For various reasons, the band we know today as Yes is not the same as before. Chris Squire died, unfortunately, and Jon Anderson hasn't been a full-time member of the band for a couple of decades. The prog-rock giants still have Steve Howe, but the majority of the group came aboard in the mid-1990s or after.
In other words, the new sounds we hear on the band's forthcoming record aren't going to be the same as they would have made 50 years ago. That can still be fine, of course. Lots of bands go through lineup changes and still produce good records.
Yes' new album, Aurora, will be released on June 12, which marks the 24th studio record from the various lineups of the group. From the most recent album, two singles have been delivered: the self-titled track and the latest, "Turnaround Situation."
"Turnaround Situation" by Yes is a mixed bag of fluff
Written by vocalist Jon Davison, who joined Yes in 2012 and became the group's fourth lead vocalist in the long run of the band, "Turnaround Situation" is about taking the right paths in life, even while those might seem to be the most difficult ones. The wrong roads are sometimes more fun, but unfulfilling in the end.
That's all fine and well, but does the new single sound like a Yes tune, and even if it does, is it any good? Well, yes and no.
The overall sonics will make a longtime Yes fan happen. There are enough prog thematics to know this isn't a country song the legendary band has churned out. The keyboards at the beginning tell us what we need to know.
The issue is with Davison's vocals. He doesn't have a bad voice, of course, but on "Turnaround Situation," the vocals are almost too clean and Davison's voice too thin. While he would have recorded his part in a high-end studio, he seems to strain for some of the notes, falling flat at other points.
The lyrics aren't overly creative either. More like Davison came up with a bunch of cliches and put them in a random order.
The track also isn't heavy enough. One understands that the tune is prog-lite, but the feel is more as if it could have come from 1970s Broadway, maybe a song from Pippin that didn't make the cut for the stage performance.
Worse, the song isn't truly bad enough to be memorable. "Turnaround Situation" is simply a forgettable tune that one won't be listening to in six months. Let's hope the rest of the album is better.
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