Don't Kill Tormato . . .

[robusan]

I keep reading less-than-flattering posts about Tormato so I thought I'd come to the rescue so to speak. Tormato is easily in my top 10 YES albums (probably around 6 or 7). "FUTURE TIMES", "MADRIGAL", "RELEASE, RELEASE", "ONWARD", "SILENT WINGS . . ." Lots of great material. I even love "Don't Kill The Whale" and "Circus Of Heaven". One thing that I love about "Tormato" is the production. It may not be the most consistent of YES albums, but I love the fact that it sounds like 5 guys in a room playing the material! What I mean is that there seems to be far less overdubbing than on previous YES albums. I love the overdubs - and the fullness of "Awaken" for instance, but it's also nice to have songs that the band can more easily reproduce live. Does any of this make sense? I'm not claiming the album is perfect but the bass sound is awesome and Alan had a very unique drum set-up (and sound) at the time. My only complaint could be that as Chris once said "It just seems to me that both Rick and Steve on that particular album were seeing which one could play more notes than the other one" (Notes from the Edge, quoted in "Yesstories"). Any thoughts? There must be other Tormato fans out there . . .

[daniel sylvain]

Yes, there is one here...I played Tormato twice this week on my way to work and I still enjoy it very much..My very first Yes show was Tormato Ten true summers Quebec april 18th 1979...I will never forget it..

[crotale2112]

please..... if you meshed together release release into future times rejoice into madrrigal..... I know there are meny yes fans that would call it a classic yes epic masterpiece.
Tormato is one of my top yes albums. I love the way it sounds no matter what anyone says to me. Steve does amazing work with the spanish guitar and I love the sound chris gets with the harmonised rickenbacker. Jon is amazing all over the album.
Arriving ufo is #1 on my list of songs that I would love to hear live.

[islandsofarabia]

My only complaint could be that as Chris once said "It just seems to me that both Rick and Steve on that particular album were seeing which one could play more notes than the other one"

I think everyone in Yes sort of overplayed and oversang on it...(Wakeman stuck out the most...someone had to!!)
But it is a great album that I have always really really liked...and I saw them on tour a couple of times right before and after the album came out (i think), as a wide-eyed kid.

But my main gripe is...well...it was just so strange that the album cover didn't fold open like the others. You just knew that the music world had changed.

[crotale2112]

I think everyone in Yes sort of overplayed and oversang on it...(Wakeman stuck out the most...someone had to!!)
But it is a great album that I have always really really liked...

But my main gripe is...well...it was just so strange that the album cover didn't fold open like the others. You just knew that the music world had changed.
So true... so very true. "What is this funky blue yes album" I said to myself. I remember looking for more artwork when it came out. Why didn't fold open?Yet it was still cool. It was so strange. Yet the seeds look so real. Why is everything so blue? What is this yes tor thing situated two and a half miles from okehampton? What are the far away places with strange sounding names.? That's what I like about tormato is that it's strange. Crazy funky north drums alan used too.... super funky drums. super funky rickenbacker.... I love it. bell trees and crotales!
I saw a tormato tee shirt once, it was soooooo cool!
Tales is the best album for cleaning seeds.

[somissound]

Future Times, Arriving UFO, Onward... Some of my favorite Yes...

[RobAdams]

I always liked TORMATO. Compared with their previous albums it may have seemed a bit fragmented, but I enjoyed it when it was new, and I enjoy it today. It's aged better than I thought it might.

[acejackalope]

Okehampton and Yes Tor are real places in England. Yes Tor is actually in an army firing range and is not safe unless they aren't using it at that time.

I wanted to go there when I was in that part of England in the 90's but it was just too far out of the way to the SW of anyplace else we were going.

[Andrea YouAndI]

Here's an older thread on the subject: http://www.yesfans.com/showthread.php?t=36446

As I said then, Tormato is one of my favorite Yes albums. They rocked hard with "Release Release," something I'd love to see them try again.

[yesyadda]

Crazy about this album! Was fortunate to see a show on this tour (still got the ticket stub). I always felt the the songs really highlight the talents of the band members individually and as a whole.

A few years ago I was sub-teachering for a second grade class. I read them the lyrics to Circus of Heaven and they were absolutely spellbound. I got chokey.

[luvyesmusic]

Love it. Something different, something mighty good, it's a little all over the place in terms of the differences in the songs-no real theme going on.. I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep just as it ended listening to it with my headphones on. It use to be a personal record, or so I thought. I'm glad so many yesfans like it too.

[maninthemoon]

I love it. When I was growing up though, Circus of Heaven was the one song my non-yes friends would make fun of over and over again. In their mind it was the height of the airy-fairy-ness of Yes. I still love it–every song on the album.

[RickyG]

Yeah, another big Tormato fan here.

Particularly Future Times/Rejoice, Madrigal, Circus of Heaven, Silent Wings of Freedom.

