| | Yes Magnification CD Yes Discography of CDs
 (6 Customer Reviews)
Yes brings its sweeping brand of art rock to new heights with MAGNIFICATION, the band's first orchestral album since 1970's TIME AND A WORD. The tried and true quartet of Anderson, Squire, Howe, and White have done justice to this album's title; their latest sonic landscape is both magnified and enhanced by composer/arranger Larry Groupe. Groupe's role so symbiotic and integral it's as if he's a longtime band member in Yes and his instrument is the orchestra he conducts.
What sets MAGNIFICATION apart from your typical rock-band-with-orchestra project is the arrangements. Rather than adding clutter or tacky overstatement, the orchestral parts take on a voice that at times acts as subtle foundation, and finds the perfect moments to act as a lead "instrument." The title track strolls with majesty, following with the crushing emotional crescendos of "Spirit of Survival." The trademark Yes chorus is splendidly present on "Don't Go," which breaks into a quirky, theatric mid-section. A dramatic score opens "Give Love Each Day" as the band shows a beauty and restraint lacking in many of their progressive rock contemporaries. The epic suite "In The Presence Of" shows just how influential Yes has been in setting the standards that define their genre.
Many call Yes' brand of progressive rock "symphonic rock." The term means that the group produces arrangements in the vein of a symphony using typical rock instrumentation. With Magnification, Yes has taken that a step further, adding a symphony orchestra. The orchestra is not simply thrown over the top, though; the songs were written for this particular grouping. Yes has flirted with this type of thing before. Released in 1970, the Time and a Word album featured a string section, but the complete integration is what makes Magnification a superior work. The material on the CD is pretty standard modern Yes fare, but the addition of that symphony really does create a whole new texture. It also seems as if it inspired the band, and some members put in performances that are head and shoulders above their other work. The album does have its weak moments and gets just a little over the top at times, but there are a lot more moments that shine than dull ones. [Beyond's 2001 "Bonus Track" edition included "Long Distance Runaround" as a bonus track.] ~ Gary Hill
Additional Tracks
Recorded at Sound Design Studios, Santa Barbara, California.
Composer: Larry Groupé.
Yes: Jon Anderson (vocals, guitar); Steve Howe (guitar); Alan White (drums); Chris Squire.
Personnel: Steve Howe (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar, mandolin); Chris Squire (vocals, bass guitar).
Audio Mixers: Tim Weidner; Steve MacMillan.
Recording information: Sound Design Studios, Santa Barbara, CA.
Yes: Jon Anderson (vocals, acoustic & synthesized guitars); Steve Howe (acoustic, electric & steel guitars, mandolin); Alan White (piano, drums, percussion, background vocals); Chris Squire (bass, background vocals).
Engineers include: Tim Weidner, Nick Sevilla, John Elder.
Mojo (Publisher) (11/01, p.106) - "...10 tracks decorated with swooping violins and stabs of brass....The title track soars nobly enough and recalls the glory days..." Magnification Music Review Average Rating: (4.2 out of 5 stars)   List All Reviews Great orchestrated music!
I find this music to be relaxing and inspiring. It's good mood music! Greg
Submitted by aerospacejams77 (Waukegan, IL) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
Muy bueno
Para los de habla Hispana. La verdad es que ultimamente YES nos tiene acostumbrados a nuevos Discos de mediana o poca calidad en comparación con sus clasicos inicios, pero en este CD me topé con una gran sorpresa, es un CD mucho, pero mucho mejor que todos sus antecesores CDs, sin llegar a ser un clasico. Pero la verdad es que me sorprendieron gratamente con este CD. Tiene mucho del Relayer y Time of the Wordl mezclado con The Ladder, osea una mezcla de lo muy bueno con lo no tan bueno.
Para los no tan radicales de Yes clasico, es totalmente recomendable, mucho mejor que todos sus antecesores desde el BIG GENERATOR, Tiene buenos arreglos y es muy sinfonico, solo tiene un tema comercial DON´T GO, que tampoco es tanto.
Trae además un bonus CD con tres temas que se indican el el listado del CD que son temas extractados del recital del DVD YES Live en Amsterdam, que suenan muy bien y suman 46 minutos.
Un abrazo desde Santiago de Chile
Submitted by hcastro (Santiago de Chile)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  Outstanding As Always
I've been a Yes fan for years and saw this concert in Nov. 2002. They hardly played any of the new material, so I held off from purchasing Magnification. If you are a true Yes fan, Magnification is as inspiring and moving as "The Ladder", "Open Your Eyes" or any of the new material they have released in the last ten years. I'm very uplifted by this CD.
Submitted by apazsak3 (Bethel, CT)
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The more you listen to this, the better it becomes
Whenever I hear music that is instantly attractive, I now this is going to be a very short relationship. Yes is red wine, they get better over time. There is no good or bad Yes music. How does one measure Yes or Bach or Vivaldi? I have listened to Magnification for 100s of times and it gets better and better. The same applies to Relayer. Yes’ music is bigger than Yes or me or you!
Submitted by greg.platt (Cape Town South Africa)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No The best since Tormato...
And Tormato was not so good? Asking me, it was! Magnification is back to basic Yes , with beatiful symphonic sound. Orchestral music arranged by Larry Groupe. Five stars if Rick Wakeman had been there....
Submitted by Jan (Norway)
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