Music Review by Bill Rendall

Fragile - Yes

I find it difficult to be objective about Yes. In their heyday in the early seventies they were my favourite band. In a short space of time they went from being lauded as rock innovators to being dismissed as rock dinosaurs. For many years after their fall from favour my memories of Yes were tarnished by the disappointment of their later albums. I also had problems with Jon Anderson's impenetrable lyrics.

Only in recent years have I been able to reflect on the music of Yes in a balanced way. They were guilty of some of the worst self-indulgent excesses of the progressive rock era but in their better moments they made some brilliant music which pushed forward the boundaries of rock music.

Yes introduced complex song structures to rock music. Other bands extended the length of rock songs by improvising over repeated patterns. Yes extended their songs through the use of changing themes and tempos in the style of classical music divided into movements.

The band's first two albums fell short of their ambitions. Steve Howe replaced Peter Banks on guitar for their third album, simply titled The Yes Album. This album contained some great songs, such as 'Yours is no Disgrace' and 'Starship Trooper.' However, Yes felt that they couldn't fully realise their musical ideas with Tony Kaye as their keyboard player.

Rick Wakeman was brought in as a new keyboard player for the recording of Fragile and this marked the peak of Yes's career. In particular I think 'Heart of the Sunrise' is the best song they have done. The quick staccato parts are reminiscent of the edgy '21st Century Schizoid Man' by King Crimson. Wakeman contributes some majestic Mellotron to the slower parts.

Most of the time Anderson sings too high for my liking. I think falsetto singing should be used sparingly for lead vocals because of the limited tonal variation. It's okay for high harmony backing vocals.

A large part of the classic Yes sound was created by the musicians who perform background support roles in most bands. The bassist, drummer and keyboard player.

Wakeman is a virtuoso keyboard player and showman. He makes his presence felt with a vast array of keyboards. Chris Squire plays bass with the aggression and dominance of a lead guitarist. Bill Bruford plays drums with an inventive flair. For example, listen to 'Long Distance Runaround' where he hits the snare drum every fifth beat over bars of four beats. Also have a listen to 'The Fish' which is mainly bass and drums.

Fragile was followed by Close to the Edge. After Close to the Edge was recorded Bruford left Yes to join King Crimson. Alan White was recruited to replace him.

The other members of Yes couldn't believe that Bruford would leave them at the height of their success. But their best music was behind them. They fell victim to the dreaded double album syndrome with their next recording venture, Tales from Topographic Oceans. Egos were out of control and the result was self-indulgent rubbish. This is the sort of album to play at parties when you want everyone to go home. I have actually heard it used for this purpose and I can vouch for its effectiveness.

Rick Wakeman didn't like the direction the band were going in with Tales from Topographic Oceans so he too left the band. Wakeman had always been a bit of the odd man out as he liked revelling while the rest of the band favoured a healthy vegetarian lifestyle.

Wakeman was replaced by Patrick Moraz and the band soldiered on despite the public backlash against progressive rock. Wakeman later returned to the fold and contributed a stirring church organ part to 'Awaken', worthy of a place among Yes classics. Surprisingly Yes produced a successful pop single in the eighties with 'Owner of a Lonely Heart'.

Fragile is the first album by my favourite line up of Yes and gets my recommendation. Close to the Edge is also a very good album but shows signs of an imminent descent into self-indulgence. The music on Close to the Edge is brilliant but the lyrics let the album down, right from the opening couplet about a seasoned witch rearranging your liver to the solid mental grace. At least you could dig out some meaning in Anderson's lyrics on earlier albums. For example, 'Yours is no Disgrace' juxtaposed those fighting a dirty war (presumably Vietnam) with those enjoying the high life in Las Vegas.

The 1981 compilation album Classic Yes is a good summary of Yes's music. With the exception of 'Wondrous Stories' the songs are drawn from their three best albums. However, 'Roundabout' and 'All Good People' are live versions and are not as good as the original studio versions.

The 2003 Live at Montreux DVD is a great video recording of Yes. A highlight is 'South Side of the Sky' featuring Howe and Wakeman trading solo licks. Another highlight is 'Awaken', particularly the instrumental section with Anderson playing harp. I was disappointed that Wakeman didn't have a Mellotron among his large array of keyboards but pleased that he had a Minimoog synth.