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?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

I recently spoke to illustrator Colin Elgie, who was a freelance illustrator for legendary album art producers, Hipgnosis, for the whole of the 1970s. We chatted about his artwork for Tormato and I found out that he also produced some other Yes items you'll recognise, along with other prog album covers. It was a great phone call and this week I explain to Mark what Colin said and we take a look at some of the artwork Colin and I discussed.

Then Mark tells us about some other vinyl albums which have interesting and/or unique inner contents. You'll also have your favourites so please do add them in the comments on the show notes.

• What did Colin Elgie produce for Yes?
• What did he think of the Hipgnosis cover for Tormato?
• What other inner album contents are worth tracking down?

Produced by Ken Fuller, Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

After a period of ill health I’m finally back this week with the second part of our Why did Yes want Rick Wakeman feature. Many thanks to everyone who has sent wishes for a speedy recovery.

We also have the final word from Simon Barrow on the CTTE 50th Anniversary UK and Irish tour and we start with some news from around the interwebs.

• What were the two previous albums from Strawbs like?
• Why was Rick fed up with that band?
• What were press and fan reactions like to CTTE50?

We are back almost to normal or what passes for normal in these parts this week. After the merry mayhem of the Yes UK and Irish tour celebrating CTTE’s 50th Anniversary, this week Mark and I return to our new-ish series trying to make semi-educated guesses about why Yes wanted to add new or different musicians to their fold. This time, we turn our excited attention to Rick Wakeman and consider what he was doing to attract the band’s attention. That’ll be fun.

Before that we have the final tour diary entry from the redoutable Simon Barrow complete with a new crop of photos on the show notes.

• What attracted Yes to Rick Wakeman?
• What had he been doing before?
• How does Simon sum up the latest tour?

Listen to Simon’s experiences at the London concert of #CTTE50 from the iconic Royal Albert Hall.

A little bit 'after the fact' but we are still proud to present Simon's second audio diary entry. Stay tuned for more very soon!

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

I had an amazing time in London with new and old Yes friends on 21st June 2022. The concert was stunning and you'll hear me banging on about it in this episode.

A magical evening of Yes music in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Close To The Edge which was performed perfectly to a full house at one of the most iconic of all venues.

It's only the 10th time Yes have played at the RAH and it's also 10 years since Jon Davison joined the band.

• What was the performance like?
• How did the setlist work?
• What was the experience like?

This week we have the chance to talk about Yes live in concert for the first time in 3 years. Mark and I give our reactions to the setlist choices and then our roving reporter, Simon Barrow has sent in the first of his audio diary entries. He will be attending every show on the tour (apart from the warm up gig) and will be keeping us up-to-date as he goes.

• What have the first concerts been like?
• What is the setlist like?
• Will fans be able to get to the concerts next week?

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

We are all, as Yesfans, still reeling from the news of the death of the great Alan White and the forthcoming tour will sadly be a very different experience.

This week we return to the second part of our examination of Steve Howe’s guitar work on Tomorrow’s self-titled album.

There's also a chance to announce the winner of the amazing Asia in Asia box set. Stay tuned for that as well as a Happy Birthday to Mark!

This week we present our tributes to Alan White, Yes drummer for half a century, in the words of YMP Patrons and listeners.

Please add your own tribute to the show notes for this week if you haven’t already done so.

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

Next week’s YMP episode will be a proper tribute to Alan White so please add your contributions in the comments section below.

This week, rather than a ‘standard’ episode we thought it would be appropriate to re-play our interview with Alan from January 2020. He was in fine form, as always and it was a joy to speak to him.

‘Legendary’ is an entirely apt description of this true gentleman, extraordinary musician and friend to all he encountered. R.I.P. Alan.

Original interview episode show notes:

Mark and I have ticked off another of our top ambitions on the podcast by speaking to Yes drum legend, Alan White. We cover a number of different topics and Alan is absolutely delightful, as I'm sure you know.

For the first time in ages, I also managed to do a news catch-up which features a few highlights from around the social webs in recent days and/or weeks and do listen out for a couple of new items. I hope you enjoy the whole episode!

• What did Alan think of From A Page?
• What is Alan's favourite Yes album??
• What is Relayer going to be like to play live in 2020?

