https://youtu.be/BhsNZbhrzaoI am in Devon for half term so here’s Mark’s latest Album Series addition - Fragile.Par Kevin Mulryne

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusCD set purchased 2014Is this the last part of our What did they do next series? Probably…possibly…maybe not. In any event, we are going to stop for the moment after we have talked about what Benoit David did after leaving the band due to ill health in 2012. Apart from the tragic loss of Chris Squire and t…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusWe went deep into the weeds again this week with Master of the Master Tapes, Brian Kehew, who produced the amazing live box set, Progeny, as well as working on the bonus tracks for the Tormato and Drama Expanded and Remastered CD releases in 2004.What governed the choices when creating Progeny?Is Progeny …

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusThis we are joined by prog aficionado, writer, publisher, compère and all-round great chap, Stephen Lambe to discuss many aspects of Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman's album, Ravens and Lullabies.Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it a prog album?What did Stephen Lambe have to do with the album (if anything…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusThis week it’s the first part of our next - and presumably last…maybe…what did they do next featuring the 2011-ish departure of keyboardist and true gentleman of prog, Oliver Wakeman. Mark and I discuss how and why Oliver left the band and what he did next in collaboration with another giant of the music …

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusIt was great to speak to Gerald Bassols from Spain this week all about his amazing book, The Musical Instruments of Progressive Rock which very much does what it says on the tin. Stay tuned for that conversation.Whatare the best 'Spinal Tap' moments in his book?Did digital technology kill musical creativi…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusSimon Barrow with his book in front of the YES 50 plaqueWhat should we expect from Yes in the coming year? Simon Barrow has some ideas as does Mark. We had a great conversation about the possibilities and our own, personal desires, partly based on the Facebook post by Daniel Krohn on the YMP Facebook page…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusAs we begin the 11th calendar year of the show, it’s time to take a look back at 2021. Mark and I have chosen a few clips each which remind us of the range and depth of Yes topics we have covered in the past 12 months. We hope you enjoy the selection - do let us know if your favourite is or isn’t included…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius'IT'S CHRISTMAS' as yer man sings in that song (which doesn't feature in our festive collection). Mark and I select a few prog or prog-related Christmas songs to rank in another totally pointless but fun seasonal activity.SEASON'S GREETINGS TO ALLIs your favourite in our selection?What is 'proggy'?What is…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusMark and I met someone who can fill in a few more gaps in the Yes story this week. We managed to track down and speak to Peter Woolliscroft who was only a short time into his studio engineering career at Advision studio in London when Yes turned up to record Tormato. He shares his recollections of the ses…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusDave Watkinson in RAK studios with Alan's kit and Jeremy North's wonderful Tourmato photos from Wembley, 1978:Alan's North drums at RAK StudiosBefore the concertJon lends a percussive handSide view of the drumsA fantastic shot of keys and drums (spot the Birotron)Farewell Wembley!This week Mark and I spok…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusThis week Mark and I have had a great time re-watching 3 videos from the Going For The One era. As you may know, there is an extensive behind-the-scenes film of what went on at Mountain Studios in Montreux in 1976 and I was wondering if the feel of that process was evident in the following tour. So Mark s…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusAs always, it was sheer delight to welcome Stephen Lambe and David Watkinson back onto the show this week to talk about their latest collaboration, YES in the 1980s.It's a great book which goes into detail about the often tortuous journey of the band in the decade of excess. Solo albums and other groups c…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusIt was a great pleasure to welcome back to the show former Yes keyboard player and prolific solo artist, Oliver Wakeman.We asked him about some of his latest releases including Dark Fables, Tales From Gaslight and his soundtrack to Yendor.It was particularly interesting to hear recollections of working wi…

Steve Howe by William MulryneProduced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusIn this second part of our look at what Steve Howe did next, Mark and I listen to his solo album, Spectrum.It includes contributions from Tony Levin, Dylan Howe, Virgil Howe and Oliver Wakeman and features many fabulous examples of Steve's virtuosity and versatility.How does t…

Steve Howe by William MulryneProduced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusIn a break from our very well-received technical episodes, Mark and I return this week to the what did they do next series.We are still in the so-called YES hiatus period of 2005-ish and we have just two band members yet to consider, the first being Steve Howe. SO we’ve taken …

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey CreceliusA small selection from my Tormato collectionI asked our friend Miguel Falcão to tell me a bit about how Chris Squire achieved such a remarkable bass sound for Tormato. Instead of sending me a few bullet points, Miguel was kind enough to record a complete audio description of the technical minutiae of the …

