Time and a word review

Even without Wakeman or Howe, this rates easily alongside The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge as one of the quintessential early prog-rock albums. Not only is it near-impossible to find a flaw, but every song is both great and succinct, yet the album retains an exceptional cohesiveness. Chris Squire still considers this his favorite Yes album. As much as I love all the others, I’m tempted to agree.

Definitely an improvement on the debut album, Time And A Word was released just like it’s predecessor with a different artwork on both sides of the Atlantic (the ocean, not the label ;o))), but this time, the European got the better deal as the American version had a band snapshot in a cemetery, but with Steve Howe (ex-Tomorrow) in the fold instead of guitarist Peter Banks ? which shows how quick and abruptly Yes fired him.

Obviously the group had learned from their mistakes of the debut album and wrote plenty of tracks ala Looking Around and Survival (the better songs of that one) and here we have Astral Traveller, Then, the title tracks and the album-lengthiest and more complex The Prophet are the highlights. The only disputable weakness is the questionable use of additional strings, which tend to hinder, more than enhance the song’s progress. A good step forward, but not essential still, as you can have most of the album’s better tracks (except sadly The Prophet) on the Yesterdays compilation.

Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe do not participate on the making of this record: it is rather
Peter Banks and Tony Kaye. Tony Kaye uses a VERY dirty (distorted) electric organ. There
is an omnipresent symphonic strings orchestra and some horns arrangements. I think
Banks’ electric guitars are a bit timid, rather rythmic and not enough melodic. Squire’s bass
has its low frequencies VERY boosted. Bruford’s drums are fast and rather complex. There
are many mellow & relaxing bits, and the music is not extremely complex and progressive:
it is quite catchy and accessible. Anderson’s voice is excellent, as always. Most of the
tracks are excellent. I would say this record flirts with the hard rock boundary: the
keyboards really have a hard rock tendency. The album has similitudes with the first Yes
album.

My rating: 4.5/5

I’ve been writing from a parched pen for the past few days, relegated to wandering
over familiar haunts in the search for some lost elixir of inspiration that might have been
missed in earlier travels. «Time And A Word» seemed a fitting destination, since clearly it
couldn’t have warranted such misplaced invective as «grandiloquent goo» (my original
assessment). But a benediction from me will have to wait for a better day. I’ve heard
some of these songs in the context of Yesterdays and suffered no ill mood, but
listening to the 1994 Atlantic remaster once more has rekindled my cranky disposition.
Nowhere in their catalog is their celestial messenger so rudely handled as here,
suffering the ignominy of string arrangements and caricatured in a cacophonous mix
that buries the band under CHRIS SQUIRE’s overburdened bass lines. Songs that might
have soared of their own majesty («Time And A Word», «Then») are here hijacked and
harnessed to the body of a grossly gilded butterfly in the form of TONY COX’
orchestration. The poor thing, as you might imagine, struggles to fly, flapping its wings
noisily in a great commotion. The tragedy here is that «Time And A Word» might have
been a better album than this. «Sweet Dreams» and «Astral Traveller» indicate that the
band’s «Survival» skills remain intact, but producer TONY COLTON apparently had some
sort of commercial death wish for them. The red rating should of course be taken in
context. YES fans are a resilient lot, capable of subsisting on the nectar of a cactus
flower where occasion calls for it.

Still, I’d be remiss in not attaching to «Time And A Word» a word of caution. There’s little
to be gained in listening to this album, chalking it up to the band’s inexperienced
handlers, and slipping the disc back into the forgotten files, but much to be gained from
exploring parallel universes like Flash or the solo work of JON ANDERSON. Look at this
as an open invitation to expand your world. No doubt you can squeeze something
sweet from this lemon, but better to embrace sweet mystery, leave «Time And A Word»
to nameless possibilities, and venture into someplace unexpected, perhaps even into
the gardens of GENTLE GIANT or the harsh universe of VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR.

This could be intitled the ‘Yes Orchestral Album’ and is a massive leap from the first
album.Often unfairly overlooked when looking at their back catologue but well worth
getting if only for’ No Opportunity Neccessairy,No Experience Needed’ which is a real
monster track.No bad tracks in fact but not quite a 4 star as there was still even better to
come.

Nicely out of tune?

«Time and a word» was certainly a major step forward from Yes’ eponymous first album, but was still some way from the classic status of its successors. There are occasional hints of prog in tracks such as «The prophet», which has a more complex structure than most of the songs here.

The performance still lacks the refinement we are now used to, the vocals only being roughly in tune and the harmonies at times being anything but harmonic. There are exceptions, such as the highly melodic title track, where everything seems to come together well. The song itself is a pretty straightforward piece of pop rock, but it is thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.

The band’s confidence in the strength of their own material is still not absolute, as evidenced by the inclusion of two cover versions.

As with the Beatles «Let it be» album, the addition of orchestration is the cause of much debate among fans. In this case, for me it is an enhancement, although looking retrospectively it does make this sound even less like a Yes album than would otherwise be the case.

The enormously high standards set by Yes on the following albums undoubtedly make reviews such as this harsher than they would otherwise be. «Time and a word» is still a fine album with much to enjoy, just don’t expect to hear a «Close to the edge» or «Yours is no disgrace».

The extended remastered CD includes «Dear Father», original mixes of two of the album tracks, plus a single version of the «The Prophet».

This is not as good as their first album. As Chris Squire said in the «Yesyears» video, Peter
Banks «was very against the idea» of using an orchestra in this album, and sometimes I
agree with Banks. The mixing buries Banks`guitar under the sound of the orchestra in some
places. Tony Kaye`s organ is the main instrument in this album, and it sounds very good,
but the album lacks balance for the guitar. Squire and Bruford played very well. And this
album has predominantly Jon Anderson`s songs, apart from an Anderson/Squire song, two
songs written by Anderson/Foster, and two covers. The best songs are «Sweet Dreams»
(recorded without the orchestra), «The Prophet», «Clear Days» (played only with piano,
orchestra and vocals, and it is the best use of the orchestra in the album), and «Time and a
word». Peter Banks was fired or left the band, but his style was similar in some things as
Steve Howe`s. Maybe a new mixing could do better things for this album.

I have to say that the first thing that caught my eye was the surprisingly provocative
cover of the Yes album Time And A Word. It was 1970 and this definitely was not a
normal album cover for that time. It was a far cry from the science fiction covers that
Roger Dean would create. In 2003, a cover like this would not make 10-year-old bat an
eyelash, sad but true.

What I also find amazing about this album is that it was only the band’s second effort.
Rather than stay with the same successful formula (musically, not related to actual
album sales) of the first release they dipped their toes into unknown waters by adding
an orchestra to their compositions. This album is daring to say the least for a band that
was trying to become established. This kind of courage would mark the beginning of
many transitions for a band unafraid to step out and try something new. In the future
change would become their ally. The next time they would record and tour in this
design would be on Magnification (which is an excellent album), released thirty-one
years later in 2001. To say that this particular album is a landmark, is putting it mildly.
In retrospect, how many bands have done the same thing in progressive rock since? It
really does boggle the mind the sheer importance of Yes and their recorded history.

Once again, the bonus tracks are generous (four) and interesting liner notes make your
overall experience more enriching. The always-terrific sound gives the original recording
a new lease on life. I have found listening to all of these remasters a fascinating trip,
particularly this one because it was so different. Listening to a band’s profuse
expansion and change in their musical range, sometimes dramatically, is a rewarding
experience indeed.

It’s funny; I was looking at the black and white photo of the band in the CD tray and
noticed how Peter Banks looked a lot like Joe Perry of Aerosmith. That has nothing to
do with the music but it struck me that there can be so much commonality found in
music yet so many differences.but then in same token people can look so much alike. I
guess it is just another paradox of life, another page out of the novel written by the
group Yes.

Again, the cd remaster doesn’t use the original LP cover. The famous ‘headless naked
girl with long legs’ is reproduced inside the booklet this time, and stamped on the cd
itself. Again, like the first Yes album, I bought this one on vinyl, about 1976.
Unfortunately, the ‘new’ cover on the cd, appears to have the Yes line up from THE
YES ALBUM, with Steve Howe! Not the line up that should appear here! Anyway, onto
the music. The opener, «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed», is rather
unusual, in that Jon Anderson sings in a lower register than is his wont. Of course, the
song itself is excellent, and the orchestra, which is used on this album liberally, adds a
nice background atmosphere, coming over at times quite powerfully. the track is a
Richie Havens song, but Yes do it good justice here. Not my fave track though. The
second one, «Then», is a good contrast as Jon’s voice immediately goes back to his
normal high register. This is a nice ballad starting off with a solitary organ fading in.
Then the bass and guitar interplay nicely whilst Bruford’s drumming is shown off in fine
style here. The orchestra weaves in and out and the whole song is almost jazzy in
parts. Technically wonderful, and deceptively simple. The whole band work well
together on this one. The guitar near the end is atmospheric and nicely underplayed. I
love the ending to this song. Third track in and we have «Everydays». a Stephen Stills
song. One of my favourites on the album this. Very laid back and sixties in style. Nice
use of brushes on the drums, and nice piano to start off. The orchestra adds something
haunting to this piece. Almost bluesy in style, it suits Jon’s voice nicely. I find it,
intentionally or not, quite romantic. A song to listen to through headphones and
daydream along with! The pace in the middle of the song picks up nicely, led by the hi-
hat, and the bass dominates here. The guitar sounds a little dated, but effective. Then
we slow down again for the last verse. The end is, again, impressive, with a reiteration
of the middle hi-hat led theme, and Mr Squire’s trademark rumbling bass ending the
song emphatically. Then comes «Sweet Dreams». This starts off with sixties style guitar,
and is a concise and well composed little number, quite short and melodic. Nice simple
organ backing it here. This is a happy little number. «The Prophet» is next, beginning
what was once side two of the album. This again starts off with organ, before the
orchestra leads the band in. Overall, it is the orchestra and bass that dominate here. It
sounds ok, but is not my favourite track here. The organ at the end almost reminds me
of Alan Price in his Animal days! «Clear Days» comes next, this one being dominated by
what sounds like a chamber orchestra. Another track that is short and listenable, but
nothing special. The penultimate track is «Astral Traveller». This track lacks the melody
of the other numbers, but the guitar and keyboard interplay makes up for this. As was
typical of those days, the stereo effect is used to great effect, wizzing through the
headphones at the build up near the end. The guitar that leads the song in is worth
mentioning, a nice bit of rhythm work from Peter Banks. Also his playing as the end of
the song approaches. A decent effort again. Finally, we have the title track, «Time And
A Word». Nicely opened with acoustic guitar, followed by keyboards, this song,
like «Sweet Dreams», is the most straightforward song on the album, with verse and
chorus. It’s a nice song though, and Anderson sounds good on it. Overall another fine
effort from the Yes boys. Hard to say if I think it is better than the debut or not.
Probably more accomplished this one, but lacking the other’s power. Therefore,
considering them equal, I give them both three stars.

This album seems to arouse some negative feelings among the YES fans, and I guess it’s partly because of the orchestrations, which similar in style as the strings in «From Genesis to Revelations» album. Also STEVE HOWE and RICK WAKEMAN have not yet entered the stage… There are some duller songs on the album too, but some are very good (mine favorite is the enigmatic «Then»). There are even some gospel influences in part of the songs («No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed»). The title tune grew as one of their oldest songs of their concert repertoire. I also liked the songs «Sweet Dreams» and «Astral Traveller» (by the way I think that one of the forum members avatar is from the old television film of this song). Must admit that the album covers are quite lame if compared to the forthcoming Roger Dean sleeves!

In 1970, Yes was still an unknown band from England with some potent talent.
After a somewhat unremarked first album, yes returned in studio with bigger ideas, with
the goal of being more sophisticated in their sound. They decided to bring in a mini-
orchestra and to let the jamming parts aside. The point was to find commercial territories.
Did it work? Absolutely not. The orchestra did not work commercially, because Yes was still
a young band, without a sound of their own, and the string arrangements mostly got in the
way of their progression.

Still, a lot of artists did take notice, like Who’s guitarist Pete Townshend, who was an avid
fan of the group. And for reason, this is a quite good album, with a lot of energy and joy,
even if the sound is not well-defined and perhaps the amps are too high for the orchestra.
The bold version of the Richie Havens classic, »No Opprtunity Neccessairy,No Experience
Needed», is a delight, with a good show from the musicians, especially Chris Squire, wich
shines here. Bill Bruford is starting to mature, but his textures are still not there yet. Tony
Kaye is great throughout the album, with good duets between him and the orchestra. This
is also Peter Banks’ last apparition as a member of Yes. He has his moments, but the
direction yes was taking was to be without him. The tighter sound and the more structured
arrangements would not have fit for the jazz guitarist, and the dexterity needed was
maybe too high for him.

We can still hear the real basis of Yes, such as the lyrics (see Astral Traveler) and the epic
sound ( see The Prophet). A transitional work, indeed, but a great one anyways. This is
not up to what would come next, but it is still underappreciated to this day.

So YES purists generally consider this a minor effort in part due to the orchestra inclusion!
How paradoxical, because YES allegedly represents the top of the sub-genre
called «symphonic» progresive rock and isn’t that the point of it all — to combine and
experiment with mixing rock with classical music, among other things!

