Yes is the debut studio album by English rock band Yes, first released in the UK on 25 July 1969

Production

Recording

With their contract secured, Yes recorded their debut album in the spring of 1969, mostly at Advision with additional sessions at Trident Studios in London.

Sleeve design

The album was packaged in a gatefold sleeve, with the UK pressing featuring a front cover of the word "YES" in blue and red inside a speech bubble against a plain black background. The sleeve was designed by Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes, a design collaboration between graphic designers Theo Crosby, Alan Fletcher, and Colin Forbes, with additional design work from Haig Adishian.

Release and reception

Yes was released on 25 July 1969 in the UK. "Sweetness" was put out as the album's lead single and the band's first overall; Banks disagreed with this being done, for he thought it was the song that least represented the band's style.

The album received a positive reception from two American newspapers. Scott Campbell of the Arizona Republic wrote that Yes are "a promising set" that deliver on being "solid and together at nearly all times", with "strong and competent" vocals from Anderson. David Wagner, in the Post-Crescent, agreed with Campbell that Yes were a "very promising" group. He recognised "a lot of jazz swinginess" on the album, particularly on the two cover songs, and compared Banks's guitar style to that of Wes Montgomery which comes across strong on the guitar and drum section on "I See You". Wagner rated the band's original material as "generally good" and "fully arranged" despite the over-sentimental quality of "Sweetness", "but there are so many delights on so many levels here that it's hard to complain". Lester Bangs favourably reviewed the album in Rolling Stone, writing that it was "the kind of album that sometimes insinuates itself into your routine with a totally unexpected thrust of musical power."

Yes

  • Bill Bruford – drums, vibraphone
  • Tony Kaye – organ, piano
  • Peter Banks – guitars, vocals
  • Chris Squire – bass, vocals
  • Jon Anderson – lead vocals, incidental percussion

Technical personnel

  • Paul Clay – production
  • Yes – production
  • Gerald Chevin – engineer
  • John Anthony – engineer (Trident Studios sessions only)
  • Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes – sleeve design
  • Peter Sanders – other photographs
  • Nicky Wright – full page photograph
  • Haig Adishian – cover design (UK edition)
  • David Gahr – cover photograph (US edition)

Reissues

  • 1989 – Atlantic – CD
  • 1994 – Atlantic – CD (Remastered)
  • 2003 – Rhino – CD (Remastered with bonus tracks)
  • 2014 – Friday Music – Vinyl
  • 2015 – Music on Vinyl – Vinyl (Remastered by DigiPrep)
  • 2019 – Atlantic – Vinyl

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (2019–2024)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

! scope="row"| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)

| 25

|-

|}

References

Books