Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

Here is a short selection of Yuletide messages and other pieces of audio to finish off 2025.

Many thanks to Michael Handerhan for his review of the (fairly) recent Yes show he attended and to Stephen Lambe for his audio feedback on last week's quiz.

Thank you to everyone who has listened and/or been in touch in any way this year including all patrons for their support and producers. We are very much looking forward to 2026 and the fifteenth anniversary of the YMP. Whatever you celebrate at this time of year, I hope you have a great time. Here are Michael, Stephen and, finally, Mark to finish off the year.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week Mark and I recorded what turned into a Christmas quiz. As you will hear, we even diverted into other aspects of the holiday season at the end, so look out for that.

As a dedicated Yes fan, you’ll want to take part in the quiz yourself by keeping track of your own answers and scores and then adding them to the show notes for this week.

• Does Kevin or Mark win the quiz?
• How did you do?
• What is the Christmas diversion at the end of the show?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

Well, here we are - 14 years and 700 episodes of the Yes Music Podcast. Thank you to Miguel Falcão who has created the new jingles for 700 episodes and thank you to everyone who has sent messages of congratulation. I’ve inserted the audio ones fairly randomly throughout the show but I’ll start with a few written ones. Over on Twitter or X, Oliver Wakeman said, “A fantastic achievement. I’ve been fortunate to be a guest on a number of occasions. Congratulations!” Thank you Oliver. Julio Scissors (@captainjellico) said, “Congrats!  Love your show!” and Jon Anderson pic of the day (@JonAndersonpic1) also said, “Congrats!” Thank you both.

As you’ll hear, Mark and I had an enjoyable conversation about a particular Yes 700 topic and then there’s some actual music from Steve Howe. Stay tuned for that!

• What Yes '700' topic have we come up with?
• Who has sent messages of congratulation?
• What Steve Howe music do we play?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

The Yes-a-verse went into meltdown this week over a new release of the Wembley BBC concert recording. As you will hear, it’s a bit of a twisted tale so I was grateful to have Mark to help me wade through the marshy world of bootlegs. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this release, the BBC concert recording from 1978 or anything else to do with Yes bootlegs. Please leave your comments on the show notes for this week's episode.

• What is this new release?
• Is it official?
• What was the original broadcast like?

Next week is our 700th episode. I can’t believe it - can you? If you would like to have your voice in that celebratory episode, please send a sound file to show@yesmusicpodcast.com or use the Speakpipe button on the website. If you manage to get something to me by Thursday 4th December, I’ll do my best to include it. Thank you.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week, Mark and I had a lovely time trying to outwit each other with another round of the Yes Guess Who game. I simplified the rules, as you’ll hear, and it went rather more smoothly as a result. What fun we had. Do play along yourself and let us know how you did in the comments on this week’s show notes.

• Who did we choose?
• Were the questions too easy or too hard?
• Who won?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

From a tiny idea I had about Jon Anderson’s use of instruments live with Yes, Mark and I managed to bang on for ages again this week. Hopefully, you will find the discussion as interesting as we did, particularly as I noticed some definite links between the band’s sonic changes over the decades, Jon’s development as a musician and the instruments he used.

In order to create some kind of helpful structure to the conversation, I managed to find the earliest examples of each kind of instrument Jon uses live in the photos on the amazing Forgotten Yesterdays website and I have embedded them into the show notes for this week’s episode - do take a look at those and add a comment if you can think of any other Yeskit Jon used live with the band - or add a comment even if you can’t.

• What are all the instruments Jon used live with Yes?
• When did he start playing tuned instruments?
• What can we glean about the band amd about Jon from his choice of instruments?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

As you will hear, I was looking at one of the amazing photos in the Barry Plummer Calendar (available now from YesMusicBooks.com) recently, when I noticed something peculiar about Chris Squire. I think what Barry has captured is a unique moment in Yes concert history. I don’t think Chris ever did this in any other situation than the shows on the 1975 Relayer tour - and maybe not all of those performances. I have watched the QPR video many times but I hadn’t realised exactly what was going on until I saw this photo and then re-watched the QPR performance.

