THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Rhino takes a deep dive into the third Yes studio release with a newly remastered version of The Yes Album expanded with rarities, two previously unreleased concerts, and fresh mixes by Steven Wilson, including an immersive Dolby Atmos Mix.
The Yes Album Super Deluxe Edition contains four CDs, a Blu-ray disc, and an LP. It includes Wilson’s newly remastered version of the original album on both CD and LP. Two previously unreleased concerts from 1971 will debut in the set as well. The first was recorded just a few weeks before The Yes Album was released, while the second was recorded six months later during the band’s U.S. tour. These remarkable performances include songs from the album, such as Yours Is No Disgrace and Perpetual Change, as well as Astral Traveller and Everydays from the previous album, Time And A Word (1970).
Says guitarist Steve Howe: “The Yes Album represents to me the invention of ’70s Yes. This was aided by leaving outside material off the record and heavily investing in the influences we brought together, particularly the arrangement skills and utilizing the available best technology. Our adventurism shows in the originality of the music and lyrics, as none of us had done anything quite like this before.”
Wilson, who first remixed the album in 2014, shares his insights into the new mixes in the set’s liner notes: “For the Atmos Mix, I used my 5.1 as a starting point but found myself taking quite a different approach on some parts of the music, partly by virtue of now having the extra speakers to place the sounds in, but also because I’ve learned a few things in the nearly 10 years since I first remixed the album… To me, it still sounds as fresh as the day it was recorded.”
Recalls keyboardist Tony Kaye: “The Yes Album welcomed new guitarist Steve Howe into the band and Yes ascended to new heights.”
Initially released in the U.K. on February 19, 1971, by vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, Kaye, drummer Bill Bruford and Howe, The Yes Album was their first release to feature all-original material and introduced signature epics like Starship Trooper and I’ve Seen All Good People. The album peaked at No. 4 in the U.K. and was the group’s first to crack the Top 40 in the U.S., where it would eventually be certified platinum.
Today, Yes are the most enduring, ambitious, and virtuosic progressive band in history, with a discography spanning over five decades. The Grammy-winning band were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Anderson concludes: “It’s wonderful to know that 50 years later our music is still appreciated. It was a make-or-break time for the band on many levels. The harmony within the band was really special at that time, and it came through in the music.”
