Will there be another “YES” Album?

[Gtkgasman]

Pondering last night - will there actually really be another Yes album in 2025 +/- ?

Tour US this fall, Tour UK next spring, still need to reschedule those remaining European Dates…….

……then put another record together (I understand they can piece it here and there while apart , and prob have material in the works ). And release a fourth album that will pretty much just sound like the last three?

Believe me, I have loved - loved-all the history and revel in all the incarnations and diff records/sounds through the years. I’ve gotten the last two, full box sets, because they were YES releases. Had they been Arc releases, or something else, I may not have gotten them at all or just a CD or a Vinyl, and surely not in any haste.

So, in my pondering over night, I think I just finally came to the realization and acceptance that I am buying new stuff more out of love for the past (and my collection) than for the new music in the records.

Just some thoughts…..maybe some feel the same. And I’m sure some feel totally opposite.

Do you think there will be another Yes release? And, if so, will that be the final one?

[soundchaser09]

I understand Mirror isn't for everyone, but I am happily enjoying the current band. Everyone is free to have their own opinion, but I believe Yes has the capability to keep creating with the guys they have, its a talented lineup of songwriters and musicians.

[Drone Decipher]

Nothing about the demeanor of the members of the band suggests to me that they'll ever make "enough" music and be done forever, so it depends on the longevity of the musicians within and whether they actually do keep Yes going past that longevity. Both are things that we cannot predict.

Although you raise a good point that it might be a challenge to get another album out any time soon. I find myself feeling the opposite of you. I love this line up, I always have, and I know that I'll like whatever's next. So I'm always hoping whatever is coming out is not the last.

But I have no idea what they think.

[JMKUSA]

Presumably they can start work on the album before and in between tours. If they finish it up in early 2025, it will get released that year.

[Mr. Holland]

I'm pretty sure they'll do another album. And so far I've found songs on every album I really like. But somehow I do find it gets harder for me personally to connect to the current version of Yes. On the one hand I actually respect and admire that they're finding their own stride, are really developing their own identity more and more when it comes to new music. On the other hand that is exactly what makes it harder and harder for me to recognise it as Yes. Sort of a catch 22.

[patrickq]

I'm pretty sure they'll do another album. And so far I've found songs on every album I really like. But somehow I do find it gets harder for me personally to connect to the current version of Yes. On the one hand I actually respect and admire that they're finding their own stride, are really developing their own identity more and more when it comes to new music.

As usual, in your response, you’ve captured much of my thinking too.

A big point to me has always been that nothing Yes does takes away from Close to the Edge or any other of their work. The new material doesn’t add much to their legacy, but doesn’t tarnish it.

And I’ll say again that I’d love to see a guest appearance or writing credit from one or more former members on a future album.

[Gilly Goodness]

ANOTHER YES ALBUM IN THE FUTURE?







Believe so if Steve has any say.

Just have to wait till 3027. Amirite?



________________________________________


STARLIGHT GAZE OUT. WALKABOUT

[downbyariver]

I expect that if the status quo is maintained in terms of band personnel, market conditions, and so on and so forth, we'll get at least one more Yes album and maybe a whole bunch more than one more.

This is, minus the late Alan White, the same group of guys who recorded nothing for seven years after Heaven & Earth (Technically Chris Squire was also around at the beginning for less than a year or that). I thought we might never see another new Yes album again.

However, thankfully, I was wrong, and though I could be as wrong about this thing now as I was about the other thing back then, my feeling is that they developed something they found interesting on The Quest, developed it further on Mirror to the Sky, are happy with the way those albums went, and still have more to say in a Yes context. I think Steve Howe is excited and engaged in creating new Yes music now, which ultimately is probably decisive given the band's current configuration.

