The Quest attempted to be more energetic and bombastic on average and I can see how that might've been more to some people's taste, but not only are the arrangements here just as uninspired and forgettable as Heaven & Earth with even less in the way of hooks, all the things I didn't like about that album with none of the things I did like, but somehow the production here was significantly worse. the incorporations of synths are super cheesy and overbearing, the inclusion of orchestral arrangements are produced to sound like synth imitations, every instrumental performance from the guitars to the drums to the keyboards all sound fake, and there's even some vocal processing on "The Western Edge" which sounds super out of place, the overall sound of this album is just painful to sit through. it still sounds better than Open Your Eyes and isn't as thuddingly brainless, and at least the band doesn't sound like they hate each other like they did on Union, it doesn't have that album's infuriating stink of insincerity, and I'll continue to stand by Jon Davison not nearly deserving the hate he gets (no singer in existence has the ability to perfectly fill Anderson's shoes and I think he does a perfectly fine enough job). I do get the feeling they were actually trying with this one but I was already kinda insulted that they decided to keep going after Squire's passing and listening to the results elicits a very similar pit-of-my-stomach feeling that Union did. I just can't sign off on any of it, it frankly makes Heaven & Earth look like a dignified sendoff
Mirror To The Sky is at the very least not... THAT bad? the production is once again the worst aspect, super thin and undercooked and lacking the punch of their best material, but at least it's just Heaven & Earth level weak and not The Quest level of unlistenable. the attempts at making grander-sounding arrangements are more successful, the synths fit better into the mix and aren't quite as cheesy or overbearing, and the orchestral arrangements are actually produced to sound like orchestral arrangements instead of cheap knockoffs. the tracklisting is much more of a mixed bag, there's tracks like "Luminosity" which are super tedious and saccharine and boring and made me want to poke my eyes out, but there are a couple of decent ones that have more of a pulse and a bit more life put into them like "Cut From The Stars" or "Living Out Their Dream" that I didn't mind, and the album is almost singlehandedly saved by the title track which is legitimately really good, that track actually delivers on its 14-minute scope without ever feeling meandering and the orchestral arrangements really amp it up further, with some better production this track would've fit perfectly alongside the tracklisting of Magnification and even been one of the better tracks on there, easily the best individual track they've made since Fly From Here. alas one really good track does not a good album make, I'm probably never going to listen to it again, and I still probably like Heaven & Earth a bit more for having more high points that I can actually remember and having more key band members that I can still recognize the performances of, but it at least clears the "okay" bar and christ I'll take what I can get with them at this point, given how many key members are either gone or dead now this could've ended up way worse. now if they would PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD RETIRE AND LEAVE THEIR LEGACY WITH SOMETHING VAGUELY RESEMBLING DIGNITY that would be nice
Beginning: Alright, I understand this is your opinion and will keep an open mind.
#21: Close to the Edge
This may be harder than I thought
Edit: Nice fakeout lol
Yeah, he got me. I completely destroyed my den before I figured he was kidding.
LOL!!!
I'd like to see more of these non-electronic videos more often, would serve as a nice breather in a way and would add some variety to the channel.
I second this
I third this
I fourth this
Asking what your favourite band is is the one question where you could say "Yes" and it wouldn't just be an ironic answer
Well well well
We meet again, kaisenberg
Pleaseee do a pink floyd ranking... I think you'd be great at doing a ranking of there albums
Or Rush
He did it finally
Thanks for those rankings of Fly From Here, Going For The One, and Time and A Word. I have watched a ton of Yes worst to best list videos and if I had to rank them worst to best, yours would be number 1.
"Leave It" was sampled in your favourite song of all time and you didn't even bring it up.
this video was long enough as is lol
I've known about Yes for a long time but never really looked into them until you uploaded this video. My dad had 90125 on vinyl but it really wasn't my thing. But after listening to stuff like Close to the Edge and Tales from the Topographic Oceans, I'm really starting to like these guys. 90125 has also been growing on me and is now one of my favorites.
Have you heard anything by Genesis or Mike Oldfield? They are two of my favorite progressive rock artists.
