Customer Reviews

Definitive Rock

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have to comment after seeing these one star reviews. First of all, this should not be viewed as "a new Yes album". It's not intended to be that. It is also not intended for longtime Yes fans who have all the original albums. If you look at the title (and which word in the title is highlighted) and you read Chris Welch's liner notes, it's clear this is a package designed by Rhino to be marketed to the neophyte. It's clearly aimed at someone who doesn't know Yes, and probably doesn't own any of their records. It's meant to provide an introduction to the band with the hope that if someone who buys it likes what they hear, they'll be compelled to seek out the original albums. This is an age old practice in the music business and it's been going on since almost the very beginning - certainly the beginning of the rock era.

In that context, the album succeeds. It's a great collection of some of the band's finest "rock" (light on the progressive side) recordings, and it's comprehensive as well in that it spans more than 30 years of the band's history. I loved collections like these when I was growing up because I was on a limited budget (and this thing is relatively cheap) and it was a good way to score a lot of great music for not a lot of money. You got liner notes that educated you about the band, and more often than not, I wound up buying more records by the band in question.

So let's be fair. Even if you don't like the concept, or the packaging or feel cheated because there are really no new songs, or because this has music you already own, is it fair to assign a one star rating to a CD with more than 2 1/2 hours of the best music of the past three decades? I'll dock them because maybe they've gone to the well once too often lately with these collections. But I think they did what they set out to do. And if I met a 14 or 15 year old kid who said to me, "Which Yes album should I buy if I only have the money for one?" I would have no problem recommending this one to him.

I'm a sicko of a Yes fan. I own all their albums on vinyl, bought them again on cassette in the 80s, and bought them again on CD in the 90s. But I've got to draw the line somewhere.

How many freakin times can a band re-release the same "greatest hits" with a different cover? When I was notified by Amazon of a new Yes album, I jumped all over it thinking, "the boys are back for the first time in 7 years!" But no, it's more like "the boys have released their 7th greatest hits CD in 7 years."

PLEASE DON'T ENCOURAGE THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOUR! Don't buy this album or it'll just make them do it again, and again, and again. If we all boycott future Yes greatest hits albums, then maybe they'll be forced to actually WORK for their money. I think we'd all enjoy that for a change. WHO'S WITH ME??

"Magnification", Yes' last studio effort shows that the boys still have what it takes to produce brilliant, inspiring, and worthwhile music. (IMHO "In the Presence Of" ranks right up there with the all-time Yes greats.) However, we don't need yet another rehashing of the past (no matter how great the music is). Members of Yes: please give your long-time fans at least one more album of new material to further assure your musical legacy. I gave this CD a rating of two stars because it could be valuable to new fans, but it will not satisfy the hard-core Yes fans who need some fresh original music from their favorite group.

Yes is my all-time favorite group, bar none. Everything they have done is simply timeless. I have almost every single song they have recorded, and I own all of their releases as well.

I bought 'The Ultimate Yes' when it came out in 2004. I was record shopping one day when I stumbled upon this release. I didn't buy it. The store I was shopping at carried 'The Ultimate Yes' as well. I compared the two, and realized they were identical.

Now I agree with the other reviewers in that this release was very unnecessary. 'The Ultimate Yes' is still in print, and all this is is a record with an identical track listing, but a different cover photo (taken during the 'Going For The One' period, I believe).

But, the music is great, and that is why I give it five stars. 'Yours Is No Disgrace,' 'South Side Of The Sky,' 'Roundabout,' 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' and almost everything else that made Yes legendary are here.

But, I can also say there is plenty missing. Where are fan favorites like 'Survival,' 'Beyond And Before,' 'Nine Voices,' 'Perpetual Change,' and 'Love Will Find A Way'?

Overall, since 'The Ultimate Yes' is still for sale, don't buy this release. Buy that for the new 2004 studio recordings. That is the better buy. But the music is still great.

I never paid much attention to the band YES, until I was in the army, stationed in Germany in the 1980's. One of my room mates came in with a new Yes LP called '90125'
he started playing it, and I became a part-time Yes fan.
Through the years I didn't think much of Yes, was at a record store in the 1990's, I saw the "ABWH", "Union" and "Talk" titles in a cheap cassette tapes bin, and bought all of them. Never really listened to none of them. 3 years ago, I bought the Yes - "The definitive Rock Collection", I listened.....And it really opened me up to the music of Yes. I dug out my cassette tapes, listened to them from beginning to end. Between the 2 Cds & tapes I must of played "Shock To The System", "It Can Happen", "South Side Of The Sky", "Lift Me Up", "Siberian khatru", "Leave It", "Homeworld", "Magnification" & "Wonderous Stories" over & over & over again.
I told myself, If I could, I would kick myself. What took me so long to catch on to the music of Yes? To this date, I now own 9 Yes Cds & 4 DVDs with more to buy. I no longer want to kick myself. The way I see it now, any Yes music I don't have at this time, will be new Yes music for me when I buy it. And I have a lot more to buy. Peace Out!

"Yes:The Definitive Collection" is an excellent compilation spanning the entire body of their work. I had Yes on vinyl and have been a fan since their formation and am very pleased with this collection which contains virtually all of "Fragile" and the complete second side of "Close To The Edge". I would have liked more from "Drama", but the overall selection of songs is very good with each disc being both distinctive and inviting repeated listening. The sound and production are also quite excellent. You can buy it here on Amazon at a very good price. Then kick back and enjoy a wonderful collection of Yes, one of the greatest progressive rock bands. Their music will speak for itself.

As was stated before, this is just "Ultimate Yes" with different packaging. If it was possible to give this no star instead of one, I would, but the Amazon rating system doesn't let you rate anything a zero (or lower). Go to Rhino's Website and e-mail them the thumbs-down!

Three years ago this month I wrote a rather scathing review of Rhino Records' 3-disc THE ULTIMATE YES. [Note: I later bought it, but paid less than $10 for a factory-sealed copy.] But my original complaint was that the same Yes songs had been recycled ad nauseam for more than a decade. Now, to add insult to injury, Rhino drops the original bonus disc from THE ULTIMATE YES, provides a new cover and retitles it DEFINITIVE ROCK. What the $%#@? I always thought Rhino had more integrity than that. My advice? Buy 2002's 5-CD box set IN A WORD; for now that release stands as the "definitive" career retrospective.

This is Rhino pulling some kind of rip off. This CD is simply an earlier Rhino release -- THE ULTIMATE YES (2004) -- with a different cover and title. I mean its exact, track for track. The only difference is that ULTIMATE included a bonus 3rd disk with five live acoustic tracks. I have no problem with Rhino releasing a new Yes compilation, but not to re-release the exact same product in a different package. What's the logic behind this?

This review does not reflect the music or Yes as a whole (I love Yes dearly), In fact, I believeis solely about a stunt that Rhino is pulling.