Yes, “Time is Time” from ‘Magnification’ (2001): YESterdays

It would be easy to dismiss Yes’ final song on Magnification as an afterthought, but that would be selling “Time Is Time” short.

In a way, Yes was harkening back to the simplicity of their pre-Steve Howe albums. Still, one should not mistake simplicity in this case as a shortcoming.

Relying primarily on Jon Anderson’s wistfully earnest vocal and Howe’s subtle acoustic guitar textures, Yes ties into a theme aging and progression. Alan White and Chris Squire’s rhythms effectively blend with the string quartet arranged by Larry Groupe’.

Together, they seem to be marking the turning of a page – and, in a very real way, they were: For co-founding Yes singer Jon Anderson, “Time is Time” was a wonderful end to his recording career with the world’s greatest progressive rock band. It’s hard to believe that decades have now passed.

YESterdays is a multi-writer, song-by-song feature that explores the unforgettable musical legacy of Yes. Click here for an archive of the series, which was founded by Preston Frazier.

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Preston Frazier

Preston M. Frazier is a bass-playing lawyer living in Atlanta. He is the author of the books 'Shade of Living Colour,' 'Toto: The Band, Not the Dog' and 'Yes Indeed: Tales of Yes Without Jon Anderson.' Frazier hosts the music-focused Slang of Ages Podcast and regularly writes about his favorite music on slangofages.com. He can be reached at [email protected]; follow him on Bluesky @slangofagespodcast@bsky and YouTube @slangofagespodcast.

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