

Fans of Yes rejoiced when the band’s leader released this 1976 debut solo album. Drawing inspiration from the writings of Vera Stanley Alder and J. R. R. Tolkien and the fantasy art of Roger Dean, Jon Anderson created a concept record involving intergalactic heroes rescuing tribes from a doomed planet called Sunhillow. Employing sitars, kotos, Moog synths, mellotrons, and myriad other keyboards to create symphonic textures, Anderson stayed true to the essence of Yes while sculpting surprisingly elegiac soundscapes (particularly “Ocean Song”) and orchestral pop (“To the Runner” and “Flight of the Motorglade”).