Time and a Word

Artist: Yes
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Original recording reissued
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 075678268120
EAN: 0075678268120
ASIN: B000002J1X

Release Date: 1994-09-20

Time and a Word

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Tracks:

No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed
Then
Everydays
Sweet Dreams
The Prophet
Clear Days
Astral Traveller
Time And A Word

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Customer Reviews:

The highly underrated sophomore album from Yes.......2005-10-22

Time And A Word (1970.) The second Yes album.

INTRODUCTION:
Yes first came onto the musical scene in 1969, with the release of their self-titled debut album. The collaboration between singer Jon Anderson and bass player Chris Squire showed serious potential with the release of that first album. Sadly though, it was overlooked by the music-loving public of the day. The band would make it big, but that would take a few more years. The band's 1970 sophomore album, Time And a Word, was equally overlooked, sadly enough. So, just how does the second album from the classic progressive rockers fare? Keep reading, and you shall see.

OVERVIEW:
-Time And A Word was released in 1970.
-The album was produced by Tony Colton.
-The album's tracklist consists of No Opportunity Necessary No Experience Needed, Then, Everydays, Sweet Dreams, The Prophet, Clear Days, Astral Traveller, and Time And A Word.
-The band on this album consisted of vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, bassist Chris Squire, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and guitarist Peter Banks. The band here was unchanged from the debut album. This was Peter Banks' last album with Yes; he'd be replaced by Steve Howe for the band's next album.

REVIEW:
The two albums Yes did before Steve Howe joined the band are, without question, the most underrated works they ever did. It's a shame these albums get so overlooked, because they are nothing short of excellent. All eight tracks this album serves up are among the band's finest, and certainly among their most unique. I wasn't sure what to think of this album due to its somewhat mixed reputation, but one listen to it showed me that this was one of the finest progressive rock albums of its time. The often-dissed orchestral section the band uses heavily on this album is actually one of the best thing this release has to offer. The songs on here sound nothing like anything the band had done prior or sense, meaning this is arguably the band's most unique-sounding album. These tunes are tough to describe and to put into words, but I'll do my best.

-SIDE A-

-No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed: The band kicks things off with one of my all-time favorite songs they ever did. This is a Ritchie Havens cover. The songs combines classical-style orchestration with the classic organ-heavy prog rock this version of Yes is noted for. A solid opener, indeed.

-Then: One thing you're going to notice really fast about this album is the sheer number of underrated masterpieces that it has to offer. Track two is no exception. The whole bands is in their prime on this piece. Tony Kaye plays some particularly excellent organ. And you've gotta love Bill Bruford's rapid drumming. The signature early Yes sound combined with the orchestral section the band used heavily on this album makes this a great song.

-Everydays: This is a cover of a Buffalo Springfield tune. Like most of the band's covers, the song itself stays true to the original, but it gets a total revamp with plenty of organ playing and extended instrumental portions. And believe it or not, I just might like this version of the song more than the original!

-Sweet Dreams: This tune is a little more on the lighter side than those that came before. I've always like this tune, because its sound harkens back to the short-lived one that Yes used on their first album. Another underrated Yes tune.

-SIDE B-

-The Prophet: True Yes fans tend to give this song a lot of praise, which is not surprising - it's one of the best songs on the album. The first half is instrumental, and Peter Banks and Tony Kaye beautifully demonstrate their musical abilities on their respective instruments (it's a shame these guys got so overlooked in favor of their successors.) The orchestral backing shines, too. Once again, the song implements elements of a classical-style, orchestral piece, and as a whole this makes the song better. Definitely essential listening.

-Clear Days: The sixth song on the album is a slow and melodic piece with a low-pitched violin backing Anderson's vocals. It's probably the most Baroque-sounding thing Yes ever did. It's a shame they didn't make this song longer and a little more developed, because it could have been a masterpiece. Still, it's very good the way it is.

-Astral Traveler: Here's one of the many Yes songs from this era that sounds wildly different from anything else they ever did, but managed to hold its own nonetheless, and then some. The song's sound is absolutely brilliant, featuring a sort of "space rock" sound that sounds like the band's later material, but at the same time it sounds totally different. Hard to describe this song, but it's a good one!

-Time And A Word: Closing things out is the title track. This is a slow, melodic track with excellent backing instrumentation. It definitely brings the late Beatles sound to mind. Overall, this track makes for a damn good finisher. Yet another addition to the many underrated Yes masterpieces of the day.

In the end, Yes proves that they had the ability to make excellent music from the very beginning. Who cares if it doesn't sound like the band that most people know and love? The music itself flat-out rules. It also goes to establish just how talented the underrated Tony Kaye and Peter Banks are - it's a shame their successors in Yes get all the credit from most fans. Oh, well. Final verdict? If you're new to Yes, you might want to start with The Yes Album or Fragile. This is a great album, no questions asked, although there are better starting points. That said, though, this is a solid album through and through, and it belongs in the collection of every Yes fan.

