Yesyears
Yesyears is the first box set by English progressive rock band Yes, released in August 1991 on Atco Records. After the group left Atco for Arista Records when they became an eight-man formation in 1990, the deal gave Atco the right to the band's back catalogue, thus allowing them to release a career-spanning box set. Yesyears contains studio and live tracks from 1969 to 1991 with previously unreleased mixes and songs, digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt.
Yesyears | ||||
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Box set by | ||||
Released | 6 August 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1969–1991 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 291:23 | |||
Label | Atco | |||
Producer | Yes, Paul Clay, Tony Colton, Eddy Offord, Trevor Horn, Trevor Rabin and Paul De Villiers | |||
Yes chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [2] |
One of the major attractions of Yesyears was its inclusion of rare material, including many previously unreleased songs, and a full-colour booklet detailing Yes's history. A condensed version of this package, entitled Yesstory, would be released in 1992 on two discs. Yesyears was discontinued in the late 1990s, preceding the release of Rhino Records' (five-disc) box set In a Word: Yes (1969–) in 2002. Most of the rare material found on Yesyears but not on In a Word would surface on Rhino's reissues of Yes albums in 2003 and 2004.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Something's Coming" | Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | Single B-side to "Sweetness", July 1969; while the Yes album reissue (2003) includes the mono mix from the UK single, this is the stereo mix, released as an A-side in the Netherlands in 1970. | 7:06 |
2. | "Survival" | Jon Anderson | Yes (1969) | 6:18 |
3. | "Every Little Thing" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | Yes (1969) | 5:41 |
4. | "Then" | Anderson | BBC recording on 19 January 1970 | 4:18 |
5. | "Everydays" | Stephen Stills | BBC recording on 4 August 1969 | 4:08 |
6. | "Sweet Dreams" | Anderson, David Foster | Time and a Word (1970) | 3:49 |
7. | "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" | Richie Havens | Time and a Word (1970) | 4:48 |
8. | "Time and a Word" | Anderson, Foster | Time and a Word (1970) | 4:31 |
9. | "Starship Trooper
| Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe | The Yes Album (1971) | 9:25 |
10. | "Yours Is No Disgrace" | Anderson, Squire, Howe, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford | The Yes Album (1971) | 9:41 |
11. | "I've Seen All Good People"
| Anderson, Squire | The Yes Album (1971) | 6:53 |
12. | "Long Distance Runaround" | Anderson | Fragile (1971) | 3:31 |
13. | "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" | Squire | Fragile (1971) | 2:37 |
Total length: | 72:45 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Roundabout" | Anderson, Howe | Fragile (1971) | 8:31 |
2. | "Heart of the Sunrise" | Anderson, Squire, Bruford | Fragile (1971) | 10:35 |
3. | "America" (Single edit) | Paul Simon | Single A-side, July 1972; full version included on The New Age of Atlantic compilation (1972), and on Yesterdays (1975) | 4:04 |
4. | "Close to the Edge"
| Anderson, Howe | Close to the Edge (1972) | 18:34 |
5. | "Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)" | Anderson, Howe, Squire, Rick Wakeman, Alan White | Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) | 21:33 |
6. | "Sound Chaser" | Anderson, Squire, Howe, White, Patrick Moraz | Relayer (1974) | 9:22 |
Total length: | 72:39 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Soon" (Single edit) | Anderson | Single A-side, January 1975; excerpt from "The Gates of Delirium" from Relayer (1974) | 4:06 |
2. | "Amazing Grace" | Trad. arr. Squire | Previously unreleased, recorded 4 November 1976 in London; included on the Going for the One reissue (2003) | 2:31 |
3. | "Vevey, Part One" | Anderson, Wakeman | Previously unreleased, recorded 23 February 1977 in Vevey; Different recording/version to one found on the Going for the One reissue (2003) | 1:07 |
4. | "Wonderous Stories" | Anderson | Going for the One (1977) | 3:49 |
5. | "Awaken" | Anderson, Howe | Going for the One (1977) | 15:35 |
