''Yesyears'' is the first box set by English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

, released in August 1991 on

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

. After the group left Atco for

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

when they became an eight-man formation in 1990, the deal gave Atco the right to the band's back catalogue, thus allowing them to release a career-spanning box set. ''Yesyears'' contains studio and live tracks from 1969 to 1991 with previously unreleased mixes and songs, digitally remastered by

Joe Gastwirt Joe Gastwirt is an American audio engineer, known for digitally remastering hundreds of CDs and LPs for famous artists, including the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Helen Reddy, Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The B ...

. One of the major attractions of ''Yesyears'' was its inclusion of rare material, including many previously unreleased songs, and a full-colour booklet detailing Yes's history. A condensed version of this package, entitled ''

Yesstory ''Yesstory'' is a double CD and triple LP career-spanning distillation of music by progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes that had originally appeared on the 1991 box set ''Yesyears''. ''Yesstory'' was issued in 1992 lacking the rarity material ...

'', would be released in 1992 on two discs. ''Yesyears'' was discontinued in the late 1990s, preceding the release of

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

' (five-disc) box set '' In a Word: Yes (1969–)'' in 2002. Most of the rare material found on ''Yesyears'' but not on ''In a Word'' would surface on Rhino's reissues of Yes albums in 2003 and 2004.

Track listing

''Yesyears'' (Atco 791 644) failed to chart in the UK or United States

Personnel

Yes

Jon Anderson John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across thre ...

– lead vocals (1.1 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.6, 3.1, 3.4 – 3.5, 3.8 – 3.12, 3.16, 4.3 – 4.10), harp (3.3, 3.7), guitar (3.6) *

Peter Banks Peter William Brockbanks (15 July 1947 – 7 March 2013), known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He was the original guitarist in the rock band Yes, and also the Syn, Flash, and Empire. ...

– guitar, backing vocals (1.1 – 1.8) *

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

– drums (1.1 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.4) * Tony Kaye – keyboards (1.1 – 1.11, 4.1 – 4.11) *

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...

– bass, backing vocals (all); lead vocals (3.15, 4.2) *

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...

– guitar, backing vocals (1.9 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.6, 3.1, 3.4 – 3.6, 3.8 – 3.14, 3.16) *

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

– keyboards (1.12 – 1.13, 2.1 – 2.5, 3.3 – 3.12) * Alan White – drums (2.5 – 2.6, 3.1, 3.4 – 3.6, 3.8 – 3.16, 4.1 – 4.11) *

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...

– keyboards (2.6, 3.1, 3.16) *

Geoff Downes Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to London ...

– keyboards (3.13 – 3.14) *

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

– lead vocals (3.13 – 3.14) *

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...

– guitar (4.1 – 4.11), lead vocals (4.1, 4.11)

Additional musicians

*David Foster – backing vocals (1.6), acoustic guitar (1.8) *

Billy Sherwood William Wyman Sherwood (born March 14, 1965) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes as guitarist and ke ...

– additional background vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards (4.11)

References

{{Authority control Albums with cover art by Roger Dean (artist) Albums produced by Trevor Horn Albums produced by Eddy Offord Albums produced by Trevor Rabin Yes (band) compilation albums 1991 compilation albums Atlantic Records compilation albums