"The Calling" is a song by the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

, from their 1994 album ''

Talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

''. "The Calling" was a number-three Mainstream Rock hit for the band in 1994, their last (as of 2024) top-ten hit on that chart. Yes had two subsequent Mainstream Rock hits: 1994's "

Walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States * Walls, Mississippi, United States *Walls, Ontario Perry is a township (Canada), ...

" (also from ''Talk'') and 1997's " Open Your Eyes" from the album of the same name. "The Calling" has appeared on several Yes compilations. The 2002 boxed set '' In a Word: Yes (1969–)'' included the album-length version, and the 2003 greatest hits package '' The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection'' included the single edit.

Background

In 1992, eight current and former members of Yes toured to support their 1991 album '' Union''. Following the completion of the tour, guitarist

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, London, Holloway, North London, Howe d ...

, keyboardist

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...

and drummer

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...

left the band, leaving the five members who had performed as Yes during the 1980s: singer

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

, guitarist

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African musician, songwriter, and film composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and produc ...

, bassist

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

, drummer Alan White and keyboardist Tony Kaye. "The Calling" was written by Rabin, Anderson and Squire, with Rabin producing. As with the other tracks on ''Talk'', "The Calling" was recorded and mixed digitally, rather than on tape as was done with previous Yes recordings. The song has been described as featuring a modern sound, with heavy focus on Rabin's guitars, and a three-part vocal harmony featuring Anderson, Rabin and Squire. According to Anderson, the song's lyrics were inspired by the concept of "local history", the current three-thousand year window of history, outside of which mankind has little visibility or understanding.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calling (Yes Song) 1994 singles Yes (band) songs Songs written by Trevor Rabin Songs written by Jon Anderson Songs written by Chris Squire 1994 songs