Just as I was preparing this week’s episode the news broke that Vangelis has died. A giant of the music world in so many different spheres, it’s a terrible loss. Most music fans will know that Jon and Vangelis was a highly significant collaboration but I am sure fewer know about the possibility of Vangelis becoming Yes’ keyboardist after Rick Wakeman left in 1974. He rehearsed with the band but it didn’t work out. However, he left his keyboard setup in place and Patrick Moraz used it to improvise the opening keyboards for Sound Chaser and this is the version used on the actual record, or so the story goes. Vangelis also has writing credits on Children of Light from Keys To Assension 2 which was originally written by Jon Anderson and him in 1986 as, 'Distant Thunder'.

His music will live on but he will certainly be missed.

It’s always a pleasure to speak to Geoff Downes and this time we took in Asia, Yes and the Downes Braide Association. As always, Geoff has been very busy with different musical activities and, as you’ll hear, is looking forward to getting out on the road again with the world’s greatest progressive rock band.

Geoff also sets a question for you to answer to win the wonderful Asia in Asia box set so after you’ve heard what the question is, please send your answer to show@yesmusicpodcast.com before Friday 27th May 2022 to be in with a chance of winning that collector’s item.

Unfortunately, Mark was unable to join us for the interview but he will be back next week.

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week we have the chance to review the amazing new box set from Bill Bruford. Mark and I are joined by the redoubtable Simon Barrow for the conversation.

• What is included and what is excluded?
• Is there a good selection from each of Bill's projects?
• Was Bill a rock drummer turned to jazz or the other way round?

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

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

Mark and I are starting a new series this week where we will bang on about the musicians who were tempted to join Yes and what they did previously which attracted the attention of the band. It’s a bit like a prequel to our ‘what did they do next’ series, if you see what I mean. Each topic will be in two parts as before so you will have a week (or sometimes more) to listen to the music yourself before Mark and I give our reactions to it. A lot more on that later.

• What attracted Yes to Steve Howe?
• What was Steve up to before joining Yes?
• In what way was he a 'different' guitarist?

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

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall

I’m hoping the weekly update from around the metaverse will return next week but for now we’ll get straight on with another brilliant and fascinating conversation with progresssive rock keyboard guru and all round brilliant chap, Chris Dale.

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

I'm still on holiday this week so I'm indebted to Simon Barrow, Robert Nasir and Mark Anthony K for stepping into the breach. I'm sure you will enjoy what they have to say - please do add your comments.

• What does Steven Wilson say about Yes in his new book?
• Has Robert enjoyed the recent episodes?
• What Close To The Edge insights has Mark for us?

There's also a Two Pence from Mark for you to add your thoughts to.

First of all, many thanks to Dan and Steven Shinder for last week’s April Fool swap around - it was great fun and we look forward to doing some more sensible Yes conversations in the future.

Oliver Wakeman is always one of our favourite guests on the YMP and this time we talk about Yes and his latest release - the Collaborations box set which is available from Burning Shed. It’s another engaging and insightful chat so do let us know what you think.

• What's in Oliver's new box set?
• What would Oliver want to play if he returned to Yes?
• What does Oliver think of the change from Relayer Live to Close To The Edge Live?

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

Kevin and Mark discuss some amazing recent news in Yesworld!

It was great to speak to Dave Watkinson once again on the show this week. Some time ago he published an article on Yesworld.com all about the variety of music Yes have used to open their shows over 50 years and more. Mark and I very much enjoyed finding out more from Dave and here is the article - http://yesworld.com/yesshows-the-opening-music/yes-opening-music-year-guide/ 

After that conversation, there is a contribution from Daniel and Amanda Krohn with a different spin on the change from Relayer to Close to the Edge on the upcoming tour - do stay tuned for that.

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

Mark and I just about manage to stay in control of the ‘spirited’ Fernando Perdomo this week. Ask him about guitar tech and he will literally talk for hours - which is exactly what we want on the YMP of course. What we were left with are many fascinating insights into Steve Howe’s guitars and approaches, all based around the greatest Yes album, Tormato. Stay tuned for that hurricane of enthusiasm a little later.

• How did Howe get those sounds for Tormato and why?
• Where is the steel guitar?
• What are the secrets to his guitar approach?

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

I was on the road this week but still managed to catch up with Mark and Henry Potts to discuss the news that Yes will not be playing Relayer on the upcoming tour but have opted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Close To The Edge instead.