I think Yes goes under a lot of people's radar. Everyone knows Pink Floyd and Rush but Yes somehow get overlooked these days. Maybe that's starting to change a little bit I don't know.
Wow, you're tough on To Be Over! I love the harmonies where they sing "After all, you're soul will still surrender...." But you are an intelligent and thoughtful reviewer. Much respect.
That ending is amazing; one of my favorite yes moments
My spiritual awakening happened while listening to "To Be Over." I'm possible to forget it.
I'm a long time, 56 year old Yes fan. To Be Over is the only track from the first run of albums that bores me. No offense to anyone. I think it's because it comes after the very intense Sound Chaser. It leaves me flat. To each his own.
35:15 Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan the closing of to be over is the most emotional thing I have head Yes do, how can you don't like it???? Have you hear the counterpoint of the two melodies blending to each other?
That’s the only part of To Be Over I don’t like😭
Are you familiar with the band Van Der Graaf Generator by any chance? And if you have, could you do a ranking on them? They are an oustanding prog rock band.
Hell yes (hurr urr durr)
I love Yes's material and it has been a huge source of inspiration for me as a musician. Glad to see you have good taste outside electronic music as well.
Thanks - I just listened through the whole thing. I have been kind of a half-assed fan of Yes since childhood.
The first album I heard was actually Yessongs (live) which had just come out when I heard it at about the age of six. Even at that very young age I was blown away, and it imprinted something on me!
I was in high school when 90215 came out and agree with you, there's not a bad song on it. I had not listened to a lot of Yes other than some compilations since then, but recently at the age of 53(!) I have started listening to some of the older albums that I had never heard in full before.
I also recently discovered the Steven Wilson remixes, and have been listening to the remixed version of The Yes Album. I agree with you about that record - it's fantastic. I love to listen to it while driving. I simply can't stay in a bad mood listening to "Starship Trooper." It's just so exuberant and uplifting, it always makes me feel better. A Venture is slightly disappointing, though - I always want that song to have a third verse and finish the story. There's a longer version that presumably wouldn't fit on the original vinyl release, and it's fine, but it still doesn't really finish the story. Oh well. It's still a terrific album.
Overall I am very pleased to hear that this music from my childhood can still inspire discerning listeners who are less than half my age. That really says a lot about how at least some of the band's material is truly classic and timeless!
Great to see another Yes ranking! I do think you should’ve included ABWH but overall this list is pretty solid.
I judge the Keys to Ascension albums by the studio tracks only (basically judging both as Keystudio) but if I were to compare the two, I’d go with Keys 2. I don’t really care for That, That Is all that much but absolutely love Mind Drive.
I agree that To Be Over is kind of a dud compared to the other two tracks on Relayer, but Gates and Sound Chaser are just so fantastic that it doesn’t hurt the album that much for me.
The short tracks on Fragile are definitely the one thing holding it back, but I don’t really mind We Have Heaven, The Fish, or Mood For a Day (and as you said, Long Distance Runaround and The Fish pretty much go together). I also hard disagree on Heart of the Sunrise - it’s the band’s best work IMO. Still think it belongs in the top 3 at least.
I don’t actually mind 90125 but I’d listen to most of the band’s catalog before it.
I really don’t care for GFTO as much as most fans. Maybe it’ll grow on me in the future, but I’ve always found most of the songs on it “alright”, but comparatively kind of dull. Even Awaken has kind of a weak middle section despite a fantastic first and last movement. I really love Turn of the Century, though.
I’ve always held Time and a Word to be just an extension of the debut, unformed and unfinished with the orchestra barely holding it together. Astral Traveller is the only track that really clicks for me, and I especially don’t care for the covers.
Huh, we have almost identical opinions on CTTE. Well, I don’t have an issue with the church organ, but I’m with you on And You and I being weaker than the other two tracks and Siberian Khatru being the best.
Aaaaand we almost 100% agree on Tales too, I never understood the hate for it either.
I love The Yes Album but don’t really have the same connection with it that you do.
