------------------------------------------------------- JULY 12, 2000 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: City Beat http://www.citybeat.com/2000-07-12/music.shtml Yes Indeed Original members of '70s Prog legends Yes return with a new album and tour By Alan Sculley The current Yes CD, The Ladder, is being promoted as a return to the classic Progressive Rock sound the band first established in the 1970s with The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge, three albums many long-time fans still consider the group's definitive works. Bassist Chris Squire is well aware of how The Ladder is being positioned. But he hesitates to characterize Yes as having attempted a return to anything. "I'd rather look at it as a reinvention," Squire says. Still, even Squire acknowledges some linkage between today's Yes and the musical direction forged by the early edition of the band. "I guess we went into a few areas that were reflective of what we did back then," he says. "But really, it's just the players doing their thing individually and collectively. We've been through various eras with this band, different styles of Yes, the long pieces of music and then the "Owner of the Lonely Heart" period (in the early 1980s) where it was poppier. And I think what we learned is we can go to different places, and we're not afraid to do that because we've done quite a bit of it. But there's always going to be like a reflection of the past. "At the end of the day, there are a couple of (songs) I suppose you could say are tipping our hat to stuff from the '70s, and from the '80s, too," Squire says of The Ladder. "But on the whole, I really look upon it as a fresh feel." Actually, that last statement may have less to do with a description of the music on The Ladder than as a reference to the state of mind of today's Yes. Over a 32-year history, the band has been through numerous shifts in personnel, significant peaks and valleys in popularity and several creative rebirths. Originally formed in 1968, Yes first took wing in 1971 when guitarist Steve Howe joined original members Jon Anderson (vocals), Chris Squire (bass), Bill Bruford (drums) and Tony Kaye (keyboards) to make The Yes Album. Featuring such Yes standards as "Yours Is No Disgrace," "Starship Trooper" and "I've Seen All Good People," that record helped define the Progressive Rock style and established Yes as a major presence in the Rock world. Rick Wakeman replaced Kaye for the 1972 follow-up, Fragile, and the band's popularity exploded behind the hit single "Roundabout." The 1972 release, "Close to the Edge" culminated a three-album peak widely regarded as Yes' finest hour. The quality of music and the popularity of the band began to gradually fade through the remainder of the decade. And after three albums that received a mixed critical and popular reception, Going For The One (1977), Tormato (1978), and Drama (1980), Yes reached a crossroads. Howe left to join the Progressive Rock supergroup Asia, while Anderson and Wakeman concentrated on solo work. Even Squire, the lone member who has been a part of every Yes album, reached the only period where he seriously questioned if Yes had a future. "We were very tired at the end of the '70s, I know that," Squire says. "There was a period there where we were on sabbatical, if you like. I wasn't quite sure how it was going to come out of that because myself and Alan White (the drummer who replaced Bruford -- off to King Crimson -- after Fragile) were going to go with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's group, the whole thing of us starting that XYZ Band, which could have obviously gone on to have success because of the names involved. "It didn't happen, but at the time it seemed like a real good idea," Squire says of the proposed project with the former Led Zeppelin bandmates. "And I think at the end of the day I'm happier that it didn't happen, and that Yes started rolling again. I think it turned out in the right direction." Indeed, Yes did re-emerge in 1983, but with some significant changes. Guitarist Trevor Rabin replaced Howe, and Kaye returned to the keyboard slot. Rabin, in particular, was credited with steering Yes toward a more streamlined Pop sound, and this edition of the band enjoyed huge success with the 1983 release 90125 (featuring the hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart") and the 1987 album Big Generator. The turn of the decade, however, brought a period of confusion, with Rabin continuing to lead Yes, while a splinter group with four '70s-era members -- Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe -- formed. Both editions joined forces for an ill-fated 1991 CD, Union, before Anderson, Rabin, Squire, Kaye and White formed yet another edition of Yes for the 1994 release, Talk. Following that project, Anderson, Squire and White reunited with Wakeman and Howe for mid-'90s tours, which produced the 1996 CD Keys to Ascension, Vol. 1 (and Vol. 2 in 1997) Squire had hoped this classic lineup would stay intact, but Wakeman's decision to return to a solo career scuttled those plans. Interestingly, at this point the group experienced something of a rededication. Squire and newly recruited rhythm guitarist Billy Sherwood began writing the bulk of the material for the 1997 effort Open Your Eyes. With Howe, White and Anderson rejoining the lineup, the band committed to a yearlong tour, followed immediately by recording sessions for The Ladder. The music on The Ladder, which also features contributions from new keyboardist Igor Khoroshev, suggests that today's band members have become re-inspired musically. Several songs on The Ladder, which was released last year, evoke the intricate music of Yes' '70s output. The most obvious examples are the extended tracks "The Messenger," "New Language" and "Homeworld (The Ladder)," each boasting the multiple movements, interwoven solos and varying textures, tempos and moods that defined the band's early music. A few other tunes, such as "It Will Be A Good Day (The River)" and "If You Only Knew," are less involved and more Pop oriented, if not quite as radio-oriented as some of the music written by the Rabin-led editions of Yes. Overall, The Ladder may not rival albums like Fragile or 90125, but it may be the strongest Yes CD of the '90s. "This is probably the most democratically involved album we did, only from the fact that we agreed that whoever came up with an idea, it wouldn't matter," Squire says of The Ladder recording sessions. "We would all just work on the idea and just get the best of what we were doing, whatever the source it was. So everyone had a good feeling about the way the album would go." The Ladder, however will also be remembered on a sadder note, as it became the final project for producer Bruce Fairbairn, well known for his work with Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Kiss. He died of a heart attack in April shortly after beginning the mixing process on the CD. "I had actually just finished everything I needed to do in terms of music and backing voices," Squire says. "I was really just setting up to do the mixing, and I was still with him (Fairbairn) in the office and I said 'I think you know what you're doing, so I'm just going to split and let you carry on with the mixing process.' That was a couple of days before he died. It was really quite a shock. Fortunately his engineer, Mike Plotnikoff, who had worked with him for the last 10 years, pretty much knew what direction (the mixing) was going to go in." "He certainly affected the way the album came out. He was a very good producer," Squire says. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com