Yes: 'Tormato' - Is it really that bad? 

Love this album!! I was probably 16 or 17, smoking lots of weed, it was around Christmas time when I had this in heavy rotation and the songs really have a sort of Christmasy feel to me - lots of colors, fantasy elements (as in Circus of Heaven), the overall timbre of the album. It really transported me - not sure where but putting on the headphones and listening to this after a bowl whisked me away from my other-wise lackluster life at the time and into a place filled with wonder and peace). And I love the energy of Release Release.

"Tormato" is a brilliant release. My all time favorite release from YES. Howe & Squire tear it up. "On The Silent Wings of Freedom" is EPIC ! ALL the haters of this can piss off.

While Tormato is certainly the weakest of the 70's albums, I feel that there is not one song on it that I don't like and there are a few that I love. For me it's possibly an underrated Yes album, but not a bad one.

This is one of my favorite Yes albums along with Going For The One. Future Times/Rejoice, Don’t Kill The Whale, On The Silent Wings of Freedom, and Release Release are all awesome!

Man, sir .... I really liked your review here. Thank you. My favorite tracks on this album are "Don't Kill the Whale" and "Madrigal" .... for me, this is NOT the worst album from the band and I have trouble calling Tales from topographic oceans their worst as well. I've been in more than one verbal argument because of this! Anderson, Wakeman, Squire, White and Howe will always be that "magic 5" lineup for me, so none of those albums will ever be their "worst". But then, Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford were brilliant as well ... so there's that, I guess.

I love this album. I think it was Chris Squire who said that Wakeman and Howe were competing to get the most notes in. A Yes album with too many notes? Please! The subsequent tour, in the round at Wembley, remains my best gig ever.

Tormato for me is a brilliant album, I love EVERY song on it, some more than others, but I love it all. I do also love Fragile, Close to the Edge etc. Way better than 90125 and Union etc. I am prepared to Box anyone who disagrees with me, 5, 3 minute rounds, Queensbury rules. When I was 14 I used to mix plaster for my dad at weekends. I had a tape of Tormato that I used to play whilst working, one day dad said, "who's this", I said "Yes", "Quite good" he replied. Dad had a very good taste in music, God rest him.

It’s a masterpiece compared to the crap they’ve put out for the past forty years. If they put out something like this in 2022, a lot of us would be over the moon.

I do not think this album has a bad track, songs like release release and circus of heaven are great in my opinion.

The cover art was a warning to me and then listening to the production/sound of the first few songs, the pendulum swings in life and creativity. Going for the One album being one of the most brilliant albums of music ever recorded was not going to be easy to follow. And then the Drama album being a completely different and wonderful surprise. Just such an incredible band.

Tormato is a masterpiece. Future times rejoice, don’t kill the whale, arriving ufo, onwards, and abilene as an extra track. I don’t get why its gotten so much hate

Love Tormato. You can whistle the melody of every song (something that can’t be said of every Yes release). The sound is clear and the infamous PolyMoog shines throughout.

Maybe it was just that time in my life , but this is one of my favorite Yes records. Especially Rick’s so modern keyboards.

Tormato has always been one of my go-to albums, it sounds like no other. There was always something magical I was hearing. Then it hit me years ago as I was listening during the tension-release of Steve Howe’s guitar solo on Arriving UFO , “wow there it is” this album reminds me of an extension of a Joe Meek production/ The Tornados 1962 Telstar (which imho is one of the first progressive recordings), we’ve come full circle, from Telstar to Arriving UFO…Anyway that’s how Tormato impacts me. I too would love to hear a re-mix and re-release of this controversial album!!

I once knew a lady who operated a record store, who commented that she had enough copies of that album ("Tormato") to "build a veranda."

Awaiting incoming criticism - awful title and artwork aside, this is my favorite. It reminds me of my 12 year old self when this came out - exploring these soundscapes, lyrics, mysteries. I thank my older brother for leaving his bedroom door unlocked, allowing me to “borrow” this and other LPs, allowing me to close my eyes and just listen.

