The Ladder

I know I'm about 6 years behind on this one. Good thing that doesn't matter a whole lot with Yes people. Yes' albums linger in the heart for a long time!

When I first heard The Ladder about a year ago I thought it was pretty good, but a little corny. Now (like most of you understand) this album is growing on me big time! The more I listen the more I like it.

At first I couldn't get “It Will Be A Good Day” out of my head. Then “Lightening Strikes,” then “Face To Face,” now it's “To Be Alive.” I thought, “This stuff sounds like a true unit, a fun true unit, gee… “a band!” Then I looked at the credits, they listed all six members as co-writing each song, even “Can I?” which is Jon Anderson and a remake of “We Have Heaven” - a wonderful feeling indeed for the younger generation.

One recent thought on “Face To Face” - “the promise will come when the promise is made.” Sadly, broken promises and betrayal is too often the norm in this world. “So what's this crap about promises being made! Promises are broken constantly!” Yet on this day I felt the joy of a trust in an assurance that a promise indeed will come, because a promise is an idea that is in the “future”- yet in this one line Yes has transformed a future thing into a present thing (the promise in the “future” is brought into the present.)

Of course this an easier said than done kind of thing. One has to be in the mood for such a “glass is half full” attitude in the face of a loved one breaking a promise. And, in a sense, it is not fair that , especially as a male, say such idealistic things. For, in society, it is often seen as the men as breaking promises ( I know this isn't always the case). Yet, I feel I am standing behind the six men who sung these lines.

Mark

Oh, also this song starts with “Here we are trying to mend all the broken hearts.”