Boxed Set Review: Yes – Talk

Back in August, I reviewed a CD reissue of Yes’ Talk, the band’s 14^th studio album, released in 1994. Since that time, I have received another configuration of that reissue, one that merits another look and listen. Spirit of Unicorn Music – an imprint of UK-based Cherry Red Records – has released a boxed set of the album; this 4CD set includes the original release plus discs filled with alternate versions of the studio tracks and a complete concert recording from the tour in support of the record.

Setting aside for the moment whether one of Yes’ (arguably) weakest studio entries deserves the kind of lavish treatment afforded by a box, let’s dig into the set and see what’s worthwhile.

For my review of the album itself – in other words, Disc One of this set – I invite you to go here.

Subtitled Talk Versions, Disc Two includes no less than three alternate versions of “The Calling,” Talk’s opening track and single. The first cut is noted as a “special version,” and it’s my understanding that this recording running just over eight minutes is what guests at the album’s premiere/listening party would have heard. It features a quiet interlude mid-song. A single edit is just what’s described on the tin (as they say): the same song with some two minutes trimmed. A third version (radio edit) splits the difference, trimming only one minute from the album version. True, “The Calling” was in fact a high-charting hit single (Billboard Rock #3) but I have no recollection of hearing it on the radio – nor anywhere else – in 1994. In any event, experiencing 19-plus minutes of “The Calling” might be a lot for most listeners.

An untitled Trevor Rabin instrumental (inventively titled “Untitled”) is clattering, unfocused and very much of-its-time. Rabin’s undoubted skill and artistry are on vivid display, but the song itself borders on the unlistenable. (Come to think of it it, “Unlistenable” might have been a more apt title.) At nine-minutes plus, a demo of “Endless Dream” is interesting, but the brittle, programmed drums and thin audio quality make it a tough listen as well. Even with that long run time allowing all manner of opportunities to develop a memorable melody, it’s almost wholly lacking in that regard. Moreover, Jon Anderson’s vocal on the track is simply dire.

An instrumental mix of the Rabin/Anderson composition “Where Will You Be” is nice enough, but neither does it linger in the mind once it’s through. An no-vocals edit of “Walls,” however, rocks with commitment and intensity. An exemplar of the Rabin-era Yes sound, it’s easily the best moment on this second disc. The standard mix of “Walls” was actually released as a (promo) single, charting at #24.

Talk Versions concludes with a two-minute instrumental edit of “Endless Dream.” The edit brings together the most lively part of the track; some (oh, but not me!) might suggest that it’s superior to the nearly eight-times-longer album version.

The entirety of a Canandaigua, New York concert (June 19, 1994) is featured on the third and fourth discs of the boxed set. I’ve read some reports calling into question the sonic quality of the live recording, but I find it quite listenable. As a reminder for long-suffering Yes fans, the band at this point featured Anderson on vocals, Rabin on guitar, bassist Chris Squire, keyboardist Tony Kaye and Alan White on drums.

They’re in fine form here, though the decision to front-load the set list with new tunes is a bit perplexing. The first six songs – nearly all of the first of those two concert discs – are all drawn from Rabin-era releases like Big Generator and (of course) Talk. The massed vocal harmonies toward the end of “I Am Waiting” are impressive, though, and when Squire’s throaty bass finally cuts into the mix, it’s a quite welcome – and sorely needed – burst of energy.

A reading of the complex and compelling “Changes” is a highlight of the set. Muscular, knotty and thrilling, it’s a tour de force, and may well justify the entire box. And Yes keeps things going from there with solid takes on classics “Heart of the Sunrise” and “Roundabout.” Trevor Rabin’s style is quite different from that of Steve Howe, but he does what he can to deliver the songs in a manner that’s equal parts true-to-history and a showcase for his own gifts.

The fourth disc (and second half of the concert) features some relative rarities: the instrumental “Cinema” – originally from 90125 – and the little-heard “Make it Easy” are both heard in appealing versions. In between is “City of Love,” a reading of the 90125 album cut that’s filled here with dated sonic flourishes: orchestra hits, pig-squeal arena-rock guitar licks, brittle drum triggers, too-earnest-by-half lead vocals. To call it gruesome is to bestow kindness it barely deserves; stick with the studio version if you must hear it at all.

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” doesn’t fare much better. The reading is fairly faithful to the original, but it feels forced and stiff. A minute and a half piano solo (from Rabin, not Kaye!) leads into a nice-enough take on “And You and I,” but Yes purists aren’t likely to count this arrangement among their favorite of the countless released versions of the classic epic tune.

The arrangement of “I’ve Seen All Good People” is also significantly changed from the studio recording on The Yes Album. In contrast to the 1994 arrangements of other Yes classics, it’s effective and enjoyable. Unsurprisingly, “Walls” comes off well live here. The set ends not with a Yes catalog chestnut but with eighteen minutes of “Endless Dream.” For Yes adherents who somehow didn’t find Tales of Topographic Oceans dull and ponderous, it may hold interest. Others may glance repeatedly at their wristwatch.

In summary, the boxed set reissue of Talk has scattered gems, and is recommended primarily to Yes completists. Most listeners will be better served by the single-disc, or (dare I say) by most any other release in the Yes catalog.