This album gets a bad rep

[MisterBaron]

I really don't see why this album is so hated......Yes it's a bit poppier than we'd have expected from Yes up to that point, but most of the songs work. The songs also have a considerable amount of energy to them and you can tell the band is having a good time on this album. Silent Wings is a fantastic epic closer, Don't Kill the Whale is a fun catchy song, and Future Times starts the album off with a bang. Circus of Heaven is a bit corny, but for the most part I think the songs are quality. I would say that this album is a lot better than the stuff Yes would be putting out for the next 10 years. At least Steve Howe is on it, and gives us some great guitar work. I will admit, Wakeman's synths were getting a bit cheesy at this point, but I can overlook that. Plus you gotta admit the album cover is great!

[R'tanys]

I agree, MisterBaron, that this is indeed a strong effort from the band. Lots of great stuff. I'm less than crazy about the cover, though. I think something from Roger Dean would have fit the bill much better.

[BlueEagle]

Funny you should mention it- I was just listening to it today. To me, i see great songs but lousy production (or maybe lack of it). The bass and synth sounds are awful but the album is saved by great guitar and good tunes. It would have helped to have one long piece on the level of Awaken but oh well. The Tormato songs were good performed live too

[VentureRG]

I also really like Tormato. As a whole album I like it more than GFTO. It's got a concept feel to it. All the tunes seem to fit together well. I had it in my car recently and I still hear new sounds each time I listen to it. I'm indifferent about the cover. I don't dislike it. I wonder who came up with the idea of combining the TOR concept with tomato?

[MisterBaron]

"I wonder who came up with the idea of combining the TOR concept with tomato?"

I believe Rick was drunk and just randomly chucked a tomato onto the cover.

[BrianD]

I think the original working title for the album was Campaign - leastways that is what a contemporaneous interview suggests.

I have always like Tormato because its full of good tunes. The lack of a long piece sort of brought it full circle back to the early albums and in a way seemed right for the time. I was only aware of the 'bad rap' this album has from the last few years on the Internet - before that I was blissfully unaware that so many don't like it.

Certainly some of the synth sounds don't quite make it but there are some brilliant tracks there.

[Earl Grey]

If I were more adventurous, I'd go back and quote some of my old posts on Yesfans... Back three years ago. I still had some trouble with Tormato, even then.

When Tormato came out, I was hoping that YES would save us from the drivel of Punk, and the treakle of Disco. 'Close To The Edge-Plus' would have been in order... YES can save the world! Ah, but they didn't...

Well, they saved the world in 1977.

'Awaken' was quite sufficient for that. :ele:

...I was a young-pup when Tormato came out.
I was full of piss and vinegar: I really wanted YES to 'show em'.

Tormato was a reasonably good facsimile of an 'edgy' YES album ...and it WAS contemporary for 1979... Even though you could buy a cheap casio keyboard with every sound Wakey put on Tormato, just a short time after...
Who would have ever guessed that the technology of 1979 would become 'quaint' so quickly. Not Wakeman's fault, that's for sure.

I shook my head back then, I felt that YES was acknowledging pop trends, and I felt a bit betrayed at the time.
I copped an attitude, which followed me up until the mid nineties, when I rediscovered my first love.

Tormato, in retrospect, is a fine album.

'Future Times is one of the best songs the band has ever performed.

'On The Silent Wings Of Freedom' is the grist. The stuff of wonder. You could line your pockets with those stars, and walk away an enlightened soul.

And now, 24 years later, I love Tormato: in fact, it's become one of my favorite YES albums of all time. I listen to it frequently: maybe more than anything else by the band.

Funny... HOW I hated Tormato when it came out!

Ah, it's the great, maligned YES album, and worth much more than a second look.

'Onward'. Inimitable. Maybe Chris Squire's finest song, ever.

Arriving UFO: Silly! But fun, damnit! And hell, if Jon says he saw a UFO, who am I to question?! ;)

I love Tormato.

How I hated it at first!

It's right there next to CTTE, as far as I am concerned. Gawd, I love the thing.

Earlie G.yesbird:

[Original_Shifty]

Other than Circus and UFO, the rest of the album is spectacular. I love this CD and can't wait for the remastered and expanded.

[bender]

blueeagle- Lousy production? I don't think so - some of the keyboard sounds may not be to everyones liking, but the way Tormato was recorded was superb! - it has a clarity only 3 or 4 other Yes records can match.

As for the bass parts - all I can say is that with Tormato you get to hear the very best of Chris IMO, especially on Silent Wings or Release Release.

[BlueEagle]

Welllllll... I havent heard the CD of it so I'll reserve judgement on that point. The sound on vinyl doesnt compare to GFTO, IMO. Chris's playing is great as always but the bass sound I find irratating. Release Release is one of their best songs, I agree. I still think the album could have been much better. But thats just me.

