Yesyears (1991)
Disc One
1. Something's Coming
2. Survival
3. Every Little Thing
4. Then
5. Everydays
6. Sweet Dreams
7. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed
8. Time and a Word
9. Starship Trooper
10.Yours is No Disgrace
11.I've Seen All Good People
12.Long Distance Runaround
13.The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)
Disc Two
1. Roundabout
2. Heart of the Sunrise
3. Close to the Edge
4. America
5. Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)
6. Sound Chaser
Disc Three
1. Soon
2. Amazing Grace
3. Vevey, Part One
4. Wondrous Stories
5. Awaken
6. Montreux's Theme
7. Vevey, Part Two
8. Going for the One
9. Money
10.Abilene
11.Don't Kill the Whalte
12.On the Silent Wings of Freedom
13.Does it Really Happen?
14.Tempus Fugit
15.The Fox
16.I'm Down
Disc Four
1. Make it Easy
2. It Can Happen
3. Owner of a Lonely Heart
4. Hold On
5. Shoot High, Aim Low
6. Rhythm of Love
7. Love Will Find a Way
8. Changes (Live)
9. And You and I (Live)
10.Heart of the Sunrise (Live)
11.Love Conquers All
When it first hit shelves, YesYears was a genuinely impressive box set—the kind of big, lovingly assembled package that fans had been clamoring for. This was back in the early ’90s, before streaming playlists and expanded CD reissues were the norm, when a well-curated box really *mattered*. In that sense, YesYears did its job admirably, pulling together a wide swath of the band’s career and adding a decent helping of rarities that hadn’t seen the light of day before. For devoted Yes followers, it was a treasure trove.
Of course, time marches on, and with the release of 2002’s In a Word, YesYears has been somewhat eclipsed. The later box set offered a broader selection and, arguably, a more carefully considered tracklist. Compared to that, YesYears can feel a little uneven. The rarities here are a mixed bag—some genuinely great, others interesting curiosities at best, and a few that probably should have stayed in the vault. But in the pre-internet era, this stuff was gold. Fans hungry for *anything* new or obscure gobbled it up, even if it meant sifting through a few duds to get to the gems.
The challenge for any Yes retrospective is obvious. This is a band whose classic ’70s albums often featured only three (very long) tracks apiece. How do you distill that into a compilation that feels representative? Close to the Edge practically demands to be included in full, while Tales from Topographic Oceans arguably shouldn’t be represented at all. Naturally, YesYears tries to split the difference, and predictably no one is completely satisfied. Even smaller decisions raise eyebrows. Two versions of Heart of the Sunrise—studio and live—might seem like overkill, especially for a song that, while beloved by many, has always struck some (myself included) as a bit overrated.
That said, there’s plenty to celebrate here. Among the unreleased vault material, the band’s sprawling, adventurous cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s America remains a highlight—Yes taking a concise folk tune and blowing it up into their own ambitious epic. Trevor Rabin’s Make It Easy is another standout, a slick, catchy track that neatly encapsulates the 80s era of the band. These tracks, along with other rarities, would eventually find their way onto expanded album reissues, but at the time, YesYears was the only place to hear them, making it a must-have for serious collectors.
Is it perfect? No. It’s a bit scattershot in places, and the selection sometimes feels like it was the result of long negotiations rather than a clear artistic vision. But as an early attempt to tell the story of Yes in a single package, YesYears does a respectable job. Even if it’s now out of print (I think), it remains an interesting snapshot of how the band’s legacy was being curated in an era before everything was a click away. For better or worse, it’s a product of its time—and for many fans, it was a pretty exciting time to be a Yes fan.
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