Review of H&E by my good buddy Geoff Dunn ---------------------------------------------------------- BELIEVE AGAIN: This is a wonderful, uplifting song and a perfect way to showcase the new album. Jon Davison has clearly put loads of thought and passion into developing this composition. With Geoff Downes providing the framework on keys, it is beautifully crafted, packed with melody and easily one of the strongest tracks on HEAVEN AND EARTH. Cant wait to hear it live! :) THE GAME: A catchy little number that skips along happily, with rumbling fuzzy bass from Squire (which is what I find I mainly focus on) and some lovely embellishment from Howe on guitars. Cant help thinking it could do with a bit more kick from Alan White in the drum department (do we blame Roy Thomas Baker for that?), but overall... nice. STEP BEYOND: OK now we have quite a different sounding YES. Definitely very POP, but just try getting this song out of your head after youve heard it a few times. Really great vocal harmonies, effective snare and odd timings from White, with strong up-front singing from Jon. Howes direct chord chops on the chorus come across as a bit basic and rushed, but he and Squire keep things interesting with their fine playing on the most part. TO ASCEND: Another melodic piece that Jon Davison has put his heart and soul into. Beautiful piano work from Downes (dare I say Wakeman-ish) and spiritual lyrics. Shades of In the Presence Of from MAGNIFICATION (maybe because it was co-written by White). And the eyes of a child line also harks back to a MAGNIFICATION track, We Agree. It seems that both Jons follow the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda train of thought. IN A WORLD OF OUR OWN: Squire is stamped all over it, but in a very poppy way. A simple sing-a-long song in the style of No Way We Can Lose from the OPEN YOUR EYES album. Probably a lot of fun in concert. LIGHT OF THE AGES: Solely written by Davison, this ironically sounds more like 70s Yes than others on HEAVEN AND EARTH that were co-written by members who were in the band at that time. This is probably due to Steve Howes trademark pedal steel sounds, that make the track so atmospheric. If there had been more time, this is a piece that the band could have developed further, to rise into higher plateaus. We might have to wait for the next album from this line-up before things get that cosmic! IT WAS ALL WE KNEW: If there is any track that you might skip on the album, this is it. A bit cheesy in the chorus, it probably shouldve been on a Steve Howe solo LP. Sure, he plays some nifty guitar fills across the top of the lilting calypso sounds, but its not proper Yes. SUBWAY WALLS: For me, the best piece on HEAVEN AND EARTH and definitely the most progtastic! The arrangements are brilliant, with an impressive percussive intro, some genius keyboard sections from Geoff Downes and distinctive YES twists and turns. Squire brings it down midway to a jazzy, finger poppin swing that leads into a cool Hammond organ solo and Howe shredding some hot licks. It builds to a grand crescendo with multi layered vocals and guitars, leaving the listener wanting more!!! So, an interesting, fresh first offering from the current Yes, albeit more lightweight than might have been expected. It doesnt have the epic style and production of the previous Fly From Here, but it is an album that provides plenty of positive pop good vibes. This particular configuration of Yes is well settled in now and they deliver at consistently high level in concert. When some of these songs are established in the set list, they will stretch out more musically and sound even more magnificent. Heaven indeed! - GEOFF DUNN
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 03:16:56 +0000
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