AMG Review of Song of Seven

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

Jon Anderson records naturally sound like Yes records, and not only because of his high, frequently double-tracked tenor. Anderson, who wrote, arranged, and produced Song of Seven, his second solo album, fills his overstuffed arrangements with dense keyboard textures and sparkling acoustic guitar strumming, just like the music of his band. (Since Yes had disbanded when Anderson made this album, he had little incentive to stray too far from the group's sound if he was to woo its fans to his then full-time solo career.) For parts of this album, he evokes touches of early rock & roll and seems to be singing of romance, but by late in the second side, amid sound effects of birds and children, his keening vocals, in melodies seemingly borrowed from Anglican hymnals, are going on about the strength of dreams and stairways of love. Restraint is not one of Anderson's characteristics.