While it featured the same lineup as Going For The One, Tormato was still an album made by a band in conflict. Between its release and the sessions for the follow-up, 1980’s Drama, both Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman (again) would leave. On the positive side, most of the songs here are pretty short; the average running time is probably around five minutes. Unfortunately, good ideas are in extremely short supply. A riff or two may hit home, and “Arriving UFO” is goofy but OK. But Rick Wakeman’s keyboards are more annoying than awesome; the overdubbed applause on “Release, Release” is a cynical joke (there’s nothing to cheer for about this song); the big single “Don’t Kill The Whale” strives for disco-pop and flops on its face; and Anderson actually lets his son appear on “Circus Of Heaven.”

This album was originally going to be called Yes Tor, named for a rock formation in England. But when Rick Wakeman saw the photos intended for the album cover, he hated them so much, he threw a tomato, and voila! Tormato. It’s amazing nobody had a similar response when listening back to the tapes before it was released. This is easily the worst album by classic-era Yes, and best left to diehards only.