There was a remix of this album, with bonus tracks and this note from the person who did it: "We were going through Yes' Tormato tapes. Producer/engineer Eddie Offord had started the album -he had done most of the Yes records and I know from working on his tracks that he used Dolby A a lot. These tapes don't say Dolby A, but Tormato is a famously bad-sounding record. They parted ways with him mid-course and somebody else finished the record. So I'm looking at the tapes and it doesn't say Dolby A anywhere on them - it's typical that they note that when encoded - but I said, "Hold on a second, let me put Dolby on this." And everything - except for some of the later overdubs - sounded amazing. I went, "Aha!" I think we realized what happened. They went to somebody else and the other person didn't see Dolby on the tapes."

This was the first Yes album that I bought when it actually came out. I was 13 years old. Prior to that, I was discovering the older stuff. I largely agree with your comments here, although "Arriving UFO" is probably my favorite track on the album. I think it has strong lyrics, the chord changes and harmonies are really good, and I love that sort of anthem in the middle. Also, that processed 1-5-1-5 bass riff is very cool. I just think that it is a very strong, and really well constructed, track. I also disagree that Circus of Heaven is a "stinker." It's perhaps a bit cheesy, but musically it is quite a strong track. I particularly love that echo-ey guitar and piano part after Jon sings "a new world to be found" and before he sings "on the dreamy ground we walked upon...." I just think that part is really beautiful -- it always brings a wee tear, TBH. Actually, my main criticism of Tormato has to do with Wakeman's playing throughout. His sounds are generally very thin (probably because of the Polymoog), and his lines are pretty uninspired. I would characterize his performance here as a "noodle-fest." He had shown an increasing tendency to play too much widdly-diddly stuff (as evidenced by the fact that he has completely ruined every live version of Awaken that I have ever heard him play because he just can't bring himself to play the damn song as it was originally written), and it is on full display here -- none of the inspired melodic invention of his solos in CTTE or TRSOG, or the amazing cadenza of Awaken from the GFTO album. However, his circus-y lines on Circus of Heaven are completely appropriate to the track, and of course his harpsichord performance on Madrigal is wonderful, so a bit of a mixed bag.

I love Tormato. It is my third favorite Yes album and was actually my introduction to them back in ‘78 or ‘79. My three favorite songs are Release Release, Arriving UFO and Onward. A very energetic and exciting album in my opinion.

No, it was, and still is, one of my favourites - I'd say open your ears and mind to the critics and listen again. It was a stepping stone: joyous, looking forwards, dreaming about the futures and space and incredibly musically varied - I was into that in my early teens (some of us were). An anthem for those years. For the whole thing worked together played as an album should be - all at once (joys mostly forgotten today). I always enjoyed the 'humorous' album cover - appropriate however you look at it. The music's superb, thoughtful, expansive and life-confirming. Wakeman's expansive, expert and intelligent contribution despite his grumpiness. Chris Squire's best chunky bass on a Yes album. Howe's guitar the most creative. Anderson's fine vocals as great as ever. More orientated towards modern times but still gloriously Yes. 'Release, Release' my favourite Yes tracks of all time - fast, exciting and heavy rock'n'roll - wonderful Howe lead together with White drum solo interlude. For me all superb tracks. An appropriate signing off point as the last chapter of the musically amazing 1970's. A superb precursor to the surprisingly excellent Drama. Kick away the grumps and, for 41 minutes of mind blowing progressive rock, listen again, onward and rejoice Mr Classic Rock.

Never really gave this much attention as i fell out of love with Yes post TFTO but when I rediscovered Yes back in the early 2000's after 20 years I bought the Keys album and was totally blown away by the version of Onward on it-brought me to tears and still does..

“On The Silent Wings Of Freedom” is the most underrated Yes song, in my opinion. Steve Howe’s cascading lines at the beginning of the song create an evocative and energetic introduction to this wonderful track.

As a professional musician myself, I will gladly confess, Tormato is one of their best albums, ever, bar non. The production the mix, the songs the playing, especially Chris Squire. Love it!!!

I don’t care for “Circus Of Heaven” or “Don’t Kill The Whale” and the goofy noises on “Arriving UFO” I could have done without, but other than that I like this album. “Silent” is one of the best things they’ve done and it’s so in-character too.

