Union (Yes album)

Background

In 1983, Yes reformed following the addition of returning singer Jon Anderson, joining bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, guitarist Trevor Rabin, and keyboardist Tony Kaye. The line-up went on to record Yes' most commercially successful albums, 90125 (1983) and Big Generator (1987), for Atco Records. In 1988, Anderson left Yes and formed Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH), a new group with past Yes members Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford, who also brought in bassist Tony Levin. ABWH released their self-titled album for Arista Records in 1989 and supported it with a world tour. During this time, the remaining members of Yes began to write new material with producer Eddy Offord and held sessions for potential new singers with English Supertramp lead vocalist Roger Hodgson and American singer and bassist of World Trade, Billy Sherwood.

In 1990, ABWH and Levin started to write and record a second studio album at Studio Miraval in Correns, France with producer Jonathan Elias, who had Anderson contribute to his solo album, Requiem for the Americas (1990). Bruford described the material written by Howe, Levin, and himself during this time, before Anderson's involvement, as "terrific", and had high hopes for ABWH's future. Matters became an issue when none of their songs were suitable for radio airplay or release as a single. After several tracks had been put down, Anderson travelled to a studio in Los Angeles, California to record his vocals. While there, he met with Rabin and heard some of the Yes music that was in development and suggested that he sing on it, and expressed a wish for Rabin to contribute a song for ABWH to record. "What I read into that was they needed a single" recalled Rabin, who had written many of Yes's hit singles in the 1980s and sent three demos to the group, including "Lift Me Up". Rabin requested that only one of his demos be used, but Anderson wished to use all three, which started discussions among the two bands' management to have Yes and ABWH work on a single album.

Rabin thought the idea of a merge "was useful and convenient to everyone, because we wanted to go on the road, and it was a quick way". Squire called Yes's involvement into the project as a "salvage job". Howe and Bruford resisted to the idea, and saw no need to become part of Yes once again as they had reached substantial success as ABWH. Bruford thought ABWH "was a group in the making ... However, the politicians got involved and that idea was quickly crushed". Following a period of arrangements, Atco agreed to release the Yes members from the label to sign a four album contract with Arista Records for an undisclosed sum, thus giving the green-light for the album released under Arista. As part of the deal, Atco retained the rights to the band's back catalogue. Squire remembered a "huge, 90-page contract" was produced to settle the various legal issues between the two bands, labels and promoters.

Recording and production

White estimated the Yes group had roughly three months to finish their tracks. The tracks were recorded in nine different studios in France, England, and the United States which involved several producers. Elias accepted Anderson's invitation to be a producer for the ABWH tracks, with Anderson credited as an associate producer. Elias felt uneasy about the task as a Yes album of "fresh" material was something he thought was too difficult to achieve, following the band's history of internal issues. He aimed to present the "high technical edge" that Yes were known for inside more concise songs, matching what the Yes group were producing at the time and not a display of technical prowess, or "how many notes could be played" in a given section. This philosophy was questioned by Anderson who wished to distance himself from commercial and pop-oriented music.

During the recording stage, differences arose over the style and musical direction of some of the ABWH-produced songs. As Wakeman and Howe had agreed to solo commitments before recording, their respective keyboard and guitar parts were recorded and stored onto a computer, but not finalised and mastered. In their absence, Elias and Anderson hired several session musicians to record new parts from their already recorded arrangements as the tracks Wakeman and Howe had put down were not what the two were looking for. Elias said, "We weren't looking for only the early-'70s pyro technique. We wanted something more modern", and added new keyboards himself with Jimmy Haun on guitar, who worked with Squire previously on his side project, The Chris Squire Experiment. In total, Union features synthesiser contributions from ten session players. Among them were Jim Crichton, founder and bassist of Saga, and his assistant, Brian Foraker. They received the tracks and "tried to fill in the gaps ... What would Rick do here, and what sound Rick would use there", from his own studio. Crichton thought "Dangerous (Look in the Light of What You're Searching For)" was a particularly strong track in its demo form, but its final version was substandard. Wakeman criticised Elias for allowing the edits, and the two addressed each other's issues in different publications of Keyboard magazine. Elias "never questioned Rick's technical ability" and stressed that Union was not an album of "major opuses" and felt Wakeman had "lost his edge". To Howe, Haun was an "average guitarist" and described his changes as to "having an abortion". Elias maintained the view that he and Anderson agreed that outside musicians were needed and described Howe's reaction as merely "bruised ego from ... a very good guitar player".

