YES 588 190 (-69) UK

My first Yes LP was "The Yes Album" wich really floored me back then. I went on buying all releases up to "Tormato", listening and investigating every twist and turn. Dazed by the work of Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman I never looked back on the groups earlier work. It was much later I discovered what a fantastic debute this was. The sound and style is already there, but less calculated and more sincere. Early prog with jazzy elements, tempo changes and odd chord sequences, still melodic with pleasant vocal harmonies. There's very nice guitar licks and Peter Banks (1947-2013) does not stand back to Steve Howe. In fact Banks can be seen as a forerunner in prog guitar play on this album. His use of octaves and blend of jazz and rock helped forming a style that has been much copied through the years, not least by Howe. The two covers - "I See You" and "Every Little Thing" - are total re-makes and fits nicely with the six self-penned tracks. The idea of making bombastic arrangements to simple pop songs may have come from Vanilla Fudge and there's also elements reminding of early King Crimson, but the performance comes through all original. Early US on Atlantic with different cover (SD 4283). First UK on plum label with "588 190" number, cover is glossy f/o with pics and info inside, some with lyric insert. (JÄZ*)(ÄTHP*)