The Official Yes Thread

[HOF]

I'd be willing to switch out "Madrigal" for either "Onward" or "...Whale".  My point was, I think they just lost focus midway through.  There are the bones of a really GREAT record there.  The only two real duds are Circus of Arriving UFOs from Heaven.

I’d agree with this assessment overall. I just really like Onward. And Circus is the only really major flop for me.

[KevShmev]

Tormato just sounds ugly.  There might be more good songs in there, but they all get lost in the production and ugly sounds and tones.  Onward is great on the Keys live album, which was quite a revelation for me when I heard that, so I do think there is more good in those songs; we just have never heard cleaner versions of most of them.

[Architeuthis]

Tormato sounds like it was made in the sixties.. Now I need to go and listen to it again,  so I can be reminded of how much it sucks.  Perhaps the album cover is a forgleam of how well it would be received..lol! 🍅

[Lupton]

I don't like Rick's keyboard choices. Other than that, Tormato's a pretty solid record with a slight excess of twee in certain spots.  I dig it. Dig it. 

[HOF]

Tormato just sounds ugly.  There might be more good songs in there, but they all get lost in the production and ugly sounds and tones.  Onward is great on the Keys live album, which was quite a revelation for me when I heard that, so I do think there is more good in those songs; we just have never heard cleaner versions of most of them.

The sound choices may be a bit on the wired side, but in general I like the sound on Tormato (it’s Yes after all, they always sound weird). It’s much better sounding production wise than Going for the One at least.

[Stadler]

Tormato just sounds ugly.  There might be more good songs in there, but they all get lost in the production and ugly sounds and tones.  Onward is great on the Keys live album, which was quite a revelation for me when I heard that, so I do think there is more good in those songs; we just have never heard cleaner versions of most of them.

The sound choices may be a bit on the wired side, but in general I like the sound on Tormato (it’s Yes after all, they always sound weird). It’s much better sounding production wise than Going for the One at least.

Call me a nut job, but the sound of GFTO is one of the things I LIKE about it. It's got a unique sound, and while granted, Chris has sounded better at other points in the catalogue, it has it's charm.  The octave bass line in "Turn Of The Century" sounds so cool in that trebly register, and the sound of Rick's organ really lends a church-like vibe to the whole album, even the parts that WEREN'T played over the phone from the Swiss church.   

I listen to some of the live versions of a song like the title track, or Wonderous Stories, and it loses that dream-like quality I love so much.  The title track SHOULDN'T, in my opinion, be a heavy rock track.  It's beauty is that airy, spiraling feel, especially to the vocal line at the end. 

That record is MAGIC to me, even after all these years.

[KevShmev]

I do think Turn of the Century, the best song on Going for the One by a pretty good margin if you ask me, is the one song on that record that benefits from the production. 

[pg1067]

I don't hear a ton of "production" in Turn of the Century.*  But the rest of GFTO suffers from being very harsh and trebly.  In this regard, it's very similar to Grace Under Pressure, but with much, much better material.  Tormato's production (save for the keys) is better, but the material isn't nearly as good.


* - Last Friday, Doug Helvering did a reaction to Turn of the Century and the Yessongs version of Close to the Edge as a tribute to Alan White.  Not a ton of analysis, but listening to someone listen to TOTC for the first time reminds one of just how damn good the song is.

[emtee]

Love GFtO but the last couple minutes of the opening title track, Howe's guitar has an overpowering, high pitched whine that can almost hurt your ears if the volume is too high. Other than that it's near perfect.

[pg1067]

Love GFtO but the last couple minutes of the opening title track, Howe's guitar has an overpowering, high pitched whine that can almost hurt your ears if the volume is too high.

Yup, and the fact that the end of GFTO just repeats the same stuff over and over and over and over...only makes it worse.  I get the same thing with the organ on Parallels.  I had heard the live Yesshows version first and LOVED (and still love) it, so I was really disappointed with the studio version.  Those issues don't exist at all with TOTC, Wonderous Stories and Awaken.

