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

This week Mark and I listened to the edited audio of the main ‘location reports’ I made last Saturday during my trip to London to tell some Tales from Topographic Locations. I had a great time discovering what those important places look like today and their surrounding areas.

Please tell us your experiences of The Rainbow Theatre by leaving a comments section on this week's show notes.

• Is Morgan Studios still in operation?
• Where did the band rehearse Tales?
• Where did Yes play 5 consecutive nights on the Tales Tour in the UK?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Tlaes from Topographic Locations

Please join me as I broadcast live from various locations in London that are connected with Yes and/or Tales. I will be going live on Facebook at various points tomorrow afternoon - 28th September 2024.

Join in via the Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/1Xctfte4M

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

This week, Mark and I enjoyed looking back in time via the lens of our Yes tracks through time feature but with a slightly different approach. We both chose 2 Yes song performances from the archives, separated by years, or decades and talked about the differences and similarities in approach, personnel and overall effect. Can you guess what songs we went for and what performances? Have your say on the show notes for this week and see if you agree with us on our choices.

• Are there any differences in arrangement between older and newer performances of the same song?
•  
• How much difference does changes in personnel make?
•  
• Are the newer versions always slower?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

It's time for Mark and me to expound our reactions to the new Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks album, True. I just listened to the music and deliberately stayed away from all other information about the writing etc. of the album but Mark found out a little more. I wonder if our views on the record will be the same as yours.

• Is this a Yes album?
• Why would it be?
• Is it any good?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I assembled one of the most learned and erudite groups of experts the progressive world has ever seen to talk in incredible depth and detail about the Steven Wilson remixes of Tales from Topographic Oceans.
We welcomed Prog Report stalwart Geoff Bailie along with Yes book authors Simon Barrow and Stephen Lambe to our special YMP round table after setting them the task of listening to one side each of Tales, with Mark taking side 4. I was exempt because I needed to act as referee and moderator - or at least that’s my excuse.

If you’re a fan of YMP deep dives, you’re in for a treat. If you’re not a fan of that kind of thing feel free to take this week off - not really, it’s all fascinating stuff.

• Is remixing Yes albums ever a good idea?
• What has Steven Wilson done to Tales?
• Has he improved it?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

Mark and I had a great conversation with the legendary Michael Tait this week. Here is what the biography on his Mickey's Black Box website says:

"Michael “Mickey” Tait landed in London from his native Australia in 1967. It was his third stop, after Hong Kong and Tehran, in what was meant to be a 3 month “Visit the Motherland” working vacation. His first job was bartending at the Speakeasy, a private club frequented by the who’s who of the music business. Rubbing shoulders with rock stars led to his second job: Road Manager for the newly formed progressive rock band YES.

During his 12 years on the road with YES he advanced the art of stage production and was a driving force in the new field of tour lighting.

He is credited with building the first pedalboard for guitar, the double Mellotron, the flat mirror ball, the 400-watt Leslie speaker box, and one of the first pin matrix lighting consoles. Next came self-contained lighting units consisting of genie lifts in large road cases with integral 4 cell par 64 lamps. These became known as “Tait Towers,” hence the name of his soon-to-be lighting rental company.

Perhaps one of his most important innovations was the portable rotating stage used by Yes in the 1970’s. Inspiration struck Tait while delivering a can of 35mm film to Morgan studios, where YES were recording. The concept, initially met with skepticism, was soon embraced as it gave everyone in the house a better view of the band and also increased the ticket gross dramatically."

Despite recovering from COVID, Michael was generous and open about his recollections of working with Yes, particularly around the time of Tales from Topographic Oceans.

• Was the Tales Tour a turning point for the Yes live production?
• How did Michael get from Yes roadie/van driver to establishing the most successful live production company in the world?
• What about Jon's bathroom at Morgan Studios?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

Unfortunately, this is another week in which Mark and I have been unable to record a new episode. Don't worry though, next week we are interviewing someone who created a huge amount of Yeskit when he worked with the band in the 1970s. We are also taking part in an epic session all about the Steven Wilson remixes of Tales from Topographic Oceans with several of your favourite YMP guests. Those two episodes will (hopefully) be coming up in the next two weeks so look out for those.

This week, on the theme of Yeskit, I'm going to replay the interview we did with the delightful Derek Dearden.

Here's how I introduced the interview in June 2023:

"Unless you have already read my book, Yes The Tormato Story, you may not recognise the name Derek Dearden. However, you have certainly heard the results of his amazing technical wizardry. This is another deep dive episode but it also contains much of interest to any Yes fan. Derek was a delight to speak to when Mark and I interviewed him a few months ago and I’ve been keeping this fascinating interview under wraps so that early readers of the book had a few surprises to discover. If you don’t like spoilers, then consider coming back to this episode at a later date. I won’t be offended.

Quite a bit of this conversation was used in the chapter entitled The Other Drums in my book but even if you have read that, I’m sure you’ll love hearing Derek explaining how it all came about in his own words. To whet your appetite, Derek was employed at Advision as a technician and then went on to found a company very closely associated with Alan White."

• What did Derek Dearden create for Alan White?
• How did it all come about?
• What else did Derek invent?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

Before we start, I’d like to thank everyone who has taken part in the Presale for my new book, the Tales from Topographic Oceans Listening Guide. It’s gone really well and I can now afford to commission book covers, pay for production costs and licences for essential photographs and so on. The Presale is still open to those who have signed up to the e-newsletter over at tormatobook.com and to all YMP Patrons. If you are yet to sign up for the e-newsletter, you’ll receive a message telling you how to access the presale as soon as you subscribe.

Remember that the presale is the only way to purchase signed copies of the forthcoming book and you’ll also receive an exclusive mini-pack of book-based memorabilia. What could be better? So make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to be the proud owner of those fine extras. Finally, almost all the Executive Producer slots have been snapped up. At time of recording this episode there are just 7 remaining so if you’d like to see your name printed towards the front of the Tales book as an official Executive Producer, you’d better get in quickly.

This week, Mark and I were going to talk about our favourite pieces of Yes-related equipment but unfortunately Mark was unavailable in the end due to an emergency situation with his dog, Shadow. So, instead, here is a chapter of the audiobook version of my book, Yes - The Tormato Story that deals with one of the pieces of Yes kit I probably would have mentioned anyway - Rick Wakeman’s Birotron. Incidentally, the audiobook is still available from Audible, Spotify and other fine purveyors of that digital format. As one kind review said about my first foray into authorship which, incidentally, he believes is, “presented as a teenage fan essay”, the audio version is delivered with what he calls a, “clipped late night Radio 2 circa 1990 style”. Hopefully that won’t put you off too much.

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

This week, Mark and I took a listen to some of the existing Yes songs and versions that have already been added to official reissued albums and collections and classed as ‘previously unreleased’. We have chosen some of our favourites and discuss what we like about them.

This activity was partly prompted by Yes aficionado Jon Dee who, in his own words on Facebook says the following:

“I’m currently listening to YES playing ‘Eleanor Rigby’… IN THE STUDIO!!

There are 3 takes and it sounds like they’re doing a studio run through. Sounds like a single microphone was used to record it as a demo - but it’s very good quality.
Getting this on top of the multi-tracks for some ‘Time and a Word’ songs has made this a great week!
I have let the record label and management know about this as the first two albums will be getting rereleased at some point.

How many of you would like to hear ‘Eleanor Rigby’ by YES - plus an orchestra free version of ‘No Opportunity’, ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Clear Days’??

