Album of the Day

Tormato, by Yes (1978): In the Yesworld, opinion generally goes something like this: Relayer was their last bit of genius, Going for the One was a bit of a step back but decent, and Tormato sucks. I think that's a bit unfair, but I'd definitely say Tormato is the weakest of the albums done by the classic lineup. It suffers from a couple of things. One is the sonic palette, which is very late 70s and dated. Squire's bass sound and Wakeman's Polymoog sounds, in particular, sound stale compared to (say) the debut UK disc or second National Health album (both released at the same time). The other thing is the unevenness of the songwriting. There are excellent bits - "Future Times/Rejoice" and "On the Silent Wings of Freedom" - but there's a lot of dreck. When Jon Anderson's son shows up on "Circus of Heaven," you know you're in deep trouble. All of which is a way to say that maybe the lineup turmoil that happened before Drama (a far better album) was for the good.