For some fans, no Yes album is truly complete until it's managed to fit in a lengthy musical epic or two. But on the band's next LP, it sounds like they'll be keeping things (relatively) brief.

Drummer Alan White shed a little light on the new music during a recent interview, sharing his satisfaction with producer Roy Thomas Baker's work behind the boards. Looking back on a botched attempt to record with Baker in the '70s, White called it "A blessing in disguise, because it wasn’t turning out like we wanted it, but this one is. Roy’s doing fine. He’s doing a great job. He’s getting some great sounds on the instruments."

Baker's getting those sounds the old-fashioned way, too. As White put it, "We spent quite a while getting the drum sound right. Roy is quite meticulous about which microphones get the right sound. We were using about $50,000 worth of microphones on the drums alone."

As for the songs, White added, "It’s all fresh music. Everything on the album was conceived within the last year or so. No epics on this album. There are some longer pieces with intricate parts to them, but there are some shorter tracks too which are right to the point."

White's enthusiasm echoes comments made by Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes during a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, during which he referred to Baker's presence as "very refreshing" and praised his "amazing reputation for recording bands." There's still no known release date for the project, which will be the band's first with new singer Jon Davison.