Band members:
Jon Anderson: vocals, percussion
Chris Squire: bass guitars, vocals
Steve Howe: electric & acoustic guitars,
vachalia [sic], vocals
Tony Kaye: piano, organ, Moog
Bill Bruford: drums, percussion
Additional musicians:
Colin Goldring: recorders (4a, 7)
Produced by Yes and Eddie Offord at Advision Studios, London, autumn
1970; (2) recorded live at the Lyceum, London
Engineer: Eddie Offord
Co-ordination: Brian Lane
Photography: Phil Franks, Barry Wentzell
Design: Jon Goodchild
2003 expanded and remastered release:
Reissue supervision: Steve Woolard, David McLees
Sound produced by Bill Inglot
Art direction & design: Bryan Lasley
Liner notes by Bill Martin
Tracks:
Side one:
1. Yours is No Disgrace [Anderson/Howe/Squire/Bruford/Kaye] (9:36)
2. Clap [Howe] (3:07)
3. Starship Trooper (9:23) [mus: Anderson/Squire/Howe; lyr: Anderson/Squire]
a. Life Seeker [Anderson]
b. Disillusion [Squire]
c. Wurm [Howe]
Side two:
4. I've Seen All Good People (6:47)
a. Your Move [Anderson]
b. All Good People [Squire]
5. A Venture [Anderson] (3:13)
6. Perpetual Change [Anderson/Squire] (8:50)
2003 bonus tracks:
7. Your Move (single version) [Anderson] (3:00)
8. Starship Trooper: Life Seeker (single version) [Anderson] (3:27)
9. Clap (studio version) [Howe] (4:01)
Notes: (*****) Yes's breakthrough album in the UK and still one of their best. The first four tracks became live standards, although "Starship Trooper" was peculiarly not first played live until well into the Close to the Edge tour.
(1) was based on a piece written by Anderson and David Foster, before being extensively arranged by the band as a whole.
(2) was initially listed as "The Clap", a title which raises unfortunate connotations and has always upset Howe. The 2003 remaster corrects it to just "Clap". It was recorded live and had been written by Howe to celebrate the birth of one of his children. (9) is a contemporary studio version, not previously available.
The origins of (3) lie in an earlier piece Yes regularly played live when Peter Banks was in the band called "For Everyone" (available on Something's Coming). "For Everyone" had a different beginning section by Anderson, but then moved into "Disillusion". Its form varied, but it could also have a third section, a lengthy jam based on the first section. "Disillusion" was preserved for "Starship Trooper", which echoed the earlier structure of "For Everyone" with "Life Seeker" replacing the first section of "For Everyone" and "Wurm" replacing its looser jam at the end. Although credited only to Squire, Anderson co-wrote the lyrics for "Disillusion", the pair writing alternate lines.
(7) and (8) are simple single edits.
Although long credited as a vachalia, around three decades later Howe discovered that the instrument concerned was not a vachalia at all, but a Portuguese guitar. Recorder player Colin Goldring is better known for his own band Gnidrolog.
"Your Move" (7), backed with "Life Seeker" (8), was released as a single in the UK in Jul 1971, while "Your Move" was backed with "The Clap" (2) for the US single in Sep.
A number of pieces on the album have been covered by other acts: for instance, a muzak version of "All Good People" has been reported.
The farmhouse were Yes rehearsed for The Yes Album recording sessions is near to Barnstaple in south west England. Howe subsequently bought the property. (HP, 20 Jun 04; revised 18 Jul 04)