Yes solo albums S/D

He's got a new channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKwocCGTt-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieR2JKShT_A

Wakeman's No Earthly Connection is really lovely

Feels like a more personal album than anything previous but I'm not sure what it's about and apparently he couldn't explain the album either.

Can't believe how much he did in the 90s. And there's an Ayreon guest appearance!

The centerfold with all of his guitars is pretty classic on the "Steve Howe Album". I'm sure it has inspired quite a bit of guitar gear lust over the decades.

Olias of Sunhillow's reputation as Anco-prescient seems to have really picked up in recent years I feel

On another thread, I was pondering listening to Ramshackled in honour of Alan White despite my expectations that it really couldn't be that great. I mostly wanted to have heard all five solo albums from the 1975-1976 "hiatus". Here's how I'd rank them:

Olias of Sunhillow - I'm so glad we got one album of unfiltered and unfettered Jon Anderson
Fish Out of Water - very good, but it loses me in the middle of the last, very long track
Ramshackled - better a competent R&B/fusion record than the overambitious efforts of Howe and Moraz below
Beginnings - appropriate title, because Howe always seems to be about to start doing something amazing before he takes a left turn into something frustrating. He can't project vocally, but the songs don't help either. Who would have thought that the most memorable bit on a Steve Howe solo record would be a sax section?!?
The Story of i - I bought this LP for a dollar and was still disappointed. Lots of stuff (prog, fusion, Brazilian music, AOR, dumb concept) blended into an unlistenable mess. Relayer is my favourite Yes album but this made me wonder whether Moraz has any musical taste at all

I just ordered Beginnings. I bought Story Of i not long ago so I should stick it on soon. I liked what I've heard so far from Bruford's Feels Good To Me.

There is actually some love for No Earthly Connection on the Wakeman thread, so it hasn't been ignored here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93T58NlLiEk

Absolutely love No Earthly Connection, might be my favorite Wakeman of the first 4, but the high points of King Arthur and Journey are so strong. I haven't heard Six Wives in a long time.

No Earthly Connection gets so funky

Digging Howe's debut, it sounds more Yes-like than any of the other solo albums I've heard. I think he has a basically pleasant voice that needed a bit of training, odd that he wasn't as perfectionist about his voice, did he keep on singing throughout his solo career?

Totally love the Patrick Moraz debut, great nutty keyboard sprints and the ballads are lovely, it ends similarly to Olias: with serene space music. So I'm really excited to hear more Moraz, the reviews for the following albums don't look great but I disagree with most Yes fans about so many things.

Opening track to Wakeman's White Rock is awesomely silly sounding, the ideal shopping soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hhMO_u4Siw

I don't know if the Steve Howe Album would appeal to anyone who isn't very interested in guitar playing, but it's much more balanced than Beginnings; there's a few winsome, good-humoured instrumentals, Howe isn't trying so hard to impress (or sing) and the overall effect is quite welcoming. Claire Hamill sings one of Steve's songs, and I'd like to hear some more of her work.

yeah The Story of i is a pretty wild one, much different than what I was expecting. I also have his 1978 album simply called Patrick Moraz, it's kind of in the same vein but feels a bit more sterile. definitely has some good tracks though. no idea what any of his other stuff sounds like. if you haven't heard the Refugee album it's a real treat. unfortunately I don't think he ever quite did anything else like it.

The Refugee album is also reissued by Esoteric/Cherry Red, it's nice that they have such a chunk of his discography. I'm really impressed that Cherry Red is still putting out all kinds of buried treasure in genres I like.

How excitable Moraz is in the start of that video interview is going to be in my head a long time.

I have just learned that in 2012 Chris Squire and Steve Hackett made an album under the name Squackett. It's being reissued in May, and I will not be buying it or listening to it.

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/squackett-a-life-within-a-day-cd-and-blu-ray-edition

The album was a collaborative project between two legends of Progressive Rock, Chris Squire and Steve Hackett. The two musicians met when Squire was working on a solo album and needed some guitar parts. Chris was put in touch with Steve and through these sessions the idea for Squackett was born. Over four years in the making, the album ‘A Life Within a Day’ was very much more than the sum of its parts. “It was very much about a bunch of pals swapping notes and anecdotes,” Hackett later recalled.

Chris Squire would later remark, “The album has a flavour to it that is reminiscent of a few things from different artists. There is some clever Prog Rock stuff, some jazzy bits, but there are parts that have vocal harmonies like Crosby, Stills And Nash.”

Mentioned a few times upthread. It's not great.

Do jazz fans rate Bruford's Earthworks records?

i myself am a fan of jazz and of bruford and i dont like them very much

Story Of I is so energizing, right now it's my second favorite solo album after Olias.