Never mind, this album is more than a pleasant surprise when I just listened it for the first time, after being
neglected for many years. I did not expect much, but I must say this is decent early
work from the band with especially prominent parts offered by Squire and Bruford on the
rhythm section. Kaye on organ does not have to be ashamed or envy the later star
Wakeman. He did a wonderful job on keyboards here. Only Banks’ guitars are withdrawn a little bit too much in favour of not always successful orchestral arrangement. In part, this was one of alleged reasons for his quitting from the band prior to the release of the record.

Most of the songs are still pleasant, without much ups and downs. Highlights for me
being «Then» and a cover of American folk-rockers BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD «Everydays».
The only filler here is perhaps «Clear Days».

So on «Time and the Word» YES reasserted their inspiration from the prominant American folk-rockers, like they did on the debut with THE BYRDS’ «I See You» and later with Paul Simon’s «America». And that is a fact many «eurocentrist» proggers love to deny. Since I am a huge admirer of the «West Coast sound» of psychedelic folk/country rock, I can
only add my thumbs up to YES.

«Time and a Word» is slightly less strong effort from the debut LP, but I would still advise you all to re-listen it without prejudice!

PERSONAL RATING: 3,5/5

P.A. RATING: 3/5

This second album of Yes has indicated that the band’s music was becoming mature and
some high-light of the songs include the one that has become all-time favorite for many Yes
die-hard fans as well as the band members: «Time and A Word». It’s a song with very
encouraging lyrics with great acoustic guitar work. It has been the band’s favorite to
perform live in any concert the band did. Another favorite of mine include «Then», «Sweet
Dream» and «Astral Traveler». Through this album we can hear Bruford’s virtuosity with his
drums. Chris thick bass lines are also very obvious. I would usually say his style of playing
is like a walking bass lines.

While Genesis had progressed significantly through their follow up album «Trespass» and
King Crimson with «In The Wake of Poseidon», Yes was still rooted with their debut album’s
style. Yes did not progress the way their other band mates did.

Progressively yours, GW

Yes’ sophomore effort has better songwriting and musicianship but it is plagued by an
unnecessary small orchestra that drowns the band. In a few exceptions (like the opening
western sounding track, or the title track), the orchestra fills in nicely, but in songs
like ‘Then’, it lowers the quality of the music. Highlights are the happy and melodic ‘sweet
dreams’, the opener track with great bass playing, «Then» with its psychedelic style which
is unusual for Yes, and of course the happy, optimistic, compassionate, and Beatlesque
title track which contains some of the most catchy melodies Yes has ever done.

Good, but not essential at all. Recommended for Yes fans who are interested in hearing
Yes in their early stages.

My Grade : C-

For their second outing, the band are still grasping for a symphonic sound that
continues to elude them. String orchestrations add a bit of a depth, but it’s still
Tony Kaye’s spitting and snarling Hammond organ and Peter Banks’ chromium-plated
guitar cascades that form the musical apex of the band’s sound, coupled with
Anderson’s unmistakable singing voice.

There’s still some antiquated psychedelic-pop tunes here («Clear Days») and the band
are still displaying their Beatles and West Coast rock influences on their sleeve (as
evidenced by the Richie Havens and Buffalo Springfield covers). But the grasping for
a grander sound is beginning to pay off, as evidenced on «The Prophet», «Astral
Traveller» and the jazzy version of «Everydays». For all its Californian influences,
the end result is distinctly English.

When I noticed this album, probably in 1975, it didn’t really say much to me. I listened
to «Time And A Word» very sparsely; the tape I got remained practically intact until it
ruined and was discarded — I found the tape, dusty and musty, when doing some end-of-the-year cleanup of my own stuff (interestingly I care to preserve the tape of Yes first album
maybe for the Beatles and Byrds covers listed there).

Well, most recently I redo
contact with this album and my perception changed mildly — grey hairs make the
difference, perhaps. But it is not a competitor for the debut album let alone the
following band works. Production and musicianship are fairer than the observed at Yes
first work but songs are generally weaker, the exceptions are ‘Astral traveller’ which I
have liked since the seventies and two other that has called my attention nowadays:
the title-song and ‘Everydays’ — Yes seemed then more lucky making covers than
working with their own material. Otherwise I wouldn’t say that «Time And A Word»
was a step forward, but fortunately things would change soon for the band.

Also
peculiar is that CD sound could show me the full orchestra accompaniment which I
wasn’t able to catch wholly in the old tape, although orchestra adds only a little for the
music.

This should be a 2-star rating but Yes history cannot be disdained, the final
result wasn’t truly awesome but at least they tried; hence I rate it as an average
album. Total: 2.5 => 3.

This is the confusing album that featured a band photo on the American release
including Steve Howe, who wasn’t actually hired until after the studio tracks had been
recorded with Peter Banks on guitar (the UK version has a tasteful picture of a naked
chick which was much easier on the eyes than Howe anyway).

The two most striking sounds right from the opening strains of this album are the strong
string arrangements (which did not appear on the band’s debut album), and the very
muddy-sounding organ. The strings are a welcome addition, and the organ aside, the
second Yes album is a pretty large step forward for the band.

Bill Bruford’s drumming is even stronger than on the first album, and Peter Banks does a
masterful job of laying down some very progressive guitar chords at a time when most
major rock bands of the day were either recycling Beatles-like pop or veering off into
blues-driven psychedelia. In America at least this stuff really was close to the edge.

The second track “Then” is dominated by Tony Kaye’s heavy keyboards and accented a
bit with horns. This is another fast-paced borderline psychedelic offering that slowly
winds down to silence.

The strings return in a lush arrangement on “Everydays”, a slow-building number written
by Stephen Stills that works up to a ear-bending guitar-and-keyboard extended
instrumental that is flat-out incomparable to anything else being recorded at the time.

“Sweet Dreams” is a song I vaguely remember as a young kid. There weren’t any
singles from this album (not in the States anyway), so my hippy babysitter must have
gotten her hands on this album at some point or another. The song has many
trademarks of the classic Yes period, particularly Anderson’s soaring and gender-
defying vocals and Bruford’s prominent but unpredictable drums.

A jazzy “The Prophet” follows, one of the first of Anderson’s mystic, extended story-
songs again with the strings and horns, followed by the brief interlude “Clear Days”.

Finally come the much better-known “Astral Traveller” and the title track. Both feature
the strident keyboards and Anderson’s staccato vocals that would be so prominent
throughout the 70s (and be largely replaced by more melodic vocal tracks in the 80s).
The extended instrumental passages of keyboards, Chris Squire’s very prominent bass,
and Bank’s guitar were almost surreal to mainstream listeners at the time, and I must
admit I was well into my teens before I really discovered this album following my first
memorable introduction (Relayer). Of the two songs I much prefer “Time and a Word”
with its memorable repetitive refrain and the way the horns and strings seem to lift the
vocals atop the music toward the end. A beautiful song and by far the most memorable
on the album.

This album has a much more consistent quality to it than the debut, although all the
songs on Side A suffer due to the crappy recording quality of the keyboards (which are
much improved on the final three tracks). Like their debut though, this is a very good
album, but not quite a classic or an essential part a general progressive collection.
Three stars, and the best would come only a couple years later.

peace

This is not near as bad as some might make it out to be. No, it’s not one of Yes’s
greatest, but it’s much better than it might appear and still a quality record. I
like a lot of different parts from it, and the «life» of the band is still really
there, Squire’s bass. He more or less defines the Yes sound and gives it that appeal,
the other players merely added to that touch.

There is still much to enjoy here; the orchestration isn’t bad, and some of the songs
are still signature classics. It’s more rocking than prog, but I’m sure you can find
some enjoyment out of it as I did. The first song and the title track were my
personal favorites. A nice addition, especially if you are a Yes collector.

I’ve been acquainted with this album for many years, about 18, and I just don’t get bored
with it, and it originally came out with a different cover — a kind of surreal, black &
white ‘stretched naked body into a room with a checkered floor’ picture (and I treasure it —
the LP, not the naked body), and not with the lame band photo including Steve Howe, who
wasn’t even in Yes at this stage. Whilst ‘Close to the Edge’ is a masterpiece, I have
overplayed it and I just don’t get the thrills out of it anymore. This album, ‘Time and a
Word’, is still such an exciting listen, from the grinding Hammond play from Tony Kaye,
featured prominently throughout, Chris Squire’s rattling Rickenbacker bass, very up-front
in the mix, Bruford is more confident and quite tricky with his drumkit, there’s even
some ‘acidic’ guitar playing from Peter Banks, and Jon Anderson is, well, Jon Anderson — a
great vocalist. Incorporating a small orchestra to extend the sonic pallette, each song
works well, even the cover-versions they make their own. Starting with a Ritchie Havens
track, ‘No Opportunity Necessary…’ they give the full symphonic treatment, with
psychedelic leanings, even incoporating a theme from (I think) ‘Big Country’. Stephen
Stills’ ‘Everydays’ is given an orchestral, jazzy workout with a thundering middle section — a
total knockout. ‘The Prophet’ is the semi-lengthy epic of the album, opening with a
fantastic Hammond solo of incredible depth, morphing into an intense passage where the
band lets loose for a bit, then simmers down to Squire’s playful bass-lines and Jon sings
away. Still, the tracks ‘Then’ and ‘Astral Traveller’ are awesome, vaguely similar in
structure to each other, they demonstrate great use of dynamics, with some full-on
band/orchestra interplay and quiet passages where Banks utilises volume swells to
perfection (‘Then’), to a phenomenal, slow building mid-section of the complex ‘Astral
Traveller’. ‘Clear Days’ is a weaker track, featuring Jon backed with the orchestra,
and ‘Sweet Dreams’ is an enjoyable pop-song with an uplifting riff. The title-track is the
perfect closing to the album with it’s anthemic and majestic chorus. 4.5 stars.

Folks, you have to assume that the art department at Atlantic Records was out to
intentionally sabotage Yes. After being duly impressed by their first album the year
before, I go looking for this in the summer of 1970 in anticipation that they would be
even better this go ’round. When I find the LP I’m not crazy about the cover photo but
it’s not terrible. They look like an average rock and roll band, nothing more. Then I
turn it over and there are five ghastly high-contrast black and white individual photos
that make them look like derelicts. Jon looks like a zombie that just bit into a lemon, the
pictures of Chris and Bill look more like death masks, Tony looks like Charlie Manson and
Peter looks like an aquarium fish. If I didn’t know they were outstanding musicians I
would never have bought it. Horrible album cover. Period. Now that I’ve had my rant
about the inexcusable presentation, onward to the content.

Having been brought up listening to symphonic music, I was excited by what I had read
about Yes working with an orchestra on their 2nd LP. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work
any better than it had for others who’d ventured down the same road. Their cover of
an obscure Richie Havens song, «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed,»
kicks off the album with a strong organ intro and a stirring string section that makes you
think for a moment that this is going to knock your socks off. But no. It quickly
becomes just an average rock tune with the orchestra sounding like they’re playing a
theme from a TV western. «Then» is an improvement as Kaye’s growling Hammond
organ work lays down a fine foundation and Anderson’s vocal indicates he’s improving
as a singer. Bruford’s drums and Squire’s bass interplay nicely throughout but the
goofy ending leaves a lot to be desired.

Their dynamic rendition of «Everydays» is Yes finding another good specimen of late 60s California semi-swing to cover, this one by Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield. You gotta give these guys their props. When they do an arrangement of someone else’s material they take it places the composer never dreamed it would or could go. This may be the only time the orchestral score reaches
its potential as they perform some cool unison jazz phrasing with the group in the
middle section. It also shows that Yes was still holding on to some of the jazz leanings
they showcased on their debut. (Oh, and this time the song’s ending is
excellent.) «Sweet Dreams» features the lush harmonies they nurtured and a likeable
melody but it suffers from a rather clumsy underlying track that never finds a
groove. «The Prophet» is the most adventurous tune here containing a lot of well-
intentioned ideas but no cohesive overall focus. And, once again, the symphony is too
corny and contemporary for this kind of music. «Clear Days» is a so-so ballad but the
overbearing string quartet steamrolls over the melody and the piano. The tune is
disjointed and strange.

Then, at last, a ray of bright, golden sunshine! «Astral Traveller» finally delivers the goods and promises us that stupendous things are eventually going to come from Yes in the years ahead. It’s got everything that great, six-minute progressive rock is about. On this song the individuals are as one. (By the way, the band I was with in ’74 performed this tune in nightclubs for a few months and
it was exhilarating and challenging to play. Alas, the usual responses at the end were
frustrated cries from the inebriated crowd to «play something we can boogie
to!») «Time and a Word» with its catchy love generation «pop» chorus brings things to a
pleasant finale. It’s a thinly disguised stab at getting a Top 40 hit to my ear but I have
to say it’s a well-written song that can easily be sung loudly in the privacy of one’s own
shower.

While all of us who liked the first album were somewhat underwhelmed by this
sophomore effort, we still found reasons to give Yes the benefit of the doubt. Bill
Bruford’s drumming was much more powerful and confident than before. Plus the
harmonies were tighter and more precise. If there was a weak area it was in Peter
Banks’ inconsistent guitar work but that was already in the process of being remedied
remarkably by a virtuoso named Steve Howe. «Time and a Word» displays a talented
quintet that was still searching for its unique sound, this time by experimenting with
orchestral augmentations. They didn’t find their niche here but they certainly did on
the next project and then it was Katy bar the door.

