Magnification Cassette

Originally released in September 2001, Magnification is Yes’s 19th studio album and the first recorded as a four-piece, featuring the classic core lineup of Jon Anderson (lead vocals, MIDI guitar), Chris Squire (bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Can You Imagine”), Steve Howe (acoustic, electric & pedal steel guitars, backing vocals), and Alan White (drums, piano, backing vocals). There was no dedicated keyboard player on the sessions, and perhaps the harmonic freedom this provided inspired an adventurous musicality that harkened back to the band’s early days. 

Compositions such as “Dreamtime” and “In the Presence Of” feature extended instrumental sections, while songs including “Can You Imagine” and “Time Is Time” reflect Yes’s post-1980s pop sensibility. Seamlessly woven throughout the album are ambitious orchestral arrangements performed by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra under the direction of three-time Emmy Award-winning film composer Larry Groupé. Magnification marked only the second time Yes had recorded with a full orchestra, following 1970’s Time and a Word. The band supported the album with its acclaimed Yessymphonic Tour, where songs including the “Magnification,” “Don’t Go,” and “In the Presence Of” were brought to life with a full orchestra onstage.

Magnification also represents a pivotal chapter in the band’s history. Keyboardist Igor Khoroshev had departed the previous year, Rick Wakeman would return to the band in 2002, and Magnification ultimately became founding member Jon Anderson’s final studio album with Yes.