After watching that QPR version, Mark and I also took a careful look at a much later version, from the Yes Acoustic video. It's very different.

I’ve included a heavily watermarked version of the Squire photo in the show notes for this episode but if you want to enjoy the full-quality version, you know what to do. Order the calendar now while there’s still time to receive it before the New Year.

So, what do you think I’m on about? Stay tuned for the full rabbit hole exploration with Mark.

• What's unique about the QPR live situation?
• What is that guitar?
• Which is the 'better' version?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

In last week’s episode about Chris Squire’s Star Licks video, I was intrigued to notice that Trevor Rabin had also produced one and I had never watched it. Now that we are blessed with YouTube and the efforts of dedicated fans like, in this case, @YesSource, we can all enjoy watching Trevor in all his 1992 glory as he discusses not only his guitars but also his technique, studio practices, soloing approaches, songwriting and lots more. It’s almost an hour of Yes goodness and Mark and I very much enjoyed watching and discussing this week, as you’ll hear. 

Once again, as you can imagine, we get deep into the weeds, particularly as Mark is an expert on studio kit and instruments and I’m, well, I’m along for the ride at least. I did, however learn a great deal I didn’t know about the great Mr. Rabin’s musicianship and kit, which is nice.

You’ll find the video we talk about in the show notes.

• What secrets does Trevor share?
• What kit does he show off?
• What do we learn about Yes music from this video?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week Mark and I took a careful look at the iconic Chris Squire Star Licks video from 1990. Chris is at his relaxed and chatty best and shows off his skills, his guitars and his pedal board. It’s a wonderful time capsule of Yes goodness and Mark and I hugely enjoyed chatting about our reactions to it. The conversation goes down a couple of unexpected routes and we venture, predictably, into the weeds of both kit and musical theory! I promise it’s not tedious though - how could it be with your two favourite podcast hosts in tandem?

You’ll find the videos we talk about at YesMusicPodcast.com

• What secrets does Chris share?
• What kit does he show off?
• What do we learn about Yes music from his bass lines here?

See if you agree with us and then leave a comment.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

After the emergence online of another Drama Tour video - with sound - by James Ferrani on YouTube, Mark and I took a careful look at his 2 videos from consecutive days on the 1980 Drama Tour that featured Buggles men Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes.

There are at least 2 revelations contained in the videos that I don’t believe any Yes fans except those who attended the concerts in North America have experienced in the intervening 45 years. I knew they had happened but seeing them is quite remarkable.

Stay tuned for our discussion, watch the videos in the show notes for this episode over at YesMusicPodcast.com and leave us a comment while you are there.

• What are the unique aspects of these videos?
• Was Chris Squire a bit 'under the weather'?
• Who looked more comfortable - Downes or Horn?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

Following a suggestion from the latest member of the Patreon YMP group, Thomas DeVries, Mark and I delved into Yes sporting links this week. It was great fun to learn about all the ways in which music and sport have collided over the decades and we were helped out by several kind contributors Dave Watkinson, Henry Potts, Geoff Bailie and Jon Pickles. If you have any other examples of sporting Yes links, please do add them to the show notes for this week. Also, just in case it doesn’t come across in the conversation later, I am aware that Brentford football club are now in the English Premier League. When Rick Wakeman was involved with them, they were rather more of a struggling club.

• What sports feature in Yes' history?
• Which Yes member had more than one financial run-in with sports teams?
• What was Yes United?

See if you agree with us and then leave a comment on the show notes for this week.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius, and Ken Fuller

This week it was a pleasure to welcome Billy Sherwood to the YMP once again. We spoke to him just before a rehearsal at Mickey’s Black Box rehearsal facility as the band prepared for the 2025 Fragile Tour of the US. Since that conversation, Yes have played 2 concerts. We spoke to Billy about the tour, his gear and the new Yes album. He was as gracious and open as usual - a great conversation that I know you will enjoy.

Following the first concert on the tour, Mark and I got back together again to discuss the setlist. Clearly, if you don’t like spoilers, you’ll want to press stop on your device after the Billy interview to avoid hearing the specifics of what the band will be playing.