FOLLOWING THE PATH OF THE FIRST ALBUM!

For their second album, YES comes back with the same original line-up with PETER BANKS
and TONY KAYE still playing with JON AMDERSON, CHRIS SQUIRE and BILL BRUFORD.
The big difference with the first album is the addition of a strings orchestra quite present
throughout the album.

We have again 2 covers one from ….Richie HAVENS and another one from Stephen
Stills that show at this time (1970) ANDERSON and SQUIRE were not fishing in the
topographic oceans yet.
Now do you like string orchestration or not? that’s what we will make you appreciate this
album or not. Sometimes well in the front like on NO OPPORTUNITY NECCESSARY ,
sometimes addind a lush sound in the background like on EVERYDAYS, but you can’t escape
it.

Once again, the bass of CHRIS SQUIRE leads the charge the whole album as PETER BANKS
takes a back seat doing here and there some free-jazz style soloing! You know JON
ANDERSON is the boss as he is the writer or co-writer of 6 songs out of 8.Only CHRIS
SQUIRE is credited as a co-writer on THE PROPHET.

But to reach the next level, ANDERSON and SQUIRE already knew a few changes have to
be made within the band in order to progress.

The best tracks on this album are the title track TIME AND A WORD which could be
fearured on any best-of compilations, the sweet ballad CLEAR DAYS and SWEET DREAMS.
There is not a really a bad track on TIME AND A WORD, just a few a little bit over-
orchestrated.ASTRAL TRAVELLER is good too!

Definitely, not a must-have YES album, but like the first one a pleasnt one to listen to it
once in a while. Great things are bound to come very soon .
3 STARS for a good album.

Compared with Yes’ debut album TIME AND A WORD shows considerable improvement in Jon Anderson’s songwriting (with some
help from Chris Squire on «The Prophet») but the album lacks unity, and it’s easy to see why it didn’t turn Yes into stars. It would
have been stronger if Peter Banks’ lead guitar had been left in the foreground more often, and if that dratted, cheap-sounding orchestra had been
left out. Alternative recordings of some of this material (made for the BBC) prove that Yes simply had no need of an orchestra. The
instrumental middle sections of «Then» and «Everydays» sound far more powerful when both hammond organ and lead guitar can shine without orchestral intervention. As things stand, Tony Kaye is the soloist who dominates TIME AND A WORD. He
opens both the original A-side AND the B-side with church-organ style chords, and on ‘Then’ he delivers what must be his most
exciting solo ever! On the other hand, Peter Banks is responsible for the album’s undisputable highlight: the superb guitar solo
in ‘Astral Traveller’, one of the two pieces (the other one is «The Prophet») that give the clearest indication of where Yes music was
heading for.

The time is later and the word is maybe.

Depending on the day, I may give Time and a Word a two, or maybe a four, so I’ll settle on three stars. Basically the
orchestra sounds nice, but I think it serves to restrain the band. Their first album was raw and energetic, but this one
only displays that occasionally. Fortunately, Squire’s bass is mixed nice and loud throughout, and Bruford is really
starting to come into his own. Unfortunately most of the songs have boring parts that feature neither of these amazing
musicians. Anderson’s voice is raw and sometimes a bit out of tune…listening to this leaves no hint at his future
transcendence. Here are the highlights:

No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed. Great bouncy, catchy, and energetic tune. I’m always pumped up after this one.

Then. Great chorus and middle jam, but forgettable verses and a lackluster ending.

Everydays. Similar to Then: A truly inspired instrumental break, but boring stuff surrounding it. Is that worth listening
to the entire tune? Only if you’re in a patient mood.

The Prophet. Another track where Bruford and Squire basically carry the tune…average contributions at best from the rest.

Astral Traveller. My favorite from the album. Finally something upbeat for the duration of the tune, the guitar is finally
doing something interesting, and Anderson has some harmonies to hide his limitations at this point in his career.

Time and a Word. I wasn’t expecting a hippy sing-a-long, but it’s certainly catchy, and a good ending to almost any album.

No wonder the recored execs put the screws to Yes after this album. There is frustrating potential for Yes, but they don’t
seem to know exactly what sound they are going for. Squire and Bruford clearly established themselves, and Anderson
obviously stepped up his game in later albums. This core was prescient enough to fill in their obvious inadequacies with
more capable and creative musicians. A must for Yes collectors of course, but also a nice buy for people who enjoy prog/pop
mash-ups. Just don’t expect «classic» Yes here and you’ll avoid disappointment.

Excellent cover of Buffalo Springfield’s _Everyday_. Always loved this album. Drummers take notice
here. This could be Bill Bruford at his swingiest…definitely in tune with jazz at his earliest stages. The
other highlight here is _Astral Traveller_ with Jon Anderson singing through the Leslie speaker effect and
some Deep Purple/Jon Lord souding organ work from Tony Kaye. The track _Clear Days_ is very
reminiscent of the first Gentle Giant LP, although it pre-dates it by a year or so. This CD is one of the
better works in prog. when using orchestra instead of mellotron. Right on par with Cressida’s _Asylum_
and certainly the better attempt at fusing both orchestra and band when Yes tried it again with
_Magnification_. The best of the pre-Steve Howe period.

Enjoyably jazzy and psychedelic jams from early Yes which shows off their broadening ambition and flair
for complexity. Comparing Time and a Word to later works is somewhat unfair, since the band is still
experimenting and searching for their unique sound; however, even when standing alone there is a lot to
enjoy.

Songwriting is strong, an improvement over their debut at the very least, with several memorable songs
and instrumental passages. Yes fans will doubtlessly enjoy hearing the young band testing out styles
which will later become their staple, and those coming from a more classic rock sound can easily get into
Bruford and Squire’s great grooving. Anderson’s voice is down to earth— not nearly so dramatic as in
later work— and has a different timbre than what we’ll hear later. The inclusion of the orchestra is always
a gamble, but since the band keeps their own playing to forefront it prevents the symphony from sounding
too gimmicky, mostly being reserved for background textures.

All in all a strong early release, mostly for fans of the band but not without its own unique charms.

Songwriting: 3
Instrumental Performances: 3
Lyrics/Vocals: 3
Style/Emotion/Replay: 3

The highlights for me on this album are Kaye’s organ work and Squire’s bass playing. The orchestration
really detracts from me enjoying this recording. It’s pretty amazing as well how much better their next
record «The Yes Album» is over this one.

As i went from song to song I found myself repeating the same
things over and over like great bass lines and killer organ runs, while bringing up the orchestral parts
in a negative way. So i’m not going to do that for each track. The most memorable song for me is probably
the title track if only for the chorus, but by far my favourite sections involve the bass and organ.

2.5 stars.

«Time and a Word» is the 2nd full-length studio album by by UK progressive rock act Yes. The album was released through Atlantic Records in July 1970. It�s the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from 1969 and features the same five-piece lineup who recorded the debut album. Guitarist Peter Banks was however fired from Yes a couple of months prior to the release of «Time and a Word». Banks was not satisfied with the direction of the music and it created tensions with the other members of the band. They finally had enough and Banks was fired and replaced by Steve Howe. «Time and a Word» was not as well received by the critics upon release as the debut was, but it managed to chart in the UK, which the debut never did.

«Time and a Word» continues the semi-progressive rock style of the debut album, but adds an orchestra to some tracks, ultimately making this a very different sounding release to the debut (which was one of the things Banks was very unsatisfied with, another was producer Tony Colton). The album features six originals and two covers of «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed» by Richie Havens and «Everydays» by Buffalo Springfield.

The material are well written, intricate, and memorable. Although I agree with Banks that the orchestra parts really don�t suit the songs and they could easily have been left out, and would probably have made the material better. Highlights include «Then», «Astral Traveller», and the uplifting and beautiful title track, which closes the album. «Everydays» is also a standout track in my book, but «Time and a Word» is a consistent quality release with both progressive moments, more instantly catchy melodic moments, and a couple of harder rocking moments too (although you would of course never mistake Yes for a hard rock band).

The musical performances are on a high level on all posts, from the jazz rock influenced drumming by Bill Bruford, to the busy and creative bass playing of Chris Squire, to the powerful and innovative guitar playing of Peter Banks, to the adventurous and clever organ/piano work of Tony Kaye, to the unique sounding voice and vocal delivery of John Anderson (and the many well arranged harmony and choir vocal parts). Yes were a force to be reckoned with already this early on in their career. It�s obvious that they had collective skills that few other contemporary artists could muster. There�s so much power, passion, and intensity to the performances that it�s hard not to be impressed by what you�re listening to.

Later remixes/remasters have cleaned up the original sound production, which was a little rough around the edges, but the original album was pretty well sounding too considering the time of recording (December 1969?February 1970). So upon conclusion «Time and a Word» is a good quality release. It�s not the giant step forward from the debut album, that one could have hoped for, but bigger changes were lurking around the corner, and in the case of «Time and a Word» less will do. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

I’ve set myself the goal of reviewing every Yes studio album. It’s a progidious feat, but I’m probably
over halfway there. Today I want to visit the Yes album that I probably listen to least, A Time And A
Word.

The first two Yes albums were not sucesses, but their character is very different. The first Yes album is
a good album, but firmly in the psychedelic genre. When listened to, it gives very little hint of the
direction that Yes will take later on. The second (which this review is about) is a poorer effort, but it
clearly foreshadows the direction that Yes will follow later on.

Let’s discuss the tracks.

No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required: The future begins here. The inclusion of an
orchestra and Chris Squire’s dominating bass lines make this a rich and exciting track. Jon sings a low
register here, which is also an interesting novelty. The song is good, but not great. Still this is a great
start to the album.

Then: I don’t like this one. It’s keyboard driven psych with the orchestra parts once again integrated,
but it doesn’t appeal to me like the last track, and Squire isn’t nearly as prominent.

Everydays: This track once again expands the boundaries of what Yes is exploring musically. In a
very mellow way, it’s kind of jazzy. The composition is very piecemeal, and the orchestra once again
makes it’s presence known. This most definitely isn’t the Yes that you know and love, but it is an
interesting change.

Sweet Dreams: A syrupy rock track, but not as bad as something like Survival off of the first album.
It does have an edge to it, courtesy of Squire and Kaye (of all people.) Not a favorite, but not
forgettable either.

The Prophet: This foreshadows the epic form that Yes would develop in the next album. Unfortunately
they don’t quite have the idea down yet. Kaye’s introduction isn’t really up to snuff, and the song is
pleasant but not really good. Anderson’s vocals give a hint of what we are in for later on (esp. in
CTTE.)

Clear Days: Another piecemeal track. I’m ashamed to admit that I really like this piece of psychedelic
dreck, but I can’t explain why. I like it, but I sure don’t expect you to.

Astral Traveller: This one showcases Peter Banks’s talents (although Kaye and Bruford also shine
here.) Not a great song, but some scintillating performances.

Time and a Word: Eddie Offord (the producer) once said that he thought Yes had two really magical
moments in And You and I and this song. I agree with him on And You and I, but A Time and a Word
always struck me as too repetitive and not interesting enough to qualify.

Anyhow, I’m giving this album two stars. As far as progressive rock goes, this album is definitely a
transition between Yes’s early psychedelic foundation and their establishment as a bastion of
progressive rock. Here they start experimenting with the ideas that will make them the maestros of
progressive rock, but they don’t master them until the next, watershed album.

There’s a time and the time was then and it’s right for me — There’s a word and the word is Yes and it’s right for me

Clearly an improvement over the debut album, but still far behind the masterpiece follow-up The Yes Album and future greats Fragile and Close To The Edge. Steve Howe was not yet on board, Rick Wakeman was not to join for yet another album, and the band were still more of a Proto-Prog band than the groundbreaking Symphonic masters they were soon to be.

Still, taken for what it is this album is very good. There is still a slight similarity to Deep Purple’s earliest period with the Hammond organ being on the forefront and some songs rocking quite hard. The title track, however, is more of a Psychedelic 60’s pop tune with flower power lyrics. This song would later be revived for inclusion in the bands set lists on some future tours.

Recommended, but not essential.

A band with YES’s power and ability simply does not need an orchestra.

Like all the other orchestral experimentations during this period, the attempt to integrate
orchestra and band failed. Nowhere is this clearer than in the otherwise excellent opening track,
blessed with the cumbersome title ‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed.’ This is a
persuasive attempt to render their dramatic skill at reinterpretation, but that central orchestral
section is grafted in with all the subtlety of a third leg.

Aside from the unnecessary orchestration, the album suffers from too many inferior compositions, and
generally appalling arrangements. It’s telling that two of the three standout tracks are covers,
which (given their later achievements) is more a matter of confidence than of lack of talent. The
central section of ‘Everydays’ shows real promise, and it is a pity the band didn’t build a more
effective song around it. Other songs are simply a waste, including the execrable ‘Clear Days’.
There’s nothing of the calibre of ‘Survivor’ on this album, nor is there much hint of what was to
come within the year. ‘Astral Traveller’ is at least competent, while ‘Time and a Word’ is memorable
if a little repetitive. And argh, that orchestra!

This is an album that cries out for a reinterpretation. It would be interesting to hear this without
the orchestra and with more daring arrangements. Short of that, though, it is not a record to
command repeated listenings. Pass on this and the debut and move on to their next album. Come back
here at the end of your YES journey.

