Was it really the golden age of rock music, when the likes of Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd ruled the roost and the number of tracks on an album could be counted on the finger of one hand?

Or were they dinosaurs in the making, producing over-involved, drum-and-guitar-solo ridden marathon tracks which reeked of self-indulgence and quickly shot past their sell-by date?

Well, the answer could be a bit of both, but the fact that their music has lasted this long and seems to be growing in popularity on a mini progressive rock comeback tends to favour the former rather than the latter.

I have to confess to possessing many of the 21 tracks on this double CD, most of them on scratched vinyl hiding in a cupboard, only dragged out at times of extreme nostalgia and listened to, by order, only on headphones to protect the ears of the unbelievers.

Yet this pick of the best from a 22-album career only reinforces my belief that Yes were ahead of their time. Thirty five years on from their beginnings playing covers of Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel songs to augment their own unique material, Yes are back to what many consider to be their strongest line-up of vocalist Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White.

They have embarked on a worldwide Full Circle tour as well as playing Glastonbury, and a 35th anniversary concert is planned for next year to coincide with the date of their first album release in 1969.

Yes men have come and gone over the years, and no fewer than 14 are credited on the playlist. Disc One of this set contains the powerhouse numbers which have brought the house down over the years - Yours Is No Disgrace, Starship Trooper, Roundabout, Heart Of The Sunrise and I've Seen All Good People, plus the uplifting Then from Time And A Word and the powerful tour de force of Ritual from Close To The Edge.

Disc Two chronicles the "second age" of Yes which saw hit singles in Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Wonderous Stories and Leave It amid a flurry of personnel changes in the band. Don't Kill The Whale rode the ecologically-sound wave and Homeworld, the stand-out track from the excellent The Ladder album of 1999, rounds off a fine collection from a band which turned close harmonies and outstanding playing into an art form. Dinosaurs? No. A rock institution? Yes. Go and buy it.

Updated: 11:07 Thursday, August 21, 2003