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Topic ClosedCan you imagine Yes without THAT bass?

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Intruder View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 08 2015 at 09:22
I suggest the band carries on as Yesshows - a touring group of musicians with close ties to the band recreating the Yessound.  Sort of like how the Grateful Dead splinter groups carry on with Jerry Garcia.  The crowd grooves, the music is fine, and the Dead come to life again, if only for a moment.....but it ain't the Dead. Yesshows would serve the same purpose.....let the ghost of Yes rise again. 
I have had dozens of chances to see Yes since my last show on the Union tour, and I'm sure I missed some great nights, but it was just so far from the Yes that I enjoy that it might as well have been a Yesshows concert.  Still,  I regret not seeing Chris and Steve play together again.....sh*t.
 
But, honestly, in my opinion it has been a legacy band since Bruford left....I love a lot of stuff that followed, but that vibrant, almost magical sound - THE Yessound - left with Bruford.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 08 2015 at 10:00
Originally posted by Intruder Intruder wrote:

I suggest the band carries on as Yesshows - a touring group of musicians with close ties to the band recreating the Yessound.  Sort of like how the Grateful Dead splinter groups carry on with Jerry Garcia.  The crowd grooves, the music is fine, and the Dead come to life again, if only for a moment.....but it ain't the Dead. Yesshows would serve the same purpose.....let the ghost of Yes rise again. 
I have had dozens of chances to see Yes since my last show on the Union tour, and I'm sure I missed some great nights, but it was just so far from the Yes that I enjoy that it might as well have been a Yesshows concert.  Still,  I regret not seeing Chris and Steve play together again.....sh*t.
 
But, honestly, in my opinion it has been a legacy band since Bruford left....I love a lot of stuff that followed, but that vibrant, almost magical sound - THE Yessound - left with Bruford.

This is actually not a bad idea at all...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 08 2015 at 11:12
If Jon, Rick, Steve and Alan all came back and wanted to carry on with another bass player, I would still go to see them.  Would I miss the Fish's thunderous bass lines, you damn betcha...but I would go.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 08 2015 at 17:12
Since Chris was in all the lineups before he died I think Yes should hang it up.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 08 2015 at 23:07
Originally posted by PrognosticMind PrognosticMind wrote:

Originally posted by Intruder Intruder wrote:

I suggest the band carries on as Yesshows - a touring group of musicians with close ties to the band recreating the Yessound.  Sort of like how the Grateful Dead splinter groups carry on with Jerry Garcia.  The crowd grooves, the music is fine, and the Dead come to life again, if only for a moment.....but it ain't the Dead. Yesshows would serve the same purpose.....let the ghost of Yes rise again. 
I have had dozens of chances to see Yes since my last show on the Union tour, and I'm sure I missed some great nights, but it was just so far from the Yes that I enjoy that it might as well have been a Yesshows concert.  Still,  I regret not seeing Chris and Steve play together again.....sh*t.
 
But, honestly, in my opinion it has been a legacy band since Bruford left....I love a lot of stuff that followed, but that vibrant, almost magical sound - THE Yessound - left with Bruford.

This is actually not a bad idea at all...

I could be OK with this, but Downes would have to go.  He stinks.  Tony Kaye would bring some legacy back to the band.  

If Anderson returned, they could certainly be a legitimate Yes, but I think the conflict between Howe is too great to bridge.  Pity, Howe is riding this horse into its grave...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 09 2015 at 04:54
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Originally posted by PrognosticMind PrognosticMind wrote:

Originally posted by Intruder Intruder wrote:

I suggest the band carries on as Yesshows - a touring group of musicians with close ties to the band recreating the Yessound.  Sort of like how the Grateful Dead splinter groups carry on with Jerry Garcia.  The crowd grooves, the music is fine, and the Dead come to life again, if only for a moment.....but it ain't the Dead. Yesshows would serve the same purpose.....let the ghost of Yes rise again. 
I have had dozens of chances to see Yes since my last show on the Union tour, and I'm sure I missed some great nights, but it was just so far from the Yes that I enjoy that it might as well have been a Yesshows concert.  Still,  I regret not seeing Chris and Steve play together again.....sh*t.
 
