Health Warning - a new Yes album review which is not wholly damning. Readers of a nervous disposition might wish to click off the page now.
Amongst the numerous reviews of the 2023 Yes release, Mirror to the Sky, the one which really caught my eye was from Louder Sound, publishers of Prog magazine, in which the headline puff was the fact that said album was “their finest in 20 years”. Headlines are, of course, clickbait. Designed to drag you in, but this one was a wee bit more outrageous than most, because, in all honesty, what is the competition? Magnification was released in 2001, so they weren’t including that (fine) album. I thought the Fly From Here suite on side one of the release featuring Benoit David was very good, albeit an old song, whilst side two was rather forgettable. I didn’t particularly like the Trevor Horn revisited effort, especially given the way David was booted out. Heaven & Earth was simply execrable, whilst The Quest was a very dull affair to these ears.
We are, therefore, talking about a low bar here. Extremely low.
Before I discuss the album itself, I have, in all post-Anderson reviews of Yes music, been very clear that I regard the great, if wonderfully bonkers, man himself as being nigh on irreplaceable. I make no apologies for that. Yes, on Going for the One were my introduction to progressive rock all those years ago. It does not mean that any review for Yes music without him shouldn’t be objective, and, at the end of the day, the fact is that Anderson & Howe will never work together again as part of Yes. We might not like it, but that is the way it is.
Reviews amongst the critics have been positive. Comments from the progerati on various forums range from the rather ridiculous “it’s a masterpiece” to the somewhat harsh “it’s a pile of pants”. My take on this album is that, I believe, of most sensible music, and longstanding Yes fans, that this is, by and large, not a bad album at all, with some very strong parts and some dull, forgettable pieces.
The personnel acquit themselves to varying degrees. Jay Schellen makes an impressive debut on drums. The pity of the last couple of Yes albums has been the way the late, great, Alan White seemed to be utterly buried in the mix, not strong enough to assert himself in the manner of days of yore. Steve Howe, the sole remaining member now of the “classic” line up, always impresses on guitar. The man is a genius. Where I do stand back a bit is in his song writing for Yes on his own, as I will make clear later. Jon Davison is always going to be compared to Anderson, and I don’t think favourably. He has a nice voice, and on delicate passages he suits the songs. Where I struggle with him is on passages where a little bit of oomph is required, a bit of welly to lead, because I don’t think his voice is strong enough to do so. Indeed, that takes us nicely to Billy Sherwood, who has assumed the Squire persona perfectly. He is all over this album, both on bass and vocals, and personally, I think that the band and this album would be better had his voice been more prominent. As for the keyboards, the credits tell us that one Geoffrey Downes appears on the entire album. I am tempted to refer this matter to the UK Trading Standards authorities to verify owing to the risk of buyers being seriously misled.
So, to the songs. Cut From The Stars opens proceedings, and I have listened to this many times now. It was the first track released by the band ahead of the album itself a couple of months ago, and lyrically is an interesting song about light pollution cutting us off from the night sky, something as a rural resident I am lucky enough to avoid. There is much to commend in this Davison & Sherwood collaboration, although I personally think that the music is suffocated here (and elsewhere on the album) by too many words being packed in. I love the orchestra at the start, and this is a feature of the album which does make one wish that there had been more of this post Magnification. The bass is simply wonderful throughout, fine pulses and riffs, and I might add not simply a carbon copy of Squire. Sherwood uses his own musical voice, and it is impressive. Howe keeps a decent old pace alongside him, and this is a song with some jazzy licks, although the overall impact is ever so low key. Downes could have soared, Davison could have railed against the light, Howe could have thundered, but it is overall a bit lightweight for these ears.
It is followed by All Connected, written by the troika of Davison, Sherwood, and Howe. Lyrically, Davison unleashes his inner Anderson with words such as Karmachromatic (no, me neither) with something I take as a plea for love and harmony together (man). It is the second single and is the first of the longer tracks at over nine minutes long. Howe gives us a lovely guitar introduction, beautifully delicate and understated. When the vocals kick in, the harmonisation between Davison & Sherwood is pleasing, but when Sherwood takes the lead, that is when I sit up and take notice. The bass is once again to the fore and the keyboards are once again barely there. Overall, though, I think this is a pleasant track, which sounds as if I am damning with faint praise, which I am not. It is a melodious piece of music, parts of which I do find myself reciting in my head at random moments, something which has not happened with a Yes album for quite a few years. The extended instrumental denouement with the orchestra is great, Howe right to the fore.
