Talk

Talk is the fourteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes. It was released on 21 March 1994 by Victory Music, and is their last studio album to feature guitarist Trevor Rabin and keyboardist Tony Kaye. After Yes completed the Union Tour in 1992, record label manager and longtime Yes associate Phil Carson approached Rabin to record a new Yes album for Victory, his newly established independent label, with the band's most commercially successful line-up of Kaye, frontman Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White. Rabin dedicated time to write songs with Anderson, as the singer had been kept away from the initial songwriting sessions in the past which caused internal friction. Talk is noted for being amongst the first albums to be digitally recorded and edited in its entirety without using traditional audio tape. Talk fell short of commercial expectations upon release, reaching number 20 in the UK and number 33 in the US. Victory Music went bankrupt at the same time, which affected the album's potential for success. In addition, the album received mixed to poor reviews from critics. "The Calling" and "Walls" were released as singles that charted at No. 3 and 24 on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock chart, respectively. Yes supported the album with a 1994 tour which featured future Yes member Billy Sherwood on additional guitars and keyboards. Rabin and Kaye left the group at its conclusion. Background and writing In March 1992, Yes completed their Union Tour which had eight band members on stage: singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarists Steve Howe and Trevor Rabin, drummers Bill Bruford and Alan White, and keyboardists Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman. For the band's next project Phil Carson, a former Atlantic Records executive and longtime associate of the band, approached Rabin to produce a Yes album for Victory Music, his new independent label that he formed while he worked with JVC. Carson wished for Rabin to make it with the 1983–88 line-up of Rabin, Anderson, Squire, White, and Kaye, the same group that made the most commercially successful Yes albums, 90125 (1983) and Big Generator (1987). As Rabin and Wakeman had got on well during the Union Tour, Carson suggested Wakeman be involved as well.