Author Topic: The Official Yes Thread  (Read 257244 times)

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Online Stadler

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2135 on: September 12, 2018, 07:53:56 AM »
I haven't heard the album yet (though I will) but if I get a chance to hear Trevor and Jon harmonize together, and the vehicle is "Your Move/All Good People", I can think of worse things.   It's better than "Leave It". 

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2136 on: September 12, 2018, 06:25:31 PM »
The lack of Endless Dream isn't a missed opportunity, it's a big kick in the balls.
I've Seen All Good People is a staple like Owner. They just have to play it. It'd be like no Highway to Hell or Satisfaction.
The production work by Rabin is outstanding. Best sounding Yes live album I know. Like Devi already mentioned, many songs come with a little twist or an extension. I'm happy to hear in what good condition the voice of Anderson is and yes, the wait for an album is killing me, too.

I love Endless Dream, but I get why they wouldn't play it.  It is over 15 minutes long and they know that most Yes fans are gonna want to hear one of the 70's long songs (if they are gonna play a long one).  I am just happy I saw them on the Talk tour where they played six of the seven songs.  I still say Talk is a great record and very underrated.

Offline Heavy Metal Hippie

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2137 on: September 13, 2018, 06:21:47 AM »
I see your point, but I don't get it. They're playing AYAI, HOTS, Awaken. If they'd play Endless Dream instead of AYAI, they'd be in the hotel room 5 minutes later (or cut the drum solo and go to bed early).

And yes, Talk rules. My alltime favorite album is 90125, because it was my first album and concert, but I haven't heard a better album than Talk by any artist since it's release in 1994. Somewhere I have red, Anderson saying that Rabin alone worked 13.000 hours on the album.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2018, 07:00:41 AM by Heavy Metal Hippie »

Offline Orbert

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2138 on: September 13, 2018, 07:25:12 AM »
Yeah, basically after they'd worked in the studio for about the "normal" amount of time, Rabin took all the tapes (actually digital multitracks) back to his place and played with them for hours and hours. 13,000 hours is just Anderson using hyperbole, but by all accounts, it was a lot of time and he tweaked everything.  Individual notes were adjusted, entire sections were reworked, drums sounds were removed and replaced by triggered sounds.  It is widely believed that even though Tony Kaye is credited as the keyboard player, there's nothing left on the album that he actually played; his parts were all re-recorded by Rabin.  Some bass parts, too.

Rabin knew that this would almost certainly be his last Yes album, and he wanted it to be perfect.  And it does sound fantastic, I must admit.  Somehow, I guess I prefer a bit less polish.  To me it sounds over-produced, tweaked and corrected until there's no life left in the performances, because they're not even musical performances any more, but digital reproductions and simulations of musical performances.  It sounds great, though.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2018, 09:45:52 AM by Orbert »

Offline Kwyjibo

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2139 on: September 13, 2018, 07:30:40 AM »
Talk sounds great and is a great album but it sounds more "futuristic" than organic. Probably because of Rabin's tweaking and the completely digital recording.
Must've been Kwyji sending all the wrong songs.   ;D

Offline Architeuthis

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2140 on: September 13, 2018, 12:02:22 PM »
Jon Anderson did an amazing job on the vocals on the TALK album. He even said his heart was completely into this album and it shows. Trevor's voice is a nice complement to Jon's (more-so then other Yes line-ups) and his lead vocals on Wall's sound great!  Chris Squire really shines here too.
 I will have to say that the kick drum sounds rather peculiar throughout all the songs, but oddly enough.....works! 
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2141 on: September 13, 2018, 05:47:33 PM »
I know what you guys mean, about Talk sounding more digital, but the songs are just so damn good.  There is a lack of warmth in the sound at times, but the melodies and vocal harmonies shine so much that I can usually overlook it.

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2142 on: September 14, 2018, 09:06:44 AM »
There's a really great interview with Rabin - I think it can be found over at "Notes From The Edge", but I can't give a link since they're "Facebook only" for a while now - that documents from Rabin's perspective, how that album was produced.   Apparently, it was cutting edge from a technology standpoint, and as I understand it, Rabin worked closely with representatives from Apple and the software to develop it in real time as he "needed" something.    Rabin calls it the first "non-linear album ever", whatever that is (I can guess, but still).  Chris was dead set against it, Jon was all for it, and Trevor did most of the work.   

Personally, I don't think it sounds cold.  I like that sort of clean sound that the YesWest albums all have to one degree or another (the Rabin songs on Union have it too).   