[Stadler]

Love GFtO but the last couple minutes of the opening title track, Howe's guitar has an overpowering, high pitched whine that can almost hurt your ears if the volume is too high.

Yup, and the fact that the end of GFTO just repeats the same stuff over and over and over and over...only makes it worse.  I get the same thing with the organ on Parallels.  I had heard the live Yesshows version first and LOVED (and still love) it, so I was really disappointed with the studio version.  Those issues don't exist at all with TOTC, Wonderous Stories and Awaken.

Dammit.  That ending to GFTO is one of my most favorite moments on the record.  I LOVE that.

[Orbert]

I like it, too.  It's building the entire time.  True, the lyrics repeat in a cycle, but musically it continues to build.  A lot of that comes from Steve's unbridled guitar work throughout, so I suppose if that doesn't do anything for you, then it probably doesn't work.

[SoundscapeMN]

Metal Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73WTnRa0d6M

I think I'm okay with this, sans for the Blast Beats.

[Architeuthis]

Metal Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73WTnRa0d6M

I think I'm okay with this, sans for the Blast Beats.

Well that was cool!   

[pg1067]

I wanted to turn it off just past the 1:00 mark - right after the heavy rhythm guitar came in and drowned everything else out - but I stuck with it through the first chorus (just to hear what they did with the harmony vocals).  There's a way to make a metal Roundabout that still retains the character of the original.  This could've been it.  The vocals were really good, but the guitars were excessive and the instrumentation was terrible.

[King Postwhore]

I wanted to turn it off just past the 1:00 mark - right after the heavy rhythm guitar came in and drowned everything else out - but I stuck with it through the first chorus (just to hear what they did with the harmony vocals).  There's a way to make a metal Roundabout that still retains the character of the original.  This could've been it.  The vocals were really good, but the guitars were excessive and the instrumentation was terrible.

They also do 2 Rush cover's of Subdivisions and Animate.

[Stadler]

I wanted to turn it off just past the 1:00 mark - right after the heavy rhythm guitar came in and drowned everything else out - but I stuck with it through the first chorus (just to hear what they did with the harmony vocals).  There's a way to make a metal Roundabout that still retains the character of the original.  This could've been it.  The vocals were really good, but the guitars were excessive and the instrumentation was terrible.

I'm kind of with you; the essence of that song for me is the walking (running?) bass line and that was lost beneath the ridiculous drums and wall of guitars.  On the original, if I'm not mistaken, Howe plays an acoustic and it was arguably as heavy as this in it's own way. 

And I get it's a style, but it's not for me: there ought to be a limit as to how many bass drum strikes there can be in a song. 

[emtee]

I liked it.

[pg1067]

the essence of that song for me is the walking (running?) bass line and that was lost beneath the ridiculous drums and wall of guitars.

100%

On the original, if I'm not mistaken, Howe plays an acoustic and it was arguably as heavy as this in it's own way. 

If I remember correctly, he played each verse differently.  The first two verses are only an acoustic playing between Em, a funky A chord, and Em7.  I believe he added an electric guitar for the third verse, and the last verse doubles the bass line.  Someone should correct me if I'm not remembering that correctly.

[Stadler]

the essence of that song for me is the walking (running?) bass line and that was lost beneath the ridiculous drums and wall of guitars.

100%

On the original, if I'm not mistaken, Howe plays an acoustic and it was arguably as heavy as this in it's own way. 

If I remember correctly, he played each verse differently.  The first two verses are only an acoustic playing between Em, a funky A chord, and Em7.  I believe he added an electric guitar for the third verse, and the last verse doubles the bass line.  Someone should correct me if I'm not remembering that correctly.

I don't have it to hand right now (maybe I'll listen in the car later) but I thought one of the verses at least was just harmonics.

[pg1067]

the essence of that song for me is the walking (running?) bass line and that was lost beneath the ridiculous drums and wall of guitars.