I am less of a fan of Release,Release... Whale, Onward.
All good songs but not my favorites from that album.

The remastered CD sounds great.
I love all those notes that Steve and Rick play, not "too many" at all!!

The only weak point is the album cover "artwork"....
Hipgnosis did not groove with YES....

PS - I saw this tour three times... my first three YES concerts.
I would love to see them do "Future Times/Rejoice" live again. I am rather disappointed that Jon indicated he isn't considering this material... based on some strange idea of "who will be coming to the shows". I don't get that at all. I might not even see a show on this tour... but if Jon had said they were going to do "Future Times/Rejoice", "To Be Over", "The Remembering" I would absolutely change my summer plans around and see at least a couple of shows.....

[Timmo]

I saw both legs of this tour...the Tormato material was amazing live, and I think the band was at the top of their game.

[JL]

Tormato is a great album, and has always meant a great deal to me personally.

[Earl Grey]

I LOVE Tormato.

I didn't love it when I first heard it, the day it came out.

I didn't get punk. I liked 'New Wave', which meant B-52s.

Corporate rock made me want to worship the porcelain throne.

Tormato was a little confused. Or perhaps it had diverted from the crowd, and attempted to be it's own thing.

On The Silent Wings Of Freedom knocked me off my ass the first time I'd heard it.
The rest of the album took some listens.

But as time has passed, it has become one of my favorite, and most listened to YES albums. I just love it.

Strange days back then.

Stranger now, but I LOVE Tormato, no reservations.

eegee

[nitram]

I think Tormato was a different sound/direction that could have used some fine tuning..Rick's keys always bother me on this,i think it would have been nice if he took an approach to key parts and sounds similar to what Peter Gabriel did on his 3rd album and Security..I love the way those records sound and it would be cool to hear Yes's take on that kind of direction..and it's a shame the band was falling apart at this time,the arrangements just don't gel together as smoothly as before,but you hear something different on Tormato though.

[Senor Mono]

Future Times, Arriving UFO, DKTW, Madrigal, Onward, Countryside, Picasso, some of my ALL time Yes favourites :rockon:


They just needed a producer and someone to mix it a lil' betta. imo

[CybrKhatru]

Tormato is a strange one, especially following GFTO. But I love it, partly because it is so different from what came before.

[Senor Mono]

I saw both legs of this tour...the Tormato material was amazing live, and I think the band was at the top of their game.

Top of their game? Symphonic Tour.

[Faceintheplace]

I've never really liked Circus or UFO but I really like Release and Silent Wings, Future Times/ Rejoice is quite good as well and Don't Kill the Whale became a good song live. I especially like the Yesshows version. The Tormato Rhino reissue changed the way I look at the album. There was unused material that could have elevated the quality of the original album.

[cinderella]

Funny....I never liked Don't Kill The Whale, but now I do.

Weird.

[relayeire]

Funny....I never liked Don't Kill The Whale, but now I do.

Weird.

the Yesshows version is better...

[maninthemoon]

I like all of it, especially all of it.
I'll take it over Drama or Big Generator.

[Earl Grey]

I'm a Tormato fan.

I listen to it nearly as much as I listen to CTTE.

There you go, so replace me as an Admin.

I could find some nasties I wrote, on site, about the album, way back when, here.

We change.

eegee

;)

Much love for Tormato.

give it another spin.

[Scottie]

Tormato was the second Yes album I bought upon its original release date. As such I have always had a soft spot for it, in its entirety.

I also saw both legs of the tour as well. My introduction to Yes live was in ‘78. I can't feel otherwise but hold this album as being special.

[jsb779]

I'm so glad to see this post here. I have owned Tormato for nearly 10 years and just started really getting into it this year. What a great album, Yes played so cool on here. They had done everything musically up to that point from 1967, so they just kinda took an aggresive prog stance and put out an very inderestimated record here. It obviously got buried underneath the punk and new wave movement at the end of the 70's, I feel it was ignored album. Release, Release, Future Times, Don't Kill The Whale and that killer middle intrumental section on Arriving UFO.... It sounds so fresh and you can feel the transition in the band into the 80's start here as the feel pushed its way onto the Drama album.

Please, don't kill tormato.....

[Timmo]

Some of the production on Tormato was a bit weak, but I think the Tormato tour was the boys absolutely on top of their game...and the Tormato material was AMAZING live.

[Faceintheplace]

Yeah, they brought their a-game on the '78 - '79 tour, I love hearing shows from that period.

[Scooty]

Some of the production on Tormato was a bit weak, but I think the Tormato tour was the boys absolutely on top of their game...and the Tormato material was AMAZING live.

Exactly!!

Tormato (The Album) may have had some poor production value, but that tour...from what I have heard (thank the Lord for weeds) was astounding live!!

[Timmo]

Nah, Scoot, you had to be there.

Oh I forgot...you were 7!

Personally, I'd have missed the shows to have ten years back....