When Did Yes Go Bad?

Well we knew it was coming, a discussion on the almighty Yes and when they dipped. We look forward to hearing from you all on this subject. These are very interesting to dive into!
#vinylcommunity #progrock #vinylcollection #yes

[@davemurphy3275]

I was listening to music the other night, and thought , dermot, Tara ...........when did Hawkwind go bad .

[@SpinninProg]

Interesting. They seemed capable of space surfing into different dimensions of sound while keeping the core of their essence intact. I hope that sounds sci fi enough. 😂

[@user-zn4is6nd5v]

Another fantastic episode! when did Yes go bad is an eternal question! Can it ever be truly answered???? I really don't know when Yes wavered....

[@SpinninProg]

Yes. This was a difficult one and we've had lots of different views on it in the comments. They certainly had a few ups and downs. 😁👍

[@georgeprior-vinylshowtell4934]

Great vid yet again 🙂 The last great album for me is Drama - and it is GREAT. A real return to form after the lacklustre Tormato. 90125 was such a departure after that. For me they didn't go downhill, they fell off a cliff. That's it for Yes for me. With such an excellent output '69 to '80, that is enough. Interesting topic BTW about Steve Howe as a singer. It's so strange as a solo artist the vocals were not strong, yet as harmony within the band it worked beautifully.

[@SpinninProg]

Agree with everything. Good point about Howe's vocals. Very true. 👍

[@PhilipRandall-sl2hi]

I’d love to be original but must agree that Going For The One was their last great album, after that despite some decent tracks on a forever dwindling standard of album produced, they never regained the feel of their early albums for me. It seems a coincidence that Tormato like And Then There Were Three was released in 1978 but much of the music I loved took a downturn around this time unfortunately. Great to hear your well informed views as always, keep up the good work!

[@SpinninProg]

Thanks very much Philip, we agree with you! We tried to be open minded about the 80's stuff but realistically the last great album was 'Going for the One'

[@txikilin]

I couldn't agree more.

[@josephgerard5473]

When did Yes go bad? Straight after 'Drama'. The 1980s Yes recordings ought to be surgically expunged from reality. Normal service was resumed with The Ladder and Keys To Ascension (which should have been issued as a single studio album anyway). However, there is that grotesque grim and grotty snooze-fest known as Open Your Eyes. How can we 'open our eyes' when they release an album designed to send us to sleep after 30 seconds? Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Big Generator and Talk is it? Feck! Arse! Gurls!

[@SpinninProg]

Brilliant!!!! You should enjoy the video. 😂😂😂

[@bk4885]

Agreed but the ladder does nothing for me

[@FormulaProg]

Absolutely not. 90125 is a progressive pop masterpiece from beginning to end. What makes yes the greatest of all the prog groups is that versatily to adapt and overcome. Without that era of the band, yes are just another 70s progressive band that were great but wouldn't be considered the band they are today without the 80s.

[@nectarinedreams7208]

90125 is very good. Everything after that is very far from good.

[@SpinninProg]

@@FormulaProg "progressive pop masterpiece" sounds like a bit of an oxymoron to me. 😂

[@mattharwood4413]

I was still working in record stores when 90125 came out. I was appalled. If their decline had started earlier, it was clear by that it had by that album! But that’s the same time that Genesis clearly was crashing and didn’t know where to go ( previously discussed Abacab) I think the change in the music scene in the 80s left a lot of the 60s and 70s bands, unsure of where to go musically, especially prog, PS. I’ve been chuckling ever since I saw the announcement of this video coming out!! 😂 Matt in LA.

[@SpinninProg]

Thanks a million Matt, glad you enjoyed!

[@paulobrienmus]

I love Rael's documentaries, so informative & well presented.

[@SpinninProg]

He's absolutely fantastic!

[@georgeprior-vinylshowtell4934]

I agree, it is an absolute event when one of his vids come out.

[@martinboucher1305]

Oooh...looking forward to this one....