Squire added his vocals to the ABWH tracks "I Would Have Waited Forever", "Without Hope (You Cannot Start the Day)", and "Dangerous (Look in the Light of What You're Searching For)".

Roger Dean was hired to design the art for the album. After the release of Big Generator, Dean was asked by Phil Carson to design a new band logo, and came up with a square design, but it was not used due to Anderson forming ABWH. When it came to Union, Dean decided to use the Yes logo he designed in 1972 and the square design.

Music and lyrics

Howe used his guitar riff for "I Would Have Waited Forever" on "Sensitive Chaos", a track on his future solo album Turbulence (1991). Elias thought the track best represented "both early and late Yes styles". "Masquerade" is an acoustic guitar solo written and performed by Howe. He recorded the track in fifteen minutes at his home studio using a two-channel Revox deck, "away from all the arguments and politics" that came with making the album. He recorded other acoustic tracks on a Spanish guitar for the album, including one titled "Baby Georgia", but Arista decided to use "Masquerade", a track Howe almost decided against sending because he thought it was not as strong as the others. "Lift Me Up" was written by Squire and Rabin. The two used a dictionary to look for suitable rhyming words for the song's lyrics, which is how they came up with the word "imperial" in its chorus. According to Rabin, the song concerns a homeless person who enters a restaurant to use the bathroom, only to have the people inside telling him to leave. "And he just looks up to the sky [and says] ... you know, help me out". Rabin completed two different mixes of the track but Arista founder Clive Davis disliked them. After Squire suggested to bring in someone else, Paul Fox was subsequently hired and finished a mix that was used on the album with assistance by Ed Thacker. Rabin, feeling the original mix was superior, thought Fox's work was "very good" but it suffered from not having a clear idea on what was wanted. "Without Hope (You Cannot Start the Day)" originated from Elias who recorded a basic outline of the track in an afternoon and sent the tape to Wakeman to add his keyboards. Elias and Anderson felt dissatisfied with Wakeman's parts; Elias wished for something "simple and gentle" but instead got a piece that to Elias "sounded like a Rachmaninoff piano concerto", and recorded new piano parts. Rabin felt "Saving My Heart" was not suitable to include on a Yes album, a similar feeling he had for the band's most successful single, "Owner of a Lonely Heart". He originally planned to develop the track with Hodgson before Anderson heard it and wished to work on it for Union. The song displays pop and reggae influences. Rabin was unhappy with the song's final mix as it did not turn out the way he wished.

"Miracle of Life" is a track Rabin described as a protest song; he gained influence for its lyrics after watching a news report on the slaughtering of dolphins in Denmark. Howe thought the track was "very good". "Silent Talking" is a song that Howe originally connected with a track he wrote titled "Seven Castles". Howe thought it contained some of the better guitar work on the album, but felt Anderson put down his vocals during the second half in too soon after his solo began. The song features a guitar riff from Howe that is also included in his solo album Turbulence (1991). "The More We Live – Let Go" is the first song that Squire and Sherwood wrote together. Sherwood and producer Eddy Offord wanted Squire re-record the bass parts that Sherwood had put down on the demo version, but Squire refused as he liked Sherwood's rendition and wanted it on the album. To Sherwood, the writing and recording process was so successful, he and Squire agreed to continue writing from then on. The pair also wrote "Love Conquers All", a track with Rabin on lead vocals and released on the Yes box set Yesyears (1991). "Angkor Wat", named after the Cambodian temple of the same name, was written by Elias, Anderson and Wakeman. During the final days of recording, Elias wanted Wakeman to record some atmospheric keyboard sounds that were then layered and formed as a track. Wakeman recorded each layer without hearing what he recorded before. The song features a Cambodian poem at the end read by Pauline Cheng. "Evensong" is taken from the middle section of a drum and bass duet performed by Bruford and Levin on the ABWH tour. The title comes from an evening prayer service held in English churches.