This week, Mark and I spoke to the redoubtable David Watkinson who has published another fabulous Yessay (see what he did there?) on Forgotten-Yesterdays.com. This time, it’s about a subject that might appear a bit dry - the band’s accounts books from 1969-1970. In fact, there is a huge amount that can be gleaned from the documents as you will hear in a few minutes’ time.

Can you guess what are the largest - and the most bizarre - expenses the band incurred at this time? Prepare to be amazed, as they say.

• Yes were into Coke!?!
• Which member of the band was an official Director of the first ever Yes limited company?
• Why was there a separate charge for taking a bath?

You might - or might not - want to read Dave’s Yessay before listening to us banging on about it. If you do, you can find the link on the show notes for this episode over at YesMusicPodcast.com.

In a different kind of time travel this week, Mark and I welcomed Henry Potts back onto the show to talk about his recollections of the first Yes online discussions he was involved with in the early 1990s.

After I posted some photos of the Yes fanzines I have in my collection on the Patreon group, Simon Barrow suggested we speak to Henry who has always been at the vanguard of Yes fans on the internet. He shared some fascinating insights into exactly how the first systems worked and how the ‘scene’ morphed and developed over the decades. Of course, we’d love to hear about your own earliest online experiences of Yes fandom so please do add your comments to the show notes for this week over at YesMusicPodcast.com.

• When did the concept of online discussion begin?

• What were the first websites and fan forums?

• How has it all changed?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week, Mark and I considered what makes Talk from 1994 a great Yes album. The final Yes record featuring Trevor Rabin was a tour-de-force of progressive rock in many ways but what do you think Mark and I chose as our reasons to focus on? Perhaps we chose the same aspects as you would, perhaps not. In any case, do please add your thoughts on Talk to the show notes for this week’s episode over at YesMusicPodcast.com

• Is this actually a great Yes album?
• Does it sound like Yes?
• Which musicians keep the Yes flame alive?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius, and Ken Fuller

Mark and I spent some time this week searching through both our memory banks and our shelves of Yes-related records. We wanted to uncover and promote some lesser-known deep cuts on albums that Yes men have been involved with outside the main group.

We each came up with 3 songs you may not have heard or you may have forgotten about. We hope you enjoy revisiting them or discovering a little more of the breadth and depth of what Yes musicians have been involved with over the decades.

Of course, we would be delighted to have your own suggestions of what other deep cuts we can all benefit from hearing - leave your suggestions on the show notes for this week’s episode over at YesMusicPodcast.com

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

In a truly epic episode this week, I had a lovely conversation with Steve Howe about the re-release of two of his solo albums, Portraits of Bob Dylan and Natural Timbre. Then, Mark and I enjoyed goofing around asking each other to guess the Yes men being referred to in various quotations. Do play along with that yourself after listening to my great chat with Steve.

• Why is Steve re-releasing these two albums now?
• How do they differ in approach?
• How important is Bob Dylan to music generally and to Steve?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

It was great to think a little about what might make up Yes’ authenticity this week. Is it possible to define what makes the output of a band - or any kind of artistic endeavour 'authentic’? Rather than try and come up with a definition of authenticity (which is probably a loftier aim than we had time for this week), Mark and I discussed what the rather nebulous concept means to us, in the context of Yes music.

We each came up with examples of what we consider to be authentic aspects in the 50+ year history of the band and how they support our ideas of what ‘authentic Yes’ is.

As always, we would be fascinated to hear what you think of this concept - please leave your ideas in the comments below.

• How can you tell if a band like Yes is ‘being authentic’?
• Is authenticity more than simply ‘sounding like the same band’?
• Beyond music, are there any other aspects that might contribute to a feeling of authenticity?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius, and Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I set off once again in our YMP Yes Time Machines, this time to visit Yes concerts that also featured fascinating support bands, or bands on the same bill that we would loved to have seen.