100%

On the original, if I'm not mistaken, Howe plays an acoustic and it was arguably as heavy as this in it's own way. 

If I remember correctly, he played each verse differently.  The first two verses are only an acoustic playing between Em, a funky A chord, and Em7.  I believe he added an electric guitar for the third verse, and the last verse doubles the bass line.  Someone should correct me if I'm not remembering that correctly.

I don't have it to hand right now (maybe I'll listen in the car later) but I thought one of the verses at least was just harmonics.

I had the same thought, but I just gave a quick listen and didn't hear it, so maybe it's something he started doing live.

[ytserush]

Rewatched Mike's Cruise tribute to Chris Squire last weekend and I really liked the set he came up with given the limitations he had. I'm kind of glad that those limitations were in place too otherwise many of those set choices would never have been played.  Of course I thought think there was anything past 1983, but it was still pretty cool.

[pg1067]

Jon Anderson performing Close to the Edge with the School of Rock.

I always find School of Rock videos amusing for lots of reasons, and this is no exception, but it's immensely cool of Jon to do this.  I swear this guy will still be able to do this song when he hits the age of 100.


And here’s the same group (mostly) doing Heart of the Sunrise.  Excellent performance by the bass player.

[romdrums]

The bassist and drummer are locked in.  Love the energy and drive!

[pg1067]

There's a comment to the CTTE video that compares this performance to a 2018 performance of what the commenter referred to as "Yes featuring Steve Howe."  He noted that there were several misses with these kids but that it's still more enjoyable to watch it with this sort of energy (along with Jon "I sing better at 77 than you did at 25" Anderson) than the mopey way that "Yes" performs this material these days.

I'm inclined to agree.

And yeah...it takes a REALLY tight rhythm section to pull of CTTE live!

[Orbert]

I'm always divided on these.  Generally, they're very good performances of songs that I like.  But... I don't know, it's almost like I'm self-stigmatizing it.  Why would I want to listen to a bunch of kids play Close to the Edge?  Well, if it's a good performance of a song I like, then that should be enough.  But I'm not going to go out of my way to check it out.  If I'm browsing YouTube videos and see a School of Rock thumbnail, I will probably click on something else.  Maybe if it's a video that started automatically after something else because I wasn't quick enough to stop it.  And once it's playing, yeah, I'll probably check it out.  But to think that I would literally not put any effort into it otherwise... fuck, I guess I am an elitist! 

[pg1067]

I'm always divided on these.  Generally, they're very good performances of songs that I like.  But... I don't know, it's almost like I'm self-stigmatizing it.  Why would I want to listen to a bunch of kids play Close to the Edge?  Well, if it's a good performance of a song I like, then that should be enough.  But I'm not going to go out of my way to check it out.  If I'm browsing YouTube videos and see a School of Rock thumbnail, I will probably click on something else.  Maybe if it's a video that started automatically after something else because I wasn't quick enough to stop it.  And once it's playing, yeah, I'll probably check it out.  But to think that I would literally not put any effort into it otherwise... fuck, I guess I am an elitist! 

Fair point.  I doubt I'd have watched it if Jon Anderson weren't singing with them.

[pg1067]

@Orbert

Here's another one of them doing And You and I:  https://youtu.be/gpNiRb99Kus

During the Eclipse section (starting around 3:23) one of the girls comes to the front and is playing some sort of electric/electronic wind instrument.  Any idea what it is?  I asked my woodwind-playing daughter, and she had no idea.

[The Letter M]

@Orbert

Here's another one of them doing And You and I:  https://youtu.be/gpNiRb99Kus

During the Eclipse section (starting around 3:23) one of the girls comes to the front and is playing some sort of electric/electronic wind instrument.  Any idea what it is?  I asked my woodwind-playing daughter, and she had no idea.

After a quick Google search, I found this:
https://www.roland.com/us/products/aerophone_ae-10/

-Marc.

