The first time Yes worked with producer Roy Thomas Baker was on the ill-fated 1979 "Paris Sessions," a group of recordings that was aborted when Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman temporarily left the band. Different versions of some of the songs ended up on Drama, produced by Trevor Horn, while others appeared on various members' solo records. Heaven & Earth is Yes' first new recording since 2010's surprisingly good Fly from Here, which was helmed by Horn. Singer Benoit David has been replaced by Glass Hammer frontman Jon ...
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The first time Yes worked with producer Roy Thomas Baker was on the ill-fated 1979 "Paris Sessions," a group of recordings that was aborted when Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman temporarily left the band. Different versions of some of the songs ended up on Drama, produced by Trevor Horn, while others appeared on various members' solo records. Heaven & Earth is Yes' first new recording since 2010's surprisingly good Fly from Here, which was helmed by Horn. Singer Benoit David has been replaced by Glass Hammer frontman Jon Davison here. At least initially, the latter's voice is nearly a dead ringer for Anderson's. This set is as far from prog rock as Yes has ever traveled; it's even further afield than the experiments with pop on Talk or The Ladder. With Baker at the helm, what transpires is an attempt at adult-oriented pop. There are places where the band comes across as something resembling its former self: the musical architecture in the first bridge in "Step Beyond," the brief, crescendo-building middle section of "Light of the Ages," and on the longest and final track, "Subway Walls." On the latter, after a sleepy two-minute intro, Chris Squire's bass gains authority and drives Alan White's syncopated beats and an enjoyable interplay between guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist/organist Geoff Downes, culminating in fine solos from both. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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