[@davidcox3833]

Saw Yes at Sheffield City Hall in '71. Amazing gig. Then in '73, a month before the release of Topographic Oceans. They started by playing Topographic Oceans in its entirety. They went off and came back to play Heart of the Sunrise and Roundabout I think. The End. A lot of the crowd, myself included, were not pleased.

[@SpinninProg]

I've heard similar stories from other people who saw them at that time. Vinyl Monkey said the crowd were booing them in Newcastle when they did it! 🤣

[@davemurphy3275]

Great show. Yes went bad at almost the same time the album covers became bad. Big generator, 902, . Agree with your comments, sorry we never got another topographic or relayer. .when did VDGG go bad . Cheers

[@SpinninProg]

I think when Jackson left VDGG they lost such an integral part of their sound

[@stevesmith3990]

Tormato suffered from a lack of budget and recording time which meant they wern't able to spend the time exploring the music for months on end like they had for all their previous albums. Over the years I have bought every Yes album and tried to like them but have been mostly disappointed since Drama. The Rabin albums are not Yes, period. Dermot - think yourself lucky you didn't see the Drama tour - Trevor Horn sounded like a strangled cat all the way through the show! Thanks for the fun vid.

[@SpinninProg]

Great😂. I have to agree. A methodology and cultural change in the 80s stuff contaminated them and has continued. It's extreme to say they're not Yes. Bug I think you may be right. The more I've looked into these bands and their catalogue, the more I realise that what they are is about how they operate. When that changes, they crease to be. 👍

[@markspooner1224]

Great Yes talk, for me I absolutely loved Yes from The Yes Album up to Relayer and maybe Going for the One but as for the rest some I like quite a lot and the others I no longer bother with.

[@SpinninProg]

Absolutely agree Mark, we tried to be open minded about the 80's stuff but realistically it was very downhill

[@txikilin]

About the covers, I think it has to do with the punk era. Fantasy was erased by scruffy collage, and simplicity.

[@SpinninProg]

@@txikilin Yes. Plus I think price was another factor. Record companies just regarded it as packaging. 👍

[@danaaronmusic]

Very interesting discussion, but my take is somewhat different. Yes was great throughout the seventies, including the brilliant but misunderstood Tormato. They went bad in the eighties. They did three albums and I can't stand any of them. But they got good again with Talk and they got great again starting with Keys to Ascension. However, I have not listened to any of the recent post-Anderson albums. Keep up the great content!

[@SpinninProg]

Thanks great input. I agree with a lot of what you say. Keys to Ascension was a real glimpse into the fact that they could still pull it off. It's insane to think they followed up with Open Your Eyes. 😱

[@weitzen]

Yes are doing just fine thank you very much .... a great new album and superb performances on the recently completed UK tour!!! The show I saw was one of the best ever!! Open your eyes and ears folks and stop living in the past !!

[@SpinninProg]

Funny. I saw them on the last tour and they lacked energy and any sense of commitment. Never again. If you think their recent catalogue stacks up against their classic albums, there's a place for you in a mental institution. There's plenty of bands making good music out there. Enjoy them like I do. Now that would be opening your eyes and ears. The brand exists but not the band.

[@alltheworldsastage899]

Tales' and 'Relayer' did me in. I like 'Going for the One', but then they backtracked with 'Tormato.' I like 'Drama' and parts of '90125', everything after that is hit and miss.

[@SpinninProg]

We definitely agree with that!

[@martinboucher1305]

I was and still am a huge Yes fan and I agree with alot of what you say about Yes albums and when they went bad. I saw them on relayer tour & they played ritual from Tales & when I bought that album I couldn't get into it at all. Tormato also was not quite right but still has SOME decent tracks. I really like 90125 though. Maybe because I took my girlfriend (still together) to see them at Wembley & it was a brilliant concert. Big generator has two or three great tracks, but after that I completely lost interest in them. Thanks guys. Looking forward to your next video 🤘♥️🎵

[@SpinninProg]