‘No Opportunity’ will blow people away when they hear a no orchestra version with Kaye, Squire and Banks far more to the fore. It seriously rocks.

In addition to his full electric guitar track, there is also a Spanish guitar track from Banks on the multi-track for ‘No Opportunity’. Peter plays some very cool acoustic guitar on that track.”

It’s another set of very exciting discoveries for us Yes fans so keep your ears peeled for more news of that, hopefully soon.

• What could we hear in the future?
• What are our favourite previously unreleased songs?
• Could any of them have been on official albums?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

Mark and I had a lot of fun talking about a remarkable video suggested by Rachel Hadaway this week. From a BBC programme called Sounding Out, it features live show footage and interviews with the band from 1971, shortly after Rick Wakeman joined.

It’s full of period charm, as they say, and thankfully available on YouTube now. You might want to watch it before listening to Mark and me banging on about it - or you might not. If you do, there’s a video embedded in the show notes.

• How does the band sound?
• What is the venue like?
• What did each band member say in their interview?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

As always, it was a delight to welcome Yes guitarist Steve Howe back onto the show to talk about his new solo album, Guitarscape. It was a fun discussion during which Mark and I enjoyed asking some searching questions about the new record. Of course, we also slipped in a few questions about Yes and Tales from Topographic Oceans!

Guitarscape is a little different to other Steve Howe solo albums and I’m sure you will enjoy it when it is released in September.

• What' did Igor bring to the Yes keyboard role's different about this Steve Howe solo album?
• How was it put together?
• Who else worked on it?

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

This week Mark and I wish Igor Khoroshev a slightly belated Happy Birthday by talking about some of his greatest moments for Yes. We have chosen our favourite 3 examples of the great keyboardist’s work with the band so keep listening and see if you agree. I’ve embedded YouTube videos of each song we discuss in the show notes for this episode, just in case you don’t have copies of Open Your Eyes, The Ladder and Live from the House of Blues.

• What did Igor bring to the Yes keyboard role?
• Did he have all the skills he needed?
• What are his highlights?

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

It seems like a long time since the last new episode of the YMP but it’s not really. Anyway, I am back from my trip of a lifetime to the Indian Ocean for my 30th Wedding Anniversary which was a wonderful, unforgettable experience.

While I was away, I received one of the Union 30 Live box sets after it had been reduced to a sensible price, as spotted by Brian Neeson. Rather than concentrate on what’s in that remarkable package, Mark and I decided to talk more widely about the Union Tour, as you’ll hear a little later on. We also found time for a Two Pence on the surprising mistake on the latest Super Deluxe Edition of Fragile, so look out for that as well.

• What was Mark's experience of the Union Tour like?
• How did the musicians get on?
• Was it 'cluttered'?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall and Ken Fuller this is Yes Music Podcast Episode 633 - Tales from the archives

This week I have delved into the YMP archives because my work commitments have not allowed me to record an episode with Mark.

However, this means you can listen to me sounding younger, and perhaps a little more hesitant from way back in 2011. The first focus I had in the podcast was to record my thoughts on all the then Yes studio albums so what follows is those thoughts from episodes 6 and 7 where I covered Tales from Topographic Oceans. I’m sure my thoughts would be very different if I were to rewrite these episodes today but maybe not. Certainly, you can play the old fashioned ‘spot the mistakes’ game with these episodes - do let me know what you come up with.

I would say that Mark and I will be back as normal next week but actually we won’t because I am off on the trip of a lifetime to celebrate my wife’s and my 30th Wedding Anniversary. I’m intending to leave an episode to pop up in the feed and Mark is working on something as well but if that doesn’t happen and the podcast is away for two weeks, don’t worry - it is planned.

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

This week Mark and I watched the video compiled and edited by Hed Gilboa and posted to the YMP Discussion group on Facebook by Doug Curran that contains all the known crowd-shot footage of Yes on the Tales Tour of the US and Canada in 1974.

One mistake I made (presumably amongst many) was to say that the Super 8 film format became available in 1975. Of course, I meant 1965 otherwise this tour couldn’t have been captured using this technology. Also, as Mark mentioned later in the discussion, we do have a great opportunity to see what the stage scenery looked like in action during Ritual via the 1975 QPR film, clips from which are spliced into the Yesyears documentary, released in 1991. However, this is the Relayer tour and various elements of the stage production were enhanced by this time so it may be slightly different. I think I’m still correct when I say that there is no known professional film from the Tales Tour itself.

Anyway, historical minutiae apart, I hope you enjoy listening to Mark and me geeking out about this video and discussing aspects of the Tales Tour. You may well want to watch the video itself and look at the screen grabs I’ve included in the show notes for this week before listening to us banging on as it may help to contextualise our ramblings.

• What was it like to attend a concert on the 1974 Tales Tour?
• What is the video evidence like?
• What can we learn about how Yes played Tales live?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

I’ve had no time to put together any news this week but I still managed to speak at length to Mark about both my experiences seeing Yes at Birmingham Symphony Hall. It was a wonderful experience and not just because of the quality of the concert itself.

We’ve also enjoyed listening to the new music from Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks that fans have captured from live concerts and posted on YouTube. There are many reasons to be excited in Yesworld at the moment.

• How was the performance at Birmingham?
• What is the venue like?
• How was Roger Dean?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week we had a great conversation with the delightful Pete Greenwood about his recollections of the Tales Tour when it visited Manchester for two concerts in 1973. The gigs spurred Pete on to pursue his own bass playing and that eventually led to him performing all four sides of Tales himself with the Yes tribute band, Seyes. Fortunately for us, the Tales concerts left an indelible impression on Pete and he shares lots of stories from 1973 with Mark and me. I’m sure you will enjoy listening to those as much as we did.

• What was it like seeing the Tales stage set for the first time?
• How did the audience react to the brand new music?
• Did Rick Wakeman really eat a curry?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I have been looking through the lyrics of the 80s Yes albums, including ABWH. So that meant considering Drama, 90125, Big Generator and ABWH. It was interesting to consider lyrics probably written by at least Jon ANderson, Trevor Horn and Trevor Rabin. It’s an area we seldom look at so it was very enjoyable to examine a different aspect of the music of Yes and I definitely learned a lot from what Mark said about his choices. I’m sure you will as well. As always, we’d love to see what your suggestions are for great 80s Yes lyrics so do leave your choices on the show notes for this episode.

• Are there differences between lyrics by different Yes frontmen?

• Do the other writers try to sound like Jon Anderson?

• What makes a good Yes lyric?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I take our cue from the recent announcement of the Talk deluxe box set to be released at the end of this month. It contains a live recording of a 1994 concert in Canandaigua, New York (interestingly seemingly misspelt on the adverts) that includes 5 songs from the recently released album. So we were wondering how the latest songs sounded in 1994 in a live setting.

The best bootleg available up to now has been the TV broadcast from Santiago in Chile during the fairly short South American Tour of 1994. Mark owns a DVD of the show but it’s available to everyone, including me, on YouTube and the version I have included below is the whole of the broadcast version including interviews with the band and behind the scenes footage. It’s well worth a watch in full.

Mark and I focussed on just the Talk songs for this discussion, however, and there’s plenty to enjoy, as you might imagine. This lineup of the band included Billy Sherwood in his first stint and benefits from his singing, guitar playing, keyboards, bass and assorted percussion. He is, as I’m sure you know, a man of many parts. See if you agree with our assessment of the Talk songs from this performance.

