Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Time is the great leveller, and yet in some cases we have found ways to observe the continuation of that which would have once slowly faded away. Indeed, such is the pulse of various music artists, or groups, we can now witness the possibility of such longevity that a band could feasibly live on in one form or another indefinitely.
Art is meant to outlive the artist, that is the sacrifice of the human soul as it creates from dust that which fascinates long after the illustrator of the human expression has left this mortal coil for the next adventure.
The listener can reflect on such musings as they absorb the latest album from one of the founders of Progressive Rock and see that even in a place where an ending was once foreseeable, certainly inescapable, now has the distinction of being a bountiful reminder of continuation; this is art living as long as those who wish to add to the painting, this is a sculpture of never ending endurance and pleasure, forever adding, an eternity of enhancing.
Yes’ Mirror To The Sky may have none of the original members performing its luxurious music, but unlike other groups of the same period, and even into the 21st Century, it should be noted that this probably no longer matters, for the every revolving membership that shaped its success in the 70s, has become its own confident addition, and as the reflection of the album grabs the soul’s attention, memories are tired of those lost, those who walked away, and those who captured the essence during the last 50 years.
Mirror To The Sky is serene, haunting, inescapable, it has nods to the initial early days as Jon Davison once more takes on the duty of vocals, it has expertise in Steve Howe’s undeniable sense of history and timing, and with Geoff Downes, Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen adding their own industrious contributions to the texture and flavour of songs such as All Connected, Living Out Their Dream, Circles Of Time and Unknown Place, Yes return with an ease that beguiles, that is subtle, and gorgeous in its presentation.
Some decry the longevity of a band when its founders have ceased to be a part of the current line-up, but who else could make this music, this sound, so complete than that which drives it onwards.
A sense of perfection from the studio, Mirror To The Sky frames the heat of a burning sun and turns into an electric dream.
Ian D. Hall