Mark argues that “Awaken” belongs to the long progression from Close to the Edge through Relayer.
1. Yes Music Podcast episode 685 centers on Kevin Mulrhyne and Mark Anthony Kaye discussing “Yes Authenticity.”
2. Kevin Mulrhyne hosts, Mark Anthony Kaye co-hosts, and Trevor Rabin and Billy Sherwood appear in brief greetings that frame the show.
3. The episode asks what “authenticity” means for Yes, and whether a band can sound “believable” across a 50-plus-year history.
4. Mark says a Project Gemini album should not include turntables if they would sound unbelievable for that artist.
5. Kevin links authenticity to familiarity by comparing Yes with The Rolling Stones, Oasis, and Status Quo.
6. The conversation uses King Crimson and Thrak to show how a band can reference earlier records while still moving forward.
7. Mark cites Bill Bruford’s remark that parts of Thrak could be “as heavy as Pantera.”
8. Kevin compares Roger Dean’s recurring visual language to musical authenticity, arguing that consistency does not have to mean repetition.
9. Mark’s first Yes example is high musicianship, with Patrick Moraz, Rick Wakeman, and Geoff Downes used to show different forms of skill.
10. Mark says Yes has “never brought in somebody that was like clearly less skilled” than the band’s existing players.
11. His second example is live performance, starting with the PA system Yes bought from Iron Butterfly.
12. He says the band kept adding stage lighting, a spinning mirror ball effect, dry ice, inflatable set pieces, and timpani to raise the quality of its shows.
13. Kevin says the stripped-back Open Your Eyes tour still felt authentically Yes because the sound remained clear and the band retained its core identity.
14. They discuss album-concert performances, including playing Tales from Topographic Oceans and the live differences in songs like “And You and I” and “Fish.”
15. Mark’s third example is songwriting evolution, and he argues that Yes kept expanding its prog sound instead of copying Fragile or any other earlier record.
16. He points to 90125, Big Generator, and The Ladder as records that still contain odd meters, classical guitar touches, and recognizable Yes textures.
17. The tone is conversational, reflective, and often playful, with Kevin prompting examples and Mark answering in long, specific stretches.
18. The format is a two-host discussion with a few short greetings and a lot of album-by-album comparison.
19. Listeners who track Yes lineups, live eras, and album history.
20. Listeners wanting strict track-by-track analysis only.
