Talk is YES‘ fourteenth studio album. Released in 1994. It is their first release with an independent label after having been distributed the length of their career thus far with Atlantic Records and Arista Records. Talk is also the last YES recording with Tony Kaye on keyboards and Trevor Rabin on guitars, keyboards and vocals. Pop artist Peter Max created the artwork for the album.
Personnel
Jon Anderson
Vocals
Trevor Rabin
Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals, Programming
Chris Squire
Bass, Vocals
Tony Kaye
Hammond Organ
Alan White
Percussion
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Talk - Chris Welch
After the ‘Union‘ tour it was decided that YES would carry on with Trevor Rabin, Jon Anderson, Tony Kaye and Alan White. Their plan was to record a new album produced by Trevor, which evolved into ‘Talk‘. It was released in 1994 on the Victory label, set up by long-term YES supporter Phil Carson. Trevor and Jon wrote all the music and lyrics. The aim was to tackle the challenges of the computer age. However, as can be heard on this welcome CD re-issue, many of the traditional YES qualities remain, including the use of acoustic guitar, vocal harmonics and a touch of the traditional Hammond organ sound.
The album was ‘Dedicated to all YES fans…’ and the sleeve notes included the warning ‘Caution – Extreme digital dynamic range.’
Alan White recalls that ‘Talk‘ represented a bold step. “It was done on a computer. All of the drums were played ‘live’, but it was very experimental. It was also one of the most innovative albums the band has ever made, with some great pieces of music. Trevor was at the helm and he was in the studio for 15 hours every day. We’d come in and out, but basically it was his album.”
Explains Trevor: “At the end of the ‘Union‘ thing, me Chris and Alan decided we’d like to get back to the ‘YES West’ lineup. When we did ‘Talk‘ it was ‘a journey into the unknown’ but people get misled. It wasn’t actually played on a computer; it was just done non-linear on a hard drive, which meant things could be manipulated in a different way. There are proper instruments on the album – real guitars and drums – but no recording tape was used. I had a great time doing the album and, incidentally, it set me up for wanting to do movie soundtracks.”
‘The Calling‘ which kicks off ‘Talk‘ has a huge drum sound and powerful back beat. Trevor’s lead guitar spans a broad range of tonal effects and vies for solo honours with Tony Kaye’s Hammond swirls. Jon Anderson’s familiar vocal style remains a crucial ingredient and is especially prominent on ‘I Am Waiting‘.
Sings Jon poignantly “I wanna be inside your heart – are you ready?” It’s a beautiful piece and one of the album highlights. Says Trevor: “I had written ‘I Am Waiting‘ for Jon and he came in and re-wrote the lyrics and added some melodies. The next track ‘Real Love‘ was kind of eerie.” ‘State Of Play‘ has an aggressive, cinematic quality and kicks in with violent drums and savage guitar. The next track ‘Walls‘ sets off at much the same pace, until it drops into a more relaxed groove, “I wanna live, I wanna give” sing Trevor and Jon, as they share the melody line. ‘Where Will You Be‘ has a more enigmatic Eastern flavour and Jon sings over a swirling Indian rhythm.
‘Endless Dream‘ is the album’s major extended work. Recalls Trevor: “When I started writing ‘Endless Dream‘ it seemed like an endless dream, it was such a long theme! But I had such fun while I was doing it. I’ll never forget that when Jon came in to sing the backing track, he had tears in his eyes.”
‘Endless Dream‘ is in three parts and includes the brief instrumental ‘Silent Spring‘. Says Trevor: “When we went on the road, I actually played the piano intro to ‘Silent Spring‘ live and there were a couple of times when I hiccupped. The strange effects you hear on this track were actually produced by the guitar. ‘Endless Dream‘ was the only extended piece I did with YES.”
After a lengthy ‘Talk‘ tour, Trevor’s time with YES came to an end and he began to concentrate on composing music for movies, including the 1998 blockbusters ‘Armageddon‘ and ‘Enemy Of The State‘.
In the aftermath of ‘Talk‘, YES was reborn with Jon, Chris, Steve Howe and Alan White back together. A succession of splendid new albums followed, including ‘Open Your Eyes‘ (1997) and ‘The Ladder‘ (1999). During 2001 the band embarked on a ‘Yes Symphonic‘ tour and released their latest CD ‘http://yesworld.com/discography/magnification/’ in December 2001, their first with an orchestra since 1970. With a new U.S. tour planned for 2002 A.D. the empire of YES shows no hint of decline or fall!
Chris Welch
London, England
December 2001
Chris Welch is among the UK’s best known music journalists. After a long and distinguished career on Melody Maker, he became editor of Metal Hammer magazine and has also edited Rock World. He was amongst the first British writers to champion YES in the late Sixties. He has travelled and toured with them and interviewed them on numerous occasions. He is the author of the biography ‘Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes‘
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