Rating: 8/10

Track Amount: 8

Running Time: 40 minutes and 36 seconds

Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock

Personnel: Jon Anderson (lead vocals), Chris Squire (bass guitar and vocals), Peter Banks (guitars and vocals), Tony Kaye (organ and piano), Bill Bruford (drums and vibraphone)

Producer: Yes & Paul Clay

Record Label: Atlantic Records

Recording Location: Advision and Trident Studios, London, UK

Art Direction: Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes

Best Tracks: Yesterday and Today, Sweetness

Quick Verdict: A solid and groundbreaking debut album

All legends in Progressive Rock had to begin somewhere. Although this album wasn’t commercially successful at the time, it was critically hailed and marked a significant change in the music landscape. Yes had original songs and a cutting-edge sound that mixed Psychedelic Rock with the upcoming Progressive Rock trends in their infancy. This fusion of music was very 1969, and people did pay attention to this increasingly as the 1970s dawned. There are two covers on this release, but aside from that, this is an all-original material release. This album, released in July 1969, should be an essential listen, flaws aside, as it neatly captured the spirit of the times. Let’s jump in and take a listen to Yes.

1. Beyond and Before launches right into it, with some loud Fender Stratocaster playing. Although this is a good start, it is the sound of Yes doing their best to make a musical statement, rather than a landmark listen. Even so, this is fine to hear. The guitars are very well placed in the mix. Jon Anderson’s vocals sound sensationally pleasant and awesome in their high octave glory, with a stream of consciousness lyrically that sounds like Hippie heaven. This music is a look back at some of the best music that the Hippies could make. Sure, this is a fairly basic-sounding listen for a Progressive Rock album debut, but this is definitely history. Notably, the singing in particular is absolutely fantastic to listen to. The music is fresh, pleasant and inspiring to listen to. There is nothing at all bad about this, and as the track continues on, one can truly hear some magic going on. Towards the end are processed vocals in the left channel and some neat Fender Stratocaster licks. A truly awesome listening experience that gets better as it goes along. There are some nice Jimi Hendrix-style licks throughout, which are pleasant to listen to. A great start to a frequently overlooked album. The ending is different.

2. I See You is a cover of a song by The Byrds. It sounds fresh and dramatic from the start, with some neat Fender Stratocaster neck pickup sounds throughout. This sounds very blissful for a cover, and Jon Anderson’s vocals soar sky high on this tune. The music and sounds throughout are really fantastic listening. Sure, the Yes project may not have reached its peak at this stage, but this mellow Psychedelic/Progressive Rock sounds absolutely fantastic to hear. A very pleasant and dramatic music piece that sounds just fantastic. This is a continuation of the music styles and sounds of the late 1960s, looking into the 1970s at the time. This is a great cover song with its own take on it all, with a sped-up solo section towards the middle of the song. The Fender Stratocaster soloing is absolutely gorgeously done, and although this lineup eventually changed, it does have some neat musicianship that sounds excellent in this section of their albums. The mixture of violining on guitar and intricate drumming certainly makes a solid impression on the listener to hear. A really refreshing and interesting listen, this will appeal mainly to Classic Rock fans, but also to those of you who value intellectualism in music. Seriously cool to hear. This extended solo section is very King Crimson styled, and it sure sounds brilliant. Soon enough, the rest of the band returns with a crashing style, and this piece comes nicely alive. A very awesome song to hear. The extended and fantastic music section at hand seriously deserves more praise from music fans across the world today. As we gradually approach the end of this tune, we have pleasant singing by Jon Anderson, which sounds mind-blowingly great. A very, very good effort overall. It concludes with a crashing musical section that sounds cool.

3. Yesterday and Today begins with acoustic guitar, piano and gorgeous singing that sounds amazing. Jon Anderson is quite clearly the star of Yes at this point. A very sweet, melodic and amazing listen that seriously needs to be heard more. This is a romanticism-based piece that has a very 1960s flavour musically to it all. A winner of a song that has a majestic and beautiful feel to it, this music is sensationally good to listen to. This is perfect for lying down and listening to in a sunny place. A fantastic listen, through and through, with a subtle key change towards the end of it all. Seriously good music to listen to. There is a keyboard solo at the end, which makes this even more pleasant. Fantastic song.

4. Looking Around is an interesting piece with prominent organs and guitars playing along very nicely. This is a more Rock Music based tune that, again, makes this album groundbreaking. The music and performances throughout are spot on. Jon Anderson has one of the most iconic voices in Rock Music: high, clean and clear. He makes the likes of Kurt Cobain and Liam Gallagher look like men who were nowhere near his singing skill, even at their very best on the microphone. There is a cool guitar solo and organ solo section towards the middle of this song, with the two instruments duking it out for attention. A seriously cool and fine tune which definitely needs to be put, with the rest of the album, on repeat. An absolutely pretty and awesome listen that shows that way back in the 1960s, music was of a better quality than today’s so-called “innovations” in Pop Music, for the most part. The organ section towards the end is also very good and welcome on this song. The final section is absolutely glorious to listen to, with great singing and acoustic guitar strumming, with the rest of the band following. Awesome.

