Editing Yes (band) (section)

== Musical style and influences ==
Music critics [[Jim DeRogatis]] and [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] cite Yes as the "definitive English [[progressive rock]] band," and as "epitomizing" the genre. Erlewine credited the band with bringing the genre to [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|mainstream]] audiences. He described the band's early sound as an algamation of "pastoral [[Folk music|folk]]", "[[Baroque music|Baroque]] classical" and "muscular [[Rock and roll|rock & roll]]". He also noted that the band's compositions utilized odd [[Time signature|time signatures]], and were "structured like mini-suites." He described some of the band's later output as "steely, shiny [...] [[album-oriented rock]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yes Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yes-mn0000685647#biography |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> According to Nick Spacek of ''[[The Pitch (newspaper)|The Pitch]]'', "the band has changed its sound and its lineups, but the emphasis on forward-thinking [[Musical composition|composition]] has remained strong." According to DeRogatis, the band "rocked harder than many of its peers, maintaining a vital pulse and delivering memorable riffs in between the showy solos."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |title=Turn On Your Mind |publisher=Hal Leonard |year=2003 |pages=184}}</ref>

[[Jon Anderson]], who served as the original lead vocalist and co-founder of Yes, said that the band incorporated elements of [[progressive music]], [[Orchestra|symphonic music]], [[jazz]], [[Jazz fusion|fusion]], and [[world music]] into their material. He mentioned that the classical composition structure inspired him to craft longer pieces of music and cited the works of Russian composer [[Igor Stravinsky]], Finnish composer [[Jean Sibelius]] and English composer [[Gustav Holst]] (namely "[[The Planets]]") as some of the band's influences.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Spacek |first=Nick |date=1 September 2017|title=Yes co-founder Jon Anderson on the band's history and influences |url=https://www.thepitchkc.com/yes-cofounder-jon-anderson-on-the-bands-history-and-influences/ |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=The Pitch |language=en-US}}</ref> Sean Murphy of ''[[PopMatters]]'' wrote, "While rightly castigated for bringing inane lyrics to an almost holy level, listening to Yes is like listening to [[opera]]: the words are, or may as well be, in a different language. It’s all about the ''sounds'': that voice, those instruments, that composition."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-07 |title=The 25 Best Classic Era Progressive Rock Albums » PopMatters |url=https://www.popmatters.com/best-classic-progressive-rock-albums/3 |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=www.popmatters.com |language=en-US}}</ref>