Yes announce new album, but is it really Yes anymore?

[Entre_Perpetuo]

.Yes Announce New Album ‘The Quest’.11 hours ago

 

The cover art looks great, Roger Dean doesn't disappoint. However without Squire in this version of the band, and with Anderson and Wakeman still out there but not with the band anymore, not to mention with Bruford being retired and White barely playing live (and apparently being supplemented in the studio as well)... is this really Yes? Is it Yes just because it's got Steve Howe? Is it Yes because it's got Steve Howe, a bit of Alan White, and the guy Chris Squire gave permission to replace him? Is it Yes because it says Yes on the sleeve?

 

And of course what do you think it'll sound like?

[Entre_Perpetuo]

I guess I didn't realize Geoff Downes is also in this incarnation of the band. I can see how he's in the version with Howe since they left Yes together after Drama to form Asia. However Drama was also Downes' first album with Yes, and his last until the 2010s. I've always been aware of his name in the Yes pantheon, but compared to Wakeman or Kaye, I'm not sure he has much ground to stand on for being a classic member of Yes. He and Moraz both only did one album from the classic era. Kaye and Wakeman each did multiple.

[Fordgalaxy]

In name only. I gave up on them several years ago when they decided to tour even though Jon Anderson was ill and couldn't and basically kicked him out. I mean heck, he was only one of the founding members of the band, but screw him and his lung issues.

[zepphead]

For me not really. To be honest I have struggled with the concept of a Yes without Jon Anderson, but at least over the years the one constant had been Chris Squire.

With Chris gone I just have no interest at all now.

Edited July 8, 2021 by zepphead

[Fridge]

The most important quest ion will be: Is it any good or not?...all will be forgiven if it is.....

[GeddysMullet]

I'm not even a Yes fan and I can tell you that's not Yes. It's Uh-huh, maybe, or possibly Aye, or even Yeah if I'm being generous but it sure as heck isn't Yes. Edited July 8, 2021 by GeddysMullet

[laughedatbytime]

I'm not even a Yes fan and I can tell you that's not Yes. It's Uh-huh, maybe, or possibly Aye, or even Yeah if I'm being generous but it sure as heck isn't Yes.

Yup

[pjbear05]

Hell f*kkin' NO!

[Nova Carmina]

[Rick N. Backer]

It's like Black Sabbath after Born Again. Tony Martin, Cozy Powell and Neil Murray are not Black Sabbath.

[bluefox4000]

not really. i'll probably play it cause i'll try anything. hey if it's good i won't care honestly.

 

Mick

[Rod in Toronto]

Yes turned into a Maybe YEARS ago, and for more than a decade they have become a solid NO.

[chemistry1973]

They have run out of gas.

 

But then they release From a Page as an afterthought, and it turns out be pretty damn good.

 

And Fly From Here is solidly good latter day Yes.

 

But of course both feature the irreplaceable Chris Squire.

 

 

I think Howe is now the leader of the group, and he seems to be basically not competent at that.

 

Do another Union tour with Jon, Rick and Trevor Rabin and then hang it the f**k up.

Edited July 8, 2021 by chemistry1973

[stoopid]

No.

[Mosher]

If it's a great album, then I'd have to say- NO.

 

Still not Yes.

 

Good or bad is irrelevant. At some point, over a certain amount of time, it has to reflect some manner of a constant for the name to mean anything.

 

Calling it 'Yes' will sell more copies. And that's a regrettable cynicism. Just call it something else.

[New_World_Man]

It's still technically Yes because it's descended from the band that had Chris Squire in it. Also, Chris basically appointed Billy Sherwood to be his replacement before he died so there's no reason why they shouldn't still call themselves Yes. If anything the band that recorded 90125 shouldn't have called themselves Yes but they did so mainly because they brought Jon on board as the singer. However, just because Jon A. is not on this album doesn't mean it's not a Yes record. After all, Drama didn't have Jon on it and that's still a Yes album. If this shouldn't be called Yes because no Jon then Drama shouldn't have been called Yes either. Yes was never about just one member. Edited July 10, 2021 by New_World_Man

[Entre_Perpetuo]

It's still technically Yes because it's descended from the band that had Chris Squire in it. Also, Chris basically appointed Billy Sherwood to be his replacement before he died so there's no reason why they shouldn't still call themselves Yes. If anything the band that recorded 90125 shouldn't have called themselves Yes but they did so mainly because they brought Jon on board as the singer. However, just because Jon A. is not on this album doesn't mean it's not a Yes record. After all, Drama didn't have Jon on it and that's still a Yes album. If this shouldn't be called Yes because no Jon then Drama shouldn't have been called Yes either. Yes was never about just one member.

 

To me, I'm thinking more and more Yes isn't just about one member, but it's about having the right combination of players. The current combination doesn't feel like Yes to me, even if Squire did appoint Sherwood as his replacement, why can't we get Anderson in the band, or Kaye, or Wakeman? Geoff Downes was barely in Yes before jetting off to do Asia. I can understand the current drummer dilemma. You've got Alan White, but he can barely play anymore, but outright letting him go would be worse than keeping him on for whatever he can still do. Besides, the only other guy anyone wants to see behind the kit is Bruford, who's long retired from music. Even just one more guy from some version of the classic lineup who can play through the whole show with Howe would be much more like Yes.

[Missing1202]

I saw the ARW tour and that was so much more Yes then the HOWE version. Anderson couldn't have sounded better that night to the point Heart Of The Sunrise made me cry. Let's face it, Most of these guys need the touring money so why not burry the hatchet and say goodbye. The fans deserve it. We have put up with all the craziness over the years and YES with Howe is a cover band. Edited July 11, 2021 by Missing1202

[thizzellewashington]

I'm not super attached to any one lineup of Yes because that band has always been kind of a revolving door but I've been out since Jon Anderson left. I'm actually a huge fan of Drama even though he wasn't on that album but that's a different thing to me because Horn and Downes came in and brought their own sound to it so it was unique and still "in the spirit" of Yes. Kicking Jon out because he couldn't tour and hiring a soundalike from a tribute band is wack to me.