It’s no surprise, really, that Steve Howe takes a more central role on “Dare to Know,” the second advance single from Yes’ forthcoming album The Quest. After all, he’s now the band’s longest-tenured remaining member.
What’s more interesting, at least initially, is the song’s orchestral counterpoints, and how that echoes the past.
“Dare to Know” isn’t the first time Yes has paired itself with studio strings – and, as before, the decision is associated with a lineup change. They originally tried orchestral backing on 1970’s Time and a Word, against the wishes of founding guitarist Peter Banks. He ended up fired before the LP was even released. Thirty years later, the departure of keyboardist Igor Khoroshev led Yes back to a similar musical situation for 2001’s Magnification.
Today, Yes is attempting to move forward without the late stalwart bassist Chris Squire. And so we have a song written by Howe, produced by Howe and featuring Howe on a series of guitars while doubling on vocals. “Dare to Know” was then completed with an arrangement by a Howe pal.
That last part turns out to be rather important. Positioning this song amid a 47-piece orchestra feels more organic than before, likely because conductor Paul Joyce developed a creative relationship with Howe on the guitarist’s 2012 solo album Time.
“Dare to Know” also benefits from a more buoyant give-and-take than did 2014’s soft-rocking Heaven and Earth, which suffered from a badly abbreviated timeline and some strikingly obvious edits – almost as if Yes lost its nerve in real time. It’s Howe’s concept, but the others are present in the musical conversation.
Digging more deeply, “Dare to Know” can feel too rooted lyrically in the here-and-now issue of climate change to really advance original Yes singer Jon Anderson’s mystic-hippie legacy. Replacement Jon Davison is such an unobtrusive presence, however, that the song nevertheless billows up around him with a delicate authority.
Emphasis on “delicate.” They’ve followed “The Ice Bridge,” this try-hard moment of episodic keyboard-focused prog, with a frankly gorgeous track that’s punctuated by lithe guitar lines and sweeps of gossamer bowing. But like Heaven and Earth before it, “Dare to Know” could use a little more musculature. All the modern-era lineup really shows here is that they once again can fashion something that’s very pretty.
Of course, if we’re being honest, that’s no small part of their storied catalog. Still, Yes – from “South Side of the Sky” to “Release, Release” to the “Crossfire” section of “That, That Is” – also knew when to get on their collective horses and ride.
Next time, guys, let’s dare to rock.
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