Is it time to reassess Yes in the 1990s?

[Somis Sound]

It was very interesting period of mixed results. Definitely had a lot of changes of sound and lineups even for Yes standards. I think this changing identity hurt the band commercially and creatively in a way but it did offer variety and I like that.

-Union: I happen to enjoy this album full of session musicians, there's alot to love here with a good mix of ideas from both Yes bands, The More we Live is a classic, Lift me Up and Shock to the System are great, other highlights: Miracle of Life, Holding On and Silent Talking. 8/10

-Talk: Very solid album with some songs that go on too long for my liking. The Calling is a great song for Rabin era Yes in the 90s, I also love Real Love for its moody atmosphere and guitar work. Endless Dream is the best epic of the 90s, amazing vocal performance from Jon. 7/10

-Keys to Ascension 1 + 2: badly mismanaged when released alongside the live material, the studio songs were left to the side and likely regarded as bonus when it should have been the star, should have been one double album originally instead of in the Keystudio package. Still I'm not the biggest fan of what the classic lineup offers here it feels forced- I do enjoy the epics Mind Drive and That That Is, with Children of Light and Footprints being solid enough. 6/10

-Open Your Eyes: An uneven album in quality but the good songs really shine here, the addition of Sherwood was great for the band and allowed it to continue after the mishandling of Keys. Strong tracks to me include: Open Your Eyes (should've been a hit IMO), Man in the Moon (a guilty pleasure), Universal Garden, Fortune Seller. 6/10

-The Ladder: The band really returned with a bang here, love this one many great tracks full of energy and sounds like a more modern prog album that Yes had been searching for since the mid 90s. Great pieces for me: Homeworld, To Be Alive, Finally, The Messenger, New Languages, Nine Voices. 8/10

A very interesting era of the band and one which I enjoy quite a lot not as great as before (or after IMO) but still very fun, the ending of the Rabin era and a couple of interesting other lineups including the last studio albums of the classic lineup, which many enjoy more than I do.

I happen to really enjoy Union. Bruford and Levin are great here, as Levin is finally up in the mix. Jon's vocals are fantastic too. Doesn't bother me if it is Jimmy or Steve, or whoever on keys. I really like it! As well as the Yes-West tracks are great... 8/10

Talk has some great moments. The Calling, I am Waiting, Real Love, State of Play, and Endless Dream are all excellent. 7/10

Keys 1, Awesome live tracks!!! I can't stand the 2 studio tracks though, yuk... I remember thinking, after all that time, they finally get together, and THAT is what they did!??? weak....
Keys 2. Awesome studio tracks!!!, The live stuff doesn't sound as good as Keys 1???

OYE starts off great! It's like the return to 80's Yes. But then the rest is patchy. 6/10

The Bladder is the same. Starts off great but also has a couple clunkers... But much better production and sound than OYE. 7/10

The 90's were an active time for Yes and fun to see them back in live action playing songs of old and making new music! They definitely could have used some better management around the Keys period, but it got sorted out...

[Soundwaveseeker]

Now, gotta disagree with this Dean assessment. Both Keys covers are absolutely thrillin'to me. They introduce the exciting FROZEN VOLCANIC SKIPPING ROCK ERUPTION CONCEPT.

Or the FVSREC if you will. Roger could imagine a spewed lava explosion skipping across the ocean's surface, cooling and freezing midair. Rock splash!

In a million years I could never imagine such a thing.

The FVSREC then is at once impossible but he paints it into life, into possibility.

Actually I do like the more appealing purple color scheme of Keys 2 over Keys 1's standard blue. Keys 1 cover is merely ok, but we've seen that world before. As far as Roger Dean covers go, I may be getting fatigued with the whole blue sky motif from this guy. Beautiful artwork to be sure, but blue, blue, blue. I think he may not have explored black and pink as the main colors in an album cover design or if he did I may have forgotten about it. Imagine black rock, hewn from eons of volcanic activity, with some sort of pink lights imbedded in the cliff walls overlooking a black walkway of some sort, disappearing behind some pink foliage. Inside sleeve could show some more FVSREC, that would be great.

[Soundwaveseeker]

Magnification. That's a whole other topic to explore, but In The Presence Of is strong and emotional. And that orchestra in Dreamtime is like a Disney movie for the ears. That material is best listened to at night. Too bad they only had one album in the 2000's.

I used to go for Homeworld over New Language, though now I'm more keen on New Language. That opening instrumental bit isn't too unlike the instrumental opening of Endless Dream (Silent Spring). As for That That Is lyrics, I agree, at least Jon tried something more literal and topical and less abstract than the usual 'Be the power of the Sun' lyrics. Did it work? Well, maybe, you don't know if something will work sometimes unless you try it. I suppose he can't sing about the Fairy Kingdom all the time. Sometimes you just need some crack babies in the mix to change it up...

As for future epic track, think they should go 15 minute continuous song or 20 minute suite made up of individual songs? I say go long. We'll see.

[Gilly Goodness]

I'm pretty much right there with your ranking: Endless Dream and TTI are fantastic, and for different reasons, so I'd almost tie them up. TTI can get a lot of flack, lyrically, but at least they (Jon) tried to do something out of the mould, unlike, say, that Roger Dean cover…

.

