Yes
Yes

Historical band, Yes.
A story that begins in 1968, with the meeting between guitarist Pete Banks and bassist and singer Chris Squire (from the Syn) with singer Jon Anderson (from the Warriors); the arrival of keyboardist Tony Kaye (from Bitter Sweet) and drummer Bill Bruford (fresh from rhythm 'n blues experiences) completes the line-up for a very interesting five-member formation that thus begins to emerge in a musically fertile landscape like London in 1968. The band performed for a few nights at the Marquee in London, perhaps the most interesting underground venue in the City, and started getting known and appreciated, so much so that they were chosen as the opening act for the historic Cream farewell concert at the Royal Albert Hall in November 1968.

At that time, progressive rock was already laying its solid foundations, and Yes were one of the first bands to grasp its message, playing music with influences partly from the era's proto-prog groups (especially the Nice), particularly in classical passages, partly from folk (Simon and Garfunkel, Byrds), partly from pop, but also tastefully combining jazz and psychedelic elements. In their self-titled first album of 1969, a significant portion of that music can be identified, which they would excellently evolve in subsequent albums, elevating them to the rock Olympus; but here, however, we are still in an embryonic phase, with an important but ultimately negligible first chapter in their discography of highs and lows. The ideas are there, but they are still confused and do not fully materialize in that mix of sounds that would become their trademark.

Of the eight tracks on this album, two are covers of Beatles (“Every Little Thing,” masterfully rearranged in structures close to prog and expanded with nods to other Beatles songs) and Crosby (“I See You,” more cheerful than the original version); two tracks (“Sweetness” and “Beyond And Before”) are instead reworkings of songs previously composed by Yes members, still with slight psychedelic hints. The rest of the tracks are signed by Anderson and Squire, with the gems “Harold Land” and “Survival,” which foretell the future "progressive" glories.

It is important to note how the band was quite cohesive from the start and one cannot say it ever had a real leader; rather, their strength was exactly in the union and compatibility among the various musicians, somewhat like Led Zeppelin; this impression of Yes was also perceived even after various line-up changes, demonstrating the importance of “chorality” in progressive music.

In the subsequent “Time And A Word,” the band would further develop their sound increasingly in favor of progressive standards, contributing to the definition of the genre.