Among Yes fandom circles, this was one of the most anticipated album releases of the year. The Band Geeks have proven, for those who paid attention over the years, that they were very capable of playing music and making it sound like classic Yes. So, the pairing with Jon Anderson seemed an obvious choice.

I've read people raving about how "Yes-like" this album is. Parts of it really are very much in line with what the classic era of that act. It's not limited by that, though. There are things here that are closer to Anderson's usual solo work. Other songs bring less obvious and more unique prog concepts to play.

Richie Castellano first popped onto my radar as the bassist in Blue Oyster Cult. He also wrote some of my favorite pieces on their The Symbol Remains album. Here he provides some bass work that is often Chris Squire like, but he also gets writing credits and plays other instruments. I think he's a big part of why this album is as great as it is, but the whole group put in excellent performances. I would be shocked if this album doesn't make my "best of 2024" list.

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A sea of vocals gets things going here. The track works out to a jam that makes me think of something that might have fit on the Open Your Eyes album. Again, there are some cool twists and turns at play. This is more along the AOR side of the equation. The chorus hooks have a real OYE era feel. I absolutely love the bass work on this, and the whole track has a great energy and vibe to it. Around the three-quarters mark on the song it drops back to a more stripped back arrangement that fits well into the kind of thing one expects to hear in Anderson's solo repertoire.

Acoustic work start this, and the cut builds out with a magical sort of exploration built around that. There are more Yes-like twists and turns. After the extended introduction, it drops to a more stripped back arrangement. Again, this is more the kind of thing I expect from Anderson solo. This also goes through a lot of different sections. It has some Squire-like bass work, but overall I don't consider this to be all that Yes-like. That said, it is still quite an impressive and effective progressive rocker with plenty of tasty music in the mix. The harder rocking stuff later does lean toward Yesish territory. At nearly ten-minutes long, this is one of the most epic pieces here. That space is used to really bring a lot of different things to bear. There is some Wakeman-like synthesizer soloing later.

Piano gets us going here. The vocals come in over the top of that in a very gentle arrangement. As other instruments augment, this remains balladic. It powers up more after the one minute mark, largely due to the addition of the rhythm section. The bass really carries a lot of the musical arrangement as it continues. The multiple layers of vocals are great, and the whole tune has some decidedly magical moments.

A faster-paced prog rocker, this has a great vocal arrangement that is built around multiple layers. The number is perhaps a bit more straightforward than some of the rest. I wouldn't consider to be overly Yes-like, but it definitely has plenty of that school of prog in the mix. There are some twist and turns here, but they are less adventurous than those on some of the other tracks. The bass work definitely calls to mind Squire at times. This is another powerhouse progressive rocker.

Acoustic guitar starts this with a rather classical style. That instruments holds it by itself for a time. Then Anderson's voice joins. There are some world music vibes in the mix as the balladic concept is produced. The arrangement on this remains largely ballad-like, but it does get powered up a bit more. This is another track that is more pure Anderson solo than it is Yes-like. This has some great vocal hooks. Musically, it's one of the more restrained and straightforward pieces here. That said, it does have a few surprises. There is a more piano-based arrangement later in the tune.

This has a good energy and groove to it. It's another that's not all that Yes-like, but more classic Anderson solo material. There are some hints of world music in the mix on this, and the track is another is a little dynamic. The acapella section at the end is a nice touch.

At about 16-a-half minutes long, this is the epic of the piece. The vocals as it gets underway make me think of Tales from Topographic Oceans. The musical arrangement early is understated, but has some implied energy in its rhythmic structure. It gradually builds upward and then explodes out into some killer melodic prog. It gets more rocking for a time, but then drops down for an acoustic guitar and vocal arrangement. They build that part back out into melodic progressive rock from there. There are some decidedly Yes-like parts as this continues to evolve. This keeps shifting and changing with different movements taking it in different directions. Around the halfway mark it works into an ambient sort of movement that makes me think of Jon and Vangelis. It gradually evolves into a mellow, but complex arrangement. Some of the vocal stylings from the opening return in a more subdued manner. Then the cut gets some electrified energy added to it as it powers upward. Around the three-quarters mark, this explodes out into a full on Yes-like jam with killer bass and keyboard work. This gets so powerful as it intensifies and climbs. Then it pauses for a moment and resolves into a more melodic, but no less prog or Yes-like, jam from there. It continues growing from there with more changes ensuing.

This melodic number is definitely more in line with Anderson's usually solo work. This is more of a straight-line piece than a lot of the music here, but it does get intensification as it moves forward. It's also more of a grounding track to end the album after the epic that preceded it.