Five guilty pleasure albums people keep too quiet about liking

Yes - Tormato

This continues the theme of another early purchase album. I had seen the band live and loved their earlier albums. Their Going For The One album in 1977 was a glorious return to form. So when Tormato was due out in 1978, it seemed an obvious purchase. It probably seemed a good plan for the band too, but with the idea of a second part to Tormato scrapped quickly and stalwarts of the band like Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman departing in 1980, things didn't work out. Although, at times, it felt like Yes had a revolving door as far as band members go. 

Getting back to the album, the cover art for Tormato wasn’t at all popular, none of the band seemed to have a kind word for it. Apparently, someone at Hipgnosis, the designers, threw a tomato at their original artwork in frustration, and it stuck in more ways than one. It’s hard to believe it was kept, but such is art! 

Putting that aside, the music was powerful and although it had some criticism at the time, it’s not a bad record at all. But it’s often one that people will point to as a low in the Yes catalog. Again, I may have a bias; I saw the tour, a night at Wembley Arena, London, with the band in the round on a revolving stage. They were phenomenal and the new tracks came across well. The measure is does it still get played? The answer is a yes, for me anyway.

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