Who influenced Yes?

I think Bill Bruford once said that Yes was first trying to do Beach Boys' harmonies in the jazz style.

Michel.


Edited by MichelNeurophile - December 07 2009 at 19:16

I imagine the Beatles would have. They influenced everyone back then. Maybe Cream, Floyd, and Crimson influenced them as well.

Dean wrote: ... The biggest influence to any young band is not the discs they listened to on their little Dansette record players, it was the live bands they toured with and supported - any "scene" is self perpetuating, local bands gig together and a common sound develops. For Yes that local scene was the Marquee Club in London.   If you want to see which bands influenced Yes, and which bands they possibly influenced, look at the bands The Syn and Yes supported during their residencies at The Marquee Club from 1965 to 1968 (http://www.themarqueeclub.net/calendar) ... and yes, they supported the Who once. ...

I don't know about Hendrix influencing Howe, but I don know that Squire (and perhaps the rest of the original Yes) didn't even know him when they played at the Marquee. I read an interview with Squire about an occasion in which the leading act on The Marquee was changed to Hendrix, and he didn't recognize him, when he saw them playing he wasn't very amuesed at all (I think he even said the band couldn't play or something like that). But he was very amused to see in the crowd the likes of Clapton and George Harrison and other celebrities.

The concert program for the Relayer tour provided many of the groups and individuals named above; what hasn't been mentioned are, in a contemporary vein, the 5th Dimension (Anderson) and Miles Davis (White); classically, John Dowland (Howe). Had Bruford still been in the group, he no doubt would've listed Scotty Moore from Elvis' group and several jazz artists. Check out the "Beginnings" segment of the YesYears video for others.

M27Barney wrote: You'll possibly get a floyd fan claiming that Dave Gilmour built a time-machine in his spare time (and from bits of an old washing machine and a couple of elastic bands) and went back in time to inseminate Mrs Hackett, Howe, Stolte and so on then going back even further to copulate with Mrs Beethoven, Bach and Handel.... Thus Dave Gilmour is the DADDY...................

This is funny!!!!

Hi,

Edited by moshkito - December 01 2009 at 16:15

I'm looking at specific techniques popularized by Hendrix - like something I call the "motown scratch" for example. It's nothing special - a simple effect that appears at the beginning of Voodoo Chile and in brief select moments - found its way (albeit somewhat modified with more of an accent on tone than percussion) into some of Howe's earlier stuff. Thinking back, it was really Hendrix in those days (late 60's) that was reinventing what one could do with the electric guitar. It has been well documented that legends like Clapton and Harrison attended Hendrix's concerts and experienced the jaw dropping syndrome much like Van Halen did years later watching Fripp engage in his onstage acoustic gymnastics. I always loved Howe's playing - placing it musically well above Hendrix for his clean classical approach infused with the kind of story telling lyrical solo that made Gilmour famous. Despite this, I recognize that Hendrix in the late sixties was truly a groundbreaker - and just about everybody who was somebody was soaking up his vibe at the time - not likely the other way around. That being said, if one listens to Chet Atkin's stuff, I think you'll find a lot more evidence of influence there in the direction Howe ultimately took than Hendrix. The kind of superhuman control and turn on a dime changes Howe is known for share a lot more in common with Chet than Jimi.  Jimi had more of the trippy harmonies and melodies thing going on. Plus Howe's proclivity for acoustic arrangements and classical techniques is more up Chet Atkins alley than Jimi Hendrix so it seems like it was more natural for him to be influenced by master Atkins. Speaking of Atkins, I think he's not given the credit he's due as a true groundbreaker and legend. Only a few accomplished rock artists like Knopfler have widely acknowledged his contributions to modern music. Knopfler is sort of to Chet Atkins what Stevie Ray was to Hendrix - an interesting parallel.

^New to me, but I know for a fact that Howe was asked to replace Syd in Pink Floyd. In the same instant as he was about to enter the stage with them, Syd showed up after all and it didn't materialze.

You'll possibly get a floyd fan claiming that Dave Gilmour built a time-machine in his spare time (and from bits of an old washing machine and a couple of elastic bands) and went back in time to inseminate Mrs Hackett, Howe, Stolte and so on then going back even further to copulate with Mrs Beethoven, Bach and Handel.... Thus Dave Gilmour is the DADDY...................