“The hidden gem in their sometimes bewildering catalogue. Had they made it in the 80s it would have given them a credible contemporary footing”: Yes’ Fly From Here – Return Trip glows in reissue

When Fly From Here was released in 2011, progressive rock had yet to undergo its latest mainstream rehabilitation. With their capes, concepts and cosmicity, Yes were an easy target for those outside the castle walls

They seemed out of step with the rest of the world on their 20th album. It embraced what had made them so special in their prime – namely a side-long suite and beguiling folk-pop songs dressed in gaudy robes. In reality Fly From Here is up there with the group’s greats.

Another example of the band’s game of musical chairs, much was made of newcomer Benoît David’s vocals; it was the first time someone other than Jon Anderson had sung since Trevor Horn’s crowd-splitting turn on 1980’s Drama. French-Canadian David had been spotted by Chris Squire fronting a Yes tribute band, and replaced Anderson as he was grappling with respiratory problems.

Based on the original demo that Horn had brought to the band in 1979, Fly From Here’s eventual title track was developed out to a five-part, 20-minute piece. The band at that point – Squire, David, Steve Howe, Alan White and Oliver Wakeman – had become a tight performing unit and recordings were made in between tours with Horn producing.

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But when Wakeman clashed with Horn, the producer’s onetime Buggles partner and Drama-era keyboard player Geoff Downes was brought back in. David didn’t last the distance; and when the album was revisited in 2018 as Fly From Here – Return Trip, his vocals were replaced by Horn’s own.

The polish and augmentation added to the original Return Trip edition is enhanced again on this reissue, with Richard Whittaker’s new 5.1 and Atmos mixes adding depth and warmth to the group’s sound. The Squire-led The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be is rich and full, and Howe’s Hour Of Need is a pop single in waiting.

The guitarist’s sweet acoustic interlude, Solitaire, gives Fly From Here the authenticity of the high-period 70s Yes. But it remains Horn and Downes’ album, their keyboard-led, retro-futuristic approach adding to Yes’ mysticism. It works to its greatest effect on the final reprise in the eponymous suite that makes the first half of the album.

Along with Talk, Fly From Here – Return Trip is the hidden gem in Yes’ long, sometimes bewildering catalogue. Had the Drama line-up found more gumption and been able to stand better on the shifting sands of popular culture, something like this could have followed that album in the 80s. It would have given Yes with a credible contemporary footing and sent them down a different route in that decade.

Fly From Here – Return Trip is on sale now via Cherry Red.