By now Yes were ready for a break, and who could blame them. While the key members worked on the requisite solo projects, the label bided their time with a compilation. Yesterdays didn’t have to stretch too much for a title, as it was built around tracks mostly from the era of their first two albums, a.k.a. the ones before Steve Howe. The big draw—outside the Roger Dean artwork, and we could do without the kid taking a leak on the back—were the non-album tracks making their first appearance on a Yes LP, and which bookend this one. “America”, here in its full ten-minute splendor, is a molecular reconstruction of the Simon & Garfunkel album track, incorporating motifs from the unrelated song of the same title from West Side Story (clearly an influence on the band from the beginning). This is the only track here with Howe and Rick Wakeman, who are revved up and restrained, respectively. Of their epics, it’s not their best, but it’s still a good setup for “Looking Around” from the debut, which is itself followed nicely by “Time And A Word”. “Sweet Dreams” interestingly sits in the same side-ending slot as it did on the second album. Unfortunately, side two drags a bit, although “Then”, “Survival”, and “Astral Traveller” are undeniable harbingers of their later developed sound. The orchestrated “Dear Father” was the B-side of “Sweet Dreams” and a good place for it, as the religious hand-wringing doesn’t really suit them.
Yesterdays is redundant in the CD era, as the first two albums have never gone out of print, and the rarities have become standard bonus tracks. But it arguably chose the best tracks to satiate those waiting for the next big statement—or spur new initiates to fill in their racks—while sending some cash Peter Banks’ way.
Yes Yesterdays (1975)—2½
Atlantic Records were probably nervous that the upcoming wave of solo albums might not exactly going to burn up the charts. That, of course, ended up being perfectly justified. They were also savvy enough to notice that, even in the wake of the group’s later success, their first two albums never sold much. So, here came this stopgap for fans who had never heard them.
ReplyDeleteThe band leans more heavily on the second than the first, since, as you point out, the proggier material is there. I’m not sure that “Dear Father” is about “religious hand-wringing,” but, as usual, you never can tell with Jon Anderson. I find the song moving, anyway.
As for “America,” they trade Paul Simon’s emotional intimacy for their usual instrumental prowess. Jon’s rocking vocal isn’t entirely convincing. The reason that you feel that Rick sounds “restrained” could be that it may not be him! One rumor says that he was late one day to the studio, so Bill Bruford played the Mellotron instead! It’s a cool cover, that’s for sure.
Atlantic’s strategy worked. While the album was the first not to go gold since “The Yes Album”, it came closer than the original albums, or any solo album. It probably sold despite, not because of, the TERRIBLE cover. Not as bad as the original Blind Faith cover, but almost. What the hell made Roger Dean think that people wanted to look at that? That would never fly today. Fortunately, the two rarities have since been farmed out to other releases, so this thing is now lost for good.