Yes (Yes album)
| Yes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK cover | ||||
| Studio album by Yes | ||||
| Released | 25 July 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Studio |
Advision and Trident Studios (London, England) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:30 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer |
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| Yes chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Yes | ||||
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Yes is the first studio album from the English rock band Yes, released on 25 July 1969 by Atlantic Records. Recorded during the first year of their formation, the album displays the band's early musical direction of performing rearranged cover versions of songs by pop, jazz, and folk artists. The album includes covers of "Every Little Thing" by The Beatles and "I See You" by The Byrds and original material, much of which written by singer Jon Anderson.
Yes was not a commercial success upon release and failed to enter the UK chart, but it received a considerable amount of positive reviews from UK and US press. "Sweetness" and "Looking Around" were released as singles which also failed to chart. Yes was remastered in 1994 and 2003; the latter remaster contains several previously unreleased tracks including a rendition of "Something's Coming" from West Side Story.
Background and recording
The original line-up of vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford remained intact for the album's recording. In March 1969, New Musical Express announced that Yes had signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records.[2]
Anderson is credited on the original LP as "John Anderson" as he hadn't adopted the "Jon" spelling at this time.
Songs
In a news/blog post on 20 September 2010, Bill Bruford commented about the track "Harold Land" - "Harold Land was a hard-bop tenor saxophone player, dead now, but quite why we named a song after him I can't remember".[3] The song is about the effects of war on the named character, and bears no relation to the life of the sax player Harold Land.
"Every Little Thing" (starting at 1:55) contains the main guitar riff from The Beatles song "Day Tripper".
"Sweetness" is featured in Vincent Gallo's first movie as a director, Buffalo '66.
Release and reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Rolling Stone | (positive)[5] |
Lester Bangs favourably reviewed the album in Rolling Stone, writing that it was "the kind of album that sometimes insinuates itself into your routine with a totally unexpected thrust of musical power."[5]
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Beyond & Before" | Chris Squire, Clive Bayley | 4:58 |
| 2. | "I See You" | Jim McGuinn, David Crosby | 6:54 |
| 3. | "Yesterday and Today" | Jon Anderson | 2:53 |
| 4. | "Looking Around" | Anderson, Squire | 4:18 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 5. | "Harold Land" | Anderson, Bill Bruford, Squire | 5:45 |
| 6. | "Every Little Thing" | Lennon–McCartney | 5:46 |
| 7. | "Sweetness" | Anderson, Bayley, Squire | 4:35 |
| 8. | "Survival" | Anderson | 6:23 |
| 2003 remaster bonus tracks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 9. | "Everydays" (single version) | Stephen Stills | 6:23 |
| 10. | "Dear Father" (early version #2) | Anderson, Squire | 5:51 |
| 11. | "Something's Coming" | Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | 7:09 |
| 12. | "Everydays" (early version) | Stills | 5:18 |
| 13. | "Dear Father" (early version #1) | Anderson, Squire | 5:31 |
| 14. | "Something's Coming" (early version) | Bernstein, Sondheim | 8:02 |
Personnel
- Yes
- Jon Anderson – lead vocals
- Peter Banks – guitars, vocals
- Chris Squire – bass guitar, vocals
- Tony Kaye – Hammond organ, piano
- Bill Bruford – drums, vibraphone
- Production
- Paul Clay – producer
- Haig Adishian – cover design (UK edition)
- David Gahr – cover photograph (US edition)
Reissues
- 1989 - Atlantic - CD
- 1994 - Atlantic - CD (Remastered)
- 2003 - Rhino - CD (Remastered with bonus tracks)
References
- 1 2 http://www.allmusic.com/album/yes-mw0000654289
- ↑ "Tail-Pieces". New Musical Express. 15 March 1969. p. 18. Retrieved 21 September 2016 – via ProQuest. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Bill Bruford news archive". www.billbruford.com. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ↑ Eder, Bruce (2011). "Yes - Yes | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- 1 2 Bangs, Lester (2011). "Yes: Yes : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