Thanks Martin. Some great insights there. I took Tara to see Yes when she was only 10. It was her first concert. She loved it and I think that was a major thing that had her diving into my record collection. We hope we weren't too hard on them. I can usually find something positive to say about them. They didn't really fall off a cliff at all... Until recently. Speaking of relationships. I started a new relationship with the lovely Margaret three years ago and I brought her to see Yes on their recent "the quest" tour. My God!!!! It was an embarrassment. I'd seen Yes about five times previously and they always delivered. This was terrible, lacking in any energy or commitment. I thought it would be the end of the romance!!!! 😱 Luckily, she forgave me and we're still together. Did I learn my lesson?... No. I went out and bought Mirror to the Sky. It sounded great for the first three listens ... Then I just felt like I'd been had. It is an ersatz version of the band. It sounds similar, but there's an emptiness. I'm finally done. But I still have those wonderful albums they made and that's all I need. 👍

[@martinboucher1305]

Thanks Dermot & I am an old romantic and I love that we both took our girlfriends to a Yes gig! So Tara's furst gig was Yes. No wonder she is such a fan. Yes we're my second gig at aged 14 and I was all about them for years after that. Who are you doing next? I'm a huge Rush fan but you don't talk about them much. Is it because they're music isn't considered classic prog or are you not Rush fans? As you always say, we all like different stuff!

[@SpinninProg]

@@martinboucher1305 We do like Rush and maybe it's time we did a video on them. It's funny. I discovered Rush in the late 70s up to the mid 80s I would have had their records. Hemispheres was where I came in and went out at Grace Under Pressure. Then I came back to them again. Tara is more into their early catalogue. It's funny. They were the second band I brought her to. 😂

[@martinboucher1305]

Great! I discovered them when I saw their farewell to kings tour and I'm with Tara in preferring earlier stuff. Have a great day guys 🤘♥️🎵

[@SpinninProg]

@@martinboucher1305 Cheers. You too Martin. 👍

[@Wayner71]

With Yes there was always some good art in it. Sometimes more and sometimes less. When Genesis fell, they fell all the way down. Maybe deep down they know it as well. Cheers.

[@SpinninProg]

Very true. I think Yes still tried to make something worthwhile. Genesis just jumped into mediocrity with both feet. 👍

[@stevecowder4774]

I actually love discussing this controversial topic. Yes’s stark contrast in style from the seventies to the eighties has always been a constant issue, dividing the fandom. However, I can think of many other great ‘70s bands who were much worse in the 1980s 😆. At least Yes bounced back immensely with the enormously successful ‘ 90125. ‘ Although I’ll never be in need of hearing ‘ Owner’ again, one can never overlook that the album was one of the most important of that decade, especially from the lyrical angle. And yeah, It would have been dazzling to hear a longer version of the energetic ‘ Cinema ‘ 😮. But Yes was back and forth after the Going for the One album. There was just too many unfortunate, band member transitions. Honestly, I don’t think Drama is a bad album, all things considered. Naturally, it was difficult to accept the absence of Jon and Rick. I do think it’s fair to say that Tormato was definitely not their best work, aside from the catchy ‘ Release, Release. ‘ I gave Big Generator a chance, but after that, it was all over. Appreciate your thorough review of this topic.

[@SpinninProg]

Great comment. Yes. we agree with everything you say. Great insights. Thanks. 👍

[@chazblitz]

I think the first slight downturn was between Relayer and Going For The One. Even further downward with Tormato and up to the highest pinnacle with Drama. They never made a better album than Drama. Slight downward incline to Big Generator and after that...Yes walked the plank into shark infested water. I own nothing past Big Generator and have rarely heard anything from any incarnation of the band past Union. 70's and 80's Yes filled a space in time for me, but by the time of the Union debacle, I had moved on to harder edged music. Cool topic you two!

[@SpinninProg]

Thanks. That's a great insight. I stopped with Big Generator too. It was only at Keys to Ascension that I returned. That's been a rollercoaster ride through turd infested water. 👍

[@jasonshort1437]

I have a soft spot for 90125 and Big Generator because I had just discovered them and fell in love with them. But they started getting lame with Union in my opinion.

