All YES Appreciation Thread

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.

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. 

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. 

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

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

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

I love Broof on Heart of the Sunrise too.  I continue to be fascinated by that whole section early on, the one that is mainly bass and drums, with mellotron chords then coming in and eventually the guitar fading in on the riff.  One of the coolest things ever done in prog.  And Bruford's thoughtful drumming across it is just the tops.

Moogtron III wrote: For me Bruford's drumming on Heart Of The Sunrise. And for Alan White: I quite like his drumming on Release Release (Tormato).

Funny, I really always have preferred Alan's drumming in the Yes sound. 'Awaken', to me, is his finest moment.

I surely don't claim that That, That Is something special.  And I don't claim that it is White's best performance either.  All I claim is that White's performance on it was the straw that tipped the scale towards White and away from Bruford for me. But I suggest that if it weren't for those insipid parts with Anderson singing about a drive-by and a very few other weak parts, we would speak of That, That Is as the last Yes classic track instead of In The Presence Of.

Edited by ghost_of_morphy - October 28 2009 at 20:06

For both Anderson and Wakeman to quit, and Yes to decide to carry on, took courage.  For it to involve two practically unknown musicians more attuned to New Wave than progressive rock, was risky. The resulting Drama was not only a clever title, but actually delivered two great numbers to the Yes repertoire: Tempus Fugit and Machine Messiah (Into The Lens isn't bad either).  Can you think of other groups who've parted ways with two of their most popular members, including the main songwriter, that did as well? I can only think of disasters, like the J Geils Band, or "pushes", like with 10 cc.