Are Yes relatively unknown to most people these days?

[Soundwaveseeker]

It depends on the age group, I guess. For people of my generation (I'm 55) who don't follow the band closely, Yes is a group from their youth and they're probably completely unaware of what they're up to nowadays, the same way I have no clue if bands like Jethro Tull or Styx are still around (and don't care at all. I assume they still perform in casinos or midsize theaters to the diehards, like Yes). As a long time Yes fan, I am still curious to know what's going on, but I have no interest whatsoever in what Yes is doing right now, I last saw them in 2004 and that's it for me.

I'm a college teacher and my students are young adults (17-20 years old.) Most of them have never heard of Yes. That's pretty normal. When I was 18, I didn't care about the music of my parents or grand-parents. The few of them who know the name "Yes" probably think of an old LP they've seen in their grandfather's collection.

Both Tull and Styx have current albums, but like a lot of bands of similar vintage they do an album less frequently - like Yes. Haven't heard the J Tull yet, but the Styx album from last year was better than I expected it to be. All of these bands wouldn't naturally be on the radar of an 18 year old unless they were somehow exposed to it. Would they like Yes or Styx if exposed? Maybe, maybe not. I both don't see why not and don't see why they would. People still listen to Mozart and he's been dead for almost 250 years. Like with anything, if it strikes a chord, it may.

[Gilly Goodness]

Not entirely scientific. But walkin' thru Kmart behind Mrs Goodness. 3 steps behind. My eye alighted on the rock t-shirts. The results...

ACDC.
The Beatles.
The Stones.
Def Leppard.
Motley Crue.
The Who.

So that's the temperature on the ground.
No YES.

[Yorkshire Square]

I think they would redeem a bit of that when it comes to influence on musicians.

For example, Fleetwood Mac is probably a more recognizable name than YES. But if I was going to ask a bunch of musicians who they were influenced by, I would expect to hear the name YES come up much more than Fleetwood Mac.

But how many people are musicians? One in a hundred, one in a thousand?

That wasn't the question that was asked.

Does the man (or woman) on the Clapham omnibus know who Yes are? Not many. Genesis or Floyd? A fair few more.

[Ash Armstrong]

Not entirely scientific. But walkin' thru Kmart behind Mrs Goodness. 3 steps behind. My eye alighted on the rock t-shirts. The results...

ACDC.
The Beatles.
The Stones.
Def Leppard.
Motley Crue.
The Who.

So that' the temperature on the ground.
No YES.

I don't see being a music lover as a question of competitiveness. I want my football club to do well in the Premier League and finish as high as possible at season's end, but that's sport, not art. Music is an art, so it's not about t-shirts, or hits, or league position, halls of fame or popularity polls, or any of that.

[luvyesmusic]

Yes is too old, and too complicated for most tastes. The classics are almost symphonic songs in length, with time and key changes. Much too much sophistication to be pure, short pop songs, not catchy. And, as most of us know, the world is full of simpletons for the most part. Truth!

Much if their fanbase was/is old. I've talked to hundreds of older folks who last saw YES in 1977. They don't have the time, or the funds, and are pretty much old, tired, and dead. Really amazing the draw the continue to have for live shows, amazing really.

Statement is true. As a YES-fan you can't possibly be mad about a stupid short article,/review. YES has really been irrelevant for most folks, let alone the once mighty fanbase for decades. Might as well not be known. YES, again, is no simpleton pop band, with simpleton songs. Frankly, I put The Beatles in that category, as well, though I love ABBA. :-)

As someone said/wrote more less, YES' marketing/logo really sucks for the mainstream; being out there. Most of the young weenies who get the cheap garb, aren't into any of the group's music, and the adults who buy it are far too cheap, just trying to be a bit trendy, or cool ,the spouse bought it for them, and they are basically in uninterested, or just too damn cheap-havecither things to spend money on than shows. The you throw in Jon Anderson's high voice, it's been a remarkable and long ride, all things considering. ;-)

Mike, surely there are many other things to make you sad, and/or pissed off. ;-)

[soundchaser09]

It is a shame that their name hasn't lived on from generation to generation quite as successfully as some other bands, but they have had plenty of success really up until the mid 90s when the decline really happened for them commercially. Still I think its natural for a band like Yes (mostly progressive in their legacy) to not be immediately recognisable in today's era- we are far from prog being a central aspect of broader musical tastes as it was in the 1970s when it was fresh and truly bold. Thankfully 90125 helped them to sustain and increase their popularity into the 80s and beyond. But by the 90s there were no truly new areas which Yes decided to go to musically, which is fine as they have made some great records since, its just that their brand of prog didn't speak to newer audiences broadly speaking and they didn't have a necessary hit like Roundabout was in the 70s to get younger people's attention. I came to the band during their hiatus between Magnification and Fly From Here, but then I was told about them via my parents and was already a huge Genesis fanatic.

Still it is what it is, they have sold 30-50 million records, I think Yes can be very happy with their commercial success and more importantly the musical legacy they have left behind.

[highfell]

Yes

[Yorkshire Square]

I don't see being a music lover as a question of competitiveness. I want my football club to do well in the Premier League and finish as high as possible at season's end, but that's sport, not art. Music is an art, so it's not about t-shirts, or hits, or league position, halls of fame or popularity polls, or any of that.

Who is denying the quality of Yes music? No one here (unless you go to the H&E or OYE or Quest threads).

However, music can be about popularity too (you'll have heard the phrase "pop music").

