It's Complicated - My love affair with Yes.

I have a big brother.

We were close at one time but life and whatever has led us down separate paths. He introduced me to many bands as I grew up in the 1970s. My first love was The Who but he flooded me with hours of music from two bands in particular. Some Genesis but mostly Yes.

Yes were to their thousands of fans the undoubted Kings of Rock. Progressive Rock wasn't really a thing in the 1970s. The label followed later on.

The band were formed in 1968 in London by bassist Chris Squire,singer Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, guitarist Peter Banks and keyboard player Tony Kaye. The line up changed in 1969/70 around the release of their second album 'Time and A Word', when the guitarist Peter Banks was replaced by a young virtuoso guitarist called Steve Howe. Tony Kaye was replaced in 1970 by Rick Wakeman on keyboards. The band began to command the interest of the music press and grew a large fan base through the next two classic albums 'Fragile' and 'Close To The Edge'. Bruford left to join King Crimson and was a replaced by former John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band drummer Alan White a few weeks before a world tour in 1972. 

I could go on cataloging the comings and goings of Yes over the next 40 years but in truth this is not about a potted history of the band. 

Many have written about them but they were not me. You see this is about why I fell in love with their music. Why I stayed with them until it went sour. Now I've reconciled myself with Yes. I cannot deny their huge influence over my musical life. 

I was exposed to a considerable amount of classical music as a child. When I first heard Yes, they became the obvious link from one gone to another. Their musical structure was often written in movements. 

The band had a sound so large that it could be orchestral. They were never ashamed to go big on the music. Indeed to some, the controversial 1973 album 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' epitomised this. The double album had four tracks, one per side. It was unpopular with some fans and the music press and even members of the band! It was however to some, a masterpiece. The band were seen by the emerging punk scene of themed 70's as dinosaurs of pomp rock. They epitomised everything that music claimed to despise. Interestingly many years since, some of the great names of punk have come clean about their hidden love for music other than punk. 

The changes in line ups has caused division amongst fans but there was always an element of the true Yes in everything produced. Sometimes the elements were smaller than others.

I can now listen to music from all eras of the band, performed by all line ups. I will always have my classic line up. For me you will never surpass Anderson, Wakeman, Howe, Squire & White. The musical chemistry was astonishing for 5 remarkable virtuosos. They were never the most harmonious bunch but they produced and performed some of the finest rock music ever written (IMHO). The 1977 album 'Going For The One' is my favourite Yes album. It hits the ground running at a sprint with the title track and just gets better. 'Awaken' the last track is huge, beautiful. It soars, growls, crashes, kisses and caresses the listener. I believe the band never surpassed this monumental piece of music.

Yes were symphonic, complex, grandiose, pompous but always oozing class. The lyrics mostly written by Jon Anderson were often baffling and ethereal. The instrumental performances, highly technical and flamboyant. Other members such as guitarist Trevor Rabin, Keyboardists Patrick Moraz and Geoff Downes and especially drummer Bill Bruford, were amazingly talented musicians all equal to the task of playing with the band.

Yes commanded my unwavering loyalty for the best part of 25 years. Then it went a bit sour. I discovered a whole world of music my narrow, blinkered teenage years had denied. I realised I had not embraced the eclectic, going instead for the tried and tested. It's fair to say that in the last five to ten years, my musical taste has changed considerably. New to me revelations such as Nick Cave have altered my musical landscape forever.

I therefore decided to give Yes a second chance, almost to see if they could live in a big family with my other newer passions. The music I found was still captivating. The moment I hear Jon Anderson sing, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I have had the privilege of seeing him live and his unmistakable alto tenor voice is beautiful and note perfect. It has extraordinary power and clarity. I saw Yes on the Union tour in 1991. The band performed on their famous revolving stage in the shape of a wedding cake. I was given three hours of the most memorable live music I've ever seen. The band were faultless, the lighting amazing but above all the sound was astonishing. To see 'Awaken and 'And You And I' performed live was simply breathtaking. 

Anderson is a force of nature and after a short hiatus in 2008/9 for health problems, he has returned to the stage. He is singing as well as ever and writing amazing new music. The type of music Yes would be performing if he were still in the band. Anderson performs with many past members of Yes and new collaborations. The track below is with the Icelandic orchestral band Todmobile and choir Hljómeyki. Recorded in 2013, Anderson sounds as perfect as when the band recorded the original for 'Going For The One' album in 1977.

I don't expect you to share my reconciliation. I don't expect you to share my 40 year on- off love affair with Yes but give them a chance. They were one of the greats of British rock music. They have produced some of the finest musicians in rock music. At their best, they have an energy and presence that is hard to match. 

 So Give Yes a chance!