[@johncrocker-nh7ey]

I never wanted to give up on yes our own all of their albums up until drama and that pretty much nailed it for me I lost interest in the band and even on going for the one I could see where the band was changing and I was unable to it's not their fault I'll take all the blame very hard for me to say that a group with so much talent head lost their Edge I think I just grew in a different direction anyhow enjoy your insights but in my opinion Rory Gallagher still King of the Hill kicking everybody in the face that wants to try to reach the top

[@SpinninProg]

Great comment. I mostly agree with you.... Even on Rory. 😂👍

[@tableface77]

Drama was my first yes album and I loved it, so then had to go backwards to discover the earlier classics. Loved those too. Then along came 90125 with that burke Trevor Rabin. Pfft! horrible! Sounds like Starship. In my opinion, the only "ex" prog band that were doing anything interesting in the 80's were King Crimson. Now that was a band not afraid to change their sound, but remain fresh and spiky without having to resort to ya typical 1980's spandex clad, aerobics studio, AOR, soft poodle rock.

[@SpinninProg]

Agreed, Crimson really managed to do it right. The rest of them followed the crowd!

[@georgemathie8123]

Now I will defend the Trevor Rabin era to a certain point as I was a youngster this was my entry point was the MTV version of Yes and also how about Steve Howe and Asia and GTR as both the Rabin era and Steve Howe and Asia had 90125 and as it as it Asia's self titled which still had some elements of prog it's when you get to big generator, Alpha and GTR when all of the classic elements of yes are almost totally gone for a slick radio friendly sound which isn't what yes or their members were all about and Jon Anderson's 1980s solo albums weren't any better however I did like his guest vocals on Gowans 1987 hit moonlight desires

[@ericarmstrong6540]

Sounds like "Union" was Frankenstein's monster. All kinds of musicians (some of them not even in Yes) thrown into the mix to make this record. I saw Bill Bruford's name on the record and bought it. Big mistake!

[@SpinninProg]

Have to agree. 👍

[@ilabelle1]

Yes’ trajectory is similar to Jethro Tull’s. Once 1980 kicked in things started going downhill for Prog in general. It seems like when Genesis came out with Duke the priority switched from Prog integrity to friendly unit shifter. I can’t help but think the record companies were more about money than art. “We’re gonna drop you if you don’t start making viable product that sells X amount.” The beginning of the end for music in general. A&R men ruined artistic integrity in the world of the major record labels.

[@SpinninProg]

The Horslips told the story in the best way, they walked in for a meeting with the record company, had the hit Journey album presented to them and they were told to produce an album like that or they'd be dropped!

[@ilabelle1]

@@SpinninProg Money and art never mixed well. I’m familiar with the Horslips travesty. Unfortunately there are too many stories where the other side ruins an artist. Take a look at what happened to Badfinger.

[@newdawnofprog]

For me personally right after "Going for the One". I must admit, Yes is not my favorite band in the world, but from 71-77 they were musical giants. Cheers and all the best.

[@SpinninProg]

Very true! That was undeniably their prime!

[@LightBeamer777]

Yes is a band that is spotty for me. Close to the Edge (the song) is a spectacular masterpiece, and that's the way many of the early albums were. I love 1, 2 or3 songs and the rest are meh. The exceptions to that rule are the two that many Yes fans loathe...Tormato and Drama. I love both of those albums in their entirety. I also really like The Ladder. The new one, Mirror to the Sky, surprised me. It is really good, after 3 albums that were truly awful and boring...Fly From Here, The Quest, and Heaven and Earth. Union was a wasted effort, and Talk is the best from the Trevor Rabin era, although I really like Big Generator. Relayer is not for me with its jazz/fusion influence, and I could never really get into Topographic Oceans. I'm a real oddball when it come to the Yes catalog. It was interesting to hear your take.