I was in a hotel room with just my laptop but this news was clearly too important to miss.

• Why has Relayer been shelved?
• Will we ever hear the full album live?
• Is it too soon to play Close To The Edge in its entirety again?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This week's episode once again features our resident walking vinyl encyclopedia, Mark but this time I have a chance to pick his brains about the murky world of deadwax.

As you might imagine, I get out a couple of my copies of Tormato to see what I can find in the deadwax areas of those and Mark shares some fascinating insights into the production of Yes vinyl records.

Doug Curran also sent in an example of one of his Yes rarities for us to decipher and it was a real geek-fest!

• What are acetates, test pressings and deadwax?
• Why do Yes records have information hidden in the vinyl?
• Is any of this any use? (Spoiler - yes it is.)

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

I was on holiday this week so Mark and I couldn't get together to chat about this album but we did manage to record our own thoughts on what Benoit did next. See if you agree with us!

• What did Benoit do next?
• Is MYSTERY like Yes?
• Is this a good album?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

I’m in Devon so here’s Mark’s next Album Series audio -Fragile

Is this the last part of our What did they do next series? Probably…possibly…maybe not. In any event, we are going to stop for the moment after we have talked about what Benoit David did after leaving the band due to ill health in 2012. Apart from the tragic loss of Chris Squire and the resulting return of Billy Sherwood, the band has maintained the same lineup since Benoit left. While he was still touring with Yes, he was also working on an album for a different band - which one? Well, maybe it’s not much of a mystery but if you don’t know, just keep listening as Mark and I explain what happened leading up to Benoit’s departure and what he did next.

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

We went deep into the weeds again this week with Master of the Master Tapes, Brian Kehew, who produced the amazing live box set, Progeny, as well as working on the bonus tracks for the Tormato and Drama Expanded and Remastered CD releases in 2004.

• What governed the choices when creating Progeny?
• Is Progeny a 'better' collection of Yes live than Yessongs?
• What did Brian find in the vaults from the Tormato and Drama sessions?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

This we are joined by prog aficionado, writer, publisher, compère and all-round great chap, Stephen Lambe to discuss many aspects of Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman's album, Ravens and Lullabies.

• Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it a prog album?
• What did Stephen Lambe have to do with the album (if anything)?
• Is it any good?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

This week it’s the first part of our next - and presumably last…maybe…what did they do next featuring the 2011-ish departure of keyboardist and true gentleman of prog, Oliver Wakeman. Mark and I discuss how and why Oliver left the band and what he did next in collaboration with another giant of the music world. We set you a task to listen to that project before next week’s episode, just like we will be doing and if you already know what we are talking about, please do leave your comments on the show notes for this week and we will try and include as many as possible in the episode next time.

• What were the circumstances around Oliver Wakeman's exit from the band?
• Was it a smooth process?
• What did he do next?

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

It was great to speak to Gerald Bassols from Spain this week all about his amazing book, The Musical Instruments of Progressive Rock which very much does what it says on the tin. Stay tuned for that conversation.

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

What should we expect from Yes in the coming year? Simon Barrow has some ideas as does Mark. We had a great conversation about the possibilities and our own, personal desires, partly based on the Facebook post by Daniel Krohn on the YMP Facebook page.

As always, it was a delight to welcome the erudite and knowledgeable Simon back onto the show. Do watch out for at least two books from him - an updated version of Solid Mental Grace - Listening to the Music of Yes and YES in the 90s.

In case you missed it, Simon has asked YMP listeners to contact the show if they have any photos from any Yes 90s events - so please take a look in your personal archives and let's see how we can help.

• What do you want from Yes in 2022?
• Will we see some archival releases?
• Surely no new music...?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

As we begin the 11th calendar year of the show, it’s time to take a look back at 2021. Mark and I have chosen a few clips each which remind us of the range and depth of Yes topics we have covered in the past 12 months. We hope you enjoy the selection - do let us know if your favourite is or isn’t included.

 

• Who did we interview in 2021?
• What did we learn'?
• What were the most memorable episodes?

 

 

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

'IT'S CHRISTMAS' as yer man sings in that song (which doesn't feature in our festive collection). Mark and I select a few prog or prog-related Christmas songs to rank in another totally pointless but fun seasonal activity.

