Just a shout out of how enjoyable and worthy your videos are! Please keep em' coming. And Fish by Chris is number one by a very large margin for 30+ years now for me.
Bruford's "One Of a Kind" is far better than those top five -- except for Fish Out of Water, which we can all agree is a masterpiece. That's number one.
My Yes solo favourite album is Trevor Rabin with Can't Look Away. Also very good is Geoff Downes with The Light Program. Almost every mentioned album is in my collection. Eddie Jobson (video Owner Of A Lonely Heart) with Zinc The Green Album 1983 very good actually.
I love Songs Of Seven, and Animation! I totally agree with your number one and two choices! One of the worst for me (that I've heard) is Jon Anderson's The More You Know...
Great review Scot.....anything YES related is music to my ears. Your top 2 and then Wakeman journey to the center of the earth...but as usual the best prog channel out there.👍💥💪💯
Jon is to Yes what Jobs was to Apple. Olias may alas be the best of Yes. Close is close. And while Song of Seven is not Olias, it is Earthly, and for here it is pretty medicinal. Consider "Days" as blessings. Taking your time. Everybody loving one another. Heptaparaparshinokh. The law of seven. Consider Animation. Birth. Boundaries o'er the green mountains and o'er the green valleys. And three ships, the holly and the ivy... Great choices and new things to explore. Cheers!
Hey Scot! Great vid! One of your best ever! Finally you do a top 25 that I own every selection, either on album or cd. I do agree about the 3 sided coin for the top 3, although like I said earlier The Red Planet could of gone 1 and 2 with The 6 Wives. Both absolute masterpieces!! Incredible job Scot! 5 stars my brother!!!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍😎
Alan White's Ramshackled is my second favourite after Fish Out of Water. It's a classy and well balanced set of diverse tracks. I was dubious at first because most of it isn't prog, but I keep coming back to again and again, more than my Yes albums apart from CTTE.
Well done! Reminded me of some records I'd forgotten, but you also left off a couple of my faves, so here is my personal list: 1) JON ANDERSON Olias Of Sunhillow 2) CHRIS SQUIRE Fish Out Of Water 3) RICK WAKEMAN Six Wives Of Henry VIII 4) STEVE HOWE Album 5) BRUFORD One Of A Kind 6) JON ANDERSON In The City Of Angels 7) RICK WAKEMAN King Arthur 8) STEVE HOWE Turbulence 9) JON ANDERSON Animation 10) RICK WAKEMAN Rhapsodies
i adored chris squire so you'l lhave to forgive me when i say i found Fish Out of Water pretty much unlistenable, i hunted a vinyl copy for years and when i finally triumphantly found one i got it home and was crestfallen, it was a mess, scattered nonsense and recently i saw a boxset of it [there's a new 3LP boxset of EVERYTHING coming out now] very much like 1988/89 there was a 4 /5 CD set of everything --velvets, King Crimson's live concerts etc.] Anyway the other side of Peter Banks should be really #2 :-)
@@TheProgCornerIf Rick and Jon did not walk out of those Paris sessions, Everybody Loves You, For You For Me, Some Are Born, and Song Of Seven would have been on that Yes album instead of The Buggles crap. No, it's not '70s Yes. Far from Fragile and Tales, but with Rick and Chris and Steve on those songs, it would have been better than Tormato and everything contributed by Buggles. In a way, I'm glad those songs weren't on the same album as Machine Messiah, which was probably the reason Rick and Jon quit Yes.
Not a bad attempt at a pretty impossible task ! My 2 cents : 1. SONG OF SEVEN is TRASH(!) 2. VOX HUMANA (Downes) is WAY better than Light Program 3. STORY OF "I" is Lame ! ....the rest of your list is pretty Spot-ON !! NOW, let's hear your list for #25-50 !