[gleeman]

I just heard this album again for the first time in 10 years. I remebered it as being almost unlistenable--horrible mix, nobody listening to each other and just cramming every available space with wanky noodling. And while I still think Rick and Steve especially get in each other's way too much, and its not just the keyboard sounds but what Rick plays that's so cheesy, I have to agree that there's something fresh and really energetic about this record. A lot of the arrangements are very creative and quirky, and Chris and Alan especially seem to be enjoying themselves. Favorite track: Release Release! Audacious, cranking, relatively straight forward but still bizarre rhythmically, it's almost like an oddball attempt at prog-punk!

[lrs]

I have to say that I love Tormato, The external things like the album cover and the name I do not like, but the music is great. Many of the things I like about this album are the things mentioned above that people do not like. I like the fact that the songs are shorter, because each song seems to reflect a single mood with different sides of theat modd shown. This is in contrast to Gates (don't get me wrong I like Gates too). Alos, I like their attempt to use pop aesthetics but put their own twiests to it (like Open Your Eyes, which I think is less successful than Tormato in this aspect).

[PO]

Yep, thankfully the internet hasn't been around forever. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to like Tormato.

Future Times was great in concert. The Tormato tour was one of the best tours Yes has ever done.

Recently, the band I'm in learned Future Times because we wanted to learn a song none of us has played before. Great tune to play.

[Joedude]

I didn't know I wasn't supposed to like Tormato.

For some reason, this reminds me of the Amstel Light commercial here in the States, whose punch line was "We didn't know that light beer was supposed to suck".

I always have enjoyed this album as well. Lots of energy in it, even if the guitar and synths were kind of battling against each other. I especially like Onward, Future Times and Silent Wings. But I wish the cover were better - probably my least-favorite cover.

[moonchild]

As I said, I've always loved this album too. I love the unusual rhythm of the vocals and the energy in most the songs..I mean Release, Release is really rockin...

And Onward is a beautiful love song...

okay...so I can't really warm to "Circus of Heaven", but I don't hate it...

[Scooty]

I wonder..hmmmmm....maybe they should have approached Roger Dean to design a new Tormato cover for the reissue..wouldn't that have been something?? His interpretation of a Tormato cover....hmmmmm

[Silent_wings]

A new cover would be great!

[TTT]

This is the only YES album I've purchased in 3 formats, lp and CD are Japanese editions.

A new cover would be great!

[Starship Trooper]

This is one of the albums I like the least.

I hate the cover - it's stupid and ugly with that depressing blue-gray color. The production isn't good - it has the same shrill, trebly overall sound that GFTO has. Tormato & GFTO don't have that warm, full sound that TYA, Fragile, CTTE, and Drama have. Those late 70's albums are proof that Yes should always have a real producer on hand rather than trying to do it themselves.

But my biggest problem is that I listen to the whole album and can barely remember a solid, recognizable theme. It seems like just a crazy, random jam session with Steve and Rick competing to see who can play faster licks, or Jon chanting lists of lyrics with no rhyme of reason to them. Onward is the only song I think was good. OTSWOF doesn't do anything for me aside from Chris opening bass line, and I would only need to hear that as part of his solo in concert.

Maybe I have to listen to it some more and give it another chance, but I'm pretty certain I will never like this album. At my house it gets played only about as much as Union, which is almost never.

[fragile34]

i think tormato is pretty good.

[SonicDeath10]

the synths are dated. chris has a retarded bass tone on his guitar. steve plays really fast but doesn't get a really great solo in. jon is writing completely bizarre lyrics about UFO's and circus's that were okay but there were no clowns. and alan throws in a "live" drum solo that reaks of utter ridiculousness.

yet i love the album. WHY? in typical Yes tradition the songs are brilliant and the singing wonderful. the only song i don't like is "circus of heaven" as it seems to have no melody what so ever and not even stellar playing to show up for it! i love arriving ufo it's hilarious.

in fact asides from the two beautiful ballad this could almost be Yes's comedy album.

[Scooty]

Ok..wait..comedy?? nahhhhhh.. Look the band was in a state of ruin by this point..no direction, exhausted....and I think Tormato ..for some reason..and still cant figure out why...is a great album..not funny...Squire's Bass sound I love it..I cant explain it..but I love it..that waah--ka--waah...harmonized Ric is just so damn cool..Tormato has a special place for me to this day..cant explain it..it just does..

[SonicDeath10]

you're right comedy might be going a bit overboard. but there are parts that always make me smile at least, like arriving ufo. and the "dig it" line in don't kill the whale. jon has a pretty understated sense of humor from what i can tell.