• Is your favourite in our selection?
• What is 'proggy'?
• What is Christmassy?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Mark and I met someone who can fill in a few more gaps in the Yes story this week. We managed to track down and speak to Peter Woolliscroft who was only a short time into his studio engineering career at Advision studio in London when Yes turned up to record Tormato. He shares his recollections of the sessions which are rich and extensive and it was a pleasure to welcome him to the show. Listen out for revelations about Tormato and a little bit about Peter’s extensive list of work with some of the biggest names in rock and pop.

• How were things set up at Advision for Yes?
• Would it have been better to employ a producer?
• Who walked into reception accompanied by an avian pal?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

This week Mark and I spoke to Chris Kimball about a 70s oddity in the Yes instrumental arsenal - Alan White's North drums. After restoring, playing and recording with these strange objects, Chris is ideally placed to explain why they look so weird and why drummers like Alan White were interested in using them.

It's another engrossing story from a very knowledgeable musician and it's packed with detail so I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

• Why are North drums shaped like that?
• What were they made of?
• Why did they disappear?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

This week Mark and I have had a great time re-watching 3 videos from the Going For The One era. As you may know, there is an extensive behind-the-scenes film of what went on at Mountain Studios in Montreux in 1976 and I was wondering if the feel of that process was evident in the following tour. So Mark suggested the film of Glasgow on that tour and I added the mash-up of the title song which takes film footage from several different concerts and matches it to a good quality soundtrack.

All 3 videos are embedded into the show notes for this week. You might want to watch them before listening to us discuss our reactions.

• What was the mood like when Yes were recording Going For The One in Switzerland?
• Did the melodica trio end up on the album or not?
• Why did Rick Wakeman take his shoes and socks off in Glasgow and what did he do next?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

As always, it was a sheer delight to welcome Stephen Lambe and David Watkinson back onto the show this week to talk about their latest collaboration, YES in the 1980s.

It's a great book which goes into detail about the often tortuous journey of the band in the decade of excess. Solo albums and other groups closely associated with Yes are included in a volume which boasts 2 sets of full-colour photos as well as countless other illustrations, a lot of which are presented in printed format for the first time.

A must for all serious Yes fans (particularly the five per cent), the book is available now from Burning Shed at the link in this week’s show notes. We asked the dynamic duo all sorts of questions including:

• Why write a book about the decade which could - or should - have killed off progressive rock?
• What hidden stories are uncovered?
• What untaken paths would the authors like to have see Yes take in the 80s?

It was a great pleasure to welcome back to the show former Yes keyboard player and prolific solo artist, Oliver Wakeman.

We asked him about some of his latest releases including Dark Fables, Tales From Gaslight and his soundtrack to Yendor.

It was particularly interesting to hear recollections of working with original Yes guitarist Peter Banks and Oliver also shared some remarkable tales from his Yes days including what happened when he first joined the band in Canada, what Chris Squire said to him and something to do with sellotaping two keyboard pedals together...

• Was Oliver's entry to the band smooth and straight-forward?
• What was Peter Banks like to work with?
• Why does Oliver keep coming back to epic structures and story-telling in his music?

In this second part of our look at what Steve Howe did next, Mark and I listen to his solo album, Spectrum.

It includes contributions from Tony Levin, Dylan Howe, Virgil Howe and Oliver Wakeman and features many fabulous examples of Steve's virtuosity and versatility.

• How does this rank among Steve's solo albums?
• What are the contributions of the 'guests' like?
• Is that 'Hour of Need'?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius

In a break from our very well-received technical episodes, Mark and I return this week to the what did they do next series.

We are still in the so-called YES hiatus period of 2005-ish and we have just two band members yet to consider, the first being Steve Howe. SO we’ve taken a look around the various sources to see what Steve was up to at this point and one of the most useful was, perhaps unsurprisingly, his autobiography, All My Yesterdays.

So, what do you think we chose to talk about this week and listen to next week? You will need to be a bit of a hard-core Steve Howe fan to know the answer, I suppose, but keep listening and see if you are correct then take the opportunity to listen yourself this week and then see how our opinions differ from yours next week. Do let us know, of course.

