Yes - Tormato*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by BryanA-HTX, Jul 18, 2015.

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  1. ceddy10165

    ceddy10165 My life was saved by rock n roll

    Location:
    Avon, CT
    I prefer Going but like Tormato too. I always thought the slagging this record got compared to the rest of their catalog was lazy copycat journalism.
     
  2. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense

    Location:
    MI
    Looking back, I guess that I was in a more forgiving mood when this thread first started, but I revisited Tormato not long ago and I can't say that it's held up well at all. There's a lot of cheese going on with this album, much of it of the stinky variety. The solid moments don't really come close to the peaks of old--"Freedom" has a cool fusiony vibe, but it doesn't really go anywhere--while the worst songs were among their very worst to date ("Circus of Heaven" is unbearably twee.). Band relations were always a bit fractious with Yes, but they were obviously pulling apart by this point, trying a bit of this and that without a clear sense of direction. Wakeman's synths sound tinny and thin and Anderson delivered some of his lamest lyrics here. Devoted Yes fans will find moments to love and some may champion it as being underrated, but there's a reason why this is regarded as one of their weakest efforts of the 70s. That picture of them on the back with their matching jackets and sunglasses practically screams "successful rock band grows out of touch".
     
  3. SJB

    SJB Beloved Parasitic Nuisance

    I don't hate Tormato but I consider it the weakest / least strong album from the Wakeman/White lineup. The only track that really stands out for me is "On the Silent Wings of Freedom"; the only real stinker for me is "Circus of Heaven." I like the bonus tracks on the expanded Rhino edition, but they provide an interesting subtext. Prior Yes bonus tracks had mostly been rough mixes or early takes of album tracks - they had an idea of what the album would be and focused on that material. With Tormato, suddenly all these different songs are flying around, in various stages of completion. I don't think it means they were becoming more prolific writers; I think it means they were having trouble deciding what the album would be, and they were having trouble selling the others on their ideas.
     
  4. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    In a way, they did do it again with Relayer.
     
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  5. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    i don't hear that, but that's cool
     
  6. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    One song that fills a side, an uptempo song and a slower song.
     
  7. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    i see that, but musically completely different
     
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  8. numer9

    numer9 Beatles Apologist

    Location:
    Philly Burbs
    Like I said, in a way.
     
  9. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense

    Location:
    MI
    I agree that the similarities are mainly superficial there. However I disagree that people don't like Tormato simply because it's not Close To The Edge. They never really remade the same album twice and some albums were more accessible than others, but if the results were strong, the fans responded accordingly.
     
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  10. Sherwood SST

    Sherwood SST Jazz isn’t dead. It just smells funny.

    Location:
    Ontario
    I still love this album, I agree it’s a bit of a departure from their great period of Fragile/CTTE, but it is indeed Yes. All the key ingredients are there. I don’t see much love for Arriving UFO on this thread, I think it’s a gem. I enjoy the album from start to finish.
     
    Mbe, anduandi, GordonM and 2 others like this.
  11. WHitese

    WHitese Senior Member

    Location:
    North Bergen, NJ
    The only thing I dislike is Wakeman's sounds....
     
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  12. Sherwood SST

    Sherwood SST Jazz isn’t dead. It just smells funny.

    Location:
    Ontario
    I agree, the new sound of his keyboards is a bit much at times although it doesn’t change my love of the album.
     
  13. I gave this another listen last night and i still like it and dont get the negativity surrounding this album. I liked it when it was released and my original LP still sounds good to me.
     
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  14. abzach

    abzach Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Great album, like it more and more.
     
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  15. INSW

    INSW Senior Member

    Location:
    Georgia
    It's weak, but tweaking it with the deluxe version outtakes helps. They were just out of gas.
     
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  16. Adam Pajda

    Adam Pajda Forum Resident

    Location:
    Poland
    Oh my oh my how I love this album !!!
     
  17. INSW

    INSW Senior Member

    Location:
    Georgia
    I realize this post was ages ago, but the latter day Yes material has better production than The Yes Album, Fragile, CTTE, or Relayer?

    Just, no.
     
  18. Andy Smith

    Andy Smith .....Like a good pinch of snuff......

    Cover art is SO important. People judge on first impressions; fact. I hate the cover. It's hardly the best Yes album though. A few good songs but I can go years without playing it. In fact, it's in the loft somewhere. This thread has encouraged me to go and dig it out.
     
  19. Antmanbee

    Antmanbee Mental Toss Flycoon

    Location:
    Leicester, UK
    I've never encountered anyone who 'hated' it. Disliked it, yes, in comparison with what came before. And the band was beginning to fragment creatively, Wakeman in particularly getting itchy feet again. The cover isn't especially appealing, although I like the Yes Tor idea itself, but it's poorly executed.
    It has a fuller, less reverb-drenched, sound than Going for the One, which is a plus; the previous album, the title-track of which is probably the 70s Yes piece I like least, has no bottom end, and often sounds shrill.
    The 1978 tour, which continued into the following year, produced some of the best concerts in the band's career.
    It's an album I enjoy listening to, and in its entirety, whereas I spin its immediate predecessor less often, and usually skip the title-track.
     
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  20. nicotinecaffeine

    nicotinecaffeine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    Agreed. Alan White explained some of that while the band was working on the album. It's on the Yes Years doc.
     
  21. milco

    milco Forum Resident

    I know this is a big 'if', but if 'On the silent wings of freedom' could have been eked out into an epic album closer a la 'Awaken', then 'Circus' could have been removed from the running order and the rest of the album would have stood up far better as a whole. For me, OTSWOF is the biggest missed opportunity in the entire Yes canon.
     
    anduandi likes this.
  22. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    I like the cover, it's funny.
     
  23. Bassist

    Bassist Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I don't hate it but never loved it the way I love what came before. The 78 tour was brilliant and the three songs from the album sounded good enough to just about punch their weight on stage next to the classics but the album itself was a disappointment. Not sure if it is the arrangements, the mix or the mastering or a bit of all three but this is a record that seems to have no middle. Squire used to simultaneously saturate the sound with bass frequencies as well as focusing on the top end of the instrument when performing a leading melodic role. That's all in the past. The keyboards seem to have abandoned the mid range almost completely opting instead to compete for attention with Howe and Anderson (and Squire). You can tell they aren't really team players on this one. Hate hate hate the drum sound.

    Overall there are far too many concessions to New Wave dynamics, the classical and jazz influences have been all but eradicated and it is also marks the zenith of Jon Anderson's shift towards literal rather than figurative lyrics. Though that started in earnest on GFTO. It seemed like a piece of work that was all surface and there was nothing much left to discover musically after the first listen or two. So very 1978. There were loads of disco 12"ers in that era that had more interesting arrangements.

    To be fair On The Silent Wings Of Freedom is a major exception. That sounds pretty great still and Onward is a lovely piece of writing that sounds much better done live today than it did on the album 41 yeas ago.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2019
  24. lucan_g

    lucan_g Forum Resident

    I like Tormato. Madrigal is one I never hear mentioned...but I do enjoy it quite a lot.

    Don’t Kill the Whale, however, never did it for me. The lyrics are too straight forward for Yes.

    (And I do like whales!)
     
  25. Svetonio

    Svetonio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Serbia
    I also prefer Tormato over Going for the One.
    IMO, Tormato is the last great Yes' album.
     
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