To be succinct, I tried to keep most of the reviews to no more than three sentences. I also created a short 8 hour Spotify Playlist as well with the key tracks from just about every album. Because of Yes’ big influence on Rush (All Rush Albums Ranked), and because they are both bands of virtuoso musicianship, flashy bass playing, and unique vocalists, both bands are probably spoken in the same breath more than any other two groups that I can think of. Years ago someone compared the two bands and commented that Rush never reached the musical heights that Yes did, but they also never sank to the musical depths that Yes sometimes did throughout their 50+ year career. I think that’s a really great way to compare the two. Here’s my list:
24. Open Your Eyes (1997) – Mostly cowritten by founding member/bassist Chris Squire and longtime Yes collaborator/multi-instrumentalist/some-time official member Billy Sherwood. Sherwood is not a very interesting musician, and an even less interesting songwriter, so this is a really tough listen even though strong melodies pop up here and there from time to time. Even some songs that show promise early get the rug pulled out from under them quickly by a stunning lack of purpose and direction as to how to actually finish them. A meandering, shrill mess for the most part. Key Tracks: Universal Garden, Open Your Eyes, Wonderlove
23. Keys to Ascension 2 (1997) – Proves no matter how good musicians are, a band still needs good songs. They’re in short supply on the 45 minutes of new material from the ‘Classic Yes’ (Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, Alan White) line-up’s 1996 reunion. Flashes of good playing and singing sprinkled throughout, but things rarely get off the runway to take flight. Most satisfying moment is “Children of Light,” a fleshed out version of a Jon Anderson song from a few years prior. Key Tracks: Bring Me To The Power, Children of Light, Sign Language
22. Heaven and Earth (2014) – By far one of Yes’ weakest albums, but I’ll give it this: “Believe Again” has the right to stand alongside some of the group’s best work. The final harmony vocals by singer Jon Davison and Squire before the outro give me chills every time I hear them. Squire’s last album before passing away makes this song especially poignant. After that, there’s probably another 10-12 minutes of good music on the album and the rest is as uninspired as it comes. Key Tracks: Believe Again, The Game, To Ascend
21. Keys to Ascension 1 (1996) – 30 minutes of new music from the Classic Yes 1996 reunion presented in two songs. The “shorter” one, “Be The One,” is one of the most tentative, stilted songs in all of the band’s catalog and was a harbinger of things to come during this mid/late 90s period of the band and their difficultly finding a direction. But, “That, That Is,” on the other hand, contains some truly beautiful and uplifting music. This track was head and shoulders above the rest of the new material on both Keys To Ascension 1 and 2. Key Track: That, That Is
20. Mirror to the Sky (2023) – The songwriting and Davison’s upper range plague the current
version of the band led by guitarist/producer Steve Howe. Musically, there are some really sublime moments on the title track, “Luminosity,” and “Unknown Place,” but like The Quest, there’s a lot of potential here to create fully satisfying music, but with trite lyrics that sound like they came directly from ChatGPT after commanding: “Write a song in the style of Jon Anderson” things always seem off or a little uneven. The recent approach of making albums seems to be working well, but it’s time to get an outside producer in at this point to push the writers to work harder on the songs themselves. Key Tracks: Luminosity, Mirror To The Sky, Unknown Place
19. The Quest (2021) – Love him or hate him, no one can deny Jon Anderson has a one-of-a-kind approach to lyrics and has the ability to sing amazingly strong in a very high register. When singer Jon Davison is singing in his mid-range and writing songs that have a footing down here on earth (“A Living Island,” “Future Memories”), this version of Yes without Anderson sounds like it has the potential to exist as a new, calm, setting-sun version of the group. However, far too often he is straining in his upper register to sound like Anderson and trying awfully hard to come up with his own version of Anderson’s mystical lyrical style. It doesn’t work and sounds ridiculous. Lots of fine playing on this album from Howe & keyboardist Geoff Downes, but most songs are screaming to be tightened up/shortened. There’s potential here if a producer with a songwriting background is brought in to work with Howe & Davison to play to their strengths and, ironically, STOP trying to sound like Yes. Key Tracks: Dare To Know, Future Memories, A Living Island
18. Fly From Here (2011) – This short-lived version of Yes with singer Benoit David taking over for Anderson managed to release a pretty solid album considering it was the first without Anderson in 31 years. The main 20-minute title track suite has some very strong classic-Yes elements and will please fans of Drama (1980) since Horn & Downes are back producing and playing keyboards respectively. Elsewhere things are hit-and-miss, but the fun “Into The Storm” and the sweet “Hour of Need” are fairly solid songs. Redone/repackaged in 2018 with Horn on vocals instead of Benoit David and including some other material, but I’d stick with the original release. Key Tracks: Fly From Here, Hour Of Need, Into The Storm
