I still haven't listened to THE QUEST or FROM A PAGE

[Yorkshire Square]

They're working on a new album, so I wouldn't be so pessimistic.

But some people just want, no need, it to be the end...

[Yorkshire Square]

Pragmatism, not pessimism. Another album of velvety-smooth, soft-rock, mid-tempo lounge-music forthcoming? Oh, joy unconfined.... Just what my ears crave.

Doesn't mean anyone else isn't looking forward to it simply because you find it less enjoyable than them, for whatever reason.

To paraphrase a recent post... 😉

[Davy]

I've enjoyed the FFH, H&E, Quest run of velvety-smooth albums. They may not be classic, but they still sound fresh.

[Ash Armstrong]

Doesn't mean anyone else isn't looking forward to it simply because you find it less enjoyable than them, for whatever reason.

To paraphrase a recent post... 😉

Yes, but there are the deluded fools, and then there are the foolishly deluded. Most of us fall somewhere in between...

[carlmarx38]

Who's to say YES isn't creating a great new genre , Prog Lounge !

[Soundwaveseeker]

Nothing wrong with a little 'yacht rock', only Yes-style.

[downbyariver]

It's true, yes I own a physical copy of THE QUEST, have had it for almost 2 months now, but have not listened to a single track yet ! Partly,I have been hoping to finally get a copy of the ever-elusive FROM A PAGE set, without paying over $50 for it, but to no avail (as of tonight, the cheapest copy of FROM A PAGE that is available is $54.61 + $21 shipping).

Part of me thinks that this The END of Yes as we know it.....the longer covid goes on without any touring possible, the more likely that Mr. Howe might be finally ready to throw in the towel, end retire from the whole game FOREVER......in which case, I may as well delay my Gratification a little longer, because The Quest may finally be the end of "the quest" (at least for the current "YES" as we know it).

Thoughts, anyone.....feel free to speak your mind on this (possibly) depressing topic !

I think I understand where you're coming from. You want to know that there is at least one "new to you" Yes album waiting for you in your future. By buying The Quest, but waiting to open it and play it, you sort of bank what could be the last Yes album or your last Yes album (Not to be morbid, but we're all living in dangerous times with the pandemic and whatnot) as an event you can pretty much count on as being in your future instead of listening to it with your fingers crossed for what will probably be at least a couple years of waiting and hoping that you get another album that isn't a certainty until it's in your hands or downloaded to your phone.

No matter what the band does or doesn't do going forward, you've got this one album of Yes music that you have never heard before sitting in your house (The Quest). Plus, you're supporting the making of new Yes music in the future by buying this album promptly, so there isn't that aspect of your caution that in ensuring that you'll always, or until you're ready, have that one last new-to-you Yes album to listen to, somehow it'll become a self-fulfilling prophecy where you contribute to a hypothetical lack of desire by the band to do a follow-up by not buying it promptly- you've bought it, so you've done your part to show the band there is interest in more albums.

I don't think there's anything wrong with what you're doing. It's an interesting concept, actually.

All that being said, I can't imagine not wanting to hear new Yes music the first second I can. Maybe I'm just impatient, but it was a foregone conclusion that I was going to hear any promotional songs released to the general public to sample, and anything that leaked, and then was going to buy the album the first day it was available. Seven years from the last one was more than long enough for me to wait, personally speaking. I was really chomping at the bit waiting on The Quest and am already ready for more.

One of the defining aspects of Yes music for some listeners is that many songs and albums can be subtle and esoteric, and require many listens over a long period of time to really fully learn to appreciate. So, knowing that in some ways there is a process for me as a listener that on certain pieces may take years also makes me want to get started when I have as many years left as I ever will going forward (i.e. The present is always further from our deaths than any point in the future).

I'd love for Yes to continue making new albums forever (Ideally on a much more frequent basis than they have the last 20 years or so.), with the band membership evolving as circumstances require. However, I am not a holding back kind of guy when it comes to music. I listen to it as soon as I can if it's a band I love, like Yes.

