Union

[Hawkingsminddrive]

Rate this Yes album and give your comments please.

[yesyadda]

It's got a few bonehead songs, but some of my favorite Yes music too. Overall I love it. I think it's a fine effort by the *cough* band. ;)

[Hawkingsminddrive]

I vote for the it's O.K. option. There are some real good songs and some not so good ones.

Steve Howe is barely on the album at all. Maybe that's why when you see them do Shock to the System from that tour Trevor Rabin is playing a lot of it.

[Martin Riley]

It's Ok

I Would Have Waited Forever and Miracle of Life help to cover up a multitude of sins

[Hacman]

I voted OK. There are a few "almost" great songs and Lift Me Up and Masquerade are great.

[paulovajao]

I Voted As I Love It,i Must Confess I Wasn´t Fund For Union Until Brotherofmine (tony) Finaly Converted Me To The Album,until Then I Never Put My Ear Set On Union!odd Thing Isn´t It? But It Has Great Songs Along With Rabin/howe Guitars (not Only).

[GODSPEED]

Outside of a few tunes it's pretty brutal.

[packattack4]

Ihave the Denver dvd and it is an awesome show, so i voted i love it

[pianozach]

Gawrsh, I really like this collection, in general.

I love the Rabin songs, and Angor Wat & The More We Live/Let Go. And Evensong too. And Masquerade.

Although my Yes solo collection is far from complete, I'd say that 3 or 4 of the songs are pirated and reworked Steve Howe songs.

The controversy surrounding the album (that a lot of Howe's and Wakeman's parts were, ahem, altered) was unknown to me until recently, even though I DID notice the musician credits (isn't THAT odd?) when I first played it.

It's interesting how different Jon's voice sounds on the Classic Yes vs. the YesWest tracks. I think it's in part, due to the different range he's singing in. He seems to be singing generally higher on the Classic tracks.

The Classic Yes lineup does sound to me as though they're trying to sound a lot like a cross between the Drama lineup and the YesWest lineup.

I did appreciate the small effort they made by dubbing some Squire background vocals onto the Classic tracks.

Nice cover, too. The parallel set of lyrics/liner notes were a bit confusing, though

[luckeydoug1]

Some great songs: Lift Me Up, Miracle of Life, The More We Live. These are some of my most favorite from the Yes catalog.

And some not so good ones.....

Overall not quite as good as my other Yes favorites: 91025, Big Generator, Talk, Magnification, The Ladder, Open Your Eyes and Fragile; but still better than Relayer, Drama, CTTE, Keys I and II, and Going for the One for me.

[simon oakey]

Lift Me Up,Miracle of Life and Masquerade are great tracks ,the rest of it promises so much but never quite gets there.If the album was trimmed by about 20 minutes,saving the best bits,it could have been an all time great.

[1yesfan]

Miracle Of Life from the 90125 Album was the better version!

[Purple Wolfhound]

Ok - but imo this is not a Yes album and there was no 'union' of band members on it - that didn't come until the tour. So the title is a sham when viewed in that context. There are a few gems from both bands, but ultimately the whole enterprise becomes bogged down - and boring - by the weight of its own contrivance.

My thinking is they should have just released a live album of the tour and recorded some studio tracks while on the tour. That would have been a far better – and more believable – Union.

[luckeydoug1]

Miracle Of Life from the 90125 Album was the better version!


Did you mean the 90124 album? If so, I agree 100%. I also like the intro to Changes as it appears on 90124 as well as Walls better than the official version. Annnd..... as much as I love Owner, I think a lot was lost from the original concept as is appears on 90124 demo (not the accoustic intro). I really love the middle section: "Don't say that you're trav'lin' that way. Its a one way ticket....". I guess I just really like 90124!

[YESYOUANDI]

Hate it lots.

Cheers fans.

[NobodyImportant]

I didn't vote because there aren't enough options. I don't "love it," but I think it's better than "OK but not that good."

