In a Word: Yes (1969 - )
Like the prog-rock movement that spawned them, the band name Yes was only supposed to be temporary. But Yes have long outlived prog, spanning five decades, some 14 members, and, at one point, essentiallytwoseparate outfits on opposite sides of the Atlantic. This five-disc box set chronicles the musical high points of one of the most successful, if unlikely, careers in all of rock. While contemporaries likeELPandKing Crimsonoften distilled their jazz, classical, or avant-garde influences into potent, often jagged sonic shards, Yes thrived by infusing influences as diverse as Stravinsky, Lennon and McCartney, traditional jazz, the Fifth Dimension, and Paul Simon with their own restless, endlessly ambitious musicianship, then letting them simmer into musical landscapes often as vast as they were lyrically impenetrable. All the band's early staples are here ("Yours Is No Disgrace," "Starship Trooper," "I've Seen All Good People," "Roundabout") along with intact swatches of the epicsClose to the Edge,Tales from Topographic OceansandRelayer. But the later chapters are equally rewarding: the improbable 1980 replacement of departed Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman by the Buggles' Trevor Horn and Geoff Downs onDrama; the return of Anderson (with Horn and and new guitarist Trevor Rabin sharing producer's duties) for the surprising, megaplatinum success of90125and its chart-topping "Owner of a Lonely Heart"; rewarding, diverse '90s outings likeTalkandThe Ladder. It's a compelling musical vision that's almost utopian, sprinkled with a half-dozen previously unreleased tracks and the epic 1972 reworking of Paul Simon's "America." Chris Welch and Bill Martin's comprehensive and insightful notes are introduced by film director and longtime Yes fan Cameron Crowe, who reminisces about his early days writing about the band.–Jerry McCulley