Heaven and Earth - Yes

Heaven and Earth (Yes, 2014)

1. Believe Again - 8:02
2. The Game - 6:52
3. Step Beyond - 5:34
4. To Ascend - 4:44
5. In A World Of Our Own - 5:20
6. Light Of The Ages - 7:41
7. It Was All We Knew - 4:13
8. Subway Walls - 9:03

Fifty-five years after their first album, and the only constant is change.  With new vocalist and songwriter Jon Davison of Glass Hammer fully integrated into the creative process, there is a sense of exploration on this album. Where 2011's Fly From Here seemed a bit more controlled and intentional, Heaven and Earth has the doors wide open in the best Yes tradition, playing with styles and genres for the sake of play, with mixed results.

Overall, the tone is light, even poppy, with focus on vocal melodies, harmonies, and the trademark Yes instrumentation. The older guys bring simpler, easygoing song structures, like Chris Squire's "In A World Of Our Own" or Steve Howe's "It Was All We Knew", both of which have more in common with late-60s rock than prog. A sense of warm nostalgia pervades many of the songs, with no musical idea rejected because it's not "proggy" enough. But don't get me wrong - there are plenty of elevated musical moments, particularly in the stately Davison composition "Light Of The Ages" or Davison and Geoff Downes' dramatic and mystical "Subway Walls". The tension between comfortable backward glances and musical stretching provides some interesting moments, though perhaps the mixture weakens the impact of the album as a whole.

The strongest element for me is the vocal performance.  Davison, Squire, and Howe harmonize beautifully together, especially on the soaring chorus of "To Ascend" or the anthemic "The Game". The instrumentalists are not to be missed, either.  Howe's guitar work is amazing as always, alternating freely between finger-picked acoustic backing, spidery electric solos, or emotive slide guitar.  Chris Squire's bass playing remains at the top of my list, and he sculpts great lines to accent and supplement each song.  Geoff Downes flexes his synthesizer, organ, and piano prowess, while Alan White's drumming is a treat, especially in the 15/8 instrumental break in "Subway Walls".

The weakest element for me is the sound. I don't know what it is, but it just seems like I should be hearing more sonic depth in these songs. Maybe I'm going deaf... Though I listened to some songs back to back with songs from Fly From Here, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going deaf.  The sound here is airy, a little muddled and indistinct, which is frustrating for a band whose music demands crispness and clarity.  The aforementioned "Subway Walls", the most exciting and exhilirating track and the most in line with the "classic Yes" ideal, illustrates the sound problem best.  It opens with a multi-layered Baroque keyboard extravaganza from Downes which frustratingly sounds more like video game music than the epic soundscape it needs to be.  During the verse, Howe, Squire and White play an aggressive stop-time unison riff that comes off a bit muted, as if they were playing in another room.  Worst of all, when the 15/8 instrumental break comes, it starts with Squire alone, pumping away on a gorgeous distorted bass line that can barely be heard, to the point where the first time I listened to the song, I thought it had stopped abruptly.  Then a click track comes in, of all things, and it can be heard loud and clear, though it's in the wrong time signature (plain old 4/4)... surely something went horribly wrong?  Did the sound engineer know a bass solo was happening there?  Who knows... the song is so good otherwise, I'll get over it.  And that really epitomizes my feelings about this album.  Fun songs, some great songs, great performances from the band, but something just sounds off.

Arbitrary rating:  4 out of 5 wide open doors