Here’s my ranking at the moment:
21. Open Your Eyes
20. Union
10. Talk
18. Heaven and Earth
17. Tormato
16. Yes
15. Time and a Word
14. Big Generator
13. The Ladder
12. 90125
11. Going for the One
10. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
9. Fly From Here
8. Keystudio
7. Drama
6. Magnification
5. The Yes Album
4. Relayer
3. Tales from Topographic Oceans
2. Fragile
1. Close to the Edge
@@thekannenball What's wrong with Homeworld?
@@thekannenball Taste's subjective anyways, I'd love to know what specific things you dislike about it.
It’s good to know someone else who fell in love with this type of music before getting into electronic. I love Yes, and the atmosphere they captured, more so during their early era.
When I saw the icon to your video I thought you were Steve Wilson haha it's like as if he was John and Hank Green's brother :P Loved your video! Excited to look at others as I'm just getting into electronic music (really liked The Orb's Adventures and I can see you have a video on that)
One of my all time favorite bands, saw them every time they came to NYC, Yes in the round at MSG was just magical. I get strange looks blasting my yes music in the car, it really needs to be played loud. Great to see younger folks enjoying this music. Thanks for the list
Finally one critic giving The Yes Album its deserved 1st!! That album is amazing.
You maybe know this, but pretty much everyone in the band has disowned Union in the years since. A lot of the playing on the album is session guys, not even the band. It was basically glued together from tracks that ABWH might have put on a second album and other tracks the 90125 version of Yes had around, too. Anderson basically led the effort, with differing degrees of involvement from the others, and I guess it was thought that the differences between the two line ups could be leveled out by having the sessions guys play on a lot of it. That seems to be a key reason its so bleh on so much of it.
An Excellent review and I'm tickled pink that my favourite Yessongs are some of his - South Side, Siberian Khatru and Time and a Word.
Regarding the albums I love every moment from Close to the Edge and most of Fragile but could not find one thing to like on Topografic Oceans or Relayer in the 1970s. I've tried again 40 yrs later and I still don't get them, whats wrong with my ears?
Perhaps one last try is to buy the whole albums and play it in the car driving away on a long trip.
That could do it!!
I haven't really listened to yes or most of the bands you mentioned you might make a worst to best on, but i think I'll give them a shot, i like you making some videos that are not about electronic music. Also, what do you think about Godspeed You black Emperor? I remember you mentioned them in your this binary universe review and i remembered them when you were talking about the long suite tracks.
I've only heard their album "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" and haven't listened to it in a while but I remember that album being pretty awesome
The Wonky Angle Same here
That is some good shit!
Didn't expect this from you, but it's really cool that you did. Also please do Pink Floyd, because we all know a certain Melon who refuses to rank them...
I found this to be a very rare satisfyingly thoughtful review. Splendid job sir.
Cool :) you should do Vangelis since Jon did vocals on a bunch of them.
My personal ranking
#1: Close to the Edge
#2: Fragile
#3: The Yes Album
#4: Going for the One
#5: Relayer
#6: Tales from Topographic Oceans
#7: Drama
#8: Time and a Word
#9: 90125
#10: Keys to Ascension 2
#11: Keys to Ascension 1
#12: Self titled debut album
#13: Fly from Here
#14: Magnification
#15: Tormato
#16: The Ladder
#17: Open Your Eyes
#18: Union
#19: Big Generator
#20: Talk
#21: Mirror to the Sky
#22: The Quest
#23: Heaven and Earth
Agree almost entirely with this, although I’d have TFTO at the top. 90125 seems pretty widely revered I think by now- not so much a “sell out” album as much as Trevor Rabin taking his Rabbit sound to Yes- it worked great. Okay I’m ready for the Alan Parsons Project now. :)
Relayer is the best
I agree with you on "Time And A Word." Title track is in my top five Yes songs, maybe even top three.
Oha, what an unusual ranking. There are many surprises for me, just like your No. 7 is my favourite album. Why are so many lightyears between the 1st one and Time and a word? For me as a Yes-fan it looks like a ruffle.
Hey I know this video was released a while back but I'm wondering what you think of return trip?
Yesss, Yes!!! All about the prog rock my dude, also wouldnt be complaining if you ended up dabbling in some Phych if thats also your cup of tea.