• What was Steve up to now?
• Who was he working with?
• What Yes connections can we discover?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

I asked our friend Miguel Falcão to tell me a bit about how Chris Squire achieved such a remarkable bass sound for Tormato. Instead of sending me a few bullet points, Miguel was kind enough to record a complete audio description of the technical minutiae of the master's solution. Mark and I listen to this amazing in-depth piece and discuss a few of the points Miguel makes.

Many thanks to Miguel and if you haven't heard his staggeringly accurate Yes bass covers, then you are missing out a great deal. See the links in the show notes at https://yesmusicpodcast.com/ to remedy that immediately.

• How did Chris Squire achieve 'that' sound for Tormato?
• What technology did he employ?
• Was the approach the same on every song on Tormato?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

It was a great pleasure to speak to another dedicated Yes fan this week and one who has had the privilege to be involved with the new album, The Quest. Paul K Joyce provided the orchestrations for a number of the songs on the record and worked closely with Steve Howe as producer.

Paul takes us through the story of how this all came about as well as his Yes story and some of the remarkable and unexpected turns his career has taken. Prepare yourself to hear about Tangerine Dream, Noddy, Bob the Builder, Time by Steve Howe and more in a delightful interview.

 

• What was Paul's million-selling single?
• How did a biology student end up composing orchestral arrangements for The Quest?
• Is Paul a Yes fan?

 

This week we decided to go really deeply into the technical weeds of Yes and look at an instrument which appears on Tormato and not very many other places in the musical universe. We are joined by the remarkable Chris Dale who has devoted many years of his life to collecting and renovating this, rarest of all musical instruments, the Birotron. We discuss what Rick Wakeman had to do with this fascinating story, what the Birotron is and why it was never put into production despite 1000 musicians wanting to buy one.

It’s another deeply hidden part of the Yesstory and one which Mark and I enjoyed finding out about enormously. I hope you also find it an interesting diversion.

The time is finally here for Mark and me to present our in-depth review of the new Yes studio album, The Quest. We are also delighted to be joined by Henry Potts, the man behind the essential Yes online source, http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/ which has been cataloguing the crazy world of Yes and its former members since 1998 - and we thought we were doing well with 10 years!

So listen out for that conversation.

 First of all, Mark and I give our impressions of The Quest, then there's a surprise contributor and finally a round-table with Henry.

Mark and I had a brilliant time this week speaking to Richie Castellano about his Band Geek Yes covers. Multi-instrumentalist Richie is passionate about Yes and a lot of other music and if you haven't seen his Band Geek YouTube channel, then what are you waiting for? It's amazing.

We chat about topics like:

• How does Richie choose songs to cover?
• What is the rehearsal and production process like?
• What have been Richie's favourite Yes covers?

 

So listen out for that conversation.

In a truly epic episode, as is appropriate for the 500th, Mark and I present a competition and have the privilege and pleasure to speak to not one but two Yes keyboard legends - founder member, Tony Kaye and present band member, Geoff Downes.

We talk to Tony about his recently-released and highly remarkable debut solo album, End of Innocence, as well as asking him some of the questions about Yes which have been keeping us up at night for years (well, not really).

Geoff Downes discusses new studio album The Quest which is, of course, a must-hear interview and there are lots of audio messages from Producers, Patrons and friends of the show to enjoy.

Miguel Falcao and David Pannell have very kindly provided brand new jingles and we think the episode is a fitting way to celebrate 10 years of the show.

We hope you enjoy it!

• What was the inspiration for End of Innocence?
• Why has Tony only now created his first solo album?
• What is Steve Howe's production like on The Quest?
• How successful does Geoff Downes think the new record is?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

In the second part of our look at what Rick Wakeman did after leaving Yes for the final time, we welcome Yes author and classical music expert, Simon Barrow onto the show to discuss Rick Wakeman at Lincoln Cathedral.

Hopefully you have had a chance to listen to the album but if not, check out the videos below.

• Why is there a piano piece on this disc?
• How does the album sound?
• Was it all worthwhile?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

This week Mark and I embark on another 'what did they do next' quest. Once again we come to Rick Wakeman and what he did after leaving the band in 2005.

So we discuss the next release from Mr. Wakeman which turns out to be a most unusual release, even for him.

Take a listen below and then join in with our assessment of the package next week.

Also, this week, you can't have failed to notice that Yes have released a second online single from the new album, The Quest. It's called Dare to Know and Marka nd discuss our first reactions to it in a special Two Pence. Let us know if you agree!