[@SpinninProg]

Great to have your views and insights here. Although a big different from the herd, they're very valid. 👍

[@emdiar6588]

After Drama, they were done as far as I'm concerned. I mean, good on them for sorting their pensions out with 'Owner' but it's not for me. I saw them on the 90125 tour (I was 16) and it was disappointing. They had been my favourite band from the age of 12. Anyway, I discovered weed and GonG around the same time 90125 came out, so I had a whole other world to explore.

[@SpinninProg]

Fantastic, can't beat a bit of Gong! 🙌🏻

[@ElfinMan]

'I just wish it would stop' 😂

[@scottmcrae3355]

I was so worried you were going to throw shade at Big Generator. I only somewhat recently dicovered how good that album is. The only post Generator album that I know well is the Ladder which I really like as well. I tried to get through Union but couldn’t do it.

[@user-vy7fp8np1l]

I've just watched your video again because I knew there were a couple of comments I omitted to mention previously. I notice a few people state Going For The One was the last great Yes album. I agree with them. Why should this belief be stated by so many people? Well, my answer to that is simple: listen to Going For The One then listen to any of the albums they recorded in the 1980s. As for the current group that calls itself Yes...what's that? It's Steve Howe plus a bunch of backing musicians. Come on, let's face it, Yes will remain finished as an entity unless Jon Anderson and Steve Howe manage to repair their differences although (as one of my band members said) can Yes ever be 'Yes' again after the death of Chris Squire? Probably not, if we're to be brutally honest. Even though I enjoy parts of The Ladder and Keys To Ascension, do either of those match in quality and excitement any of the albums from 1969 to 1977? As that chap said: feck - arse - gurls!

[@SpinninProg]

Great comment. Couldn't agree more. 👍

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

"I just wish it would stop" - well, you can stop listening to them. I never heard any of the late Genesis stuff (although I remember seeing that silly walk video on MTV a few times back then). Now, if your job is to review them and make videos on their albums, you're stuck but it's for a good cause - you suffer so others don't have to ;)

[@SpinninProg]

We're hanging in there for the prog community. The trouble is that I keep thinking, "just one more album"... Hoping it might get better. 😂

[@danielfuentes3226]

It is a great show every band have their bad and great albums,but Yes is a great band."Morrison Hotel" by the Doors is my favorite album,behind you.

[@SpinninProg]

Glad we're agreed on Morrison Hotel. 👍

[@brianoakley980]

I'm not much of a fan to Post Going for the One, output to be honest, I genuinely believe that if some of the later LPs had been released by other bands we wouldn't even be talking about them...,Freddie Spencer summed it up beautifully and so eloquently back in the day when he was presented with a less than competitive Racing Motorcycle, he was asked But surely Freddie we can work on it and make it work" No replied Freddie " You can't polish a turd" it's almost Shakespearean isn't it?

[@SpinninProg]

Absolutely puts it perfectly Brian! 🤣

[@donaldanderson6604]

Steve Howe thought that 90125 was influenced by Asia. Fair point. Tormato had lots of good stuff but the album as a whole isn't up to scratch. I'm a hard core classic line up fan but I liked 90125. The Ladder was a slight return to form . When I saw the 35th anniversary tour it was clear that the best material was from the 70s.

[@SpinninProg]

The Ladder was a brief moment of greatness, short lived unfortunately

[@BrockwaysVinylBytes]

Not until after Magnification for me. 90125 and The Ladder are among my favourite Yes albums. Also, Trevor Rabin is one of my favourite musicians, and he’s still rocking while Howe is… well… not. (That new Rio album proves this! Trevor is brilliant) The current lineup of Yes, plays great live… but some of the material… I dunno! Lol…

[@ericarmstrong6540]

Yes did go bad; the only question for me is when did it happen? For me, 90125 was probably the last decent Yes album. When Jon Anderson and Chris Squire left the fold, Yes was dead to me. Now they are in the realm of self-parody.

[@SpinninProg]

Very true!

