Tormato By Yes

I decided to listen to this album with an open mind, because I'll be honest I've always disliked it. I've listened to it twice this morning and I'll try to be objective.

In doing the research for this (yes! I do research!) I discovered that Eddy Orford left the project early on. And it sounds to me, frankly, like this album lacks anyone who knows what they are doing from a production side. On the first track, Future Times/Rejoice, the guitar, keyboard and vocal are all fighting each other for space in the mix, with the result that it sounds a complete mess. Yes did a similar thing with Going For The One, which is one of the most sonically busy songs I've ever heard, but there it works; here it doesn't. Steve Howe's guitar sounds like he's putting it through a bargain basement amp, Wakeman's keyboard sounds like a cheap Casio and Anderson's voice sounds thin and out of tune at times.

In fact, the contrast with the Going For The One album couldn't be starker. Awaken is my all-time favourite Yes track. It is chock full of beautiful sounds working perfectly together and its overall form is a masterpiece of prog. At times, you can hear echoes of Going For The One in Tormato. For example, if Madrigal had had the same production job as Awaken it would sound gorgeous. But it doesn't. There's something about it that grates slightly.

More of the Casio keyboard features on the fourth track Release, Release. Again, my problem is the same. The song itself is as good as any other Yes album. It has a great hook. I mean, I could do without the drum solo. Drum solos belong in live gigs where no-one has to listen to them twice. But the production quality is poor. I would love to see this album remixed by Steven Wilson. According to the internet, which as we know is always right, the original masters have been lost, so that's never going to happen.

Funny thing is, I actually like the songs on Tormato. There's some great writing here. Arriving UFO has a really catchy hook, but then back comes the bloody Casiotone and the mood is ruined. What was Rick Wakeman thinking? Can he not hear the thin, weedy sound he's making? Compare and contrast Wonderous Stories, which has one of my favourite keyboard parts ever. The tone is terrible.

Now I'm going to address the elephant in the room, which is in this case a circus elephant. For those of a nervous disposition, you might want to avoid listening to the lyrics of Circus of Heaven, especially the bit where Jon Anderson's six-year-old son does the speaking part. The music is great, actually, but there are bizarre production decisions (again) like forgetting to add drums. Was Alan White on holiday that day? And the words are, to my ears, excruciatingly awful. No clowns? They're the ones making the record. OK, that's a bit harsh, but you've got to admit it's funny.

This is a bunch of very decent songs trying to fight their way out of a terrible production job. Musically, there are lots of great ideas. Onward has an absolutely beautiful chorus. I sense Yes are moving towards slightly simpler song construction on Tormato, which is not a bad thing. It would have been interesting to hear where they would have gone next. Overall, it is deeply flawed but worth listening to.

Reasons to listen:

  • You like Yes
  • You listen to music on a cassette recorder from the 1970s
Reasons not to listen:
  • The dreadful production
  • You prefer Jon Anderson's voice when he's singing in tune

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