Release

Union was released on 30 April 1991. The album was a success on the charts, reaching its peak of number seven on the UK Albums Chart in May 1991 during a six-week stay. In the United States, it debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number thirty-five, the week of 18 May 1991. The album climbed on the following week, reaching its peak at number fifteen on the week ending 25 May. It was present on the chart for a total of nineteen weeks.

On 2 July 1991, Union was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 copies.

In 1992, "Masquerade" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Howe described the nomination for his track as "pure justice", following the difficulties in making the album.

Yes released three singles from Union in 1991. "Lift Me Up" was the lead single, released in April 1991. It became one of the band's most successful singles, spending six weeks at number one from its third week on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, later known as the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was number one from the week of 4 May to 8 June 1991. It reached a peak of eighty-six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The second single, "Saving My Heart", released in July 1991, reached a high of number nine on the Album Rock Tracks chart a month later. "I Would Have Waited Forever" was the final single released.

Reception

The album received mixed reviews from critics. Chuck Eddy gave it two stars out of five for Rolling Stone, calling it "an eclectic miscarriage that almost isn't even worth laughing about", and wished the album had more memorable hooks, riffs, and concise lyrics. Q4 magazine issued a review from Robert Sandall, who thought Union "veers alarmingly between ... neurotically jumpy overarrangements and competing time signatures" from the ABWH group and the "heads-down riffing" from the Yes members. Sandall picked out "Lift Me Up" as one of the album's few "strong, anthemic tunes" that remains "unscathed" from the collision of such varied song styles, which makes Union "one of the least ridiculous Yes albums in recent memory". In a review for The Washington Post, Gil Grifin noted that "musically and conceptually", the band are "reaching for its glorious past" which resulted in an album not entirely appealing. Though "Lift Me Up", "The More We Live – Let Go" and "Saving My Heart" are picked as more favourable tracks, Grifin concludes with "the aloofness of 'Union' is often sleep-inducing". Union received a two and a half star out of five grade from a retrospective review from Bruce Eder for AllMusic. Eder thought it was always difficult for the album to live up to expectations given the amount of musical talent involved in the project. Nevertheless, he thought its songs are "reasonably solid", and picks out the harmonies in "I Would Have Waited Forever" from Anderson and Squire and Howe's "Masquerade" as favourable highlights. But he thought "Lift Me Up" is a "forced exercise in heaviness" and "Without Hope (You Cannot Start the Day)" a "composed-by-numbers" track.

Most of the band have negative opinions on the album. Rabin thought the album lacked a linking thread and ranked 90125 and Big Generator as better albums. Wakeman stated he was dissatisfied with the production, commenting that most of his contributions were so altered in the final result that he himself could not recognise them, adding that he used to call it "Onion" because "it made me cry every time I heard it". Bruford remains very critical of the record, stating "It was probably not only the most dishonest title that I've ever had the privilege of playing drums underneath, but the single worst album I've ever recorded".

The music portal Ultimate Classic Rock ranked Union last in its list of best Yes albums.

Track listing

Note: "Angkor Wat" and "Give & Take" are not included on the LP version.

Tour

Yes supported Union with a 1991–92 world tour, covering North America, Europe and Japan. At its conclusion, the 1983–88 line-up of Anderson, Rabin, Squire, Kaye, and White continued as Yes and started work on the next Yes album, Talk, released in 1994.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the 1991 CD liner notes.

Yes

Additional musicians and personnel

Production