I'm sure it would have been better if some of the parts hadn't been mixed out, and I'm not a big fan of the drum sounds on it, but there are several good songs, especially "Miracle of Life," which is the song that prompted me to seek out the CD, and "Lift Me Up." Of course, there are a few weak tracks on the CD as well. Not a classic Yes album, but still mostly a pretty enjoyable listen.

[BredYes]

There is one good song: Maquerade. I like Shock to the system to a certain degree, it very much reminds me to the year 1991, a special year for me. All the other songs I don't like. I heard Saving my heart some days ago. It's a shame to call this song a Yes song.

[Scooty]

Can I just vote...UGH! ?????

[Terry Shea]

The first 5 tracks are awesome! After that there is nothing that really stands out. The remaining YesWest tracks are particularly dull. Angkor Wat really destroys everything ABWH had going up until that point.

[cinderella]

I like Union. There's a few songs I don't care for, but all in all, I think it's much better than Going For The One, Tormato and a few others.

Did you mean the 90124 album? If so, I agree 100%. I also like the intro to Changes as it appears on 90124 as well as Walls better than the official version. Annnd..... as much as I love Owner, I think a lot was lost from the original concept as is appears on 90124 demo (not the accoustic intro). I really love the middle section: "Don't say that you're trav'lin' that way. Its a one way ticket....". I guess I just really like 90124!

Everything was better on 90124.

[True Believer]

To be honest, I've hardly ever listened to it. I should really give it more of a chance, I suppose.

[YesJen357]

Steve Howe is barely on the album at all. Maybe that's why when you see them do Shock to the System from that tour Trevor Rabin is playing a lot of it.
If you read Mr. Elias's comments about the recording of the album, Steve was stoned most of the time and couldn't be relied upon to do his part.
It certainly is an interesting and controversial period in YES history. There are such strong and opposing views on the layout, production and composition of the album, it is amazing.
I like one of Rick's less oft quoted comments.... "it was an aweful album but an incredibly good tour. Yes did some of their best playing ever on that tour."

Me, I love the album. It caught my interest with the first couple of tracks and never disappointed from there-after.
I've always been surprised that I am in a minority with my appreciation for 'Union.'

[Andrea YouAndI]

I had to be the rebel and voted "love it." Originally I wasn't very fond of most of it, since I bought it for the Rabin tracks (of which all but "The More We Live" are huge favorites, and even that's not too bad). But the more I listened to a lot of the Howe tracks, the more I warmed up to them, enough that I finally bought the ABWH album a couple weeks ago. About the only track on the album that I perpetually skip is "Angor Wat." I just don't "get" that song. Aside from the 3 Rabin songs, my favorites are "Masquerade," "Dangerous" and "I Would Have Waited Forever."

[Jackaranda]

To be honest, I've hardly ever listened to it. I should really give it more of a chance, I suppose.

Nah.....don't bother True.

It's fair.....a few good songs but a lot of bad ones too.

[True Believer]

Nah.....don't bother True.

It's fair.....a few good songs but a lot of bad ones too.

Yeah, I know, Jack, but feel that I should give it more of a listen. It's the only Yes album that I've never got into.

[Jackaranda]

Yeah, I know, Jack, but feel that I should give it more of a listen. It's the only Yes album that I've never got into.

In that case, just ignore everything after "The More We Live". And ignore the first 2 songs. "Shock" is OK live but the studio version is weak. IWHWF should have been a decent song but......it's not.

Part of the problem is that the ABWH material is so badly produced, I guess.....like a 1991 version of Tormato. Weak songs and bad production.

[cinderella]

"Shock" is OK live but the studio version is weak.


Actually they both suck. I hate that song.

[Jackaranda]

Actually they both suck. I hate that song.

But at least the live version has the Yeswest guys on it. They make it better, imho.

[cinderella]

But at least the live version has the Yeswest guys on it. They make it better, imho.

Yeah true. I have the dvd of the Denver show so at least I can focus on Trevor. I think it's the vocals that turn me off on that song. I just don't like them.....but again, that's just me.

[sirlespaul]

not my favorite by "average"
it doesn't seem that good but it's ok.

[YESYOUANDI]

The union cd makes a great beer/wine mat.....whilst listening to Tales.

