Music Review: Yes – Open Your Eyes [180 Gram Vinyl Edition]

Ah, the smell of fresh vinyl. If you came of age during the CD era you probably never had the experience or joy of the odor of a freshly opened vinyl album. It was memorable and should be experienced by all music lovers at least once.

Vinyl has been making a comeback lately with annual sales now in the millions of copies. Open Your Eyes, by Yes, has just been reissued as a double vinyl LP. It returns on 180 gram heavy-weight vinyl, which has enhanced the listening experience. The sound is crystal clear and if a person possesses a good stereo system, record player, and most importantly a quality needle, then the sound of a record can be the equal of a CD.

Open Your Eyes was the 17th studio album by Yes. The band at the time consisted of singer Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, and keyboardist Billy Sherwood. Steve Porcaro and Igor Khoroshev also provided keyboards on several of the tracks.

The album is sometimes underrated in the vast Yes catalogue. It contained simpler and shorter songs for the most part. It was also not as cohesive as many of their past releases as the music travelled in a number of directions, which in some ways gave it some charm.

“New York State Of Mind” and the title track were guitar-based and Steve Howe’s solo on the first found him at his creative best. “Universal Garden” was typical Yes as the synthesizer foundation found the band in familiar territory. Harmonies have always been an important part of the Yes approach and on “No Way We Can Lose” they shine. “Wonderlove” was the oddest song on the album due to its quirky structure, but was a prime example of the band experimenting with their sound. Sometimes simple is best and “From the Balcony” is just Howe’s acoustic guitar and Jon Anderson’s vocal.

There are no surprises with this reissue except for the format. The music is upbeat and interesting, but readily available on CD. It all comes down to whether a person wants to collect or experience the music on vinyl.

The music is spread over four sides so don’t forget to turn the records over every now and then.