• Was it possible to replicate all the studio trickery live?
• Are the band in synch?
• How did the audience react?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I climbed aboard our state of the art time machine to visit the past of the world’s greatest progressive rock band. We each chose 3 Yes tours we would love to be able to visit and gave each other clues to guess which ones we were thinking of. You’ll get the idea I’m sure.

Do play along yourself and see if you can guess the tours in question before Mark or I do - you probably will. Then, why not add your own to the show notes for this week - set a few clues and then see if anyone can guess in the comments. We had a lot of fun with this activity so join us to test your own knowledge. Set phasers to fun, as they say.

• Where will our time machine take us?
• Can you guess from our cryptic clues?
• Do we show off our Yes knowledge or our Yes ignorance?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Mark and I had a great time this week thinking about interesting or unusual Yes musical textures. We both came up with 3 examples that we thought were surprising or different so do have a look below to hear the clips we are referring to and add your own examples to the comments section. You may be surprised with some of our suggestions - that’s somewhat the idea, after all.

• What interesting textures can you think of in Yes music?
• Is it down to instrumentation, arrangement or a combination?
• Do Mark and I choose the same things again?

This week Mark and I attempted to choose 3 Peter Banks era Yes songs each. As you’ll hear, we turned out to be thinking along similar lines but it was still a very enjoyable experience listening to the earliest days of the band and discussing what made Yes unique even at that stage. This topic was partly in response to a tweet or X post or whatever they are now called from Phil (Primarily_Prog) @primarily_prog
Who posted a photo of Time and a Word and said -

Continuing tonight with perhaps the most undervalued album in the Yes discography.

I seldom hear it mentioned, yet the interplay between Banks, Bruford, Squire and Kaye is quite something.

And Jon’s voice to top it off …

• What was special about the Peter Banks era?
• What are our favourite songs from way back then?
• What can we learn about how Yes music developed?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

It was lovely to welcome back onto the YMP our friend and patron, Geoff Bailie this week. Mark and I spoke to him about the recent news that Yes will be on tour with Deep Purple in the US and Canada this Summer. What do you think of that idea? Well, self-confessed Deep Purple fan Geoff shares some thoughts with us and we discuss pretty much every aspect of the forthcoming tour, as you would expect. Do leave your own thoughts on the show notes for this week.

• Why are Yes touring with Deep Purple?
• Is this a co-headlining tour or are Yes the support act?
• Will Yes always play first?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

It seems like a long time since the last episode but it’s not.

Anyway, it was delightful to speak to a warm and friendly unsung hero of Yes last week. As you will hear, despite being very keen to be involved, Mark wasn’t able to join in the conversation due to timing and technical issues but he will be back next week. Genaro actually contacted me quite some time ago and introduced himself.

It’s taken ages to coordinate a time to speak but I’m sure you’ll agree that it was well worth the effort and I’m sure he will be joining us again soon.

He has asked me not to open the comments function on the show notes for this week but you can still send comments on what you hear to me via email show@yesmusicpodcast.com or by using the contact form. Please do send me your thoughts.

• What was Genaro's role with Yes?
• Why is he a 'mystery man'?
• What albums and live events was he involved in?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

I'm publishing this episode on Good Friday so there's been no time for the usual news roundup. However, Mark and I did manage to talk about 'Talk' receiving the box set treatment.

We discuss what's going to be included - and what doesn't seem to be included as well.

It one of our favourite Yes albums so there's plenty to be excited about with this release.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

We were delighted to be able to speak to Jay Schellen this week about the upcoming Yes UK and Europe Tour and many other topics, particularly his relationship with the late, great Alan White. As you will hear, Jay's connections with Yes are numerous and he is a truly talented all-round musician, not 'just' a drummer.

Stand by for surprising stories, tennis and visits to the pub...  

• How did Jay find himself playing with so many Yes men?
• What did he learn from Alan White?
• What is it like playing with Downes, Howe, Davison and Sherwood?

This week Mark and I were due to have a conversation with Jay Schellen about the forthcoming Yes tour of the UK and Europe. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen for reasons outside our control. We will be speaking to Jay on Monday instead so I’m afraid you’ll have to wait just a little bit longer for that.

In the meantime in this very short episode, I thought I’d mention some of the interesting things I have found out about the (relatively) new Yes drummer. See how many of these facts you knew and how many are new to you - most of them were new to me.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week would have been Chris Squire’s 76th birthday. To celebrate his legacy, Mark and I chose 3 of our favourite Squire bass lines and also chatted about his signature sound and how he achieved it. Make sure you add your own selections to the comments on the show notes for this episode and let’s celebrate the legacy of the world’s greatest bassist together.

• What are your favourite Squire bass lines?
•  
• How did Chris achieve his sound?
•  
• Did he always take the same approach?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Mark and I had a fun time this week re-watching the ABWH Brother of Mine video and the new Mirror to the Sky one. Listen out for our thoughts in a few minutes’ time and see if you can count how many times I call the song Long Lost Brother of Mine by mistake. Also, do check out the show notes before or during listening to Mark and me banging on because I’ve added lots of screenshots from the videos that we refer to in the conversation. You can also watch both videos as well without having to do that dreary web searching thing - it’s just one of the services we offer to listeners.

• Are there any similarities between these two videos?
• How are videos used to help promote songs, today and in 1989?
• Are lyric videos any good?

Let us know if you agree with us!

After a short break, Mark and I are back to consider what Geoff Downes was doing before being asked to rejoin Yes for the recording of Fly From Here, released in 2011, shortly before the Yes Music Podcast was established. We have been listening to the John Wetton album, Raised in Captivity which includes many prog rock heroes so listen out for our thoughts on that and what, if anything, we learned about why Geoff was re-recruited.

• Can we tell why Yes wanted Geoff Downes from this record?
• What do all those guests add?
• Is it a good record?

I received an amazing email this week - or was it last week I can’t remember - informing me that Yes The Tormato Story has been shortlisted for a Selfie Award. These are handed out for self-published books so I think it has a lot more to do with the work Izzie Lawrence (cover designer), Bob Carling (production management and typesetting) and Simon Barrow (all round legend who kept me on track) had to do with it than me. It’s also down to Mark, every Executive Producer, newsletter subscriber, pre-order-er, supporter, YMP listener, producer and patron and everyone else who had any role in its creation - see the full acknowledgements page in the book for more details. Anyway, I have to go to the London Book Fair in a couple of weeks’ time to see if the book wins in the general non fiction category so keep your fingers crossed, please.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I talked about the situation in Yes at the time Geoff Downes rejoined for Fly From Here - around 2010-11. It's a contentious time - but then again when isn't with Yes? Oliver Wakeman had to make way for the return of Downes who had worked very closely with Steve Howe in Asia for many years and, when Trevor Horn was brought in to produce the new album, perhaps the writing was on the wall for a Downes redux.

All was not well between certain other members of the band either...

• Why did Geoff return (trip)?
•  
• Whose idea was it?
•  
• Why was Oliver Wakeman 'let go'?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week, Mark and I had a great conversation about Yes ephemera - what do I mean by that? Well it’s stuff that would certainly have disappeared if it wasn’t for people like Steve Sullivan, Pete Whipple and Geoffrey Mason over at forgotten-yesterdays.com who collect and share all sorts of items on that amazing site. As on other occasions, it’s best if you take a look at the images in the show notes either as you listen or afterwards because everything will make a lot more sense - assuming Mark and I actually do make sense, of course.

We chose three concert or related items to talk about each and then I threw in a somewhat unusual item I have just received which is certainly ephemeral. I don’t know how many of them still exist. As always, Mark and I would be fascinated to hear your views on this week’s items via comments.

