Talk

After Yes returned to the 90125 lineup of Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire, Tony Kaye, and Alan White, they recorded Talk, the first new Yes album since the debacle of Union. Theres a new label (yet again) and a new logo (a colorfully blobby thing by Peter Max). The nice thing is that theres a new attitude powering the band, and a few surprises hidden away in the songs. This is definitely Yes, and a Yes with a history, but theres no sense of either trying to overcome the past or re-create it. Everythings nicely blended in, in fact, giving the album a great deal of muscle. There are moments on this album strongly reminiscent of Yes music all the way back to the first album -- particularly I Am Waiting. That Tony Kaye sticks entirely to Hammond organ helps immensely with that impression, and that Jon Anderson is singing better than he had in years also fits into that. This album is fun and extremely well done, it does a good job of balancing the urge for a bit of bum-shaking with instrumental pyrotechnics, and it sounds as though everyone had a good time making it. It also has some really nifty songs that stick in the mind, from the opening The Calling to the closing 16-minute Endless Dream. ~ Steven McDonald