Rank the Yes epics! Unless you're Transatlantic or various other Neal Morse-related projects that has a 21-45 minute track on every album, Yes is your best bet for side-long suites and long rock symphonies! Of all the classic prog bands of the 70's, Yes probably has the most 15-22 minute tracks - epics. There are 11 of them.
For the sake of the thread, I define a Yes epic as a track that is 15-20+ minutes long and fits on one whole side of vinyl or most of a side. Most are 18-22 minutes long, but a couple are only 15+ minutes long. Why is 15 minutes an epic but not And You And I or New Language or any other 8,9,10 minute song? Well, we're talking Yes here. Gotta draw the line somewhere. Something like Awaken feels more like it's more in line with a 19 minute track with 'movements' than something like Sound Chaser, maybe. Awaken is the 'opus' of that album. A lot of these epics have movements, but not all - shorter Yes tracks can have movements too, just - we're going with the longest stuff here, the opus. So here's how I rank them:
In descending order:
11) Mind Drive - comes off as spare parts squished into an epic, great but oddly structured
10) Endless Dream - the Rabin era band's 'Awaken'. Cinematic and engaging
9) That, That Is - lots of lovely Yes passages. Sometimes it's below Endless Dream, today it's at number 9.
8) The Revealing Science Of God - least of the four Tales tracks, though I don't know why. It's like a long song rather than a rock symphony
7) The Ancient - almost a taste of what's to come in Relayer, plus fine acoustic Steve Howe moments
6) Fly From Here suite - maybe doesn't count as an 'epic' - made of separate standalone tracks, closer to Rush 2112 than Revealing Science of God. But it does run together well for the most part, with recurring themes.
5) Ritual - bass guitar on this is the reason Yes remains a favorite band, can't say Yes epic without saying Ritual.
4) Awaken - dramatic and heavenly, the ambient middle section will have you orbiting Neptune
3) Close To The Edge - probably everyone else's top epic, though overfamiliarity has knocked it down a notch or two for me. Still classic though
2) Gates Of Delirium - intense, then transcendent. One of prog rock's finest moments
1) The Remembering - this has emerged as my favorite. It's so magical that fairy dust oozes out of your stereo speakers to the point where you have glitter all over the floor and imbedded into the fibers of your carpet. Maybe it's better taken as part of Tales in one long listen rather than on its own, but great ethereal synths and great opening ballad. I love The Remembering.
0) 'The Source'/ambient track on OYE - that doesn't count.
How do you rank the long epic Yes tracks?
For the sake of the thread, I define a Yes epic as a track that is 15-20+ minutes long and fits on one whole side of vinyl or most of a side. Most are 18-22 minutes long, but a couple are only 15+ minutes long. Why is 15 minutes an epic but not And You And I or New Language or any other 8,9,10 minute song? Well, we're talking Yes here. Gotta draw the line somewhere. Something like Awaken feels more like it's more in line with a 19 minute track with 'movements' than something like Sound Chaser, maybe. Awaken is the 'opus' of that album. A lot of these epics have movements, but not all - shorter Yes tracks can have movements too, just - we're going with the longest stuff here, the opus. So here's how I rank them:
In descending order:
11) Mind Drive - comes off as spare parts squished into an epic, great but oddly structured
10) Endless Dream - the Rabin era band's 'Awaken'. Cinematic and engaging
9) That, That Is - lots of lovely Yes passages. Sometimes it's below Endless Dream, today it's at number 9.
8) The Revealing Science Of God - least of the four Tales tracks, though I don't know why. It's like a long song rather than a rock symphony
7) The Ancient - almost a taste of what's to come in Relayer, plus fine acoustic Steve Howe moments
6) Fly From Here suite - maybe doesn't count as an 'epic' - made of separate standalone tracks, closer to Rush 2112 than Revealing Science of God. But it does run together well for the most part, with recurring themes.
5) Ritual - bass guitar on this is the reason Yes remains a favorite band, can't say Yes epic without saying Ritual.
4) Awaken - dramatic and heavenly, the ambient middle section will have you orbiting Neptune
3) Close To The Edge - probably everyone else's top epic, though overfamiliarity has knocked it down a notch or two for me. Still classic though
2) Gates Of Delirium - intense, then transcendent. One of prog rock's finest moments
1) The Remembering - this has emerged as my favorite. It's so magical that fairy dust oozes out of your stereo speakers to the point where you have glitter all over the floor and imbedded into the fibers of your carpet. Maybe it's better taken as part of Tales in one long listen rather than on its own, but great ethereal synths and great opening ballad. I love The Remembering.
0) 'The Source'/ambient track on OYE - that doesn't count.
How do you rank the long epic Yes tracks?
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