Audio CD review:
Yes - The Ultimate Yes

Yes - The Ultimate Yes

Band: Yes Title: The Ultimate Yes Rating: Release Date: 2004-01-27 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Time and a Word 2: Starship Trooper 3: Yours Is No Disgrace 4: I've Seen All Good People 5: Roundabout 6: Long Distance Runaround 7: Heart of the Sunrise 8: South Side of the Sky 9: And You and I 10: America 11: Wonderous Stories 12: Siberian Katru 13: Soon 14: Going for the One 15: Don't Kill the Whale 16: Tempus Fugit 17: Owner of a Lonely Heart 18: Leave It 19: It Can Happen 20: Rhythm of Love 21: Big Generator 22: Lift Me Up 23: The Calling 24: Open Your Eyes 25: Homeworld (The Ladder) 26: Magnification 27: Roundabout (Acoustic) 28: Show Me 29: South Side of the Sky (Acoustic) 30: Australia (Solo Acoustic) 31: New World Symphony

The Yes collection to own--one word: AWESOME! In previous reviews, I've listed just SOME of them. As a longtime die-hard Yes fan, I too am getting tired of all of these little Yes collections. There are so many, it's far too hard for one to keep track of them all. But what makes 'The Ultimate Yes' worth the money is not the fact that all of the classics are here, which they are, but the fact that these are the newest Yes recordings, from 2004. And it's the classic Yes lineup and not the Beyond years lineup. Jon, Steve, Rick, Chris and Alan all reunite to make these new recordings, which include spectacular remakes of 'South Side of the Sky' and 'Roundabout,' both from the 1971 'Fragile' album. And all of the classics are here. 'And You And I,' 'Wonderous Stories,' 'Roundabout,' 'I've Seen All Good People,' 'Big Generator' and the #1 hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart' all appear on 'The Ultimate Yes. ' Did I mention they are digitally remastered? Yes, the sound quality is superb! And the underrated stuff is here too. That means, all of the recent recordings, as in, 1991-2001 recent recordings, which are the years Yes were signed to Beyond Records. 'Magnification,' 'The Calling,' 'Lift Me Up' and 'Open Your Eyes' all appear on this set from the Beyond years. And the '70s underrated stuff is here. 'Don't Kill The Whale' (from 1978's 'Tormato'), 'Soon' (an excerpt from the 21-minute long 'The Gates of Delirium,' from 1974's 'Relayer) and even 'Time And A Word' (from the 1970 album with the same name) all appear on this set. My only complaint is that they did not include 'Arriving UFO' and several other fan favorites on here. But overall, this is the Yes set to own. Highly recommended for any Yes fan that wants the best AND ONLY the best. For die-hards like me, buy it for the new (2004) tracks. 'Show Me' is one of their finest songs period. Highly recommended for any Yes fan. ENJOY!!!. Fantastic Introduction I bought 90125, and BIG GENERATOR, but only for certain songs. I was the 80's teen who was introduced to YES through MTV. Never really giving them the full listen they so deserved. Fast forward to 2004, walking through Walmart and spotting this collection. I figured I would give it a try. I was familiar with ROUNDABOUT and LONG DISTANCE RUNAROUND. One listen to all of the CD's was all it took to spark my love for this band. The music they have produced in the past was way ahead of their time. SOUTHSIDE OF THE SKY, STARSHIP TROOPERS,LEAVE IT, SIBERIAN KHATRU are among my favorite songs from this collection. So my interest has deepened in this band and I have purchased many of their other CD's, but this one is a great starter for new YES fans. Try it, you will not be dissapointed. Uniquely different! There are more complete sets of Yes available - might I suggest you consider them? Lots of must-haves here I never have heard on Radio, very much in the "Roundabout" style. Classic Rock was generous to include these guys - they're very different. Let's State This Upfront: They were and are fantastic This is clap-trap that is propagated by reviewers who compare progressive music to what was popular at the time on top 40 radio-- Yes' competitors in the 70's were the Guess Who and Chicago -- let's also mention the Carpenters. It is interesting to see reviews about Yes, that always seem to say that they were less than well received in their day. . . It never seemed their intention to be pop purest or to become Journey. . . LEAVE THEM ALONE! Their contribution stands alone as unique and yes, so ahead of their time that they are just now being appreciated. . . They were one of the largest draws in the history of popular music -- so buzz off. Not even good enough for the casual Yes fan And now this? I understand its an 35th aniversery edition CD, but it just not worth the price tag. If there is one thing that Yes might have overdone, is release so many greatest hits albums, compiliation albums, Live albums, and I believe a box set. What you get is some popular Yes tracks, along with some of the obscure tracks that they take off their later albums (1994 and on) Disc three contains some previously unreleased tracks, but once again, its just not worth the purchase. If you are a casual Yes fan, get one of the many complilation CD's, which has many more well known, and better Yes songs on it. If you are a Yes fanatic, theh best thing to do is purchase the studio and live albums. There is so much great material the casual fan might not care for on lets say "Close to the Edge," "Going for the One", "Time and a Word","Drama" and "Relayer" . Those albums are a much better investment fot the Yes fanatic then this. I even reccomend "Open you Eyes" "Big Genarator" or "Magnicfication" for more modern Yes albums. Just avoid this as its nothing you havent heard before a million times. You can see a complete list of all Yes discography, or go back to the Yes tabs