According to the essential Forgotten Yesterdays website, there have been 599 bands who have either supported or played alongside Yes since 1968 so there was plenty of choice for Mark and me. Before we begin, have a think which shows you didn’t manage to attend and would like to go back to in a time machine to experience for yourself. I wonder if you will pick any of the occasions Mark and I did. Let us know in the comments in the show notes for this week.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week, Mark and I discussed the 'solo' songs on Fragile. Each band member contributed an individual project, some with more success than others. The style and approaches used by Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe and Squire are very different and they certainly prompted an interesting discussion as you'll hear.

With Yes soon to embark on playing the whole of Fragile live for the third time, we also touched on how these songs come over live - and if it's even a good idea to include them alongside the 4 'proper' songs.

• Which of the solo songs is the best?
• How do they differ in approach?
• Should they be played live?

This week Mark and I had all sorts of fun thinking about whether there are any short Yes epics - or if this idea is even possible. We set ourselves the restriction of only choosing Yes songs less than 6mins in duration so can you guess what we came up with and how we justified our choices?

It was sad to hear that Ozzy Osbourne died this week, only a few weeks after performing his last ever concert with his Black Sabbath bandmates. I can’t say I was a dedicated fan of Ozzy or Sabbath but my introduction to heavy metal was when a friend of mine took me up to his room in a slightly creepy Victorian mansion and played me the self-titled album by the Birmingham band. How appropriate the setting was. I also learned to play Paranoid on the drums when I was a teenager and my younger son taught my daughter, when she was a toddler, to sing the alphabet to the riff from War Pigs. My elder son was a true fan so he was upset when we heard the news. 

As you know if you’ve read the new Tales book or get your information from many other sources like Matthew Paine on Facebook, Rick Wakeman was a huge fan of Ozzy who he met at Morgan Studios while Yes were recording Tales. He ended up playing keys on 2 songs on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which was being recorded over the road in another Morgan studio at the time. Eventually, Ozzy returned the favour by singing on Rick’s "The Return to the Center of the Earth", as pointed out by Paul Graf also on Facebook.

Our own Doug Curran interviewed Ozzy for his radio show in 1981 so do make a point of reading his reflections on that on the YMP Facebook discussion group.

Rest in Peace Ozzy.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius, and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I returned to the show to talk about the Yes classic album, 90125 from 1983. It is clearly, we believe, a great album but what makes it a great Yes album? It wasn’t originally going to be a Yes album at all and only became one at the last possible moment when Jon Anderson arrived on the scene. The band Cinema, consisting of Tony Kaye, Alan White, Trevor Rabin and Chris Squire had basically finished the record with Trevor Horn but, as you can read in full detail in Stephen Lambe’s excellent book about the album, there were several reasons that band was ultimately replaced by the name and the aura of Yes.

What do you think Mark and I came up with for our 6 reasons and would you have chosen the same features? Let us know in the show notes for this week’s episode.

• Is this a real Yes album?
• What makes it great?
• Who makes it great?

This week I’d like to celebrate the release of my second book, Tales from Topographic Oceans - Yes Album Listening Guide - a title almost as lengthy as the record itself. It’s been a very long and sometimes challenging process to prepare the book for publication - much like the record itself. However, it’s finally here and you can buy it from all the usual places.

If you haven’t yet ordered your copy, you live outside the UK and you would like to help me out, please visit YesMusicBooks.com and order from there. There are print on demand links in the store on the site which will allow you to order copies of the book and its full colour supplement, printed at a location near where you live, avoiding shipping costs and the associated environmental impact. I also get to keep more of the proceeds from the order, rather than giving it to the big corporations. Shipping time may be a little bit longer than the online stores but the choice is up to you.

If you are in the UK please order directly from BurningShed.com and if you normally get your books from a local independent bookstore, then that is also a great option wherever you are in the world.

The book ended up being 336 pages long which is rather a surprise to me. The initial idea was to produce something shorter and simpler than the Tormato Story book - more of an actual guide, rather than an in-depth study. However, as soon as I started, it became obvious that I could resist travelling down just as many fascinating rabbit holes as last time. I did manage to uncover some previously hidden information and it was a lot of fun researching as many different aspects of this epic work of progressive rock as I could. As Prog Magazine put it in their review, “The most rewarding way to experience Tales is to dive in and become immersed. This book is the very definition of that.”