Orchestral feel to this album and not as progressive as the follow up albums that came along. All in good
time! Nevertheless the title track is beautiful and that energetic Richie Haven opener ‘ No opportunity
necessary, no experience needed’ makes up for any peaks and vallies on Time and A Word. Tony Kaye
and Peter Banks are still present which also has to have a bearing on the future shape of their music. The
real strength on this album though is Chris Squire ( nothing abnormal about that) but his bass work is
superb and it allows the whole album to gel together nicely. Some great covers and overall a good album
but we all know the best was yet to come. A solid three stars.

The second album by Yes is something like the first one.The band still looking for their sound.They
are trying to make experiment with this album,because of the orchestral arrangements incorporated
in.There are some very good ideas,but as whole the sound is not quite clear.I think that this album
is little more weaker than the first one,because of the fact the there are not fully completed
song(maybe the last track Time and a Word).In the first album I think there are two essential
songs(without counting the covers) — the first one and the last one — Beyond and Before and
Survival.Here we haven’t so good songs,but maybe the overall level of the songs is higher than
there!Not a everyday album!

I had heard most of these tracks on compilations before buying this so I came into this album quite
aware of the greatness of it’s best tracks but I desired to hear the lesser known tracks to decide for
myself whether this album warrants a five star rating as many have awarded it here. I consider Yes to
be my all time favourite prog band so I was quite disappointed with this album.

I am not convinced of the full rating for a number of reasons, the most important of which is the stand
out tracks that are excellent are the ones that appear on all the compilation albums. The other tracks
feel more like throwaways than anything else in comparison to the brilliant quintessential albums
Fragile, Close to the Edge, The Yes Album and Tales of Topographic Oceans.

The first track ‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed’ is a wonderful stand out opener and
features orchestral arrangements and incredible vocals packed into less than 5 minutes.

‘Then’, and ‘Everydays’, are nice additions but quite forgettable, and not up to the usual Yes standard.

‘Sweet Dreams’ is one of the gems I had heard before, as is ‘Astral Traveller’. They are classics,
masterfully produced with musical virtuosity and incredible precision time signatures.

‘The Prophet’ is a progressive 6 and a half minute mini epic with some stand out guitar and keyboard.

‘Clear Days’ is another of the throwaways and not as innovative as the other tracks.

‘Time and a Word’ is another of the classics and a must for Yes and prog fans — pure genius.

So what do we have? 4 brilliant tracks — found on lots of compilations, 1 awesome track that grows on
you and 3 throwaways that are forgettable and inconsistent with the usual excellent Yes standard.

I would only buy this if you are a completist or you see it cheap. I am not going to mention the bonus
tracks as I only have the original album, however they may be enough to warrant a purchase, though I
seriously doubt it.

3 stars for the brilliant tracks is the highest I am willing to go with this.

Yes — ‘Time and a Word’
2.5 stars

A sophomore slump that hits even the best of bands.

I believe Yes aimed their sights way too high on this one. It was always Yes’s blessing and curse. For this
time around, I think they were way too young and undeveloped to integrate an orchestra into their music,
especially since some weren’t able to get the job done themselves.

The major problems arise with the members that were soon to be replaced. Peter Banks guitar work was
appalling compared to his job on the eponymous debut album. His eclecticism and variety that really gave
the debut a shine was largely vacant on this one. He just merely provided a rhythm backing and had little
implementation on the music. Likewise, Tony Kaye had a sort of similar problem in his execution as well.
His organ is damn dirty, and I mean really dirty. It just doesn’t mix with strings and horns at all.really
goes against the point of it all. Combined, these two musicians really drag the album down low.

The opening track is a beauty, but just a cover song, but the credit is due for its wonderful execution.
None of the other tracks really live up to that one’s potential. I was fairly disappointed with this one, but
there was room for change.

Although this album marks an improvement over the first album, something here simply doesn�t work
(at least as a whole album is concerned). The band is more confident, bolder and there are some
brilliant moments (the title track, Time Traveller, Sweet Dreams, Then). But there are parts that is
also clear they were just experimenting. The orchestrations didn�t help much most of the time, since
they tend to bury the group�s sound (the guitar sound to be more especific). Tony Cox simply seems
not to know what to do with Yes music. Little wonder the band refused to use an orchestra again for
over 30 years!

What strikes me here are the organ sound: I guess Tony Kaye was better than I used to think. And
Bill Bruford is very confortable too, working very well his jazzy influences. The bass is a little
too high in the mix, but Chris Squire�s playing is as beautiful and skillful as ever. Sometimes I�m
not sure if Jon Anderson�s voice was recorded right all the time. The same goes for the harmony
vocals. Peter Banks suffers the most as he is hardly noticed (lack of interest? He was sacked soon
after this release).

In all, I see this as a transitional album. They tried different approaches to the music and some
worked, some didn�t. However, the songwriting department did improve and their potential would be
shown in the next album with full force. There are some strong tunes and in general I think this
album is superior to their debut. However, it is also way below anything they would do in the next
few years. Be sure to have their major albums before getting this one.

As with the first album, Yes offers six original songs and two covers. This time, the material is
stronger and a little bit closer to the classic Yes sound, though still not quite there. With the
notable exception of «The Prophet,» Tony Kaye is inadvertently relegated to the background, and I
believe this is due in no small part to the band bringing the orchestra on board. My opinion of
this addition is mixed, as sometimes they blend in with the band, and at other times stick out
somewhat unpleasantly. Peter Banks, who will no longer be a member of Yes after the release of this
album, takes more of a supportive role as well. Chris Squire’s bass guitar is creeping up to the
fore, as the first two tracks show. Jon Anderson is much better than he was on their first album,
but still lacks much of the maturity that came later. Bill Bruford, doesn’t stand out too much, but
keeps the beat well enough. Five of the eight tracks are strong enough to warrant this album four
stars, but only just.

«No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed» Normally, I don’t think a band with original
material should start off an album with a cover song, but none of the other pieces are energetic
enough to warrant going first. The introduction contains a heavy organ and the orchestra. The bass
groove is most powerful during the verses, and Anderson really does a phenomenal job singing this
one. The orchestral-based interlude always makes me think of the theme for «The Magnificent Seven»
even though the tunes are quite different. I consider this Yes’s best cover song (even though there
aren’t many of them), and I enjoyed it the very first time I heard it.

«Then» Like «Survival» from the previous album, this is one song I wish the band would do live now.
It’s an excellent song, full of very interesting parts, at just under six minutes. The
introduction has a descending organ and guitar line before Kaye locks into a groove, while Banks and
Squire fiddle around over it. Anderson’s singing is delightful, especially during the chorus.
Squire makes his bass sound like a deep machine gun during the instrumental section, and Banks and
Kaye really show what they’re made of. At times, the music sounds like it could have been part of
the soundtrack to a James Bond film, and this is largely due to the orchestra’s involvement.
Afterwards, only Squire and Banks play, and after Anderson finishes the song (very quietly), the
band and brass section wrap it up quickly.

«Everydays» Here’s the second cover song (this one from Buffalo Springfield), and the problem is,
it’s terribly boring. The trembling strings, the pizzicato, the uninteresting drumming, Anderson’s
dreary singing, and the lack of rock instrumentation,make the first couple of minutes tiresome. The
heavy rock section that follows is wild and doesn’t really flow, but at least it’s a relief from
what came before. Banks gets a rare opportunity to show his stuff throughout the entire middle
section. Sadly, the song becomes what it was in the beginning- bland and tedious. The very end is
just random.

«Sweet Dreams» If Yes ever wrote a pop song before 90125, this is definitely it. But it’s good,
and one I enjoy hearing. I was pleased the band pulled it out of their catalogue on their DVD Songs
from Tsongas, though I would’ve picked something else myself. Despite its generally simple
structure, there are some fine bass and guitar runs, and the chorus is a lot of fun to sing along with.

«The Prophet» Kaye enjoys time in the spotlight during the first minute of «The Prophet.» Even
though he is clearly not as talented, I like his organ playing here better than most of what Keith
Emerson ever did on his solo spots on the ELP studio records. The strings, and later the whole
band, joins Kaye in setting things up for the song proper. The vocal work, especially over the
strings, is some of the best on the album, as Anderson gives his voice some «oomph» that is clearly
lacking on most of Yes’s first two albums. I enjoy Squire’s playing on the short section just
before the final verse. This song, which overall is the closest to progressive rock on this record,
finishes strongly.

«Clear Days» The shortest number here is a bland little ditty that really features only the strings
section and Anderson singing. The music sounds like something that would be performed during an
extravagant wedding.

«Astral Traveler» Yet another exceptional Yes song, «Astral Traveler» has some exciting
instrumentation throughout. I like the warbling effects applied to the vocals, and the entire piece
has very clear direction. Banks gets in two solos, one on a muffled guitar with a jazz tone, the
other with a crispy, distorted tone. There is more machine-gun bass-playing from Squire, and
Bruford’s drumming is fantastic. I also especially like the lyrics. Like «The Prophet,» this one
is definitely «progressive rock» and shows exactly where the band is heading musically.

«Time and a Word» The title track is not progressive rock, really, but still a positive and
pleasant acoustic guitar-based song. I like how the lead guitar is played through a Leslie, and
Squire’s bass work during the chorus is top-notch. Most of all, the vocal harmonies are exceptional.

Nearly Time Out

This equally flat follow up to their not exactly mind-blowing debut put the future of Yes in the
balance. The fact that it actually did worse in terms of sales, failing completely to put them
on the map in America, and causing Atlantic to seriously reconsider their contract only goes
to underline how much work (and personnel changes) were required in order to make this
band a success.

The opening cover of Ritchie Haven’s No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience
Required shows Jon Anderson in the same mould as on the debut — barking out the
lyrics and losing all sense of the original’s vitality and drama. The vocal harmonies are not
Springfield/CSN any more, they’re utterly laughable.

The interpretation is, underneath all the sloppily engineered orchestration, not a bad one,
musically, as it creates a powerful driving boogie that actually suits it. The opening
orchestration is a complete joke, though, only topped in cringeworthiness by the sudden
interjection into the title music from The Big Country, by Jerome Moss.

This style, though, is very close again to that of Scottish band Clouds, who used
subtle orchestrations on their 1968 debut, Scrapbook, as well as the sudden
classical style excursions and jazz moments.

The orchestration thing was inspired by The Nice and Deep Purple,
according to AMG — but to these ears, Clouds are the natural predecessor. It sounds awful
to me — and it sounded awful to poor Peter Banks, who was later sacked from the band.
Unlike Clouds, though, Yes had a few students from the Royal College of Music as the
orchestra, under the guidance of unknown Tony Cox — which might explain its general
awfulness.

Add to that the crushing presence of Squire’s bass, turning Bruford’s kit into so many
biscuit tins, and this is a real Spinal Tap moment in the history of Yes.

Then begins with a real Lord-like hammond, and more of that ridiculous
orchestration, but, thanks to Bruford’s drumming, is much more interesting. All manner of
Genesis styled bits and pieces float through, with Emerson flavoured dischords from Tony
Kaye. The instrumental section is mildly interesting, but mostly bluff in a kind of ELP style.

You can tell that Yes were trying to get onto the bandwagon they saw forming in the music
of Crimson et al — but this falls far short of the mark until 4 minutes or so, when there is a
sudden drop down to a laid-back coda, reminiscent of the middle section of Moonchild — or
perhaps Child In Time, until Anderson ruins it all with those interminable squeaky vocals.

Next up is the lightly jazzy downtempo interpretation of Stephen Stills Everydays,
which suffers even more from the orchestration, which is out of tune in places. Oddly
enough, in other places, it works very well well well… speaking of which, when those words
are sung, the piece is ruined for me.

Again, Anderson completely fails to pick up the feeling of the original piece — he totally loses
the wonderful chromatic runs of the original, the thrown away well, well, wells, as well as
the light-hearted sunshine at the core of the piece.

This moves on to a section that begins interestingly, before descending into a rather messy
jam, Squire leading all the way, with loads of parallel chord movement that sets my teeth on
edge. It’s a peculiar mixture of bits and pieces that work and sound good, and more stuff
that just sounds horrid, which you sit through in case another good bit appears.

Generally, it spectacularly fails to create the atmosphere of the original, instead, creating a
kind of pastiche atmosphere of the progressive music scene, of which this is at the fringe —
and not for the right reasons.

Sweet Dreams has a sort of proggy chugging rhythm on the bass and an uber-
repetitive, catchy melody. There are flavours of the Beatles strongly running through this
pop-styled song, but there are also a number of interesting changes in the music, and
Banks puts in some interesting rhythm parts, reminiscent of the Byrds. The instrumental
section is a bit of a train wreck, however. Mainly, it’s Anderson’s voice that kills the piece —
which is a pity, as musically, it’s more interesting than a lot of reviews might have you
believe.

Kaye’s intro to The Prophet stumbles around blindly after the first 30 seconds or
so — but begins very promisingly, setting up a nice proggy texture. The intrusive strings soon
wreck proceedings completely, and the piece flails around trying to find some kind of
direction — but fails miserably.

Interesting sounds poke through, but mainly, this piece is based around a few simple
jams — the main one being based on a single chord. Where it isn’t, the sections are short
and mainly a Squire/Bruford showcase duet. These latter are sometimes interesting, but
never develop.

