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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strong Pop Influence to the Classic Yes Sound, January 9, 2006
The very first time I heard this CD I didn't care for it. Same for the second time. However, the third time I listened to this CD I suddenly found some of its charm. The fourth time... The point is that if you need to listen to a Yes CD several times before it begins to grow on you, then Yes did exactly what they were supposed to do. A Yes composition is never what you expect. That is the nature of Yes' brand of progressive rock.
There is always the temptation to compare the works of a long-established group against itself. Those who think that a group hit a particular formula that they should have kept and didn't will be disappointed. Those who think a group should continually evolve and instead seem to repeat the same formula over and over are disappointed. Thus we have the quandary of art and music. Fortunately, Yes has the ability to do what they want to do, and if their current incarnation matches your taste, then great; if not, then that's also great. "The Ladder" is one of those releases that is guaranteed to polarize Yes fans.
The nine selections on this CD have a wide range of variation. The songs that are more along the lines of classic Yes are "Homeworld (The Ladder)", "Finally", "It Will Be a Good Day (The River)", "The Messenger", "New Language" and "Nine Voices (Longwalker)".
Each of these songs is worthy of being a Yes progressive rock song. There are clearly some pop influences, but each is recognizably Yes. "It Will Be a Good Day (The River)" sounds similar to some of the music from "Union". "The Messenger" starts with a very blues-sounding bass guitar. The lyrics are Jon Anderson's typical new age mysticism (what would a Yes album be without such songs!). The song reminds me of "Talk" and "Union", and perhaps "90125". A classic Yes-style composition.
"New Language" starts as a rocking composition, fast-paced, a throwback to early Yes. While there are periodic pop influences, the progressive shows through in multiple locations. Very heavy reliance on guitars throughout, punctuated by a firm drum beat, and add keyboards for spice. A very solid Yes song.
"Nine Voices" is another Yes song in the tradition of Yes songs. This song can remind one of "Your Move" and, perhaps, just a touch, of "Wondrous Stories". The harmonies are classic Yes, as are the beautifully orchestrated instruments. One of the better songs on this CD.
The other selections are a varied brew. "Lightning Strikes" starts strangely, but the song then turns into a pop song (I'm not kidding). While the song is not the strongly progressive for which we love Yes so much, as pop songs go, it is good. Remember that "90125" also had pop songs as well, which also worked just as well.
"Can I?" I love. If you remember Eddie Murphy singing on the train in "Trading Places", you'll get a flavor of this song. It's got a bit of African or perhaps reggae flavor to it. "Face to Face" starts sounding like typical Yes progressive rock, and then changes to a pop love song. Again, a good song, just not what you would expect from Yes.
"To Be Alive (Hep Yadda)" again reminds me a bit of Union, perhaps with more pop than Eastern influences. However, as the song progresses, it become pure repetitive pop. I must admit that while I'm a big fan of Yes, this song stretches my liking of Yes to the limit. This song may appeal to fans of modern pop or bubble gum, but is likely to annoy long-time Yes fans.
This album, which brings together so many of the classic members of Yes, is good, but uneven in spots. If I could take an electronic knife and excise some of the cuts, I think the album would have been more coherent and more in the tradition of classic progressive Yes. However, Yes gets to choose their own music, and this is what they chose. A worthy addition to any Yes collection, but with the exception of a few cuts, not among their best.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Gateway To Yessphere, December 6, 2005
YES is one of the giants of progressive rock world and their music had been unfathomable to ordinary music fans until 1983 when they made pop-oriented huge hit albums "90125" and its follow-up BIG GENERATOR which won the heart of ordinary music fans. But both albums seemed to have failed to pull us what they truly are.
This album serves us as a joinder to their deep-seated rock kingdom. It still has the remnant of Big Generator such as LIGHTEING STRIKES which has hit potential and equally radio-friendly IF ONLY YOU KNEW. But the rest is truly dynamic, a lot aggressive than the aforementioned 80s albums. The opener HOMEWORLD is 9-minute grandiose uplifting opus. CAN I? the interlude between LIGHTENING STRIKES and FACE TO FACE is truly fine instrumental. FACE TO FACE is catchy dynamic rock song somewhat like BOSTON or STYX classics.
Verdict: Kind to 90125 and Big Generator appreciators. Very commercial one. A bit of progressive style involved.
Rating: 89 out of 100
Recommended: for BIG GENERATOR and 90125 appreciators.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes - I Have Never Understood The Mixed Reviews For This One. Underated For Sure., August 5, 2008
After the disappointment of the previous album "Open Your Eyes" from two year prior, Yes came back creatively in a big way with 1999's "The Ladder". This was basically the same lineup as "Open Your Eyes" with keys man Igor Khoroshev becoming an official member this time around. Although the personnel are the same I think this one blows "Open Your Eyes" away. "The Ladder" is a very nice return to form for Yes and features a nice mix of progressive rock and more commercial shorter oriented material. It seems to get very mixed reviews from Yes fans and I am not sure why. Listening to this again I really like every track on it. There is enough progressive rock to be found for the hard core fan, but there is also a heavy mix of other styles. The band touch on reggae, pop, straight ahead rock, blues, just about everything. The cool thing about it is that it all works. The opening track "Homeworld (The Ladder) was written for the soundtrack of a video game and is a really cool science fiction related song clocking in at almost 10 minutes. The other long one on the album "New Language" is another winner. The single "Lightning Strikes" is a great irresistible rocker that I find hard to believe did not get more radio airplay than it did. "To be Alive" is a cool little song. "Finally" sees vocalist Jon Anderson practically screaming out the vocals which you would not think works, but it does. "The Message" is the band's reggae tribute to Bob Marley. I am sure this track makes a lot of Yes fans cringe, but again I think it is kind of cool. The final track "Nine Voices (Longwalker)" kind of reminds me of "Holy Lamb" from the "Big Generator" album. It is just a short little Jon Anderson ditty, but the perfect way to end the album. I know a lot of Yes fans don't share my enthusiasm for this disc, but for me "The Ladder" is the band's best overall album of the last 20 year. Why do I like this so much better than "Open Your Eyes"? I honestly can't say, but even though they have basically the same lineup the albums are as different as night and day to my ears. This album came and went fairly quickly and may have flew other a lot of Yes fans radar. If you don't have this one I would definitely recommend it.
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