I agree with your assessment. I'd like to see this re-mixed/mastered as well.

I remember buying this back in the day and loving the shorter song format simply as a change. It's clearly not one of their best but some of the songs are really good. I love Release Release and Arriving UFO in particular, the former having a punk/new wave feel to it I remember thinking at the time, and the latter having a wonderful ethereal ending. However, judging by the more recent CD release with bonus tracks, you can tell they were running out of steam as the bonus tracks are so bad they should never have seen the light of day!

My very first Yes album, on 8-track no less, in summer of 1983, between my junior and senior years of high school. I had been hooked on Wakeman for several years, but as yet had not been indoctrinated into the Prog world. So I was amazed to see Rick in the group photo (I said I was new to Prog), and absolutely adored this album. But with nothing else to compare it to (yet), it's no surprise. So we have different lists of what is good and bad, but we agree there's some amazing pieces here, and some really laughable crap. Put in context, it's amazing it turned out as good as it did! It's no "CTTE", but it certainly ain't no "Love Beach".

Compared to some of their later belters ( I'm thinking 'Open Your Eyes, Big Generator) for me, Tormato rates up there with one of their gems.

It was the first Yes album I bought when it came out. Godawful keyboard sounds: the Yamaha CS80 and the Oberheim 4-voice were available, but Wakeman used the crappy Polymoog. I've just realised that I haven't listened to it since. Drama: there's a great album.

This album share a lot of similarities with Fragile. Self contained songs, some written individually by members of the band. I think they tried to recapture that magical moment when the classic line up got together and created magic in just a few sessions. I disagree on Onward, it's an awesome ballad with great synth work by Wakeman (the new synthesiser technology properly used here), beautiful string arrangements and a Beatles reminiscing french horn solo. The production in this song is impeccable, and I'm grateful I saw them play it live when Squire was still alive. A very touching moment Circus of Heaven is not that bad, imo. Compared to Release Release, Arriving UFO, and Don't kill the whale. Even for a band that lost their creative juices, this effort is far better than many albums they put out in recent incarnations. The production is a slightly better than in Going For The One. Both albums require a thorough and solid remixing and remastering, although it's going to be difficult, specially for Going For The One.

I always liked Tormato. I never really understood why it has such a bad reputation. Even Circus of Heaven which seems to be the track that is picked on the most is a good track as far as I’m concerned. I like the whole whimsy of it. Beautiful. Arriving UFO is another one that I really like. There is a point where Steve makes his guitar laugh. I’ve always liked that. The only complaint that I have, if I can call it that, is Rick’s keyboard sound. That Birotron! But I’m just looking for something to complain about. The album cover isn’t as horrible as it’s made out to be. The colours are just great. I never really made the connection of throwing tomatoes at it as a disparaging comment on the music within. Overall this album has a bright sunny disposition, a happy sounding record. I would much rather play this album than let’s say some of Yes’ more recent efforts by a long shot.

I started to comment but it turned into a rant. I will try and remain positive and just say I LOVED the album. LOVED it !!!!!

I agree. Yes had been getting better and better throughout the decade culminating with (my two faves) Relayer and Going For The One. This album represents a definite hiccup before the return to form of Drama.

I LOVE “Tormato”! I think it’s one of the Yes’ best albums, certainly in my personal Top Ten. I understand that Yes had some difficulties making this album, that the recording of it did not go smoothly, but I stand by my opinion that the finished product is a great Yes album. I like the fact that Yes loosened up a bit on this one, made music that was a little more accessible (and there’s nothing wrong with that), and I also liked the fact that Jon Anderson finally wrote some lyrics that you could actually *understand*. I think the band’s performances are wonderful, and I just find the music on “Tormato” to be very appealing. As for the album cover, say what you want about it, but I actually don’t mind it. I guess the smashed tomato made it look more interesting, so, onto the album cover it went. I’m fine with that. Honestly, I love “Tormato,” always have. I think it’s an excellent Yes album, smashed tomato and all. 😊

I love this album. In particular I've always been amused how Arriving UFO doesn't take itself so serious. I saw the tour and have vague memories of flashing UFO lights on stage. I've always wanted to hear this song live again. Madrigal is just beautiful. I've always been intrigued by Squire's wah bass on On the Silent Wings of Freedom. I think Chris used to do parts of that bass in extended showcase bass solos.

