 | Close to the Edge by Yes
Buy new: £4.08 / Used from: £3.75 Sorry to be boring, but this is the best rock album ever. Best part: the ethereal interlude starting about 8:28 in the title cut. Simply sublime.
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 | The Yes Album by Yes
Buy new: £6.78 / Used from: £3.00 This, however, is easier to swallow. Every track is brilliant (bar maybe "A Venture", but even that isn't BAD), and the guitar solo on "Starship Trooper" is without a doubt the best on any rock song.
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 | Going for the One by Yes
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £4.26 The only other Yes album that's consistently good throughout - but "Awaken" stands just a little above everything else, even if it clocks in at a hefty 15:38... ... ...
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 | Fragile by Yes
Buy new: £6.88 / Used from: £4.99 This one has little solo pieces from all five band members, and "Five Percent for Nothing" delivers exactly what its title promises. But isn't that some haunting singing on "Heart of the Sunrise"?
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 | Magnification by Yes
Buy new: £10.08 / Used from: £5.68 "Get back to where you once belonged," sang Paul McCartney all those years ago. That's exactly what happens here: a masterful album in 2001 (!), although one that requires a few listens to sink in...
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 | The Ladder by Yes
Buy new: £11.28 / Used from: £4.22 This one's no slouch either, certainly hinting at the wonderful "Magnification" which would follow. But "Lightning Strikes" came as a bit of a rude shock on first listen. Definitely a grower!
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 | 90125 by Yes
Buy new: £5.88 / Used from: £2.60 Speaking of rude shocks! This album sounds almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Yes. I like it, if only for the underrated "Hearts" which is, ironically, the only vaguely proggish number in sight.
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 | Relayer by Yes
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.15 5 stars for the first side, 3 for the second. "The Gates of Delirium" could be my vote for the best Yes epic, but I don't find myself listening to the other two tracks anything like as often.
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 | Yes: Expanded and Remastered by Yes
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £4.56 A fairly inspiring debut, but it does pale in comparison to the above efforts. The highlight is the cover of the Beatles' "Every Little Thing", IMO.
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 | Drama: Remastered & Expanded by Yes
Buy new: £6.68 / Used from: £4.60 Something of a curiosity: NO JON ANDERSON ON THIS ONE! Surprisingly, it's a lot better than Tormato; after all, the biggest problem with that album is Jon's laziness. Features Trevor Horn on vocals.
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 | Time and a Word: Expanded and Remastered by Yes
Buy new: £5.58 / Used from: £4.56 The first Yes album to feature an orchestra. Unlike "Magnification", the orchestration here doesn't work terribly well, tending to obscure Peter Banks' guitars.
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 | Talk by Yes
Buy new: £10.48 / Used from: £5.97 Their most underrated album. The claustrophobic sound takes a little getting used to, but the songs beat the stuffing out of the previous two studio fiascos. "Endless Dream" is just... wow.
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 | Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes
Buy new: £11.98 / Used from: £6.99 Alright, now here's their most OVERrated album. There are some good musical ideas here, but the two-disc, four-song format has a tendency to undermine their effectiveness. Buy with caution.
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 | Big Generator
Buy used from: £2.29 This is where we cross the line, IMO. This one and everything below it can be considered "bad" rather than "good". There are some signs of promise here, but the performances are frankly rather poor.
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 | Open Your Eyes by Yes
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £2.94 An attempt to return to the band's roots (hence the album cover), "Open Your Eyes" is actually less reminiscent of "Yes" than it is of "Tormato" - see below...
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 | Tormato by Yes
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.80 On the face of it, this just continues the trends started on "Going for the One" that would lead to "90125". However, this one's rendered almost unlistenable by Rick Wakeman's sudden lapses of taste.
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 | Union by Yes
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £2.60 But would you believe, they DID do something even worse than "Tormato", resulting in the absolute low point of their career. The less said about this album, the better.
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