“Light of the Ages” from 2014’s Heaven and Earth represents a unique space in the canon of the world’s greatest progressive rock band. This has the distinction of being the only song on a Yes release solely composed by singer Jon Davison.
Musically, “Light of the Ages” is one of the more progressive songs on the album. The arrangement accompanies Steve Howe’s Fender steel guitar with a sprinkling of an acoustic piano. Alan White’s drumming is among his finest on the album, and does not suffer for the lack of attention in arrangement that seems to plague a majority of his drum tracks on Heaven and Earth.
Geoff Downes’ synthesizer parts still seem undeveloped. Perhaps the band wanted a more stripped-down approach. But Davison’s lyrics fit the common motifs explored by Yes, and the Yes choir is well represented via the Billy Sherwood arrangement.
The coda of the song has a prominent Chris Squire bass blast, as the “Light of the Ages” takes flight over a layer of Davison’s acoustic guitar and Howe. Yes acquits itself well here, whetting the appetite for an album of new music in 2021.
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