[@terrywalker8446]

Hi Spinnin' Proggers👋🏻 It's so hard to pinpoint where Yes went bad as they have such a patchy discography. Most albums have two or three decent tracks, the rest are meh!! Big Generator gets my vote as there's nothing memorable on there. The album artwork is equally uninspiring. I'm not sure that I agree with you guys that Wakeman was problematic. Howe, Squire, and Anderson had ego issues. Particularly Anderson. Remember, this was the guy who wanted to record Topographic Oceans outdoors, then relented but had straw bales and cardboard cows installed in the studio😳. It's telling that Bruford also jumped ship only a year before Wakeman left.

[@SpinninProg]

Hi Terry. Sorry I wasn't as quick to reply lately. We had a long weekend last weekend and I disappeared for a while. I'm trying to catch up since I came back. Point taken. After the video , we were talking about Anderson and his demands for tiles the same as his kitchen ones on rooms etc. He obviously went a bit crazy and his behaviour eventually brought them down in the late 70s. The point with Wakemsn, and I hate to say this, is that although a brilliant musician, he was an alcoholic. I also note that he would play on an album or two, be great, then walk away and slag off the band. I don't know what that was down to... But it has harmed their reputation. It must have been difficult, at times , to be around him. But point taken, there was a lot of excess involved with this band. I suppose, this was a reflective conversation. I'd agree too that there tend to be little nuggets. But our real insight after having this conversation is that 80s Yes became something other than the thing it had been and this tends to creep in now and again, since then. 😂👍

[@terrywalker8446]

@@SpinninProg Bloody hell Dermot. No need to apologise for late replies. I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my comments👍🏻

[@SpinninProg]

@@terrywalker8446 Thanks Terry. I enjoy our little chats. 👍

[@PatKennedydon]

I like 90125 and they had to change just like King Crimson did in the 80s, were they as good as the 70s, definitely not, but I like everything up to Magnifaction.

[@SpinninProg]

Yes. Magnification was a plateau alright. After that it seems to have been a real struggle to make an album. The factions and stupid fighting didn't help either. 👍

[@PatKennedydon]

@@SpinninProg In 2018 they remixed Fly From Here and called it Fly From Here - Return Trip and replaced the vocals with Trevor Horn singing, so it's the same lineup as Drama. The remix is better than the original and the vocals are better than Benoît David singing, but it's hard to make songs that were average better. But worth checking out if you haven't heard it. Also your show is probably the best on KZbin regarding Prog rock and I watch them all. Maybe it's because both of you are Irish and we Irish in general like to get to the point as I find a lot of those other shows waffle on a bit and seem to like everything and the fact your daughter is Tara and my daughter is called Tara and a similar age. Anyway great show.

[@user-vy7fp8np1l]

PS I wonder if it is actually possible to make any other videos on 'when a group went bad'. I mean, compared to Yes and Genesis, both of whom quite consciously attempted to turn themselves into 1980s pop groups, maybe all the other groups are not tainted in the same manner: King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Jethro Tull, ELP...possibly although I don't think 'went bad' can ever apply to King Crimson...maybe I'm biased!

[@SpinninProg]

No you're right. King Crimson always maintained the same creative execution when they made an album. I think those that "went bad" intentionally changed that at some time and ceased to have the same artistic culture as their previous work. 👍

[@jeremyorr9227]

Is there going to be a new video today?😁

[@mvjonsson]

The Union album was two albums, the ABWH second album plus the Yes West album. The production completely fell apart. Anderson and Howe did'nt get along and producer Jonathan Elias "saved" the sessions by bringing in sessionplayers that Howe and Wakeman doing the parts they did'nt want to or redoing them. Jimmy Haun did most if not all of Howe's parts. It would have been better with a separate ABWH album as their material is not bad. It is mainly the digital production by Elias that is horrible. "I wouldn't even trust Jonathan Elias with a food mixer" said Wakeman. 😂

[@TheProgCorner]

They never did!!!