17. Yes (1969) – Very good debut album with an almost jam-band approach to the Beatles cover “Every Little Thing.” Elsewhere you’ll find the beginnings of Yes’ underrated ability to craft beautiful little pop songs (“Yesterday and Today”), and their first flat-out classic (“Survival”) that, as the last song on the album, ambitiously pointed to what Yes would eventually become. Just cool late 60s Hammond Organ and harmony-vocals drenched rock. Key Tracks: Survival, Every Little Thing, Yesterday and Today
16. Time and a Word (1970) – Like their debut, Yes’ second album is so vastly different in feel than just about everything that came after that it doesn’t usually get a lot of attention. But there’s an awful lot of really good moments on this album—the jazzy country cover of Richie Havens “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed,” two Beatles-esque tunes (“Sweet Dreams” and the title track), and the intriguing “Then” and “Astral Traveler.” The combination of Squire’s plucky bass playing, Tony Kaye’s Hammond keys, and Bill Bruford’s jazzy drumming is a real joy to listen to with only a forgettable track or two here and there. Key Tracks: No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed, Astral Traveler, Sweet Dreams
15. Tormato (1978) – Strange, strange album on many levels (“Oh, a Yes song about UFOs inspired by Close Encounters of the Third Kind? This should be good…”). Often cited among Yes fans as one of their weakest due to poor sound quality and overall lack of direction, listening to it again for the first time in many years, it holds up fairly well due to some really tight playing throughout especially on “Future Times/Rejoice” and “Release, Release.” The band gets funky in some places without ever caving into any type of disco tendencies that a lot of other rock bands struggled with during this time period in the late 70s. Opening three minutes of “On The Silent Wings of Freedom” are some of the best in Yes’ entire catalog. Key Tracks: Don’t Kill The Whale, Release, Release, On The Silent Wings of Freedom
14. Big Generator (1987) – If you really liked Yes in the 80s, you should like this one as well. “Shoot High Aim Low” is one of the band’s best songs and really reaches some incredible heights with White’s propulsive drums, eerie layered keyboards, Rabin’s tasteful guitar work, and Anderson’s stellar vocals. The title track and “Rhythm Of Love” pick up where 90125 left off, “I’m Running” is probably the most experimental (for better or worse) this line-up ever got, and “Love Will Find A Way” is just a solid late 80s rock with a lot of nice harmonies from Squire, Rabin, and Anderson. Key Tracks: Big Generator, Shoot High Aim Low, Love Will Find A Way
13. Union (1991) -Just about every one of the 8 members of Yes involved with this album are on record stating they hate it. Basically Anderson’s project along with producer Jonathan Elias and dozens of studio musicians who were brought in to complete it as quickly as possible so it would be released to coincide with a massive 1991 tour. Throw out the background of how it was made, and aside from very busy production on a lot of the tracks, the songs are actually pretty good. Along with Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989), these are Anderson’s most grounded set of lyrics focusing on personal relationships which has always been an appealing aspect of this time period to me. Bonus points for lots of involvement from bassist Tony Levin who manages to leave his mark on this probably more than any other ‘official’ member of the band. Key Tracks: Shock to the System, Miracle of Life, The More We Live
12. The Ladder (1999) – Amazing what a good producer could do with Yes in the past 25 years. Bruce Fairbairn (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Van Halen) brought out the best of the line-up at the time for one of their most satisfying later day albums. A good mix of the AOR/prog Yes of the 80s and early 90s and some good callbacks to the 70s (the last half of “Finally” would sit comfortably at home on Tales from Topographic Oceans). When it sounds like a band is having fun, the listener usually does as well and this is a good example of that. A strong moment in Yes’ history. Key Tracks: Homeworld, It Will Be A Good Day, Nine Voices
11. Talk (1994) – The 90125-lineup allowed guitarist Trevor Rabin to produce and (more or less) co-write the entire album with Anderson, and although the public mostly avoided it, Talk offers 80s Yes fans their unique brand of AOR songs thrown in a progressive rock food processor while also offering 70s Yes fans the Zeppelin-esque “Real Love” and closing 15 minute epic “Endless Dream.” Anderson’s vocals are especially strong on this one. Unfortunately out of print, but not hard to find. Key Tracks: The Calling, Walls, Endless Dream
10. Magnification (2001) – The last studio album to feature Anderson and it’s a really good one. Instead of a keyboard player, Anderson, Squire, Howe, and White play along with an orchestra on a really uplifting set of songs. Released on September 11th, it’s hard to listen to this album and separate it from that tragic event. Songs like “Give Love Each Day,” “In The Presence Of,” and “Spirit of Survival” (“in this world, the gods have lost their way”) echo what so many people were feeling during that time. This assured album was a result of the band’s re-energized live work in the late 90s and early 00s. Howe takes a little bit of a backseat in places, but his playing is very tasteful throughout. Anderson’s vocals have rarely sounded as beautiful, and Squire’s vocals also really shine on this album especially when he takes the lead on “Can You Imagine?” A great last offering of a Yes spearheaded by Anderson & Squire. Key Tracks: Magnification, In The Presence Of, Time Is Time
9. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989) – The Fragile/Close to The Edge line-up minus Chris Squire was operating as the “other” Yes in the late 80s and produced what really in retrospect seems to be a bridge album between to get Yes to start tapping back into their progressive roots. “Birthright” and “Brother of Mine” remain some of the band’s best songs. Elsewhere there’s a lot of really good material (“Themes,” “The Meeting,” “Let’s Pretend”) and some that is enthusiastically hit-and-miss (“Teakbois” and “Order of the Universe”). Key Tracks: Brother of Mine, Birthright, Quartet
8. Drama (1980) – Some of the best playing you’ll ever hear on a Yes album—and that’s saying something! With Wakeman and Anderson gone, Squire, Howe, and White had to up their game and they did with their own playing and adding multi-talented newcomers Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes (The Buggles). More aggressive and heavier than Yes had been up until that point. Howe’s guitar tone and playing on this album in particular really showcase how much of a unique sound he developed throughout the 70s and early 80s. Key Tracks: Machine Messiah, Run Through The Light, Tempus Fugit
7. Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) – 4 songs, 80 minutes of music. “The Revealing Science of God” and “Ritual” are true masterpieces. Each 20 minutes long and there’s not a note I would change on either of them. On many days I feel these are far and away the best things Yes ever did. However, “The Ancient” tests the patience of the listener, even for this huge Yes fan. That said, the fact that Yes decided to make this type of album at the height of their 70s success and one of the biggest bands in the world is really something to still marvel at all these years later. Key Tracks: The Revealing Science of God, Ritual
6. 90125 (1983) – Perhaps heard more times than you ever want to hear again, but “Owner of a Lonely Heart” is undeniably awesome. The rest of the album is just as good. Out of all the 70s prog bands that were able to reboot themselves and find commercial success in the 80s (The Moody Blues, Genesis, supergroup Asia), 90125 offered the most interesting and unique next phase thanks to producer Trevor Horn and fresh approach of new guitarist Trevor Rabin. Key Tracks: Owner of a Lonely Heart, Changes, Our Song
5. The Yes Album (1971) – First album with Howe replacing founding guitarist Peter Banks, this is the one that really created the blueprint for Yes’ best work in the 70s. Half the album is made up of the popular classic vinyl hits (“I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Yours Is No Disgrace,” and “Starship Trooper”), and the other half (Howe’s “Clap,” the brief-but-potent “A Venture,” and closing prog-stomper “Perpetual Change”) is just as good. Key Tracks: Your Is No Disgrace, I’ve Seen All Good People, Starship Trooper
4. Fragile (1971) – With keyboard wiz Wakeman replacing Tony Kaye, the band delved into even more adventurous territory than they had on The Yes Album released just several months earlier. Like that album, half of Fragile is the well-known 70s radio hits (“Roundabout,” “Long Distance Runaround/The Fish,” and “Heart of the Sunrise”) along with the lesser-known-but-essential “South Side of the Sky” and the shorter individual pieces that showcase each band member’s virtuosity. Key Tracks: Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, Heart of the Sunrise
3. Going for the One (1977) – Yes’ most diverse, and in many ways, most beautiful album. Each of the five songs is so different from one another and range from the country-rock flirtation of the title track to the stunning, classical-inspired “Turn of the Century” to the transformative “Awaken.” Howe is a MONSTER throughout, especially on “Parallels” and “Awaken,” where his solo from 2:48-3:56 continues to amaze me. Key Tracks: Wonderous Stories, Turn of the Century, Awaken
2. Relayer (1974) -I want to know where this album was recorded because it certainly wasn’t on Earth! One 20 minute song followed by two 10 minute ones. “Gates of Delirium” and “Soundchaser” are probably as abrasive as the band ever got. One of my favorite guitar solos from Howe is on “Soundchaser” and certainly one of the strangest you’ll ever hear. Echoing The Beatles, closer “To Be Over” ends with: “In the end, your soul will still surrender/in the end, don’t doubt your part, be ready to be loved.” Amen. Key Tracks: the whole album – The Gates of Delerium, Soundchaser, To Be Over
1. Close to the Edge (1972) – My favorite album of all time by any artist or band. There’s a reason this is routinely cited as the best progressive rock album of all time. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times and I still hear new things in it, especially on the title track which is just has an astonishing arrangement. The most accessible of Yes’ three most adventurous albums (Close to the Edge, Tales, and Relayer). When I’m asked why I like Yes so much or what makes them special to me, I just think that at their best, like on Close to the Edge, they offer a complete experience which tends to mirror life. There’s love, there’s anger. There’s beauty, there’s abrasiveness. Fast is followed by slow, ideas move back and forth between different individuals, emotions are elevated high before settling down. So many times throughout their career, Yes could take you on that journey and they never did it better than they did on this album. Key Tracks: the whole album – Close to the Edge, And You And I, and Siberian Khatru