• What items did we choose?
• What items would you choose?
• What is that disk thing?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

As you will hear, the title of this week’s episode is a bit misleading. Mark and I have been choosing some of our favourite slower, calmer songs or parts of songs from the extensive Yes catalogue to talk about this week. There are plenty to choose from given the remarkable ability of Yes to create contrasting musical experiences within an album or even a single song, as I’m sure you know.

See what you think of our selections and leave your own in the show notes comments for this week’s episode at yesmusicpodcast.com.

• What Yes songs are on the calm side?
• Are there parts of other songs in this category as well?
• Do they work?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week's episode is a rather visual one so you will probably want to listen after (or concurrently with) looking at the images below. Mark and I discuss some of the most instantly identifiable (for Yes fans) images which don't include the name of the band. We start off with a quiz for Mark using the first set of images and then we head off down Yes, Jon Anderson, Roger Dean and some other associated rabbit holes.

All of this was kicked off for me by the tiny, circular icons on the inner gatefold sleeve of Tales from Topographic Oceans and I posted this photo of Instagram.

It's one of those 'in the weeds' episodes so I hope you find it entertaining!

• What are those little icons on the sleeve of Tales all about?
• You is the Vitruvian Man?
• What is the Olias symbol?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Happy New Year to you. I hope you had a great time whatever you were celebrating in mid-winter or mid-summer or something else depending on where you are on the globe.

This week, Mark and I return to the second part of our discussion around why Rick Wakeman wanted Larry Fast to help him out on Tales from Topographic Oceans. We listened to Electronic Realizations For Rock Orchestra by Synergy on which Larry played everything. Stay tuned to hear what we thought of the album from 1975.

• What does this record sound like from the vantage point of 2024?
•  
• Does the basic technology make it sound old?
•  
• Why did Rick want Larry?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I are once again indebted to Doug Curran for setting us off to find out more about keyboard innovator Larry Fast and his Tales from Topographic Oceans connections. As you will hear, Larry was involved in the sound of the keyboards on Tales, something I did not realise until Doug posted a happy birthday message to Larry on the YMP Facebook Discussion Group last week. How much did you know about Larry’s connections with Rick Wakeman? Let us know in the comments on the show notes for this week’s episode.

• How did Larry and Rick meet?
• What was it about Larry that Rick likes?
• What is the Tales from Topographic Oceans link?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Mark and I had a great conversation with Ian Hartley this week. As mentioned last week, Ian has produced his own 50th Anniversary box set of Tales from Topographic Oceans and we were keen to know what motivated him, how he went about it and how it fitted in with his own Yes story. If you haven’t already watched Ian’s YouTube video where he unboxes his own box and also shows off some of his Tales collection, then please do - it’s embedded into the show notes. Ian was very generous and it was a treat to speak to another dedicated Yes fan who has been collecting the band’s output (particularly live recordings) for many years.

• What was the motivation for producing this set?
• What would Ian like to see in the future from the band?
• Is this the first time Ian has done this?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I take a look at and have a chat about what Yes fan Ian Hartley has done to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tales from Topographic Oceans. A chap after our own 5%-er hearts, he has taken things very much into his own hands as you will hear. If you want to understand fully what we are banging on about (if that’s even possible) then watch the video Ian made of the set which I have embedded below.

• What has Ian been up to?
•  
• Why have Yes not released any 50th Anniversary editions?
•  
• Just how did Ian do this?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

We continue our Tales from topographic oceans obsession this week with a look at 3 very different live recordings of side 4, Ritual - Nous Sommes du Soleil. The 3 different performances are included in the show notes below. They are from Yesshows (1980) , Symphonic Live (2002) and Topographic Drama (2017). This means we have the following musicians to listen to: Anderson, Squire, White, Moraz, Howe, Downes, Brislin, Sherwood, Davison, Schellen and the whole of the European Festival Orchestra. Wow. There are many differences between the recordings so listen along and see what you think.

• Which is the best performance?
• No Wakeman?
• A whole symphony orchestra - what does it add?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

It was a delight to welcome the bass maestro Miguel Falcão back onto the YMP this week. As you would expect, he knows a lot about how Chris Squire created the bass lines for Tales from Topographic Oceans. You may have heard Miguel's bass covers of both The Ancient and The Remembering, and if not they are embedded below.

We found out many things including what basses Chris used to record and play Tales live. So stand by for a massively in-depth look at the album...once again...

• What basses did Chris use to record Tales?
• Were there differences when Yes played Tales live?
• How does Chris' playing on Tales differ from Close to the Edge?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

We had a great conversation with veteran music journalist Steve Rosen this week. Steve has interviewed almost all members of Yes over the decades, although they weren't always 'easy' sessions, as you will hear!

Steve also spent a great deal of time with the iconic guitarist Edward Van Halen and has recently published a book, 'Tonechaser' about this relationship, which helps the reader to understand the personality of Edward, rather than just his amazing technical and musical accomplishments. 

• How did Steve's Yes interviews go?
• How is it possible to write a 500-page book about one person?
• What was Edward like as a person?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

In the week of the 40th anniversary of 90125, Mark and I looked at Trevor Rabin's 90124 which contains a lot of source material for the classic from 1983. 90124 appeared in 2003 on the 20th anniversary of the globally-successful Yes album and contains all of Trevor's demos of songs such as Hold On, Changes, Owner of a Lonely Heart and Cinema. A truly fascinating listen, there are also demos of later Yes songs like Where Will You Be, Walls, Love Will Find A Way and Miracle of Life.

• How did the songs we know so well come about?
• Do any of he demos sound like the finished songs?
• Is the collection worthwhile?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

We took a break from Tales from Topographic Oceans this week to consider what Yes were up to in the 1980s. Across just four albums (if you are happy to call ABWH a Yes album), Yes music was somewhat different to what had come before.

You are probably aware that our friends and YMP Patrons Stephen Lambe and Dave Watkinson wrote a whole book about Yes in the 1980s so don't forget to check that out if you don't already have a copy - it's currently available for a reduced price at Burning Shed.

Mark and I choose our favourite songs from each of these four albums and consider what makes the Yes music of the 1980s great.

• Are all the 80s records similar?
• How would you define the Yes music of this decade?
• Why isn't there more of it?

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Joseph Cottrell and  Ken Fuller

This week we are back to the epic in-depth study of Tales from Topographic Oceans. We asked the ever-generous drummer of Yes tribute band Total Mass Retain Joe Cass to join us to talk about Alan White’s contribution to the classic album. You won’t be surprised to hear that Joe managed to help us to uncover a wealth of detail about the percussion on the album and the musical and personal character of the late deeply missed Yes stickman. Thank you to Joe for his insights.

I’ve had no time to do a proper update on all that’s happened over the past week but please do visit the YMP Discussion Group on Facebook and the X.com @yesmuispodcast feed for all the details. However, it’s worth wishing Jon ANderson a very happy 79th birthday and noting that Steve Howe’s damaged finger seems to be sufficiently healed to allow him to play again this evening after having to cancel some shows on the US tour.

• What did Alan White contribute to Tales?
• Is that him singing backing vocals?
• What do we mean by 'melodic' drumming?

