Yes’ most acquainted ’70s-era albums have undergone a outstanding sonic transformation as Steven Wilson creates new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes. Steve Howe remains to be listening to the originals.

“There are different mixes and they all have their different values,” the guitarist tells Rolling Stone. “And maybe it’s the time I should confess that for me, the original mixes are the original mixes. It’s not possible to surpass them. They’re the end stop. … I was there. I know the differences. They’re incredibly small, incredibly slight – but to my ear, I can tell.”

Wilson’s spatial audio remixes embody stereo and 5.1 variations of Yes’ Close to the Edge in 2013, The Yes Album and Relayer in 2014, Fragile in 2015 and Tales of Topographic Oceans in 2016. Yes was then inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, with Geddy Lee of Rush making a visitor flip for his or her late co-founding bassist Chris Squire.

READ MORE: Ranking Every Yes Album

“We much admired them,” Howe says of Rush. “This was a very powerful trio. … I love the guys very much, particularly Geddy, who I had a chance to spend some time with a little while back. So basically, this is a great band with its own story, but they came from the embryo, if you like, of what [Emerson Lake and Palmer] and Genesis and Yes started doing in the ’70s – and I say bravo.”

Wilson launched Dolby Atmos mixes for The Yes Album in 2023 as a part of an excellent deluxe version of the album. His Dolby Atmos mixture of Fragile arrived in May as a part of a equally expanded reissue.

Howe has led Yes since Squire’s dying, releasing 2021’s The Quest and 2023’s Mirror to the Sky with the stalwart bassist’s handpicked alternative, Billy Sherwood. Yes is presently on tour with Deep Purple. Their North American dates proceed into September.

Steve Howe Released One of Rock’s Most Hated Albums