Catalog Rundown: Yes (Part 7) - Yesterdays (1975)

Catalog Rundown (formerly Artist Rundown) is a periodic feature in which I briefly share my thoughts, memories and opinions of an artist or group's entire recorded work in chronological order. First up is one of the bands which helped developed my love of and taste in music: progressive rock legends Yes.

Yes - Yesterdays (1975)

This strange compilation was released in 1975, presumably to fill the market gap during Yes' 1975-1976 hiatus. The record features six tracks from the group's first two albums, a Peter Banks-era B-side and a 10-minute Simon and Garfunkel cover originally released on an obscure Atlantic Records compilation.

The selection of material is a little unbalanced, with only two tracks taken from the band's self-titled debut and a whopping four from Time and a Word. There isn't a dud among the tracks, of course, but they hold little interest for fans who undoubtedly already have the first two records in their entirety.

There's a different reason fans need this in their LP collection -- the aforementioned cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "America." Recorded around the time of Fragile, this is the only track on the record to feature Rick Wakeman or Steve Howe, and it stands favorably next to the rest of the band's output from this time period.

While S&G's original had a tender, slightly jazzy folk treatment, Yes blow the song up to ridiculous, orchestral proportions. Try to imagine a folk classic stretched out to 10 minutes with all the Yes trappings: long instrumental sections, tempo and mood changes, quotes from West Side Story's "America," a totally milked chorus and an air guitar-worthy rockabilly hoedown courtesy of Howe. Of course, fans of the original will find this downright sacrilegious, but it's hard to imagine the band realized how profane their de(re?)construction of the song ended up sounding. I'd imagine they'd respond to such criticisms with something to the effect of "It's all music, man." It would be typically Yes, and wouldn't it be just a little bit correct?

The other essential track, "Dear Father," is a beautiful Andersonian pop song from the Time and a Word sessions. While the track is especially noteworthy for fans of the Banks era, the lush orchestral arrangement robs the song of some of its power, and superior versions are found both on Yes' BBC sessions collection and the 2003 remaster of Yes.

Postscript: Both "America" and "Dear Father" were reissued on CD during Rhino's 2003 Yes remastering campaign. The former appeared on Fragile and the latter appeared on Time and a Word, both as bonus tracks. In addition, "America" appeared in both remixed and original form on Steven Wilson's 5.1 release of Close to the Edge in 2013. This compilation is still of value, however, to those who prefer vinyl or earlier, non-remastered CD pressings.