The Yes Album

The Yes Album was that herculean leap that not only helped Yes save their recording contract with Atlantic, but also elevated them towards rock’s elite. With new blood Steve Howe (previously in Bodast) on guitar, Yes spent a few months isolated in the country writing new material, including fantastic arrangements of Paul Simon’s “America” and The Young Rascals’ “It’s Love.” In retrospect, the elements for success had been in place on their previous two albums; but here, Yes elongate their compositions, which gives them room to blossom without ever getting bloated. Nine minutes may be a long time for most songs, but not for the four epic tracks contained within. Both “Starship Trooper” and “Yours Is No Disgrace” constitute typical Yes material-hard riffing, melodic and cinematic-while the chomping “Perpetual Change” remains underrated in their canon. “I’ve Seen All Good People” would become the perennial crowd-pleaser and radio favorite; it starts as a simple sing-along acoustic number (“Your Move”) before moving into the foot-stomping second section. Jon Anderson’s words move like a game of chess, interweaving both meaning and cadence to great effect. Certainly, Howe’s versatile guitar playing is a valuable new asset; but his ragtime solo “Clap,” first presented here, would eventually be performed with circus-act regularity. Reaching No. 7, the album gave Yes its first UK Top 10 slot and even managed to rise into the US Top 40. After the album’s release, Yes made an appearance on the BBC’s Top Of The Pops, toured Europe with Iron Butterfly and then were off on their first tour of America, in support of a very popular Jethro Tull.