Before they became the world's biggest progressive rock band, Yes released two albums that flew under popular music's radar, "Yes" (1969) and "Time and a Word" (1970). After reeling off 5 consecutive top ten records from 1972-1974, Yes took a 3-year break from recording; to fill the gap they released "Yesterdays," a compilation of highlights from the first two records with some extras thrown in. Most of the tracks feature the original lineup (Anderson/Bruford/Kaye/Squire/Banks), with only the Simon & Garfunkel cover 'America' featuring guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman.

It's a somewhat uneven compilation, with only two songs from their debut album and four from "Time And a Word." "America" and 'Dear Father' (a B-side from the "Time and a Word" sessions) complete the set. While the 10-minute "America" is the standout track, other highlights include the mini-epic "Survival," the groovy "Looking Around," the ballad "Time and a Word" and the dynamic "Then." Yes' early work exhibits influences from the Beatles and other mod/British invasion bands, as well as American folk/rock artists like Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Most of the "Time And a Word" songs feature an orchestra, which adds a touch of grandeur to the band's sound and signals the symphonic development of their music.

Original members Tony Kaye (organ) and Peter Banks (guitar) acquit themselves nicely. In particular, Kaye's organ work is stellar. It's a shame he couldn't make the transition to synthesizer that Yes' ambitions required.

Yes has since released countless CD compilations and boxed sets, which have rendered "Yesterdays" somewhat superfluous. Still, I like it. This was my introduction to early Yes, and convinced me to acquire the first two albums. The Roger Dean cover is a classic (look for the irreverent humour on the back). "Yesterdays" is a throwback to the days of vinyl, when constraints on running time required tough choices that generated spirited debates among fans.

This was Yes' very first compilation album, released in between RELAYER and GOING FOR THE ONE while Yes were on tour. But rather that a best of, it's a collection of material from mostly the first two albums, which were somewhat ignored in America and were released before Yes started to make it big with their third album, THE YES ALBUM. I suppose the reason for releasing this album was to tie up a few loose ends tracks like 'America' with some forgotten early material to round everything up for fans.

To appreciate this album better, you could try to imagine this was 1975 and this album new and then compare it to the current album(RELAYER) and judge for yourself how it holds up to the current line-up(Anderson/Squire/Howe/White/Patrick Moraz). This music is mostly early Yessongs. On most of it, you won't hear Howe's country licks, Wakeman's spacey synths or Trevor Rabin's squealy AOR rock stylings. You will hear Bill Bruford's jazzy drumming, Peter Banks' eclectic, almost Pete Townshendish guitar and Tony Kaye's swirling and gritty R&B-laced hammond organ. It holds up well to what came later, just Yes in a different mode. There are a few features that make the 1969-70 material different to what happened next, one being no synthesizers yet. The music is organ-driven. The other is shorter tracks. The average length of an early Yessong is 2-6 minutes. They hadn't gotten to epics yet. With that in mind, the same multi-sectioned instrumentation apply, as well as the classic Yes vocal harmonies. It holds up well. The trax:

AMERICA - worth the price of the disc alone, and the only one here to feature the FRAGILE/CLOSE TO THE EDGE line-up. Though a Paul Simon cover, Yes makes this track their own, spicing it up with intricate instrumental sections, stretching it out to ten minutes, making it sound like it belonged on either of those aforementioned albums. The hero here is Steve Howe, whose countryish guitar playing is tasteful.

LOOKING AROUND - a funky, soulful shorter track which has Tony Kaye's hammond organ commanding the procedings.

TIME & A WORD - an early classic in the mould of 'Your Move' the following year, this is the only track that Yes retained from the early years for the live shows. A nice early anthem track.

SWEET DREAMS - a somewhat Beatlesish track and one of my favorites from this era. Peter Banks gets shafted however, with his guitar mixed kinda too low. One of early Yes' best though.

THEN - a number more epic in nature, and featuring some orchestral backing. I always thought 'Then' sounded somewhat exotic.

SURVIVAL - from the first album. While 'Then' merely hints at more progressive future directions, 'Survival' actually runs with the ball. This is closest to the Yes as you would know not too much later. In fact, I could draw parallels to a later track from 90125, 'Changes', in that it starts with some tricky instrumental work, goes into a proper 'song' and ends as it began. Really, kind of an early 'Changes'. And Peter Banks' acoustic guitar bit is pretty, though too short.

ASTRAL TRAVELER - driven by a chunky guitar riff, and a dirty, gritty organ which sounds like its grinding up metal shavings. The middle section goes into classical bombast, just like the Classic Yes. Not so much different from their 1971-79 period.

DEAR FATHER - A B-side track included for completists. This was always my least favorite track, which sounds a bit dated unlike the other material here from the same era. Jon's vocals sound strained and the syrup-y string section doesn't do it justice. They should have included 'Something's Coming', another B-side which was superior.

This is a great disc for anyone interested in the first two albums but aren't sure. Buy this compilation first before getting the first two albums. That way, you'll have the excelent 'America'.

I am surprised there are so many negative reviews for this CD, but then again they appear to be written by dedicated fans of this group, whereas I am a newbie to the Yes sound.

Before hearing this CD, my knowledge of Yes included their hit song Owner Of A Lonely Heart, which in my opinion is a less than good song. So when I opened up the packaging to this to find that the first song, America, is a cover of the Simon and Garfunkel tune, I was a little prejudiced and put the CD on expecting a complete butchering of the song.

Very shortly thereafter, my jaw was on the floor. Not only was I listening to amazing musicianship, but the folk-sounding song I knew and loved by Paul Simon had been given new life--a much jazzier and funkier one.

The rest of the songs on here held up the same level of musicianship and I finished listening to the CD without one negative thought.

Perhaps as I hear more and more of this band (as I intend to) I will begin to understand where this recording may be lacking, but as an introduction to the music of Yes, I would have to say this CD is a very worthwhile compilation.

The nearly eleven minutes of Yes' cover of Paul Simon's America make this disc worth purchasing. This cut presents the classic Yes line-up with Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire and Wakeman. It is just an outstanding gem and this is by far Yes' best version of this tune. The rest of the material is taken from their first two albums with original guitarist Peter Banks and keyboardist Tony Kaye. Where Kaye performs admirably, Banks' playing is not up to the task. The compositions are not up to the standard of their other 70's work as they are often underdeveloped and lyrically unsophisticated. Still the interplay between Bruford, Squire and Kaye is impressive even then. Collect The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales of Topographic Oceans, Relayer and Going for the One before opting for this one...Simon

For casual fans or those just getting into Yes, this is the place to start if you want to hear what they were originally like. Most tracks are from the first two albums, YES (1969) and TIME AND A WORD (1970), which feature Tony Kaye and Peter Banks (what? you mean Steve Howe wasn't Yes' original guitar player?) For the most part these songs are the best of the first two albums. If you like this early material, then by all means, go and get YES and TIME AND A WORD, but for heaven's sake, start here. Most of these early songs, including Dear Father, can also be heard on the BBC sessions CD. For completists, this album is a must have. It contains Dear Father, a B-side from the original line up and the full length America (for those who can't get enough of Bruford and Wakeman together in the same line up). I find it perplexing that the single-edit of this song is featured on YESYEARS, and of course Alan White plays on the live vesion on KEYS TO ASCENSION. The full length Bruford America was origianlly released on the Age of Atlantic compilation LP. To top it off, there is a spiffy--or, judging by what the kid on the back cover is doing, pissy--Roger Dean cover, though that style of art suits the later Yes better, not this, the original, nascent band. Really, this album gets 3 1/2 stars.