Track Listing

1. Beyond And Before
2. I See You
3. Yesterday And Today
4. Looking Around
5. Harold Land
6. Every Little Thing
7. Sweetness
8. Survival
9. Everydays
10. Dear Father
11. Something's Coming
12. Everydays
13. Dear Father
14. Something's Coming

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15113 in Music
• Released on: 2003-02-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
Though their name quickly became synonymous with '70s prog rock, Yes' 1969 debut is a far cry from the epic vistas theywould later explore. Like many '60s bands, they covered theByrds (the metaphysical "I See You") and the Beatles ("Every Little Thing"). Inspired by the likes of Vanilla Fudge andRotary Connection, they turned these songs inside out, radically changing the tempos and creating their own elaborate arrangements. The end results often bore little similarity tothe songs' original versions.
Guitarist Peter Banks (whoeventually formed the very Yes-like aggregation Flash with Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye) has a much less cerebral approachthan his successor Steve Howe. Though not as facile, Banks is alternately subtle and jazzy ("I See You") and electrifyingly riff-oriented ("Looking Around"). All the elements thatwould soon make Yes a household name were already in place,but YES is the sound of a great band gearing up for greaterthings. It's nevertheless an ultimately substantive and satisfying debut.

Customer Reviews

A nice reissue of the original Yes debut album
"Yes" is the original debut album from Yes not to be confused with "The Yes Album," which was their third album but the first one with which most people would be familiar. "Yes" is not as strong an album, but it is a lot better than you would expect given the level of performance excellent you expect from the group down the road, especially since at this point you have Peter Banks on guitar and Tony Kaye doing the assorted keyboard work. Most of the songs are written by vocalist Jon Anderson and bass player Chris Squire, along with covers of songs by Lennon & McCartney ("Every Little Thing") and Crosby & McQuinn ("I See You"). It is rather strange to thing of the Beatle and the Byrds being major influences on Yes, but there you go. This is an album for lifelong fans of the group to check out, now that it has been reissued. Knowing where the Yes sound ends up, you can hear it in embryonic form, most notably on "Harold Land," which most anticipates the multi-part suites that would consume an entire record side on the group's best albums. However, when you hear the driving sound of the opening cut, "Beyond and Before," you will wonder who you are listening to. Banks does some interesting guitar work on both of the cover songs, especially the atypical version of the Beatles song.

This 2003 reissue is impressive because the bonus tracks add up to more playing time than the 8 original tracks on the album. The informative liner notes are from Mike Tiano. There early and finished versions of three songs, including "Something's Coming" from "West Side Story," which particularly fits Anderson's distinctive vocal style (you will be reminded of Yes' later cover of Simon & Garfunkle's "America"). The before and after approach with these bonus tracks is quite interesting. There are few opportunities this good to go back and look at what one of your favorite groups was doing when they were first starting out, which makes this expanded reissue of "Yes" a real treat.

Yes before they were Yes?
For me (and, I guess, a lot of other people) Yes weren't Yes 'til 'The Yes Album'. Having said that, you can definitely hear the genesis of that band in the first couple of albums. The overriding impression, though, is that this is a band in thrall to the sound of the Byrds, but filtered through a distinctively jazz-mindset! It sound bizzare if you've not heard it, but it really does work! Highlight tracks are "Survival", "Looking Around" and "Dear Father" and, even if the bonus early versions of some of the tracks don't really add too much to the experience, this is still a bargain-buy

Yes yes yes...
After owning this album on vinyl for 25 years , but not having a turntable for the past 7 years...i finally bought it on cd. It's even better than i remember, an absolutely stunning collection of songs, played with a flair to match any of the later albums by the 'definitive' Yes line-up. Jon anderson's voice is ,as always,simply beautiful. Chris Squire's bass,is, as mentioned by another reviewer forward in the mix,but that can only be a good thing right ?, he drives these songs along brilliantly.Bill Bruford was always in and out of the various line -ups,and we all know how good he is,and here he excels himself during both the subtle moments and the times when these songs simply rock. Tony Kaye's organ ,whilst sounding it's age,(this was 1969 remember),is all the better for it, it just sounds so 'real',and not at all the product of an expensive studio,as keyboard instruments often do.Indeed this entire album is pretty raw,and Peter Bank's agressive guitar style (as opposed to my favourite guitarist,Steve Howe's generally more jazzy,experimental style) is the icing on the cake. Thanks to Banks ,YES ,sound almost like a conventional rock band here,at times,but i said almost, and rest assured, this is bold and daring music. Sure enough as others have mentioned,they cover The Beatles here, but it's two minutes plus into that song, before the vocal starts, the intro is a group of top class musicians , having a great time , and this is most definitely passed on to the listener. It's joyous and infectious.
I'm rambling, this is a wonderous debut album, if you like YES even a little, you need this record. PS- This is one of the few cd's i have bought where the bonus tracks are truly deserving of mention, but they are that special ,i believe this should have been a double vinyl all those years ago.