5. Harold Land is a weird name for a song. This quickly transitions into a bass guitar-driven piece that sounds sweet and fantastic to listen to. The organs and keyboards throughout are neat and nicely prominent indeed. This music then has some of the best sounding and most glorious harmonies you can hear, before this launches into a rather Psychedelic sounding section of music with acoustic guitar. This is really fantastic music. This launches into a weird set of lyrics and singing that is just gorgeously divine. A really deep and interesting song that sounds fantastic and like a painting of words, or an LSD inspired story of sorts. This will not appeal to many today, but the music within is solidly fantastic. This wacky lyrical adventure will appeal to those of you out there who value surrealist artistry and Psychedelic/Progressive Rock in general. A really cool tune with some nicely melodic singing that sounds really cool. The drumming on this song is also really fantastic. A real standout in the music of the time. Despite the commercial failure of this album, this is perfectly fine music to listen to; nothing really wrong with it. For a lesser tune, this still has some Rock solid appeal to it all. A mindblowing listen from start to finish. The conclusion is wonderful indeed.

6. Every Little Thing is a cover of a song by The Beatles. It begins with some dramatic guitars and awesome drumming, sounding rather like a bit of the Dead Kennedys at this point, which is odd. The Fender Stratocaster playing is delicious here as well. The drumming is hugely intense, and this is a Progressive Rock version of the original, which is good to hear. The instrumental section of this song goes on for a while, and it has an intensity and fury unlike much other Progressive Rock Music. It soon launches into a detailed and descriptive cover, with the Day Tripper riff briefly thrown into the mix for good measure. The song itself is an awesome listen, although this is a really rather unusual cover song for Yes. The music and playing are really great, nonetheless, and there is a great progression and performance at hand. Seriously good, in its own way. The guitar solos that follow remind one vaguely of Yes’s contemporaries, Deep Purple. All in all, a really interesting and different cover song. There is a great reconstruction of this song towards the end of it all, and this music finishes up with a fantastic conclusion. Absolutely awesome to hear. The harmonies are irresistable here.

7. Sweetness begins with some soft organ playing, which sounds really good. Bass guitar and acoustic and electric guitars follow, creating a really atmospheric-sounding tune. A very cool listen indeed. This sounds pretty, beautiful and tranquil, topped off with some romanticism-based 1960s music themes throughout. This music is a winner, and this is one of the better songs from this already superb album. The singing again is legendary throughout, with Jon Anderson singing extremely beautifully. A really pretty and magical tune throughout that sounds absolutely awesome to listen to, this is love-based emotions delivered by Yes in a fairly Psychedelic/Progressive Rock mode throughout. The harmonies in the second half are absolutely stunning to listen to. A magically uplifting and pleasant song about being in true love with a lady of one’s fancy, this music sounds absolutely mind-blowingly great. Sure, this is Yes just getting started, but the music makes a fine and fantastic impression on the listener. Absolutely awesome, it finishes softly with violining on the electric guitar.

8. Survival is the final track on the album. It begins with some wah-wah Fender Stratocaster, overdriven bass guitar, organs and intricate drumming. This leads into a multisectioned and fine piece of music that sounds extremely well done. This has many layers of melodicism and instrumental beauty throughout. The music is synchronised in some sections, followed by clean and clear Fender Stratocaster guitar parts. The 12-string acoustic guitar that follows is absolutely delicious and awesome to hear. This music is really fantastic and very sweet. Soon enough, Jon Anderson sings gently and softly on this song. It sounds like a genuine piece of music art from way back in 1969. The music and performances are so deliciously lovable, with some of the best sounds from the era, even if the band was only getting started at this point. The second half sounds absolutely awesome, with great singing and a band that nicely fills every space on this song with pretty melodies and sounds to match it all. This is the equivalent of a pretty and large painting by the likes of Salvador Dali or Pablo Picasso, just simply awesome and perfect in its own way. This song gradually reaches its bold conclusion with fantastic harmonies and melodic phrases that just sound super sweet. Yes was coming of age, and this album proves this fact is the case. A perfectly enjoyable and lovable piece of music, which finishes off an album that is very, very good. A worthy listening experience concludes here, with a drastic and quick conclusion.

This is a great debut album. Sure, it is not Yes’s best, and the lack of overly original material is a weak point for this album. Even so, this charming and groundbreaking album release is certainly a good trip through the realm of music itself. Therefore, this is great given the context and for what it is. Should you listen to this album? Give it a try if you love Psychedelic Rock or Progressive Rock. Metalheads will not appreciate this album, however.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.