Originally Posted by Queen Boo

I used to think the first Yes album was just ok but over the years it's grown on me a lot, yeah it's more psychedelia than prog and the songwriting isn't up to par with what came later but right from the get go the energy is there and the album has such an earnestly positive vibe it's impossible for me to resist, I think it's pretty underrated tbh.

Time and a Word has a stronger collection of songs but aside from a couple of tracks the use of orchestra feels very clumsy, forced and distracting, for that I think the debut is better at showcasing the original lineup, Banks especially, he's no Howe but he was a pretty excellent guitarist in his own right and he got a bit lost in the mix of Time and a Word which was why he left.