Yes - Tormato (1978) + Bonus Track

(U.K 1968 - 2004, 2008 - Present)

Tormato is the ninth studio album by YES. Issued as the follow-up to 1977’s acclaimed Going for the One, Tormato received less than charitable reviews upon release and its virtues are still a matter of debate for Yes fans and critics. Many fans and some band members – particularly Rick Wakeman – state that the production was faulty, resulting in compressed and dull sound.

It is the last album featuring singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Wakeman before the band’s disbanding in 1981. However Anderson returned to Yes when the band reformed in 1983, and Wakeman returned in 1990. [extract from yesworld.com]

Following the ascendance of punk rock, Yes had an uphill battle in following the popular Going for the One. Before they even started working on the follow-up album, the decision to record in London had caused problems. Some of the band members wanted to go abroad again for tax reasons, preferably to Switzerland, where they had had such a good time making the last album – but, after heated debate, they all regrouped in London, to record at Advision and R.A.K. Studios in St. John’s Wood.

Seven months of writing, rehearsing and recording led to Tormato, released in September 1978. It was a big disappointment after Going for the One, which had captivated and delighted so many people – even the band members agreed that it was a messy, strained effort. Tormato hit the UK charts on 8 October for a stay of eleven weeks, reaching number eight at its highest point. The first reaction to the album from fans was one of disbelief, particularly at the sight of the cover, which they were not impressed by. Press reaction was mixed: ‘Arriving UFO‘ and ‘Circus of Heaven‘ were given a rough ride, whilst the Chris Squire-written ‘Onward‘ accompanied by a string section, ‘On the Silent Wings of Freedom‘ a longer more typical YES composition with a strong bass opening by Chris, and the mellow, classical Wakeman piece ‘Madrigal‘ were considered to be better tracks. US fans, more tolerant than their UK counterparts, were more appreciative of the album. But, for all its faults, Tormato‘s best tracks stand up to a contemporary listen. Yes showed their affection for ‘Onward‘ in 1996 by recording a live version for the Keys to Ascension album.

Rick summed it up by saying, “Tormato could have been tremendous but suffered from appalling production. If I could be given one album to remix and to get the guys to add a couple of extra bits to, it would be that one. If ever an album had unfulfilled potential it was Tormato, but totally our fault as it had probably the worst final production mix of anything I have ever been involved with.”

Jon Anderson

What started as a change of direction with 'Going For The One' continued with Tormato. It was a conscious effort to lighten the band’s material and increase the number of tracks on an album. Following the hit single "Wondrous Stories", which had been a pleasant surprise to everyone, Yes realised the potential of a wider audience for their music and the need for hit singles to make it happen. From this point, they would continue to record their albums with some tracks aimed at mass ­market appeal.

If the album had been a disappointment to some, then the 1978 shows on the Tormato tour more than made up for it! Touring from August to October, Yes absolutely blew the audiences away with the spectacular, unforgettable In-the-Round stage show, which topped all previous tours, something that seemed impossible beforehand. Whilst discussing the future presentation of the Yesshow in 1978, Chris Squire had suggested to Michael Tait that the band should play in the middle of an auditorium.

Once an auditorium was filled to capacity, the lights were dimmed and the overture music began (either a piece from Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide To The Orchestra, or the soundtrack from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind by John Williams) as the band emerged from the side entrance of the arena. Picked out by spotlights, Yes would walk towards the stage. Once set up, they would open with the classic ‘Siberian Khatru‘. The stage slowly moved round at about two to three miles per hour, giving the crowd an unrestricted view of the band from all angles, bringing the audience much closer to them than ever before.

At one point, however, the audience got too close, as Rick Wakeman recalls. “I remember the second night in Chicago when we were on stage… when you’re moving, you tend to look at the audience; you don’t normally. There was a whole block in the front of about twenty seats that were empty and this was very strange because I knew the show was sold out. Now, with any show that is sold out with thousands of seats, there are going to be twenty to thirty no-shows, it’s a fact of life. But I thought this is really weird that there’s twenty to thirty no-shows, but they’re all in the front row – this is crazy! We came to the part of the show where Steve Howe played Clap and while he played we all used to disappear. I would jump off stage and go to where my road crew were. When I went under there… I’d never seen so many people in my life! And I said to my guy, “What on earth is going on?” He said, “The motor that turns the stage burned out. So we’ve taken twenty people from the front two rows.” And they were underneath pushing the stage around!’ [Excerpted from David Watkinson’s ‘Perpetual Change‘]

Yes On Round Stage (Tormato Tour)

Album Cover

The album cover was designed by the mighty Storm Thorgerson from Hipgnosis, who also did Dark Side of the Moon and nearly every other Pink Floyd cover, The Mars Volta’s first album covers, The Alan Parsons Project covers, Audioslave, some Black Sabbath, ELO, Dream Theater, Genesis, Peter Gabriel 1-3 etc.

This is not one of his best works though. The tomato was not his idea. According to Steve Howe’s autobiography one of the band members (don’t remember who) threw a tomato at it. Or was it an accident? I can’t recall.  

I think I read that at first they were going to call it 'Tor', and the landscape on the background is a place called 'Yes Tor', which is a high point in Devon, England. But then someone put that guy with the sticks on it, and everyone hated it. Someone threw a tomato at it (most likely Wakeman), and then they changed it to Tormato as a pun.

Roger Dean must have been on holiday!

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my vinyl copy and includes the usual artwork for both media types, along with label scans.  I'm pretty sure I purchased this back in the late 70's from the Melbourne University campus book shop using some of my precious boarding money, and was a little chuffed after listening to it as I was expecting more.  I have since grown to appreciate this Yes album more and am glad that I made the purchase at the time and sacrificed some other life necessity (probably food !)

I have also grown to appreciate the front cover, even though it is not a Roger Dean masterpiece.  I hope you enjoy consuming this album, especially as it comes with tomato sauce LOL

Track List

01 Future Times, Rejoice

02 Don't Kill The Whale

03 Madrigal

04 Release Release

05 Arriving UFO

06 Circus Of Heaven

07 Onward

08 On The Silent Wings Of Freedom

09 Madrigal (Bonus Alternate Version)

Jon Anderson - Vocals

Steve Howe - Guitars, Vocals

Chris Squire - Bass, Vocals

Rick Wakeman - Keyboards

Alan White - Percussion

Tormato Link (251Mb)