The Yes Album

This album is fine. Nothing too amazing but still good.

Of the Yes albums I've heard, this is certainly the most straightforward. This honestly feels like a pretty good baseline for Yes's sound. They do, notably have a little less experimentation here, but some of the experiments that Yes do sound a little bit silly, so I'll take it. Although, I don't quite think this has the highs of some later Yes projects. Despite this, The Yes Album is a very solid prog rock project; it's more good Yes songwriting, executed with the band's signature precision, and I don't have much more to say than that.

First listen. I’m familiar with Yes and have reviewed their 4th album within this format. This album feels a bit less prog-y than the previous Yes album I’ve listened to. Lowlight- The Clap, it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the album. Highlight- I’ve Seen All Good People. This track was frequently on the classic rock stations growing up and I am extremely familiar with it. I prefer Close to the Edge over this album, still not bad.

4/5. The first in a trilogy of classic Yes albums, this is just some great prog music. Not quite as wild, experimental or adventurous as “Fragile” or “Close to the Edge” but still very captivating for its full runtime. You get some lengthy prog epics with tracks like “Starship Trooper” or “Yours is No disgrace” but also a handful of more digestible, shorter tracks like the live acoustic cut “The Clap.” And of course the playing is great all throughout.

Jon Anderson's voice will always make a Yes album distinctive - love love love how it soars. But, if I want prog rock, I want more nonsense about epic tales of Thor and pixies.

Another entry in my increasingly long "I really enjoyed it, but not special enough to give it 4 stars" category

Apart from the annoying Clap, all the songs here are fun to listen to. However, they're a bit meandering and slow paced. I now understand what people mean when they talk about noodling.

I just don't have anything. It wasn't bad?

Not my favourite from the classic prog bands, but I like the songs. Fragile is a way better record though.

Yes, I expected to hate it … it was OK.

Yes

Pretty cool

this wasn’t bad actually but again didn’t do a lot for me

'If the summer change to winter / Yours is no disgrace.' The Yes Album has got some unwonted funk - not Floyd's 'Money' funk, but funk nonetheless. But it also has the worst of the British Folk Revival, which is really the basis of the whole prog thing anyway, e.g., check out 'The Clap,' definitional of instrumental inanity & amnesia. Of what I can remember of Close to the Edge & Fragile, I took to this one more, but prog has a way of reliably spoiling the fun, i.e., not just pretentious but undetermined & languorous. I will concede tho that 'I've Seen All Good People' is a worthy track, & better than that 'Roundabout' shit. 'Make the white queen run so fast / She hasn't got time to make your wife.' Yeah, a lyrical mess, but it sure sounds right.

yep

prog rock sucks balls

Awful stuff. 1.5/5. Raising to 2.

Surprisingly, the second side was better than the first. Some interesting stuff on this album eventually, but the first songs intro felt like being bonked on the head. Not the nice music I'm looking for xx

nice one today! #musicsky #albumsky #musicchallenge

Pre Listen:
YES

Notable Tracks:
Yours Is No Disgrace - Putting your anti-war song front and center, right at the height of the Vietnam War, is incredibly respectable. I'm happy this band was part of that movement. Song is a banger too.
Starship Trooper - Tied with the song mentioned below as my favorite track. The lyric "Loneliness is a power that we possess to give or take away forever" lives in my head rent free, and I try to keep it in mind on a daily basis. The ending "Würm" of this song is such an amazing piece of psyche-rock.
I've Seen All Good People - Tied with the song mentioned above as my favorite track. A song about Chess making me feel things about the greater world and myself as a whole? The lyric "Don't surround yourself with yourself" is another one I try to keep in mind as much as I can. Amazing. Catchy too.
A Venture & Perpetual Change - Listening to this album again reminded me these songs aren't on my playlist. I will be downloading them post-haste.

Post Listen:
This is one of my top albums of all time. It's the sort of album you can listen to over and over again, and it stays fresh. It has the sort of lyricism that leaves varying interpretations upon each person, have generally positive messages behind it, and just overall leave me feeling good. The changes in tempo, mood, instrumentation, and overall direction throughout the album makes it feel almost cinematic to me.

The only critic I have is that the band struggles to stick the landing on a few songs, resulting in some awkward endings to a few tracks. I relate completely.

Yes' sound is unbelievably unique, I can't say I've found another band that even comes close really. I would kill to have Steve Howe's skill on a guitar, electric or otherwise. I want to gush more about this album, but I'm trying to keep all my reviews around a similar length. 5/5. Perfect Album.

Oh no, not Yes again. I didn't like Fragile, so I know I’m not going to like this album either. This whole prog stuff isn't for me; I find it pretty boring. Plus, the songs are so long and they don't really offer anything new along the way. It’s just the same thing for ten minutes. It’s just not for me. I’ll never be able to enjoy something like this, unfortunately. If you like it, congrats, but I just don't. I enjoy the "Starship Trooper" song at around the seven-minute mark because it kind of sounds like Radiohead. Don't come for me; I’m not a music expert, I’m just saying what it sounds like to me.

God, the hit from this album is so boring; I can't stand it. Why does it switch mid-song? I know I said if a song is long it should have something interesting along the way, a change of pace, but I didn't mean switching to an entirely different song in the middle of the current one. There is no transition or fading; it just straight-up cuts to it, like a Family Guy cutaway gag. Oh, it’s multiple songs in one? Okay, I got it, my bad. It’s so hard to think of the songs I liked and the ones I didn't because I’m so indifferent about this album. It just exists. Each and every song made me feel the exact same way. It’s fine, I guess, but it’s just not something I’d listen to at all, and I’m glad I wasn’t born at a time when this was more popular.

I don't even know what to rate this. It’s so eh. I gave Fragile a 2, and that was more interesting than this; at least it had some cool elements. "Roundabout" is a groovy song; I like it. I think it’s the only reason I gave that album a 2. However, I’m not sure this deserves a 1. It’s not outright terrible, so maybe a lower 2? Since it’s worse than Fragile, maybe a 1.6? Around there seems about right.

I like the album cover, though. If only the music was half as good as that.

Favorite song: Starship Trooper (specifically Würm)
Least favorite song: Clap