The Yes Album
	Produced by Yes & Eddie Offord
	Released on March 19, 1971
	UK CHART POSITION #7 . . . US CHART POSITION #40 . . . GOLD RECORD (3/17/73), PLATINUM (4/10/98)
	Find it at GEMM
SD 19131-2 cover [high resolution scan]

I f their last album was something of a misstep, The Yes Album is in all ways a quantum leap. Some have pointed to the addition of guitarist Steve Howe as the band’s turning point, and their decision to reclaim production is another positive step, but it’s a newfound musical “elasticity” and unbound musical imagery that distinguish this record from their earlier work. The album opens with the nine-plus minute “Yours Is No Disgrace,” a forceful and vibrant epic musical journey that plumbs the limits of progressive rock like little else before it. Anderson’s lyrics are mystical in nature, suggesting images rather than pushing along a plot line, while the band’s arrangements scale imaginary walls in a sonic conflict that comes to a peaceful resolution. As if to allow the listener to recharge, Steve Howe’s acoustic instrumental “The Clap” follows, a lighthearted but technically impressive showcase from the one member perhaps most responsible for the band’s deliverance. Another epic follows, “Starship Trooper,” the first example of Yes’ multipart works and a classic in the band’s canon. Even if its relation to the Heinlein novel of the same name is incidental at best, “Starship Trooper” transports the listener into a science fiction/fantasy realm that few could imagine. “I’ve Seen All Good People” is a study in contrast between the band’s founders and principal songwriters, Jon Anderson and Chris Squire. The first part, “Your Move” (which served as the album’s obligatory single), is acoustic and spiritually informed, trademarks of Anderson’s style. The second part, “All Good People,” is much more physical in nature, with Squire’s bass achieving a tangible quality that listeners could feel as well as hear. Tony Kaye’s piano steps into the limelight for the off-kilter acoustic storytelling of “A Venture,” offering only brief respite before the explosive finale, “Perpetual Change,” which walks between the airy and material worlds of Anderson and Squire with stunning results. However, the contributions of individual songwriters are incidental to The Yes Album’s achievements; it’s the dynamic expansion of their instruments - from Bruford’s intricate rhythms to Howe’s acrobatic guitar solos - that represents the real breakthrough. And the scary part is, the band was about to get better.

TRACK LISTING

1. YOURS IS NO DISGRACE    (Yes)    9:36
2. THE CLAP    (Steve Howe)    3:07
3. STARSHIP TROOPER    9:23
     a. Life Seeker    (Jon Anderson)
     b. Disillusion    (Chris Squire)
     c. Würm    (Steve Howe)
4. I'VE SEEN ALL GOOD PEOPLE    6:47
     a. Your Move    (Jon Anderson)
     b. All Good People    (Chris Squire)
5. A VENTURE    (Jon Anderson)    3:13
6. PERPETUAL CHANGE    (Jon Anderson/Chris Squire)    8:50
   
   CD reissue bonus tracks
   
7. YOUR MOVE (SINGLE VERSION)
8. STARSHIP TROOPER: LIFE SEEKER (SINGLE VERSION)
9. THE CLAP (STUDIO VERSION)

CREDITS

JON ANDERSON -- vocals, percussion
BILL BRUFORD -- drums, percussion
STEVE HOWE -- electric & acoustic guitars, vachalia, vocal TONY KAYE -- piano, organ, moog
CHRIS SQUIRE -- bass guitars, vocals
Colin Goldring -- recorders (4a)
Eddie Offord -- engineer
Brian Lane -- co-ordination
Tom Dowd -- thanks
Phil Franks & Barry Wentzell -- photography
Jon Goodchild -- design

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