Yes and Genesis: similar, or, not so?

Hi Folks,

It has been stated, many times, that ('70s) critics of Genesis denounced them as being "Yes rip-offs"; "the poor man's Yes", etc. I've never personally found the two great bands to be terribly similar, at all.

There are a few commonalities:

1. Some songs in multi-part suites, usually involving some sort of concept.

2. Fluent jazz-rock drummer(s), often using odd time signatures.

3. Most songs have a pastoral, or, 'spacey' feel.

4. Hackett and Howe made great use of the volume pedal.

But now the distinctions begin:

Genesis relied much more heavily on mellotron; Yes harldy ever used one.

Yes made use of improvised soloing in concert, Genesis did not.

Genesis had a full-time flute (Gabriel); Yes no use of flute.

Genesis used tambourine during chorus's; Yes hardly ever.

Yes built their sounds upon the shoulders a really dynamic bass line (Squire); Genesis instead opted for the lighter 12-string texture.

Genesis employed theatrical lighting, props and effects in their shows; Yes a little more typical with their staging.

Anybody have anything else to add? Similar or dissimilar? 70s-80s?

 

 

 

Edited by ldlanberg

Maybe similar in the first recordings of yes (debatable), but with the addition of Howe and Wakeman with their classical training (don't know whether Howe was but Wakeman certainly was) they are worlds apart in their style of music and songwriting. Listening to the music from the same era will tell you straight away that they are, in fact, totally dissimilar.

they only have one thing in common in my mind:

THEY'RE PROG!!!

 

ivan_2068 wrote: Lets see: Yes is based in the individual skills of their members while Genesis is a band that bases their sound in team work, so much that usually people believe they have no virtuoso players (what is wrong). Yes lyrics make almost no sense except for poetical purpose, Genesis lyrics are deep, narrative and make sense, almost as short stories. Genesis is an atmospheric band, Yes is weak in atmosphere. Yes was always sober at stage (except for Wakeman capes) while Genesis was theatrical. I agree with NetsNJFan, the guy that bvelieve Genesis is a rip-off of Yes is an idiot, because except for the symphonic influence in both bands there's no relation between them. Both bands are in the same level and are considered into the top 5 of most proggers. Iván

Those are some real generalisations Ivan.All those points are debatable.Yes had plenty of teamwork going on in their music.Genesis don't have a monopoly of teamwork in music.

Suppers Ready makes a great deal of sense doesn't it? Genesis could be pretty obscure at times.Most Yes songs makes some sort of sense to me.Anderson writes lots of lyrics about God ..ie Awaken being one of the most obvious ones and wants to bring peace and harmony to the planet.Those 'hippy' themes are revisited many times.

If you think that Yes hasn't any atmosphere then you need to dig out Fragile or Going for The One.Both are strong on atmosphere.

The final comment baffled me.Yes always 'sober'.What about the giant mushrooms set on the Topographic tour? I therefore prove that Genesis and Yes were exactly the same band

 

ivan_2068 wrote: Lets see: Yes is based in the individual skills of their members while Genesis is a band that bases their sound in team work, so much that usually people believe they have no virtuoso players (what is wrong). Yes lyrics make almost no sense except for poetical purpose, Genesis lyrics are deep, narrative and make sense, almost as short stories. Yes made many multi part epics along their career, Genesis has only one epic, their songs are shorter but concise. Genesis is an atmospheric band, Yes is weak in atmosphere. Yes makes a lot of solos in their albums, Genesis only in a few rare situations. Yes was always sober at stage (except for Wakeman capes) while Genesis was theatrical. Keyboards in Yes are based in minimoog and organ solos, Genesis is based in a mixture between guitar, keys and mellotron. Vocal ranges are totally opposite. I agree with NetsNJFan, the guy that bvelieve Genesis is a rip-off of Yes is an idiot, because except for the symphonic influence in both bands there's no relation between them. Both bands are in the same level and are considered into the top 5 of most proggers. Iván

I have to dissagree with Yes being a weak atmospheric band, i think the opossite. What makes you think Yes is not atmospheric???

Yes and Genesis - Both progressive Giants of the early seventies.

Both Five peice - Vocal, Drum, Bass, Lead Guitar and Keys.

Both English.

Both heavily influenced by classical music.

Both bands are a vehicle for musical excellence and compositional superiority.

A lot of people were simultaneously fans of both.....

Both bands wanted a visually striking stage-show, with good sound and the best lighting/effects etc...

The similarities are there for all to see thats why these bands are 1 & 2 in the all time prog hall of fame (for most prog fans - butt- out floyd and ELP fanatics).

As far as vocals and fascinating riffs are concerned- GENESIS is *by far* the better band. I never imagined Yes would be paired with them will I came across this thread.

Does anyone know if YES and Genesis ever went on tour together??....that would have been an amazing show!!

I know the YES shared the same stage with the likes of King Crimson, Gentle Giant, ELP, and Jethro Tull...but I never heard anything about Genesis.

Me, being the silly goose I am...would have loved to see these bands play back to back in their prime, simply to compare the bands.

I don't think the difference between Genesis and Yes can be worded... It's just that their music have a completely different feel to it. I really can't explain it, but they sound nothing alike.

How could either one be a ripoff of the other if they both had thier breakthrough albums in the same year. (Nursery Cryme/The Yes Album)