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What is The Appeal With Yezda Urfa On This Site?
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SuperMetro View Drop Down
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    Posted: November 27 2022 at 20:00
I have not heard the entire record, but I heard Boris and his Three Verses and a fragment of the last track Three Tons of Fresh Thyroid Glands. I notice that with the exception of the first track that each of them start with t and that 3/5 of the tracks have three to the track titles. 

When I hear them, they sound like a band that is "too prog rock" and sound very reminiscent of... yes, you know which one I mean so I don't have to say the name of it. They also sound a bit like that other prog giant as well. The same giants who live in glass houses. The keyboards are "wakey" and I do not like "howe" the guitar sounds. How does Starcastle get picked on but not this group. Maybe because Starcastle had a member of Reo Speedwagon in it? Maybe because Yezda Urfa is just more fun to listen to? Maybe they were just more creative than Starcastle? 

In an interview, they said two of the members cited the usual suspects of Yes, Genesis, Crimson, Gentle Giant, PFM, CS&N, Spirit, and ELP. They live in the US, so they could probably only get access to Photos of Ghosts, English Isola di Niente, and maybe Chocolate Kings for PFM. I see that they were proud of themselves and acknowledged their creativity so kudos to them. I am glad that unlike Gentle Giant, they did not lose their heads. Forget what they said, what's the the use to try to deny it. I just do not understand this obscure group. 

To me they sound like another expy that happened to be seen as an "obscure gem". Why do you like Yezda Urfa? 




Edited by SuperMetro - November 27 2022 at 20:03
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Because they are incredibly adventurous. But I enjoy weird music, and I like picking apart the complexities. They can get pretty dense, and I enjoy a challenge. But every part interlocks and works together so well to create the whole. It's the same reason I return to GG.

As for their likeness to Yes, I've said it before, it's totally overstated. I think the bassist does go for a Squire-type tone. The singer sounds like Trevor Horn, so to me, he only sounds as much like Jon Anderson as, well, Trevor Horn does.

Unlike Starcastle, they do not water down their unashamed Yes-isms with Styx-like sheen. The Yes influence is simply a small ingredient in their gumbo. A spice in their dish that boggles the palette even more than GG usually do.
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Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

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Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

What is The Appeal With Yezda Urfa On This Site?
I don't hear them mentioned very often. But I bet they were a mindblowing discovery for people who continued to spin their 1970's prog-albums throughout the 1980's. Post-internet a whole planet full of progressive rock was resurrected, and by now I think Yezda Urfa is just another "interesting find" among many. I don't really care if they were kind of lacking in the originality-department. It's been ages since I checked them out but I remember their music as enjoyable, made with love and great care. I'm relistening (to Boris) now. The appeal for me is that they are fun to listen to. They throw in a lot of themes and ideas to keep things interesting. The singning isn't half bad and their tunes are catchier than I remembered as well. No mystery here.

Starcastle are way less fun imo. Whenever they didn't sound exactly like Yes, it was seemingly because they were going for something less adventurous and safer.
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Because they were probably the greatest American prog band of their time.  Maybe ever.
"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."   -- John F. Kennedy
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Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

Because they were probably the greatest American prog band of their time.  Maybe ever.


Which explains to me Frank Zappa and the Mothers.Wink


Edited by SuperMetro - November 28 2022 at 08:53
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I can't say I'm a huge fan but I have the cd release Sacred Baboon.....which I believe is a reworked version of the first with other tracks from 1976. Its unusual to say the least.
They did a 2nd in 1982 called Crafty Hands which is the title of Happy THe Man's 2nd lp in 1978.....coincidence?
I like Happy The Man better as a well as Cathedral and Babylon.

btw ...they formed in Portage , Indiana which is in my neck of the woods about 10 miles from me  and where I grew up. I was not aware of them becuase I was in college from 1969 -1975 in Bloomington , IN.



