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Album Details

• Artist: Yes
• Album: Tormato
• Label: Atlantic
• Year of Release: 1978
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2012-11-21

When Yes released the follow up to Going for the One, fans were probably expecting more of the same kind of grand Yes sound. The musical landscape was changing, though, and Yes were trying to adapt. Progressive rock had gotten labeled as “pretentious” and “outdated” and Yes tried to create a fresher sound. The resulting album was Tormato, and it was a disc that found them getting mixed results. While a lot of the album was more pop-oriented it still had moments of brilliance and real magic. It might have been more accessible Yes, but in most ways, it was still Yes.

Perhaps one of the biggest shocks to Yes fans was the sound of Tormato. While Going for the One had a very crisp and rich sound, Tormato seemed a bit compressed in a lot of ways. The biggest thing, though, was the Chris Squire had adopted a sort of envelope processed tone to his bass sound. It stands to this day to make the disc seem a bit dated and odd compared to the rest of the Yes catalog.

Other than the difference in production and bass texture, certain cuts on the set would have felt at home on earlier Yes albums. Among those were “Future Times/Rejoice” and “On the Silent Wings of Freedom.” Some cuts had a bit of a silly nature, “Circus of Heaven,” “Don’t Kill the Whale” and “Arriving UFO” immediately coming to mind. “Release, Release” seemed to be Yes’ response to the growing influence of punk rock in music. It was frantic and raw and perhaps Yes’ closest song to heavy metal.

While the sound of Tormato was a shock, and in comparison to the brilliance of Going for the One it seemed a let down, the disc was still fairly strong. Not all the cuts were classic, and the group seldom performed cuts from Tormato live, but it was still a good disc. For many other bands, it would have been very strong. Compared to Yes’ catalog of music, though, it was fairly weak.

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