Do you like Krautrock?
well I like Kraftwerk
(admittedly haven't listened to a lot of Can, Faust, Neu! or that kind of stuff and I really need to, I do like what I've heard from them)
Please do check that genre out. You wont be disappointed.
A Can worst to best would be marvellous
I did like you had Time And A Word so high i really love that album as well, it has a great flow and for me feels like a stand out on it's own album , all decent tracks.
You expect me to schedule a work day to watch a ranking of the whole Yes discography?
Cool, why not.
Where would you put the Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Wakeman album in you could include it in this ranking, (I know it’s not a YES album in name, but it is in spirit)
I’ve realised the 90125 Silver Cover probably relates to 1983 being their 25th year ...and good on your dad for spreading the word. The closest my lad gets to Prog is the british band “ Elbow “ whom confuse me as Guy the singer sounds like PG . YOU are extremely thorough and certainly love Yes . Great Stuff mush. Cu 👍👍
Check your math. 1983-1968=15
Close to the edge wasn't always a revered album at least not the way it is now. These days it seems to rank with in the court of the crimson king and dark side of the moon but for the longest time I think fragile was considered to be their crowning achievement and most well known(prog album anyway)album.
respectfully disagree.
CTTE was revered by serious music people (and stoners and wannabes) back in the day. I was in high school.
having said that, TYA was far more accessible and crowd friendly with non-hardcore yes fans. at first I disagreed with Mr. Wonky's top 3, especially that CTTE was not number one (much like Stairway to Heaven, Satisfaction & Hotel California, CTTE almost always get universal & automatic GOAT ratings) but I now kinda, grudgingly agree. TYA has 6 killer tracks and I wouldn't argue with any ranking of those songs.
and I get it, you have to be more hardcore and dedicated to invest 20+ minutes on one song (though I have done exactly that many, many times).
If Siberian Khatru is your favorite Yes song, that's funny because there's someone else I watch on TH-cam who put Siberian Khatru at the top of his favorite Yes songs. And I'm sure other people have as well.
Overall an enjoyable video, even though I disagree in places, more in relation to individual tracks than the albums themselves, i.e. songs that I like that you don't, but that's gotta be inevitable.
Speaking of which, how about a top 10 Yes songs?
Also you mentioned Vangelis, which makes me wanna ask, when are you gonna get around to cover some of his stuff? I know not all his work can be considered electronic perse, but on the other hand, I haven't seen anyone else on TH-cam talk about Vangelis, like, ever, so it would certainly be nice.
I don't feel like doing a full-on video of the top 10 Yes songs so here's a quickly thrown-together list as a reply
10. And You And I
9. Magnification
8. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed
7. Yours Is No Disgrace
6. Fly From Here (full suite)
5. Roundabout
4. The Revealing Science of God
3. South Side Of The Sky
2. I've Seen All Good People
1. Siberian Khatru
HMs: Awaken, Going For The One, Owner of a Lonely Heart, Into The Lens, Changes, The Gates of Delirium, Rhythm of Love, That, That Is
The Wonky Angle good list
I LOVE 90125, and no one will ever convince me otherwise. Great list!!!
I had to get that comment off my chest BEFORE I’d even listened to your presentation young fella - apologies - but those two I just cannot deal with and never will now ! I too was a late-comer to them in as much as I missed their “ glory days “ by being a budding Punk but my ears and soul were ignited when at 13 in 1977 “ Wonderous Stories “ was released as a single ( the same time as “ Dreams “ by Fleetwood Mac. Anyway , I continued loving TheStranglers etc but caught up with all their output from the ‘ Hairy Fairy ‘ days of the 70s and up to Drama . But come 90125 they and Genesis etc and Floyd were becoming Pop or Politics so I went elsewhere for my escapist or interesting music..it wasn’t until 2010 when off-work , when my 17 yr old showed me YT and to my astonishment, Yes hadn’t fizzled out after 90125 but had released god knows a whole lot of stuff that - in spite of the over production etc , compared to a lot of the ‘ wallpaper ‘ bollocks of the likes of Coldplay , they were still more interesting than many. Heaven and Earth is absolute crap. Why didn’t they get a girl to sing ? At least make a change 😀🏴😇❤️Great Work and thank the gods some youngsters know good music when they hear it . Regards from Wessex
You are right with saying 90125 is good album in my opinion its in third place in my list worst to best !!!!!