[Orbert]

Marc is correct; that's a Roland Aerophone.  Someone sent me a video of someone playing one, years ago, and said I should get one.  It's a neat idea; a MIDI controller that's not a keyboard but based on a scaled-down Boehm system.  The Boehm system is used on all modern woodwinds and basically means that if you can play the flute, you can mostly play the saxophone, oboe, and clarinet as well, because the fingering patterns are all the same.  That's the really TL;DR version.  Each individual instrument has its differences, hence the "mostly".  Anyway, driving a synth, sampler, or anything else you might want to drive with a keyboard but using a woodwind-like controller would be fun.

It's a neat idea, and I've never played one, but it seems like it would feel very restricting.  It doesn't have all the keys, just most of them, and after 50 years of playing winds and muscle memory, I'd think I'd have issues.  Given unlimited funds, I'd probably opt for a Yamaha Digital Saxophone or even hunt down an old Lyricon instead.

[Stadler]

I'm always divided on these.  Generally, they're very good performances of songs that I like.  But... I don't know, it's almost like I'm self-stigmatizing it.  Why would I want to listen to a bunch of kids play Close to the Edge?  Well, if it's a good performance of a song I like, then that should be enough.  But I'm not going to go out of my way to check it out.  If I'm browsing YouTube videos and see a School of Rock thumbnail, I will probably click on something else.  Maybe if it's a video that started automatically after something else because I wasn't quick enough to stop it.  And once it's playing, yeah, I'll probably check it out.  But to think that I would literally not put any effort into it otherwise... fuck, I guess I am an elitist! 

When I saw Jon last time around, the School opened the show (I don't remember him playing with them).  They were AWESOME.  I don't remember the setlist, but they were playing some difficult material and it was so energizing and fun.

[pg1067]

Marc is correct; that's a Roland Aerophone.  Someone sent me a video of someone playing one, years ago, and said I should get one.  It's a neat idea; a MIDI controller that's not a keyboard but based on a scaled-down Boehm system.  The Boehm system is used on all modern woodwinds and basically means that if you can play the flute, you can mostly play the saxophone, oboe, and clarinet as well, because the fingering patterns are all the same.  That's the really TL;DR version.  Each individual instrument has its differences, hence the "mostly".  Anyway, driving a synth, sampler, or anything else you might want to drive with a keyboard but using a woodwind-like controller would be fun.

It's a neat idea, and I've never played one, but it seems like it would feel very restricting.  It doesn't have all the keys, just most of them, and after 50 years of playing winds and muscle memory, I'd think I'd have issues.  Given unlimited funds, I'd probably opt for a Yamaha Digital Saxophone or even hunt down an old Lyricon instead.

Interesting...what will these kids think of next?!

[ytserush]

I'm always divided on these.  Generally, they're very good performances of songs that I like.  But... I don't know, it's almost like I'm self-stigmatizing it.  Why would I want to listen to a bunch of kids play Close to the Edge?  Well, if it's a good performance of a song I like, then that should be enough.  But I'm not going to go out of my way to check it out.  If I'm browsing YouTube videos and see a School of Rock thumbnail, I will probably click on something else.  Maybe if it's a video that started automatically after something else because I wasn't quick enough to stop it.  And once it's playing, yeah, I'll probably check it out.  But to think that I would literally not put any effort into it otherwise... fuck, I guess I am an elitist! 

Conflicted. I usually ask myself. "Do the kids get it?" I don't mean the notes but do they get the spirit of the song. Same goes for tribute/cover bands too. The fashion/style means nothing to me unless you get inside the song and it's not as common as you'd think for that to happen. But it can be a beautiful thing. Nothing wrong with people practicing to see if they can do something, but I don't need to see it. I get myself caught up in rabbit holes I don't need to be in anyway. (Like watching different versions of Pete Townshend playing Slit Skirts. Forgot Phill Collins played a show with him on that song back then.)

[SoundscapeMN]

Lizzo digs her Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qRQUNnm3MM

[lonestar]

That alone gives her every right to play that flute. Fucking love it.