[Gabriel]

I listened to this album again last night and really enjoyed it; it was my least favourite Yes album but now its gone up I guess you could say and I dont, believe it or not, have a least favourite album! I enjoy them all now. Tormato is a great record I think, although I still dont really like Circus of Heaven as much as most do but apart from that I think its great; Silent wings of freedom is an incredible song!

[David Momberg]

I think the problem is that way too many YESFANS critique all YES albums by the standard of CTTE or Fragile, instead of against the music of the day. You tell me some better albums put out in '78-'79! I think OTSWOF and Release,Release, not to mention Future Times/Rejoice are light years ahead musically of anything at that time period. And Onward and Madrigal are stellar ballads! I'm biased

[SonicDeath10]

circus of heaven is just a bad song. bad melody, bad lyrics, bad arrangement. it's the first really bad yes song to exist. and boy is it awful. other than that song i adore tormato.

[John Khatru]

Tormato.. is it Tor-mah-to or Tor-may-to? :D

musically, it isn't terrible by any means...but coming after Going For The One it does feel a little sub par. Future Times Rejoyce is my favorite track from the album. I like Don't Kill The Whale & Onward as well. Arriving UFO, I'm sure was heavily inspired by Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. On The Silent Wings Of Freedom has some magic moments as well.

My biggest problem with this album is Rick's heavy use of the Polymoog & Birotron.... I'm sure they were the new toys of the day, but man they REALLY date this album. Madrigal sticks out like a sore thumb too. Circus Of Heaven is "twee" but charming as well.

The album cover is easily.. one of the worst ever to represent a top level recording group of Yes' caliber. I can only imagine the sheer puzzlement of Yes fans who first bought the album in 1978. "What the *&#$ is this??!"
I guess Yes and Hipgnosis were trying to be funny or be hip...whatever..it failed miserably.

For me it rates about a C+
(Rick's keyboards sounds really hurt it)

[SonicDeath10]

every album ever made is dated to the time period that it's used. i don't like the use of the word "dated" to describe a sound. just say "it sounds like crap" :P

[fragile34]

yeah, the things i don't like about tormato are wake's keyboard choices, chris's annoying envelope filter effect (which only works on a few songs), and circus of heaven (it just blows, sorry). however, besides that, i think the album is great

[SonicDeath10]

yeah and one song it doesn't work on is on the silent wings of freedom. such a horrible choice for a bass tone for that type of song.

[Scooty]

yeah and one song it doesn't work on is on the silent wings of freedom. such a horrible choice for a bass tone for that type of song.

I think that bass tone MAKES the song :)

Oh well, to each his own


Scott

[SonicDeath10]

i'm glad we live in a world where people can respectfully disagree. it's such a rare thing to do!

[Scooty]

i'm glad we live in a world where people can respectfully disagree. it's such a rare thing to do!


Well at least we can agree that it does get a bad rap..and that it is a very good effort from YES..during what was a difficult time :) In fact its been in my car all day today..I love the bonus tracks as well!

Scott

[SonicDeath10]

future times/rejoice, madrigal, onward, release release, don't kill the whale and on the silent wings of freedom are as good as any yes material around that time.

[Scooty]

future times/rejoice, madrigal, onward, release release, don't kill the whale and on the silent wings of freedom are as good as any yes material around that time.

Agreed..100%.
I have a real soft spot for Tormato...and I think its a stellar album. Time has proven that..I mean shyte..we're still talking about it..thats one thing..I wish oh how i woulda' wished we woulda' gotten On The Silent wings Of Freedom on this tour...I think I woulda' passed out!
Scott

[SonicDeath10]

favorite moment on a yes album: right after "don't kill the whale" on yesshows, when they're doing the funky jam, and jon is introducing the band members, and the road crew and he says "DON'T PUT THAT FUNK IN MY FACE!" it's almost as apocalyptic as "do you feel? like we do?" from frampton alive!

[Scooty]

favorite moment on a yes album: right after "don't kill the whale" on yesshows, when they're doing the funky jam, and jon is introducing the band members, and the road crew and he says "DON'T PUT THAT FUNK IN MY FACE!" it's almost as apocalyptic as "do you feel? like we do?" from frampton alive!


LOL!!

That and ..."its gettin' like a soul show now (little laugh)"

HA!

Scott

[SonicDeath10]

"have you heard the news? yes is in the house of blues!!!!!!" arrgggh!!!!! jon is such a nerd.

[Scooty]

"have you heard the news? yes is in the house of blues!!!!!!" arrgggh!!!!! jon is such a nerd.


Yeah, but we love 'em anyway..:)

Scott

[mattquarterstein]

I wonder..hmmmmm....maybe they should have approached Roger Dean to design a new Tormato cover for the reissue..wouldn't that have been something?? His interpretation of a Tormato cover....hmmmmm

A bright, large Tomato laced with the colours of the rainbow, with green leafy bits curling in a surreal way? Maybe with the "Yes" logo on it?