Not necessarily their worst album, but definitely their worst album COVER!

One of those albums I was surprised to know is so maligned. I don't understand why. It's not CTTE or TFTO - granted, but it's far from the disaster of Rabin's era 80s albums. Still many classic moments here. Good job on defending this one. Would you dare to defend Open Your Eyes? :)

When I was young, you could always count on seeing a copy of Tormato in the cut-out bin at any of the local discount department stores. Bought a lot of records out of those bins, but never that one.

And also that was the last time I saw Yes live after seeing them three or four times previously, and it was at the international amphitheater in Chicago, and I was tripping my brains out, and it was f****** awesome! And I had seen the relayer tour through the going for the one tour, and they were fabulous every time including the tormato tour

If you get a chance, listen to Unitopia’s minute long reworked sample of “Onward”. In it you’ll hear the potential as well as in the high quality that lies within that song.

Love Tormato!! That was one of my favorite tours too!! Yes in the round! 4 nights at MSG. I made 3 out of the 4 sold out shows. They were amazing!!

I like Yes a lot and have the "complete set" of albums, box sets, a few radio concert recordings and have seen them 4, maybe 5 times, though not the current tour .... I like Tormato a lot ... maybe 'cause it came out when I was getting into music .... maybe because of the wonderful versions on the live at Wembley show broadcast by "TV on the Radio" (Tommy Vance) on the "must listen" Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 (classic stuff) ... anyway, for me, Tormato is one of my "go to" Yes albums ... genuinely love Circus of Heaven ! .... ahead of many Yes albums (still can't get into Tales of Topographic Oceans ... and I kee trying), ahead of the Ladder, Magnification, Open Your Eyes, etc .... so, for me, Tormato "works" ... thanks for video ... CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland

Howe made his guitar sound like chattering aliens in 'Arriving UFO' and I will always find that song both unique and fantastical for it.

I like the album, also have the cd version with the extra tracks (can’t say any of those were lost gems). Agree that a proper remix would be welcome. The cover is poor when you compare with the previous styles. A solid 7/10

this album is simply transcendant, a musical religious or spiritual experience riveling Handel,, that bad? iv loved it for 40 yrs and it still gives me goose bumps

Tormato is one of my favorites. It is underproduced compared with prior efforts, but I'm still a big fan of the music. It's easy to armchair quarterback, but this continues to be a favorite. Of course, anything following Going for the One had a steep climb. I would be interested in a Steven Wilson remix of both Going for the One, Tormato, and Drama.

Okay for the first few days as an American Teenager I hated the cover I didn't like the sound but that album is an unbelievable Rock masterpiece. Future Times delivers on the Regal British Empire sound. Alan white is worth the listen of Release Release alone. Onward... a unique and touching ballad with the great lyric "contained in everything I write..." Circus of Heaven unbelievably unique and creative mini Opera ... with the irony of his dissatisfied son at this Cosmic big tent. Don't kill the whale... radio hit. Madrigal...oh my god!!! On the silent Wings of Freedom... is Alan and Steve and Rick and Chris and especially Jon delivering 100% on their signature sounds and I saw them play it in the round in 1979 flawlessly. If I had an album like that under my belt I would never shut up about it. Please listen to onward again but with your heart and not with your critics mind.

Love this album other than Heaven and Earth most of Yes's albums are pretty damn good.People have to remember they're a prog band they're always changing.

This was my first Yes album I bought way back in early 1980. Whilst it may not be one their best works overall I fell in love with Yes because of it as this was my first wanderings into Yes music. Loved Jon Anderson’s singing, Steve Howe’s guitar work blew me away, along with Chris Squires bass. And Mr Wakeman too was just superb on those keyboards as per usual. Don’t listen to it as often as other Yes albums now, but still have very fond memories of it as my first steps in Yes music. Best track on the album definitely “On the silent wings of freedom” which rounded off the album brilliantly.

