Next Concept Album?

[John Vehadija]

Hey guys, was wondering, do you have any ideas what Yes should do a new concept album about?

Quantum computers? Aliens? Mars, Ancient Kings, something to resonate with Tales and Close To The Edge

I'd like to see something bigger like what Transatlantic is doing, dare I say a double album with all the guest members?

I've been listening to Keystudio and I really love it and it's just so sad we didn't get an album in 2004 like the Floating Islands Epic

I don't know how to give them more relevance and meaning for today's world,

but I can only imagine how awesome it was in the 70s when people just wanted more and more amazing music

[SunshipVoyager]

Something ambitious to wrap up the career would be nice, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

[Gilly Goodness]

Forgot about the Floating Islands album and film.

Seemed like ambitious times. Roger never raised the capital and YES slowly disintegrated with Jon's illness.

People should realise podcasts are big now. Same with audiobooks. So people of all ages are committing to long listening again.

Concepts could be fantasy or scifi. Allegorical.
Horn was rumored to be working on a concept album about robots.

Could see DBA attempt something grand. With poetic narration.

Do YES have the will and energy for this?

[Homemade Parachute]

Maybe a better question, how many "concept albums" are actually any good, concept-wise? How many — if any? — transcend a very adolescent "me as a singular individual against the adult world which aims to crush me" kind of thing, eg. Rush's 2112? For me, maybe ironically, the best concept album ever, despite itself, is the one that aimed to take the piss out of them all, Tull's Thick as a Brick.

[Gilly Goodness]

In some ways. All albums are concept albums. Tori Amos just released an album inspired and recorded in Cornwall. All the songs share a thematic link. One songwriter. Their world view, transposed into song.

When it markedly claims to follow an epic source material like Rick did with Jules Verne and Kings of England, it rises or fall on how well it tells the story.

Steve said TQ was a bunch of uplifting songs ruminating on a balanced life, zen, longevity etc...that could fall under that title. The Quest of living a positive life.

What are the new great texts? 1984 has been done. Rick. WW2 has been done. Pink Floyd's Wall. Dune has been filmed.

[downbyariver]

I'd rather see then steer clear of doing a concept album and just give us a collection of the best never before heard songs they can come up with that sound like Yes music.

However, if they wanted to do a concept album, I think maybe something with some science fiction overtones would work. Maybe just a collection of songs about the future- each exploring a different potential path- or perhaps all in continuity with each other, with each exploring an aspect of society 100 years following the previous one- giving us 1,100 years of future history, or 1,200 years in Japan. . Just kidding about the Japanese bonus track- I strongly prefer that those just be like throwaway alternate versions of songs already present on the regular album if they are absolutely necessary. But other than that I am serious about it being an interesting concept if they really want to go the concept album route.

The idea of songs that each kind of represent a 100 year chunk of a coheasive fictional future history might actually fit better as a Billy Sherwood solo album. It could, with slight alterations, be the third entry in his Citizen series. Jon Davison ha demonstrated an ability to write that type of song, too, though- and well- with Yes' "Minus the Man", so there are options.

[Soundwaveseeker]

Well, there are a few types of concept albums. One kind would be an actual story with characters and scenes and each song telling a different piece of the story. Pink Floyd's The Wall for example. Another kind would be thematic in nature, with songs linked by an idea or overall theme spread over all or some of the album. Again, Floyd with Dark Side Of The Moon. Yes doesn't really have any of the former, no story album/rock opera thing like The Wall or Lamb Lies Down On Broadway or Tommy. Tales From Topographic Oceans isn't really a collection of Tales or stories at all with a storyline or anything. Jon Anderson does have Olias Of Sunhillow, though. That is more of the first type. He probably would have been the one to initiate a concept album about children of the sun descending upon the Earth to radiate cosmic light on mankind or something like that, but he's not there anymore.

Yes is more likely to do the second type of concept album where the songs are linked by a common theme which weaves throughout the album. Some Yes albums may or may not be concept albums already - like Magnification. Wasn't that about some ancient steampunk-looking machine built to magnify positivity in the universe, or something like that? Or maybe the being orchestral was the concept. But if Yes ever does a story concept album, that would be interesting. But what would it be about? Any storytellers in the band?

[Gtkgasman]

I would love one concept / cohesive record that flows for 60 min-ish. I also feel that there is less than a zero chance that this will ever happen.

[Yorkshire Square]

Steer well clear.

While the music may be good on some of them, the "concept" is usually a bit of a stinker - Puerto Rican loses his genitals and finds his brother (or maybe himself) anybody?

The nearest Yes got was the thematically linked Tales and that was probably too close for comfort - read a book full of hooky "spiritualism" and convert to audio - great!

I'd rather have an album of coherent music - not necessarily similar or about similar subjects, but one that just hangs together with an absolute minimum of duff tracks. 40-45 minutes. Let's get back to that.

[josuev80]

Just put a good album with decent songs from beginning to end. There is no need to be boxed in to writing songs to fit a concept.

[ragtime]

While the music may be good on some of them, the "concept" is usually a bit of a stinker - Puerto Rican loses his genitals and finds his brother (or maybe himself) anybody?

I'm with you on that example, 'though many fans rave about The Lamb - and there is some nice music, but lots of padding too - I find the storyline and some of the lyrics too silly to listen to.
...
[/QUOTE=Yorkshire Square;n3840]
I'd rather have an album of coherent music - not necessarily similar or about similar subjects, but one that just hangs together with an absolute minimum of duff tracks. 40-45 minutes. Let's get back to that. [/QUOTE]

Camel's music inspired by The Snow Goose is probably the most successful concept album, because it just used musical themes to paint pictures in the mind and evoke feelings. A concise album with a cohesive style and a flow of moods, without necessarily having a linking concept or narrative is the best thing to aim for IMO.

[PeterCologne]

It's probably too much to realize, for different reasons, but in theory I'd like very much an album with all living Yes-musicians involved, building different and at best new and fresh lineups.

[Gilly Goodness]

Bring back Pat. What a man. What a mighty fine man.

[soundchaser09]

I don't see another concept album coming, certainly not another Tales, I just want more great music from this band.

[Grey Wolf]

I want to hear a concept album about all the conflict between the various members of Yes over the years. Think something like "The Wall" but for Yes history. "Into the Storm" sounds like one song that would fit into the new concept.

Or maybe not.