Interestingly enough Prophet from Time and a word is one my favourite Yes songs out there, it does start a bit slow but the song's climax is addicting to listen to.
I love how u referenced to be continued and had it say obligatory joke that was funny
i think this dude's comments are very interesting, and his list order is solid, though he underrates relayer. i totally disagree with him about To Be Over, its one of my favorite Yes songs. and my other quibble is i think he ranks Tormato too low. but his comments about a lot of the albums and especially Tales are very insightful and show he really gets it. and his top 3 are great choices.
Here are my rankings!
1. Close To Edge
2. Tales From Topographic Oceans
3. Relayer
4. Going For The One
5. Fragile
6. Tomato
7. Drama
8. The Yes Album
9. Time And A Word
10. Self Titled
11. Union
12. Magnification
13. The Ladder
14. Fly From Here
15. 90125
16. Big Generator
17. Talk
18. Heaven And Earth
19. Open Your Eyes
Seriously Wonky thanks for making me a prog head from your Q&A video!
Tormato that high? Union not at the bottom? Magnification and Fly From Here that low? What gives?
Soarel personally I don’t get the hate for Tomato and Union (a lot of my favourite songs from them come from those albums)
Don’t get me wrong I like Magnification (hell I agree with everything that Tommy said about that album) but there are some days were it doesn’t click with me fully:P
And Fly From Here while it has a great suite like most people I’m not too huge on the second side.
@@patricklauer4452 The absolute mess that Union was in the studio just ruins it for me. Half the instruments on there aren’t even played by members of Yes
Soarel i Know:P
But I can’t help but enjoy it
@@soarel325 union is far worse than Tormato...Tormato is underrated...so FANTASTIC songs on that..way better than the crap after Talk
Great job!!
i actually don't mind union, i feel it deserves more credit than it got
Time and a word rules!!! The Prophet
Please do an Alan Parsons Project retrospective
Yeah, I agree there!
I never thought I'd see TFTO that high on a list like this, I respect the hell out of it
My dad said that 90125 is his favorite album of all time. so there´s that. :)
Actually... I am gonna bring a little story time here. :D ... mainly just for fun, but also to help understand, why music like this really meant a lot to people like my parents. Firstly, I am from Slovakia and my parents were born in 1966 and 1967. Why is this important to tell? Well, because at the time Czechoslovakia was not a free and democratic country. There was a lot of influence from the Soviet Union and the Communistic party really tried hard to maintain an image of a great follower to the big neighboring brother at the time. Then came 1968 and the tanks came to Czechoslovakia when the Soviet party had a feeling that we are not being a great communistic state and occupied our country up until 1989 (last tank left sometimes in 1991). So while in America, the 70s are mostly being remembered for the hippies, in Czechoslovakia it is mainly remembered as a time of normalization, where everything that was not communistic, or was considered dangerous was immediately prohibited.
So as you can imagine, the music here was affected by this as well. Many great bands and artists from the west couldn´t make it into our country as their music was mostly banned. But sometimes you could buy some worthy LP´s, because not everything was completely prohibited, or if you were lucky you could get some good music from black market (people in the streets selling records while they traveled to Austria). Now, my dad and mom were both musicians and as I understood, she was looking for a gift for my dad. Now he was a big fan of rock music. To this day his favorite artist are bands like Def Leppard or Foreigner etc. And while browsing in a record shop my mom found 90125 and just listened there for a couple of samples of the songs and she immediately knew that this is something he would like. While the shop owner was fairly surprised as nobody was actually interested in that kind of music in Czechoslovakia back then. We had our own big names (mainly Helena Vondráčková and Karel Gott). So she bought this record for him... and he said that is the one record he can listen anytime and enjoy it. He never heard anything from Yes before and as far as I know they were not big in our radios back in the times. But this was something like a treasure for him and enjoyed that album ever since. :)
End of story time. :)
I've watched well over ten of these now----how does Tormato always come so low, it's my fav of theirs, i love all of it. i thought some of the best musical moments ever, i love Madrigal as a ballad, On The Silent Wings Of Freedom is my third fav track by them, i love Circus Of Heaven and the middle section of Arriving UFO is a fantastic musical passage. ----Your not on your own though most people rank this low. the bass player in one of my bands also likes this as his fav
Jesus Christ you almost gave me a heart attack with that #21 fake out lol
Are most of us electronic heads also prog heads? Seemingly a lot more similarities between the two genres than people realize.