I'm surprised to see so many comments containing the words "love" and "favorite" in their assessment of this album. I'm actually glad so many people like it. Personally, while I like it, I don't love it. I think Going For The One before it, and Drama after it (even without Jon Anderson) are both much stronger albums. However, you all have convinced me to hear Tormato again. I do own it on LP and CD...it is a Yes album, after all.

In 1983 our art teacher playted this the entire class for weeks...I can still recall a lot of it...i was a Yes fan up till then.

Glad to hear that someone else appreciates Madrigal. I think it is the best song on the album. I think his critique is spot-on with the exception of Onward. I don’t particularly care for this version but the one on Keys to Ascension is absolutely beautiful.

This was my second Yes album purchase after "Fragile", back in the early '80s (I was about 14 years old), so I didn't have a lot of other work to compare it to, but I genuinely liked the album. As a beginning bassist, I was completely blown away by "On the Silent Wings of Freedom", and I loved "Madrigal" and "Future Times/Rejoice", but I didn't really care for "Circus of Heaven", and "Onward" always felt like meandering filler to me. "Don't Kill the Whale" sounds like it was written by a different band, and the lyrics seem forced and stilted. Like Jon Anderson wanted to write a protest song, but he couldn't come up with anything more eloquent to say than: "Killing whales is bad... m'kay?" over and over again. "Release, Release" is kind of a mess. It sounds like a bunch of random song ideas that they just jammed together, and "Arriving UFO" is kind of corny, but I don't hate any of those songs. When I put that record on, I listen to the whole album (ok, I skip "Onward" a lot). It's not their best album, but it's not terrible. I'd rather listen to Tormato than "Tales From Topographic Oceans"

I'm not sure the mix is the problem with this album. It isn't that bad, and if it were the first album from a band in 1970, it'd be regarded as pretty great. But it's YES. And the bar was high. Also, by this time, the scene was changing. The Police, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Devo, The Cars, were bringing a fresh sound to audiences and on this album, YES were doing a sub par imitation of themselves and that made it appear that much more glaringly stale. That is why it's considered such a dud.

"On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is the one memorable, standout. Drama seems clearly inspired by this track and considerably more satisfying. The balance of Tormato's production is also poor, indeed.

Really enjoyed the 'madrigal in the UK!' late 90s punk observation. Aye but people were buying Breakfast in America too :)

I very rarely think about Tormato but curiously, I've been discussing it elsewhere this last couple of days and it's been in my thoughts today. To answer the titular question: yes, it is. Without a doubt. I bought it the day it was released and it was a massive disappointment. It's something like the soundtrack of the New Wave sweeping away the past, and making it irrelevant (it didn't actually do that, but it certainly sounds like it here). It's the spectacle of a band becoming middle-aged and flaccid overnight. It's got none of the art, the grace, the drama of the best of what came before it. I haven't listened to it since 1979 or so and I doubt I will again.

I love this album and somehow actually like this unique cover!

I actually liked everything except for "Release, Release" and "Arriving UFO." "Don't Kill The Whale" kind of lost its charm for me musically over the years, but it's not bad. I enjoyed "Circus of Heaven" as a brief departure, but was grateful that that wasn't a space to be further explored. In its place, it was fine. I LOVED all the others. Wondering how much money it would take to sit Steven Wilson in a studio with the masters and say, "you're not leaving until you pull out the album we all know is hiding in there...."

I LOVE Tormato, and it has some great songs on it. It's not they're very best, but still a great album. And their Tormato tour (Tourmato) was really excellent. I believe that this was also their first "In the Round" tour. The sound isn't quite right... I would LOVE to hear it remixed, especially "Don't Kill the Whale" and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom.!"

Tormato was so "good" that Anderson and Wakeman decided to leave after that tour. Additionally, they rarely played any of it live after that tour as well. In comparison to everything released before it, Tormato lacked strong songwriting and direction, not to mention producer Eddie Offord. The follow-up, Drama, was much stronger. However, I'll say this... Tormato is leaps and bounds better than the last two Yes albums without Anderson but I can't really give it more than that.

