Talk (1994)
1. The Calling
2. I Am Waiting
3. Real Love
4. State of Play
5. Walls
6. Where Will You Be
7. Endless Dream
Somehow, when Talk came out in 1994, I didn’t give it the credit it deserved. I heard it at the time—but I missed *appreciating* it. And I wasn’t alone. Among Yes fans, it’s actually pretty common to hear this refrain: “Didn’t love it back then, but man, did it age well.” These days, I’d put it up there with their best. Seriously. I think it holds its own against the early ’70s run most fans consider untouchable. It’s the very definition of a grower—an album that took its time to reveal how good it really is.
So why did so many of us shrug it off at first? There are a few explanations. For starters, it was the follow-up to Union, that infamously bloated “reunion” project that promised everything and delivered almost nothing. After such a fiasco, it’s no surprise some fans were skeptical. And let’s face it: the idea of the band returning to the “YesWest” lineup—basically the Trevor Rabin–driven 80s version—didn’t exactly thrill the old-school crowd. Then there’s the fact that radio gave it no love whatsoever. Back in the early ’90s, you could still hear new music from classic rock acts on the air if it had the right hook. But Talk didn’t have an obvious single like Owner of a Lonely Heart or even Rhythm of Love. Oh, and the album cover? Absolutely hideous. Seriously—where was Roger Dean when they needed him most?
Those are all external factors, though. Strip them away and you’re left with something special. What makes Talk so rewarding is how it manages to sound fresh and modern while staying true to the spirit of classic Yes. Trevor Rabin is at the helm here, and the result is a harder, crunchier sound than the band was typically known for. This thing rocks in a way most Yes albums don’t. Rabin’s biggest “sin” in the eyes of some fans was simply not being Steve Howe. But if you give these records an honest listen, there’s something invigorating about his approach. Unlike 90125 or Big Generator, Talk doesn’t sound trapped in that overproduced ’80s gloss. It breathes. It feels alive. Rabin and Jon Anderson handled the bulk of the songwriting, and their chemistry is undeniable. Rabin’s voice might lack Anderson’s ethereal quality, but it brings a sturdy rock grounding that suits the album’s heavier vibe.
It’s true there’s nothing overtly “single-friendly” here, and maybe that hurt its radio chances. The Calling could have been trimmed down into a viable hit, but honestly, I’m glad they didn’t. The beauty of this record is in its commitment to being fully fleshed out, with arrangements and dynamics that wouldn’t have been out of place on the ’70s albums. State of Play has the adventurous feel of Going for the One. Real Love channels the brooding power of Relayer. And Endless Dream? That’s the crown jewel—a multi-part epic that would have been right at home on Close to the Edge.
That’s not to say it’s flawless. I Am Waiting, for example, is a little too long for its own good. It doesn’t really justify its full seven minutes. But if the album has occasional issues with time management, it makes up for it in spades with creativity and sheer musicality. This is Yes doing what they always did best: blending tricky time signatures, melodic ambition, and powerhouse musicianship into something distinctly their own. Jon Anderson sounds fantastic throughout, weaving his signature mystical vibe around Rabin’s crunchy riffs. And Alan White, often overlooked in the “Rabin era,” has rarely sounded this thunderous. He really pounds the kit on this one.
It’s a bit sad, in hindsight, that this would be Rabin’s last studio album with the band (even if Steve Howe did come back and stay for good). And while they’d reunite briefly in 2016 for a tour—Anderson, Wakeman,Rabin together again—the promised new studio record never really materialized. One can only hope that if it does, it can match the quality of Talk.
So here’s the pitch: if you’re a Yes fan who wrote this album off back in the ’90s, do yourself a favor and revisit it. It’s one of the most underrated entries in their entire catalog. For a band with a history full of peaks and valleys, Talk is a late-career high point that deserves a hell of a lot more respect than it usually gets.
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