Edited by dr wu23 - November 28 2022 at 11:16
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For anyone who doesn't know, Sacred Baboon was recorded around 1976 but released in 1989. Most probably do, but worth mentioning to clear up any confusion. Boris was recorded 1975, but widely released muuuuuch later.
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Points: 20624 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dr wu23 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 29 2022 at 09:38
The local record shop in my area owned by this young man had 2 of the original vinyls self released by the band.....he sold them for $1,500. apiece ...though I have heard they can go for more.

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Interesting: I was re-visiting Yezda Urfa the same day as this original post by listening to Sacred Baboon on CD in my car--it sounded great, and I ran through it 3 times! (I had always thought Boris sounded much better, but I think I've changed my mind--but that's another story). 

Two takeaways:  I reminded myself how much I looove this band, and I kept thinking that so many of the songs sounded almost exactly like a hybrid between Yes and GG!  Still, while YU has acknowledged these influences, they sound fun and are unique enough to escape the knock-off criticism.  I wish they had produced more albums.
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 ^ Clap
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Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

I just do not understand this obscure group. 



I think you just admitted that you do not understand this group. Some prog is just too hip, too complex and too off the rail to be understood by many. This is advanced calculus prog. If you haven't mastered mathematics and algebra then you won't be able to understand much less enjoy music that adds advanced elements that are juxtaposed in myriad unthinkable ways. Personally i don't think Yezda is even super complex. They featured a somewhat simplistic riffing structure augmented by flashy virtuoso soloing. Much of this type of music is loved by musicians but not so much by the untrained ear of the casual music lover who needs a fixed set of "normalcy" to comprehend the compositional flow. Personally i love Yezda Urfa's two releases. Despite all the influences they were quite unique.

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Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

I just do not understand this obscure group. 



I think you just admitted that you do not understand this group. Some prog is just too hip, too complex and too off the rail to be understood by many. This is advanced calculus prog. If you haven't mastered mathematics and algebra then you won't be able to understand much less enjoy music that adds advanced elements that are juxtaposed in myriad unthinkable ways. Personally i don't think Yezda is even super complex. They featured a somewhat simplistic riffing structure augmented by flashy virtuoso soloing. Much of this type of music is loved by musicians but not so much by the untrained ear of the casual music lover who needs a fixed set of "normalcy" to comprehend the compositional flow. Personally i love Yezda Urfa's two releases. Despite all the influences they were quite unique.

Sounds a little like Moshkito but not quite. I am in fact a guitar player who could play most of the stuff influenced by progressive rock. I listened to so much Progressive music that I tend to get picky over groups like these. I also got near 100s in math. 
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Points: 15253 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 02 2022 at 10:08
^ then what don’t you get about them? Yezda Urfa was brilliant!

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Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

^ then what don’t you get about them? Yezda Urfa was brilliant!

Nothing I just would rather be listening to something else so I turn off Yezda and listen to something else. They are "too prog-rock" for my tastes. 
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Points: 15253 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 02 2022 at 12:01
Originally posted by SuperMetro SuperMetro wrote:

Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

^ then what don’t you get about them? Yezda Urfa was brilliant!


Nothing I just would rather be listening to something else so I turn off Yezda and listen to something else. They are "too prog-rock" for my tastes. 


That’s fair

Some of us love prog on steroids

Niche market for us hyper active freaks 💥

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Points: 594 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Machinemessiah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 07 2022 at 17:10
Yezda Urfa / Sacred Baboon is one of the few gems I've found here at Prog Archives Big smile

(as I came mostly from Big 6, I define myself as a fairly 'classic' progger, though certainly have my bit of panhead-ism of course ; ), so there aren't many of them).


I like to get back to some posts so I've found the exact one here:
(thanks Atavachron for the great suggestions back then Clap)



Edited by Machinemessiah - December 08 2022 at 15:54
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This can't be a serious post. Yezda Urfa rules.
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