Somewhere in between commercial and classic-Yes
Bjorn Clasen | Rolléngergronn, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Europe | 01/13/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"During the last years, Yes have released the brilliant, very Yes'ish »Keys To Ascension« albums, followed by the semi-commercial »Open Your Eyes« album. So, putting the band's newest release »The Ladder« into my CD player, I did not know what to expect. The opening song »Homeworld (The Ladder)« - which is also the album's longest track - is promising, though. The well-known and unique Yes sound, yet with something new to it. Something kind of modern, a little more rock'ish. But still unmistakably Yes. Although Trevor Rabin left Yes many years ago, several of the songs on the album makes you think he is back. Perhaps because he influenced the band towards more commercial, more catchy, more simple music. And as »The Ladder« is somewhere in between commercial and classic-Yes, his influence still stands. However, songs like »Lightning Strikes« and »Can I?« make you think about some of lead singer Jon Anderson's solo album stuff. As it is with most Yes albums, this one gains points the more you listen to it. For the Yes fan, »The Ladder« will not be a classic in 10 or 20 years. But so far, it is the band's most successful attempt to create more popular music, without really compromising what the Yes fan knows the band for. »Homeworld (The Ladder)« remains the album's clearly best song. My other two favourites are the two last tracks, »New Language« which like »Homeworld (The Ladder)« plays over more than nine minutes, and »Nine Voices (Longwalker)«. Concerning the different versions of the album: The poster included in the »European Strictly Limited Edition« is a good example why the items included in good ol' vinyl editions cannot be used in CD's just like that. The format is simply too small. Another edition, the »Enhanced Compact Disc«, contains a demo of »Homeworld«... which turns out to be a computer game with battling spaceships, a screensaver which has nothing to do with Yes, and a short interview with (not Yes but) Jon Anderson about (not Yes but) the song used for the game. The game is not even included! In my opinion, buyers are cheated by the labels on these CD's. Instead, the buyer should get the whole lot in one »World Strictly Unlimited Compact Disc Edition Enhanced With Purely Relevant And Interesting Yes Stuff«...!"
Great CD
Don Prados | Tampa, FL | 04/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been a big Yes fan since the early seventies. This CD is as good as anything they've done, including Fragile and Close to the Edge. I like every song on it. Jon Anderson sounds as good as ever, and Steve Howe is still the best. Also, no one plays the bass quite like Chris Squire. I found out about this CD when I saw Yes live on satellite TV performing most of the songs on it. If anyone knows where I can get the video, please let me know."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1