Yes: Friends and Relatives is a collection of recent solo projects from the most notable members of Yes. Most of the material is available on other solo albums. Unfortunately for Yes fans, the best songs on this compilation are the live tracks from "Keys to Ascention" I and II, which most of you diehards probably already have. Steve Howe's cover of "Walf Don't Run" is a kick. Only Jon Anderson's solo efforts sound as though they were recorded in the '90s. As such, his latest effort "The More You Know" may be worth checking out. To the avid Yes fan (such as myself) this effort neither disappoints nor excites. All in all, Friends and Relatives proves that Yes was, indeed, much greater than the sum of its parts.

My son's hamster mysteriously went berserk when I put this CD on. I was less thrilled. Anything worth listening to you probbably have on the original albums. If your looking for some little known gems from Yes, don't look here. Mind drive on Keys to Accension II is one that blew me away.

"F & R" is a rather tangled, somewhat unrepresentative compilation which contains a bit of everything from anyone having anything to do with Yes. For example, drummer Bill Bruford is credited for one track, but he left the band more than 25 years ago, didn't he? His contribution, "Up north", lacks the typically fiery percussion and fails to have something compelling. Jon Anderson's 1998 remake of "Owner.." with its stomping techno beats ruins this great song, but his other contributions, "Say" and the title cut from his latest solo album "The more you know", are quite good. And so it goes on, with a lot of mediocre material balanced by some interesting tunes. Rick Wakeman is heavily featured here, with material taken from his '90s solo records like "Live at Hammersmith" and "Time machine". My Wakeman favorite on "F & E" is "Sync or swim". Steve Howe comes up with some tasteful prog-guitar tracks, nothing breathtaking, but "Walk don't run" with its flamenco flavor is remarkable. Neither "Best of.." compilation nor rarities collection, I still have to question the motive behind this actually expensive release, though it can be fun for the newly interested. Nice cover art-work, it shows a surreal rocky landscape similar to "Drama" and "Union".

The only pieces worth anything, but not very much, are a couple of the wakeman ditties. The rest is purest drivel. I'm so glad I din't pay a lot for this album. Up North is one my favorite Earthworks songs, but it doesn't fit into this collection -- too jazzy and too good.

I guess it only goes to confirm that each of the heroes in Yes can do very un-heroic things. Don't bother with this one. If you want non-Yes performances by Yes dudes try: Howe: Grand Scheme of Things (only!); Bruford: Earthworks or Feels Good to Me or many others (including Crimson and BLUE); Wakeman: Six Wives (only!); and many folks respect Squire's Fish Out of Water and Anderson's Olias of Sunhillow, but I'm not among them.