Great topic Scott! I dont own everything, if I'd have bought all RW's releases I'd have no storage space. Here's my top's from the one's I own. 1. Fish Out Of Water 2. Six Wives 3.Song of Seven 4.Criminal Record 5.Can't Look Away 6. One Of A Kind 7.Animation 8. Olias 9. Wolf 10. Journey 11. Vox Humana
Ramshackled and Olias are awesome but by far Fish is the best (Olias could for sure be mistaken for a YES album, and Ramshackled is a good primer for me bc I am OBVIOUSLY not ready for jazz fusion...) Been meaning to dip my toes in that 1000 Hands and the first two Howe albums I can't believe you left out my beloved Cant Look Away.....Man that album is what UNION should have been....but instead you put in the only relevant Rabin album I skip.... Still trying to warm up to song of seven...
Wow! Don't know how you could begin to rank every album that would be 'allowed' in this list (I've probably only listened to 25 in total of the...what...200? that would 'qualify'). I think you're overgenerous to Alan White's Ramshackled but the top 4 is spot on - there are times when I'd swap Olias and Fish but no complaints. Shame that the spin-off bands aren't included as Flash and Badger deserve to be there.
Hi Scott. Hope you're having an awesome day! What makes an album a solo album, versus a Yes album? After watching this vid, I listened to Olias of Sunhillow for the first time. I agree, this is a perfect album. It sounds so much like Yes to me, because of Jon's vocals, complex lyrics, and themes. Why is this album any less a Yes album than Mirror to the Sky which has Steve Howe on guitar but not a single original member of Yes? I feel like this is a complex question. Is Mirror to the Sky a Yes album because it says it is with a Roger Dean cover? Or is it really a Steve Howe solo album? I guess my question is, what makes an album a Yes album and what makes an album a solo album. I think we need a matrix with points assigned to each factor to determine if an album is a Yes or solo album.
Great concent my friend, as always btw:) Love the rankings! Could you do a Jethro Tull solo albums and related bands Show? They have a lof of spinoffs and band members... I know its a hard task, but would be great to hear it from you! Tnkx a lot
I mean, Fish Out of Water is clearly the best solo record. There’s nothing to remember on Olias. It’s all pleasant. BUT this is a fantastic video and even as a Yesfan, there are so many records here I’ve never listened to. Now I will thanks to you!
Excellent Scot! Thanks for all the YES trivia to start off another fantastic morning in the greatest country God ever created! Now I'm going to listen to 'Safe' just for grins!🤩
@@TheProgCorner How interesting, I had Silently Falling playing in my head when I woke up this morning. I have YES songs playing in my head all day long. Mostly Close to the Edge.🤩
Awesome list, Scot! Fully agree with your number 1 (and 2 and 3 and a lot of it) Amazing to see Patrick Moraz Story of i good and high at number 4 too--love that album, but like you, it took me a while to fully realize how great it is. Incredible moments on it. Criminal Record is one of my faves from Rick Wakeman (as well as 1984, but it's just a personal fave) and oddly, I really like Steve Howe's Grand Scheme of Things too. again, a personal favourite--s'ok it didn't make your list ;) . Trevor's Can't Look Away was a good album too which went along with that whole 1989 ABWH time period for me, I'd like to get it on CD--can't fully listen to the cassette anymore ;) Cheers, Scot! Ps, I think you're likely right about Vangelis being involved with Olias, it's an incredible album.
The Grand Scheme Of Things!!! Good call. And I definitely thought about Can’t Look Away. And what happened to the new Rabin album, Rio? It was announced last year and we’ve heard nothing about it since..
Of all these The Story of I is the one I love best and loved as soon as I heard it. Fish Out of Water next, then Olias. I didn't like Olias right away - took me until my mid-30's to understand and love it.
@@TheProgCorner To each their own. I wish Moraz put out more albums like the Story of I. And I bet both of us are waiting for Olias II. And Karn Evil 10. Oh Bartleby! Oh Life! - Herman Melville.