The guit intro on CTTE is fabulous!!! Gates... is a war song remind me Giger and Alien things... And Moraz solo...
So for me, i always thaught that a group make no more than 5 best albums...
YES:
1. Close...
2. Relayer
3. Tales...
4. Fragile
5. Yes album
PINK FLOYD:
1. Dark side...
2. Animals
3. Wish you...
4. Meddle
5. Atom... or... The wall
KING CRIMSON:
1. In the court...
2. Red
3. Discipline
4. Lark's...
5. Starless...
GENTLE GIANT:
1. Octopus
2. In the glass house
3. Three friends
4. Acquiring the taste
5. Free hands... or First
GENESIS:
1. Selling...
2. Foxtrot
3. The lamb...
4. Nursery cryme
5. A trick...
VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR:
1. Pawn hearts
2. Still life
3. Godbluff
RUSH:
1. Moving pictures
2. Permanent waves
3. 2112
JETHRO TULL:
1. Thick...
2. Aqualung
3. Passion play
SUPERTRAMP:
1. Crime...
2. Even...
3. Breakfast...
Tales from Topographic Oceans is absolutely brilliant.
U r correct imo - “ Keys “ is where they did re-awaken . How many BANDS release stuff that good in their 4th decade ? 👍
I normally agree with your comments - BUT you are so off regarding Relayer. It and Close to the Edge are their crowning achievements. And To Be Over is a beautiful closer to this amazing album. To put releases like Magnification and Fly From Here above it is mind boggling. Even Going for the One pales in comparison. Howe's guitar work is stellar throughout the whole album, Moraz's keyboard's are better than anything Wakeman has done since Tales, everyone is in top form here, and the shear creative power displayed in this release is mind blowing.
Relayer, like the other Yes 70's classics, takes you on a magnificent journey where as the later stuff take you nowhere. And where i love Anderson's vocals in the early works i find it tedious in the later. The only downside to Relayer is the not so crisp production that the earlier releases had - hence it's difficult hearing Squire and White at times cause they're so recessed. Anyway, to each his/her own.
I remember when I was 23 and Yes were my favourite band and could do no wrong. Very nice to hear a young person’s perspective on their albums even if I don’t agree with all of it except Open Your Eyes, which is despicable shit.
It would be a good idea if you could do something about prog rock videos
Music Collector 47 yeah
Big Generator is one of my favorites, but I love big 80's guitar!
Last one - Time and a Word is Brilliant. Energy and originality. And the cover is cool also. 😎
Dude I agree about To Ascend. Heaven and Earth is not that great of an album but To Ascend is really nice and I don't see it mentioned much by other fans. Edit: also Into the Lens is easily in my top five favorite Yes songs.
I understand the hate on Union but I’ve always enjoyed it. Especially “Miracle Of Life”
5. Going For The One
4. Fragile
3. Relayer
2. Close To The Edge
1. Tales From Topographic Oceans
'Talk' is a fantastic album. Have you actually heard it?
you gave me a heart attack when mentioning close to the edge at first, thank god you were joking
What do you think about their new album? Is it better than the 90s stuff?
it was basically Heaven & Earth Part 2 and slightly weaker than that project. idk if it's higher than the self-titled but that's about where I'd put it
so technically yes it's better than the 90s stuff but not by much
The best one with Rabin, 90125. However, my brother, John, introduced me to Fragile which I prefer.
The beginning of The Ancient foreshadowed the begging of Changes.
Beginning
Indeed. When I first listened to 90125 and got to Changes I immediately thought of The Ancient. I've always considered the beginning of The Ancient to sound way ahead of its time.
