We continue our look at the music of 50 years ago….
The progressive British band Yes was at a crossroads in 1970. Their first two albums had sold poorly and they had replaced the guitarist Peter Banks with a guy named Steve Howe. Little did they know that in under a year they would be one of the biggest bands in England and popular around the world.
Howe was a wonderful guitar player and could play in many different styles which led the band in various directions as they set to record their next LP called ‘The Yes Album” which was released in February of 1971.
After starting the careers as a cover band the band decided to make this LP with all original material which they fleshed out with extended sequences and musical interludes featuring both Howe’s guitar and the organ and piano work of Tony Kaye. The meat and potatoes of the band (close harmonies and the soaring voice of Jon Anderson remained.
The album produced a modest hit in I’ve Seen All Good People” and reached #4 in England and cracked the Top 4o Album Chart in the US.
There is also a story about the album cover pictured above. The shot was taken a day after the band was in a major car crash that could have killed them all. You can see Kaye’s leg ensconced in a cast. It’s no wonder that they don’t look too happy in the shot.
The band would tour behind this album but friction began as Kaye refused to play synthesyzers that were becoming big the prog-music world. The band replaced him with Rick Wakeman and later in the year would release the album that blew them into the stratosphere…Fragile. But that’s a story for later this year. Here is The Yes Album…a throughly enjoyable romp through British prog rock and a great introduction to the genius of Steve Howe. Enjoy
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