YES/THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC

The Symphonic Music Of Yes VOICEPRINT RECORDS

The remnants of Yes on a symphonic slog.

To paraphrase Jurassic Park, just because you can doesn’t mean you should, and this album is a case in point. It wasn’t borne out of the most auspicious circumstances. Yes’ 1991 album Union seemed to please precisely no one in the group and led to Bill Bruford’s departure to focus on his jazz outfit Earthworks. The next Yes studio album, 1994’s Talk, was the incarnation with Trevor Rabin on guitar and Tony Kaye on keys, so the group’s composition seemed unsteady to say the least but sandwiched between Union and Talk was this meeting of the worlds of classical and prog, The Symphonic Music Of Yes.

The 1993 collaboration between a skeleton crew from the band and the London Philharmonic was mixed and engineered by Alan Parsons and features arrangements by Dee Palmer, formerly of Jethro Tull, who contributes keyboards on the performance. Yes are represented by Jon Anderson, whose presence is limited to just Roundabout and I’ve Seen All Good People, alongside Steve Howe and Bill Bruford, while guest bassist Tim Harries covers for Chris Squire.

With Parsons handling the sound, this could have produced moments of real grandeur, but Palmer’s arrangements are pedestrian and far too much of the performance feels plodding and lifeless. At its worst, the album turns the songs into elevator muzak, robbed of personality. Owner Of A Lonely Heart starts with Bruford’s drums kicking off the tune, but then loses all its snap, crackle and pop as the orchestra smooths everything out. Close To The Edge is almost toe-curling and Survival is simply reduced to inoffensive background wallpaper.

There are moments when the material comes to life. Anderson injects some much-needed energy into his two tracks, and Mood For A Day is a lovely showcase for Howe’s flamenco guitar stylings. Despite these little rays of sunshine, the overall effect is likely to make fans seek out the original versions to be reminded of what made these songs special in the first place.