The Yes Album

Okay, this list has definitely turned me into a bit of prog head, I gotta say this album is the gold standard for prog-rock excess. It's all these long, winding jams that either blow your mind or make you wanna scream. It's Yes at a major crossroads, ditching short songs for huge, epic tracks like "Starship Trooper". The playing is insane, Steve Howe is a guitar god, and Chris Squire's bass lines are amazing.

But if you're not already into prog rock wankery, it can be a slog. The lyrics are all over the place, and the songs feel like cool ideas that don't quite come together. Sometimes it just gets a bit boring. Some people think the vocals are awesome and the instrumentals are mind-blowing, but others will think it's just too much, self-indulgent, and sound like a bunch of dudes playing D&D. It's a classic that set the stage for Classic Yes (no Rick Wakeman here), but you gotta be down for long songs and organ solos.

Why did it give me this so soon after Fragile? 😭

Another absolute classic from the lads. Yours Is No Disgrace and Starship Trooper easily make it a 5 and the other songs only add to the experience

Is The Yes Album Yes's best album?

Until recently, I would have probably said "No way!" In high school, when I was in my prog rock phase, I was adamant that Fragile and Close to the Edge were the peak of Yes, and I don't remember any particularly strong feelings about The Yes Album.

But everything changed a few weeks back when I got Fragile on this site. I was surprised and disappointed to find it no longer appealed to me. I found it overindulgent, cacophonous at times, and strangely paced, with only a few songs really holding up. When I got The Yes Album today, I was bracing myself for disappointment, though I took comfort in the fact that it's never been an album I really loved.

And then, as I listened to it, and remembered song after song, singing along, enjoying the shifts and changes, I found that I was truly enjoying The Yes Album. It was like walking into Narnia—but like, if I'd already been to Narnia, and had forgotten how awesome Narnia was. So many great moments throughout the album. "I've Seen All Good People" may be my favorite Yes song of all time, and relistening after so many years only affirmed that. The unfortunately mistitled "The Clap" is another highlight, a real showcase of Steve Howe's abilities. I remember spending hours trying to tackle it at 50% speed when I was 17. "A Venture" is another excellent entry. I don't know. I kind of love all of it.

I think sometimes fans of prog rock are way too afraid to enjoy music. They need to feel clever. So they gravitate toward the more esoteric, the more virtuosic, the more unenjoyable works. This is why Fragile and Close to the Edge are often considered their greatest albums. But I've always been partial to 90125, often derided by the proggiest of progheads. And today, I am ready to make a declaration:

Is The Yes Album Yes's best album? Yes!

Really good album, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

3/20/26 - listened while driving. I do not like Prog Rock or Jam Bands. That said, I actually enjoyed this. It was not nearly as self-indulgent as I expected and went by fairly quickly.

Top Song - I've Seen All Good People

Not my favourite Yes album, but I love Yes

Found it pleasant enough to listen to. And there were head bobbing moments. But not strong enough to really get me into it.

Yes.

Only one more of these to get through. The No Album. Worse than Fragile.

Banger! Yesterday I was feeling tired and it was the perfect album for that. As soon as I thought it was getting boring, something wacky and interesting happened.

First Listen. Was never into Yes - just too proggy for me as a kid. However since then I've ended up loving Supertramp and Pink Floyd so lets see!

Some serious guitar playing to open. Mercifully light on the organ so far. Is like the guitarist has to prove they know every trick in the book (and has every pedal)....almost jazz like the way musicians are spiralling off.

Washing over me quite nicely - can see why people love this. Will be listening again.

You can hear the improvement from their two earlier albums, but relistening to this, you can still they aren't quite there yet. It's a nice flowing album but I don't care for a number of swathes on it all that much. The opener and I've seen all good people are the highlights for me, especially the bass playing on the latter. It's still Yes and it is still a great listen, but it's not quite their peak.

Not my thing, not a fan of that classic rock sound.

There are snippets on this album where you can hear that Yes seemingly has the ability to make good songs. However, these are only about 30 seconds long in a 9 minute long song, so then you’re stuck with 8.5 minutes of a bad song. Sure they seem pretty technically competent on all their instruments, but like that all still has to work together and build toward something interesting and good for the music to be good

Yes is one of those bands I believe I was born to like, Prog Rock with chapters and parts to their songs? Yes please. But then diving into their back catalogue always leaves me wanting. Listening to this I understand why. Some songs like “Ive seen All good People” are excellent while the instrumental “The Clap” is so boring, and irritated me with the wild clapping at the end, like THIS SHOULD BE YOUR LEVEL OF ADULATION FOR THIS SONG SUCKERS. I love the album 90125 so much so will keep trying here. Not given up yet.

The Yes Review.

Pretty fun to listen to, but I loved the musical flourishes of Fragile more than this album. Lyrics are theatrical and dramatic, with the downside of it being nonsensical gibberish at times.

Great, a iconic piece of rock history.

it sure sounds like yes

bruh