• What was Rick Wakeman doing in a cathedral?
• Can he even play the pipe organ?
• What is the new Yes song like?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

This week I was able to speak to Scott Schorr about how he created the LEVIN TORN WHITE album. You may not know Scott's name but you're bound to have heard some music he has been involved with.

Founder of record label and music publishing company, Lazy Bones Recordings, Scott describes himself as 'a successful Music Producer, Arranger, Songwriter, Beat Maker, Mixing Supervisor and Video Editor'.

He has produced recordings for some people you might have heard of such as Jordan Rudess, Marco Minnemann and Mike Keneally as well as numerous albums by Tony Levin. If you haven't heard the LEVIN TORN WHITE album, then it's time to remedy that situation.

• How did this meeting of 3 iconic prog artists happen?
• What do the track names mean?
• What was it like working with these 3 characters?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Preston Frazier, and Wayne Hall

This week Mark speaks to one of the unsung heroes of Yes’ recent releases (going back to the Like It Is live series), Maor Appelbaum. If, like me, you haven’t a clue what a Timbre Farm is or what difference a Saturator/Clipper makes to the sound of a record, then you’re in for a treat.

It’s a fascinating and in-depth conversation, so many thanks to Mark and Maor for making this happen.

 

• What IS mastering?
• Which Yes records has Maor worked on?
• How do you make a recording sound as good as possible?

 

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

This week Mark and I finish off our investigation of some of the interesting songs from the Yes official Spotify playlist, Yes not Yes.

We listen to 6 of the songs we didn’t know and we hear from listeners who left comments filling in details on some of the others. It was great fun and I think we both learned a lot.

• What did we learn from listeners and other sources?
• Are all the contributions worthwhile?
• How long would the Yes family tree of contributions be?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

This week has been a little quieter in the land of social media and conspiracy theories - at least for Yes. So Mark and I decided to go through a Spotify playlist created by Yes official which is called Yes Not Yes. It includes lots of music which Yes members and alumni have been involved with over the years and it’s a very interesting collection. Take a listen to what Mark and I have to say about the selection and then add a comment to the show notes for this episode to tell us what you know about the music that we clearly don’t!

• Which Yes members are included?
• Do you know who plays on every song?
• Are there any musicians missing?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

I'm officially on leave but Mark and I had to comment on the storm around Ice Bridge Gate this week.

If you haven't been on social media for some time you may have missed what happened so we aim to bring you up-to-speed on all the tortuous twists in this tale.

• Who wrote The Ice Bridge?
• Where did it come from?
• Why is a very similar tune on a 1980 film and Sale of the Century?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Well, here we are. Friday 23rd July 2021 and we have brand new Yes music to enjoy. The Ice Bridge is available for all to listen to on Yes’ YouTube channel and Mark and I share our initial reactions to it. Sneak preview - we love it.

We also speak to the wonderful Claire Hamill in an interview I’m sure you will enjoy as much as we did. There are some amazing and hilarious recollections about Alan White and others to enjoy.

• What was the London music scene like in the early 1970s?
• What was Alan White like?
• How was recording with Yes tribute band, Fragile?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

I had no time to do any news collation this week but I did have time to speak to the redoubtable Geoff Bailie and the equally impressive Mark Anthony K about what could have happened if the ill-fated Paris Sessions of 1979 had ended in a Yes album.

I also invited Geoff to give is thoughts on the forthcoming new Yes album, The Quest.

• What was that music like?
• Was it worth finishing off?
• Would we have had Drama or 90125 or anything else from the band?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

 

This week there was some fairly significant Yes news - The Quest is the new studio album which will be released on 1st October 2021. Mark and I will be talking about this, as you can imagine, in our two pence later in the episode.

Before that, we finish off our examination of The Syn’s 2005 album, Syndestructible which we are taking as what Chris Squire did next in the Yes hiatus period. Stay tuned for our thoughts on that and get involved yourself by adding your comments on the show notes for this week.

• What did Chris Squire do in the hiatus?
• Why was it a return to former times for him?
• What was the result and was it worth it?

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

This week I am officially on holiday from the day job but that didn't stop Mark and me discussing the next person in our What Did They Do Next series - it's Chris Squire. He never really left Yes but during the hiatus period he did get up to some interesting things...