6. | "Montreux's Theme" | Howe, Squire, Anderson, White | Previously unreleased, recorded during the Going for the One sessions late 1976/early 1977 and included on its reissue (2003) | 2:26 |
7. | "Vevey, Part Two" | Anderson, Wakeman | Previously unreleased, recorded 23 February 1977 in Vevey; Different recording/version to one found on the Going for the One reissue (2003) | 0:56 |
8. | "Going for the One" | Anderson | Going for the One (1977) | 5:32 |
9. | "Money" | Squire, Anderson, White, Wakeman | Previously unreleased, recorded 31 March 1978 in London during the Tormato sessions and included on its reissue (2004); with a spoken overdub by Rick Wakeman | 3:12 |
10. | "Abilene" | Howe | B-side of "Don't Kill the Whale" single (UK), August 1978; included on the Tormato reissue (2004) | 3:55 |
11. | "Don't Kill the Whale" | Anderson, Squire | Tormato (1978) | 3:54 |
12. | "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" | Anderson, Squire | Tormato (1978) | 7:46 |
13. | "Does It Really Happen?" | Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn, Howe, Squire, White | Drama (1980) | 6:30 |
14. | "Tempus Fugit" | Downes, Horn, Howe, Squire, White | Drama (1980) | 5:14 |
15. | "Run with the Fox" | Squire, White, Peter Sinfield | Single A-side, December 1981, by Chris Squire and Alan White | 4:09 |
16. | "I'm Down" | Lennon, McCartney | Previously unreleased, live at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ, 17 June 1976 | 2:31 |
Total length: | 73:13 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Source | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Make It Easy" | Trevor Rabin | Previously unreleased, recorded January 1982 by Cinema; included on the 90125 reissue (2004) | 6:08 |
2. | "It Can Happen" | Anderson, Rabin, Squire | Previously unreleased, recorded January 1982 by Cinema; early version of 90125 song, included on its reissue (2004) | 6:01 |
3. | "Owner of a Lonely Heart" | Rabin, Anderson, Squire, Horn | 90125 (1983) | 4:27 |
4. | "Hold On" | Rabin, Anderson, Squire | 90125 (1983) | 5:15 |
5. | "Shoot High, Aim Low" | Anderson, Kaye, Rabin, Squire, White | Big Generator (1987) | 7:00 |
6. | "Rhythm of Love" | Anderson, Kaye, Rabin, Squire | Big Generator (1987) | 4:46 |
7. | "Love Will Find a Way" | Rabin | Big Generator (1987) | 4:49 |
8. | "Changes" | Rabin, Anderson, White | Previously unreleased, live at The Summit, Houston, TX, 19 February 1988; studio version on 90125 | 7:34 |
9. | "And You and I"
| Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire | Previously unreleased, live at The Summit, Houston, TX, 19 February 1988; studio version on Close to the Edge | 10:49 |
10. | "Heart of the Sunrise" | Anderson, Squire, Bruford | Previously unreleased, live at The Summit, Houston, TX, 19 February 1988; studio version on Fragile | 10:50 |
11. | "Love Conquers All" | Squire, Billy Sherwood | Previously unreleased, recorded in early 1991 | 4:58 |
Total length: | 72:37 |
Yesyears (Atco 791 644) failed to chart in the UK or United States
Personnel
Yes
- Jon Anderson – lead vocals (1.1 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.6, 3.1, 3.4 – 3.5, 3.8 – 3.12, 3.16, 4.3 – 4.10), harp (3.3, 3.7), guitar (3.6)
- Peter Banks – guitar, backing vocals (1.1 – 1.8)
- Bill Bruford – drums (1.1 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.4)
- Tony Kaye – keyboards (1.1 – 1.11, 4.1 – 4.11)
- Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals (all); lead vocals (3.15, 4.2)
- Steve Howe – guitar, backing vocals (1.9 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.6, 3.1, 3.4 – 3.6, 3.8 – 3.14, 3.16)
- Rick Wakeman – keyboards (1.12 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.5, 3.3 – 3.12)
- Alan White – drums (2.5 – 2.6, 3.1, 3.4 – 3.6, 3.8 – 3.16, 4.1 – 4.11)
- Patrick Moraz – keyboards (2.6, 3.1, 3.16)
- Geoff Downes – keyboards (3.13 – 3.14)
- Trevor Horn – lead vocals (3.13 – 3.14)
- Trevor Rabin – guitar (4.1 – 4.11), lead vocals (4.1, 4.11)
Additional musicians
- David Foster – backing vocals (1.6), acoustic guitar (1.8)
- Billy Sherwood – additional background vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards (4.11)
References
- Hill, Gary. "Yesyears - Yes". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Yes". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 895. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.