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Joseph Cottrell and  Ken Fuller

We had yet another lovely conversation with a relatively unsung hero of the Yes story this week. As you’ll hear, you have probably seen Jeff Cumins’ work, even if you don’t realise it. He has a long and distinguished career as an artist and illustrator and revealed fascinating insights that neither Mark nor I had heard before. I’m sure you’ll enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking to him. Do check out the images in this week’s shownotes to see why were so pleased to be able to speak to Jeff.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated to the YMP 6–th episode appeal for our 600th episode. We achieved our target in just a few days but don’t let that put you off - you can still donate by clicking the link on Yes Music Podcast.com. As we have now passed our goal, Mark and I are planning our first ever YMP Live episode. I do hope you’ll be able to join us for what promises to be an epic undertaking playing and talking about Yes music and lots more. Details to follow as soon as possible.

• Which items across Yes history was Jeff involved in?
• WHo did he meet first?
• Was this a dream come true?

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Joseph Cottrell and  Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I returned to Tales form topographic oceans to consider Steve Howe’s guitars, based on Mark’s expert knowledge and thanks to Geioff Bailie kindly sending us photos of the Steve Howe guitar collection book.

After recording I also heard from Nick Kokoshis that he has assembled a set of photos on Facebook all about the guitars on Tales so please see the link in the show notes for this episode to see what he has found out. You may need to join the Facebook group to view the photos.

Thank you so much to all listeners who have donated to our charity appeal already. After only a week, we have reached 81% of our target which is amazing. If you possibly can, please click the link on Yesmusicpodcastcom and help us to raise at least 600 pounds to celebrate 600 episodes of the YMP by supporting prostate cancer UK.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller 

Support the Fundraiser!

After more than 12 years, we have reached episode 600! It was a delight to welcome Yes legend, Trevor Rabin, onto the show to help us celebrate the milestone. We spoke about Yes, Cinema, his new solo album, Rio, and more. Trevor was a generous and amusing guest and Rio is a great, varied album.

Thank you to him for helping us to mark the special occasion.

As part of our celebrations, you'll hear that we have launched a charity fundraiser - see above for details of how to get involved.

• Did Trevor actually want to join a 70s band?
• Why is his new album called 'Rio'?
• What has he learned from soundtrack writing that influenced the new record?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Thanks to YMP Patron Doug Curran, we were able to speak to Brian Chatton this week. A friend of and collaborator with Jon Anderson since the 1960s, Brian has indeed 'Rolled with Rock Royalty' and our conversation shed light on a variety of eras of Yes and the other bands and artists Brian has been associated with.

No single interview with Brian could possibly scratch the surface of his extraordinary life and career so do check out his amazing book:

https://brianchatton.com/rolling-with-rock-royalty/

• When did Brian meet Jon Anderson?
• How did a boy from Bolton survive in Germany?
• What did Brian get up to with Keith Emerson?

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week we spoke to the generous Peter D’Amore, the longtime Yes fan who spent 7 years making his own ‘Olias’ album, an indie/Prog 2-CD project. We talk about his music, his Yes influences and many aspects of the band including the latest album and the setlist that was played on the warm-up night a couple of days ago.

I’ve embedded several of Peter’s YouTube videos into the show notes for this week including his recent collaboration with Billy Sherwood, so do take a listen to those.

• How did Peter discover Yes?
• How did Peter miss out on playing live with the band?
• Why is Yes so important to him and his wife?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

The hugely knowledgeable Sid Smith joined us again this week to chat about the context of Tales from Topographic Oceans. Sid wrote the sleeve notes for the Steven Wilson remix of Tales which was released by Panegyric in 2016.

He also wrote the remarkable book, 'In the Court of King Crimson - An Observation over Fifty Years', so we were delighted to be able to ask him about the relationship between Crimson main man, Robert Fripp, and Bill Bruford.

• Why did Fripp want Bruford?
• Why did Yes decide to push the boundaries even further with Tales?
• How influential was the album?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

Stephen Lambe joins us in a moment to talk about his updated, comprehensive Yes book as well as touching on Tales and Trevor Rabin.

https://burningshed.com/store/sonicbond 

• What has Stephen added to his already great Yes book?
• What does he think of the current state of Yes?
• Where can you get his book?

Let us know if you agree with us!

We are entering another period of intense Yes activity this week with the band preparing for its US tour, Trevor Rabin releasing singles from his forthcoming album, Rio and perhaps the most seismic happening of all, the 600th episode of the Yes Music Podcast. We have a rather special guest lined up to join us in our celebration so it’s bound to be one to remember. Mark and I are also planning a charity event to coincide with the milestone and more information on that will be coming soon, unless you are already a YMP Patron, of course - in which case I’ve already let them into the secret. It pays to be a Patron, as they say.

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week  Mark and I were joined by YMP Patron and The Prog Report’s Geoff Bailie to talk about the two new old releases from Warner/Rhino - a box set of The Yes Album and the Yessingles collection. It’s a robust conversation so stand by for that.

Order Yessingles:

https://burningshed.com/yes_yessingles_vinyl

• Are there no more interesting items from around the time of The Yes Album?
• Is Yessingles a good idea?
• Yes' greatest hits...?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week Mark and I welcomed the knowledgeable Chris Dale back onto the show for the third time. If you haven't listened to the episodes where Chris talks about the Birotron (the infamous rarest musical instrument in the world) and the other keyboards on Tormato, then you may want to catch up with those before listening to this latest installment.

The Birotron - episode 503

The other Tormato keyboards - episode 531

This time the focus is the keyboards on Tales from Topographic Oceans and, as usual, Chris uncovers some truly amazing facts and insights. After all, he does own Rick Wakeman's double mellotron, so who coud be better placed to share the sectrets of that instrument and its unique contributions to Tales?

• What keyboards did Rick Wakeman use on Tales?
• What makes that double Mellotron unique?
• Which aspects of Tales does Chris think are great?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller

This week we welcomed the ever-generous Geoff Downes onto the show. It was great to speak to the current Yes keyboard wizard about the new DBA album, Celestial Songs, as well as the recent John Wetton tribute concert and, of course, Tales from Topographic Oceans. Geoff also hinted at what’s being planned for the forthcoming The Classic Tales Of Yes Tour so listen out for that! It’s always a treat to talk to Geoff who reiterates the fact that he is and has always been a Yes fan himself.

• Who is on the new DBA album?
• What’s Geoff’s approach to DBA?
• What’s going to be performed on the next Yes tour?

Let us know if you agree with us!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell and Ken Fuller

This week we are joined by Yes book author, Simon Barrow, to talk about the concept behind Tales From Topographic Oceans. We get into a lot of detail as you would expect and explore some pretty fascinating areas of concept music - whatever that actually is!

• What is a concept album?
• Is Tales a concept album?
• Does it even matter?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

This week we are starting a new project - The Yes Album Listening Guides. Eventually this will be a series of books and I explain more with Mark in this episode.

• What is this new book series going to be about?
• What is the first album?
• How can I be involved?

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

Mark and I really enjoyed listening to/watching Oliver’s album/DVD ‘Coming To Town – Live In Katowice’. We were surprised by and delighted with the performances, the writing and the production. It’s a great set from a band firing on all cylinders!

• Is this all progressive rock?
• Does Oliver take the lead?
• How proficient are the others in the band?

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

Contrary to what I said last week, we are going to continue with our Why did Yes want series this week as we turn back slightly in time to Oliver Wakeman after we inadvertently got Benoit David in the wrong order last time.

It was one of the most confusing periods of the band in terms of personnel so I have turned to interviews and accounts from those involved to try and get as close as possible to the truth - see if you agree with what Mark and I discuss.

• Did Oliver know any of the band before he joined?
• How did they know he was any good?
• Was it just nepotism?

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

This week Mark and I return to the second part of our 'Why did Yes want...' series and it's time to consider Mystery's album, Beneath The Veil Of Winter's Face.