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week, Mark and I enjoyed coming up with 6 reasons why the band’s third record, The Yes Album, is a great Yes album. As I’m sure you know, this was Steve Howe’s first album with Yes and also Tony Kaye’s last. It is correctly viewed by many fans, critics and Steve Howe himself as the first Yes masterpiece.

Clearly, we could have found dozens of reasons why this is a great Yes album but that would have left less room for you to be involved. So please do add your reasons in the comments on this week's show notes.

• What do you think we chose?
• Is this album the start of the progressive sound of Yes?
• Was the success of the album all down to the musicians?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

R.I.P. Johnny Bruhns

This week, Mark and I considered the Yes music of the new Millennium - 25 years after it began. In this time, the band have produced just 5 studio albums and 1 EP:

• Magnification
• Fly From Here
• From a Page (EP)
• Heaven and Earth
• The Quest
• Mirror to the Sky

However, there are plenty of examples of great Yes music to enjoy and Mark and I chose 3 examples each.

• What did we choose?
• Anything from Heaven and Earth?
• Did we get it 'right'?

See if you agree with us and let us know by leaving a comment below.

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week, Mark and I returned to our occasional series on Yes concepts. This time we considered Yes audacity - those times when the band has done something few others would have attempted. We both came up with 3 examples and it proved to be a very enjoyable conversation, albeit with quite a bit of shameless self-promotion from me.

In the world of progressive rock, perhaps the most audacious genre of all, what do you think we came up with - and what would you have chosen? Let us know in the comments on the show notes for this week.

• What are the best examples of Yes' audacity from the past 50+ years?
• Innovation or excess?
• Would you have chosen the same examples as us?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week we have a bumper, epic episode where Simon Barrow, Mark and I discuss AI and its impact, in the context of Yes music, of course. My daughter, Charlotte, also gives us her thoughts on the subject so many thanks to her. This topic was suggested by the appearance on YouTube of an album entitled ‘YEP – On The Waterline (70’s Prog Rock / Progressive Rock)’ as spotted by Charlie Nolan.

• Should AI be used in music?
• What impact could it have?
• What about the future for Yes and all other music artists?

See if you agree with us and let us know by leaving a comment below.

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius

It’s already been 3 years since Alan White died. To mark the sad anniversary, Mark and I discussed the iconic drummer’s adaptability this week. We each chose 3 different examples of his playing to highlight different aspects of his musical character. In addition, 4 YMP Patrons gave us comments to read out - Jon Pickles, Ronnie Neeley, Doug Curran, and Fred Barringer. It was very enjoyable to think about Alan but also, of course, a somewhat mournful process. Do add your own memories of Alan to the show notes for this week.

• Which songs did we choose?
• Was Alan 'just' a drummer?
• What were Alan's special skills?

Unbelievably, it’s already 10 years since we lost Chris Squire. Tempus Fugit, but this time not in a good way. To mark this sad milestone, Prog Magazine has included 2 large articles about Chris in the latest issue, number 160. The person charged with writing the main piece was friend of the YMP, Stephen Lambe. Mark and I spoke to him this week about the greatest bassist the world has ever seen, the irreplaceable Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4 March 1948 – 27 June 2015).

Mark and I really enjoyed discussing what Yes virtuosity means to us with the help of YMP Patrons Brian Harris, Michael OConnor, HB Pettersen, Jon Pickles, Dave Owen, Gary Betts, Mark Slater and Ronnie Neeley this week. Can you guess what we all chose for our examples of Yes virtuosity? You might be surprised, as Mark and I were.

There were some common themes that emerged which is always encouraging because it means we are not on our own in our thoughts about the band. 

So thank you to all those Patrons but do have your own say by adding a comment to the show notes for this week.

This week Mark and I enjoyed thinking about what Billy Sherwood has contributed on bass to the last two Yes albums, The Quest and Mirror to the Sky. We each chose three examples of songs from those two records to talk about and shared our thoughts on whether Billy has continued the tradition of Chris Squire bass playing or gone his own way - or a combination of the two.

There wasn’t enough time to review the posts on the YMP Facebook discussion group this week but hopefully I’ll be able to get back to that next week.