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius The latest video single release:https://youtu.be/GRIOodD1yrMThe album has also been hitting charts worldwide, find a selection of them below:#7 German Album Charts#20 UK Album Charts#1 UK Rock Album Charts#5 Swiss Album Charts#8 Japanese International Weekly Charts#23 French Physical Album Charts#37 Belg…

Produced by Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week we decided to go really deeply into the technical weeds of Yes and look at an instrument which appears on Tormato and not very many other places in the musical universe. We are joined by the remarkable Chris Dale who has devoted many years of his life to collecting and renovating this, rarest o…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierMark and I hadThe time is finally here for Mark and me to present our in-depth review of the new Yes studio album, The Quest. We are also delighted to be joined by Henry Potts, the man behind the essential Yes online source, http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/ which has been cataloguing the craz…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierMark and I had a brilliant time this week speaking to Richie Castellano about his Band Geek Yes covers. Multi-instrumentalist Richie is passionate about Yes and a lot of other music and if you haven't seen his Band Geek YouTube channel, then what are you waiting for? It's amazing.How does…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierIn a truly epic episode, as is appropriate for the 500th, Mark and I present a competition and have the privilege and pleasure to speak to not one but two Yes keyboard legends - founder member, Tony Kaye and present band member, Geoff Downes.We talk to Tony about his recently-released and…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierIn the second part of our look at what Rick Wakeman did after leaving Yes for the final time, we welcome Yes author and classical music expert, Simon Barrow onto the show to discuss Rick Wakeman at Lincoln Cathedral.Hopefully you have had a chance to listen to the album but if not, check …

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierThis week Mark and I embark on another 'what did they do next' quest. Once again we come to Rick Wakeman and what he did after leaving the band in 2005.So we discuss the next release from Mr. Wakeman which turns out to be a most unusual release, even for him.Take a listen below and then j…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier[Above] Photo of Scott by Jerry & Lois PhotographyThis week I was able to speak to Scott Schorr about how he created the LEVIN TORN WHITE album. You may not know Scott's name but you're bound to have heard some music he has been involved with. Founder of record label and music publishing …

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierThis week Mark speaks to one of the unsung heroes of Yes’ recent releases (going back to the Like It Is live series), Maor Appelbaum. If, like me, you haven’t a clue what a Timbre Farm is or what difference a Saturator/Clipper makes to the sound of a record, then you’re in for a treat.It’…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierThis week Mark and I finish off our investigation of some of the interesting songs from the Yes official Spotify playlist, Yes not Yes.We listen to 6 of the songs we didn’t know and we hear from listeners who left comments filling in details on some of the others. It was great fun and I t…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierThis week has been a little quieter in the land of social media and conspiracy theories - at least for Yes. So Mark and I decided to go through a Spotify playlist created by Yes official which is called Yes Not Yes. It includes lots of music which Yes members and alumni have been involved…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierI'm officially on leave but Mark and I had to comment on the storm around Ice Bridge Gate this week.If you haven't been on social media for some time you may have missed what happened so we aim to bring you up-to-speed on all the tortuous twists in this tale.Who wrote The Ice Bridge?Where…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierClaire performs with Fragile at the Yes 50th Anniversary Fan ConventionWell, here we are. Friday 23rd July 2021 and we have brand new Yes music to enjoy. The Ice Bridge is available for all to listen to on Yes’ YouTube channel and Mark and I share our initial reactions to it. Sneak previe…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlEKA2eEbwgProduced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierI had no time to do any news collation this week but I did have time to speak to the redoubtable Geoff Bailie and the equally impressive Mark Anthony K about what could have happened if the ill-fated Paris Sessions of 1979 had ended in a Yes albu…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierThis week there was some fairly significant Yes news - The Quest is the new studio album which will be released on 1st October 2021. Mark and I will be talking about this, as you can imagine, in our two pence later in the episode.The Quest by YesBefore that, we finish off our examination …

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierThis week I am officially on holiday from the day job but that didn't stop Mark and me discussing the next person in our What Did They Do Next series - it's Chris Squire. He never really left Yes but during the hiatus period he did get up to some interesting things... What did Chris Squir…