Always loved this album. It's in my top five Yes albums and that's saying something. There is not a bad track on it. Maybe grumps just don't like happy-sounding music.

Was 16 when this came out and we were just thrilled they were still together recording and touring. That being said, it wasn't the classic Yes prog sound we loved.

Brilliant album. I've always thought that Circus Of Heaven was one of the best things they ever did.

I love Tormato, it's such a classic! Tormato would be one of the best álbuns of any band, but since it's a Yes album that came out after a sequence of 6 masterpieces in a roll, it got underrated. It's a brilliant album!

I read somewhere if I remember right that they did the main producing themselves for the first time and weren't thrilled cause it kinda has too much high end. I love the album because it has a ridiculous amount of high end. I remember noticing it when it came out. It's the most quirky of Yes albums in composition. It's a lot of fun. Better than everything after it I tell, even the touted 90125. And certainly better than all the swill after that.

As punk was surging pretty hard at the point of this albums production, maybe there was an idea under produce it and have it be more raw, less pristine and perfect. Coming from some of the other 70s albums was hard because of the overall sound and it took me a few listens before it sunk in. But I hold this album up as very good especially compared to most contemporary stuff and most of the Yes albums of the past 20 years. There’s a lot of energy in the album. If you listen to the extended version, you can hear parts of other songs from Steve’s solo albums as well as Drama. Yes was fighting themselves and the changing of the music scene.

good album, some experimental drums, keys, bass and guitar. Plus it has 'Onward' which is beautiful...and 'Madrigal' and SWOF

in 1978 me and my friends carried a vinyl LP and a battery operated Record Player to the top of Yes Tor in Okehampton having driven through the night from Brighton, to play it and wait for the UFOs to hear us (well we never really expected that) but it was a great craic. The Album was certainly a departure, but a band cannot stay in one place, and really not that much different from the move to "Going for the One" which is where the real change occurred.

I actually like this album, always have. The one album that I have never liked is 'Drama' much to the chagrin of fans who love 'Drama' and their return to so-called form. I can listen to 'Tormato' and still love it but if I try to listen to 'Drama' it just reminds me of 80's music and sounds dated. But, my opinion.

Tormato" Is a masterwork and very creative. Nothing wrong with Wakeman's keyboard sounds. After years of Moog, Hammond organ & piano, he'd moved onto to some (at the time) brand new keyboard technology and did some awesome playing. Nothing wrong with the production or sound quality either). Try it with headphones on, Sounds rich, full and packed with little, minor details. I've never understood how any real Yes fan can dislike this imaginative, beautiful album.

It's more that it was a major step backward, after they seemed to get with the times on their previous album "Going for the one".

Back in the '70s before digital playlists, I was recording my records (today we call them vinyl discs but back then they were just records) onto 7" reels of tape which gave me 3 hours of uninterrupted music. On one of these tapes I recorded "Going For The One" but stopped it after "Wonderous Stories" and recorded "Tormato" after it, saving "Awaken" for the end. To my surprise when I played it all back, I found that "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" flowed right into "Awaken" as though they were one piece of music, same key, same tempo, never missing a beat. Check it out.

are they all over playing across the whole record? yes. it's progressive rock. it's supposed to be goofy and over the top. the best vocals this band ever put on tape are on this record. the arrangements are bonkers, the vocal melodies are GORGEOUS, the harmony vocals are flawless, and this record has more than a whiff of wink wink/sense of humor to it.

It’s one of my favorite Albums by my favorite band!Release Release is one of the best songs they ever recorded in my opinion!😎

Well ….Going For the One was the beginning of my disengagement with Yes….not that I think it’s a bad album. But Tormato sealed the deal. But I still listen to most of their stuff up to, and including, Relayer. If they had quit after Relayer they would still be regarded as a phenomenal band.

"In my garden close to the hedge" LOL

This epic album needs to be listened to in the car while driving along the back roads of Somerset, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire at night. What was I doing there? Never mind. One day the truth will emerge.