Luminosity is a similar length track, and another troika song. The opening chords and strings promise a great deal and herald a slightly darker hue. The instrumental opening segment features some vocal chants which, it must be said, accompany the music perfectly. This track has oodles of space and the vocals here, especially the harmonies, similarly provide a story as opposed to a crowded space and Downes provides us with some welcome parp parping, in classic fashion, bless. If you had seen the news this evening leading with a fatal crash and resultant riots in Cardiff, you might argue with the sentiments that we humans are all luminous, but that could be said for all Yes lyrics since the dawn of progressive rock. Howe’s extended guitar solo is stunning, dexterous, and emotional. Indeed, the whole track feels like a proper band collaboration, and it is a highpoint of 2023. It is a genuinely moving piece of music which forces you to sit up and take notice.
It is followed by a shorter piece, Living Out Their Dream, a Howe & Downes collaboration. Some commentators have stated that this is “inevitably” an Asia type piece of music. I don’t hear it. I simply hear a throwaway attempt at light pop/rock. There was far more urgency and power in Asia – this has neither.
The title track weighs in at some fourteen minutes. It is exceptional. It is quite easily the finest music post-Anderson Yes have recorded, and that is not a snarky statement, either. I enjoyed it on first listen, and have grown to love it, right from the opening smoky dark guitar chords to the closing notes. From the off, Downes makes himself heard on a sensitive piano, Sherwood belts out the bass, Schellen provides for some jazz infused drums and percussion, Howe is imperious, and this is about the most urgent thing this lot have recorded for many a year. The vocals kick in at the three minutes stage, and the theme is that of yearning to look at the sky without the fire of manmade pollution. The orchestra add a huge amount, and the whole feel is pleasurable, reminding me a lot of some of the themes the band explored during Topographic Oceans, but brought up to the modern era in a orchestral setting, very much in the vein of the live shows I saw sans Wakeman and with the classical musicians on the Magnification tour – sweeping, panoramic, and above all ambitious (that last two minutes!), it never once loses the listener’s interest. I had given up all hope of this, honestly.
After this, some form of comedown is inevitable, and it comes with the closing track of the album “proper”, Circles of Time. It is a Davison written piece. It is simply beautiful. It is a sparingly written song, with some acoustic and steel guitar lovingly provided by Howe to his lead vocalist and collaborator, and the orchestration is delicate alongside some nice Downes effects, of which I would have liked some more, you know soaring as opposed to background, but this is a quibble, in all honesty. I have always had a soft spot for well woven and performed pastoral music, and this one moves me. Cracking video, too.
Thus, endeth the main album. There follow three “bonus” tracks, which is always a bit misleading, because they are clearly a part of the album, and this review will treat them as such. These three tracks exemplify to me the problem Steve Howe has. All of them are written by him alone, and I think would have been a better fit on a solo album of his, as opposed to a Yes album. I think it and they are slightly self-indulgent, and it is a shame because in the main, the rest of the album shows a collective more at ease with itself. It confirms for me an eternal truth, and that is Howe is a far better songwriter and performer when having a talented foil to bounce ideas off.
Unknown Place takes on a darker theme, and underneath Davison, one hears the unmistakeable dulcet tones of a Mr Howe vocal. There are some decent elements, particularly the rhythm section but it all feels rather thrown together, and it does provide for some Downes noodling alongside his master, although the organ is, to these ears, far too understated. Awaken, it ain’t.
One Second Is Enough lasts, in fact, four minutes and three seconds longer than that. Not all those 243 seconds are wasted. Not all of them, anyway. But it is very twee and a complete throwaway song, crying out for a bit of solidity. Nice bass riffs, though and the guitar solo toward the end is mournful.
The last of the trio is Magic Potion. It has the sound and feel of Howe trying to recreate the atmosphere in the first album he appeared on with the band and is not particularly successful. The Yes Album was a work created by a young, hungry, and urgent band. This, especially mid-section, sounds rather more like a house band at a plush restaurant or club, although I do like the solo Howe provides just over three minutes in.
These three tracks really take the edge and enjoyment off the album, which is a shame. Mirror to the Sky is a good album taken in the round. There is some exceptional music on it, and it is certainly the first Yes album I own since Fly From Here I will listen to again.
So, to the closing summary. Well, those words come easily. It is their finest in 20 years!