Yes is my favorite band. The Big Generator is the most underrated.
I tried to do a ranking but it's so hard...
*-* _Bottom tier:_ These albums barely even have a good song, if they have one at all.
*19. Open Your Eyes*
It's one of the worst thing I have *ever* heard.
*18. The Ladder*
It's not as bad as Open Your Eyes, but it doesn't have a good song.
*17. Big Generator*
*16. Tormato*
Rhythm of Love is probably better than anything that is on Tormato, but as a whole the album doesn't sound as grating, maybe? And Tormato has two okay songs, while Big Generator only has one. But they are very close, you can probably switch them.
*15. Keys To Ascension 2*
This album doesn't have a single good song, but as a whole it doesn't sound as grating as Big Generator or Tormato. But maybe I'm being too nice with it, the material *is* extremely poor and weak.
*-* _Bad tier:_ These albums are bad, but they have one great song.
*14. Union*
If it didn't have Shock to the System it'd hang around near The Ladder.
*13. Going For The One*
If it didn't have Wonderous Stories it'd hang around near The Ladder. But, maybe it's a little bit slightly less bad than Union.
*12. Magnification*
This is probably the nicest-sounding bad Yes album, but the material is some of the weakest. If you took out Spirit of Survival I'm afraid it would hang around near The Ladder, but it would remain above Union and Going For The One.
*11. Keys To Ascension*
It's weird to rank such a short album, but That, That Is is a 19-minute song, so that's 19 minutes of good music.
*-* _Mediocre tier:_ These albums are bad, but they have two great songs.
*10. Talk*
When this album gets bad, it can get horrendously bad. It's ranked so high because of I Am Waiting and Real Love.
*9. Drama*
Like Talk, the only reason it's ranked so high is because it has two great tracks, Into The Lens and Tempus Fugit. But taking these two out would put it in the bottom tier for sure.
*-* _God tier:_ These albums range from good to flawless.
*8. Yes*
*7. Time And A Word*
I put it higher than Yes because it has more good or interesting songs.
*6. 90125*
Seriously, you could switch it with Time And A Word.
*5. Tales From Topographic Oceans*
Not a flawless album, but it has some of the best music you'll ever hear.
*4. Fragile*
A weird and flawed album. Side 2 is where it gets really good, and Heart of the Sunrise is my favorite song of all time.
*3. The Yes Album*
A more solid album than Fragile.
*2. Relayer*
This record approaches perfection...
*1. Close To The Edge*
This record attains it.
59:27 that track is a beast, i agree
Hmmmm I should check out that art of noise album
My top five (in order) are Relayer, CTTE, 90125, Talk and Fly From Here: Return Trip. I like Drama, Tales..., Fragile and part of Union and Big Generator quite a bit as well.
The reason you don't like Talk is you just don't like the aesthetic and/or didn't spend any real time with it. That's fine and all, but I think you'll change your opinion later on. Real music fans all eventually come around on AOR, yacht rock and the Westcoast-fusion aesthetic...maybe you just need a few more years to appreciate that level of crisp musicianship. I dunno.
I was wondering how this would pan out... You sir, have a wise head on young shoulders... That is until you hit Relayer... Ok, you don't really like parts of the album, that's a shame, but as you said in not so many words... To each their own.
Pleased with your positioning of Fly from Here, this was 21st century Fragile/Close to the Edge fusion for me. Fragile is a really excellent collection of tracks. You are missing Heart of the Sunrise... Maybe you would have a different view in another decade... We'll see !...
Genesis please!!
not enough of a Genesis fan to do a video like this for them sorry
The Wonky Angle hey do you like the Canadian rock band Rush?
I got to meet the lead singer Geddy Lee
If you go to my channel you’ll find the video of me meeting him
Btw I love your music I’ve always been inspired by your ytps and music
This dad is enjoying. Thanks kid!
Maybe you should do a video review on The Quest. See how a Yes album without Chris sounds.
nah I've heard it and it's just really boring. like Heaven & Earth Part 2
I'm curious if you like Genesis
For me, I like relayer or the yes album best
The extra tracks on Tormato beat the actual released stuff in my humble opinion.
