Tormato
Encyclopedia
Tormato is the ninth studio album by British
progressive rock
group 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.
has said that Yes never got the best out of some of the material on Tormato, while Steve Howe
admitted that Yes were unsure of themselves musically at the time. It would be the final studio album to feature Rick Wakeman
until his return in 1991 (on the Union album), and the last to feature Jon Anderson
until the band's 1983 reformation.
Nonetheless, Tormato - which was the subject of another Hipgnosis
cover design - was still a Top 10 hit worldwide, and birthed the minor hit single, "Don't Kill the Whale".
The original album title was to be Yes Tor
, referring to a geological formation in southern England
. The photographs taken by Hipgnosis
for the album cover were seen as so unimpressive that Rick Wakeman, in frustration, threw a tomato at the pictures. The cover and title were adjusted accordingly.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
group Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
. Issued as the follow-up to 1977's acclaimed Going for the One
Going for the One
Going for the One is the eighth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in 1977 on Atlantic Records. It was produced after an extended break for solo activity from the group, and marks the return of keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who had departed in 1974 after the Tales from...
, 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.
The album
Rick WakemanRick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
has said that Yes never got the best out of some of the material on Tormato, while Steve Howe
Steve Howe (guitarist)
Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...
admitted that Yes were unsure of themselves musically at the time. It would be the final studio album to feature Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
until his return in 1991 (on the Union album), and the last to feature Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
until the band's 1983 reformation.
Nonetheless, Tormato - which was the subject of another Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...
cover design - was still a Top 10 hit worldwide, and birthed the minor hit single, "Don't Kill the Whale".
The original album title was to be Yes Tor
Yes Tor
Yes Tor is the second highest point on Dartmoor, Devon, South West England, at above sea level. Together with nearby High Willhays they are the only two peaks above south of the English Peak District National Park....
, referring to a geological formation in southern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The photographs taken by Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...
for the album cover were seen as so unimpressive that Rick Wakeman, in frustration, threw a tomato at the pictures. The cover and title were adjusted accordingly.
Reception
Tormato (Atlantic K 50518) reached #8 in the UK, and #10 in the US during a chart stay of 14 weeks.Side one
- "Future Times" (Jon AndersonJon AndersonJon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
/Chris SquireChris SquireChristopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...
/Steve HoweSteve Howe (guitarist)Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...
/Rick WakemanRick WakemanRichard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
/Alan WhiteAlan White (Yes drummer)Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...
)/"Rejoice" (Anderson) – 6:46 - "Don't Kill the Whale" (Anderson/Squire) – 3:56
- "MadrigalMadrigal (Yes song)"Madrigal" is a song performed by progressive rock band Yes. It is featured as track number 3 in their 1978 album Tormato. The song was written by Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, and features an string arrangement made by Andrew Pryce Jackman, an original idea of Rick Wakeman.-Development:The song...
" (Anderson/Wakeman) – 2:25- String arrangement by Andrew Pryce JackmanAndrew JackmanAndrew Pryce Jackman was a keyboard player and arranger. He was in The Syn with bassist Chris Squire . Jackman subsequently worked on Squire's solo album Fish Out of Water, on The Steve Howe Album and on the Yes album Tormato.-History:In the mid-1960s, Jackman was the keyboard player in The Selfs...
from an original idea by Wakeman.
- String arrangement by Andrew Pryce Jackman
- "Release, ReleaseRelease, Release"Release, Release" is a song by the progressive rock group Yes. It was released on the group's 1978 album, Tormato.Of all the songs of the album, "Release, Release" is the one that has been performed live the fewest number of times...
" (Anderson/White/Squire) – 5:44
Side two
- "Arriving UFO" (Anderson/Howe/Wakeman) – 6:07
- "Circus of Heaven" (Anderson) – 4:31
- Featuring the voice of Anderson's son, Damion.
- "OnwardOnward (song)"Onward" is a song performed by the British band Yes. It is the seventh track on their ninth studio album, Tormato. The writing credit goes to bassist Chris Squire, and it is the only song on the album for which singer Jon Anderson gets no writing credit....
" (Squire) – 4:05- Arrangement and orchestration by Jackman.
- "On the Silent Wings of FreedomOn the Silent Wings of Freedom"On the Silent Wings of Freedom" is a song by Yes. It appears on the 1978 Tormato album. The song was never released as a single.-On the album:...
" (Anderson/Squire) – 7:47
Bonus tracks
Tormato was remastered and reissued in 2004 with several bonus tracks:- "Abilene" (Howe) – 4:02
- B-side to "Don't Kill the Whale".
- "Money" (Squire/Anderson/White/Wakeman) – 3:15
- Previously released on Yesyears. It features a satiricalSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
voice-over by Wakeman pretending to be Denis HealeyDenis HealeyDenis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...
, LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
1974-9 and disliked by more than one successful rock musician for his policies of high taxation rates for the wealthy.
- Previously released on Yesyears. It features a satirical
- "Picasso" (Anderson) – 2:12
- About the artist Pablo PicassoPablo PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
- Re-worked for Anderson's yet to be released musical Chagall.