But, honestly, in my opinion it has been a legacy band since Bruford left....I love a lot of stuff that followed, but that vibrant, almost magical sound - THE Yessound - left with Bruford.

This is actually not a bad idea at all...

I could be OK with this, but Downes would have to go.  He stinks.  Tony Kaye would bring some legacy back to the band.  

If Anderson returned, they could certainly be a legitimate Yes, but I think the conflict between Howe is too great to bridge.  Pity, Howe is riding this horse into its grave...

I wouldn't accept anything less than Anderson on vocals, however. I should have mentioned that in my previous post Smile.

I could take or leave Downes.

I'd hope the situation with Chris would bring about a change for Howe and crew...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 14:08
I've been able to handle most of the personnel changes over the years but .... as far as I'm concerned the band died with Squire.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 16:09
Originally posted by Lowend Lowend wrote:

I've been able to handle most of the personnel changes over the years but .... as far as I'm concerned the band died with Squire.

Tony Levin proved that the bassist's chair in Yes could be taken by another player of great stature, but I agree, the band is dead.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 19:47
Yes was done for me pretty much after Big Generator. Even with some of the previous lineups the "Yes sound" had strayed from it's roots, which happens with the best of bands I admit. Certainly Chris was the grounding rod for the band over the years. His departure will make it difficult for Yes to be anything more than a pale shadow of what they once were to be sure.

So, no, I can't imagine Yes without that bass.

Time to reform ABWH.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 19:53
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Originally posted by Lowend Lowend wrote:

I've been able to handle most of the personnel changes over the years but .... as far as I'm concerned the band died with Squire.

Tony Levin proved that the bassist's chair in Yes could be taken by another player of great stature, but I agree, the band is dead.  
 
Tony Levin is amazing but Squire had a unique style. It may be imitated well but it can not be completely replaced, at least in my opinion. I'm sure Tony would do a better job than Billy Sherwood. Billy ain't bad but he ain't no Tony Levin, either.LOL
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 10 2015 at 22:28
The thing about Tony Levin is that, indeed Squire may have had a unique style, but so does Tony. It can be particularly notorious if you listen both ABWH live albums, the original evening of Yes Music, and the Live at the Nec, one with Levin, and the first one with the bass player that replaced Tony when he was ill. The other one may have played Squiere's parts even more faithfully, but Tony's versions do have his stamp on them, and that kind of makes it more interesting to listen to them.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 11 2015 at 15:41
Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

The thing about Tony Levin is that, indeed Squire may have had a unique style, but so does Tony. It can be particularly notorious if you listen both ABWH live albums, the original evening of Yes Music, and the Live at the Nec, one with Levin, and the first one with the bass player that replaced Tony when he was ill. The other one may have played Squiere's parts even more faithfully, but Tony's versions do have his stamp on them, and that kind of makes it more interesting to listen to them.
 
It can be interesting to hear other musician's interpretations of pieces.  There have been times when I've liked the remake more than the original. Chris Squire just happens to be the person who influenced me the most. I'm sure we all have someone like that.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 11 2015 at 16:29
During the ABWH phase, Levin applied his "funk fingers" (short drumsticks taped to his right hand fingers) in order to replicate the speed and treble that Squire produced using a plectrum.  Here's a bit of an interview:
===============

TL: "Close to the edge, down by the water, how did it go, I'm a forgotter." er,, what was the question? Oh, did it blow me away -- well, the truth is, I didn't have the option of getting blown away - I had a few weeks to learn all the material and, frankly, that involved me improving my technical speed quite a bit - so I didn't stop to evaluate anything until later. 


