OPEN YOUR EYES

Open Your Eyes is YES‘ seventeenth studio album. Released in 1997, it was the first “full” studio album release from YES after the twin projects Keys to Ascension and Keys to Ascension 2, which were both live and studio albums.

It is the first album with former session member Billy Sherwood on guitar, and the only one on which he also plays keyboards.

Personnel

Jon Anderson
Vocals

Alan White
Percussion

Steve Howe
Guitars, Vocals

Chris Squire
Bass, Vocals

Billy Sherwood
Keyboards, Guitars

Recommended Versions

Open Your Eyes is available as:
CD at Amazon
Vinyl LP at Amazon
MP3 Downloads at iTunes, Google Play, 7 Digital
Streaming at Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Rdio, Tidal

Listen

Spotify

Onward 1995-97 - From Perpetual Change by David Watkinson

Russian-born Igor Petrovich Khoroshev grew up in Moscow in the 1960-70s. His musical training began at the age of four, when he started learning the piano. He focused on orchestration, composing and conducting, a virtuoso talent demonstrated by his love of the keyboards and his ability to play the guitar, horn, bass and trombone.

His key influence was classical music, partly due to its virtuosity but also because Khoroshev was restricted in his choice of western music. When he finally heard Relayer and discovered YES, at the age of fifteen, he was completely overwhelmed, deciding that he had to expand his musical knowledge and style and ultimately, decamp to the West.

Arriving in the US in 1991, he began looking for an opening. Initially he took menial employment before beginning to play as a church organist in New York. Later, he joined a band and moved to Boston, where the music scene was particularly vibrant. He worked industriously, both playing with bands and performing sessions for the likes of Charlie Farren of Fahrenheit, Philip Byone, Brad Delp (ex Boston) and Benjamin Orr, formerly of The Cars.

Igor also found work at IBM, hired to create music for computer games by a man named Carl Jacobson, who shared his interest in progressive rock bands like Rush and YES. Carl was doing some work for Jon Anderson at the time and thought that Jon should hear this new, exciting keyboard talent. Jacobson passed Jon a tape of Igor’s performance, but it was only when YES needed a new keyboard player that he actually listened to it. Realising Igor had potential, Jon invited him to audition. The Russian played the whole of ‘The Revealing Science of God‘, then broke into more YES tracks before the band stopped him in full flight. His sheer skill and flamboyance struck everyone immediately, and Igor was inaugurated as the new keyboard player in time for the recording of the next album Open Your Eyes and the promotional tour that followed in September 1997. Fans accepted him into the fold straight away, struck by his talent.

Open Your Eyes – originally announced under its working titles of Universal Garden, or just plain YES – was originally a joint project of Chris and Billy, effectively a Chris Squire Experiment album. However, as the project slowly came together, everyone was asked to participate and it gradually transformed into the next YES album.

The album was a more commercial venture than anything YES had ever released before. All eleven tracks were seen as potential single releases. The ‘big’ production, with its profusion of overdubs, sounded like a fusion of the West Coast fell of Big Generator and the upbeat Union. Highlights included ‘From the Balcony‘, ‘Universal Garden‘, ‘The Solution‘ and ‘Open Your Eyes‘ – the title track that the record label, Eagle, hope would provide the first YES hit single in the thirteen years since ‘Owner of a lonely Heart‘. Hopes were dashed, however, when neither the single nor the album – which sold respectably, in excess of 200,000 copies – proved to be a runaway commercial success. Added to this, the feelings of Jon and Steve regarding the merits (or otherwise) of converting a solo album into a YES album at breakneck speed have been well-documented – their contributions were added late, and it showed.

Billy Sherwood later commented, ‘All of the tracks are written by us. I don’t know if it has been that way in YES for a long time. I thought that the best way to do it would be to get everyone’s involvement, and have everyone participate. The album is produced by YES as well, and not by one individual. It’s a collective effort. I’m happy to be involved with it on that level because I believe that this band should be rocking.