Offline romdrums

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2143 on: September 14, 2018, 09:13:12 AM »
Yeah, basically after they'd worked in the studio for about the "normal" amount of time, Rabin took all the tapes (actually digital multitracks) back to his place and played with them for hours and hours. 13,000 hours is just Anderson using hyperbole, but by all accounts, it was a lot of time and he tweaked everything.  Individual notes were adjusted, entire sections were reworked, drums sounds were removed and replaced by triggered sounds.  It is widely believed that even though Tony Kaye is credited as the keyboard player, there's nothing left on the album that he actually played; his parts were all re-recorded by Rabin.  Some bass parts, too.

Rabin knew that this would almost certainly be his last Yes album, and he wanted it to be perfect.  And it does sound fantastic, I must admit.  Somehow, I guess I prefer a bit less polish.  To me it sounds over-produced, tweaked and corrected until there's no life left in the performances, because they're not even musical performances any more, but digital reproductions and simulations of musical performances.  It sounds great, though.

I think it ended up that Tony Kaye only played the Hammond Organ parts, and Rabin played all of the other keyboard parts, and it is credited that way in the liner notes.  I think it was more a case of them finally being honest about who handled what in the keyboard department with the YesWest lineup.
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Offline Architeuthis

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2144 on: September 17, 2018, 03:13:55 PM »
Just watched the blu-ray, and it is fantastic!!!  Trevor, Jon, and Rick all still have it and are playing as good as ever. The sound and production is stellar imo, and that's probably because TREVOR RABIN mixed it. He knows what he's doing being that he also did movie scores for a few years. Might I dare say that Trevor's guitar playing is right up there with the mighty JP in his own way? I dunno, but it's pretty close.
Like I said earlier, this would be the perfect release if it included Endless Dream. Imagine Rick Wakeman doing all the piano and keyboard parts leaving Rabin more room to sing and shred! Anything from the TALK album would have been nice.
 They did however, do a very nice version of Awaken..  :tup
« Last Edit: September 19, 2018, 11:06:38 AM by Architeuthis »
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Offline Heavy Metal Hippie

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2145 on: September 18, 2018, 12:46:50 PM »
I'm happy you like it that much and yes, it's that good. JP and TR doesn't necessaryly have to be compared, but in my dream band Trevor is playing. His guitar skill is marvelous, but it's about what he is hearing inside. The harmonies he can bring into existence. I always call him the last harmony wizard, while the world keeps suscribing to mediocracy like the Foo Fighters.

I'm not a big live albums guy, but the 2 releases from Fates Warning and Yes (ARW) in this year are fantastic representives of their kind.

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2146 on: September 18, 2018, 05:51:07 PM »
Just going to throw it out because... but if you're a fan of Trevor, and you don't have (or haven't heard) Jacaranda, you need to rectumfy that immediately.

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2147 on: September 19, 2018, 02:50:38 AM »
Not sure if this has been posted here before, but this left me completely impressed  :o
I am usually not the biggest cover guy, but this one is just incredible.
Needless to say that the song itself is also a huge masterpiece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yVWwjI932k
any rock can be made to roll

Offline Heavy Metal Hippie

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2148 on: September 19, 2018, 04:59:18 AM »
Just going to throw it out because... but if you're a fan of Trevor, and you don't have (or haven't heard) Jacaranda, you need to rectumfy that immediately.

Jacaranda is amazing. Somewhere I've red, that Jon put his vovals on some of the tracks. That's the stuff I'd like to get my greedy fingers on. 

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2149 on: September 19, 2018, 09:38:20 AM »
Not sure if this has been posted here before, but this left me completely impressed  :o
I am usually not the biggest cover guy, but this one is just incredible.
Needless to say that the song itself is also a huge masterpiece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yVWwjI932k

Awesome cover!

And cute girl too!
I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

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Offline Architeuthis

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2150 on: September 19, 2018, 10:56:49 AM »
I'm happy you like it that much and yes, it's that good. JP and TR doesn't necessaryly have to be compared, but in my dream band Trevor is playing. His guitar skill is marvelous, but it's about what he is hearing inside. The harmonies he can bring into existence. I always call him the last harmony wizard, while the world keeps suscribing to mediocracy like the Foo Fighters.

