![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/yes_talk.jpg\")
Being a Yes follower has always been a mix of fulfillment and frustration. The group\u2019s lineup has famously mutated over the years; today the group features no original members. There was that period during which there were effectively two Yesses. In fact there were two<\/i> such periods! And how one feels about the lineups from those various eras has an outsize effect on how the music is received.<\/p>\n
Talk<\/i> dates from a curious time in Yes\u2019 history, and that itself is saying something. In retrospect, the period represents the tail-end of the Trevor Rabin era, one that commenced with 90125<\/i> and \u201cOwner of a Lonely Heart.\u201d By this point in the story, Yes\u2019 progressive character was at its subtlest point; the MTV-era big production values and a pop sensibility dominated.<\/p>\n
The group featured three original members: vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire and keyboardist Tony Kaye. The last-named member had left around the time of The Yes Album<\/i>, returning for 90125<\/i>, at which point Rabin had joined as well. Drummer Alan White had been on board since the Close to the Edge<\/i> tour. In other words, a configuration fairly close to classic.<\/p>\n
The music, however, was far more straightforward and streamlined than it had been in the \u201870s era. Flashes of the old Yes are evident throughout: the song lengths suggest prog-leaning tunes. But while the melodies are strong, there\u2019s little in the way of instrumental fireworks. Talk<\/i> never really dazzles. Yet it\u2019s certainly far superior to \u2013 for example \u2013 anything post-Fly From Here<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The intricately layered vocal harmonies of Anderson (and Squire) are a major characteristic of the songs on Talk<\/i>, and that\u2019s all to the good. The \u201cbig\u201d drums pin the music inescapably in its era, and the squealing, high-pitched guitar leads are inescapably \u201880s-\u201990s-sounding. Neither \u201cThe Calling\u201d nor \u201cI Am Waiting\u201d are bad in any way, but neither do those songs linger in the memory.<\/p>\n
The weirdly throbbing \u201cReal Love\u201d (most definitely not<\/i> the John Lennon song) is an oddity. It\u2019s perhaps the least Yes-sounding track on the album, and in this case at least, that\u2019s not a good thing. The tune\u2019s stiff, electronic character is reminiscent of Big Generator<\/i>, but without an enduring melody upon which to anchor it. \u201cState of Play\u201d ventures even farther from classic territory; in places, it sounds like Robert Palmer meets \u201cOwner of a Lonely Heart.\u201d Anderson\u2019s vocal arrangement is the only thing that rescues the song from its too-trendy-by-half feel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalls\u201d is a catchy rocker. Lovers of Fragile<\/em>-era Yes will find themselves nonplussed by the track: it\u2019s catchy enough, but it sounds far closer to songs on The Cowsills\u2019 Global<\/i>, a record released just a few years later. Alas, nary a whiff of \u201cprogness\u201d is to be found within its grooves. A bit better is the understated \u201cWhere Will You Be,\u201d though it too seems out of place, better heard on a Peter Gabriel soundtrack project or a Police b-side.<\/p>\n As has so often been the case on Yes albums, the finest moments on Talk<\/i> are found within a lengthy, multi-part suite. In this case, the album\u2019s closer is \u201cEndless Dream,\u201d a nearly sixteen-minute prog epic. The tune clatters along in a manner inconceivable from a Steve Howe lineup, but Rabin\u2019s sharper, more electronic-leaning sensibility works well in context here. The piece offers plenty of tempo and volume shifts, and bits of expert (if subtle) musicianship, making \u201cEndless Dream\u201d the high point of the album. Unfortunately, that peak isn’t very high at all.<\/p>\n Soaring guitars and ethereal pads flutter in and out of the mix. Around five minutes in, the song takes a weird turn, with treated guitar parts and a stadium-sized aesthetic. The dated production choices emphasize big drum sounds and a woeful under-utilization of Squire\u2019s thundering bass work. There\u2019s nothing exactly wrong with \u201cEndless Dream,\u201d but neither does it rank among the most memorable output from Yes.<\/p>\n And that, ultimately, is the verdict on Talk<\/i>. Not at all terrible, it\u2019s worthwhile for Yes adherents. But there\u2019s nothing about the album that approaches the quality of the group\u2019s other releases.<\/p>\n Perhaps agreeing that the then-current trajectory of the group had reached its end, both Rabin and Kaye departed shortly after Talk<\/em>\u2019s release. In their place (via the revolving door that is Yes) came Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. That change fundamentally altered the character of Yes, and led in short order to the much-improved Keys to Ascension<\/i>.<\/p>\n Note: the 2024 CD reissue of Talk<\/i> from Cherry Red adds no bonus tracks, though it does boast a knowing essay from Prog<\/i> editor Jerry Ewing, one that places the album into larger context and (quite commendably) doesn\u2019t try to oversell it to modern-day listeners.<\/p>\n LOTS AND LOTS more Yes-related features and reviews RIGHT HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n UPDATE DEC. ’24:<\/strong> The above review focuses on the 2024 single-CD reissue of Talk<\/em>. There’s another 2024 release that spans four discs, and includes alternate versions and a live concert recording. I’ve just acquired that, and it’s reviewed HERE<\/a>. — bk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Being a Yes follower has always been a mix of fulfillment and frustration. The group\u2019s lineup has famously mutated over the years; today the group features no original members. There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,56,64,65],"tags":[2413],"class_list":["post-27997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","category-prog","category-reissue","category-review","tag-yes","cat-51-id","cat-56-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27997"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29898,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27997\/revisions\/29898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}