Though Open Your Eyes was seen as a filler album by many, the subsequent promotional tour was a definite high point – concentrating on vintage YES classics, more than the new album, and selling out medium-sized (3-5000-seater) venues every night. Jon recalls, “To perform ‘The Revealing‘ on stage was like, ‘Take a deep breath guys, we are going to do it,’ and it sounded great. Topographic Oceans was damn good. It was amazing and I felt so proud that we could turn round 25 years later and perform that piece and say this is good music. I don’t care what anybody said at that time, I don’t care what Rick said, I don’t care what management said, I don’t care what record companies said, this was good music. It still holds together today.”‘

For Igor, his first YES tour was a deeply emotional experience of a very personal kind, “It’s been very weird. I would be playing some song, like ‘Soon‘ and I would be crying as I’m playing it. Because I remember my mother and I listening to it in Moscow, without even knowing what the song is about. So there are many many strings attached to this particular band and the music itself, and it is really a very, very magical touch for me. It’s very special for me to be in this band – I’ m in paradise.”

Excerpted from David Watkinson’s ‘Perpetual Change‘.

Lyrics

Click on the song title to view the lyrics.

NEW STATE OF MIND

Waiting for the moment when the moment has been waiting all the time
Staring at the golden heights, wondering are you ready for the climb

Are you ready for this? If you’re ready to believe it, treasure you’ll find
Are you ready for that?
Are you ready for this? Don’t mistake the chance, focus your eyes
Will you take the chance? When you’re ready to receive it, fear’s left behind
Well, you’ve got the time

A new perspective, a new state of mind

Always on the edge of what could be the greatest moment in this life
Watching as the theme builds, left only to wonder in delight

You’ve got to let it go You’ve got to let yourself believe in all that can be
You’ve got to let it go
Wanting to feel Wanting to feel just what it means to be free
There’s no reason for deceiving There’s no reason for deceiving, focus your eyes

To a new perspective, a new state of mind

Sometimes you feel you want to run away from it all
Sometimes you hear the voices of the past come to call
But there’s no giving up when you are giving it all

Hoping, forgiving and loving, the qualities of life
Designing the future we’re building, the dreams taking flight

Are you ready for love?
Are you ready for love?
Are you ready for love?

A new state of mind

Waiting for the moment when the moment has been waiting all the time
Reaching for the golden heights without a doubt you’re ready for the climb

You’ve got to set it out You’ve got to set yourself believing and fortunes you’ll find
You’ve got to set it out
No escaping No escaping once you’ve made up your mind
There’s a reason for your being There’s a reason for your being, focus your eyes

A new perspective, a new state of mind

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

Jon Anderson – vocals
Steve Howe – electric and acoustic guitars, steel guitar, banjo, mandolin, vocals
Billy Sherwood – keyboards, guitar, vocals
Chris Squire – bass guitar, vocals, harmonica
Alan White – drums, percussion, vocals
Igor Khoroshev – additional keyboards on “Fortune Seller”, “No Way We Can Lose” and “New State of Mind”
Steve Porcaro – additional keyboards on “Open Your Eyes”

OPEN YOUR EYES

You’ve got a great imagination

You carry on in the same old way
No lessons learned from yesterday

Talk of changes lost in pages of paperwork

I believe it…
How can we refuse to see
I’ve received it…
What could be our final destiny
I believe that…
Still we go on from day to day
Knowing what could be true

Wish I knew
Wish I knew
Wish I knew

Open your eyes and discover
You’re not the only one
In disguise
Do you wonder
When the change is gonna come?

Open your eyes

You’ve got a great imagination

We cast the world, we set the stage
For what could be the darkest age

Short exchanges
From perfect strangers
We’ll never know
But wish we knew

I believe it…
It’s time to face reality
I’ve received it…
Questioning the powers that be
I believe it…
Are we too confused to see?