- About the artist Pablo Picasso
- "Some Are Born" (Anderson) – 5:42
- Re-worked by Anderson for his solo album Song of Seven.
- "You Can Be Saved" (Squire) – 4:20
- "High" (Howe) – 4:30
- Re-worked by Howe as the instrumental "Sketches in the Sun", later released on GTRGTR (band)GTR were a rock band founded in 1985 by former Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe and former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. In comparison to the two leaders' earlier work within progressive rock, GTR's work followed more of an Adult Oriented Rock format. The band was short-lived, lasting for two...
.
- Re-worked by Howe as the instrumental "Sketches in the Sun", later released on GTR
- "Days" (Anderson) – 1:00
- An a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
recording; re-worked by Anderson for his solo album Song of Seven.
- An a cappella
- "Countryside" (Anderson/Howe/Squire/White) – 3:11
- Re-worked by Howe as "Corkscrew" for the album Turbulence.
- "Everybody's Song" (Anderson/Howe/Squire/White) – 6:48
- An early version of what became "Does It Really Happen?" on DramaDrama (Yes album)Drama is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock group Yes. It is the first of two Yes albums without vocalist Jon Anderson. In early 1980, after rehearsing music for the follow-up to the tepidly-received Tormato, both Anderson and Rick Wakeman departed the band over creative and...
. A solo on the piece sounds more like the work of Patrick MorazPatrick MorazPatrick Philippe Moraz is a progressive rock keyboard player. He is best known as the keyboardist for the progressive rock band Yes, from 1974 to 1976, and the Moody Blues from 1978 to 1991...
than Wakeman, dating the song to sessions from before Going for the OneGoing for the OneGoing for the One is the eighth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in 1977 on Atlantic Records. It was produced after an extended break for solo activity from the group, and marks the return of keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who had departed in 1974 after the Tales from...
; in a 2006 interview for Notes from the Edge, Moraz agreed that it probably was him.
- An early version of what became "Does It Really Happen?" on Drama
- "Onward" (Orchestral version) (Squire) – 3:06
- Hidden track
Personnel
- Jon AndersonJon AndersonJon Anderson is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known as the former lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes...
: vocals, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, Alvarez ten-string guitar - Steve HoweSteve Howe (guitarist)Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...
: Gibson Les Paul CustomGibson Les Paul CustomThe Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1954 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952.-Notable Les Paul Custom players:...
, Martin 00045, Spanish Guitar, Fender Broadcaster, acoustic GibsonGibsonGibson may refer to:* Gibson Amphitheatre* Gibson Appliance* Gibson Girl* Gibson Guitar Corporation* Gibson * Gibson Generating Station-Places:In the United States:* Gibson, Arkansas* Gibson, Georgia* Gibson, Iowa* Gibson, Louisiana...
guitar, Gibson ES-175Gibson ES-175The Gibson ES-175 is an electric guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation, currently still in production. It is a 24 3/4" scale full hollow body guitar with a trapeze tailpiece and Tune-O-Matic bridge...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, vocals - Chris SquireChris SquireChristopher Russell Edward "Chris" Squire , is an English musician, known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock group Yes. He is the only member of the group to appear on every album.-Before Yes:...
: RickenbackerRickenbackerRickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Pitch shifter, piano (on 'Don't Kill the Whale'), bass pedalsBass pedalsBass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packaged together as a unit...
, vocals - Rick WakemanRick WakemanRichard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
: pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, PolymoogPolymoogThe Polymoog is a polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time, and this led to a certain lack of flexibility compared to later...
, BirotronBirotronThe Birotron is a tape replay keyboard conceived by Dave Biro of Yalesville, Connecticut, USA, and funded by Rick Wakeman of the progressive-rock group Yes, and Campbell Soup Company-Pepperidge Farm Foods in the mid-late 1970s....
, harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, RMI Electra PianoRMI Electra PianoThe RMI Electra Piano is a model of electronic piano, manufactured by RMI. Several models with varying features were produced from 1967 until 1980.... - Alan WhiteAlan White (Yes drummer)Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...
: drums, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, crotalesCrotalesthumb|right|Crotales are often used with other mallet percussionCrotales , sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instruments consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about 4 inches in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly...
, cymbals, bell treeBell treeA bell tree is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bowls. The bowls, placed on a vertical rod, are arranged in order of pitch . The number of bowls can vary between approximately 14 and 28...
, drum machineDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, gongs, vocals
Production
- Arranged & produced By Yes
- Recorded & engineered By Geoff Young & Nigel Luby
- Additional engineering By Peter Woolliscroft & Pete Schwier
- Disk cutting by Sean Davis at Strawberry Studios, London
- Mixing and additional recording at Rak Studios, London
- Executive producer-Brian Lane
Artwork
- Sleeve design by Hipgnosis
- Photography by Hipgnosis/Brimson Graphics-Colin Elgie
- Yes logo designed by Roger Dean
Reissues
- 1991 - Atlantic - CD
- 1994 - Atlantic - CD (Remastered )
- 2004 - Rhino - CD (Remastered with bonus tracks )
Sources
- Tormato, CD booklet essay, Tim Jones, c.2003
- AllMusicGuide.com
- "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c.2002
- Yescography entry