On March 21, 1994, the first day of spring, veteran progressive rock group Yes released their fourteenth studio album, Talk. This line-up of the band, consisting of Jon Anderson (vocals), Chris Squire (bass/vocals), Tony Kaye (Hammond organ), Alan White (drums) and Trevor Rabin (guitars/vocals/keyboard/producer), had been responsible for 90125, the most commercially successful album of Yes’ career. Signed to Victory Records, a new label and with a batch of songs for the first time mainly crafted by Anderson and Rabin, expectations were understandably high for Talk.
However, the musical landscape at the time of the album’s release had drastically been altered since the band had released their 1991 reunion album, Union. Grunge and alternative music had captured the ears of the record buying public, and the rock artists who had ruled the charts, air waves and arenas started seeing their audience shift. While the diehards remained, bringing in new fans proved a challenge for all but the oldest of rock gods. Yes wouldn’t be immune to the audience erosion of the era. It didn’t help that Steve Howe, Bill Bruford, and Rick Wakeman, iconic members of the band who had been part of the Union album and tour, weren’t a part of Talk, either. Talk would debut at #33 on the Billboard Top 200, their least successful showing since their earliest days, while the supporting tour would find the band playing to less than full houses.
All of these factors have made Talk a bit of a lost classic in history of Yes albums, which is a shame considering just how progressive the album is, in both music and production. Spearheaded by Rabin’s ambition, Talk was produced exclusively via digital means, with hard drives and computers taking the place of tape, one of the first albums to do so. The resulting music was also the most “prog” from this line-up. Even amongst the changed musical landscape, the album’s opening track, “The Calling,” an energetic, uplifting slice of Yes with it’s massive backing vocals, heavy drum sound, and multiple time changes, was embraced by rock radio. And then there’s the album’s closing track, the fifteen-minute plus “Endless Dream,” the one and only epic-style Yes song from the Anderson/Squire/Kaye/White/Rabin line-up.
Talk would prove the swan song for this particular group of musicians, as both Rabin and Kaye would depart the band following the tour in support of the album, leaving Talk a hidden gem in Yesstory. Now, on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary, a new 4 CD box set is being released by Spirit of Unicorn Music, complete with rarities and a live performance, giving fans new and old a chance to hear Talk again, or maybe for the first time.
To celebrate the album’s anniversary and the release of the new box set, I had the chance to talk to Yes founding keyboardist Tony Kaye about the creation of Talk and his time with the band during this era.
Andy Burns: It’s great to talk to you about this upcoming box set, because Talk was the first Yes album that came out when I was an active fan of the band, when I was kind of waiting around and, you know, wondering what is the band going to do next? And it’s long, long been one of my favourites. But to start with, I wanted to set the scene a little bit, because prior to Talk, the whole band had done the Union tour, and that was a big success. Audiences loved it, and some of your bandmates really loved it. I don’t know if everybody did. I’m curious how you felt about the tour and how that set the stage for what was going to come next with the Talk album.
Tony Kaye: Yeah, the Union tour, considering the start of it, actually the album, it was a little bit of a confusion for everyone, because no one really knew what the two functions of the band were, and it was a sort of a complicated album to try and put together. It was two functions, different functions. And so it was kind of a surprise that the tour worked out as well as it did. It was mostly good. There was a little guitar confusion, but that sort of could be expected. Again, the tour was a big success.
Andy Burns: The question was always going to be what was going to come next. I remember finding out about the next Yes lineup in an Emerson, Lake and Palmer concert program that I only bought because I was flipping through it. And at the back of the at the back of the program, there was a Victory Records ad for who was on the label and it had the 90125 lineup and Rick Wakeman. That was that was the the only reason I bought the program, because I was so excited to see the band was in there. What was the plan post Union and leading up to Talk for the band?
Tony Kaye: The band wanted to do an album, but I think the whole confusion with Arista and the Union album, no one really knew what the future was going to hold. It was a mixed bag, really, because the Union tour was, you know, very well received and a good time had by all. And then Victory Records came along and that’s sort of the groundwork of coming back together and another album. I don’t think anyone really knew what the possibilities were and would Trevor and Jon be able to get it together to write material. Because we were split; half the band in LA and half the band in England. It was confusing. I guess the 90125 band sort of won out and came together. And credit to Trevor to really sort of spearhead, put it together and actually make an effort with Jon to write this.
Andy Burns: That was going to be my next question. You know, as the legend goes, Jon and Trevor went to a hotel or a motel for maybe two weeks and spent the time, the first real time together, co-writing. Part of the Yes lore is that on 9125 and Big Generator, they didn’t really write together, but for Talk, they made that effort. What did you think of the material that Jon and Trevor came up with for what would become the Talk album?
