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Think of Yes, and chances are you're not thinking of three-minute compact pop nuggets. The progressive heroes and FM rock mainstays did court the AM (and later, FM pop) radio market, though, from their early days through the crossover hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and beyond. On October 6, Rhino will round up a dozen of Yes' rare single versions for the compilation YESSINGLES. The compilation, which features various personnel and line-ups of the group from 1971-1983, will be available on 140-gram black vinyl, independent retail-exclusive splatter vinyl, and on digital/streaming services.
The collection opens with 1971's "Your Move," excerpted from the lengthy "I've Seen All Good People" on the band's third LP, The Yes Album. Yes' first charting single in the U.S., it reached No. 40 Pop. In the U.K., the flipside of "Your Move" was an excerpt from the album's "Starship Trooper." That B-side, "Life Seeker," is also reprised here. "Roundabout," the lone single off the 1971 follow-up Fragile, bested its predecessor and hit No. 13 on the U.S. Hot 100. The band's very next 45 was their reworking of Paul Simon's "America," a 1968 hit for Simon and Garfunkel. (Bassist Chris Squire worked in a quote from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's West Side Story song of the same title; Yes had already recorded West Side's "Something's Coming" as the non-LP B-side of their first U.K. single, "Sweetness.") "America" reached No. 46 Pop. The promotional radio edit of "And You and I" from 1972's Close to the Edge did slightly better, making it to No. 42 in the U.S.; the song became Yes' first entry on the U.K. Singles Chart at No. 51. Side One of the new collection closes with "Soon," one segment of the 22-minute opus "The Gates of Delirium" from Relayer (1974).
Side Two opens with the flip of "Soon," an edit of Relayer's "Sound Chaser," which chops the song down by more than half. 1977's "Wonderous Stories," from Going to the One, was Yes' very first top ten hit in the band's native United Kingdom where it hit No. 7. Yessingles jumps to 1978's Tormato single "Don't Kill the Whale," a B-side in the U.S. and Canada (supporting "Release, Release") but an A-side elsewhere, including the U.K. where it made the top 40. The single version of "Into the Lens" was released off 1980's Drama. The band's next album, though, would shatter all records. 1983's 90125, featuring a new version of Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and Alan White with Trevor Rabin and Tony Kaye, yielded "Owner of a Lonely Heart," a sleek pop gem that charted around the world including No. 1 on the U.S. Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock charts. (It even charted on the AC, Dance/Disco, and R&B surveys!) Yessingles draws to a close with "Leave It," the second single from 90125 which reached No. 24 Pop/No. 3 Rock in the U.S. and No. 56 on the U.K. Singles Chart.
Yessingles is adorned with new artwork created exclusively for the album. The Promo Radio Edit version of "And You And I (Part One)" is now available digitally. Look for the compilation on October 6 from Atlantic and Rhino.
Yes, Yessingles (Atlantic/Rhino, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
Side One
- "Your Move" - Single Version (Atlantic 45-2819 (U.S.)/Atlantic 2814 003 (U.K.), 1971)
- "Starship Trooper: Life Seeker" - Single Version (Atlantic 2814 003 (U.K.), 1971)
- "Roundabout" - Single Edit (Atlantic 45-2854, 1972)
- "America" - Single Edit (Atlantic 45-2899, 1972)
- "And You And I (Part One)" - Promo Radio Edit (Atlantic 45-2920, 1972)
- "Soon" - Single Edit (Atlantic 45-3242, 1975)
Side Two
- "Sound Chaser" - Single Edit (Atlantic 45-3242, 1975)
- "Wonderous Stories" - Single Version (Atlantic 3416, 1977)
- "Don't Kill The Whale" - Single Version (Atlantic 3534, 1978)
- "Into The Lens" - Single Version (Atlantic 3767, 1980)
- "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" - Single Version (Atco 7-99817, 1983)
- "Leave It" - Single Remix (Atco 7-99787, 1983)
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Unfortunately they still ignore the CD market. This is so upsetting.
...and yet they leave off the single edit of the first Yes (cass)ingle I ever owned, "Love Will Find a Way." Unlike many of the included tracks, that particular single edit actually improves on the album version. Also a bit odd that they didn't go through 'Big Generator' since it included Yes's last 2 Top 40 hit singles.
Agree completely. Pointless release.
No doubt those tracks were left off because of space on the vinyl.
In better days they would have been included as "CD bonus tracks" on the CD package.
Only a completist would pay for radio edits from existing tracks. Right??
Nope. There are many single version collectors out there, some of whom prefer the single versions to the album cuts (in most cases anyway).
To expand a bit, often the single edits tightened up the song very well (BS&T's "And When I Die" and the U.S. single edit of Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat" come to mind). Other times they remove discordant elements some may find annoying (The Buckinghams' "Susan" is a classic example, removing the "psychedelic" interlude in the middle that was added in by the producer without the band's approval).
In at least one case the "long" album version was expanded from the originally recorded single (Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover").
But many were just hack jobs done without band input to get radio airplay. To me the worst violators here were Chicago's "Make Me Smile" and CS&N's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". And let's not mention "American Pie"...
a useless collection of trax what is rhino thinkin. more wasted vinyl.
A shame Atlantic/Rhino has again forgotten those of us who are still buying CDs and can’t see the point of spending thirty bucks on an LP that cost us $2.99 back there in the mid/late 20th century.
Rhino is hard to figure out. The Little Feat and Alice Cooper reissues this year were well done - and fans could purchase just the CDs, too, without having to shell out for an LP as part of the package. Same goes for The Doors at the Matrix that was just issued.
Then The Replacement reissue series continues with mixed media - 'x' number of CDs and an LP packaged together, causing some fans to purchase media they don't want or need.
Now, there is no CD option for this Yes release, assuming one doesn't get released later (it's not clear if Second Disc followed up to ask that question because there's no mention either way).
I assume Rhino has data guiding these decisions, but there continues to be a common theme running through these various reissues - CD listeners remain a regular part of the fan base and want CDs.
Hi Ed, not only can you rest assured that The Second Disc asks "that question"...but the follow-up usually is, "If you're not releasing it on CD, can we?" Unfortunately, the data that drives the decisions as to what is released in which format is not available to us. I don't expect it to be available to us at any point, either. If Real Gone Music (or any third party label) makes a request about a title, we're also not typically given a reason as to why that request is approved or denied. That information is proprietary to the copyright holders, but trust me, it all comes down to numbers.
For what it's worth, this package was clearly designed for vinyl. If and when a Yes singles collection happens on CD, I believe that it should be a complete one in the style of our recent Spinners singles collection. Getting a band such as Yes to sign off on a comprehensive package such as that is no easy task - which may be a reason we're only getting this truncated volume. We'll continue to champion the CD format even as we acknowledge the significance of vinyl and digital releases to the current marketplace. Thanks, as always, for reading.
Thanks, Joe. Appreciate the reply and the insights. Not surprised, though, that data isn't shared.
Hopefully, some of the smarter folks at Rhino will pay closer attention to this site (and some others we all know), where folks speak out and let their preferences be known - and ultimately vote with their wallets, not just their ears.
Let's lobby at Rhino for release of Fragile tour tapes, which were used on Yessongs, and Wembley 1978 concert recorded by BBC!
A perfect collection for all those Prog Rock AM radio fans.
Joe - the number of Wonderous Stories should be 3416.