Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Yes
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2014
Duration: 51:29
Rating: 4/5
Chances are no prog-rock album in 2014 was as eagerly awaited, or got as much attention from certain music media, as the latest studio effort from the legendary Yes, with the poetic title »Heaven & Earth« and yet another gorgeous cover from longtime graphic collaborator Roger Dean. »Heaven & Earth« is another landmark album for the English prog-rock pioneers, since it’s their first studio outing with a new singer, the American Jon Davison (Glass Hammer), who managed to win over most of the faithful on the 2014 tours as an extremely fitting vocal choice. Most critics agreed that Davison is a smart replacement for the practically irreplaceable original singer Jon Anderson, since on some Yes classics his vocals sound even more ‘Andersonesque’ than Anderson himself.
Compared to the rest of this legendary band, the relatively young Davison – who’s also a gifted songwriter and a solid guitarist – already proved with the American symph-prog outfit Glass Hammer that he can hit some insanely high notes that the aging Anderson can’t reach anymore, while the vocal kinship between the two singers is downright stunning. Old cats like bassist and sole founding member Chris ‘Fish’ Squire, guitar genius Steve ‘Mr. Owl’ Howe, drummer Alan White and keyboardist Geoff Dowens, who also earns his bread with Asia on the side, have chosen their new Yes singer wisely this time.
After the below-average album »Fly From Here« (2011) and the failed episode with the Canadian Benoit David (ex-Mystery) standing in for Anderson, who nearly lost his voice by the end of the tour, Yes simply couldn’t afford another embarrassment like that. Davison was reportedly meant to be Anderson’s replacement from the start, but back then an awkward phone mix-up meant he didn’t answer the invitation to join the band in time. What followed was a weak studio album and a tour they can hardly be proud of, so it’s no surprise they cut ties with former member and producer Trevor Horn (ex-The Buggles) and teamed up instead with Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, Foreigner, Jon Anderson, Ozzy Osbourne, Hawkwind, Alice Cooper and The Cars are just some of the names he’s worked with), another highly regarded producer they briefly worked with in the late seventies, even though nothing ‘sensible’ came out of that collaboration back then.
This time the story is completely different, as »Heaven & Earth« is in many ways even one of the best Yes albums since the end of the seventies, which is downright incredible when you consider the problems the band wrestled with right after David’s departure, especially when it comes to artistic credibility. That’s exactly why, in shaping »Heaven & Earth« – which at times sounds thoroughly ‘retro’ 70s, yet is also one of their most refreshing, flowing and melodic achievements since the cult ‘pop’ album »90125« (1983) – Yes took a completely different songwriting approach than with »Fly From Here«. Instead of reworking ‘leftover’ Buggles material from the 80s, all the band members collaborated as equals on completely new compositions, newcomer Davison included. You can feel that very welcome fact on »Heaven & Earth« from the first second on.
From start to finish the album is steeped in a truly magical ambient stamp, through which their trademark ‘green tongue’ comes alive again for the first time in a really long while (the last time was on the album »Mangification«, 2001). As far as Yes go, the rhythm section has stayed the most reliable and consistent over the decades, which is no surprise, since Alan White has the longest uninterrupted tenure in the band after Chris Squire. Squire delights on most of the tracks with his melodic, instantly recognizable lines on the Rickenbacker bass. Even the somewhat stiffened-up (musically and physically) Steve Howe, who uses a lot of pedal steel and acoustic guitar besides the electric, is noticeably more inventive in crafting individual guitar variations than he was on »Fly From Here«.
Even Downes, who’s been criticized plenty of times in the past as a weaker stand-in for the legendary Rick Wakeman, this time serves up some of the most complex and varied arrangements of his rich keyboard career, carefully steering clear of overusing the 80s synth sound most people still know him best for. Davison, though, is a story all his own – he’s the main ‘star’ of this album, and with his vocal contribution he has practically reborn a bunch of properly worn-out prog-rock veterans. With all due respect to Jon Anderson, who remains the ultimate voice of Yes, you have to admit his absence isn’t missed one bit this time, and sometimes you almost forget that a much younger guy is handling the vocals.
On »Heaven & Earth« Yes wanted to put creating hypnotic atmospheric nuances ahead of showing off solo technical chops (well, there’s no shortage of that on individual tracks either, so different tastes and wishes among the fans can be fully satisfied this time), which is why the compositions take priority, and every single one is shorter than ten minutes. That means there’s no super-epic on »Heaven & Earth« in the style of past classics like »Close To The Edge« or »Awaken«, which is a pretty good decision in one way, since numerous critics would surely have accused them of pretentiousness on the very first album with a new singer. Everything here is marked by the melodic, upbeat nature of the arrangements, as befits Yes, while any fear of excessive ‘pop’ compactness vanishes in an instant, especially during the instrumental sections, where the seasoned old foxes don’t skimp on virtuoso improvisations.