• HIs this Prog?
• How did Benoit sound?
• Why did Yes want him based on this record?

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

This week Mark and I return to our 'Why did Yes want...' series and it's time to consider Benoit David. Jon Anderson had been unwell and so the band needed to find what Chris Squire referred to as an 'understudy', presumably with the intention of Jon returning at some point.

• How did the band find Benoit?
• How did he know the music?
• What was he up to just before joining Yes?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

This week Mark and I talk about various different approaches Yes have had to their stage design over the decades. This was partly prompted by the rumour that the band are intending to change they way in which they set up from 2024 onwards.

Do let us know what Yes stage setups have been your favourites and why in the show notes for this week's episode.

• What is your favourite Yes stage setup?
• Do you like 3D sets?
• Are the current video walls a good idea?

Let us know if you agree with us!

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

Unless you have already read my book, Yes The Tormato Story, you may not recognise the name Derek Dearden. However, you have certainly heard the results of his amazing technical wizardry. This is another deep dive episode but it also contains much of interest to any Yes fan. Derek was a delight to speak to when Mark and I interviewed him a few months ago and I’ve been keeping this fascinating interview under wraps so that early readers of the book had a few surprises to discover. If you don’t like spoilers, then consider coming back to this episode at a later date. I won’t be offended.

Quite a bit of this conversation was used in the chapter entitled The Other Drums in my book but even if you have read that, I’m sure you’ll love hearing Derek explaining how it all came about in his own words. To whet your appetite, Derek was employed at Advision as a technician and then went on to found a company very closely associated with Alan White

• What did Derek Dearden create for Alan White?
• How did it all come about?
• What else did Derek invent?

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

This week Mark and I subjected ourselves to 2 sides of Yes by Rick Wakeman. As you’ll hear, it was a bit grim at times. See what you think of our responses and let us know what you think of this collection in the comments on this week’s show notes.

• What is this collection like?
• What was Rick thinking?
• Come on...!

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

This week, Mark and I return to our perennial favourite, the 'why did Yes want' series. Rick is back - again - after the orchestral diversion of Magnification and the Symphonic Tour just after the turn of the century (pun intended). He produced two albums of Yes-related music shortly before returning to the band so we are going to listen to those this coming week and bang on about them next week - you are most welcome to join in via the comments below.

I've spent all my spare time(!) this week packaging and sending copies of my Tormato book across the world so there's been no time to look at the usual social media places, I'm afraid. So we move straight onto the discussion.

See if you agree or disagree with what’s said and let us know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode.

• What was Rick up to before returning to Yes once again?
• What are the 'Two Sides Of Yes'?
• Why does he do 'that'?!?

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

A momentous week in a number of ways. There have been so many positive reactions to the new Yes album Mirror to the Stars and it’s even doing really well in the charts. You’ll know from our reviews that Mark and I are very impressed with the record and we invited Simon Barrow to discuss it with us - listen out for that in a few minutes’ time. We also took the opportunity to share some thoughts about the other release sharing today’s date, Yes The Tormato Story by me.

Despite the paper book being literally in my hands, the internet marketplaces seem to take some time to catch up. So you might find that the book doesn’t turn up in your local internet supplier immediately. However, if you have pre-ordered via the fabulous Burning Shed, I know they have boxes of books in their warehouse and will be sending them out without delay. So it won’t be long now, I hope.

Let us know what you think of the album and the book once you receive either - or preferably both.

See if you agree or disagree with what’s said and let us know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode.

• What do we think of the album now we have heard it a number of times?
• Is that book *finally* available?
• Rejoice!

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

This week Mark and I had a lovely conversation with Yes lead singer, Jon Davison. We chatted about the new album, Mirror to the Sky and his contributions to it as well as the band’s live plans and the future. We also touched on Tormato (there’s a surprise), John Lodge and other topics in a packed interview.

Jon was an absolute delight and his passion for Yes music is obvious. As he points out, Billy, Jay and he have always been Yes fanboys. As i write this there is one week to go until both the new Yes album is released and (hopefully) Yes The Tormato Story finally sees the light of day, so it’s once again an exciting time to be a Yes fan.

See if you agree or disagree with what’s said and let us know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode.

• Is Jon pleased with Mirror To The Sky?
• What was his role in creating the album?
• Is this album part of a development of songwriting for the band?

This week, Mark and I were joined by Henry Potts to talk about the new Yes album, Mirror to the Sky as well as some of the more controversial topics of the day. In case you are unaware, Henry is one of the most knowledgeable Yes historians anywhere and his amazing online resource where he stores the chronicles of the world’s greatest progressive rock band can be found at http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/ 

See if you agree or disagree with what’s said and let us know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode.

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

Mark and I listen to the new Yes album Mirror to the Skies this week and share our responses to it. Spoiler alert - it’s really good.

• Is the rest of the album like Cut From The Stars??
• How progressive is it?
• What is the epic title track like?

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

Mark and I have been watching videos of Jon Anderson’s latest live project, this time with the fabulous Band Geeks. We discuss our reactions this week.

• How did the Band Geeks get on playing a whole concert of Yes music with Jon Anderson?
• How did Jon's voice hold up?
• Was it an enjoyable concert of Yes music?

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

This week Mark and I spoke to the generous and talented composer, Larry Groupé, about his compositions for the 2001 Yes album, Magnification. We also talked about the orchestrations he did for the Symphonic Tour and his conducting. It was a wonderful, wide-ranging conversation.

• How did Larry Groupé end up working on Magnification?
• How did Larry approach the writing?
• Was he happy with the results?

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

This week Mark and I continued to subtly subvert the format of our ‘Why Did Yes Want…?’ series by looking at Larry Groupé who provided orchestrations, arrangements and unique orchestral music for the 2001 album, Magnification. We learned some interesting things about the Professor and prolific film and TV composer which will make our forthcoming conversation with him even more fascinating. As is so often the case, Larry is a big Yes fan which makes his choice a good one. Mark and I are both huge supporters of Magnification and we are looking forward to speaking to Larry, hopefully next week.

• Who is Larry Groupé?
• What skills did he have which might have attracted Yes?
• What did he add to Magnification?

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

Mark and I finally got round to finishing off our examination of why Yes wanted Igor Khoroshev this week after listening to a very enjoyable bootleg recording from the Open Your Eyes Tour. We also had a chance to discuss in a two pence the recent news of the postponement of the Relayer Tour in the UK and Europe until 2024. Please leave your own comments as always on the show notes for this week if you have anything to add to either of those topics.

• Can we hear why Yes wanted Igor?
• How did he fit into the band?
• Why has the Relayer Tour been postponed?

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

This week Mark and I had a lovely conversation with Paul K Joyce, the orchestrator on The Quest and Mirror To The Sky. He tells us some rather interesting things about the forthcoming album. Speaking of which, Simon Barrow returns this week to say a bit about the fan reaction to the new single, Cut From The Stars. He’s not happy.

• When was Paul asked to provide orchestrations for another new Yes album?
• Is the new album 'more of the same'?
• Why is Simon not happy?

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

In a change to the advertised episode, Mark and I thought it was essential to give our thoughts on the new Yes single Cut From The Stars so most of this episode is devoted to the best new Yes music for many years.

• How does this new Yes music compare to The Quest?
• Does it sound progressive?
• Does it increase the anticipation for the new album?