• What did Chris Squire do in the hiatus?
• Why was it a return to former times for him?
• What was the result and was it worth it?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

This week Mark and I are delving deeply into a 5% for something topic so if you consider yourself a casual fan of the world’s greatest progressive rock band you can either stick around and learn or save yourself a chunk of time by leaving now. I recommend you stay and become inducted into the mindset of the YMP enthusiasts. It’s fun, or at least I’ve found it so for 10 years now.

So assuming you are still with me, we will be diving into a comparison of two Yes albums, The Ladder and Fly From Here, based on our own, entirely arbitrary measures. Do let me know if you agree or disagree with our findings by commenting on the show notes for this week’s episode or maybe opening your window and shouting for the world to hear - whichever you’d prefer.

• Which album is 'better'?
• What is the artwork like?
• What is the music and production like?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

This week, Mark and I watched the concept DVD Tour of the Universe from Jon Anderson which was the first major release from him after leaving Yes at the start of the band’s hiatus period in the mid 2000s. We have a chance to feed back on what we found out a little later and then we come together to discuss it all.

There’s also a rather important 2 pence where we discover quite a bit about the new Yes album. Stay tuned for all that.

• What did Jon Anderson do next?
• What is a concept DVD?
• Who produces the new Yes album?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

In a special, extra episode, I have the pleasure of talking to the man who helped Yes to transform their sound and approach in 1970, Steve Howe.

He told us about his time in Asia and how the band got back together in 2007 with its original line-up which is featured on the latest release, Asia, The Reunion Albums, 2007-2012.

We also had a chance to hear about the slightly different approach on Steve's latest Homebrew collection, which is to be released in July 2021.

As always, it was a delight to speak to Steve, one of my all-time musical heroes.

Let me know what you think of the interview.

Once again this week, Mark and I are looking at what did they do next. We have reached the Yes hiatus period from 2004 and we are using the opportunity unashamedly to examine what each of the 5 members of the band did in this interregnum. First, we will look at one of the Yes men who did really leave at this point, in fact, never to return, Jon Anderson. What did he get up to once he had recovered from total exhaustion at the end of the 35th Anniversary Tour? Listen on to find out.

It's the second part of our look at what Igor did next. In fact, we have bent the rules again in order to listen to the excellent ELP tribute album, Encores, Legends & Paradox from 1999.

• What are these versions of ELP songs like?
• Which Yes men are included?
• How does Igor come over?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

This week, Mark and I return to the surprisingly long series on what did Yes members do when they left the band. It’s Igor Khoroshev’s turn this time and, as you’ll hear it’s more than usually difficult to decide what he went onto next but we do have a go at it.

This week Mark and I had a highly enjoyable conversation with Dave Kerzner about his position with Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison, Jay Schellen and Jimmy Haun in Arc of Life. We talk about what he would like the band to grow into and delve a little into his keyboard work with Geoff Downes and Tony Banks. It was a real pleasure to welcome Dave back onto the show.

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston Frazier

After the sad news we shared last week about Phil Naro, Mark and I have decided to listen to parts of Yessongs this week and compare the performances with later live offerings. It’s what we’ve done before in our Yes Tracks Through Time series.

Most Yes fans agree that Yessongs captures the band at its best and it often comes top in the best live albums lists and polls but what about other versions of these classic songs?

• Is Yessongs really the only live record worth listening to?
• What radically different performances exist?
• Are they just as enjoyable?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Mark shares the news of the loss of a member of our global Yes fan community, Phil Naro, and we re-play an interview Mark did with him back in 2016. Rest In Peace.

We also finish off our look at Conspiracy, the album by the band of the same name which features Billy Sherwood, Chris Squire and a number of very famous guests.

This week, Marka and I had the opportunity to think about the next person to leave the band - Billy Sherwood. What did he do next after the end of The Ladder tour? We’ll let you know a little later.

At the end of this episode, I’m going to play a very interesting piece of audio from Daniel and Amanda Krohn. It’s about From A Page, the Oliver Wakeman led Yes mini-album. We will return to this topic soon.

It’s been a week for thinking deeply...or maybe not. Anyway, Mark and I have been listening to the oft maligned sides 2 and 3 of Tales from Topographic Oceans which have not been played as often as sides 1 and 4. 'Why not?' I hear you cry. Or maybe I don’t. In any case, that’s what we will be banging on about in this episode.