Cheers fans.

[yes_angel]

I love it! its one of the finest in that YES era

[CybrKhatru]

I really liked Union when it came out....and learning about the politics surrounding its 'creation' didn't faze me.

I don't think it's aged terribly well, but there are some good songs on it, and I do listen to it from time to time!

[somissound]

Part of the problem is that the ABWH material is so badly produced, I guess.....like a 1991 version of Tormato. Weak songs and bad production.

It seems Tormato was under produced, and Union was over produced...see the credits on the ABWH union songs.

Tormato and Drama were not that far apart in time, but the recording quality (or production/mixing) sounds 10 years apart...

I really dig Tony Levin at the end of Holding On..Silent Talking has some good Bruford/Levin/Howe too...and Lift Me Up always gets me:heydude:

[Witch Seasoner]

Hmmmm. . .I wish there was a choice between "Love It" and "It's O.K. but not that good." There's enough stuff I really like, that it's more than just OK for me, but, a couple songs that keep me from an emphatic "Love It."

I'm stingy with my love. :cool:

[podo]

It starts off pretty good, and just gets worse and worse as it goes on

It may have been better to put it out as two seperate albums, but then it wouldnt be a union I guess

The token effort of having Jon and Chris sing on the "others" tracks is more of an insult than anything

[RandyC]

It has Miracle Of Life, which I feel is a great song,
so I vote YES!

[proglady]

Onion really, especially for such a great company of musicians.
Some songs are nice though (if I didn't know another Yes albums)

[KPatrick]

Angkor Wat really destroys everything ABWH had going up until that point.

I was in Vegas this past weekend and after all the bells and whistles, really needed to cool out in my hotel room. "Angkor Wat" was one of the first songs I went for, staring out the hotel window, watching the moon come up over the mountains.

I'm not sure that what happened on "Angkor Wat" was qualitatively different from what ABWH "had going" up until that point. ABWH (the album) doesn't get the same rep as UNION does for being ruined by accountants and producers, but Steve Howe has some comments in YESSTORIES that indicate that some repair work was done to ABWH. And for all the hosannas thrown towards this album as a return to the spirit of Yes, it sounds to me like it wasn't a lot more organic than BIG GENERATOR. I've never thought Jon wanted to "recapture the spirit of Yes" as much as he wanted to "be in charge of a band of Yes musicians." Most of what I've read says he assembled ABWH from mailed-in parts. He certainly did that on UNION.

In that sense, "Angkor Wat" is only a departure from ABWH in that Bruford and Howe aren't on it. Elias himself has said they just assembled it from overdubs. Whatever, it's a nice ambient piece. I don't even mind the Cambodian poetry at the end. But I think the spirit of ABWH, the album and the band, was alive and well on this track.

[KPatrick]

Anyhow, I just forced a tie between "love it" and "it's OK." On its own terms, absent the politics, I really like this album. I have trouble rating it among YEs albums, because of the politics, but I love this album.

[new_sum_do_solve_ay]

It's definitely hot! I voted it to be 'Love it.' There is a lot better, but I definitely like LOTS of stuff on it.
1) Sooo many tracks
2) Most of the tracks are winner
AND
3) Many of the tracks try something NEW and FRESH: Silent Talking (rhythms!), Angkor Wat, Saving My Heart ( I swear they are trying to sound like they are in the Carribean), and more....
4) Lift Me Up -- this rocks hard I got many college friends to agree turning it up past 8 LOL.
5) ABWH was sooooo good. I had an anticipation building. I WANTED it to be great. I made myself like it. There's nothing I dislike about it.

[tommyhawk]

I voted "love it." There's something about me that makes me like as favorites the albums that are widely rated as a group's worst. Of course that's no always the case.

I think Rush's "Caress of Steel," King Crimson's "Islands," and Yes's "Union" are all awesome.

'Silent talking' may be my favorite Yes song (or To be Over.) It never fails to bring tears to my eyes or leave me spellbound with it's growing intensity.

Just my $.02.

[Australian]

A little dissapointing but in now way a faliure and it does have some very good moments.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>