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

This week the redoubtable Geoff Bailie presents his feedback on two remarkable Rick Wakeman concerts at the  London Palladium which, as you can imagine, contain a shedload of Yes connections. Then Mark and I start to consider why Yes wanted keyboardist Igor Khoroshev after the aforementioned Rick Wakeman left the band, once again in 1996. We will be setting you some homework to listen to a bootleg recording of Igor and the boys on the Open Your Eyes Tour so please see the show notes for this episode.

While Kevin is on holiday with his family, Mark flies solo and brings us some of the most important talking points of the week including the news that Jay Schellen has been named as the permanent replacement in Yes for Alan White.

Also, Mark mentions what's coming up for Yes fans in this year's Record Store Day and more!

• What are your thoughts on the appointment of Jay Schellen?
• What do you think he will bring to Yes' writing?
• What would you like Yes to release for Record Store Day?

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

In celebration of Yes - The Tormato Story being made available for preorder from the wonderful people over at Burning Shed.com, I’ve decided to present a competition this week to win a copy of my book. All you need to do is send your answers to the 15 questions to show@yesmusicpodcast.com to be in with a chance of winning a copy which I will send to you as soon as it is released. Look out for the questions in this episode.

• How much do you know about Tormato?
• Do you need to guess?
• Is being a regular listener an advantage?

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

This week Mark and I had a wide-ranging and engrossing chat about what we would like Warner Music to release now they had acquired the rights to the Atlantic Yes catalogue. (At least I found it engrossing, your mileage may vary.)

I am also indebted to Simon Barrow for sending in a fine report on the recent interviews with both Benoit David (which Bob Keeley also sent to me) and Jon Davison about their experiences as lead singers for the band.

• What kinds of product would we like from Warner?
• What advice would we give Warner on what not to do?
• How does Benoit David feel about his time with Yes?

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

This week Mark and I listened to Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters by Paul Rodgers and produced by Billy Sherwood.

In addition, we chatted about My Own TOURMATO which I went on with my son William and Dave Watkinson this week It was a blast and my spliced-together video of my Facebook Live clips are in the show notes for this week.

• What does the album sound like?
• Do the various different instrumentalists combine well?
• What does Billy play on this record himself?

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

This week Mark and I began to think about the next musician Yes wanted to sign up, this time as a live associate member of the band for the 1994 Talk Tour. We talk about Billy's connections to Yes members, his involvement with Union and lots of other topics. You'll also find out what record we have chosen to listen to next week for some clues as to Billy's suitability to join Yes at this point.

In addition, we have time for a two pence segment about the recent sale of Yes' Atlantic back catalogue to Warner Bros. and what this means for the band and the fans.

• What did Yes know about Billy at this point?
• What about him attracted their attention?
• Why did they want a sixth member of the band for this tour?

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

Jon Anderson's conceptual epic, Olias of Sunhillow, is under the microscope this week.

• Does this album live up to its amazing reputation?
• How does Jon Anderson get on playing all the instruments?
• Does Olias feel like a complete work or a bit bolted together?

 Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

As I’m sure you know we lost another giant of the rock world this week. Jeff Beck was one of the most influential guitarists of all time and I’m sure Yes music would sound very different - or possibly wouldn’t exist without the influence of the great man. Rest in Peace.

This week we had a great conversation with Joe Cass who you may well know is the drummer for Yes Tribute Total Mass Retain. He told us stories of his connections with Yes members and the aims of his band who have confirmed two 2023 concerts so far - visit https://www.totalmassretainband.com/ for all the information - they put on an amazing evening of Yes music and if you haven’t met Joe yet, you’ll hear just what a generous and thoughtful musician he is from our chat.

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

New Year and time to look forward, rather than back. Join Mark and me talking about what's coming up based on two sources:

1. http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/ - companion site to http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnyesm.htm from the legendary Henry Potts
2. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1255122348371376 from the knowledgeable and erudite Jon Dee

• What Yes and Yes related albums can we look forward to in 2023?
• Is anyone touring?
• Who is publishing a fascinating book about Tormato?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

It's time to enjoy listening to The Lexicon Of Love this week as we look for clues as to why Yes wanted Trevor Horn to return as producer for 90125. To be fair, that's not an especially difficult task as his fingerprints are all over this brilliant, era-defining work of pop genius. It's not prog but it's glorious music.

• What Trevor Horn influences can be heard on this album?
• Is the production any good?
• Is it obvious why Yes wanted Trevor back?

Also, it's time to wish all listeners, Producers and Patrons all best wishes at this festive time of year. Whatever you celebrate in December or even if you don't celebrate anything Mark and I hope you have a wonderful time as the year changes to 2023. Thank you for all your support and kindness in 2022!

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

After a couple of weeks of illness I’m delighted to say I’m now almost 100% and back to the YMP. I’d like to thank everyone who has sent kind wishes - they are very much appreciated.

This week we delve into the reasons why Yes might have wanted Trevor Horn back in the fold for 90125.

• Who wanted Trevor back?
• What were his special skills?
• Did he want to go back?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

Mark and I spent a very enjoyable week listening to CTTE and Relayer - and why not? In time honoured fashion we have recorded our thoughts independently and then we meet up to criticise each other’s ideas. Not really. We do, however, indulge in the futile but nevertheless enjoyable process of ranking the albums against each other and coming out with a winner. Will you agree with our assessments? The sense of anticipation could be cut with a proverbial hacksaw.

• Is it possible to rank these albums after listening to them?
• Why would anyone want to?
• Go on then, which one is better?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

This week Mark and I embark upon another inevitably unjustifiable escapade - the rating of two classic Yes albums against each other. If it wasn’t fun we wouldn’t do it but it keeps us off the streets at least. This time we have decided to pit Close To The Edge against Relayer and you can play along as well. In part 1 we bang on about the similarities and differences between the records and then next week we will report back on our findings after listening carefully to the albums. Please do add your own thoughts to the show notes for both weeks’ episodes.

• Which album is 'better'?
• What are the main differences and similarities?
• Why would you want to do this?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week we met the delightful Chris Welch who wrote one of the most important books about Yes, Close To The Edge - The Yes Story. Journalist for Melody Maker, Kerrang and many other publications, Chris has known the band from its earliest days and we very much enjoyed talking to him about those days in the early 70s as well as his trip to Advision to see the band recording Tormato. It was a  great conversation so we hope you enjoy it as well.

• What was it like in London in the early 70s?
• Did punk kill prog?
• How was the atmosphere in Advision?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week we are off into the weeds once again, this time with Tim Durling as our guide. As the originator of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, he is ideally placed to tell us more about the 8 track tapes that have been released over the years by Yes and we discover a wealth of interesting facts about the much-maligned media format which, as you may remember, was the basis of the ill-fated Birotron Rick Wakeman championed and part-funded in the mid-late 70s.

We would be delighted to see photos of any Yes 8 track tapes you have in your collection so please do add those to the comments on the show notes for this week’s episode.

• Why were 8-track cartridges so popular?
• Did they sound any good?
• Did the format cause any problems for the transfer of records?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

This week, Mark and I have been enjoying listening to Night After Night, the live album from UK in our quest to discover why Yes wanted Eddie Jobson. Hear our views in a few moments’ time and add your own to the comments in the show notes for this week’s episode.

Did you see UK in either of their incarnations? What do you think of the 3-piece lineup without Bruford and Holdsworth but with Terry Bozzio? Did it work? Let us know.

• How does the 3-piece UK sound?
• Is the guitar missed?
• Is it all prog?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

This week Mark and I have been considering why Yes wanted Eddie Jobson. He stayed with the band for about as long as a British Prime Minister but there must have been compelling musical reasons why he was asked to join in the first place. So that’s what we are beginning to explore in this episode. WHile Eddie isn’t very well-known outside the Prog world, he certainly had the capacity to take Yes in a different and perhaps very interesting direction before he was replaced by the returning Tony Kaye. Another parallel with the UK political situation?

