The Yes Album

I’m not a massive prog rock fan, so more than 1 yes album on this list is too much for me.

This album is like if the layered harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were ten minutes long and featured ripping guitar and bass and lyrics that still don’t really make sense to me. This is another one where my bias shows up. Another record that defined a moment in time for me (the first half of senior year of high school). I had heard Roundabout from that show with the sun karate and vampires and wanted to know what else that band had made. This lead me to hearing I’ve Seen All Good People and that was it. Starship Trooper is one of my favorite songs ever.

No

A musical Disneyland. Not a full moment in this one. YES to this one!

This album is tremendous. It’s cheesy as hell. But the playing is so good and the compositions so epic I still get pulled into it.

Really enjoyed the instrumentals on this one. 4*
Highlights: I've seen all good people, starship trooper, yours is no disgrace

Utterly excellent! Not a 5/5 goosebump inducing thing, but very fun and I enjoyed waaaay more than expected!

Need to hear the other Yes albums to fully compare it, but guessing that this will have an edge bc of the Portuguese guitar in I've Seen All Good People

Really good.

Decent prog, though I think I like Close To The Edge better (and this isn't nearly as good as Gabriel era Genesis)

I don’t enjoy prog rock. I just don’t. I can hear that it is complicated and takes alot of skill. I’m sure that only giving this album three stars is going to anger people, but I just can’t bring myself to go higher. Gotta save the above-average ratings for albums I would voluntarily want to listen to in the future. Yes is a no on that scale.

Didn't totally pull me in, but fairly decent nonetheyes.

Deze lijst laat mij Yes toch herontdekken. Mijn beeld voorafgaand aan de 1001 was wellicht iets teveel gebaseerd op de jaren' 80 Yes. Maar net als Fragile wordt nu weer een prachtige gevarieerde reis geboden. Inmiddels heb ik Fragile een paar keer extra geluisterd. Door de afwisseling en sterke compositie blijft dat album interessant. Ik verwacht dat dat ook zal gelden voor dit album. Zet ik de albums naast elkaar, dan pakt Fragile mij meer. De tegenstellingen voelen iets verder uit elkaar en tegelijk is het net iets toegankelijker. Maar dat is wellicht gewoon doorontwikkeling. Dit is het studio-debut en dan zet je al gelijk zo'n volwassen product neer. Dan verdien je 5 sterren!

I shamelessly love this band, but this is not an album I have a lot of experience with. Previous albums were schizophrenic; jumping from one sound to another as tracks change. Here, the band seems to have a clearer idea of direction. The prog is still front and center, the rock is undeniable, but gone are the classical compositions that felt so out of place on earlier releases. This is Yes defining what will make them so unique but instantly recognizable going forward. Worth noting that the dynamic range on the vinyl rip I listened to was far beyond any modern recording I've ever heard. Truly phenomenal range.

Not sure this is the Yes album I would have picked for this list, and I can't imagine there would be a second one. Probably picked for I've Seen All Good People. Anyway, when you listen to Yes you just have to marvel at the musicianship. I mean these guys could play for sure. Say what you will about the vocals, that seems to be a common sticking point, but just briliant playing. Yes always get compared to Rush (and Rush is much much better) I think because of the musical complexity and the high vocals. I dig it. Having said all of that, there are definitely better prog bands. I know that this was way before some of the heavier progressive music but some of this record in particular sounds a little thin. 3.5/5, was going to round up to 4 but rounding down to 3 because yesterday evening it took me like 30 minutes to even remember what the album was for that day and I feel like a 4/5 shouldn't have that problem.

Great album. It apparently took me until my early 40's to discover I am a big fan of prog rock. Who knew?

I could never really do anything with "Yes". I really like prog rock, but my relationship with "Yes" was always rather distant. Some parts of the album remind me a lot of Genesis, except that I like Genesis much better. All in all, the album isn't bad, but I won't be listening to it again any time soon.

at about the 2:15 mark of the song \"Your Move\" the chorus of Lennon's song \"Give Peace a Chance\" is sung by the backing vocalists under the main melody.

\"all we are saying (big pause) is give peace a chance\"

it repeats till end of song

Relistened to this and changed 2.3 to 3.0 per track.

From a pure technical standpoint, this is instrumentally just so ahead of its time for me (either that or I don’t know shit about ‘60s rock) that whatever sort of mesmerizing feeling it gave me throughout, it ultimately just left me impressed, across the board, except for A Venture. I struggle to give it a full 5/5 but it’s absolutely a 4.5, and I think it’s my favorite album so far.