Yes solo albums - rank your 10 favs

Spinning off the recent Yes top 40 countdown thread, I'm going to do a thread on our favorite Yes solo albums. But I'm gonna do this a bit differently from the top 40 threads - without prioritizing secret ballots and no-spoiler rules. The goal here is not so much playing a game and maximizing suspense. The goal is to share with one another some of our favorite lesser known music.

I am not going to give a comprehensive list of albums we can choose from, as I am not sure I am even familiar with all of them - well over 100 I am certain.

The only ground rules I am creating are as to what acts can be created. It is not about other bands which include former or future Yes members or were produced by Yes members (e.g., Tomorrow, Asia, King Crimson, UK, GTR, Squackett, Badfinger, Art of Noise, ABC, Buggles) and nor is it about spin off bands with a lot of Yes members (Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Anderson Rabin Wakeman). I am going to limit is as follows:

1. Only projects by the dozen people who were members of Yes in the 60s-80s:
Jon Anderson
Chris Squire
Bill Bruford
Tony Kaye
Peter Banks
Steve Howe
Rick Wakeman
Alan White
Patrick Moraz
Trevor Horn
Geoff Downes
Trevor Rabin

2. If the Yes member is not listed as the artist, at least their full first or last name needs to be part of the band name, and there need to be no more than two names listed in the band name. The acts I am aware of that would count (beyond those released under people's names listed above) are as follows - please feel free to let me know of others.
Jon & Vangelis
Jon Anderson & Rick Wakeman
The Anderson/Ponty Band
Bruford
Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
White

3. Only albums recorded after the Yes member joined Yes will be considered, not their earlier works.

4. My preference is for studio albums rather than live albums which generally have a lot of redundantant material - but if an artist only has live albums then feel free to go with those. It will be most relevant to the discussion of it is not a live album that is almost exclusively Yes covers.

As to how we will proceed, I ask that all interested in participating submit their lists in the next 10 days - BY MONDAY MAY 13 - and submit by POSTING LISTS HERE (not by DM to me).

The first pass will be identifying the albums that got only a single vote, and in those cases I will invite the person who listed that album to tell us a bit about what it means to them and why folks might enjoy it. Once we get past those, I will do a count down of the albums that got multiple votes.

That's all I got - hopefully we will get enough participation to make this fun and educational.

 

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Yikes I can't even think of 10...sorry. Fish is the only one I own...that one goes in my coffin. Got me through a very difficult time in my life. Olias is Ok, but I don't even have that one anymore.

 

Yeah it is a bit of an esoteric project but there are some who are quite into these. I have definitely followed Anderson's solo career more than any of the others.

 

Nice! I am all in on this.

The top 5 slots were pretty easy for me... the order of the remaining 5 could change on any given day.

1. Chris Squire - Fish Out of Water
2. Steve Howe - The Steve Howe Album
3. Trevor Rabin - Can't Look Away
4. Bill Bruford's Earthworks - s/t
5. Rick Wakeman - Criminal Record
6. Bruford - Gradually Going Tornado
7. Alan White - Ramshackled
8. Jon Anderson - Change We Must
9. Bruford - One of a Kind
10. Jon Anderson - Animation

 

This is going to be fun. I have a lot of listening to do over the next ten days!

 

just three for me


1)Fish out of Water (far and away the best and better than many Yes records)

2)Olias

3)Six Wives

 

yep, same 3 for me

 

Fish Out Of Water
Song of Seven
Six Wives
Journey
Cant Look Away
Animation
Criminal Record
Olias
One of a Kind
Story of I

 

It is fine to do shorter lists if that is all you love - not just one though.

 

I can do a top 3:
1, Six wives
2, Criminal
3, Steve Howe album

 

10???

I can't do that. I've heard many but only really like a few

1. Bruford - One of a Kind
2. Bruford - Feels Good to Me
3. Squire - Fish Out of Water

 

#1 with a bullet....

"Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Rick Wakeman

That's all I got

 

I presume Moraz bruford would count but how about squakett? Name is kinda in there.

got my first 6 pretty easy tough after that there are a lot I genuinely like.

 

I come down at "Yes" to Moraz Bruford but no to Squackett (stated in opening post), sorry.

But if you love it feel free to tell us why

 

A few more thoughts on what I posted above.

For me, what sets Criminal Record apart from the rest of Wakeman's ridiculously vast catalog is Squire and White. What they add to the first side of this record, to me, elevates it far above Wakeman's usual fare. Absolutely stunning.

Alan White's Ramshackled has been unfairly maligned in my view. I didn't really get it at first either, but once I could remove the "Yessish" expectations it really clicked. A very strong album, IMO, and one that is very underestimated. An interesting range of things here and yet it all fits together somehow.

Fish has always been in my top spot. Not only great bass playing, but brilliant songwriting and I love Squire's lead voice. Just an epic recording, made even more so by the addition of the strings & woodwinds. If you haven't seen it, try to check out Squire's audio commentary on the album from 2007, what a great watch! It's up on YouTube.

Steve Howe Album is pretty much perfect. Not a bum track to be found, IMO.

I used to rank Olias but it just didn't stick, for me. I still enjoy it but wouldn't consider it in the top 10. Change We Must is almost never talked about but I think it's a beautiful album, far stronger than Olias.

And I won't get into Bruford's catalog... many, many riches there...

 

Only 10? terrific thread, this should be more interesting than the Yes one due to being predictable.

1. Squire -Fish out of water
2. Wakeman -Six Wives
3. Anderson -Song of Seven
4.Bruford -Earthworks
5. Howe -Steve Howe Album
6. Bruford -One of a kind
7. Moraz/Bruford
8. Bruford/Earthworks -Dig
9. Bruford -Feels Good to Me
10. Howe -Turbulence

Notes, I could have 20 with Moraz/story of I, Bruford/levin, more earthworks, Wakeman

there could be a top 100 and white's album would not be on it, that can't even be considered created by a musician, embarrassingly awful

 

This is opening a can of worms now, but it gets even more complicated with Conspiracy. The first album was released as "Chris Squire/Billy Sherwood - Conspiracy" but I think it was subsequently re-released under the band name Conspiracy? Hadn't thought of that one until just now. And I do love Squackett... if that were included I'd probably have to add it to my top 10.

 

Let it count then - glad to know that info

 

Not posting my list yet, but curious what others think of Wakeman's Return to the Center of the Earth. IMO, it's better than his Journey... original album.

 

My apologiessomehow skipped over the squakett mention! Not even sure it would have made my top ten but I do rather enjoy it if only for another shot at squire singing and it has that interesting direct yes connection with aliens are only us that yes played live first before it ended up here.

 

It was a tricky call but ultimately I am drawing the line at whether they use the name of a Yes member in the artist name to sell it. Nobody would know from just the name Squackett who was in the band

 

dunno I kinda dig it I don’t think I’ll include it but song of innocence may be one of the most yes by another name tracks out there.

 

My guess is he is referring to a s/t album by the band "White"

 

Couldn't disagree more, but I guess that's the beauty of art! We all hear differently.