Tormato

One look at the album cover and once again you'd have to figure something was different inside Yes' latest album. Recorded at London's RAK Studios, Tormato was another step away from the band's epic-length proportions, as it contained nine (count ‘em) songs. "Future Times" kicks in immediately and races along in fine Yes tradition; Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman trade leads, while Chris Squire delivers one rubbery bass. In fact, that bass tone would lend a unique signature to the album. This song dives right into "Rejoice," reminding us that the band had indeed made it "ten true summers long." "Don't Kill the Whale," one of the band's most outright statements, was the album's single and a Top 40 hit in the UK. "Release, Release" is again frantic, though the "live" break in the middle is a little misguided. Wakeman moves to the fore with his new polyphonic synthesizers; but unfortunately, he's playing over everyone else. After all, frantic isn't a word often used to described Yes' music; but then again, this isn't your typical Yes album. Side two opens with "Arriving UFO" and "Circus of Heaven;" and, as you might guess, both are prime examples of Jon Anderson's cosmic fancy—and perhaps something only a Yes fan would truly appreciate. Squire offers the placid "Onward" to slow the pace, before the album winds up with its undisputed classic, "On the Silent Wings of Freedom." Driven along by Alan White's drums, it contains all the power and splendor of any of Yes' classics. The album was a success too, reaching the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. Yes then spent the rest of the year in the US performing "in the round," and later returned to the UK for a few dates at London's Wembley Empire Pool. After touring ended, both Howe and Wakeman took time off to complete solo records, while Anderson teamed up with Vangelis. In 1979, the band returned to the US for another tour in the spring, and then headed to Paris to record their next album, with Roy Thomas Baker producing. However, the sessions ended acrimoniously with only a handful of unfinished tracks; and by early 1980, both Anderson and Wakeman had left Yes. Drama, of course, was just around the corner.