In part 2 of our occasional 'What did they do next' series, we listen to Return To The Centre Of The Earth. We also welcome Nic Caciappo onto the show to explain his personal connection to the Rick Wakeman album.

It's a great conversation and a lovely treat to meet Nic, at least virtually.

• What is this album like?
• How was Nic involved?
• Was it a worthwhile idea?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

This week we return to our occasional What did they do next series and it’s Rick Wakeman’s turn again. After some fairly typical personal and legal upset, the band and Rick parted ways and there was to be no repeat of the Keys to Ascension positivity.

This left Wakeman free to indulge other passions and so he ramped up one of his long-held ambitions - to return to the centre of the earth. Mark and I discuss this project a little later on and then next week we will report back on the music itself.

In a change to our plans (which were not to release an episode at all over the Easter weekend), the host of the Underrated / Overhated podcast, Jacob, has given us permission to play his episode which features none other than me and Mark.

Many thanks to Jacob for a really fun conversation. We hope you enjoy it and check out the rest of Jacob's podcast as a result.

Unusually for recent weeks, it’s just Mark and me this week having some fun considering the relative merits of TAAW and Magnification. Quite a distance apart in time but linked by some pretty obvious themes as we shall see later. Do give us your opinions on these albums via your comments in the show notes for this week’s episode on yesmusicpodcast.com

Jacob, a musician and podcaster from Bristol, UK joined Mark and me this week to talk about Yes lyrics.

• What typifies Yes lyrics?
• What are our favourites?
• Which lyrics make us cringe?

Joining us on the show this week it's that man again, Geoff Bailie. The redoubtable gentleman of prog helps us to discuss some written and audio contributions from Jeremy North, John Parry, John Thomson, Simon Barrow and Stephen Lambe. Do you agree with any of us? Let us know!

After a suggestion by Dave Watkinson and a twitter chat between him and Henry Potts, Mark and I have been listening to the compilation album Keystudio and thinning about what could have happened if it had been released in place of Keys to Ascension and Keys to Ascension 2. Please take a listen to our thoughts and then get involved yourself by sending in your thoughts via any of the ways on yesmusicpodcast.com.

It’s been quite a week. Mark and I managed to scoop an amazing world exclusive thanks to Bob Cesca and Tim Panella. They joined us to talk about the period in which they both worked with Yes on remixes, artwork, videography and more. We discovered not only untold stories but also Yes music which has never been heard in public before, 20 years after it was recorded by Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Alan White and Steve Howe.

 

Listen out for the full, fascinating conversation as well as some undiscovered Yes music.

This week, Mark and I have been listening to and watching some recordings of the Union Tour in 1991. It’s a special one for Mark as it was his very first experience of Yes live - what a way to start. Listen out for our thoughts on that a little later in the episode when we compare notes on a couple of live versions of songs from the Union album and a couple of older songs.

This week, Mark and I complete our look at what Tony Kaye did after leaving Yes in 1995. We listen to Run Like Hell from the album, catchily entitled, 'Pigs And Pyramids - An All Star Lineup Performing The Songs Of Pink Floyd..

We also have time to consider the other Yes-related song on this album, 'Comfortably Numb' which features Chris Squire, Billy Sherwood and Alan White.

Finally, we muse on what other line-ups of a Yes Power Trio might look like.

This week, Mark and I return to the perennial favourite series, What Did they Do next. When Trevor Rabin left Yes to pursue film scoring after the Talk tour, Tony Kaye also said goodbye not only to the band but also to the music industry, as we will hear a little later. What did he do next and when did he return to music? Stay tuned to find out.

This week, Mark and I had the pleasure of speaking to Billy Sherwood about Arc Of Life, the band and the album.

We also asked him about the widely rumoured new Yes studio album and he was, unsurprisingly, less forthcoming about that. It did lead to some light-hearted moments which we think you will enjoy though.

• Where did Arc Of Life spring from?
• Who plays what?
• What are the plans for the future of the band?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

It was a delight to welcome Yes and DBA keyboardist Geoff Downes back onto the show this week. Mark and I speak to him about his excellent new DBA album, Halcyon Hymns as well as a couple of aspects of what’s coming up for Yes in 2021, specifically the rumours around the new album and the possibilities of touring. So listen out for that conversation.