Fly From Here DVDProduced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierThis week Mark and I are delving deeply into a 5% for something topic so if you consider yourself a casual fan of the world’s greatest progressive rock band you can either stick around and learn or save yourself a chunk of time by leaving now. I recommend you stay and bec…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierJon Anderson Prog God 2016This week, Mark and I watched the concept DVD Tour of the Universe from Jon Anderson which was the first major release from him after leaving Yes at the start of the band’s hiatus period in the mid 2000s. We have a chance to feed back on what we found out a littl…

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston FrazierIn a special, extra episode, I have the pleasure of talking to the man who helped Yes to transform their sound and approach in 1970, Steve Howe.He told us about his time in Asia and how the band got back together in 2007 with its original line-up which is featured on the latest release, A…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierJon Anderson Prog God 2016Once again this week, Mark and I are looking at what did they do next. We have reached the Yes hiatus period from 2004 and we are using the opportunity unashamedly to examine what each of the 5 members of the band did in this interregnum. First, we will look at o…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierIt's the second part of our look at what Igor did next. In fact, we have bent the rules again in order to listen to the excellent ELP tribute album, Encores, Legends & Paradox from 1999.What are these versions of ELP songs like?Which Yes men are included?How does Igor come over?Listen to …

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierThis week, Mark and I return to the surprisingly long series on what did Yes members do when they left the band. It’s Igor Khoroshev’s turn this time and, as you’ll hear it’s more than usually difficult to decide what he went onto next but we do have a go at it.When did Igor leave Yes?Wha…

Those chaps from Arc of LifeProduced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierThis week Mark and I had a highly enjoyable conversation with Dave Kerzner about his position with Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison, Jay Schellen and Jimmy Haun in Arc of Life. We talk about what he would like the band to grow into and delve a little into his keyboa…

Our live selection this weekProduced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierAfter the sad news we shared last week about Phil Naro, Mark and I have decided to listen to parts of Yessongs this week and compare the performances with later live offerings. It’s what we’ve done before in our Yes Tracks Through Time series.Most Yes fans agre…

Yessongs Yes Tribute band, featuring Phil NaroProduced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierMark shares the news of the loss of a member of our global Yes fan community, Phil Naro, and we re-play an interview Mark did with him back in 2016. Rest In Peace.We also finish off our look at Conspiracy, the album by the band of the same nam…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierBilly SherwoodThis week, Mark and I had the opportunity to think about the next person to leave the band - Billy Sherwood. What did he do next after the end of The Ladder tour? We’ll let you know a little later.At the end of this episode, I’m going to play a very interesting piece of audi…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierTales From Topographic OceansIt’s been a week for thinking deeply...or maybe not. Anyway, Mark and I have been listening to the oft maligned sides 2 and 3 of Tales from Topographic Oceans which have not been played as often as sides 1 and 4. Why not I hear you cry. Or maybe I don’t. In an…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierIn part 2 of our occasional 'What did they do next' series, we listen to Return To The Centre Of The Earth. We also welcome Nic Caciappo onto the show to explain his personal connection to the Rick Wakeman album.It's a great conversation and a lovely treat to meet Nic, at least virtually.…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierThis week we return to our occasional 'What did they do next' series and it’s Rick Wakeman’s turn again. After some fairly typical personal and legal upset, the band and Rick parted ways and there was to be no repeat of the Keys to Ascension positivity.This left Wakeman free to indulge ot…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierThe two albums I chose for the episodeIn a change to our plans (which were not to release an episode at all over the Easter weekend), the host of the Underrated / Overhated podcast, Jacob, has given us permission to play his episode which features none other than me and Mark.Many thanks t…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierUnusually for recent weeks, it’s just Mark and me this week having some fun considering the relative merits of TAAW and Magnification. Quite a distance apart in time but linked by some pretty obvious themes as we shall see later. Do give us your opinions on these albums via your comments …

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierJacob, a musician and podcaster from Bristol, UK joined Mark and me this week to talk about Yes lyrics.What typifies Yes lyrics?What are our favourites?Which lyrics make us cringe?Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!Join us as a Patron!If you would like to support the Yes…

Produced by Jeffrey Crecelius, Wayne Hall and Preston FrazierJoining us on the show this week it's that man again, Geoff Bailie. The redoubtable gentleman of prog helps us to discuss some written and audio contributions from Jeremy North, John Parry, John Thomson, Simon Barrow and Stephen Lambe. Do you agree with any of us? Let us know!What could h…