Wish I knew
Wish I knew
Wish I knew
Wish I knew

Open your eyes and discover
You’re not the only one
In disguise
Do you wonder
When the change is gonna come?

Open your eyes
You’ve got a great imagination
Open your eyes
Show it
Show it

Wish we knew

I believe it…
It’s time to face reality
I’ve received it…
Things aren’t what they used to be
I believe it…
What I see in you, you see in me

Wish I knew
Wish I knew
Wish I knew
Wish I knew

Open your eyes and discover
You’re not the only one
In disguise
Do you wonder
When the change is gonna come?

Change is gonna come
Change is gonna come
Change is gonna come
You’ve got a great imagination

Change is gonna come
Change is gonna come
Change is gonna come
You’ve got a sweet imagination

Change is gonna come
Open your eyes
Change is gonna come
Open your eyes
Change is gonna come
You’ve got a deep imagination coming

Show it
Show it
Show it

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

UNIVERSAL GARDEN

Looking up into the endless sky
Staring into the maze of time
Our existance caught in the blink of an eye
Imagining other words we try
Realizing somehow we’re all part of this
Wondrous cosmical tapestry

Beyond the sun
Beyond the sky
Are where the real questions lie
Wanting to know where it begins
The puzzle piece we are missing

Starlight
Flowering
Endlessly through the universal garden
Garden above

Looking up into the endless sky
Through space and time
Staring into the maze of time
We’ll fly
Our existence caught in the blink of an eye
Retracing years
Imagining other worlds we try
No fears
Realizing somehow we’re all part of this
Blazing a new trail
Wondrous cosmical tapestry

Beyond the sun
Beyond the sky
Are where the real questions lie
Wanting to know where it begins
The puzzle piece we are missing

Starlight
Flowering
Endlessly through the universal garden
Garden above

Investigate the science of illusion
We benefit without knowing

Our time is man-made
Our fear is man-made
Delusion man-made
Religion man-made

Love is forever
Flowering
Endlessly through the universal garden
Garden above

Beyond the sun
Beyond the sky
Are where the real questions lie
Wanting to know where it begins
The puzzle piece we are missing

Beyond the sun
Beyond the sky
Are where the real questions lie

Universal garden

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

NO WAY WE CAN LOSE

There can be no answer for us all
There can be no stopping what is ever changing
Living for the perfect dream
It’s time to make a resolution
There will be some peace in our hearts and our minds

We can all find a way to resolve our differences
There’s no way we can lose
When we all realize that there are no differences
There’s no way we can lose

Ready or not
We can all find a way

We will be forgiving to the ones we love
We will see the blossoming of the new spirit
Shaping everything to our design
We’ll build a brighter future
We will free ourselves from the chains that would bind

We can all find a way to resolve our differences
There’s no way we can lose
When we all realize that there are no differences
There’s no way we can lose
No way we can lose

Ready or not
Ready or not
There’s no way we can lose

We can all find a way
Ready or not
Ready or not

We can all find a way to resolve our differences
There’s no way we can lose
When we all realize that there are no differences
There’s no way we can lose
No way we can lose

Ready or not
Ready or not
Ready or not

No way we can lose

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

FORTUNE SELLER

Fortune
Seller
Finder
Seeker
Giver
Taker
Wisdom keeper

Fortune
Sailing
Finder
Seeker
Giver
Taker
Wisdom maker

Take hold of the answer
Give life to the dreams you were foretold
Looking into the future
Trace the steps into the great unknown

They say that time is like a river that flows
And where that river ends nobody knows
And so we navigate our way through this life
Riding the river
Riding the river

Take hold of your chances
Defy all of the odds that have been made
Making evey movement count
We step toward a golden age
You know
Only you know
Only you know

Fortune
Seller
Finder
Seeker
Giver
Taker
Wisdom keeper

Fortune
Sailing
Finder
Seeker
Giver
Taker
Wisdom maker

They say that time is like a river that flows
And where that river ends nobody will know
And so we navigate our way through this life
Riding the river
Riding the river