The orchestration then introduces Clear Days, a mercifully short saccharine-sweet
ballad. Buried in the mix are some meandering piano lines from Kaye, which sound like
they might be quite interesting.

Then we’re blasted with a funky riff from Banks, picked up by the rest of the band — a tired
walking bass line from Squire, and some brave efforts from Bruford to save things
rhythmically in Astral Traveller.

The warped effect on Anderson’s bark soon gets old, and the continued intensity of this
piece makes for tiring listening — yet there is something that draws me in, until the kind of
tinkly bit half way through — another classic Spinal Tap moment of the most embarrassing
sort — and even then, there are still moments of near-glory in the music, even in the
continuing single chord jams, with off-kilter rhythms and superb sonic arrangements.

Definitely the proggiest piece on this entire album.

Finally, the title track — which one would expect to be the high point of the album; the
moment everything has been leading up to.

Instead, we get this rather unconvincing song with an interesting arrangement, sans the
horrible orchestration at last, that shows a band tentatively experimenting with different
chord progressions within the confines of a pop song.

So ultimately, there’s not a lot of variety in this album, no overarching concept, a
preponderance with pop song writing, horrible string orchestration — Motown did it much
better, years before — a tendency to wear their influences on their sleeves to the point of
including covers, some really painful moments, and awful vocals and lyrics.

On the bright side, there are some very interesting musical moments, and the album offers
a kind of compulsion on that basis — you trawl through the dross in order to hear the good
bits, and are duly rewarded, even if momentarily. Oh, and 50% of the songs are longer than
5 minutes.

Since Yes have long been considered among the darlings of Prog, this is definitely an
album to listen to, even if not actually own. It’s also worth exploring the tiny back catalogue
of Marquee-mates Clouds, who are now here in the archives to more fully appreciate this
album in context.

Not a very good album — but a recommended, if not compulsory listen for all collectors and
fans of Prog.

After an acceptable but irrelevant debut, YES had to release a really strong album in order to
stay in the eye of the storm and to resist comparisons with icons such as KING CRIMSON,
so the band hired an orchestra and recorded the more ambitious «Time and a Word».

Nobody can deny that the album is a healthy leap from their modest self titled release, but
still weak in comparison of records released the same year like «ELP» or Trespass», which
were far ahead in creativity, originality and complexity. Despite this fact, «Time and a Word»
is a pretty good album with some outstanding moments bit others weak and even far bellow
the average.

The pompous «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed» opens the album, which
I believe is a mistake, being that the track is a cover version of Ritchie Havens song,
combined with Jerome Moross’ soundtrack for «The Big Country», and a band that pretends
to be one of the leaders of a recently born movement can’t rely so much in covers (Their
previous album already had two), doesn’t matter how good they can be.

Of course the arrangements are original, even the usually annoying Anderson’s vocals
sound great, the only problem lies in the terrible and out of tune backing vocals (something
unusual with Squire in the band)

The orchestral mixture makes the track stronger, but still I can’t stop imagining Gregory
Peck on a cowboy movie each time I listen the track, and this makes it sound even more
dated than when released, bad start for a good but uneven album.

«Then» is a great improvement, at last we can listen an excellent song, complex, well
elaborate, with interesting structures and radical changes. Again Join Anderson’s voice is
sweet and less acute than usual (When did he started sounding as Farinelli?), the violins
are a perfect addition to Kaye’s keyboards. A magnificent song.

«Everydays» is a good song, very Jazzy and well elaborate, but again a cover, this time from a
song by Stephen Stills, way too much if you add the two tracks from the previous album and
of course «America» by Paul Simon, but this is the last occasion in which this would happen,
their subsequent albums would contain only their own material.

«Sweet Dreams» proves that a Prog band can also rock and do it well, despite the good
arrangements, the wonderful keyboards and imaginative guitar by Peter Banks, it’s a blues
oriented track, the only question I keep asking is why did the backing vocals were so out of
tune around all the album.

If only Tony Kaye had sounded like in «The Prophet» on all the tracks, probably YES would
had never recruited Rick Wakeman, never so Baroque and dramatic as in this song, the
good keyboardist does an excellent job leading the band towards a Jazzy track and making
it well all along, with that typical late 80’s Psyche oriented sound, I always wondered why
they don’t play «The Prophet» on stage.

As said before, the problem with «Time and A Word» is that the album is uneven, the best
prove is «Clear Days» a short and boring orchestral interlude that I believe was recorded
only to reach the 39 minutes the album lasts, otherwise I can’t understand how a sub-
standard song was included.

Now «Astral Traveler» is another excellent song in which they blend the Baroque keyboards
with a 100% Prog Rock structure, again Peter Banks plays excellent guitar sections that
blend perfectly with the rest of the band, specially with good old Bill Bruford who does one of
his most elaborate performances.

The album ends with the title song, a timeless classic that sounds today as good as it did
in 1970, soft but at the same time complex, for the first time in the album the backing vocals
are outstanding, absolutely melancholic that represents the first stage of YES with honors.

Now, I don’t like the albums with so many covers, but all are well performed and leaving
behind two weaker tracks, «Time and a Word» is a huge improvement that allows us to
listen for the first time echoes from the future greatness of YES.

Not a masterpiece neither an excellent addition to any Prog collection, but a good album,
so I believe three stars is a fair rating.

Time and a Word saw Yes attempting to use an orchestra, something that, in a sense, made perfect
sense for a symphonic prog band, but at this point, Yes were still more of a psychedelic band than a
prog band. The orchestra still fits well enough, and they are perhaps the most compelling reason to
listen to this album — to hear what Yes could sound like with an orchestra. (This is something you
could alternatively hear on their later album, Magnification, or on their Symphonic Live CD or DVD).

In terms of the songs, Yes had not yet reached the era where their epics would define them — the
longest song on this album isn’t quite 7 minutes (even with the bonus tracks).

It starts strongly enough with No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed — a cover, but one
with enough energy to have the listener feeling appropriately upbeat. It is not hugely memorable
afterwards, I find, but nonetheless a fine opening. The following song, Then, is perhaps stronger,
as Yes were really starting to master their songwriting, even if they weren’t quite the masters that
they would become with their next album.

Everydays is yet another cover, and not a hugely strong one; it is followed by Sweet Dreams, another
upbeat tune that is more memorable than the opener. Other than that, there is not much to be said
about it.

The next two songs, The Prophet and Clear Days, both have nice soundscapes but are as forgettable as
almost everything else on the album. The only reason to keep listening through them is to reach the
end of the album, which includes two highlights, and the strongest songs off the album — Astral
Traveller and Time and a Word (the title track).

Astral Traveller is a catchy guitar-driven song, one of the two on the album without the orchestra.
This song would not receive a lot of live play, however, although it has been featured in their most
recent (2008-2009) tour, with Chris Squire being the only member of the band who was around at the
time of this albums recording. It really is a gem, and while perhaps not as much of a masterpiece as
anything from Yes’ golden era, definitely a great track.

Time and a Word is idyllic in the way that many future Yes tracks would be, under the lyrical
guidance of Jon Anderson. While not quite as much of a flight of fancy as future tracks, the chorus:

«There’s a time, and the time is now and it’s right for me, it’s right for me, and the time is now.
There’s a word, and the word is love and it’s right for me, it’s right for me, and the word is love.»

Is appropriately upbeat and catchy enough.

Overall, however, those two songs are the only ones truly memorable. For people who are not into the
band, this album is little more than a curiosity — they would have stronger tracks on future albums,
and Symphonic Live is probably the best way to go to hear Yes with an orchestra, as you can hear
some of the best songs from their entire catalogue on that disc.

Yes and a(n) Orchestra

Time and a Word is Yes’ 1970 album, the year which many Prog bands surged or at least released
something decent; Emerson, Lake & Palmer with their groundbreaking debut album, Genesis with their
angelic second album Trespass, King Crimson with a jazzier version of their groundbreaking debut,
and so on.

Yes’ debut showed us Yes as a decent rock band playing some nice covers and some potentially great tunes, yet to be crafted and developed as much as in future years, still enjoyable despite
simplicity and/or typical rock cliches. Yes with Time and a Word, while continuing to be pretty much rock musicians dealing
with an average orchestra, they really surpassed themeselves, and quite a lot I must add.

While the orchestra kind-of shadowed Peter Banks guitar, Tony Kaye and Chris Squire take the lead
and WOW, what a lead! Tony Kaye shining on the distorted early 70’s Hammond-Organ, just like Ken
Hensley and Jon Lord were doing at the same time, while Tony Kaye also added some classical and
subtle substances, very alike what Tony Banks was doing with Genesis the same year. Chris Squire on
the other hand, with the guitar being pretty buried on the mix, his bass playing is very loud and
thank god for that! Lots of great powerful and addictive bass lines to enjoy.

Jon Anderson and Bill Bruford are quite far from being what they were to become, they still
stand-out in plenty of sections which amaze me since it’s such a early stage for these musicians to
show what they really are capable of.

Some may be afraid of the orchestra damaging the quality of the album, and to tell you the truth, it
does somehow, but that’s when you listen to it for the first time, you’ll find it immature, cheesy
and maybe even annoying. However with time you get used to it and start to appreciate some passages,
believe me or not I now can’t really imagine this album without it(the orchestra). In many passages
it works just like a mellotron, adding a mood and atmosphere that that specific passage requires, in
other passages it works as a reinforcement, since the guitar is pretty low, the orchestra plays the
same(as the guitar) but louder and with more power.

Stand-out songs for the prog-fan are definitely the songs that exceed the 5 minute mark; Then,
Everydays(yes, it’s a cover, but it’s done greatly), The Prophet and Astral Traveller, all
presenting what I mentioned: the loud and sparky bass, the distorted, though clever, organ, helpful
orchestra, and some nice moments from the rest. Going even deeper in the analysis of these, The
Prophet and Astral Traveller would settle pretty much the basis from future Prog classics featured
in The Yes Album.

While the rest of the songs are pretty much what made the debut album, a array from enjoyable
decent-eleborated pop/soft songs, which includes the »minor-hit»(among prog-fans) Sweet Dreams
with Jon’s ‘signature’, up-lifting, mood.

Time and a Word stands as a common 1970 album from a future classic Prog band, great ideas, strong
compositions and promising musicians. However, for me the overall strength of the compositions of
this album goes a bit beyond the typical 1970 album, delving through very thoughtful musical
passages which few have done within this stage of earliness, also the fact that the band is exploring new ideas and dares to attempt what in 10 years or so they would never have, is something I truly enjoy and that’s what makes this album worthy of 4 stars. (take note that I’m a sucker for early albums by 70’s Prog/Rock bands, not sure if it’s the different sound they present or the »free-spirit » in them or the general rule of using the Hammond Organ, either way(s) I love it)

UPDATE: 2 stars was harsh for this proto-progressive gem. Although I still feel the orchestra application is sloppy here (and some), the tunes I always liked, I now love. Trevor Rabin said he liked it because of the transitional feel from cool pop to symphonic prog rock, and with that in mind, Time and a Word does have a great mood to it. Nevertheless, it contains orchestral filler (the worst kind)….

REVIEW: Time and a Word is difficult for me. Both to listen to and review. For, when I hear it, part of me
wants to congratulate Jon Anderson for continuing up the ‘mountain of progressive-ness’. Yet,
part of me also wants to slap him in the face for being so prematurely pretentious. Yes, I’m
talking about the orchestra. Enhancing a rock album with an orchestra, is considered a bit of
a «mid-career crisis». It is designed for bombastic double albums and rock operas with their
inevitable world tours. But Yes hadn’t reached the middle of their career yet; this was only their
second album. And in my opinion, the orchestra restricts the record as a result.

A lot of
people compare Time and a Word to YES; the two come as a sort of ‘pair’. This isn’t surprising
(they were the only two albums to feature that line-up). And most people rate them pretty much
equally. The thing is, Time and a Word, SHOULD be better than Yes, and compositionally it is.
In fact, most elements of the album are an improvement: theres more of a focus, more
complex arrangements, and an increased showcase of instrumental skill. However, the album
is handicapped by its orchestra. It’s too ambitious, and the band, still young and relatively
inexperienced, don’t carry it off well. If they had waited until their world-domination status to
make a symphonic album, it may have worked in their favour (Maginification doesn’t count,
they were hardly «on top of the world» when they made that). And so what we get on Time and a
Word, is the snazzy and impressive nature of YES, ruined by the sloppy application of the
orchestra, who seem to be just as confused by it all as the listener. There are great moments,
but you have to ignore the symphonic decoration to appreciate them. Violins add nothing to a
great rock song. Cellos add nothing to a jazz workout. Quirky brass adds nothing to a Richie
Havens cover (and what’s the Western insert all about?!).

For Yes, Time and a Word was
one step forward, two steps back. The mistake of the orchestra was forgivable, but a mistake
nonetheless. They were lucky to survive this one…

In 1970, Yes followed up their promising debut album with this rather patchy affair. I’ve never
been particularly keen on Time And A Word due to the tasteless orchestration throughout the
album. I’m not overly fond of the surreal artwork of a naked woman either, and this cover was
apparently considered to be unsuitable for the US audience. Some of the songs here are
actually quite good, but the intrusive orchestrations spoil them in the majority of cases.
Paradoxically, one of my favourite parts of the album is the orchestrated ‘Big Country’ theme
that is incorporated into the cover of Richie Havens’ NO OPPORTUNITY NECESSARY, NO
EXPERIENCE NEEDED. The remainder of the piece tends to bore me though. THEN is one of
the better tracks, but the brash orchestral sweeps obscure Tony Kaye’s organ flurries. The
album’s second cover is a tedious version of Buffalo Springfield’s EVERYDAYS, although it
picks up in the middle with a nice instrumental section.