I'm not a big live albums guy, but the 2 releases from Fates Warning and Yes (ARW) in this year are fantastic representives of their kind.
Yeah not to compare, I just think JP and TR are in the same league musically. Both have amazing technical and compositional skills with a great sense of melody.  They are at the top of my list of favorite musicians of all time.
 I will have to check out Jacaranda. I do have "I Can't Look Away" and it's awesome!
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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2151 on: September 19, 2018, 11:27:32 AM »
If you already regard Trevor that highly, I think it will be a (positive) revelation.  I always liked him (LOVE his vocals) but it was that album that convinced me he was one of the truly elite guitar players out there.

Offline Architeuthis

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2152 on: September 19, 2018, 11:45:58 AM »
If you already regard Trevor that highly, I think it will be a (positive) revelation.  I always liked him (LOVE his vocals) but it was that album that convinced me he was one of the truly elite guitar players out there.
:tup
I will have to order it next on my list. Thanks for the heads up, I forgot about that album even though I heard that it existed before.
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Offline Heavy Metal Hippie

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2153 on: September 19, 2018, 04:22:45 PM »
Yeah, but going in expecting much in terms of rock song structure may lead to disappointment.
It's all instrumental and fusion. Some tracks sound like Yes instrumental sections and it shows a matured Trevor Rabin.

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2154 on: September 19, 2018, 05:08:52 PM »
Cool, that's what I'm hoping for. I love instrumental music and I'm sure this one doesn't disappoint. 😎🎶
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Offline Heavy Metal Hippie

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2155 on: September 19, 2018, 05:26:23 PM »
And if you're having it, look forward to track 4 - the section from 1.16 on.
That belongs to the most mindblowing stuff I've ever heard.

note to myself: good job, trying to reduce expectations to rise them only one post later.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2156 on: September 19, 2018, 06:25:14 PM »
I don't spin Jacaranda that often, but it is definitely really good.

I have always been a big fan of Can't Look Away. It is a bit 80's sounding at times, and not always in a good way, but the songs are there.  The Cape is an awesome song in general, and even better to show off your stereo.

Offline Architeuthis

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2157 on: September 19, 2018, 06:25:45 PM »
And if you're having it, look forward to track 4 - the section from 1.16 on.
That belongs to the most mindblowing stuff I've ever heard.

note to myself: good job, trying to reduce expectations to rise them only one post later.
  :lol
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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2158 on: September 20, 2018, 09:39:00 AM »
All of that.  For me, being a HUGE Yes fan, and loving Drama, when 90210 came out I was like "yeah, I like this guy's voice, but he's a rock guy, and Yes already has one of those in Squire.  Where's the diversity of Steve Howe??" and then when I saw the live version (three times between the 90210 and Big Penetrator tours) it was even more evident that Trevor was a "rock guy".  The eclectic acoustic guitar and country chicken-pickin' solos from Howe seemed to be replaced with more traditional rock parts.   Good ones, don't get me wrong, but more traditional.   

And I carried that for years.  He was the "commercial rock guy" (that's not a bad thing at all for me).   Then my buddy convinced me to listen to Jacaranda (and it was only a couple years ago) and I realized that Trevor was every bit as capable of playing other styles substantively and meaningfully.  It really expanded my appreciation of him. 

Offline ytserush

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2159 on: September 21, 2018, 08:18:45 PM »
I don't spin Jacaranda that often, but it is definitely really good.

I have always been a big fan of Can't Look Away. It is a bit 80's sounding at times, and not always in a good way, but the songs are there.  The Cape is an awesome song in general, and even better to show off your stereo.

Never been a huge fan of Can't Look Away. Sold it back a few years after it first came out but then decided to buy it again some years later. I still listen to it every once in a while but I guess it's been a few years now since I last put it on.

Love Jacaranda though.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2160 on: September 22, 2018, 07:40:27 AM »
I Didn't Think It Would Last should have been the single from Can't Look Away.  Shoot, had that been recorded and released as a Yes song, with a slight tweaking to the arrangement, it could have been a big hit. 

Offline Heavy Metal Hippie

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2161 on: September 23, 2018, 05:26:43 AM »
All of that.  For me, being a HUGE Yes fan, and loving Drama, when 90210 came out I was like "yeah, I like this guy's voice, but he's a rock guy, and Yes already has one of those in Squire.  Where's the diversity of Steve Howe??" and then when I saw the live version (three times between the 90210 and Big Penetrator tours) it was even more evident that Trevor was a "rock guy".  The eclectic acoustic guitar and country chicken-pickin' solos from Howe seemed to be replaced with more traditional rock parts.   Good ones, don't get me wrong, but more traditional.   

And I carried that for years.  He was the "commercial rock guy" (that's not a bad thing at all for me).   Then my buddy convinced me to listen to Jacaranda (and it was only a couple years ago) and I realized that Trevor was every bit as capable of playing other styles substantively and meaningfully.  It really expanded my appreciation of him.