Now, gotta disagree with this Dean assessment. Both Keys covers are absolutely thrillin'to me. They introduce the exciting FROZEN VOLCANIC SKIPPING ROCK ERUPTION CONCEPT.

Or the FVSREC if you will. Roger could imagine a spewed lava explosion skipping across the ocean's surface, cooling and freezing midair. Rock splash!

In a million years I could never imagine such a thing.

The FVSREC then is at once impossible but he paints it into life, into possibility.

[Old Frothingslosh]

I really enjoyed Talk in 94 and that for me was the high water mark for the band in the decade. They came close in 99 with Homeworld as that is a lost epic for sure, but the rest of that album seems more filler, same with OYE and the Keys sets. Some really good live performances but not much studio substance.

[Homemade Parachute]

I rank the 90's Yes 'epics' (songs that are 15-20+ minutes long) such:

1) Endless Dream - uplifting. I only place it above That That Is by a molecule.
2) That That Is - however, when the tide is low or the moon goes behind a cloud or something, sometimes this track overtakes it
3) Mind Drive - great track in its own right, but something's got to be on a bottom slot. Though, it does seem that Mind Drive is the one Yes 90's epic which seems to be the most popular with fans and has stood the test of time more than the other ones.
4) 'The Source' - would you really count this 'secret track' of ambient sound and short vocal bursts as a proper epic or even a proper track? Probably not...

It may not be where Yes is at these days, but they may be due for another long epic track or suite.

I'm pretty much right there with your ranking: Endless Dream and TTI are fantastic, and for different reasons, so I'd almost tie them up. TTI can get a lot of flack, lyrically, but at least they (Jon) tried to do something out of the mould, unlike, say, that Roger Dean cover…

Slightly less than 15 minutes, at ten we also get Dreamtime and In the Presence Of, two very strong songs in my regard (also, sure, just barely the 2000s), and just barely edge out New Language, one of my favs from the whole decade.

[Soundwaveseeker]

I'm with you. I love That That Is..... and I do generally prefer KTA1 to KTA2.

If you look at Keys 1 & 2 separately, I guess I like 2 better because 1 is generally an EP. But 'That That Is' is the best song between them. Such tasty instrumentation. And despite lyrics about crack and drive-by shootings, musically it has a positive vibe and beautiful vocals and guitar sections. Mind Drive, on the other hand, to me sounds gloomier and has some darker sounding musical passages. Not particularly sunny Yes in spots, though it has better solos and Rick Wakeman really takes off.
I rank the 90's Yes 'epics' (songs that are 15-20+ minutes long) such:

1) Endless Dream - uplifting. I only place it above That That Is by a molecule.
2) That That Is - however, when the tide is low or the moon goes behind a cloud or something, sometimes this track overtakes it
3) Mind Drive - great track in its own right, but something's got to be on a bottom slot. Though, it does seem that Mind Drive is the one Yes 90's epic which seems to be the most popular with fans and has stood the test of time more than the other ones.
4) 'The Source' - would you really count this 'secret track' of ambient sound and short vocal bursts as a proper epic or even a proper track? Probably not...

It may not be where Yes is at these days, but they may be due for another long epic track or suite.

[yamishogun]

I might be one of the only people out there who prefers K2A 1 to K2A2, and definitely the only one who thinks "That, That Is" is the best song of this 95-97 era, but there we are… It's a lonely club, but the membership fee is low and the snacks are good… .

I think K2A1 is much better than K2A2 which is mostly boring to me despite some good parts to songs. Mind Drive is quite good but not great since the sections were so obviously stitched together. I like the live version better.

[Mr. Holland]

I might be one of the only people out there who prefers K2A 1 to K2A2, and definitely the only one who thinks "That, That Is" is the best song of this 95-97 era, but there we are… It's a lonely club, but the membership fee is low and the snacks are good…

Yes, the 90s for Yes were a bit weird, without a solid trajectory, seeming lurching from management decision to management crisis, and a lot of potential that lineup, label, and management changes made it hard to capitalize on or develop. A *lot* of different sounds and directions, but overall so prolific, considering. If they maybe tried a bit too hard to recapture past glories, I can easily forgive that, as there isn't a single 90s album I don't like, including, yes, Union, although I might trim two or three tracks. And The Ladder is a hell of a high note for the decade as a whole.

As for OYE, it's not surprising that there's some confusion about its origins and sounds; if it wasn't quite a Conspiracy project turned into a Yes one, clearly with Billy and Chris as (I'm just guessing here) the primary songwriters and shapers, it sounds like what they were doing outside Yes. Not a terrible thing, as it only has one true and unredeemable miss for me (Man in the Moon), but otherwise did what it needed to do — cough cough, contractual obligation — way better than it deserved to.

Who else had a weird 90s, music-wise? Genesis was over, Marillion regrouped under Hogarth, but also had label/management issues, Rush, well, the 90s weren't their best decade by a long shot, Jethro Tull kind of wound down, Crimson THRAKed and then frakctured.