One thing that occurs to me is that in saving listening to this album for some long, you do risk dying before listening to it if something sudden happens to you, or only getting a quick listen in an ICU unit under less than ideal listening conditions towards the end. The longer you wait, the more chance you won't get to hear it or won't be able to take the years with it that you want- and since I think the very notion of why you are holding off shows that this album is very important to you, those are factors also worth considering.

You mentioning this in conjunction with From a Page made me think of the situation with Fly From Here, where the original version with Benoit David on lead vocals was not available as a CD, record, digital download, or in streaming service catalogs when last the subject came up (and still may not be.). Other than tracking down used copies of physical media or pirating, the only option for people who don't already have it and want it would be to buy or stream Fly From Here: Return Trip, the 2018 remake of the album that substitites Trevor Horn on lead vocals for the original Benoit David vocals and reworks some of the songs in other ways (arrangements, mixes, etc.).

There are some Yes albums that aren't currently available at all in any form (Apart from used physical media with inflated pricing and limited availability.)!

Since you've already bought The Quest, you probably don't have to worry about it not being there for you (Either at all or in its original form) when you are ready to listen to it, but if the physical media is scratched or defective, it's unlikely a merchant will accept a return five years after the purchase date, and it may not be available to repurchase in the same form apart from really highly marked up used copies.

I'm just covering all the angles that corne to mind. I'm not really trying to change your mind. I get where you're coming from, and if it is what you think will bring you the most joy, that's what you should do.

I'm a bit different in what I think brings me the most joy, but I think that's okay.

[Gilly Goodness]

That paragraph about dying before he hears it/ ICU had me chortle snot . Oh DBAR, you cover EVERY angle.

[Soundwaveseeker]

I totally understand wanting to wait for the right moment to hear something special. Wait for a nice day with orangey skies at dusk, when things are going alright for a bit, that sort of feeling. I somewhat do that with new Steve Hackett releases - I like to listen to him in the fall, it just fits. Which means if a new Hacket album comes out in the spring, I'll wait till the autumn to hear it and get into it. Sounds best that way. That's the right moment for me. But the moment always comes. And then again, Steve Hackett puts out a new studio album every other year as opposed to Yes' once in a blue, so that might not be a good example. But I get the waiting. Then again, you might miss the right moment looking for it, and maybe there's a moment when you should say "well this time is a good enough time to hear it".

A good time to hear it would be on vacation/holiday. Then it's tied to leisure and good times. Or if you ever have a chance to break away, take a drive somewhere with it - go down winding roads out in the middle of nowhere if you can, take it to the beach if you live near one, then it's crystalized. And then it will be YOUR album, regardless of whether if it's the final one or if it isn't Relayer part 6 or Return To Close To The Edge or whatever people want it to be or whatever expectations others have of it. If you liked Heaven & Earth or if you hated it like many did, either way rest assured The Quest is way better. Good music. I'm sure you'll come to the day, and soon, when you'll say that's it - I'm going for it.

[Old Frothingslosh]

I can see where your coming from sort of , I'm not a fan of current lineup by any means and I will say I do not care for The Quest at all (or H&E). However there are many out there who do really like it so who knows you may be surprised. As far as From A Page, well that was a nice surprise for me at least as I really enjoyed the Benoit era and thought Oliver did a great job as well. As far as the end? I think another studio and 1-2 years of touring and that will be it. I have no interest after Alan and Steve are gone

[bondegezou]

any more recent info on that Henry? I hope they continue!

Not really, I'm afraid. They're working on something. We know Howe likes them to keep their cards close to their collective chest, as we saw with TQ, so I expect we won't hear much until things are done.

[rabin105]

We should be getting more info on the follow-up this spring

[Ash Armstrong]

We should be getting more info on the follow-up this spring

Let me be the first to posit that its title will be: The Treasure.

[Soundwaveseeker]

I think it should be called The Rise and Fall of Johnny Moondust and the Silver Glitter Kittens from Jupiter.

[Soundwaveseeker]

I don't see a new studio album until after the eventual Relayer Live disc, which hopefully has some Quest stuff on it. But I do hope there's more to come from Yes. I'll always give it the time of day.