Yes

The Yes Album
Fragile
Close to the Edge
Going For the One
Relayer
Magnification

 

For a good sampling of YES music that has a lot of great songs throughout their career, I highly recommend the "Keys To Ascension" DVD. A kickass spot-on performance by Squire and the sound is great.

 

just start at their first record.. it's self titled.. then as your addiction grows buy the next album.. "Time And A Word".. then "The Yes Album".. etc etc etc..

there is amazing stuff on all their albums.. IMO Yes is a "life" band, you don't just buy a greatest hits or 1 or 2 CD's. They deserve much more than that..

Personally my fav is "Going For The One" .. but I love them all.

 

Close to the Edge is the only Yes album that I love.

 

I agree, you got to eventually have them all.
I only suggested the DVD as a good sampling 'to get started with'. You see, "Close To The Edge" is great, but with "Keys" you get all the songs on that album. Of course, you still gotta get "CTTE" because it's the original and it has Bruford, etc.
Yeah, get them all. If you want to experience them like us old timers, get them in order of release.

 

get the cd 'yessongs'. it's made up of live performances that basically wind up being a "best of" from the first 3 albums. that would be a good starting point i think. there are also numerous concert dvds from the 70s you can pick up at tower records.

 

I always stick by The Yes Album as a starter point. With the arrival of Steve Howe the true Yes feel starts to shine through for the first time, yet it remains accessable and digestable to the masses. If you can swallow it, follow with Fragile and Close to the Edge.

 

My fav Yes album is Close to the Edge, but I have almost all their material until they got boring.

Believe it or not a jem among the material is Drama.

 

I am a huge YesFan and have all of their studio works. I started with Time and a Word, then got Close to the Edge. By then I was hooked and got Relayer, then Going for the one, etc. Great stuff. Chris' basslines are so well constructed, especially on Going for the One and Tales from Topographic Oceans.

 

My faves are the first two albums. Here's my Ric CS:

 

I'm another one of few Yes fans who gives a vote to Drama, particualarly Tempus Fugit.

Also, especially since you're new to Yes and presumably have few preconceived notions as to what they should sound like, don't let anyone talk you out of listening to stuff from the Trevor Rabin years, especially as a bass player.
Let your own tastes judge whether you like those cd's or not.

All Yes material that I'm aware of has Chris Squire playing bass and there is some excellent playing to be found on all their albums.

 

Squire is the only member who has never left the band.

 

REALLY a good live album!

Wasn't there a movie that went along with it? Seems I remember smoke flowing in over the stage, Wakeman in his sparkly cape doing his extended solo bit (piano, clavinet, mellotron) - or did I just dream it?

The music's spacy enough - maybe it was a dream.

 

Tony Levin plays on half the stuff on Union... if you consider that a Yes album. :barf:

 

Sorta offtopic; Chris owns the rights to the band name.

 

You weren't dreaming, there is a movie; however, the sound is not the greatest. From time to time different instruments drop out, seems to be dependant on the camera angle. Probably the best they could do in 1973. Still a good film though. I have another (relatively) more recent one, 9021Live, with Trevor Rabin. That's a good one too.

My favorite Yes album is Close to the Edge. Siberian Khatru, bad ass.

 

Trevor Horn played bass on Run Through The Light, from Drama. Apparentely at Mr Squire's request. It's a burpy fretless thing going on.

 

Close to the Edge
The Yes Album
Fragile

Owner of a Lonely Heart is also a good song

 

Squire does own the rights to the YES name. That's why when ABWH did a tour without Squire they could not use YES.

If you can find it Squires first solo album is a killer. It's called Fish Out Of Water. (He was nicknamed the Fish by the band)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-3912903-4807268?v=glance&s=music&n=507846