2025 is a reasonable expectation. I could see them announcing it in 2025 for 2026, though. I am hopeful that they can keep doing an album every two years, but realistically, and given the possibility of changing priorities and time available, they might take longer (For example, if the touring situation clears up insurance wise and they do an aggressively long set of tours to make up for lost time that leaves them too worn out to create in a Yes context). I think there's going to be something, though.

When Steve stops wanting to do new albums, retires, or passes away, that could be the beginning of a hard to predict period. Well, not so much in the first case (If he decides he wants to tour as a band but not make new Yes albums, they wouldn't make new Yes albums, which would be predictable, albeit very saddening, right from the point we find out about the lack of interest) as in the latter two. I think Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison, and Jay Schellen would probably want to continue Yes in those circumstances, but they may not be the ones who get a vote from a business perspective. It may be up to Steve (or if he's really gone, his will, estate, and heirs), Geoff Downes, and anyone else who owns a piece of the business entities that compromise Yes to have the final call on what happens.

They could probably force close the band, let the remaining members of the band have it and continue it by simply transferring ownership, or offer to sell the band to the remaining players at what I hope would be a reduced rate for their decades of service.

My hope is that Yes continues indefinitely producing new albums, even past Geoff and Steve and even, one day, Billy, Juano, and Jay (Though hopefully none of them anyway soon, especially the younger trio, two of whom are only in their 50s rather than his 70s.).

Billy Sherwood has been involved with Yes on and off in almost too many different roles to count for 33 years or so now. Jon Davison has been the band's lead singer for 11 years. Jay Schellen has been involved, first as a touring drummer and session percussionist, and now as a full band member and sole drummer, for 7 years.

I think they've earned the right to continue the band and keep making the new Yes albums if something happens to Steve and/or Geoff. Yes has always been greater than the sum of its parts, and it would be odd for Steve and/or Geoff to somehow argue that their continuing presence is absolutely vital to Yes continuing to be Yes, when they've implicitly been saying the opposite about, well, everyone else, for many years now.

Of course what I want and what I think is right- which are both the band continuing and producing new Yes albums no matter who leaves and who joins, and not taking the ability to do that away from the remaining band members when someone retires- could be different from what the legal and business contacts stipulate, and from what the decision makers or their stand-ins decide to do.

You want me to predict whether we get post-Steve Howe Yes albums? I honestly don't know if we will. You want to know what I want? New Yes albums even after the sun sets on the remaining older members (Not that I'm pushing them out there the door).

However, right now Steve Howe is still alive and seemingly into this new music thing, so I expect we'll get at least one more album out of that, and maybe a string of additional albums.

Geoff Downes is speaking more freely about expecting there to still be several more Yes albums in the band's future.

Sometimes in these scenarios I think if Steve Howe is no longer in the band for whatever reason, that Geoff Downes would leave with him as they are friends and the two closest members age wise, but that's not necessarily the case. Geoff could actually be the one left with the most shares in that scenario and continue it the way he always wanted to do Yes, the same way Steve is arguably doing Yes the way Steve always wanted to do it. I think the non-Geoffs would want more of a say in things than they probably get with Steve nominally in charge, but Geoff just might give that extra say to them.

Tldr: Expecting more new albums if the current lineup is maintained. Not sure if they will keep putting out more new albums if the lineup changes (Especially if they lose Steve), but I would certainly still be rooting for them to continue on as a band and make more Yes albums with whatever lineup they have at any given time and even, where needed, session players (So long as the session players are publicly credited and compensated, and aren't being used as a substitute for having a formal band member who plays a particular instrument. You want a full band lineup to do the album and then the session people, if needed, to do whatever the others couldn't do, optionally. You don't want like "We didn't want to replace Steve Howe, so here is a different guitarist on every song.". Nah, just find a new guitarist. If it takes two, have a two guitarist band lineup or bring in the session guy. But I like having the idea that a band has a lineup- it's what separates them from solo artists. ).

[Gtkgasman]

So far looks as if we have 7 who expect that yes we will have another album from our current lineup, and the ‘general’ feeling is also that it will not be the last one.