Also, apologies to those who sent in entries to last week’s quiz. I haven’t forgotten and I’ll be announcing the winner next week.

This week, Mark and I are trying out a new concept - it’s a game called Yes connections. There will be chances to laugh at my ineptitude as well as chances to get involved yourself with a special Yes connections round for listeners - with a prize for the more creative - or maybe funny entry sent into the show. Hang onto your hat and test your Yes knowledge in a few minutes’ time.

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I were joined by Jon Pickles to talk about the latest (greatest?) Yes Record Store Day offering - Live at the Rainbow London, England 12/16/1972 - a catchy title if there ever was one. I haven't forked out the considerable amount of money for a copy - yet - but both Jon and Mark have, so at least they are speaking from a position of knowledge. No change there then.

Have you managed to get a copy of this new release?

• What does the music sound like?
•  
• Is it a good performance?
•  
• Is the high cost justified?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I had a think about the Yes songs we like that include contrasts - one of my favourite aspects of progressive rock - and Yes music. We both chose 2 songs to talk about in depth but also went on a bit about other songs that also fit this category. It was another very interesting conversation - at least I thought so.

• What songs do we choose?
• What do we mean by contrast?
• Do our selections cover a wide range of eras of the band?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Mark and I always enjoy ‘getting into the weeds’ and ‘geeking out’ about Yes kit so here is another perfect example of this. This week we both chose 3 pieces of YesKit that took our fancy and went on about them for a long time. If you don’t consider yourself a 5%er who loves hearing about the minutiae of music tech as used by Yes, then feel free to skip this episode. If you do, though, I feel I should point out that you’ll miss Mark playing actual musical examples and me giving a little bit of a sneak preview of what’s coming up in the Tales book. You have been warned.

• What bits of YesKit do we choose?
• Did you know all about these already?
• What do you think of Mark’s instrumental ‘chops’?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I have been listening to the great live album by Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks - Live Perpetual Change. Listen out for our comments in a few minutes and do let us know if you agree or disagree with us by leaving a comment on the show notes for this week.

• How does Jon Anderson sound these days?
• Is this a cover band?
• What are the epics like?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Unfortunately, Mark has been unwell this week so best wishes to him for a speedy recovery. As we couldn't record an episode, I've been delving into the archive to uncover the first Yes Tracks Through Time episode I ever did. That was back in April 2013. Wow.

Here are the show notes from way back then:

The seventy-ninth episode of the Yes Music Podcast featuring the first in a series of Yes Tracks Through Time. After the initial recording, what happened to songs live? How did different line-ups of the band alter the character of tracks – if at all?

Listen and then let me know what you think of the different approaches by contacting me via any of the different routes on the right hand side or by leaving a comment below!

Which of the three versions of Astral Traveller is the best?
Should group members leave tracks alone or add their own character?
Does the band’s approach change over time?

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

In a bumper double-feature episode (or something like that), Mark and I compare the Empire featuring Peter Banks version of Something’s Coming with the Yes studio version and we also indulge in a little bit of speculation about the forthcoming Yes album - and who doesn’t enjoy these kinds of guessing games? Well if you don’t, feel free to use the fast forward button.

 Anyway, it was a lot of fun listening to some very early Yes and what Peter Banks did when he revisited it himself in 1979. Videos of the 2 songs are available below of course.

• How similar are the 2 versions of Something's Coming?
• Does Peter Banks play it the same way he did with Yes?
• What do we have in-store from Yes' forthcoming new album?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I return to one of our favourite pastimes - listening to Yes tracks through time. We each chose 3 different live recordings of Awaken to listen to and then discuss. So it’s time to put your Roger Dean thinking caps on and see if you would have chosen the same versions as us.

• Which versions did we choose?
• Why did we chose those ones?
• Who does it best?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I enjoyed discovering the many delights of the Blu-ray version of the Steven Wilson remix set of Tales from Topographic Oceans. It’s packed full of obscure and unusual versions of the songs on the album - a delight for all Yes nerds fans everywhere.

Do you have a copy of the Blu-ray version? If not, you might want to find one as explained in our chat in a few minutes' time.