Jon Anderson monopolizes the songwriting credits on this album; Chris Squire, who co-wrote
four songs on the debut, is only involved on one song here. THE PROPHET is the sole Squire
collaboration, and it’s an ambitious but dull piece featuring nice Hammond and really cheesy
strings. Anderson indulges himself on CLEAR DAYS, which has a chamber feel thanks to the
string arrangement, while SWEET DREAMS and the title track are catchy sing-along tracks. For
me, ASTRAL TRAVELLER is the album’s highlight with its treated vocals and Peter Banks’
choppy guitar. As with a track or two on the first album there’s a Genesis influence here, during
the central instrumental section. Time And A Word is small-beer in comparison to subsequent
Yes albums. It’s ok, but then again it’s not as good as the first album and I could happily do
without those orchestrations. So, in my opinion this is for fans only.

What do you do when you’ve decided that your band’s calling is not as an interesting jazz-
rock ensemble, but as an art-rock band? And what do you do if your compositions aren’t
quite of the necessary caliber or style to make said jump? Why, you grab your friendly
neighborhood orchestra and ask them to contribute arrangments over your songs, whether
they fit or not!

Essentially, all of the problems with this album are summed up in that opening blurb there.
Commercially saavy as the band was, somebody in the band realized the imminent surge
of popularity and acceptance of progressive rock, and my guess is they wanted to stake
their claim ASAP. But honestly, they jumped the gun — the songs may be less accessible
than those on the debut, but they’re still centered around more-or-less conventional jazz-
rock motifs and normal pop-stylings. In other words, there’s really not that much to betray
what the band would become in just a year’s time.

Meanwhile, the orchestral arrangements, which ostensibly were intended to ‘lift up’ the
seriousness of the album, only manage to (a) annoy the listener with their
inappropriateness (with a couple of exceptions) and (b) obfuscate the actual band
performances. In particular, poor Pete Banks is absolutely smothered on this album — it
was enough for him to compete with Chris’ bass, which increasingly moves to the forefront
of the mix, and the addition of various strings and brass instruments makes Pete very
difficult to hear in many cases.

But even with these weaknesses, the album could still be great if the songs were
consistently great. Alas, half of the album is very good, while the other half … isn’t. The worst
offender of all, of course, has to be «The Prophet.» The lengthy introduction (which has
nothing to do with the rest of the song), is an irritating puttering by Tony on his organ, as he
steals elements of Genesis’ «The Knife» and diddles around in a minor key for a full two-
and-a-half minutes. And the main song … guh, it sounds like a minor-key version of the
theme to Sesame Street!!!! I mean, come on, it’s one thing to steal your inspiration
from various rock artists or whatever. But the theme to Sesame Street??!!!

Three of the other songs are also irritating for various reasons. The orchestral
arrangements for «Then» positively do not work — the actual song is an ok minor-key groove,
but the orchestra muddies things up to such an extent that it gives me a headache. «Astral
Traveller» does have a slightly more entertaining minor-key groove, not to mention some
decent enough guitar from Pete, but I never have a good feeling about the song as a whole
when it ends. Maybe it’s the watery vocals and awkward chorus, who knows. And «Clear
Days,» an all-orchestral ballad, completely passes me by each time.

So that leaves four songs which, fortunately for all, are REALLY good. Oddly, two of them
are covers, but whatever — the performances rule. The highlight, of course, is their cover of
an obscure Richie Haven’s number called «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience
Required.» If you’ve ever wanted a solid musical definition of ‘over-the-top’, this should be
where you head. An opening organ blast, like the band turning the ignition for the song, and
then strings all over the place! Then, of course, Anderson starts preachin’ it while Squire
pounds out a bassline at an insanely fast clip, and then the strings break into «The Big
Country» (not the theme to «How The West Was Won,» as I thought for forever; thanks to the
person who corrected me). It’s corny as hell, but it’s well-arranged and well-played corn, so
how can I not love it?

The other cover, a Steven Stills number called «Everydays,» doesn’t disappoint either. The
strings actually sound in place (in fact, it’s hard to imagine this version without them — live
versions sans strings, while very cool, sound really strange), and the middle jam is a neat
free-jazz type explosion with Pete and Chris each going nuts (with Pete throwing in some
random classical quotations as well). It’s not quite as concise as «No Opportunity,» but it’s
still plenty enjoyable.

And, of course, there are two wonderful pop songs, the likes of which we wouldn’t hear from
the band again for years without end. «Sweet Dreams» drops the strings, thank goodness,
and the band comes through with an extremely compact, extremely catchy pop number with
understandable lyrics. The title track also shines through — it may seem like a typical
lightweight hippie anthem, but man, Jon Anderson was and is a lightweight hippie. The
lyrics are simplistic, but so unbelievably catchy and idealistic that they can’t help but bring a
smile to your face. Well, ok, unless you think they’re really dumb. In any case, though, the
melody is also extremely catchy and non-trivial, so what more do you want?

So there you go — a band in a state of confusion, not knowing where to go, trying to expand
towards the future but only succeeding with what had worked in the past. So, of course, the
band did the only logical thing — they fired Pete Banks so quickly that he didn’t even get to
pose for the cover photo. After all, somebody had to take the fall, so why not the guitarist
who had been smothered by a producer and a hyperactive bassist?

Their underwhelming debut may have got the group noticed but their sophomore effort, which
came complete with a full-scale orchestral backing, almost got them sacked. Released in
1970 ‘Time & A Word’ featured the same line-up as their previous, eponymously-titled album,
just this time they had a slightly bigger budget and a tad more experience to put into the mix.
The results were, again, pretty mixed, although commercially-speaking ‘Time & A Word’ outdid
it’s predecessor, charting in the UK and generating some more, much-needed exposure for
the youthful five-piece. Hindsight, as we all know, is a pretty special thing, but even back in
1970 the critics complained that the orchestra was intrusive. Time has not diminished that
viewpoint. Again the similarities to Procol Harum are notable, although the group do manage to
construct at least one killer track in the shape of the fully-blown space-rock of ‘Astral Traveller’,
a piece that features some suitably phaser-laced vocals from Anderson and a searing, uplifting
chorus filled with impressive drum licks from Bill Bruford. The rest of ‘Time & A Word’, however,
fails to convince. The group’s label, Atlantis, were actually considering dropping Yes after ‘Time
& A Word’ failed to become a hit in the true sense of the term, but all was forgotten once
‘Fragile’ became a huge-seller and put Yes on the international Map. Thank god for patient
record company executives then, a sentence that probably doesn’t even exist in today’s cynical,
market-driven industry, but someone somewhere back in 1970’s London had the foresight to
see that Yes had something special and whoever that person is, he/she should get a medal.
STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010

Second Yes album is much better than their debut, but still not so essential as their more
classic works. Musicians there all are great, and I really enjoy Anderson vocals, Chris Squire
excellent bass and Brufford drumming!

Music generally is very orchestrated, but often there are jazz-rock basis under the skin of many
compositions. Sound in moments is a bit bombastic (in ELP style), but I believe two main
problems there are Yes still didn’t find their own musical style and compositionally songs are a
bit unfocused.

As a result there are plenty of really great moments, but it’s difficult to chose fully great
composition, and during one song there always are some great sections, and some not so
good.

Often criticized by Yes fans, I still believe this album is really good one, with many interesting
moments on it. It really shows band’s potential and basis where from band started their
fantastic flight. No comparable with best band’s albums for sure…

My rating is 3+, almost 3,5.

Like their symphonic counterparts GENESIS with «From Genesis to Revelation» and «Trespass,» «Time and A Word» showed YES in their early development—not yet nailing down their distinctive sound(s) but very much on their way. «Then» (with its awesome video! [with Chris Squire playing the keyboards?!?!]), «Astral Travellor» and the title song are the most enjoyable/memorable songs for me from this album. The aforementioned trio of songs definitely put on display the awesome creativity to come while showcasing the amazing talent and skill these young musicians have. At this stage of the game (album #2) I think they were ahead of their countrymates. Albums number three, «The Yes Album» and «Nursery Cryme» really put the two at the top of the heap. I still can’t hear the CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG similarities critics of the time were quick and frequent to point out. The chunky bass, prevalent organ, and high pitch of Anderson’s lead vocal don’t fit. Oh well.

This is not yet at the level of the YES greatest albums but it surely an improvement respect
to the debut.

«No Opportunity Necessary…» is probably a track that didn’t find room on the debut album,
as it’s not much different. They are using an orchestra, but on this first song there are just
some strings at the end. I have to say that Tony Kaye and Peter Banks don’t sound too
different from Howe and Wakeman on this track.

«Then» is well played and arranged. In particular bass and keyboards make a great work,
but the song is not yet mature. Also in this case the orchestra doesn’t make great things.
Only the brasses that appear in a sort of chorus are symptoms of an orchestra behind.
Unfortunately the arrangement is better than the song itself.

The orchestra appears at the beginning of the jazzy «Everydays». This is really a good track
on which keyboard and orchestra make the variations over the main theme carried on by
Anderson, Bruford and Squire. After a couple of minutes a jazz tempo by Brufod introduces a
more rocky section on which Kaye performs a very good keyboard riif helped by Banks, then
they o back to the jazz-club mood of the beginning of the song.
One of the best album’s tracks.

«Sweet Dreams» is a taste of things to come. It’s still far from the heights of CTTE or Fragile,
but it’s already a YES song. The one that I was remembering more before giving a spin to
this album after a number of years

«The Prophet» looks like a patchwork of different short pieces grouped together. The result
is quite good and for the first time the orchestral work is relevant.

«Clear Days» is a filler. Strings and Jon’s voice for a mellow short song.

«Astral Travellers» is opened by a guitar fading in. It’s one of the best things of the album.
After the funky beginning, the central section of bass and guitar is excellent, then the track
progresses very well. A great song with a great performance by Squire.

Finally the title track, something that the YES are still performing live after 40 years. (I should
say 25 as the last time that I’ve been at a YES gig was about 15 years ago.
However it’s a great closer.

I don’t like speaking of bonus tracks or re-releases, specially when I have the original vinyl,
so I stop here. This is an album more solid than the first, very promising on which they
might have saved some money by giving up to the non-needed orchestra.
Good, but newbies please start from «The Yes Album».

This album was a step toward the prog rock giant that Yes was to become. The songs are a bit more
symphonic sounding than on the previos album, and a little more adventurous. It’s not surprising that guitarist
Peter Banks was gone after this album. At many times, his playing seems superfluous, at other times, almost
nonexistant.

While this album was recorded with an orchestra, the arrangement does not overpower the rock band. Tony
Cox apparently had the good sense to just use the orchestra to strengthen the sound (something the broadend
keyboards of Tony Kaye, and later the addition of Rick Wakeman would render unnecessary).

The songs are slightly more complex than on the debut album, but have yet to reach the complexity that «The
Yes Album» would introduce to their sound. But still, as an early prog release, it begins to show the bands
potential.

I find myself particularly drawn back to Everydays, a Stephen Stills song that Yes plays with a very jazzy
flair. It’s the only song I’ve heard where Yes reminds me of The Nice.

3.5 stars

Time and a Word doesn’t sit with me as well as the debut. The overall feel of the album is much darker, whereas the debut was happier and poppy. However, this album is more progressive than the self-titled debut, so Time and a Word probably will sit better with someone looking for the most progressive of pre-classic era Yes. Aside from being a darker sounding album throughout, orchestrations make their first presence on a Yes album. The orchestrations are not extremely elaborate and come off sounding very Terry Riley minimalist styled, and they don’t really add anything significant to the music.

A few songs do stand quite well on their own. The opener, «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed», is a very strong rock song with terrific organ, catchy chorus, and Squire’s heavy bass thumping. Not a very experimental song, but definitely a great opening song. «The Prophet» is very dark and sounds like it could’ve come off of the Trespass album by Genesis. «Then» is probably the most progressive song on the album, and packs in a remarkable amount of short interesting passages throughout it’s short duration. «Astral Traveler» is a very driving rock song with weird underwater sounding vocals, which I assume are supposed to sound astral. «Sweet Dreams» is probably the most optimistic and poppy song on the album, and is quite fun to listen to and definitely sounds post-hippie.

This is a good album from pre-classic era Yes, and even though there are a few stand out tracks on this album it just doesn’t seem as good as their debut, in my opinion. But I’m sure fans of The Yes Album would find some fantastic music to love here.

Although Time and a Word sees Yes make a few steps towards establishing their own identity rather than chasing their musical heroes, it’s also compromised critically in a number of key aspects. The main issue is the inclusion of a string section on many of the songs, which gives rise to two different problems.

The first is that the string sections just don’t contribute much; they’re not very imaginative, they’re kind of saccharine and undermine rather than contributing to the mood of the songs, and if Rick Wakeman were in the band at that point in time he could have outplayed them in his sleep with one hand tied behind his back. And that leads to the other problem: Tony Kaye keeps getting upstaged by the strings, and Peter Banks is all but absent on some tracks.

