All YES Appreciation Thread

For me Bruford's drumming on Heart Of The Sunrise.

And for Alan White: I quite like his drumming on Release Release (Tormato).

White's drumming on That, That Is finally convinced me to forgive him for taking Bruford's place.

I've met Steve Howe and Rodger Dean and they both signed my CttE and Relayer records.  Then I saw them live the next night... they were amazing. They're one of my favorite prog bands. 

rdtprog wrote: ghost_of_morphy wrote: Yes, we know that they were done quickly and intensely.  I still have my doubts about much of them being done in one take, though. No that's not the case, they were many rehearsals.  The main song was done quickly but they made a lot of changes on it  where every member was not satisfied with the arrangements.

Perhaps it was a single take - in other words not necessarily the first take - in which the electric guitar take you hear across the song Close to the Edge was done without stopping tape.  Of course, this would have been only after lord knows how much rehearsal.  Anyway, that's what I think I remember reading somewhere, like, 20 years ago.  As I said before, I could have this wrong. 

Yes, we know that they were done quickly and intensely.  I still have my doubts about much of them being done in one take, though.

lazland wrote: ghost_of_morphy wrote: American Khatru wrote: This is an intelligent record, a daring record, an unprecedented record, a moving and meaningful record, a rock and a classical record; this is a great record.  I'm out of time, gotta run.   Everytime I hear guys like you say something like this, I have to listen to Tales once again.  And then I wonder what I missed.  Tales is not nearly as bad as it's rep, and the "weaker" tracks on it (Remembering and The Ancient) aren't really as weak as people paint them as well.  But I would find it very difficult to characterize this as a masterpiece. How about characterising it as a flawed masterpiece?

I'd love to, only I don't hear the flaws.  I guess it's just another situation of things coming down to taste.  I don't mean simply liking this over that, but listening to things this way instead of that way; not to say my way is better than whoever's, just that it's my way and I will always understand my way better than that of another.  I get very into critical listening, though I unfortunately lack the critic's grammar to disinterestedly describe in words what I get.  I could only write a boring exposition of all the musical interlinks in the piece, ie. attempt to find the horse-ness in the horse (apologies to Plato and Aristotle).

American Khatru wrote: This is an intelligent record, a daring record, an unprecedented record, a moving and meaningful record, a rock and a classical record; this is a great record.  I'm out of time, gotta run.

Dellinger wrote: American Khatru wrote: You might try classical.  It's a huge aid to hearing great constructions across huge spaces.  If you like I could make some recommendations.  Meantime, as for Tales, maybe try just listening to one side only each time you turn to the record, until you know it well, then go on to another.  You should start to see the interrelations and cycles in the music.      Well, I do love some pieces of classical music, even though I must say I'm far from knowing a lot about it. Just a few pieces I've come along. And I do love many epic prog songs, so it's not just that I can't keep my attention to a 20+ minute song. It's just that some songs are more boring to me. It doesn't mean that I don't like the album nor that I can't stand to a whole spin of it. As a matter of fact, I would find it hard to just start it and not finish it (even though becouse of time factors I might have to end it at a different time), unless I only want to listen to Revealing Science of God, which as I have said, is by far my favourite from this album.

I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't listen that long, keeping the attention.  I caught how you said in an earlier post that you love lots of epic songs.  I guess I'm saying, to be more specific, that, to me, if a person really gets into classical and then turns back to prog, he'll find he gets more out of the listening, even if he thought he was getting as much as possible before.  As for myself, listening to all kinds of great classical helped me find smaller and smaller, and greater and greater, units of things interesting.  Also there's the art of orchestration.  I found I began to appreciate the song-length and momentary instrumentations in good prog, adding another whole level I didn't suspect in younger years, so renewing all this music I already knew!

Alberto Muñoz wrote: Notes From the Edge Issue #0080   Here's a SH interview  and it has very interesting things like Howe praising much TOTO   Link: http://www.nfte.org/archives.aspx#I80

     For a moment I thought you were talking about the Band Toto.

^ I'll say again ('cause I've said or implied it elsewhere) that I was rather fortunate to, at a very young age back in the early 70s, have an older brother with a cool "prog" record collection.  I didn't start with Tales of course.  I remember looking at the breathless vinyl, its side-long tracks, and feeling unready so returning to The Yes Album and Yessongs.  But soon the curiosity was irresistible.  I was instantly fascinated with The Revealing, and it went slowly on from there.

I'll give myself credit, but only to an extent, for having "patience" enough to take in these records so completely, at a rather young age.  But then again my town and everything in it was so boring, I wasn't good at sports and didn't care to be; these records were the most wonderful thing in my little world, hands down, so of course I got into them.  Who knows whether I would have given these records all that time had they not been there then.  Perhaps not, and I shudder to think it!  (I realize more and more how completely my identity is wrapped into these 12" discs, weird.) 

Also, this patient listening led a lifelong discovery and love of classical music.  You might try classical.  It's a huge aid to hearing great constructions across huge spaces.  If you like I could make some recommendations.  Meantime, as for Tales, maybe try just listening to one side only each time you turn to the record, until you know it well, then go on to another.  You should start to see the interrelations and cycles in the music.