[@minsterhill]

Never! Some sucky records but the band never was bad ;)

[@SpinninProg]

Fair point. Musicians of their calibre will always shine through. I think it was on the composition side that things took a general downturn. Although, you're right, little nuggets can shine through here and there. 👍

[@richard127gm]

What happened? People's personalities and egos is what happened. I like pretty much all of Yes' albums. But it's hard to continue to make music of the calibre of Close to the Edge and Relayer continually.

[@SpinninProg]

Very true Richard!

[@jean-lucpernel2202]

Bonsoir mes amis, le cas YES est particulier, ils commencent avec 2albums biens , changent de guitariste et allongent plusieurs grands albums ( dont Fragile) pour moi Tales of topographic océans " est le dernier ! Après une chanson de temps en temps et plus de grands albums ! Ce qui est normal l'inspiration n'est pas toujours au rendez vous!

[@SpinninProg]

Very good comment. Topographic was their artistic zenith. 👍

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

"Wake me up before you gogo" wasn't worse than "She loves you yeayeayeah", was it? Pop was always junk. And yes, that album with the numbers in the title was probably still better than most of the junk but I never bought it. I wouldn't say they went bad then, they just went somewhere else. The band was even supposed to have another name until someone proposed that it would sell better as Yes. But that wasn't Yes to me. They returned as Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford and Howe late in the decade. I liked that.

[@SpinninProg]

Great point. I did my best to stay with them, but slowly lost interest until Keys to Ascension... But then look what they followed that up with? 😂😂😂

[@Leo_ofRedKeep]

@@SpinninProg I never heard anything past Union. So Keys is good? Maybe I'll check it out. Thanks for that. Or have they just become yet something else? Maybe that something else is worth discovering on its own terms, like King Crimson's 9 lives or so.

[@jeffschielka7845]

Originally I was just going to say NO COMMENT, but instead I will say a band with 56 years under their belts, is every album supposed to be a masterpiece❓️❓️❓️😎

[@SpinninProg]

We were eagerly awaiting your comment Jeff 🤣

[@51monalisa]

for me it is after 90125 that was still a good but somewhat different record

[@SpinninProg]

Absolutely!

[@thomaswery3087]

What makes you think they went bad?lol.I look at Yes as a true prog band they keep changing some people might not like what they've been doing .For me I don't need to hear CTTE or 90125 on every album.This is why I like prog.Some of their stuff might be weak but they're is always some good on each album.Just my humble opionion lol

[@taraoreilly2112]

Did you watch the video?? 🤣 We came to the conclusion that they never really went bad.

[@thomaswery3087]

@@taraoreilly2112 I watched the whole video but I'm old so my attention span isn't what it used to be lol

[@SpinninProg]

@@thomaswery3087 Good one Thomas. Same as myself. 👍

[@LizOBrienRochford-gs2kj]

You are 2 kindred YES fans. There is nothing like the early YES. I didn’t like Owner. I didn’t like hearing these incredible musicians go pop. Of course its the most popular in the world. It’s not their worst, but its the start of the downhill roadtrip. I’ll stick to 70’s YES where they worked their fingers and imaginations to the bone finding perfection in each instrument which includes Jon’s incredible voice. No one comes near their finest.

[@SpinninProg]

Totally agree. Those early 70s Yes albums set their own standard in musicality and composition. 👍

[@jaregoguzoref4821]

When did KZbin go bad ?😂

[@SpinninProg]

KZbin is great since we started our channel 😉

[@waldorfstatler3129]

Definitely, Going for The One was their last good album.

[@SpinninProg]

Yes. 👍

[@stuartwaby3081]

When they got those pop wankers in for Drama, the Music was good but without a real singer and keyboard player it just wasn't Yes sadly 😢

[@SpinninProg]

A very valid view. 👍

[@jameswarner5809]

Open Your Eyes. It's really not good!

[@SD9xcp311x]

The 80s killed interesting music with its busy overproduced and slick sounds. I despise most of that 80s sh*T!