Giving into the power
Giving into the magic of the ride
Using imagination
We take a step into the other side

Fortune
Teller
Finder
Seeker
Giver
Taker
Wisdom keeper

They say that time is like a river that flows
And where that river ends nobody knows
And so we navigate our way through this life
Riding the river
Riding the river

PERFORMED BY

Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Guitar [6 & 12 String], Mandolin, Guitar [Spanish], Steel Guitar, Guitar [Dobro], Backing Vocals – Steve Howe
Bass – Tim Harries
Choir – London Community Gospel Choir
Drums – Bill Bruford
Orchestra – English Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Synthesizer, Piano [Grand], Vocoder, Organ [Hammond] – David Palmer
Vocals – Jon Anderson

MAN IN THE MOON

I am the man in the moon
And I hope to shine upon you very soon
Waiting in the night
To bathe you all in moonlight
I am the man
I am the man in the moon

Silently revolving
Wandering through the heavens above
On my own

Round and round and round I go
When I stop no one will know

I am a creature of the night
And I hope to come and shed a little light
Although the universe our teacher
I remain the central feature
I am the man
I am the man in the moon

Round and round and round I go
When I stop no one will know

Silently revolving
Wandering through the heavens above
On my own

I am the man in the moon
Round and round
And I hope to shine upon you very soon
Round and round
Waiting in the night
To bathe you all in moonlight
I am the man
I am the man in the moon

Round and round and round I go
When I stop no one will know

It’s that old devil moon
It’s that old devil moon

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

WONDERLOVE

I believed that one day love would cast a line
I believed there was something more for me to find
Hoping today
Hoping tomorrow
Taking it all in stride
I believed
I could be chasing my mind

There you were
Like a dream to me
Wonderlove
Could this really be
Wonderlove
Can I make you see
You’re the world to me

I believe if only we could take the time
Eventually we would learn each other’s life
Open your heart
Give it a moment
Leaving the cares behind
Happily
We could be two of a kind

There you were
Like a dream to me
Wonderlove
We were meant to be
Wonderlove
Can I make you see
You’re the world to me

It was the very next day that I came alive
The door flung open
There was a vision
Couldn’t believe my eyes
Everyone immortal like as though they didn’t get it
Everyone believing here at last receiving
Wonderlove
It’s a place we all belong
Wonderlove

Wonderlove
Can I make you see
You’re my world

I believe I could walk a thousand miles
Just to see the vision of your simple smile
Everyday
Wanting to follow
Forever by your side
Faithfully
You are my destiny

There you were
Wonderlove
We were meant to be
Wonderlove
It’s the world where we belong
Wonderlove
Together we will faithfully
Wonderlove
Can I make you see
You’re the world to me

Just imagine what you give is who you are and where you’re going to
If you’re looking for the wisdom of the world
All you’ve got to do is let it coming through
Be forever

Just imagine
Wonderlove

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

FROM THE BALCONY

Now I’ve heard you singing
Dreaming that you know me well
Let me tell you far away
Looking down on you

If you know my spirit
Always shall you know me now
Singing is your pleasure
Looking down on you

Now I hear you singing
Saying that you know me well
Take me to your promise
New state of mind

Now I feel you sighing
Saying that you understand
Feeling all the power
Looking down on you

You know that I would be
The one who waits forever
You know that someday we will find
A way to share our love

Now I hear you singing
Dreaming that you know me well
Let me tell you far away
New state of mind

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

LOVE SHINE

Shine
I won’t sleep again until I sleep with you
I won’t dream again until I dream again with you
My love

One look in your eyes and I see
The light shining through
I truly believe in the magic of all that you do

Give me hope
When I need it
Give me peace
When I feel it
Give me life
When I breathe it
Give me dreams
Keep me dreaming

One look in your eyes and I know
It’s right for me and you

Feel the love shine
Feel the love shine
Do you feel the love shine?
Feel the love shine

1234567
All good people

Your flame is the fire that burns in the night
Guiding me through
Drawn out of the darkness and into the light you bring me to

Give me hope
When I need it
Give me peace
When I feel it
Give me life
When I breathe it
Give me dreams
Keep me dreaming

One look in your eyes and I know
That it’s right for me and you

Do you feel the love shine?
Feel the love that shines
Do you feel the love shine?
Feel the love that shines
Do you feel the love?

