In a Word (2002)
Disc One
1. Every Little Thing
2. Sweetness
3. Survival
4. Then
5. Sweet Dreams
6. Astral Traveler
7. Time and a Word
8. Dear Father
9. Yours is No Disgrace
10.Clap
11.Perpetual Change
12.Starship Trooper
13.I've Seen All Good People
Disc Two
1. Roundabout
2. South Side of the Sky
3. Heart of the Sunrise
4. America
5. Close to the Edge
6. The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)
Disc Three
1. Siberian Khatru
2. Long Distance Runaround
3. The Gates of Delirium
4. To Be Over
5. Going for the One
6. Turn of the Century
7. Wonderous Stories
8. Don't Kill the Whale
9. Release, Release
10.Arriving UFO
11.Richard
Disc Four
1. Tango
2. Never Done Before
3. Crossfire
4. Machine Messiah
5. Tempus Fugit
6. Owner of a Lonely Heart
7. It Can Happen
8. Leave It
9. Hold On
10.Rhythm of Love
11.Love Will Find a Way
12.Holy Lamb (Song for Harmonic Convergence)
13.Brother of Mine
14.Fist of Fire
15.I Would Have Waited Forever
Disc Five
1. Lift Me Up
2. The Calling
3. I Am Waiting
4. Mind Drive
5. Open Your Eyes
6. Universal Garden
7. Homeworld
8. The Messenger
9. Last Train
10.In the Presence Of
It’s a little surprising, on paper at least, that a band like Yes would decide to put out another sprawling box set barely a decade after their last one. But whatever the reasoning behind it, thank goodness they did—because In a Word: Yes (1969–) makes the old Yesyears box from 1991 feel downright sloppy by comparison. This time around, there’s a sense of planning, care, and real curation that elevates it miles above its predecessor.
Part of the appeal is simply how well it flows. Where Yesyears often felt cluttered with half-baked outtakes, curiosities, and questionable deep cuts that seemed to exist just to pad the runtime, In a Word is much more disciplined. It wisely focuses on the band’s better-known material and arranges most of it chronologically, giving the whole thing a natural arc that actually tells the story of Yes instead of just dumping a random grab-bag of tracks into your lap. Plus, they had eleven extra years of material to work with this time, which means an entire disc dedicated to the band’s latter-day work—a welcome addition that gives the box set some real scope.
Of course, no anthology like this is perfect. The most glaring omissions? And You and I and Awaken—arguably two of the finest pieces they ever wrote. My guess is that it came down to logistics as much as anything else. These are long, dense tracks, and the five discs here are already crammed to the brim. Including And You and I might have meant featuring the entire Close to the Edge album in one go, and you can just imagine someone in the accounting department giving that idea the axe for licensing or cost reasons.
Then there are the rarities. There aren’t many this time—just six previously unreleased cuts scattered across the set. The good news? The first few are excellent. Dear Father, the reimagined cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s America, and Richard are all genuinely worthwhile additions that deserve to be here. The not-so-good news? The rest are basically filler—pleasant enough, but clearly included just to have something labeled “unreleased” on the sticker. If you’re nitpicking (and with Yes fans, who isn’t?), you might quibble with the selection choices on the fifth disc of newer material, but let’s be honest: you could say that about any fan’s personal playlist.
Still, these are small complaints in the bigger picture. In a Word is a real triumph of presentation. It’s a much more complete, thoughtful, and satisfying retrospective of the band’s career than Yesyears ever managed to be. The older box set now feels essentially obsolete. For anyone looking for an expansive survey of what Yes was (and arguably still is), this is about as good as it gets—warts, quirks, and all.
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