Good stuff so far - 👍👍👍.

(The great debate, as to the name continuing/with whom/not/JA/etc, I suppose will occur when SH retires as Dbar eluded to. Or do the folks carry on with a diff name/AoL ish….. That’ll be a fun one when the time comes…..😉.)

[Soundwaveseeker]

Will Yes make another album, or albums before they eventually fold? I sure hope they do, and I don't even care what the lineup(s) for those would even be. Will they even fold? I hope they go on indefinitely, releasing new album after new album even after the classic 70's members are gone.

I would like a future album to feature Tony Kaye in a double keyboard lineup. He doesn't have to tour non stop with 'em, just supply some gritty hammond organ/some piano & keys on an album.

[Davy]

ANOTHER YES ALBUM IN THE FUTURE?







Believe so if Steve has any say.

Just have to wait till 3027. Amirite?



________________________________________


STARLIGHT GAZE OUT. WALKABOUT

This is great. 😅

On Henry's site you can see comments by Geoff and Jon in recent interviews, apparently they're already working on another album.

[Mr. Holland]

Will Yes make another album, or albums before they eventually fold? I sure hope they do, and I don't even care what the lineup(s) for those would even be. Will they even fold? I hope they go on indefinitely, releasing new album after new album even after the classic 70's members are gone.

I would like a future album to feature Tony Kaye in a double keyboard lineup. He doesn't have to tour non stop with 'em, just supply some gritty hammond organ/some piano & keys on an album.

So if it doesn't matter what the line ups are, what makes an album a Yes album to you then?

[Gtkgasman]

So if it doesn't matter what the line ups are, what makes an album a Yes album to you then?

I think that’s where/when we start the great debate i eluded to! they may be more “ fierce” than the various JA, Abwh, ARW, debates 😉😉😉. With many twists and turns, but I am betting there will be great reasons on both sides for continuing the name….

That needs a thread 😆. Time to start it? too soon? Or just use this one 🤷♂️. I say just a little too soon til we see how it goes over next few years - who’s retired, who’s not, what the members actually do(lol) in reality(!). But maybe it is time…..could last for years…..and John V will have to split the thread after while 😊.

[Gtkgasman]

Well, damn, I just can’t help myself or keep my trap shut 😆. Outside of my topic, which in hindsight doesn’t really seem to be very interesting……the “what is Yes moving forward” I guess will have better fodder for discussion.

My feeling-

While Steve Howe is still in the band, and he still says it’s Yes carrying on, it’s Yes carrying on to me (and I’m a Jon A guy 😉).
When Steve Howe is retired, the current band no longer ‘feels like Yes’ (even with Geoff) carrying on to me.

Jon Anderson carrying on, with ‘bands’, really doesn’t ‘ feel like Yes ‘ to me either. Although I prefer him, and him with various bands, performing his songs, Yes songs, I really don’t feel like I’m seeing a Yes show. I always feel like I’m seeing a Jon A show.

Now if Jon A did something with another former member/members again, jeez, I’d have to think……😲😊😉….. But I would feel it was Jon and so and so performing music of Yes. But I see no way this ever happens on a record. Live again, yeah maybe, but no record.

[Ceasar’s Palace]

I have doubts whether the current configuration of the band is capable of creating a 'good' Yes album. And by good I don't mean stellar/knock-us-off-our-feet. I mean good as in Fly From Here, which is enjoyable, with a nice mix of the poppy, accessable and the quirky, strange side of the band.
(And even FFH would not have been as good without the old Buggles songs!)

None of the last three albums I would call good in that sense.
Still, with (considerable) efforts I managed to extract 2
40 minute albums worth of good music from The Quest and MttS.
And if need be I'll do it again for a new album. Something I wouldn't even consider for any other band or artist.

So, I'm still on board on the Yes train, but it's a challenge, and I wish it wasn't.