• Child prodigy to Prog legend - an amazing story.
• What skills did Eddie have which attracted Yes?
• Did he have the experience to join Yes?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

We are finally back with part 2 of our look at the Buggles and why Yes might have wanted them. For this, we’ve been listening to the first album from the duo, The Age Of Plastic, seeing if we can pick up some pointers. As usual, it was a revealing and enjoyable experience and quite topical as Trevor Horn’s autobiography is being advertised across all of my social media at the moment. Let us know what you think of our views in the show notes for this week.

• Does the album sound dated in 2022?
• Is there more to it than just Video Killed The Radio Star?
• Is it obvious why Yes wanted Downes and Horn to join them?

Take a listen to the episode and then let us know what you think!

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

What a week it’s been in the world of Yes. Thanks to friend of the YMP Roie Avin, I managed to speak to Steve Howe about his new album with his late son Virgil, Lunar Mist as well as the US tour which began yesterday with a preview concert. (Don’t worry, I managed to slip in a question about Tormato as well.) YMP Producer Ken Fuller went along to the dress rehearsal and I’ve added his photos from the event to the show notes for this week. The gig took place at Mickey’s Black Box, part of long-time Yes collaborator Michael Tait’s empire also known as the Rock Lititz campus in Philadelphia. In fact Michael introduced the band and spoke about his connections with Yes. (Incidentally he is now retired.)

Also this week Doug Curran was at the wonderful Alan White tribute concert in Seattle which featured Trevor Rabin, Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison, Geoff Downes, Jay Schellen and a host of other stars. A truly moving event to remember a truly remarkable person.

Add to all this the announcement of concert dates for Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks in 2023 complete with a great video of the whole band in action together. Actually I think it’s a composite video using some clever remote recording but whatever the case, it all sounds fantastic. Fingers crossed they are able to visit the UK.

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week we decided to postpone the second part of our Buggles episode because we had the chance to interview James Gardner about Rick Wakeman’s use of the harpsichord. It was a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion and we learned a lot about both the instrument and some of the characters involved with creating the actual instruments Rick used on recordings with Yes. James has encyclopedic knowledge of the use of harpsichords in popular music and he mentions a large number of songs which have featured the instrument over the years. I’ve added YouTube videos of each song James refers to in the show notes for this episode. You might want to refer to those while you listen to the interview or come back to them at the end. I found they helped me a great deal.

• What kind of harpsichord did Rick use?
• Who made it?
• Where else can we hear harpsichords in popular music?

Take a listen to the episode and then let us know what you think.

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week we are back with our ‘Why did Yes want…’ series and we have reached 1980 when both Anderson and Wakeman had left the band and up stepped Horn and Downes. How did this happen and why would Yes want to develop a relationship with a pop band? Listen on to discover our thoughts and then add your own to the show notes. Over the coming week we will be listening to The Buggles album, ‘The Age Of Plastic’ to try and find some clues to help us with the question above so please do join in with that and let us know what you think of the album, 42 years later.

• A pop band?
• Are you serious?
• How could that work?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

This week, Mark and I consider the question of what would happen if Yes were restricted to only playing music from Open Your Eyes to The Quest in a concert. Imagine that. Well, we did. Listen out for our ideas and add your own to the show notes for this week.

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week, Mark and I give our impressions of the self-titled album by Refugee, featuring Patrick Moraz, in our attempt to see why Yes wanted him in the band in 1974. As you will hear, we both rather like it. Please do add your own comments to the show notes for this week’s episode and let us know if you agree or disagree.

• Is it obvious why Yes wanted Patrick Moraz from this album?
• What special abilities does he show here?
• Would he fit in?

Facebook has just changed how pages work which means that I’ve had to establish a new place for us to post and discuss Yes-related happenings. It’s a new group entitled, rather creatively, YMP Discussion Group. For the moment it’s open to anyone to join but I’ll be adding rules and joining requirements when I have time. One of the advantages of the new format is that all members of the group have the same ability to post content, so it’s a bit more egalitarian, or somesuch. Please do search for the group and join in.

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week Mark and I consider why Yes wanted Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz to join them after the departure of Rick Wakeman. We discuss the bands which Moraz played in and the route he took to arrive with Yes which, as you might imagine, wasn’t straightforward! It eventually led to his band, Refugee so we will be spending next week listening to their self-titled album in order to give you our thoughts on that record. Sounds like it’s going to be fun.

If you haven’t already done so, please sign up at tormatobook.com to the email newsletter. I’ve already shared 3 updates on the progress of the forthcoming book, TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE? complete with short extracts from some of the chapters. If you sign up now, for free, you can have access to the newsletters you’ve missed. It really helps to know people are looking forward to reading the culmination of my decades of Tormato obsession.

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

Mark and I had a great time speaking to photographer Rob Brimson this week. He was with Po from Hipgnosis when the photos of YES band members on the inner gatefold sleeve of Going For The One were taken and he took the shot of Yes Tor which adorns the cover of Tormato. He also did a bit of informal modelling work… Rob was open and generous about the days when he was based at Hipgnosis’ studios in London as well as his trip to Mountain Studios in Montreux and the story about the helicopter and the escape of the flying pig. Listen out for that one later. More Yes revelations are included in our conversation.

Also this week around the social media hotspots, I have been posting some adverts for my new website which is supporting the Tormato book I announced last week on the YMP. To keep it nice and simple, I’ve called it https://tormatobook.com and if you’d like to sign up to receive regular updates on the progress towards the publications of the book, then add your details to receive the email newsletter.

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week Mark and I have enjoyed listening to Alan White in a rather different context to normal - adding his remarkable talents to John Lennon’s classic album, Imagine. We present our thoughts and then get together to have a chat about the music and the musicians involved. Please do add your own thoughts to the show notes and see if you agree with Mark and me.

We also found time to consider a two pence topic around Jon Anderson’s plans for live concerts next year with The Band Geeks. Stay tuned for our thoughts on that.

In other news, I’m excited to announce that I am part-way through writing a book about Tormato which will include all the aspects we’ve covered on the YMP as well as copious illustrations and a myriad of other things. It will be in paper and online format and I’ll be announcing all kinds of other news about it as we approach the publication date - which is still a long way off. However, you can already go to tormatobook.com to find out more and to sign up to an email newsletter to keep up-to-date with progress. The book will be published by Five Per Cent For Something Publishing (see what I did there?) and is to be called, ‘Too Close To The Edge? The surprising and instructive story of TORMATO, the final YES album of the 1970s’. Good title eh?

• What does Alan's drumming on Imagine sound like?
• Does he play appropriately?
• Can you tell it's him?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

While we wait for Yes to begin their tour in Japan in September and following the end of Jon Anderson’s Close To The Edge tour, it’s comparatively quiet in Yes world at the moment. That certainly doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to talk about, of course. So this week Mark and I have been thinking about why Yes wanted the late and already desperately missed Alan White.

We have discovered or perhaps rediscovered some aspects of Alan’s early career which made him the perfect fit for Yes following the departure of Bill Bruford, very shortly before the beginning of the original Close To The Edge tour. It was an excellent discussion reminding us just how multi-faceted Alan’s abilities were so do keep listening for that.

• What about Alan White attracted Yes?
• What did Alan spend his teenage years doing?
• What recordings can we hear pre-Yes Alan playing on?