Tormato was so hard for me to find on the shelves in 87 that it became a treasure when I did find it. Agreed, it has strained production qualities and some missteps, but overall I return to it quite often through the years. Primarily it’s filled with high energy, joy and whimsy, even the misguided parts. Due to that I see this as an honest album made by an imperfect band. Yeah, no perfection here. But honest effort, including mistakes, remain. That makes it charming, and not as sterile as GFTO (minus Awaken and TOTC which are absolutely flawless). Somehow while other Yes albums get old, this one doesn’t. I guess it’s because it is an honest effort, full of humanity. Albeit not their intent maybe. But still beautiful. Oh and MADRIGAL? Absolutely gorgeous!! Wish it was remixed/remastered is all.

I happen to like Tormato myself. With the multitude of directions music was going in at that time within our world it was definitely different but I don’t believe you can call it bad. Considering the band kinda “broke up” after this album with Jon and Rick as well as Eddy leaving it may have been somewhat lackluster compared to other Yes stuff but I think there was still some creativity going on with the group. Again I liked the album and the differences it had in comparison. Different times called for different ideas I’m not sure there is any group you can say “I love every album they produced” but Yes music has never fit in a certain mold which is what is great about them.

This is really interesting, thanks. I have an upcoming lecture on prog album cover design and will point my students to your talk.

Down at the end, enjoying the summer. Close to the "H"edge, drinking a larger. Albums will pass you by. Turn it up, flip the disc round. Now that the songs over and done, Find the next Yes album and put it on. Loved that reference as well as this video dude. Although I must say I disagree about Circus of Heaven and Onward, I love both of those tracks. Each to their own.

Tormato songs came to shine on the 78-79 tour. Album production was extremely poor.

I enjoyed most of the album, and almost half of it got plenty of classic rock FM airplay. I still listen to many of its songs today.

I listened to Tormato again yesterday and it's not a Yes album I'll go back to. If I were to make a compilation of Yes songs I'd include Don't Kill the Whale which I enjoyed more than the other songs on the album. Relayer, "The Ancient" side 3 of Topographic Oceans (love that filthy bass with the guitar going crazy over the top and some deadly drumming and suddenly it's classical folk) and Yessongs for some of the best live music you'll ever hear. Old Prog fans never die they just keep playing Close to the Edge (which may of us are).

Maybe it was just that time in my life. I loved it from the first spin and enjoy it to this day.

Side Two (as it was back in the day) was kinda tough to flog through… I think “Onward” is wonderful, as is “On The Silent Wings Of Freedom”…

Imho there is only one stinker on it "Circus Of Heaven" (Replace that one with any number of those excellent bonus tracks from the 2003 remaster, and you have a very good album!)

Sorry, but the folks at Hipgnosis were either prescient or heard the record before they designed the cover. I have to admit in retrospect even Going For the One was already showing signs of a troubled future. For those of us who followed the band from its early days. Relayer was such a stunning achievement that we waited with baited breath for the next one. We waited patiently as the band took a hiatus to all offer their own solo efforts. Despite no new group record, they did tour as a band during the solo albums year which gave a spotlight to solo performances of Jon on the harp corresponding with his Olias of Sunhillow ad Partick Moraz offering an excerpt from the Story of i. Finally, the rumor was out a new album was on the way. I haunted my record store constantly until finally Going For the One hit the racks. I was excited at the time. Initially, I liked it quite a lot. i was glad to see Rick rejoin the band but sad about Patrick's departure. Looking back his jazz influence might have helped take the band to where it needed to go on the heels of Relayer. I admire, Wakeman's talent but as a composer, he has never been in the same league as some of his contemporaries. He's had more misses than hits. I no longer hold Going For the One in the same regard as I did when it was released. That includes Awaken, one that many fans still love that today leaves me cold. But Tormato followed a downward trajectory that began with GFTO. The cover of the former stunk to high heaven, and Tormato if not a better cover was fitting for the contents of the record. The album sees Yes stripped of its signatures on every front. The abstract poetry of Anderson's lyrics are replace by clumsy and embarrassing efforts a world away for what he was known for. Beyond that, much of the music and ideas for the record ridden with cliches. All that don't kill the whale and rock is the medium of our generation. The tour that followed the album was as abysmal as the record itself. Their tour "in the round" was more exciting as a concept than a reality and the decision to consign performances of what were normally the staples of their stage act to a medley created a live show that was a lame as the record they were promoting. I was done with Yes at that point. Only the departure of Jon from the band and addition of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downs would briefly invigorate temporarily. Looking back, Relayer really was their last gasp or is there anyone out there prepared to say they have surpassed the likes of Sound Chaser?