I think it would be fair to say that despite their musical merits, Yes are not a massively popular band especially fifty years or so down the line. That ought not to diminish their achievements.

Leicester City might be your favourite football team, but they're hardly a Manchester City or Liverpool. That's just the way it is.

[yamishogun]

Genesis had a very successful ‘80s, unlike Yes who had 90125 and then started to slip off again, and Pink Floyd have DSOTM, which everyone and their great-great-grandfather has at least heard of.

Yes was very big in 1984 with the 9012Live tour and then just 60 shows for the Big Generator tour, although that album still sold around 2 million copies globally. The ABWH tour did very well in 1989/1990 as did the Union tour in 1991 into early 1992, so I don't think Yes slipped but were on the radio much less than Genesis whose 1986 and 1991 albums sold 6 million copies each.

[Yorkshire Square]

I'll just leave this here...

[Ash Armstrong]

Who is denying the quality of Yes music? No one here (unless you go to the H&E or OYE or Quest threads).

However, music can be about popularity too (you'll have heard the phrase "pop music").

I think it would be fair to say that despite their musical merits, Yes are not a massively popular band especially fifty years or so down the line. That ought not to diminish their achievements.

Leicester City might be your favourite football team, but they're hardly a Manchester City or Liverpool. That's just the way it is.

You seem determined to be obstreperous, and just not get it. Oh well. Can't be helped.

[Soundchaser413]

Yes is too old, and too complicated for most tastes. The classics are almost symphonic songs in length, with time and key changes. Much too much sophistication to be pure, short pop songs, not catchy. And, as most of us know, the world is full of simpletons for the most part. Truth!

Much if their fanbase was/is old. I've talked to hundreds of older folks who last saw YES in 1977. They don't have the time, or the funds, and are pretty much old, tired, and dead. Really amazing the draw the continue to have for live shows, amazing really.

Statement is true. As a YES-fan you can't possibly be mad about a stupid short article,/review. YES has really been irrelevant for most folks, let alone the once mighty fanbase for decades. Might as well not be known. YES, again, is no simpleton pop band, with simpleton songs. Frankly, I put The Beatles in that category, as well, though I love ABBA. :-)

As someone said/wrote more less, YES' marketing/logo really sucks for the mainstream; being out there. Most of the young weenies who get the cheap garb, aren't into any of the group's music, and the adults who buy it are far too cheap, just trying to be a bit trendy, or cool ,the spouse bought it for them, and they are basically in uninterested, or just too damn cheap-havecither things to spend money on than shows. The you throw in Jon Anderson's high voice, it's been a remarkable and long ride, all things considering. ;-)

Mike, surely there are many other things to make you sad, and/or pissed off. ;-)

Not really sad or pissed off. I just think Yes has been on a rollercoaster as far as popularity goes and as a fan I'm somewhat frustrated by it. I really am tempted to think King Crimson are more known these days than Yes. What I mean by rollercoaster is that say from 72-79 they were very big selling out arenas and even playing a few stadiums. Then they broke up and we heard crickets singing "what happened to the song we once knew so well?" Then bam they were back in an altered form and a lot of people jumped on the bandwagon(if you can call it that) briefly before they sort of disappeared again for a few years. They never really recovered although they were moderately popular and successful until Union came along which polarized fans. After that all bets were off (no more high charting or gold albums) and Yes became more or less a cult band where they have remained ever since. Rush on the other hand had their peak from 77-84 then started to alienate fans with synth-rock albums before gradually returning to their hard rock roots which made them relevant again and by 1994 their popularity had easily eclipsed Yes just like by 1980 the popularity of Genesis had eclipsed that of Yes. So my consternation is more about their inability to sustain any kind of meaningful popularity especially when all the kiddies seem to know and like Pink Floyd, Rush and even KC but not Yes. All that being said, I do think Yes have a very strong reputation in prog circles (which admittedly aren't very big to begin with) and maybe among some classic rock fans but these days not much else.

[True]

Yes, I think Yes are relatively unknown to people under the age of 35 today., I think that is the case with a majority of successful rock bands from the 70's and 80's. I work with many people in their 20's and 30's who profess to be music enthusiasts, and most have never heard Owner or Roundabout (I've actually played them a bit of these songs and they tell me they have never heard it!)
However, I often will meet and play with musicians in their 20's and 30's and the majority of them are pretty familiar with Yes. So my own view is that the classic Yes material is interesting from a musician's perspective.

[Soundchaser413]

Yes, I think Yes are relatively unknown to people under the age of 35 today., I think that is the case with a majority of successful rock bands from the 70's and 80's. I work with many people in their 20's and 30's who profess to be music enthusiasts, and most have never heard Owner or Roundabout (I've actually played them a bit of these songs and they tell me they have never heard it!)
However, I often will meet and play with musicians in their 20's and 30's and the majority of them are pretty familiar with Yes. So my own view is that the classic Yes material is interesting from a musician's perspective.

I doubt many bass players (regardless of age) aren't familiar with Yes because of Chris Squire. But overall, I agree age has a lot to do with it only I would maybe be tempted to push it back it a bit and say most under 45 or 40 don'lt know Yes unless their parents were into them (of course there exceptions like those who happen to be really big music fans or prog fans).

[Slugwart]

It depends on the age group, I guess..

This is always true I think. I got into Pink Floyd at age about 14 when an older cousin played me The Final Cut, the new album at the time. None of my friends had heard of them even though it was only 4 or so years since Another Brick in the Wall was a huge single. Not long after I got into Yes and everyone knew who they were because Owner was all over the radio.