[@SpinninProg]

Someone after my own heart. You're right. 👍

[@SD9xcp311x]

@@SpinninProg Thank you!!!!

[@FormulaProg]

Union isnt a good album. It aims to deliver the best of both worlds and falls flat on its face. Talk was a far superior album. Keys, ladder and magnification were also way better than any other late 60s band were still able to pull off by then. Thats what makes Yes the finest of the big 6 prog bands. Genesis, Tull, Rush etc were awful in the 90s. The line up changes in Yes gave them a fresh pallet to PROGRESS and create great music beyond that of their peers.

[@SpinninProg]

Great comment. I agree. Yes pulled off some good albums in the 90s and remained true to their artistic vision. That's far more than many of their peers managed. 👍

[@FormulaProg]

​@@SpinninProgthank you mate.

[@user-vy7fp8np1l]

Damn! I wanted to be the first to comment. Oh well, I'll accept the silver medal instead. For me, the last truly great Yes album is Going For The One. Apart from Turn Of The Century, every track on it is superb. The rot set in when Tormato was released although I'm not sure how much of that is due to the material being weaker and how much is due to the murky, muddy production. Anyway, after that the descent in craperama was swift. I really like 2 tracks on Drama (Machine Messiah and Tempus Fugit) but das ist alle! Their 1980s material sounds, to me, like Jon Anderson or Trevor Horn singing over backing tracks provided by New Order...and I do not like it at all. It isn't Yes. It's a dance-hall outfit pretending to be Yes. Oddly, I don't dislike most of the 1980s material by Genesis, even though I accept their 1970-1978 period is vastly superior but Yes failed to achieve the same result...which is odd given their early material is largely based on the concept of pop songs with vocal harmonies more than, say, King Crimson or ELP. Note for other readers of this: I do not type this inspired by any trace of nostalgia. I ignored all rock and pop music until 2002 when our flute player forced me to listen to a few progressive rock tracks by groups he liked so for me, Fragile and Big Generator were both equally new to me. Did Yes ever regain their former glory? No, not for me, although Keys To Ascension and The Ladder do make brave attempts to restore that hallowed status. Oh, if only Igor what's-his-name hadn't played silly buggers in that hotel and been sacked. He was a superb addition to the band and his keyboard playing was superb. Oh well. PS I've been listening to The Tain by Horslips. 1973 really was a brilliant year for progressive music. Their first album is good enough but a little too 'folky' in places whereas this album hits all the targets. I've also been listening to tracks by Renaissance in preparation for the Sunday live stream on The Prog Corner (Prologue, Kiev and Mother Russia I particularly enjoy). I've managed to hack my list of vocalists for Mount Rushmore down to 5 but it's impossible to decide who to sacrifice. Naturally Jon Anderson is one of them...I mean, come on, how could he not be? Maybe Scot will allow me to adopt the Deep Purple In Rock routine and give me an extra place...then again, maybe he won't. PPS I see that chap below is, like me, a fan of Father Ted. Yes, when I grow up I want to be just like Father Jack Hackett...or Bishop Brennan.

[@SpinninProg]

Brilliant. It mightn't have been first, but it's got the length and depth right. 😂 Very good insights and opinions. Too much to engage with it all. But we really welcome well thought out comments like yours. 👍

[@craigherriot4026]

90125 was where it started getting rocky for me. That's not to say that they didn't produce very good stuff after that album, but I just can't stand any of the Rabin stuff. Big Generator is even worse than 90125. I listened to Talk once and never have again since. Nearly everything since has been weak imho. I always lived in hope that every new album they produced would be the one, but it wasn't to be. I don't have high hopes for this new album from Jon and The Band Geeks either. What's you twos thoughts on that? just another tribute band with one original to me, same as the Howe led tribute. I thought Jon's collaboration with Roine Stoldt would be cracking but that was complete crap as well imo.

[@SpinninProg]

We've seen a short clip of a song from the new Anderson/Band Geeks album and it's nothing special, Jon is really pushing it with his voice too, you can hear him straining