I won’t dream again until I dream again with you
1234567
All good people got to feel the love
I won’t sleep again until I sleep again with you

One chance in a million
To find a true love between two
Taken by the powers of what you believe
Knowing you can’t lose

Give me hope
When I need it
Give me peace
When I feel it
Give me life
When I breathe it
Give me dreams
Keep me dreaming

One look in your eyes and I know
It was meant for me and you

Do you feel the love shine?
Feel the love that shines
Do you feel the love shine?
Feel the love that shines
Do you feel the love shine?
I won’t dream again until I dream again with you
Do you feel the love shine?
I won’t sleep again until
1234567
Do you feel the love shine?
Beyond the sun
Beyond the sky
These very questions lie
Starlight
Loving, in a lifetime

It was the first time candlelight
Something happens in your lifetime
It’s the dance we all go through
Bring it in now
Bring it in true
Bring it in fast
Bring it right through
Right through

Feel the love shine
1234567….

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

SOMEHOW, SOMEDAY

So the blue bird will fly o’er the world and the stars
In the moonlight we prays for forgiveness that’s ours
Only now can she rest from the singing of songs
And the freedom of love

Chances are when you give the love you have
You will find it coming right back
Giving into the love
You know it’s right
It’s a feeling you’ll long remember

Hearts will be chosen
Somehow
Someday
Hearts will be chosen

Sailing into the dreams of what could be
Reaching out for some form of contact
Waiting for the one you know is right
All you’re needing to do
Surrender

Someday
Hearts will be chosen
Somehow
Someday
Hearts will be chosen

So many times on the clouds of forgiveness
We walk through the country and feel so at ease
A gentle reminder how things really are
In the homelands of love

Face to face with the one you really love
Moving forward down the right track
Chances are when you give all that you have
You will find it flooding right back

Someday
Hearts will be chosen
Somehow
Someday
Hearts will be chosen

O’er the green mountains and o’er the green valleys
The bluebird of faith sails far off to the shore
She sleeps on the breeze of the coming of love
For the homelands of Ireland

So many times on the clouds of forgiveness
We walk through the country and feel so at ease
A gentle reminder how things really are
In the homelands of love

So the blue bird will fly o’er the world and the stars
In the moonlight she prays for forgiveness that’s ours
Only now can she rest from the singing of songs
And the freedom of love

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White

PERFORMED BY

THE SOLUTION

No need to wonder – Do you belong?
No need to worry
You can be strong

Don’t disbelieve it
let your fears go
There must be more to this life
and we all know

Deep inside
The solution
Staring you down
Looking for
The solution
Bringing you ’round

Round and round we go
Round and round we go

The past can haunt your future so
Shadows are falling look out below

Voices are calling echoes unknown
There must be more to this life than we all know

Looking for
The solution
Staring you down
Deep inside
The solution
Bringing you ’round

Giving it out
Giving it out
Do the best that you can do
Giving it out
Giving it out
It’s all up to you

It’s all up to you

Over and under and down we go
(Down we go)
Caught at the crossroads – Which way to go?
(Path unknown)
Choosing the right path?
Only you know

Looking for
The solution
You hold the key
Deep inside
The solution
Set yourself free

Round and round we go
Round and round we go

Giving in, giving out
Do the best you can do
Giving in, giving out
It’s all up to you

It’s all up to you
It’s all up to you

WRITTEN BY

Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Billy Sherwood/Chris Squire/Alan White