The Ladder (1999)

The Ladder (1999)

The Ladder was recorded relatively quickly, a follow-up to/recovery from the disappointing Open Your Eyes. In addition to vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White, the band included second guitarist Billy Sherwood (who had also played keyboards on Open Your Eyes) and keyboardist Igor Khoroshev, plus a five-piece horn section on “Lightning Strikes.” This was the last album famous producer Bruce Fairbairn worked on; he died before it could be completed, and it’s dedicated to him.

Musically, it’s well-played, but there are a lot of dubious ideas at work. The opening track, “Homeworld (The Ladder)” provides plenty of space for the various instrumentalists during its near 10-minute running time, but it’s the acoustic coda — just guitar, piano, and Anderson — that makes the strongest impact. “It Will Be A Good Day (The River)” sounds more like a Toto song, while “Lightning Strikes” is artificially uptempo, with synth patches and a 4/4 drum machine beat so primitive, they sound like they could have been lifted from a soca cassette picked up by a band member in a Vancouver market during the sessions. Indeed, the thick carpet of perky synth textures, jangly acoustic/clean guitars, and bouncy rhythms on this album suggest a lot of time spent listening to African and island pop. And while that’s admirable, it doesn’t exactly help Yes play to their strengths. Oh, and did I mention there’s a reggae song? Yeah, “The Messenger” is one of those things it’s hard to un-hear — and worse than that, it’s a tribute to Bob Marley.