Yes - Fly From Here

Being another revised line-up of Yes this one not including Jon Anderson does a brilliant job of maintaining all of what Yes fans love about the band. I find this album very solid for a band that has been around almost as long as I've been alive well their debut album arrived when I was an infant. This new album includes David Benoit handling the vocal duties and I'm not going to say he's better or worse than Jon because he's neither. In the live arena David can hit the notes with power and energy unlike Jon was able to the past few years he was in the band.

The "Fly From Here" suite is pure and epic without going overboard. I really enjoy the vocal passages as much as the instrumental passages which hasn't been the case on many later Yes records it was either one or the other. I can here Downes influence on the album, even if he isn't the main writer on the album he's merged with Steve Howe after all these years. Chris Squire the greatest bass player to ever strum a four string is more than just tossing incredible note combinations out he's nearly telling the story as the music plays. His frenetic and precise playing is magical specially on part IV "Bumpy Ride" where you might not really notice but what he's doing in all that is astounding because he's actually the lead instrument.

I haven't been so driven to listen to a Yes album over and over for a very long time maybe since ABWH's one off Yes album not using the Yes band name. This is for sure the first album in many years I've actually listened to twice in a row all the way through. After the excellent "Fly From Here" completes the band have some songs of lesser length and one of their best in twenty years "The Man You Always Wanted To Be" is a glorious listen. I love Howe's tone on the solo bits and flourishes it's one of his best tones on record. Now being a fan of the band and progressive rock I love all the time changes and big chorus's with layered vocals and multi-textured instrumentation. If you want to lay back close your eyes and go on a musical journey unlike anything you've experienced before than put Fly From Here on and I promise the band won't disappoint creating a brilliant soundtrack to whatever your mind will come up.