Two poll results

Part II of the poll of albums with 3+ Yesmen covered the 1980s and '90s, not perhaps the most impressive period for the multi-Yesman album compared to the likes of Fish Out of Water and The Six Wives of Henry VIII in the 1970s, but there were 102 votes and these are the result:

1. Symphonic Music of Yes (w/ Anderson, Bruford, Howe): 31 votes
2. The Buggles: Adventures in Modern Recording (w/ Horn, Downes, Squire): 18 votes
3. Steve Howe: Portraits of Bob Dylan (w/ Anderson, Downes): 14 votes
4. Tales from Yesterday (w/ Banks, Howe, Moraz, Sherwood): 10 votes
5. Esquire: Esquire (w/ Squire, White, Horn): 8 votes
6. Rick Wakeman: The Classical Connection II (w/ Squire, Bruford, Howe): 7 votes
7. Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome (w/ Horn, Howe, Rabin): 6 votes
8. Peter Banks: Can I Play You Something? (w/ Squire, Bruford): 3 votes
9= Encores, Legends and Paradox, A Tribute to the Music of ELP (w/ Banks, Downes, Khoroshev): 2 votes
9= Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman: Jabberwocky (w/ R Wakeman, Banks): 2 votes
11. Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Liverpool (w/ Horn, Howe, Rabin): 1 vote

The winner, Symphonic Music of Yes, is a bit of an oddity, often overlooked. The core band performing with orchestra and choir were Howe, Bruford and bassist Tim Harries (from Bruford's Earthworks), with Anderson guesting on two tracks, and ABWH additional keyboardist Julian Colbeck guesting on another, but the key figure behind the project was arranger/keyboardist Dee (then David) Palmer. Palmer is best known as a former member of Jethro Tull and did an orchestral album of Tull music in 1986 with various Tull members. She followed this with an orchestral Genesis album in 1987 and one for Pink Floyd, before Symphonic Music of Yes in 1993. Further albums for Queen and The Beatles followed.

I was surprised by its win given it doesn't seem like a particularly well regarded project. Symphonic Music of Yes is sometimes best remembered for a promotional appearance on US TV by Howe and Bruford in which they performed "Roundabout" with Howe, ill advisedly, singing lead vocals.

Second placed Adventures in Modern Recording has received new found attention as the bonus tracks on the latest re-release include a two-part "We Can Fly from Here" and a piece that became "Life on a Film Set" on Fly from Here, as well as a regular album track "I am a Camera", The Buggles' version of "Into the Lens".

The final poll, for the period from 2000 onwards, is now on the main page.  Every one of the eligible albums involves Billy Sherwood, nearly all in the leading role. Sherwood has become the nexus for projects with multiple Yesmen, and Cleopatra Records is often the label involved. As well, Kaye is on all but one of these (Conspiracy) and White is on all but one (Raised in Captivity), illustrating how both work regularly with Sherwood. In contrast, none of these projects involves Anderson, Moraz, Khoroshev or any of the more recent Yesmen.

Once part III has run its course, there will be a final poll with the first and second place from each part, plus any new releases. (There are several multi-Yesmen albums in the pipeline: Nektar's Spoonful of Time is expected to feature Howe, Wakeman and Downes, while Sherwood's Prog Collective and his Supertramp tribute both include Kaye, Squire, Wakeman and Banks, and at least one also has Downes.)

We then had another poll about the possibility of Yes - The Musical! This was after Squire mentioned the possibility of Yes doing a project on Broadway, although a second interview has since made clear that he means some sort of residency rather than a musical production. Still, here are the poll answers (120 votes):

No, oh my god, no, no...: 51 votes (43%)
Yes: it should be a science fiction story based on Roger Dean's artwork: 41 votes (34%)
Yes: it should be about the history of the band: 22 votes (18%)
Other: 4 votes (3%)
Yes: it should be a fictional story about regular people in the 1970s/80s: 2 votes (2%)

The 4 'other' votes included 2 suggesting the residency idea that we now know Squire means, 1 opposing the whole idea, and another suggesting the creators of South Park produce it - clearly a great idea. So, that comes out as a narrow majority in favour of the idea, most of whom then favour something sci-fi-y connected to Roger Dean's artwork.