Also a popular myth that Sherwood has disputed:

Sherwood said to ProgressiveEars.com in Jan 2009:

It was not pressure from anyone that made YES decide to make OYE... fact is it was made before there was management in play or a label for that matter. Yes had basicaly broken up and the reforming of a new YES came via OYE. [...]

[cybrkhatru]

I might be one of the only people out there who prefers K2A 1 to K2A2, and definitely the only one who thinks "That, That Is" is the best song of this 95-97 era, but there we are… It's a lonely club, but the membership fee is low and the snacks are good…

Yes, the 90s for Yes were a bit weird, without a solid trajectory, seeming lurching from management decision to management crisis, and a lot of potential that lineup, label, and management changes made it hard to capitalize on or develop. A *lot* of different sounds and directions, but overall so prolific, considering. If they maybe tried a bit too hard to recapture past glories, I can easily forgive that, as there isn't a single 90s album I don't like, including, yes, Union, although I might trim two or three tracks. And The Ladder is a hell of a high note for the decade as a whole.

As for OYE, it's not surprising that there's some confusion about its origins and sounds; if it wasn't quite a Conspiracy project turned into a Yes one, clearly with Billy and Chris as (I'm just guessing here) the primary songwriters and shapers, it sounds like what they were doing outside Yes. Not a terrible thing, as it only has one true and unredeemable miss for me (Man in the Moon), but otherwise did what it needed to do — cough cough, contractual obligation — way better than it deserved to.

Who else had a weird 90s, music-wise? Genesis was over, Marillion regrouped under Hogarth, but also had label/management issues, Rush, well, the 90s weren't their best decade by a long shot, Jethro Tull kind of wound down, Crimson THRAKed and then frakctured.

I'm with you. I love That That Is..... and I do generally prefer KTA1 to KTA2.

[Homemade Parachute]

One track I adore is That, That Is. Excellent acoustic guitar interludes, the bass, I can even overlook Jon's gangsta 'Olias In The Hood' references to crack babies and such. One of the best 90's Yes tracks.

I might be one of the only people out there who prefers K2A 1 to K2A2, and definitely the only one who thinks "That, That Is" is the best song of this 95-97 era, but there we are… It's a lonely club, but the membership fee is low and the snacks are good…

Yes, the 90s for Yes were a bit weird, without a solid trajectory, seeming lurching from management decision to management crisis, and a lot of potential that lineup, label, and management changes made it hard to capitalize on or develop. A *lot* of different sounds and directions, but overall so prolific, considering. If they maybe tried a bit too hard to recapture past glories, I can easily forgive that, as there isn't a single 90s album I don't like, including, yes, Union, although I might trim two or three tracks. And The Ladder is a hell of a high note for the decade as a whole.

As for OYE, it's not surprising that there's some confusion about its origins and sounds; if it wasn't quite a Conspiracy project turned into a Yes one, clearly with Billy and Chris as (I'm just guessing here) the primary songwriters and shapers, it sounds like what they were doing outside Yes. Not a terrible thing, as it only has one true and unredeemable miss for me (Man in the Moon), but otherwise did what it needed to do — cough cough, contractual obligation — way better than it deserved to.

Who else had a weird 90s, music-wise? Genesis was over, Marillion regrouped under Hogarth, but also had label/management issues, Rush, well, the 90s weren't their best decade by a long shot, Jethro Tull kind of wound down, Crimson THRAKed and then frakctured.

[yamishogun]

Magnification’s still pretty mediocre for me. Fly From Here was the true return to form.

Yep. I usually listen to 28 minutes of Magnification - the title track and "In The Presence Of" and about 30 minutes of Fly From Here - the suite and "Into the Storm". The latter is much stronger as is Fly From Here overall and can play that album all the way through.

[cybrkhatru]

I haven't played these albums in their entirely in a long time, but tracks from all of them show up on my shuffles.

Initially I was underwhelmed by most of Open Your Eyes, but I like much of it better now.

Still love Talk, and parts of Keys, Union, and Ladder.

[Soundwaveseeker]

And it still would be, as we don't know exactly what the track listing for 80102/90124 was before Jon was brought in. I make a sort-of guess at it in my essay for the actual 90124, but...

A pre-Jon Cinema album as it was about to be/could have been released is of great interest to me. It may never happen, but I could see a Deluxe 90125 with all Cinema demos including 'Would You Feel My Love' or complete Cinema album plus remixes, the entire 9012Live show on cd and DVD etc. as being something many fans would want. Imagine a big silver box set with that graph logo and all. Some of us would have mouths watering over the idea, some of us would have abdominal pains over the thought of it.

[luna65]

If you didn't know about the session people and the behind the scenes stuff, nobody would really have a problem with the actual songs and music on Union.

I totally disagree with this kind of reductionist logic. Granted, I was optimistic at first based on hearing "Lift Me Up" on the radio, but when I actually bought the album I felt like it was lopsided, for want of a better word. I didn't like all of it then, nor do I now. It was really the first Yes album that, for me, I didn't have the patience to sit all the way through and let it grow on me.