It's always delightful to see, when years old conceptions get thrown over.
Did it change your perception of his work/time in Yes ?
« Last Edit: September 23, 2018, 06:26:50 AM by Heavy Metal Hippie »

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2162 on: September 23, 2018, 08:44:02 AM »
All of that.  For me, being a HUGE Yes fan, and loving Drama, when 90210 came out I was like "yeah, I like this guy's voice, but he's a rock guy, and Yes already has one of those in Squire.  Where's the diversity of Steve Howe??" and then when I saw the live version (three times between the 90210 and Big Penetrator tours) it was even more evident that Trevor was a "rock guy".  The eclectic acoustic guitar and country chicken-pickin' solos from Howe seemed to be replaced with more traditional rock parts.   Good ones, don't get me wrong, but more traditional.   

And I carried that for years.  He was the "commercial rock guy" (that's not a bad thing at all for me).   Then my buddy convinced me to listen to Jacaranda (and it was only a couple years ago) and I realized that Trevor was every bit as capable of playing other styles substantively and meaningfully.  It really expanded my appreciation of him.

It's always delightful to see, when years old conceptions get thrown over.
Did it change your perception of his work/time in Yes ?

Yes; I'm not sure I can explain how, but it brought a sort of depth to it.  Rather than being the "rock guy" that didn't really fit in, and did only what he was good at, it made the more rock elements more of a choice.  It wasn't at the time, but now Talk is one of my favorite Yes albums (not just YesWest, but overall).   That's not a satisfactory explanation, but there it is.   

Offline Heavy Metal Hippie

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2163 on: September 23, 2018, 09:45:47 AM »
Cool.

It's not just that Rabin was an infusion of freshness for Yes. It also worked vice versa. As his biggest fan, I have to admit, his work before Yes didn't stand out. I think working with Squire and Horn, he learned how to achieve greatness.

Offline ytserush

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2164 on: September 30, 2018, 12:40:42 PM »
I Didn't Think It Would Last should have been the single from Can't Look Away.  Shoot, had that been recorded and released as a Yes song, with a slight tweaking to the arrangement, it could have been a big hit.

Perhaps, but radio was already walking away from stuff like that by that point.

Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2165 on: March 03, 2019, 07:25:32 PM »
I'm watching Live at the Apollo, and I was a bit surprised to learn that ARW has now officially changed their name to "Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, and Rick Wakeman"   

I wonder if this might cause another legal scuffle....though to tell you the truth, if I was Steve Howe, I wouldn't risk it.   If it ever did come down to a full blown legal battle over the name, I think this new incarnation may have a better case.   The ARW version is the only "Yes" with an original member at this point. 
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2166 on: March 03, 2019, 09:03:55 PM »
I don't have a link, but I heard that Yes featuring ARW is now on sabbatical and when/if they will return is unknown. Sounds like Jon Anderson got tired of plans for a new album and/or more tour dates always being put off.

Offline gzarruk

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2167 on: March 03, 2019, 09:10:17 PM »
I'm watching Live at the Apollo, and I was a bit surprised to learn that ARW has now officially changed their name to "Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, and Rick Wakeman"   

I don't have a link, but I heard that Yes featuring ARW is now on sabbatical and when/if they will return is unknown. Sounds like Jon Anderson got tired of plans for a new album and/or more tour dates always being put off.

Then, they should just change their name to "No" ;D
It sounds like, "ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk." Instead of the more pleasing kick drum sound of, "gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk."

Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2168 on: March 03, 2019, 09:11:00 PM »
I brought this up because "Live at the Apollo" premiered on TV tonight.  I just got done watching it, and now I really REALLY regret not seeing this when it hit Seattle.    Great setlist, great show. 

Did they ever go into the studio at all?   
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Offline IDontNotDoThings

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Re: The Official Yes Thread
« Reply #2169 on: March 03, 2019, 09:27:28 PM »
I brought this up because "Live at the Apollo" premiered on TV tonight.  I just got done watching it, and now I really REALLY regret not seeing this when it hit Seattle.    Great setlist, great show. 

Did they ever go into the studio at all?

They've been allegedly working on an album since I think 2011. They've had one song leaked & it hurts that the album might not come out because that song was sooo good  :'(

(Edit: somehow my post glitched & sent before I finished writing it. idk how that happened lol)
ドリームシアターはあまり好きではありませんが、ペンと紙を持っていたので、なんてこった。