Tony Kaye: I was very enthusiastic. Trevor and I lived so close together, we saw each other all the time. I used to go over to his house and listen to the stuff that he was composing, and I thought that really, if he and Jon could get together, it would have something quite magical there. Trevor was writing some really good stuff. It’s almost the start of his orchestral film writing career.
Andy Burns: Musically, in the Talk credits, you’re given a very specific credit of strictly playing the Hammond organ on the album, with Trevor covering off some of the other keyboard parts. How did that decision come to pass?
Tony Kaye: Trevor writes a lot of keyboards too, you know. So he’s an excellent piano player, let me say. And it was only natural, really, that a lot of how he had composed those songs were bound to his playing. So it was a natural thing. And, of course, I love playing Hammond organ. I think it was a good plan.
Andy Burns: I wanted to ask you about the recording process, which was a digital experience versus tape, and how that impacted creating Talk.
Tony Kaye: It was kind of an interesting recording thing because Trevor had just invested in a digital performer, which was really the first time that we recorded that way. It was not entirely easy to actually record an album, because it was untested in a lot of ways. And Trevor was very, very much involved, or should I say invested in making that recording technique work. But it was not easy. I think, especially with “Endless Dream,” it sort of goes hand in hand with the way that you could manipulate digital performers as a musical instrument. So, yes, I think it had a lot to do with creating the music, you know. Certainly, you could experiment considerably more using digital performers than possibly we’ve been able to do in the past.
Andy Burns: Trevor has always spoken glowingly of how you were really supportive of the project, and that you’re almost like a co-producer and supportive of what he was going for to achieve with the album.
Tony Kaye: I was there every day, sitting outside the studio smoking, and checking on everything that he was doing. It certainly wasn’t a co-production, not by any means, but I was there supporting him, definitely.
Andy Burns: Let me ask you about a specific song, which is one of my all-time favourite Yes songs. I think it’s one of the great Yes singles, which is “The Calling.” You’ve got some killer Hammond playing on that. What can you tell me about that track?
Tony Kaye: Well, I don’t remember too much about it. The one thing I do remember was Trevor was very supportive of what I was bringing to the song, and he did push me a lot to get into that particular song.
Andy Burns: The album comes out and you guys get out on the road, and I recall reading Alan saying that he really felt that the band was really well rehearsed for the tour. It was the first time that I ever saw Yes live in Toronto on that tour, I was seventeen years old. What do you remember about that tour in particular, if anything?
Tony Kaye: Well, I really believed in the album at that time, and I think it was a little bit underrated, actually, and it certainly wasn’t the big deal that 90125 and Big Generator achieved. So it was a little disappointing in that regard, but I thought the band was playing really well. There is a live recording, a live video of that Yes that you probably have seen (Editor’s note: the video is from Chile). I think you can tell that the band was playing very well together and also playing that album, which was not easy. There were a lot of sample things going on, big vocals and big tracks. It was quite an achievement, I think. I think the tour was probably one of the most successful musically that I had been involved with.
Andy Burns: There’s the live album that’s included in the box set, and I may have had one or two bootlegs over the years because I know that there had been various recordings. The band was very powerful on that tour, just really, really heavy in a good way.
Tony Kaye: I think so. I think the band sensed the power of the music, the power of the total album and played accordingly. Yes, I would agree with that. Jon was excellent on that tour, as was Chris. And it was great to have Billy (Sherwood, who played additional guitar and bass on the tour) on the road with us. The bits of double bass that he did with Chris were really magical.
Andy Burns: There seemed to be real sort of a brotherhood and a purpose to these live shows that this particular lineup was able to deliver.
Tony Kaye: Yes, I think so too. Of course, at the same time, I think we knew that the band had come to the end of the road in a lot of ways. And I think we all realized that even if it hadn’t ended, it was going to change.
Andy Burns: That’s actually how I wanted to conclude with you. Talk is your final Yes studio album and your final full Yes tour Overall, how do you look back on the experience? It sounds like you look back on it favourably and positively.
Tony Kaye: It was mixed by the end of the tour. I think people were kind of through with doing the touring. Certainly Trevor and I were of the same mind at that time. I’m not sure that Jon and Chris really knew where the band was going to go. Of course, it went on to do things with Billy and a lot of good things. I was very happy to let it go. I certainly had enough. And I think it was a good way to go out.
Thanks to Tony Kaye for his time and Billy James for helping make the interview happen. The Yes Talk 30th Anniversary Box Set can be pre-ordered here. You can follow Yes online at Facebook, X, and at Yesworld.com.
