Yes' second (and least successful) album was a transitional effort; the group trying for a more produced and sophisticated sound through the use of an orchestra -- the use of orchestra was apparently
Jon Anderson's idea, and the rest of the group, except for
Peter Banks, went along with it, as did producer Tony Colton, a member of Head Hands & Feet and a friend of
Anderson's. Even so, the results weren't conventional, because the group didn't tone down or turn down its sound. Much of
Time and a Word relies on bold, highly animated performances by
Bill Bruford,
Chris Squire (whose bass is very audible throughout), and Tony Kaye. Additionally, by this time the group was developing a much tauter ensemble than was evident on their first LP, so there's no lack of visceral excitement here, though a lot of the sound is still unfocused. "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed" was a bold opening, a highly amplified, frenzied adaptation of the
Richie Havens song, melded with Jerome Moross's title music from the movie The Big Country. Somewhat more successful musically is "Then," which keeps the orchestral accompaniment to a minimum and allows Kaye and
Banks to stretch out on organ and guitar. "Everydays" is highlighted by
Anderson's ethereal vocals and Kaye's dueting with the orchestra -- it also features a few guitar sounds that anticipate some of
Banks's work on his first solo album,
The Two Sides of Peter Banks, as well as his quotation of Johann Sebastian Bach on electric guitar. A surprising amount of the material here seems rather tuneless, but the group was solidifying its sound and, in the process, forcing
Banks out of the lineup, despite some beautiful moments for him (and Tony Kaye) on the prettiest parts of "The Prophet," a piece that also contains fragments of music that anticipate
Yes' work right up through
Tales from Topographic Oceans. "Astral Traveller," as a title anticipates, the themes of future group work, though they still don't have the dexterity to pull off the tempo changes or the brittle mix of sound they're trying for. By the time the record was completed,
Banks was out of the band, which is why
Steve Howe, his successor, ended up pictured on the cover of most editions. The 1997 remastering does make the orchestral accompaniments work better than they did on the original LP. ~ Bruce Eder