EDITION NOTES:
In the early twenty-first century, the Yes catalogue got a much-needed reissuing. The new versions of the albums feature remastered sound, expanded liner notes, and bonus tracks. They also restore the original British album art! These new versions of the albums on CD kill older CD issues dead. If you don't have the albums yet, be sure you get the remastered ones!

For Historical Purposes Only.......2002-08-05

Time and a Word is a serviceable rock album, and it's worth a listen if only to see where Yes came from. However, Time and a Word features Peter Banks on guitar and Tony Kaye on keyboards (as opposed to Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman), and it lacks what made Yes's later albums great (it is also interesting to note that both Banks and Kaye have subsequently either bashed the band's later efforts [Banks] or sued the band [Kaye]). I bought TAAW hoping to get one or two gems, but I don't think I've listened to it in years.

Transitional but underrated and very listenable (3.5 stars).......2002-06-10

"Time And A Word" is one of the most underrated Yes albums, made at a time when they were still young, fresh and ready to rock. The jazz and classical influence becomes more prominent, although their sound was still formative and would fully gel on the next album, "The Yes Album". Nonetheless, there's some good stuff here and on a recent re-listen I found myself enjoying nearly every track. The obvious weak point, noted by most reviewers, is the orchestra, which is added to most of the songs and does not quite mix with the group's basic sound. This proved to be the case with all of the orchestral-rock albums released that year, a list that also included works by Deep Purple, The Nice and Pink Floyd. All of those artists would soon learn how to best express themselves through the use of a wider array of keyboards, although on "Time And A Word" the string backing works OK on the ballad "Clear Days" and the anthemic title track.

Not surprisingly, the two best songs are those without the orchestra, and they point squarely to the sound devoloped for the upcoming "Yes Album"--"Sweet Dreams" is a strong, melodic pop-rock song with an uplifting chorus, while the slightly psychedelic "Astral Traveller" features the soon-to-be trademark "cosmic" lyrics and complex instrumental interplay that would make them famous. "Astral Traveller" would even improve in live performance after Steve Howe joined the group, and is a song the band should reconsider adding to their live setlist (they have periodically reprised "Sweet Dreams" and the title track over the years).

"Time And A Word" is upbeat, positive music that stands in stark contrast to the music being made by today's youth. It was made by a band just coming out of the radical changes induced by the 60s and about to refine it into a classic progressive sound for the 70s. As such, it is a worthwhile historical curiosity--and might surprise you with a few good tunes in the bargain. You just can't beat the jazzy drumming, rumbling bass, hammond organ and clear-toned guitar stylings that marked their sound at this time, and of course if you like this you should love "The Yes Album", "Fragile" and "Close To The Edge".

Good Album For Jazz Lovers, But Why The Orchestra?.......2002-03-13

I have to say this album has to be Yes's entry into Mainstream Jazz. With a bass player who can play as fast as a frog jumps to catch a fly (Chris Squire), a guitar player who won't play very heavy (Peter Banks), an organist who does his stuff with one hand and plays the knobs, drawbars, and switches with the other (Tony Kaye), a jazz drummer who did for jazz what Keith Moon did for hard-edged rock and roll (Bill Bruford), and a singer with a high tenor-falsetto up his sleeve (Jon Anderson).

Usually when you think of Yes, you think of freaky science fiction paintings, but the original line-up shines its own limelight on their first two albums; Yes and Time And A Word. Yes (the first album), was the band just starting out (which most first albums sound like), but Time And A Word was something better for us to listen to. It's got very good jazz beats to it, it has good music to listen to at a party, but to every good album there is a down side...

I'm talking about the orchestra. Some songs with the orchestra are ok, but it drowns out the organ at times. The only ok songs are Richie Havens' No Oppertunity Necessary No Experience Required, the mega-opus The Prophet, the short-love song Clear Days, and the title track Time And A Word. On those songs the orchestra isn't very interfent with Yes doing their stuff, but others like the fearful Then, & Buffalo Springfield's Everydays. The orchestra just interferes with the music and drowns out all of Tony Kaye's organ leads and most of Peter Banks' guitar solos.

A few songs could've been better, but overall the albums is pretty good. I just can't believe that this album didn't make Yes famous, it took their next album, undoubtedly entitled The Yes Album, because they were about to be dropped by Atlantic Records from their label, but it all worked out in the end....There's A Time, And The Time Is Now And It's Right For Me,
There's A Word, And The Word Is Now And It's Right For Me."

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