That said, the band do rise above these shortcomings, and the album presents many points of interest — Jon Anderson’s singing is still improving, Chris Squire’s bass playing and Bill Bruford’s drumming is still tight, and when the band isn’t hampered by the strings they’re pretty good. (In particular, there are some nice jazz-influenced sections which work quite well). But whilst they’re good, they’re not great yet, and those strings are a needless encumbrance they’d swiftly move beyond. Three and a half stars, perhaps a touch more for appreciators of the intersection of proto-prog and psychedelia.

Some people don’t like the orchestra on this album. I don’t really see what the big deal is — this is a great album!

«No Opportunity Necessary» takes an okay folksy tune by Richie Havens & makes it ROCK. There is a quotation from «The Big Country» in the middle. This track is a ROCKET SHIP. My only complaint is the, er, «experimental» panning used on the strings during the opening fanfare. Really, guys?

«Then» floats down in chromatic chords, to begin rolling on Bruford’s ultra-fast snare. I love Anderson’s lyrics — probably the best articulation of his «message» available in these early days. There is a nifty time change in the middle. The orchestra really does add a lot here. This track has all the elements I love, and yet — it just doesn’t grab me that much. Ah, well.

Pull up a bar stool for «Everydays.» Whew, man. Smoky. Yes play jazz better than jazz musicians, in my opinion. Of course, this is pretty archetypal jazz, but wowie zowie. The midsection is another wonderful instrumental work-out. «Time and a Word» is full of this sort of thing — something I love. Look out for the quote from Bach in the guitar solo. Peter Banks is incredible.

«Sweet Dreams» is the «hit single.» It grinds along at a pleasant pace, but doesn’t have a whole lot to say. The midsection provides an excellent old-time rock feel — and those lyrics aren’t all bad! A little more «experimental production» on this track actually feels pretty cool this time. But man, those chord progressions sure are cheesy.

I used to be bored to death by «The Prophet.» Many listenings later, I love it. The intro goes through about five distinct moods before a single word is sung. Show-offy? Yeah. Awesome? Also yeah. And that organ is HUGE — and it has a delicious violet hue. The vocal hooks are excellent as always.

«Clear Days» is a solo Anderson track, backed by strings and piano. The lyrics move from local feelings for girl into cosmic unity. Two days — one with your love, one with the universe. The ending is magic — shimmering strings in darkness, and a looping riff in 5/4.

Oh, «Astral Traveler» — proto-«Starship Trooper» space-Yes-rock. The vocals are wrung through an interesting warble effect, probably a Leslie speaker. The middle section, though fey, introduces some incredible ensemble playing ideas.

«Time and a Word» — the track — is BEYOND cheesy. I love it. The clunky acoustic guitar, and those LYRICS… «there’s a word, and the word is love and it’s right for me.» Cheesy, yeah. Also a «Hey Jude» knockoff. But if there’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s «Hey Jude» knockoffs. This song is beautiful.

Wow, this album is wonderful. More «experimental» effects than usual make it slightly interesting in places, but hey, it was 1970. The orchestra plays great, the music is tight, and I love this album.

In 1970, many of the big-name full-fledged prog rock bands were getting their act together.
Although arguably barely any of their releases that year would be their obvious seminal work
(a valid claim for ELP’s debut could be made I suppose), the «prog rock sound» was
becoming a fully formed genre as opposed to just a bunch of ideas involving complexity
and tight structural workouts. Some of these releases hold up well today and can stand
next to the monster prog albums unleashed the following couple of years without feeling
embarrassed. Time And A Word isn’t one of them.

I’m not going to slag this album. Even though Yes were all over the place trying to come up
with a style and identity that would take them to the next level, I can’t say they didn’t give it the
good sophomore try. It certainly sounds different than their debut as they threw in more
elaborate passages and even added orchestral embellishments to show the world they
meant business. Unfortunately, these changes came at the expense of Peter Bank’s ‘acid
rock meets jazz’ jams, whose role in this effort sounds a bit dwarfed by, well, everyone else
in the band. Squire’s bass, in particular, is brought to the forefront like a big throbbing fully
erect, ahem, guitar. And why not since he’s ON THIS THING. The guy puts on a clinic and
propels this stuff like an angry metal god stuck in a happy realm of peace and hope. For all
its faults, there can be no denial that there’s some sweet instrumentation going on here.

Things begin with a noisy Hammond assault before the orchestra kicks in, announcing to
the world that Yes were ready to tame the wild west by bewildering the natives with the
power of PROG. The song itself moves like a herd of wild buffalo, but the corniness of the
strings and horns temper the results. The lyrics to this cover aren’t too far off from Jon’s
mindset, but I can almost hear him yearning to break free from the tune’s constraints and
soar up two octaves to wail about spaceships bringing inner peace across rivers of time.
It’s decent, but doesn’t show off the band’s true potential.

«Then» is a better number, with a swinging Twiggy on acid vibe during the verses until the
instrumental break that’s a bit of a space rock / symphonic prog hybrid. It ends on a
mellower note, furthering its overall unpredictability. I found it to be one of the cooler numbers.

«Everydays» starts off like a tripped out ballad, and here the strings actually work in adding
atmosphere. Like the last track, the tune eventually breaks out into a bouncing instrumental
showcase before returning to its calm beginnings, although there is a bit of noise at the
end. Again, keepin’ things unpredictable. I can dig it.

«Sweet Dreams» is one of my favs here. It’s a pop-prog track with a heavy bass and super
catchy vocal melody. It has some 60s vibes to it, letting us know that Yes weren’t about to
jump into the bleak moody bandwagon like plenty of other groups were doing in 1970. As
proggy as this band were to become, they always had this strong sense of melody that
made some of their stuff just so damn hummable, even during their epics.

«The Prophet» is alright, but a bit aimless at times and the strings are all over the place to
add cotton candy to the whole thing. Things don’t get any better with «Clear Days», a mushy
ballad where John sings about little girls and dreams or something. It’s cheesy.

«Astral Traveller» brings back the good stuff, although at first it sounds like a variation
of «Then» with that swingin’ vibe and similar chord progression. Then it gets interesting with
lots of soloing going on, including a nice bass solo. Hey, Peter shows that he’s still in the
band too! At least for awhile.

The title track that ends this album has this ridiculously catchy chorus, partially due to the
ultra-goofy lyrics. I always have to play some dumb pop song with a super catchy hook after
I finish this album lest I walk around with «There’s a word, and the word is LOVE and it’s
right for me!» stuck in my head for hours. I have nothing against the sentiment at all really;
violence and destruction is fine as angry music and videogame entertainment, but in life
itself there’s just too many beautiful women out there in the world for me to have a warmongering
attitude. Still, the song is just so in-my-face that I’d probably have a heart attack if I had to
sing this at karaoke night.

No doubt the band got better after this album. It’s amazing how much impact Steve Howe
brought to the band, and he was clearly needed to add some grit and chops to the mix. The
band wouldn’t ditch its themes of ‘love and hope through bizarre time signature changes’
but so what? A little optimism isn’t a bad thing, and this optimism kept the band alive to hit
the big-time the following year. They didn’t just catch up to the other groups, but blew most
of them away.

6/10

«Time And A Word» is an overlooked transitional album between immaturity and
maturity.

After the unsuccessful debut, Yes come out with what some consider the least enjoyable
album of the band during their golden era. «Time And A Word», however, shows clear
improvements, and is a good transitional album between immaturity and maturity.

Compared to the debut, things have unquestionably changed: while the first was more
towards the psychedelic side, thus more melodic and na�ve, «Time And A Word» is clearly a
Prog Rock release: the musicianship has clearly improved, especially Jon Anderson, who
doesn’t sing quite like he’ll do on following releases, but still becomes the center of attention
when a part is sung. The drums, the guitars, the bass, and even the keyboards by Tony
Kaye, soon to be replaced with legendary Rick Wakeman at the release of «Fragile», are also
a big refinement. The overall sound of the LP is going towards a more mature type of music,
as mentioned, Prog Rock: much more keyboards used, the song structures are definitely
more interesting, the melodies more elaborate.

Despite all these things, it’s still a not yet mature album, and it has some flaws, especially in
the songwriting, which at times can be annoying, like in «Dear Father», where the melodies
aren’t doing it at all for me. The ability to write powerful, good, songs has not yet shown in
«Time And A Word», thus some songs can be forgettable. However, others are much more
appealing: «Astral Traveler» is a spacey, more memorable song, with great musicianship and
performances. The opening track also shows some of the magic that will eventually be
abundant in a Yes song, «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed». Then, the
frustrations can be somewhat frequent in some other moments: other than the mentioned
«Dear Father», a song like «The Prophet» starts great, but ends up to loose itself with a
mediocre melody. «Then»,»Everydays», and the title track have also similar flaws.

Despite the negative sides, «Time And A Word» isn’t a bad listen overall: the improvement
should be considered, and it’s what I am most considering when rating this album. Not at all
like the following albums, but still, underrated.

‘Time and a Word’ — Yes (70/100)

I suppose it’s understandable why Yes‘ debut has never received too much praise
or recognition; I personally liked the self-titled a lot, but the band were clearly a few steps
away from finding the sound they’re known for. It’s not so understandable why Time and
a Word also seems to have flown under the radar. Sure, Yes were an album
away from inducting Steve Howe as their guitarist (and two from Rick Wakeman as
keyboardist) but it was here where Yes‘ signature style took form. Time and a
Word isn’t Yes at their best, but it’s an incredibly underrated slice of prog rock
history.

Time and a Word is, in many ways, typical for a band’s second album. It takes the
successes of the first album and matures them, adding fresh elements when possible. In
the context of Yes‘ career as a whole, Time and a Word is a transition piece,
elevating the band from the psychedelic organ rock of the self-titled into something more
ambitious and nuanced- Time and a Word would start a streak of ambitious
symphonic prog that would last a decade. I’ve heard that Yes felt the urge to polish
their technical skills once they heard King Crimson perform; even when compared
to the relatively capable debut, it’s clear that they took that challenge to heart with Time
and a Word. Listening to «Then» or «The Prophet», one gets the impression of a band
making an effort to push themselves wherever possible. Yes weren’t as refined
circa 1970 as they would be with their canonical masterpieces, but to hear a band with such
an apparent motivation to aspire and improve is a treat of its own.

Whereas most symphonic prog makes use of synthesizers to get the ‘symphonic’ element
across, Time and a Word hosts a full string section. The good intention is admittedly
better than the execution itself, but it’s nonetheless impressive to hear such a young band
trying to work a true-to-life symphonic layer into their music. There are places where the
string section gets overzealous (a great song is hiding somewhere in «Clear Days» for
example, but the prominent string section sounds aimless) but it does give Time and a
Word a unique sound- Yes wouldn’t try this again until their nineteenth album,
Magnification, in 2001. For proof of the string section’s potential in Yes‘
music, just listen to the way it accentuates the instrumentation on «The Prophet» or the title
track. The approach was in its rough stages, but I think Yes could have done some
cool things with an orchestra, had they stayed the course.

While I’ve never been as impressed by Bill Bruford’s work with Yes as others clearly
have (I’ve always felt his talents were more apparent with King Crimson), the drums
are among the most impressive elements here. Bruford’s playing is dynamic and
calculated, a style that works particularly well with this record. Of course, that all-too large
proportion of listeners who cannot dissociate Yes from Howe and Wakeman will be
wondering how their predecessors- Peter Banks and Tony Kaye respectively- fare on
Time and a Word. Peter Banks’ guitar work won me over with the self-titled debut,
and only continues to do so with Time and a Word. While Steve Howe plays with a
notable classical influence, Banks brings a jazzier tinge to Yes. While Time and
a Word brought Yes much closer to their symphonic trademark than the debut,
Banks’ predilection for jazz is still evident in the playing- it makes me wonder what
Yes might have sounded like, had Banks stuck with Yes. Tony Kaye’s work
on the keyboard isn’t quite as impressive- he holds his own on Time and a Word, but
he doesn’t compare with the virtuosity Wakeman brought to the keyboard from Fragile
onwards. As the most consistent and only stable member Yes has ever had, Chris
Squire’s brilliantly distinctive style with bass really takes form on Time and a Word.
On «The Prophet» and «Astral Traveller» in particular, Squire’s importance to the band is
incredibly evident. Lastly, Jon Anderson’s higher register vocals seem to be a love-it-or-
hate-it thing for a lot of listeners, and his voice sounds similar here as it would for the rest of
their progressive output, albeit in less refined form. Time and a Word is certainly
more impressive from an instrumental perspective, and it would be at least another album
before Anderson hit his vocal peak; with that said, he sounds particularly good on «Clear
Days» and Time and a Word.

The songwriting here is generally pretty solid, albeit inconsistent in comparison to their later
work. «The Prophet» and «Then» stand as two of Yes‘ strongest pieces- «The
Prophet» in particular sounds like an epic condensed into seven minutes! On the other side,
«Sweet Dreams» feels pretty one-sided, and «Clear Days» sounds like a half-baked
Beatles tune. It’s counter-productive to go comparing this to their ‘classic’ albums
too much- Yes were at a different stage in their musical life then we’re used to as
listeners in retrospect. Its flaws should be forgiven for its risky ambition and vitality. If
Yes‘ debut was a prelude to their glory years as a band, Time and a Word
sees them making a bold first step into the realm of prospective greatness.

