Keystudio- Rating out of 5?

[soundchaser09]

The last classic lineup album release. I always list them as two separate albums, but we're doin em together here- whats your opinion?

[pianozach]

If I could have given it a 3-3/4 out of 5, I would have. So, I rounded up to a 4

I think I prefer the 10-point and 100-point scales. 5 is just too limited.

I rate Keystudio more highly than K2A and K2A2 by sheer virtue of it being a studio album, not some sort of funky hybrid.

[rabin105]

Keys 1 is ok keys 2 is great

[Ceasar’s Palace]

3. If only for hearing Chris in front of the mix again.

[Soundwaveseeker]

3.75 for me. I would give Keys 1 a 3 and Keys 2 almost 4, but we're doing Keystudio, not either Keys as they were originally, which was bonus stuff on a live album(s).

GOOD:

Yes returns to 'Classic Yes' format. Fan favorites Howe and Wakeman are back. Some of those classic sounds are back, sounds that had not been heard since the 70's, sounds you didn't even get from ABWH. 'Epic' tracks are back, squiggly moog solos and acoustic Howe intros are back.
Collects all the Keys studio material under one disc as its own studio album.
And you can totally hear that classic Chris Squire bass in its full glory again.
That That Is is musically sublime, despite some lyrics about drive by shootings and crack babies.

BAD:

a step down from Talk in production/sound - sounding retro in comparison.
I may like the original Children Of Light without the intro better than Keystudio version
Album cover seems like a more colorful Open Your Eyes - mostly just a large Yes logo.
Tracklist chould have been more effective as:

1) Mind Drive
2) Be The One
3) Footprints
4) Bring Me To The Power
5) Children Of Light
6) That, That Is
7) Sign Language

The UGLY:

the title 'Keystudio'. It just sounds off. Like 'Susudio'. The Keys To Ascension material should be known as Keys To Ascension as its own studio album, or even 'Know'. The live material should be a separate album called 'Live In San Obispo'.
1997 wasn't the best year for me, Keys and OYE remind me of that era sometimes - but I can still listen to Keys stuff differently these days and enjoy it, though it will never be in my top tier Yes stuff.

faves: That That Is, Footprints, Bring Me To The Power, maybe Children Of Light.

[Oldie on the Goldie]

TTI, Footprints, CoL are great. For those alone I gave it 4.

[Mr. Holland]

2 stars from me. Al though there is some good stuff there, it seems buried in a patched and cobbled together whole. I think Footprints is the best song on there.

[alex peters]

Only a 2 for me. Very poor album from the classic 5. Children of Light is great. Mind Drive gives me a headache.

[Frumious B]

Keystudio is a compilation, not an album. I give the KTA tracks a 3 and the KTA2 tracks a 4 which averages to 3.5, but I voted 3.

[Old Frothingslosh]

I gave it 2 stars. Does nothing for me personally, just sounds thrown together

[Dantalion Rides Again]

It's either two or it's three, probably three ... let's see:

I struggled with these tracks early on because I was unimpressed by the songwriting, especially the vocals/lyrics. I'm more used to them now, so that always helps a bit.

The album can't decide what it's called or what its album cover is ...

No vinyl edition (no bearing on its rating here but I just can't get around mentioning that) ...

Is a really significant moment in the studio career. Retro, they say; others would say return to form (that'd be me).

For me it's grown on me a bunch after initially feeling disappointed ... and I really love the moments in it that I love.

Gonna say 3 stars.
⭐⭐⭐

[Spiritual Architect]

Totally into this album. 5 stars.
Like Wakeman said, it should have been released as a whole product and not butchered by the record company.
It should have carried the full name and cover of the original release.

How I Rank it:

1. Close To The Edge
2. Fragile
3. Tales From Topographic Oceans
4. Going For The One
5. The Yes Album
6. Relayer
7. Keys To Ascension
8. ABWH
9. The Ladder
10. Magnification

[pianozach]

If I could have given it a 3-3/4 out of 5, I would have. So, I rounded up to a 4

I think I prefer the 10-point and 100-point scales. 5 is just too limited.

I rate Keystudio more highly than K2A and K2A2 by sheer virtue of it being a studio album, not some sort of funky hybrid.

Just revisited Keystudio this weekend. I've got to say that it hangs together better than it ought; for me the sum of the tracks turns out to better than the individual tracks, especially as originally presented on K2A and K2A2.

The order of the tracklist is actually great.

I don't actually have a physical or digital copy of the album, and, seeing as how it's Out-Of-Print, I probably never will.

Here's a link to a Youtube playlist: K2A and K2A2

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC4A08C35619B3F7B

[Sharp On Attack]

I truly love MindDrive and That That Is. Footprints and Bring Me To The Power are okay. Be The One is boring and too long. Children of Light is alright and Sign Language an unnecessary filler. But the GOOD greatly supercedes the BAD. I don't like the title Keystudio, I'd prefer to be able to use the title Keys To Ascension but that would be too confusing. At least "Keystudio" does its job for clarification although it probably was never the band's choice.

[Ash Armstrong]

I put together my own CDR of the Keys studio tracks 20+ years ago, with the running order of:

Mind Drive Bring Me To The Power
Sign Language
Be The One
Foot Prints
That, That Is
Children of Light

I gave it the title of Studio Ascending, only because I felt I had to call it something, but that's not important to me. I like the music, and the Keys project as a whole. I'm not bothered about the band members' gripes and moans over how it was packaged and released. I've got the Keys to Ascension CDs, and my CDR assemblage of the studio tracks. I'm content with that. The rest is political noise and ego and business and personality dysfunction, and other sorts of crap.
We have what we have and we make of it what seems best to us, most pleasing, or we take gratification from finding it unpleasing and telling everyone of that. I can't give it a score out of anything. I listen to when I think to listen to it and I enjoy it when I do. When I'm not listening to it I don't think about it.