I was impressed, but worried about technique, I'm afraid. At that time, I decided, instead of trying to play fast with a pick, to develop a new technique I had tried a bit - two drumsticks attached to my fingers -- I call them funk fingers -- I felt this would be a trebly sound in keeping with the tradition, but would be somewhat new too, and VERY trebly. 


Maybe I'm saying my emotional reaction was ... fear! Not really -- I dug the material, and very much enjoyed the challenge it presented me with. 


MOT: The funk fingers give your bass playing a different, interesting sound. How did you first discover or invent this technique? 


TL: On a P.G. song called "Big Time" I had the drummer, Jerry Marotta, play on the strings while I fingered the notes. Then, live I had to try to play it myself. I used one stick and ... shall I say I did the best I could. One day, Peter saw me, and suggested I try to attach two sticks to my fingers. I simply turned to Andy Moore, my tech at the time, and said "Can we do that?" Andy fashioned them, we spent many months improving the details, and then, having heard Chris Squires parts, I spent weeks practicing like hell. 


http://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Tony_Levin_in_Notes_From_the_Edge

======

I saw ABWH in concert, and Levin was absolutely brilliant, filling in for Squire! 

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 11 2015 at 16:48
^ I, too, was impressed by Levin's performance in the ABWH show.  His duet with Bruford during the drum solo segment was outrageous - although similar to what he had done with Crimson.
 After the concert, many of us from local record stores were invited to a meet and greet party.  I asked Levin about the sticks, and at the time he didn't want to talk about them.  I assumed he didn't want any details released in case he was able to market them.
 
If Levin was ever coerced to join, would that not make the ABWH albums actual Yes albums (I consider them such anyway), if all of the members would be official Yes members?
 
 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 11 2015 at 22:51
Originally posted by Evolver Evolver wrote:


^ I, too, was impressed by Levin's performance in the ABWH show.  His duet with Bruford during the drum solo segment was outrageous - although similar to what he had done with Crimson.
 After the concert, many of us from local record stores were invited to a meet and greet party.  I asked Levin about the sticks, and at the time he didn't want to talk about them.  I assumed he didn't want any details released in case he was able to market them.
 
If Levin was ever coerced to join, would that not make the ABWH albums actual Yes albums (I consider them such anyway), if all of the members would be official Yes members?
 
 


During a time, before Anderson left the band the last time, on Yes's official page the ABWH album was listed among the Yes discography, but it seems this has been removed now (I remember liking the way the page was presented then). Also, since the Union album has many songs from ABWH, and that one is an official Yes album, that is enough for me to consider the first ABWH album also a Yes album (besides the fact that it's got 4 out of 5 members from the classic line-up).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2015 at 15:20
I have always thought that ABWH was a Yes album except for obscure legal reasons which prohibited them from putting the Yes logo on the cover.  After all, they did not choose an alternative band name, and just put their surnames on it, because with an alternative band name it "wouldn't have been Yes" - but it was meant to be Yes.  Not that I consider ABWH something comparable to the great Yes classics, but the other 80s and later Yes albums can't compare with them either.



Edited by WeepingElf - July 12 2015 at 15:21
... brought to you by the Weeping Elf

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2015 at 20:46
Originally posted by WeepingElf WeepingElf wrote:

I have always thought that ABWH was a Yes album except for obscure legal reasons which prohibited them from putting the Yes logo on the cover.  After all, they did not choose an alternative band name, and just put their surnames on it, because with an alternative band name it "wouldn't have been Yes" - but it was meant to be Yes.  Not that I consider ABWH something comparable to the great Yes classics, but the other 80s and later Yes albums can't compare with them either.




Exactly my point of view too.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 16 2015 at 17:36
No! Next question.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 27 2016 at 05:55
Bring in Carl Palmer and it'll be Asia... ugh... Asia Dead 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 27 2016 at 07:27
some of us actually LIKE Asia. I know I do.
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