The opening track, »Believe Again«, ruled by festive symphonic arrangements, fills the listener to the brim with positive energy and joie de vivre, which goes especially for the ethereal, multi-voiced chorus, where you can feel that Yes, as we liked to remember them best, are finally back on »Heaven & Earth«. Plenty of people will forget for a moment while listening that it’s not Anderson on lead vocals, as if he’d discovered the miracle elixir of youth, but Davison, who sings just the way Anderson did in his prime. Steve Howe wouldn’t be one of the most complex and unpredictable guitar masters if he didn’t serve up a daring improvisation that blends ideally with Downes’s layered synthesizer textures. The lyrics pick up where Anderson ‘last put down his pen’, full of spirituality, celebration of life and calls for personal enlightenment – classic Yes lyrical subjects, though Davison has added a bit of his own lyrical stamp too.
»The Game« is another superb piece that will make all the longtime fans happy, a delicious mix of the classic, nostalgic and the modern ambient pulse. There are hypnotic vocal harmonies and an epic chorus where Squire and Howe back Davison with gusto on backing vocals, unpredictable and dynamic time changes, and gorgeous symphonic blends between guitar and synth harmonies. »Step Beyond« opens with a witty synth motif while ‘Mr. Owl’ surprises with a lively guitar phrase. Davison and his two vocal sidekicks gradually build a rising, bright atmosphere while mighty symphonic arrangements flow in the background, among Downes’s most inventive work on this album. Packed with lyrical spirituality, »To Ascend« opens with a pleasant acoustic guitar melody backed by layered symphonic curtains, while numerous rhythmic variations shape a slightly melancholic yet still ambiently uplifting motif. This is surely one of the best moments of this superbly balanced album, as its strongly nostalgic atmosphere whisks the listener off in an instant to far more romantic times (and not only musically).
»In A World Of Our Own« opens at a slow tempo with an interesting percussion sound, while Howe’s guitar phrase has a slightly bluesy flavor this time. Davison convincingly proves here that he’s just as convincing singing in the lower registers, and in the chorus you can hear Squire very clearly too, never ceasing to impress with his melodic bass lines. Downes casually throws in a few short melodic passages on the mini moog, while Howe’s guitar improvisations are once again a real treat for all the prog gourmets. »Light Of The Ages« has a pompous, symphonic, instrumental-leaning intro where Howe and Downes especially shine. Davison’s vocal joins the main melody with the entrance of the acoustic guitar. Despite its thoroughly positive title, it’s the only creation on the album that gets a bit darker at times, as ambient nuances and complex rhythmic variations alternate at a fascinating pace.
»It Was All We Knew«, with its cheerful melody and ethereal vocal harmonies, is the most compact piece on »Heaven & Earth«. Even so, ambience-wise it’s a hugely rich composition, with some very cunning and bold guitar variations and improvisations courtesy of the tireless Howe. The flow of those ethereal vocal harmonies hasn’t been this fascinating in a long time, hypnotizing the listener on the spot with its intensity.
The closing masterpiece »Subway Walls« is the most ambitious track on »Heaven & Earth« structurally. It opens with a dramatic orchestral overture typical of Downes’s songwriting and arranging approach, then complex yet melodic bass lines and playful guitar passages crash in. White also impresses with some very cleverly judged drum transitions, while the peak of this excellent track is the solemn, multi-voiced chorus under Davison’s ‘soaring’ baton. Here all four instrumentalists take their time for solo improvisations, and Downes’s mischief on the mini moog and Howe’s cut-loose electric guitar deserve a special shout-out.
»Heaven & Earth« is what its predecessor »Fly From Here« should have been, had the last few years played out a little differently – one of the best Yes albums since the ‘golden’ seventies came to a close. Yes show a completely different face this time than three years ago, and they haven’t sounded this fresh, youthful and committed in reviving their ‘green tongue’ in a very long time. »Heaven & Earth« successfully fuses past and present: most of the compositions carry the ambient stamp of classic Yes, while the album stays true to modern times in its production and in places also in its songwriting (there are quite a few refreshing ideas on it). The flow between the individual tracks, alongside the melodic catchiness of the arrangements and vocal harmonies, makes the album fly by ‘in the blink of an eye’ and is simply stunning, so »Heaven & Earth« is bound to thrill plenty of longtime fans.
Lineup
Jon Davison – vocals, acoustic guitar (tracks 1 and 6)
Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals
Chris Squire – bass guitar, backing vocals
Geoff Downes – keyboards
Alan White – drums, percussion
Production
Roy Thomas Baker
Track list
1. Believe Again (8:02)
2. The Game (6:51)
3. Step Beyond (5:34)
4. To Ascend (4:43)
5. In A World Of Our Own (5:20)
6. Light Of The Ages (7:41)
7. It Was All We Knew (4:13)
8. Subway Walls (9:03)
