The Yes Album

    The Yes Album is Yes' third album, the predecessor to Fragile, and where the band found their footing and took off. It's pretty good, sharing some of Fragile's DNA while still being an obvious stepping stone for the band to get there. The sound is a little more blues-y overall and more traditionally prog and I think that the band does it really well. Composition is great, melody and harmonies are still excellent, and the performance is fully realized. I don't like comparing it to Fragile so much but it's my only point of reference for Yes' other work, but the encapsulating totality-ish feeling that I got from Fragile isn't here, if you get what I mean. Where Fragile was able to grab onto my brain with it's music and melody and complexities, The Yes Album merely pokes my brain, encourages that engagement and then leaves. Still very good but not as gripping as its follow up would prove to be. Additionally I think that the structure of the album is a good deal weaker than Fragile, just not as balanced in terms of song lengths and tones. This all isn't to say that the album suffers greatly from these issues, I think that the work as a whole is still very good and worth checking out, I just don't know how long this one will stick with me afterwards. Solidly within its number rating but on the lower end.

    Highlights: Clap, Starship Trooper, Perpetual Change.

Rating: 5/6