‘Heaven & Earth’, the twenty first studio album from Yes, seemed to spend most of its natural life lurking under a cloud of negativity. The last recording to feature founding member Chris Squire and the first to feature vocalist Jon Davison, it was criticised for “not being proggy enough”, “sounding like a lightweight Yes tribute band” and worse. None of the criticism was especially warranted. ‘Heaven & Earth’ featured some lovely sounds; tunes that featured lots of Yes hallmarks blending with a few poppy flourishes to create an almost spiritual and reflective piece.
Tag Archives: prog
Vincent Carr returns with upbeat new track
Back in November 2019, Vincent Carr’s SUMIC released ‘New Paeans’, a complex album blending folk, prog, a touch of world music and a love of Mike Oldfield’s grandness. It was one of the year’s best DIY releases. It was certainly one that 90% of the internet’s prog community would have missed, being busy as they were, whining about the current line up of Yes.
Twelfth Night announce a pair of reissues for 2021
Twelfth Night, one of the most beloved bands from the British prog revival movement of the 80s, have announced a pair of reissues, due for release shortly.
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Taking Some Time On: Underground Sounds Of 1970
As a contrast to the ‘Progressive Pop Sounds’ sets from Cherry Red Records subsidiary label, Grapefruit, the ongoing ‘Underground Sounds’ series from Esoteric opts for something far more rock oriented. Early collections covering 1968 and ’69 resulted in fine, but unadventurous sets of tunes, and as the series moves into the 70s, fans can expect a similarly accessible approach. Although the four disc delve into 1970 doesn’t necessary dig too deep for obscurities, it still plays very well as a compilation in its own right. In a little over four hours, it serves up nostalgia, unfamiliar curiosities and enough genuine classics to give a solid overview of the year’s prog-leaning and guitar heavy sounds.
Jon Anderson shares new video for ‘Heart of The Sunrise’
It’s a great time to be a Yes fan. Various members of the band’s extended family tree are incredibly busy right now. The band have announced the release of a new album, ‘The Quest’ due in October. In addition, Steve Howe will be releasing ‘Homebrew 7’ – another collection of home demos at the end of July and ex-keyboard player Tony Kaye is getting ready to release his first ever solo album.