Spirit Of Unicorn/Cherry Red Records [Release date: 24.05.24]
Originally released in 1994 and remastered here for its 30th anniversary, ‘Talk’ is very much the lost album of the Yes canon (not helped by the Victor record company going bust not long after its release) but is well worth a reappraisal.
Following the success of the Trevor Horn produced ‘90125’ in 1983 and the horribly gestated, but commercially successful ‘Big Generator’ album in 1987, Yes attempted to revive their ‘70s glory with the ‘Union’ album – generally considered to be underwhelming despite its high charting position.
Following the band’s umpteenth collapse, post-‘Union’, guitarist Trevor Rabin re-assembled the ‘90125’ Yes – but with himself in the producer’s chair.
The result is a kick-ass progressive / AOR album, criminally ignored by the Yes cognoscenti at the time, but revealing itself on this re-issue to be essential listening for lovers of great rock music – regardless of genre.
Released as a 4CD box set with alternative versions and a live concert from June 1994, a double, coloured vinyl LP and as a single CD. As we had only the single CD to review I can’t comment on the quality or otherwise of the extra material but I’m sure it will be of the usual high standard – these guys don’t mess about.
With Rabin producing there’s much more riffing and power-chording here alongside Alan White’s fiery drumming – which is well to the fore. Chris Squire’s bass is simply sublime (what a miss he is) and with Tony Kaye releasing his inner Wakeman and Jon Anderson’s vocals sounding as strong as they ever have, success was guaranteed.
With only one track clocking in at less than five minutes and album-closer ‘Endless Dream’ touching 16 minutes, the prog credentials of one of the genre’s finest exponents are firmly re-established.
Things get underway with the crackling rifferama of ‘The Calling’ – a real calling card that Yes were back – and the anthemic guitaring of ‘I Am Waiting’ soothed by the balladry of Anderson’s vocal.
The pounding bass intro of ‘Real Loves’ introduces a mysterious ear-worm of a keyboard riff from Kaye before drums and guitar up the volume.
There’s more light and dark on ‘State Of Play’ and wonderful chiming guitar with the chorus pedal in full effect on ‘Walls’ whereas ‘Where Will You Be’ is the antidote to the raging all around with some nice Rabin acoustic work.
But all this leads inevitably to ‘Talk’s crowning glory; ‘Endless Dream’, whose three parts feature a frenzied keyboard / power-chord instrumental intro, a piano-led middle section and a completely Yes closing segment featuring a great speaker-to-speaker wah-wah section that will fry your brain if listening on headphones. An epic up there with Yes’s finest work.
So, the great “lost album” returns and with it the opportunity to re-evaluate and compare to Yes’s exceptional output over the years – and it stands up well.
And to all you old Yes fans who reckon the music stopped with ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ and hit the depths of despair with ‘90125’ – get over yourselves and give ‘Talk’ the listening it deserves – a hidden gem if ever there was one. *****
Review by Alan Jones
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