Yes
The Quest

Regarding Yes's career, I have my own idea: they could have easily disbanded definitively after "Big Generator" and we would still speak of a career of the highest level; the great ideas ended there. What they accomplished afterward raises a series of doubts, with the band navigating a sea of uncertainties. I have no trouble appreciating their '90s releases, "Union," "Talk," "Open Your Eyes," and "The Ladder" are albums I listen to with pleasure and have come to reassess over time, but they show a band that is indecisive and confused, not sure whether to tread its beloved '70s classic prog territories or continue showcasing the more pop-oriented attitude of the '80s; a sense of uncertainty that leads neither here nor there, achieving neither one goal nor the other, not even managing to be a mix of the two, just a watered-down and bland version of both souls. However, the new millennium brought us two significant albums, "Magnification" with its orchestral prog and "Fly from Here" with its almost modern, smooth neo-prog approach; two flashes destined to remain isolated cases, as then came the sluggish and uninspired "Heaven & Earth," which seemed to definitively seal the artistic coffin on a band already long in agony.

Needless to say, I was not very hopeful about the successful outcome of a new Yes album. And yet, I was incredibly proven wrong. "The Quest" is a surprisingly inspired album, showcasing Yes in their melodic and instrumental magnificence. The concept is essentially this: this time, the band knows what it wants, it is determined and gets straight to the point. The album undeniably sounds like an old-style prog record, featuring all the characteristics that made Yes famous but with an underlying lightness and smoothness; it differs from the group's historical releases for various reasons, such as the choice to moderate the articulation of the tracks, avoiding overdoing it, and dodging the instrumental roller coasters that characterized works like "Close to the Edge" or "Relayer," thus possibly making the fresh and dreamy melody, which has somehow always belonged to the band, stand out. To further reinforce and demonstrate the melodic component, the band plays the string arrangement card, the same one that characterized works like the already mentioned "Magnification" or the historic and raw "Time and a Word"; once again, Yes are enticed by the idea of combining rock and symphonic music, a combination apparently endowed with an intrinsic charm that does not fade with time.

The album stands out for being the very first without the historic bassist Chris Squire, the only member who had been present in all the group's works until he was taken by an aggressive leukemia in June 2015, just a month after announcing his illness to the world. He is replaced by Billy Sherwood, who had already been part of Yes in the late '90s, albeit not in the role of bassist. Billy is probably aware of having an enormous responsibility; he is not there to replace just anyone but one of the most important bassists in prog, a musician who inspired countless future bassists (to name a famous one, and not too distant in time, we can mention Geddy Lee). His wild pluck is missing, but Billy does a respectable job, sounding metallic enough, not as much as Squire, but it stings just enough to be heard.

The record is also the second with singer Jon Davison, a former member of Glass Hammer from the United States. He is the third vocalist to replace the historic Jon Anderson, and like the previous ones, has a voice that makes him almost indistinguishable from the member he's replacing. Sometimes I wonder why all the singers who come to sing under the Yes brand have practically the same voice as Anderson; with this last singer, they've made it even more apparent, even choosing him with the same exact name, it seems like it's not even a coincidence, what are the odds of finding another Jon without an H? But in the end, I think: Yes's music, with that type of melody and vaguely angelic setting… would it work with a singer of a different timbre?

Let's get to the tracks. The tracks that work best are the longer and more elaborate ones, because they are in Yes's DNA and on these they have built their best discography. However, I repeat, they tried to avoid going too crazy, just a few rhythmic ups and downs and never rampant virtuosity, always in search of a moderate prog track, proud of its roots but fundamentally melodic. The most articulated is "Leave Well Alone," with Steve Howe as the protagonist: when he goes electric, he brings out an almost funk-like vein, not entirely declared, while in acoustic, he goes classical, with romantic old-school arpeggios; noteworthy is the entire tail end of the track, where Steve embroiders an elaborate solo over a repetitive acoustic backdrop, giving an intense finale that even reminded me of "Starship Trooper." The opening track "The Ice Bridge" is certainly the most overwhelming, it's a vortex that sweeps up the listener, not quite like a washing machine spin cycle but it still has a nice punch; direct and immediate in the first half, with the bass leading and the AOR-influenced keyboards by Geoff Downes (on his fourth album with Yes, third consecutive), then an engaging back-and-forth of guitar and keyboard solos. Another highlight is "A Living Island": it starts slow, continues as a relaxing travel song accompanied by a gentle organ, in the style of the Dire Straits, while the final part is a melodic triumph where the various instrument lines perfectly overlap in a sort of celestial ode with great impact.

"Dare to Know" highlights Steve Howe's work once again, likely the true protagonist of the album, alternating more vigorous phrasings with calmer ones, both acoustic and electric, while in the middle there is a beautiful orchestral flare. Howe is also the protagonist in the slow "Future Memories": it's the classic slow track meant to highlight the guitarist's more intimate and acoustic side; similar examples in Yes can be found in tracks like "Mood for a Day," "Masquerade," or "Solitaire," but the historical track most similar to it is "Entangled" by their close colleagues Genesis.

The orchestral side finds its exaltation in the track "Minus the Man," where everything is built around the strings, which dominate with an unchallenged and sweetly overwhelming presence, not even the guitar phrasings mounted on top manage to interfere with their brilliance. The strings also impose themselves in "The Western Edge" but in a less brilliant manner.

So it's all a bit of a return to a certain symphonic prog. However, Yes does not want to deny having a more pop side as well. But to better focus it and not confuse it with the rest, they decided to reserve a dedicated disc. Thus, at the end of the album, there's a sort of EP homage. The three tracks of this separate disc are examples of extremely elegant acoustic pop, free from all frills but without mainstream ambition; they simply want to show that the band can hold its own even in its most stripped-down form. To be honest, there is also a very light track in the main record, "Music to My Ears," but it's the lowest point of the album: even the title is quite tacky, practically looking like a summer hit title where the protagonist declares their love for music with a bare and danceable piece when in reality there is very little music, but that's certainly not the case here; it seems to want to showcase the two Yes's souls, the more symphonic and the more direct one, but it fails in both attempts, with a rather vacuous chorus and not a very brilliant melodic opening. The moral of the story: it would be better if Yes gave up the idea of doing pop-prog, of being on the edge between the two genres, as they don't really deliver their best when they do so, as demonstrated in their '90s works.

In conclusion, I say it was indeed a pleasant surprise. I thought Yes was at an end, that it was time for them to play bocce and briscola tournaments... instead, these old men show that if they put their minds to it, they can still deliver cool stuff. I'll put it very gently: I consider "The Quest" their best album in forty years, the best of all the post-"Drama" production. Up there, Chris Squire would be proud.