Yes - Mirror To The Sky

 Throughout general history, some fans of certain bands have stated that "(insert band)'s not the same without (insert a certain band member)". For instance, personally, I prefer the Electric Light Orchestra when Roy Wood was a member during the first couple of years - not to say that I didn't enjoy any of their later material at all. My reasons relate to the artistry. However, I always felt that Roxy Music remained as awesome as when Brian Eno performed with them. In fact, I can say the same thing about Yes and the material they performed with and without Rick Wakeman.

As some readers of my previous blogs may know, Rick Wakeman is one of my personal favourite musicians of all time. My Dad had purchased a few of his albums; The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table, No Earthly Connection and White Rock. Each one of them has blown me away ever since, thanks to Rick's amazingly atmospheric compositions and swirling keyboard melodies. I especially love the work he did on The Myths & Legends... particularly because of how the music contrasts with the feeling of the medieval battles which Rick supposedly visualised and how carousel-like Merlin The Magician sounds, especially considering that it would describe said character's genius.

For sometime, I knew that Rick had performed with Yes. As a teenager, I was familiar with some of Yes' songs, especially Owner Of A Lonely Heart - which Rick himself didn't perform on. I think the reason why I hadn't heard many of their songs depended on what was played on BBC Radio 2 (which was our most frequently played radio station) and other radio stations and their playlists usually tend to rely more on the commercial side rather than the artistic/experimental side. I knew that I had to familiarise myself more with Yes.

It's now about a year since I purchased a few of their albums; Fragile, Close To The Edge, Tormato and 90125, and I can already confirm Yes as one of my favourite bands. I'd even place them somewhere in my personal Top 50 list of bands, but that's another story. If I had to pick a favourite song of theirs, I'd say Arriving UFO from Tormato. I know that Rick wasn't too keen on the album, but I think he wrote some well-composed space-like keyboard-riffs and Arriving UFO was no exception - the middle part has always gotten me in the groove and put a smile to my face. 

So as you might have guess, I was very excited to hear that Yes released a new album, Mirror To The Sky.

Once I heard that Mirror To The Sky had come out, I knew that I had to purchase a CD copy of this awesome gem. Yes, that's what I would call it. Even after so many decades, Yes has stayed true to the arts and proved that the band's still going strong - of course, guitarist Steve Howe's the only member who's still stayed with the band since the 70s and I believe that drummer Alan White who has alas now been dead for a year would have been proud. Even Rick, despite not performing, has expressed his support through Twitter.

Mirror To The Sky shows that the progressive rock genre still lives on and has such great artistic value. Not only does the album provide a nostalgic sense to fans of Yes, but to me, the music has so far provided me with a sense of travelling through space and I don't just mean so by viewing the album cover which shows a solid analogous colour scheme. Considering the times I spent at work, I've often needed a solid sense of escapism and this has been successfully accomplished through this album. I especially offer my thanks to Geoff Downes' organ solos.

There's not a lot else to say for now, but I'd really recommend purchasing Yes' Mirror To The Sky. If you're stressed and life's getting you down, maybe this album could transfer you through a fantastic adventure.