YES were showing their desire to progress rapidly. TIME AND A WORD is only their second album and
they were already deciding to add an orchestrated string section to their more ambitious
songwriting. This album like their debut is one that I neglected in the past in favor of the
masterpieces that follow, but after revisiting the first two album I discovered that they have grown
on me without my knowing it! I used to own this but lost it a long time ago and only recently
acquired the newer remastered edition in order to refamiliarize myself with their early releases. I
remembered liking the first track «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed» an ambitious and
progressive take on a Ritchie Havens song, but other than that one I couldn’t remember any tracks.
As with the debut album I was pleasantly surprised that I actually like this 2nd release quite a bit
as well. It was obviously gestating its essence in my brain for years only to surprise me when I
finally got back to it.

TIME AND A WORD progresses the songwriting and YES have moved forward another few steps towards
their more popular sound that would come to full fruition on the next album. The songs on here are
still very 60s sounding but the band is more adventurous. They keyboards are much more lively as are
the other instruments. They lyrics are more cosmic and fantasy based. The string section is one that
isn’t as pronounced as I would imagine. The orchestral arrangements by Tony Cox are subtle and serve
as a background filler more than as an actual member of the band. In this regard it works fairly
well but I would like to have heard a little loosening of the reins in this department. As with the
debut album, i’m quite surprised that I have warmed up to this sophomore release but upon revisiting
it, I am quite taken but its beauty and charm and find this to be a worthy 4 star release. The rest
is history. Peter Banks was asked to leave the band and Steve Howe joined at this time. He actually
appeared on the photos on the US edition. «The Yes Album» would launch this band into the
stratosphere, but this album is an interesting pre-masterpiece edition to your musical collection.

This is an album I had never heard before, losing it in the shuffle I guess, until I unconsciously thought about what
Squire and Bruford were doing before ‘The Yes Album’, which was my Yes initiation upon its release. This oft
reviewed recording needs no added comment from me, certainly undeserving after 44 year absence, other than it
did provide me a huge glimpse into the burgeoning talent of the dynamic rhythmic duo. Peter Banks was certainly
a gifted guitarist, rockier than Steve Howe, which can also be applied to Tony Kaye and his raunchy organ.
Seeing composing credits such as Stephen Stills, Richie Havens and David Foster are certainly unsettling but so
what? The songs are decent enough, certainly taking the still pubescent 1970 sound to increasingly technical
heights which would blossom with the impending arrival of technology (synthesizers, multi-tracking, mellotron and
classical acoustic instruments).

The Rickenbacker playing is up-front and brutal, Squire could never be accused of shyness and modesty, so I
thoroughly enjoyed following his devastating runs on each and every track. Bruford was already experimenting
with his simple drum kit and keeping the time like only he can. The seeds of looming genius are obvious to
behold. There are sections that are deliriously entertaining, like the biting guitar, choppy organ, booming bass and
frantic drum interaction followed by lots of bluesy inflections, some jazzy feel (at times it was like listening to Sade)
on ‘Everydays’. The opener is also a rousing affair, an orchestral megalith that blasts ahead unrepentant,
directed by that nasty bass that veers the whole piece into a more-Deep Purple/Uriah Heep direction.
My only negative feeling is the rather ineffectual use of orchestra, it’s obvious that other producers/arrangers
mastered this union of rock and orchestra much better than Misters Cox and Colton. Perhaps with Moody Blues
maestro Tony Clarke, the results may have been more symphonic as opposed to the feeling of Scotch tape that
hovers over the pieces. There are also moments of amateurish simplicity where things just do not mix well, such
as on ‘Astral Traveller’, which could have been so much better.

While it would be unnecessary to further elevate the upcoming series of albums which catapulted Yes to the
highest office in Progland (and basically sucked for the next 20 years!), this remains an interesting educational
recording, another clear example of how quickly the scene evolved in those ‘glory days’ of exalted perpetual
change.

3 clock lyrics

Review N� 145

«Time And A Word» is the second studio album of Yes and was released in 1970. It was the last band’s album to
feature their original line up, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Bill Bruford, Peter Banks and Tony Kaye. Banks was fired
before the album’s release. With the decision of use string arrangements on the most of the album’s songs, Banks’
role as guitarist was diminished and tensions within the band increased. Just after the album’s recording is
completed, was asked him to leave the band, which he reluctantly did. Then, Steve Howe would join the line up,
replacing Banks.

«Time And A Word» also includes two songs that Anderson wrote with David Foster, a former band mate in The
Warriors, the band formed by Anderson and his brother Tony Anderson, in 1964. So, as happened on their
eponymous debut studio album «Yes», two of the eight songs of the album are covers. However, this was the last
time that Yes recorded songs which were not made by the group. «Time And A Word» marked another difference in
the band. From now on, the lyric writing of Anderson began to move from the simple love themes to subjects of a
more big scale.

The UK and USA artworks for the album were different. The UK front cover used a black and white photo-montage
of a nude woman with a butterfly. As this was inappropriate in the USA, because the American Puritanism, the USA
front cover showed a picture of the band. Curiously, the picture shows Howe instead of Banks, despite he doesn’t
play on the album. However, the back cover of both versions of the album shows a picture of the original line up of
the group.

«Time And A Word» has eight tracks. The first track «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experienced Needed» written by
Richie Havens is the first cover song on the album. It’s a strange way to open the album, because is unusual a band
start an album with a cover song. However, I think that happened because this is the most energetic song on the
album. It’s a very good version of the original song, very powerful, full of energy, with fast drums and a great
rhythmic bass line. It reminds me the great western movies, which isn’t surprising because it features an orchestral
musical arrangement of the main theme from the 1958 film «The Big Country». The second track «Then» written by
Anderson is a very good song with some complexity, well elaborated, with interesting musical structures and radical
musical changes. The voice of Anderson is very sweet and the addition of violins was an interesting choice. It’s a
very good and interesting track. The third track «Everydays» written by Stephen Stills is the second cover song on
the album. This time is a Buffalo Springfield song, and is another good version very well elaborated of an original
song. It’s a song very influenced by jazz and in the beginning is a kind of a ballad, but after two minutes the song
becomes more aggressive and fast. The fourth track «Sweet Dreams» written by Anderson and Foster is a bit a pop
song very enjoyable to listening. It has a simple musical structure but we can hear on it a fine bass line, powerful
keyboards and good guitar too. It’s a blues oriented song with nice backing vocals. The fifth track «The Prophet»
written by Anderson and Squire is a song with a more complex musical structure than some other songs on the
album and is one of the most progressive songs too. It’s one of the most epic tracks of the group in their early
musical period and I have to mention also the fantastic keyboard work of Kaye. The sixth track «Clear Days» written
by Anderson is a very short acoustic ballad nicely sung by Anderson and featuring lovely strings accompanied by a
nice piano. As with on «Claugroi», the violins remind me Ray Shulman’s violin riffs of Gentle Giant. However, this is
probably the weakest moment on the album. The seventh track «Astral Traveller» written by Anderson is another
very good song with a progressive rock musical structure. It’s a song with great instrumental work by all members
of the band, very well orchestrated. This is one of the first songs of Yes that represents the future sound of what
will be the progressive songs of the group. The eighth track «Time And A Word» is the title track. It was written by
Anderson and Foster and is another highlight of the album that became a Yes’ classic song. It’s a beautiful song with
good lyrics, very melodic, with good chorus and very well orchestrated. It’s the best known song of the album and it
became a live staple for the band. It’s a fantastic way to finish this musical work.

Conclusion: I agree with the opinions of some of my colleague reviewers on Progarchives, when they say that «Time
And A Word» was a major step forward from Yes’ eponymous debut studio album. But it was still, somehow, very
distant of the musical quality of its successors, especially from their fifth studio album «Close To The Edge», the
greatest masterpiece of the band. In reality, «Time And A Word» makes an incremental improvement over the
previous eponymous debut studio album, because its songs are more mature, adult, cohesive and having, in
general, superior quality. By the other hand, the inclusion of an orchestra on their music, despite the risks, shows
us that it was an excellent idea. So, concluding and in short, Yes still had some more steps to go before they would
reach their creative highlights and definitive masterpieces, but «Time And A Word» is a good piece of early 70’s
progressive rock, anyway.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Second album of Yes and the last with their original line-up!

And here, in comparison with their debut from 1969, we can hear a much more orchestral album with some really
competent compositions and fine playing from all the members. They are not at the same level that they would reach
years later with Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman in the line-up, but the musicianship is good enough to be surprising
and interesting almost the whole record.

But of course, the best here is Chris Squire, being his bass simply spectacular in tracks like Astral Traveler. Jon
Anderson also makes a fine job, demonstration what a great singer he is.

The rest of the album is a good example of early symphonic rock with tons of progressions but with a pop feeling that
Yes would never abandon through their whole career.

Best Tracks: No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (fine homage to Jerome Moross), The Prophet
(beautiful melodies in this one), Astral Traveler (the most instrumentally spectacular track of the album) and Dear
Father (I really don’t know why, but I always loved this little song)

Conclusion: in Time and a Work Yes was still experimenting in the search of their true personality, and despite some
lackluster moments (the cheesy Sweet Dreams and the not so interesting Time and a Word) the result was a fine
symphonic rock album influenced by The Moody Blues with beautiful orchestral arrangements and a pair of very good
songs.

In The Yes Album they finally incorporated Steve Howe playing guitars, saying goodbye to Peter Banks. And the rest is
just history!

My rating: ***

I’ve been a pre-Howe, or «early» Yes fan for decades. This period was not the band’s peak, but was the equal of, let’s say, late-1990s Yes.

The first edition of Yes lasted for two years, from June 1968 to June 1970. The band was vocalist Jon (then «John») Anderson, who also received that lion’s share of writing credits during this period; bassist and secondary vocalist Chris Squire; guitarist Peter Banks, organist/pianist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford, who was replaced temporarily by Tony O’Reilly during the fall of 1968. Their promising debut album, Yes, was released at the end of July 1969, but flopped.

Time and a Word was released at the end of July 1970. It’s been repeated many times that, after Time and a Word also sold poorly, Atlantic Records was this close to dropping them. This may be true, but given the quality of the group’s first two albums, and the fact that the band had already recruited guitarist Steve Howe and signed a new management contract in June, being dropped by Atlantic might not have changed the band’s trajectory — — just their record label.

Yes and Time and a Word sound like they could’ve been drawn from the same sessions. The major difference is that seven of the eight songs from Time and a Word, plus the b-side «Dear Father,» include an orchestra, although it’s used primarily as embellishment. Peter Banks was disgruntled over the guitar being pushed back in the mix when the orchestra is playing. This is understandable; but it wouldn’t have made sense to have the guitar and orchestra fighting for space in the mix. (Since the master multitrack tapes are apparently available, fans have suggested a remix of the album which would exclude the orchestra. I think this would certainly be worth having.)

For whatever reason, the first and third songs on Time and a Word are the two cover songs on the album. The opener is Richie Havens’s «No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed.» «No Experience» is filtered through the Yes process and presented as a medley with Jerome Moross’s «Main Title» from the soundtrack to The Big Country. On the other hand, Buffalo Springfield’s «Everydays» is as faithful to the original as is any Yes cover. Both songs are nice, but neither is an important part of Yes history. After Time and a Word, Yes would almost entirely eschew cover songs.

In another sequencing decision which seems odd to me, Anderson’s «Then» is the album’s second song. In hindsight, we see in «Then» a band trying to find itself, and making good progress. But it’s the most challenging listen on Time and a Word, and as such, would ordinarily be the second-to-last song on the second side. «Then» was the edgiest Yes song yet, with the orchestra used to great effect, and yet it doesn’t seem to get where it intends to go, like driving with the parking brake engaged. It’s good, but within a year, Yes would do much better.

Whereas Yes had included two somewhat sappy love songs, Time and a Word has only one, the inoffensively forgettable «Clear Days.» Anderson’s lyrics, while moving away from interpersonal affection, were still sophomoric; «Time and a Word,» is an unsuccessful stab at a Beatlesque anthem, and while the intro to the lyrically moralistic «The Prophet» makes excellent use of the orchestra, the song itself is unremarkable.

Two of the poppier songs, though, are remarkable: The aforementioned «Dear Father,» which is included on the version of Time and a Word that’s currently in print, and «Sweet Dreams.» Neither differs that much from «The Prophet» or «Time and a Word,» but each is more sophisticated, structurally and and lyrically. Plus, «Sweet Dreams» is the catchiest song here.

The real gem on Time and a Word, and the crowning achievement of early Yes, is «Astral Traveller.» Even without the song’s title, which parallels that of «Starship Trooper» on The Yes Album, «Astral Traveller» is more than a hint of Yes to come: it’s a tight song with abstract lyrics; it has a custom-fit structure; and the main riffs are syncopated and angular. In a way it doesn’t even belong on Time and a Word. Despite my confidence that the quantum leap from Time and a Word to The Yes Album is largely due to the addition of Steve Howe, I have to admit that «Astral Traveller» is compelling evidence that, months before Howe’s arrival, «early Yes» might have been transitioning into what we now know as «1970s Yes.»

Anyway, Time and a Word is a good album. For those less familiar with the band, and interested in the band’s pre-«Owner of a Lonely Heart» period, I’d suggest listening to The Yes Album, Fragile, or Drama first.