This is one of your great vids Scot. Thanks so much for an entertaining and informative time. Loved it. I totally agree with your top 3! Excuse me for asking, but are you tired? You look quite tired, my friend. Please look after yourself. Blessings to you your wife and the dogs and take good care of yourself
I only asked because I am concerned. So long as you are well. There were albums in the vid that I have not heard. Still, Olias, Six Wives ( which was the first prog album I ever heard, when our music teacher played it during class, and just beats Red Planet) are superb listening. Thanks again bro'
Great video Scott, thank you very much! I hope you'll allow my *one* personal disagreement with your list. I will accept Six Wives as the top Rick solo album, as it's the template, the classic, blah blah blah, but of the other classic-era solo efforts, Criminal Record is _easily_ the best. Coming out of serious financial and personal difficulties, Going for the One really rescued Rick, and his compositional and arranging skills, not to mention his energy and hard work, were unleashed, and this was reflected in Criminal Record. Tbh I think that he has a tendency to laziness, just relying on his formidable skills to get him through, but GFTO and CR are the albums in which he gave the 110%.
@TheProgCorner my first album was purchased from a record store. Loved the album cover. ❤️ got it home, and it has been my favourite Lake album ever since. Great cover. It's the one with a goat on a roof surrounded by water!
Brilliant Scott as always, thanks for this.....i went to a local second hand record store today and picked up 'Song of seven' & 'Criminal record' for a very nice combined price of 6 english pounds, i haven't heard either before so looking forward to those....
Incredibly detailed and entertaining as all get out! My solo Yes fandom stops around 1990. I did get Jon in ‘82ish to sign my Close To The Edge and Song Of Seven LPs (he was not back in Yes yet)….prob should have subbed the latter out for Tales haha. Obviously I need to update my solo latter day Yes collection, but I agree with your ranking of picks I am so familiar with. Still waiting for Olias 2!
Interesting list. I do consider "Squaket' (Cris Squire and Steve Hackett), and the one Rick Wakeman.did with David Cousins (The Strawbs), really good albums.
I personally don't think Vangelis was involved in the making of Olias but I do think he probably helped Jon prepare for it especially with the playing of the keyboards. Plus Jon insists he wasn't involved so I have to take him on his word for that. Anyway, great list. I personally like In the city of angels even though it's a bit atypical of Jon to say the least. I also like Trevor Rabin's can't look away. Those would be two honorable mentions imo but I'm sure there are many. Also, I'm a big fan of the first Flash album but I understand that's not a solo album. Steve Howe's Grand Scheme of Things is pretty good too. Overall, again a great list. Great job!
I have to pause just before 2 because we've been in complete agreement for 8-3... Unfortunately I just got spoiled but personally as much as I love Olias, how do you go against Fish? I'm sure you had as difficult a time choosing between those two as I did.
It's a great list Scot, but I would have put Jon Anderson's _Toltec_ on the list before _Animation,_ though I loved that album too. _Toltec_ is a concept album, much in the vein of _Olias of Sunhillow._ If you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend giving it a listen.
@@TheProgCorner Thank you, sir. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I certainly enjoyed it. Not an everyday listen by any means, but every few years it's worth checking out.
I'm a HUGE Yes fan but Olias was a little quirky for me in alot of ways. Song of Seven ithe title track is great along with some of the mellower tunes. Squire and Howe have one decent solo record each, the rest I don't need to hear.
Numbers 1, 2 and 3 are all masterpieces and literally impossible to decide which is which. Three example of pure and unmatched musical genious. But as a keyboard player, I have to choose Rick, who have been my idol for the last 50 years.
Number 2 and number 1 was really a photo finish, happy to see that Olias won by a hair! Great countdown Scot! (Olias is in my top 10 albums of all time)
I would include (and high placed) in the list Howe's early 90's album "The Grand Scheme of Things", to which I pleasantly keep returning. I don't mind his vocal on this one, it sounded clear and adequate for me.
...a lithe, lively collection of material, sung in good voice and played with the kind of robust, cheerful verve that characterized the best moments of Yes's classic sound ... One of the better recent offshoots of 1970s progressive rock. - excerpts from AllMusic's 4 star review
