Talk vs Keys vs The Ladder

[soundchaser09]

Lets go for a 90s based poll, (Keys includes the studio material from both Ascension albums)

last of the rabin era vs the last classic effort vs the 6 man lineup.

[RelayerI]

I voted Ladder, which I think is a little underrated, but all three are decent albums. I like them all.

For different reasons.

[Roundabob]

1. Talk was my favorite album of the Yes West band.
2. Keys was a solid album . Mind Drive was a nice effort.
3. The Ladder was okay, but didn’t excite me as much as the albums listed above. Other than New Language, there was nothing that grabbed me.

[Enlighten]

Meh, a mish mash of Yes trying to be what they once were (Keys). Trying to straddle 80’s pop success and marry it with 70’s grandeur and falling short on both counts (The Ladder). A Trevor Rabin solo album with members of Yes guesting (Talk). Boston’s Peace of Mind lyric just came into my consciousness, “can’t decide who they should be” .

Jacaranda blows away all of the above and is the best Yes related release since Drama came out.

[Elizabeth "The Phish"]

I like Talk the most of the three (or any Yes album for that matter) but The Ladder would be my runner-up to it. Both albums really have the band going for it with a varied collection of songs with an amazing flow in the tracklisting. Really wouldn't call any of the moments on either of the albums to be "bad" as I enjoy them completely through-out. Most of Talk is on my Top 10 favourites of the band in terms of songs and it holds my favourite Yessong too! The Ladder also has a lot of my favourite Yessongs overall, maybe not majority of Top 10 high but still very high with the favourites.

Now, for Keystudio (which I'd consider to be the canonical studio album of the Keys to Ascension tracks), I do enjoy all the songs on it too but definitely not nearly as much as the other two. Not like the album is like a lot worse than the other two (I'd still give it a 10/10 like the other two) but I do feel like "That, That Is" being the closer instead of "Children of the Light" would've made the album flow better and have a more satisfying conclusion. I'd also would've liked to not have the verses cut on "Children of the Light" 'cause that intro and "The Lighting" works really well and even better than with just only one of the two.

[Mr. Holland]

Talk! My fith favourite Yes album. The Ladder second and Keys third.

[pianozach]

1. Talk
2. Ladder
3. Keys

Keys was a travesty. The hybrid live/studio albums seemed more like a moneygrab than any serious attempt to present an album full of solid great new material.

Ladder, on the other hand, was pretty solid.

Talk, however, was memorable. The playlist sticks with me, and I love every track on the album.

[patrickq]

This one was kind of tough. The studio material on Keys I was perhaps the band’s worst imo. (I mean some album has to be their worst). But the new songs on Keys 2 were very, very good. I wasn’t a fan of The Ladder outside of a couple of songs. So for me it’sTalk.

I’ve never been a Rabin hater, but Talk seems a bit too much like a solo album. However, “Endless Dream” is outrageously good. And “Walls” and “The Calling”—i.e., the singles—are good too. If the question were structured differently, I’d go for Keys 2, but as it stands, I vote Talk.

[alex peters]

The Ladder hands down for me

[Homemade Parachute]

This one was kind of tough. The studio material on Keys I was perhaps the band’s worst imo. (I mean some album has to be their worst). But the new songs on Keys 2 were very, very good.

See, I have the exact opposite reaction: almost nothing on K2A2 grabs me, but I like almost every second of "Be the One" and "That, That Is" quite a lot! I guess Yes takes all types (or those no accounting for taste)…

[patrickq]

See, I have the exact opposite reaction: almost nothing on K2A2 grabs me, but I like almost every second of "Be the One" and "That, That Is" quite a lot! I guess Yes takes all types (or those no accounting for taste)…

It’s pretty crazy when you think about it!

[brianos]

The Ladder is really solid. I wasn't crazy about it on first listens, but gave it a 2nd chance some years back and was surprised how much it grew on me!

[Soundwaveseeker]

There was a time I would have said Talk all the way. One of the most underrated and unappreciated things Yes has ever done. Endless Dream has some of the same elements as Awaken. Not in sound, but in spirit. I'd rather have an album that felt like Yes rather than one that sounded like Yes, if that makes sense. A vibrant and cinematic album.

But in recent years, I've been very much into The Ladder - a cozy, happy Yes album that always makes me smile. It beats Talk for me by one molecule. Keys has always been on the lower of my ranking list. Though That That Is is a stellar work and one of their best 90's moments, crack babies notwithstanding.

If I rank 90's, maybe I'd go:

1) Ladder
2)Talk
3) Union
4) Keys
5) Open Your Eyes

[Oldie on the Goldie]

TTI is one of their best since the 70s, but as an album overall, I vote for The Ladder.

[pjt]

Ugh, difficult to choose.
I've chosen The Ladder, but Talk is a close second. While I love That, That is and Mind Drive a lot, too bad that Keys was never to be a real album. Also I don't like some KTA2 songs, like Footprints and Power they are kind of unfinished to me.