• What is included on the Blu-ray?
• Does it sound good?
• Is it worth choosing Blu-ray as an audio format over DVD-A or others?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I consider 6 songs that were performed live really well by lineups of Yes that didn’t record them. With the revolving door policy of the band over the decades, there was a lot to choose from so see if we came up with anything you would have chosen yourself. Of course, as usual, we’d love to hear from you some of your own suggestions, so please do add those to the show notes for this week over at yesmusicpodcast.com

• What have we chosen?
• How do songs from different lineups sound live?
• Who plays it better?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week I’m feeding back on my trip to Trading Boundaries to see what Dave Watkinson has put on display alongside the permanent Roger Dean exhibition there. I made a video of Dave showing me around and we both enthuse about all the amazing items.

I then had a chance to chat with Mark about what he noticed on the video - of course it’s embedded into the show notes over at YesMusicPodcast.com

• What was on display?
• Where and what is Trading Boundaries?
• What has Paul Graf sent to Kevin?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

After an important update on last week's episode, Mark and I choose 3 interesting cover versions each. They all feature Yes men past or present. If you'd like to listen to the songs before listening to us banging on about them, they are all embedded below with the original versions as well.

• Which covers did we choose?
•  
• Who is represented from Yes?
•  
• How do they stand up against the originals?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

I received an interesting email from a listener this week. She asked if anyone was aware of the connections between a song by the Italian prog group PFM and Yes’ Gates of Delirium. I’ll explain more when I go through the email with Mark a little later on.

Many thanks to the Patrons who gave their feedback on the topic and before you listen to Mark and my take, you may want to listen to the music involved. I’ve embedded the PFM and the Yes songs in the show notes so head on over to yesmusicpodcast.com and see what you think - then please do add your thoughts to the comments section on the show notes for this week.

• Did Yes copy the PFM song in Gates?
• Who are PFM anyway?
• Are there any connections between the bands?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Mark was back this week and we welcomed YMP listener and Patron Jon Pickles onto the show to talk about the time he was a 'tea boy' at Trident Studios in London. You'll need to listen to the interview to hear all about it but Trident was the world-renowned studio where, amongst unnumbered highlights of rock music, Yes recorded overdubs for their first album, Queen recorded their first two albums and The Beatles recorded Let It Be and other seminal songs.

Listen out for stories about Rick Wakeman, Bill Bruford, Trevor Horn and many more!

• What did Jon have to do as a 'tea boy'?
• Who did he meet and work with?
• What was it like being in Soho in those days?

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Unfortunately, Mark was unwell this week so we wish him a speedy recovery. I'm sure he will be back with us next week.

I did manage to speak to the Yes expert Henry Potts, however, about his recent blog post. Called 'What does 2025 hold for Yes fans?' it contains, in Henry's usual style, a huge amount of detail about all sorts of live and recorded Yes and Yes-related activity that may or may not see the light of day in 2025.

As I say later on, if only half of what we talk about actually appears, it will indeed be a great year for Yes and associated artists.

Many thanks to Henry who was as cheerful and generous as always, despite only having 24hrs notice of the recording.

Henry's site is a veritable cornucopia of Yes and Yes-related information and is one of the longest-lived sources of Yes information on the internet, having been active since 2018!

http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnyesm.htm

• What is Yes likely to do in 2025?

• What has already been announced?

• What are past Yes members up to this year?

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

It’s 2025 and Mark and I are back for another year of the Yes Music Podcast. According to an online tool, it’s 13 years 3 months 2 weeks and 6 days since I published episode 1. Wow.

This episode focuses on Drama from 1980 - released 44 years 4 months 2 weeks and 5 days ago. Despite the shock of the dramatic lineup changes (Buggles Horn and Downes replacing Anderson and Wakeman) and the resulting initial dismissal of the album by some fans, the record is now amongst the most popular of all Yes albums. So why is Drama now regarded as a great Yes album? Mark and I have come up with our 6 reasons as you will hear in a few minutes. See if you agree and let us know in the comments for this episode.

• Why can we even call this a Yes album?
• What was the impact of The Buggles?
• Does it look like a Yes album?