----------------------------------------------------- DECEMBER 15, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: New York Times Review: In a Word: Yes (1969- ) By Kelefa Sanneh In the early 1970s, Yes helped invent progressive rock: one of its best compositions, "Heart of the Sunrise", was an extraordinary 10-minute patchwork of power balladry and avant-gared funk. Unfortunately, this set follows Yes up to the present, and while the group kept experimenting, much of the later material is tedious or risible or both. There aren't enough unreleased tracks to satisfy hardcore Yes-men or -women and no casual listener should have to listen to "Don't Kill The Whale". Luckily, the accompanying esays are informative and amusing. We learn that the keyboardist Rick Wakeman once ate chicken curry onstage (he was protesting the group's increasing self-indulgence). And the group's philosopher and critic Bill Martin really gets into the Yes spirit while describing the band's musical language: "We do not know if this language is infinite, and we probably cannot know -- for what do we finite mortals know of infinity?" Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com