Hahahaha! Saw Big Generator tour! Tight set!!!
At least you understand that time and a word is a great album
Moody for a day rules as does Heart of the Sunrise
Only dud on Fragile is 5% which is 1 min lots of filler on 90125
New M83 album... temple of sorrow is pretty decent : D
1) Close To The Edge (1972)
2) Fragile (1971)
3) Going For The One (1977)
4) The Yes Album (1971)
5) Drama (1980)
6) Time And a Word (1970)
7) ABWH (1989)
8) 90125 (1983)
9) Talk (1994)
10) Tormato (1978)
11) Keys To Acension (1997)
12) Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973)
13) Relayer (1974)
14) Yes (1969)
15) Fly From Here (2011)
16) The Ladder (1999)
17) Big Generator (1987)
18) The Quest (2021)
19) Heaven and Earth (2014)
20) Union (1991)
21) Open Your Eyes (1997)
22) Magnification (2001)
What on earth I’ve seen this before, and my ranking is terrible
2 years since I last ranked them, I’ve listened to yes whole discography numerous times since
1. Close to the Edge
2. Going For The One
3. Relayer
4. The Yes Album
5. Drama
6. 90125
7. Fragile
8. Magnification
9. Keys To Ascension
10. The Ladder
11. Time And A Word
12. ABWH
13. Tormato
14. Mirror To The Sky
15. Tales Of A Topographic Ocean
16. Talk
17. Fly From Here
18. Yes
19. The Quest
20. Big Generator
21. Heaven And Earth
22. Union
23. Open Your Eyes
Very last one - you’re at no. 3 - if “ Tales “ is your no. 1 , I’ll let you join my gang for sure . 🏴🧚♀️
IMO Heaven and Earth should be so much lower, like between Union and Open Your Eyes... The songs aren't bad, albeit mostly forgettable, but the real issue is Jon Davison... He's not even a bad replacement, especially on the road, but in the studio, for that release at least, he sounds like he's afraid to, unsure how, or just unable to tackle material that is new. His singing is so much more muted and flat than it COULD have been and it brings the whole album down quite a bit. There's a few other's I'd move around slightly but that's really the only one I'd quibble about.
I'm quite curious where on the list you'd put The Quest now that it's out.
The Quest is between Union and Talk for me, basically found it to be like Heaven & Earth again without that album's standouts. it does feel like they had more heart put into the project than something like Union (and I personally don't agree with your observation on Davison, I can't really judge any Yes replacement singer too harshly since Anderson's voice & vocal range is so ridiculously difficult for literally anyone to replicate) but the songs just aren't there, the production is still really subpar and the fact that they thought it was a good idea to keep going without Chris Squire very much bothers me
90125 is a commercial sellout and no its NOT bad but its not better than Fragile dork
Do the MOODY BLUES!!!
Listen to only two of their albums, but that's pretty much the most I'm interested from them:
2. Close to the Edge, more consistent but lacks higher heights
1. Fragile, has some weaker tracks, but overall pretty amazing, and Roundabout is pretty much their best song, and maybe a top 5 prog song in history
i was about to say if you put close to the edge on the bottom you were gonna get death threats
one of theeee best bands that ever made music
Fragile at # 7? interesting. i feel like it needs to be top 3
I judge these kinds of things on how much I actually played them. Therefore, 1 Topographic Oceans, 2 Relayer, 3, Close to the Edge, 4 Fragile 5, Time and a Word, 6 The Yes Album.
Relayer so low?!!!!! What is this man smoking
To be continued
Interesting list......totally disagree with most of what you said by the way, but as you rightly said, music is a subjective journey, travel as you will. Here’s how I rank them.
20 Open Your eyes
19 Heaven and Earth
18 KeysStudio
17 Magnification
16 Fly From Here
15 Union
14 Big Generator
13 Yes
12 Drama
11 Time and a Word
10 Tormato
9 The Ladder
8 90125
7 Tales From Topographic Oceans
6 Talk
5 The Yes Album
4 Close To The Edge
3 Relayer
2 Fragile
1 Going For The One
I need a lil kid to tell me how to rank my Yes albums after being a 45 year fan lol