Yes Music Podcast

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius This week, Mark and I enjoyed coming up with 6 reasons why the band's third record, The Yes Album, is a great Yes album. As I'm sure you know, this was Steve Howe's first album with Yes and also Tony Kaye's last. It is correctly viewed by many fans, critics and Steve Howe himself as the first Yes masterpiece. Clearly, we cou...

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius R.I.P. Johnny Bruhns This week, Mark and I considered the Yes music of the new Millennium - 25 years after it began. In this time, the band have produced just 5 studio albums and 1 EP: Magnification Fly From Here From a Page (EP) Heaven and Earth The Quest Mirror to the Sky However, there are plenty of examples of great Yes...

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius This week, Mark and I returned to our occasional series on Yes concepts. This time we considered Yes audacity - those times when the band has done something few others would have attempted. We both came up with 3 examples and it proved to be a very enjoyable conversation, albeit with quite a bit of shameless self-promotion f...

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius This week we have a bumper, epic episode where Simon Barrow, Mark and I discuss AI and its impact, in the context of Yes music, of course. My daughter,  Charlotte , also gives us her thoughts on the subject so many thanks to her. This topic was suggested by the appearance on YouTube of an album entitled 'YEP – On The Waterli...

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Ken Fuller and Jeffrey Crecelius It's already been 3 years since Alan White died. To mark the sad anniversary, Mark and I discussed the iconic drummer's adaptability this week. We each chose 3 different examples of his playing to highlight different aspects of his musical character. In addition, 4 YMP Patrons gave us comments to read out - Jon Pickles, Ronn...

Unbelievably, it's already 10 years since we lost Chris Squire. Tempus Fugit, but this time not in a good way. To mark this sad milestone, Prog Magazine has included 2 large articles about Chris in the latest issue, number 160. The person charged with writing the main piece was friend of the YMP, Stephen Lambe. Mark and I spoke to him this week about the greatest bassist the world has ever seen, t...

Mark and I really enjoyed discussing what Yes virtuosity means to us with the help of YMP Patrons Brian Harris, Michael OConnor, HB Pettersen, Jon Pickles, Dave Owen, Gary Betts, Mark Slater and Ronnie Neeley this week. Can you guess what we all chose for our examples of Yes virtuosity? You might be surprised, as Mark and I were. There were some common themes that emerged which is always encouragi...

This week Mark and I enjoyed thinking about what Billy Sherwood has contributed on bass to the last two Yes albums, The Quest and Mirror to the Sky. We each chose three examples of songs from those two records to talk about and shared our thoughts on whether Billy has continued the tradition of Chris Squire bass playing or gone his own way - or a combination of the two.   There wasn't enough time...

This week, Mark and I are trying out a new concept - it's a game called Yes connections. There will be chances to laugh at my ineptitude as well as chances to get involved yourself with a special Yes connections round for listeners - with a prize for the more creative - or maybe funny entry sent into the show. Hang onto your hat and test your Yes knowledge in a few minutes' time.  

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week, Mark and I were joined by Jon Pickles to talk about the latest (greatest?) Yes Record Store Day offering - Live at the Rainbow London, England 12/16/1972 - a catchy title if there ever was one. I haven't forked out the considerable amount of money for a copy - yet - but both Jon and Mark have, so at least they are...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week, Mark and I had a think about the Yes songs we like that include contrasts - one of my favourite aspects of progressive rock - and Yes music. We both chose 2 songs to talk about in depth but also went on a bit about other songs that also fit this category. It was another very interesting conversation - at least I t...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller Mark and I always enjoy 'getting into the weeds' and 'geeking out' about Yes kit so here is another perfect example of this. This week we both chose 3 pieces of YesKit that took our fancy and went on about them for a long time. If you don't consider yourself a 5%er who loves hearing about the minutiae of music tech as used b...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week Mark and I have been listening to the great live album by Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks - Live Perpetual Change. Listen out for our comments in a few minutes and do let us know if you agree or disagree with us by leaving a comment on the show notes for this week. How does Jon Anderson sound these days? Is this a...

Unfortunately, Mark has been unwell this week so best wishes to him for a speedy recovery. As we couldn't record an episode, I've been delving into the archive to uncover the first Yes Tracks Through Time episode I ever did. That was back in April 2013. Wow. Here are the show notes from way back then: The seventy-ninth episode of the Yes Music Podcast featuring the first in a series of Yes Tracks...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller In a bumper double-feature episode (or something like that), Mark and I compare the Empire featuring Peter Banks version of Something's Coming with the Yes studio version and we also indulge in a little bit of speculation about the forthcoming Yes album - and who doesn't enjoy these kinds of guessing games? Well if you don't...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week, Mark and I return to one of our favourite pastimes - listening to Yes tracks through time. We each chose 3 different live recordings of Awaken to listen to and then discuss. So it's time to put your Roger Dean thinking caps on and see if you would have chosen the same versions as us. Which versions did we choose?...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week Mark and I enjoyed discovering the many delights of the Blu-ray version of the Steven Wilson remix set of Tales from Topographic Oceans. It's packed full of obscure and unusual versions of the songs on the album - a delight for all Yes nerds fans everywhere. Do you have a copy of the Blu-ray version? If not, you mi...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week Mark and I consider 6 songs that were performed live really well by lineups of Yes that didn't record them. With the revolving door policy of the band over the decades, there was a lot to choose from so see if we came up with anything you would have chosen yourself. Of course, as usual, we'd love to hear from you s...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week I'm feeding back on my trip to Trading Boundaries to see what Dave Watkinson has put on display alongside the permanent Roger Dean exhibition there. I made a video of Dave showing me around and we both enthuse about all the amazing items. I then had a chance to chat with Mark about what he noticed on the video - of...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller After an important update on last week's episode, Mark and I choose 3 interesting cover versions each. They all feature Yes men past or present. If you'd like to listen to the songs before listening to us banging on about them, they are all embedded below with the original versions as well. Which covers did we choose?   Who...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller I received an interesting email from a listener this week. She asked if anyone was aware of the connections between a song by the Italian prog group PFM and Yes' Gates of Delirium. I'll explain more when I go through the email with Mark a little later on. Many thanks to the Patrons who gave their feedback on the topic and be...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller Mark was back this week and we welcomed YMP listener and Patron Jon Pickles onto the show to talk about the time he was a 'tea boy' at Trident Studios in London. You'll need to listen to the interview to hear all about it but Trident was the world-renowned studio where, amongst unnumbered highlights of rock music, Yes record...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller Unfortunately, Mark was unwell this week so we wish him a speedy recovery. I'm sure he will be back with us next week. I did manage to speak to the Yes expert Henry Potts, however, about his recent blog post . Called 'What does 2025 hold for Yes fans?' it contains, in Henry's usual style, a huge amount of detail about all so...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller It's 2025 and Mark and I are back for another year of the Yes Music Podcast. According to an online tool, it's 13 years 3 months 2 weeks and 6 days since I published episode 1. Wow. This episode focuses on Drama from 1980 - released 44 years 4 months 2 weeks and 5 days ago. Despite the shock of the dramatic lineup changes (B...

Produced by Wayne Hall, Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller It's Boxing Day 2024 and Mark and Kevin are still in a festive mood. This time, they announce the answers to the first ever YMP Christmas Quiz. They are still in that Christmas Market with the pesky tin cans being thrown about for some reason.😉 See if your answers were correct and join in all the fun... What are the answers...