So today should be like Christmas Day for me. Yes is releasing their new album called Heaven and Earth. I should be excited but I'm not.
People who really know me know I am a HUGE Yes fan. My apartment walls are decorated with Roger Dean paintings. My computer desktop is a rotating display of album covers. However the last couple of years have left me wanting more.
The one thing I understand about Yes is that every time out you are going to get something different. The band membership has changed so much through the years that that is what is expected. But at least it was still going to be YES. I was never one of those that said it isn't Yes without Wakeman or Howe or whoever, but now I am actually starting to feel that Jon Anderson was the driving force behind things.
I have given the album about two listenings now (and playing again as I type this), and I just feel like something is missing. Nothing stands out. It's very mellow. If you would have told me this was Starcastle I may have believed you. And that's not what I expect my Yes to be. Sometimes slapping a Roger Dean cover on it doesn't elevate the musical content.
Will this grow on me? Probably. Believe Again, Step Beyond and Subway Walls were at least somewhat interesting. This is not an album I would jam to, but I could see it playing in the background on a dark day while I was drinking a cup of coffee watching it rain. How's that for mellow?
Track Listing
2) The Game
3) Step Beyond
4) To Ascend
5) In a World of Our Own
6) Light of the Ages
7) It Was All We Knew
8) Subway Walls
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