Yes albums and the memories they bring us – 712

I have many Yes albums memories. To start, the 1st Yes album I heard in its entirety was Fragile on vinyl, so that holds a special place in my memories. Likewise I got each album after that when they were released on vinyl, and some on audiotape to play in my car(s), with my Jensen 3-way speakers in the back & in the car doors! I played Yessongs to death at home on the turntable starting in mid ’73, Tales starting in early ’74, and Relayer at friend Joe’s house on his stereo system in early ’75. Once I was on the air as a radio DJ in Jan. ’75, I had my choice to play any Yes track (in those days), and I have memories of playing each new album in full on each release day up to ’86, along with select entire solo albums by Yes members, and other artists like Rush, Genesis, etc. A special memory is that in my very 1st shift on day 1 in Jan. ’75 I played a song I had never heard on the radio here in Columbus, Ohio, or elsewhere. It was “South Side of the Sky” from Fragile. A special concert memory will always be my 1st Yes show in July ’75, where they played all of Relayer, a favorite album.

When the Gottlieb Brothers invited fans to contribute to their forthcoming “YesFans” book, I wrote an essay that touches on my fannish memories. There’s no denying that it’s the albums that made me a fan — and I’ve become an inveterate collector of Yes stuff as a result — but it became clear to me as I was writing the essay (and it may be that you’ll agree, based on the memories you shared in the podcast) that it was the tours that created my most enduring memories over the years.