Rating out of 5?

[Ash Armstrong]

You're right - she's as dull as ditch water and I can't reconcile with that either.

Probably smells of wee as well....

[Soundwaveseeker]

I don't hate on H+E the way a lot of us do, but I acknowledge that it's a lesser offering in the batch. I so wanted it to give it a 4. To me, a 5 would mean it's one of your favorite Yes albums, a one means you equate it to listening to a cat being shoved snout-first into some sort of dangerous industrial machinery. I vote 3, but would actually give it like 3.85. Here the good, the bad & the ugly:

GOOD:

Jon Davison is one of the stronger participants on the album.
Nice melodies, decent enough material, just executed poorly. The songs are fine, but -
some of the lyrics and melodies are a little sad - there's a sense of nostalgia and longing for more magical days. That's not a bad thing, otherwise I would list it in the BAD category. It's good to listen to a downbeat album here and there. I like Marillion. Steve H and pals don't do happy. But this is the saddest Yes album.

BAD:

Wimpy drums
Wimpy production - just a wispy, papery-thin sound. If Roy Thomas Baker couldn't cut it 1979, why would he produce better results in 2014? Not a bold statement.
Same tempo, same flat plateau.

THE UGLY:

This is the last album with Chris. Unless there's more in the archives, stuff that is usable or that Yes are willing to give us, we'll never hear that voice or beautiful bass sound or songwriting ever again.

Best songs for me - and I wouldn't mind hearing live - Believe Again, Light Of The Ages, The Game, Subway Walls.

[Ash Armstrong]

I do wish people would stop using the word 'hate', as in 'hating on something', which is grammatically jarring as well, against those of us who don't share the same likes and dislikes. It's a form of ostracising, of shunning, of placing others at a comfortable distance from one's self, of marking them as something 'other', to be kept apart.

Save your hate for something actually worth hating, something that actually matters.

[Frumious B]

This one is a 2 for me. “Why not a 1?” you might ask. I figure that if a 1 is the lowest possible score I can give anything then I have to save it for stuff I absolutely detest like the “Life Is A Highway” song, whatever window rattling rap song is blasting with deep bass from a car that just pulled up next to mine at a traffic light, and Winger bootlegs. H&E is a bad record, but it’s better than those things. So it gets a 2.

[rabin105]

I gave it a 4 why not a 5 because I dont love it but its quite good

[alex peters]

Only a 2 from me and a generous 2. I never listen to it anymore. A real Dog with fleas

[pianozach]

The droll British guy (does he even have a name?) at Classic Album Review posted his review of HEAVEN & EARTH 3 months ago.

His usual cynicism seems somewhat tempered as he grudgingly pans the album.

The funniest phrase he uses is "like a sock in a toaster".

But he rightly calls out the mixing for the winpy drum sound, and the reverb-saturated and over-processed vocals. He continually criticizes the many ways in which the album sounds "forced", insincere, and full of cliche musical tropes (like the 'bouyant' retro synth in It Was All We Knew)

Then again, he heaps praise on the tracks Believe Again and Ascend.

[Enlighten]

What, no option for a zero?

[JMKUSA]

Crazy thought: should the band take a stab at fixing this album? Is it worth it?

I’m sure Curtis Schwartz could take the original bass and drums and improve the sound. Steve and Geoff could re-record all of their parts as if they were making the album from scratch, and Jon D could redo his vocals.

This is perhaps a more worthy redo than FFH return trip, which was already a good Yes album. H&E is the final album with Chris. It’s never going to be a mind blowing album, but it certainly could be improved with faster tempos, better instrumentals and lead vocals.

[Gilly Goodness]

Crazy thought: should the band take a stab at fixing this album? Is it worth it?

I’m sure Curtis Schwartz could take the original bass and drums and improve the sound. Steve and Geoff could re-record all of their parts as if they were making the album from scratch, and Jon D could redo his vocals.

This is perhaps a more worthy redo than FFH return trip, which was already a good Yes album. H&E is the final album with Chris. It’s never going to be a mind blowing album, but it certainly could be improved with faster tempos, better instrumentals and lead vocals.

My redo pet project for AI to do is a reimaginin' of the best songs and instrumentals of Steve's first 2 solo albums done by YEStrueWest.

Maybe titled..."Beginnings and Endings".

One can dream!!! 😘



_____________________________



THE OVAL BLOTS OF SCARLET FOAM

[Drone Decipher]

Crazy thought: should the band take a stab at fixing this album? Is it worth it?

I’m sure Curtis Schwartz could take the original bass and drums and improve the sound. Steve and Geoff could re-record all of their parts as if they were making the album from scratch, and Jon D could redo his vocals.

This is perhaps a more worthy redo than FFH return trip, which was already a good Yes album. H&E is the final album with Chris. It’s never going to be a mind blowing album, but it certainly could be improved with faster tempos, better instrumentals and lead vocals.

I'd like to hear it, but imagining the perspective of those involved...... not sure I would want to go near such a project.

[soundchaser09]

I'd like to hear it, but imagining the perspective of those involved...... not sure I would want to go near such a project.

I don't think they should do it- I only care for the original versions of albums they are like moments in time of a band's history encapsulated. I have no interest whatsoever in Return Trip, especially since it basically replaced the original 2011 version being available.