MIRROR TO THE SKY

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There’s a British analogy about buses that is: you wait for ages and then 2 come at once. Well that’s sort of how it feels getting a copy of a new Yes album to review – wait… when did the last one come out? Less than 2 year ago! So we get as many Yes albums in two years as we did in 20! may have taken him quite some time, but he is now singing with some authority and sounds as if he now belongs just two of the ones since then being truly indispensable, namely 'Drama' (I know this was Yeggles but I love it) and

Unassuming it may be but I think this second disc is a pretty interesting Yes, how much this is near to classic sound of Yes is questionable more of the old getting a makeover with plenty of fresh ideas. This is a very important album for the band," says Steve Howe, YES's longest-serving member, master guitarist, and producer of "Mirror To The Sky". "We kept the continuity in the approach we established on [2021's] 'The Quest', but we haven't repeated ourselves. That was the main thing. As YES did in the '70s from one album to another, we're growing and moving forward. In later years, YES often got going but then didn't do the next thing. This album is demonstrative of us growing and building again." For YES, that "next thing" is a collection of high-energy, intricate, lush and layered new studio songs for an album which adds to the band's much-heralded legacy, while charting a path to exciting future times ahead. When we delivered everything, and they were just getting the vinyl and everything into production for manufacturing, we were still very much in that creative zone,” explains Steve Howe. “That belief that Thomas had in us really meant a lot,” he says. Steve Howe: Fender steel, Fender Stratocaster, Martin MC38SH, Gibson ES175D, Les Paul Junior, vocal duet In October 2021, the Yes line-up of guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes, lead vocalist Jon Davison, and bassist Billy Sherwood, with Jay Schellen guesting on percussion, released The Quest. In the same month Downes revealed that the group had already discussed ideas for a follow-up album, to which Sherwood confirmed in May 2022 that work on it was underway. [4] [5] Later in May 2022, Yes announced that White would sit out of the upcoming 2022 world tour to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Close to the Edge (1972), due to illness. White died three days later and Schellen, who had been handling most of the band's live work since 2016, took over on the drums. In February 2023, Yes announced that Schellen had become a full-time member. [6] [7]

Credits

Photography By [Paul K. Joyce And FAME'S Orchestra Recording Sessions Photographed By] – Paul K. Joyce Steve Howe: electric and acoustic guitars (Fender steel, Telecaster & Stratocaster, Steinberger 6 string, Martin MC38SH)

Yes started work on the album shortly before the release of The Quest, their previous album, in October 2021. Like its predecessor, guitarist Steve Howe resumed his role as producer on Mirror to the Sky and the FAMES Orchestra in North Macedonia provide orchestral arrangements by Paul K. Joyce on some songs.

they would not be able to reach even that so when they surpassed it I must admit to being quite surprised. Bringing If I had some critique, the two points I’d make are: (1) I would love to hear more Sherwood vocals on the album – Billy’s a great singer and a strong counterpoint to Jon D. Maybe they’re saving that for Arc of Life but I’d welcome it into YesWorld; and (2) I still yearn for a bit more Geoff Downes on this album. Various moments contain great contributions, in solo or featured parts, but that content is greatly outnumbered by the amount of similar solo contributions on guitar. We truly get along as people," says Jon Davison. "I feel like everyone's focused inward to the greater circle, concentric to the core of highest standards that define YES. It's a wonderful thing to witness and of which to play a part. I believe this reflects vibrantly in the music and the creative input that each one is willing to apply, not for the benefit of the individual, but for the greater whole that is YES." Ewing, Jerry (14 February 2023). "Drummer Jay Schellen joins Yes on a permanent basis". Prog. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023 . Retrieved 14 February 2023.

As they were wrapping up The Quest, YES found themselves with song sketches, structures, and ideas that were demanding attention. YES received unconditional support from InsideOut boss Thomas Waber, who encouraged them to keep going in the studio, months before The Quest would even go on sale. It was like throwing gasoline on their creative fire. Longevity in the music business is a rare thing, especially in the current age of immediate self-gratification. Having been in existence for over fifty years, Yes has seen it all. The fact that they’re committed to making new music in 2023 is certainly commendable, but they have a certain legacy and expectations to live up to. Arguably an impossible task. This should be enough to put anyone off. If you are brave enough to look beyond that, then anything more than 15 minutes of this aesthetically empty, overproduced, glossy digital 90s sounding crap should be enough to make you suggest to Steve that he changes the group's name and stops tarnishing the Yes legacy. Sherwood into the band to replace Squire was always going to be the way to go given his style, and he has certainly

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An early title to "Magic Potion" was "It's a Good Day to Be Had by All", but Howe changed it as it sounded too similar to "It Will Be a Good Day" from The Ladder (1999). [9] Release [ edit ]

I am sure I am not the only one who groaned when I realised there was a new Yes album being released. There is no Consequently, I am not sure what I expected from the latest release, but the bar was set incredibly low, and I was sure The 9-minute "All Connected" was co-written by Davison, Howe, and Sherwood. Davison credited ideas from Howe that were used for the introduction and ending, and for Sherwood's vocal and lyrical contributions. The pair approached the song's lyrical themes in different ways; Davison said Sherwood took on a more "technological and physical" aspect, whereby he looked at it from a metaphysical view. [13] album of all times), with 1977's 'Going For The One' the last truly stunning album from the band (in my opinion), with My Side 2 Trio ends with a wonderful acoustic Davison compilation – Circles of Time. Focused around acoustic guitar and his voice, it’s a moment that for me cements Jon D’s right to a place in this band. Not only can he do justice to the band’s legacy and history, but he has a vital musical contribution to make to its future, and this song is a great example of that.better than 'Heaven & Earth' (not hard), and now we have another line-up of the band with the death of Alan White.