A fan since 71 and seen every 70s concert thereafter. I was mildly delighted but mostly disappointed initially. My love of their epics had reached a fever pitch. Even GFTO was a bit too streamline for me at first listen. Of course AWAKEN is its saving grace. But I wanted them go deeper into unimaginable places. Then later I realized that Tormato is a very sign of the times version of YES. Very quirky with tech elements but still different, full of YES expertise and dynamics and like nothing else they've done. They still were progressing but in a different streamline direction. I came to like the odd unusual style of this album though I still have reservations about Silent Wings. It starts brilliantly as if it would be the great epic of this LP. Unfortunately it fails with the Rock & Roll transition. Instead of more embellishing and ascending, it falls back to earth and ends without the great crescendo exist. A great idea that's never really sees it's full potential. The least of my 70s favorites but I still prefer it to Drama.

I can understand some of the criticsm but people say it's total garbage and it's far from it. Even the worst track 'Arriving UFO' is great. The main problem is the single off of it 'Don't Kill the Wale' is not that great. But 'On the Slient Wings of Freedom''. It's certainly better than everything after except maybe Drama from a Classic Prog standpoint. The album cover is bad but I liked the album sleeve. Steve Howe's messed up hair looked bad. It's also good to turn people on to Yes. I played 'Release Release' for my friend who was into Deep Purple, and he became a fan of Rick Wakeman after that. My only real criticism is that they used cheezy polysynths, and the Birotron just didn't sound that spectacular. Alan and Chris were really getting tight as a rhythm section. Some great drums on there. It does sound tinny in the original mix, just too canned sounding. But it never bothered me that much other than 'Cetacea'.

Found it in the Cut Out Bin many moons ago and it’s my favorite Yes Album!

An underwhelming release to be sure but Madrigal is one of my favorite Yes tracks!

Thanks to Heaven and Earth, most Yes fans are no longer debating whether Tormato or Union is the worst Yes album.

I like it. I took each of their albums in their own context, not wishing they could make the same album over and over. And I don't agree with your assessment of "Onward". It's a beautiful song.

Tormato doesn't rank with the holy trilogy (Yes Album, Fragile, CTTE), but I probably listen to it as often as any of those. I find it hugely entertaining, from beginning to end. I've enjoyed it since I bought it on vinyl when it first came out, as a 17 year old. Sure, the production could be better, and the cover is weird, but it's all part of the package for me, and I've never understood why the album garners so much mocking derision. So I am heartened to see a lot of love for it here in these comments, and even Barry's somewhat lukewarm acknowledgement is welcome. Geez, Yes haven't made anything that touches this since the early 80s, and the current lineup with Howe as the only legit member is just sad, one step above a tribute band. Rise up, Tormato fans!

Yes it is. It is the last Yes album I bought except Magnification, now that is an underrated album. Seems they had lost there way and never found it again. Yes I know a lot of folks like the later LA produced hybrid stuff.

I actually listened to this album a lot back in the day. I got it out of the cut-out bin for like $2.00

Never thought it was bad at all. In fact, one of my favorites! Perhaps because they were in a transitional period they pushed themselves in a different direction. I love what came out of it. I do think the production could have been better. Alan White's drum sound was not the best, but it wasn't terrible. It was strong in some places and in some ways. Steve's guitar sounded thin to me, but all of it I rack up to the production. I think the band just wasn't so sure of where they were trying to go, which may reflect in how they looked at that work. I think it's a great album. I wasn't bothered by the artwork either, except for the "Tor" concept on the inner sleeve. Like "what?"

Tormato is fantastic when compared to Steve Howes current touring version of YES.