The Yes Album - YES*****

Yours Is No Disgrace/The Clap/Starship Trooper/I'ver Seen All Good People/A Venture/Perpetual Change

The Yes Album was the first from the British progressive group Yes to feature their mature definitive sound of Jon Anderson’s ethereal vocals, backed by complex arrangements and memorable melodies. (US:40 UK:4)

“The Yes Album is their first real serious classic. They left behind psychedelic elements of the previous LPs and highlighted progressive elements and complex song structures. It's a real milestone both in the history of progressive rock and also in Yes' career. It's an excellent start to get to know one of the greatest progressive rock bands of all time.”

“Yes represent the kind of progressive rock I enjoy listening to with great melodies, various instruments blending together to create a very nice smooth sound. The band are tight, everything involved more or less fits perfectly into the whole.”

"The Yes Album is the band's breakthrough release and might even be their best effort, very close to it. It is full of excellent vocal harmonies combined with awesome instrumental work, which are good reasons to give this album a high rating.”

“Here, the progressive concept expands compared to the modest experimentations of the previous two LPs. The songs are much more stretched out, the songwriting is still very melodic, as Yes will always be, but here it is almost always top-notch. All of the melodies are great; the structure of these songs is always epic regardless of their lengths. The wonderful alternation between the strong bass-lines, the soaring keyboard solos, and the spacey guitars, is always present.”

“The entire album from start to finish flows so wonderfully. The musicianship is brilliant. Steve Howe’s debut was on this record and from day one he proves his merit as one of the most underrated and overlooked guitarists in history. The solo on Starship Trooper alone is a testimonial to that. Chris Squire is arguably the best bassist in rock history and Bill Bruford is among rock’s most overlooked drummers. Finally Jon Anderson's vocals are the best he ever recorded, partly due to the level of restraint he exhibits here.”

“Steve Howe came in and was the catalyst that Jon Anderson needed to explore longer songs while providing guitar pyrotechnics. With this set the band finally achieved their goal of playing complex arrangements but utilizing catchy and memorable harmonies which remain in your head long after the song is finished.”