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dougmcauliffe View Drop Down
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    Posted: August 23 2019 at 22:37
Am I the only one that actually quite enjoys their first two albums, they're often written off as yes clones but I think they have their own touch and at the end of the day, I think they made enjoyable fun music. 

Fountains of Light I would say is the better of the two albums
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Points: 18526 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote verslibre Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 24 2019 at 10:31
Fountains of Light is my favorite, too. Herb's keys and Gary's bass are the highlights...kind of like Yes!
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Points: 339 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SquonkHunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 24 2019 at 11:24
Rather than "Yes clones", I prefer to call them "Yes light". Reminiscent of Yes but not quite a carbon copy. Liked them back in the day and still do today. 
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Points: 37129 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 24 2019 at 12:35
I hadn't heard much, but just checked out this track and it is very Yes heavy. Fun, though. I could well-imagine people who didn't know better thinking this was Yes. Rather than calling it a clone, I might call it imitation. It's rather like The Rutles of the Yesiverse without quite the same wit.



I'm fine with imitation as a sort of homage, as long as one doesn't plagiarise or deny the influence, and gives credit where credit is due.

Edited by Logan - August 24 2019 at 12:36
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I have no problem if they sound similar to Yes. These guys make decent songs even if they do get a bit goofy sometimes (I don't really think every song needs a "Da da da" interlude). The funny thing is when I listen to the lead guitar at the beginning of Lady Of The Lake, I'm reminded of Future Times/Rejoice... which came out a couple years later. I think these guys have a bit of a more orchestrated sound than Yes - spots where Steve Howe might be improvising chords, Starcastle would have specifically written parts for their two guitarists.
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Logan View Drop Down
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Points: 37129 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 24 2019 at 16:10
That's an interesting post, it could be that the imitated ended up imitating the imitator.
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Starcastle is to Yes as Triumvirat is to ELP. If you really like the originals, you get even more.
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cstack3 View Drop Down
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Points: 7411 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 25 2019 at 00:16
I went to university in Champaign, Illinois USA when Starcastle were breaking onto the local scene....they were an amazing act to see live!  

Herb Schildt was a back-stage friend, it was fun to hang out with him and the band.  Gary Strater could have replaced Chris Squire if Squire had been abducted by aliens, he was that good!  

Starcastle employed a dual-lead guitar technique not used by many other symphonic bands (Kansas comes to mind), and both guitarists were excellent.   

Local fans understood the parallels to Yes, and we embraced that, as they were the "American answer to Yes."  Pity that the band had a tragic accident that broke the back of guitarist Steve Hagler, and destroyed much of their equipment.  

Enjoy the band for what they were, a bunch of young, hot-handed local musicians who were capable of playing Yes note-for-note and chose to run with it in a new, American direction.  RIP Gary Strater.
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I've been listening for a good 20 minutes now, and I'm very impressed with what I'm hearing so far.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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dougmcauliffe View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Frenetic Zetetic Frenetic Zetetic wrote:

I've been listening for a good 20 minutes now, and I'm very impressed with what I'm hearing so far.


Glad you like it! They’re a lot of fun, lady of the lake is probably their most acclaimed song in prog communities. I think you’d find enjoyment in both the entire first two albums though!
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Love Starcastle.Do they sound like Yes,sure, do they have something to offer themselves ? Yes,absolutely.
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

I went to university in Champaign, Illinois USA when Starcastle were breaking onto the local scene....they were an amazing act to see live!  

Herb Schildt was a back-stage friend, it was fun to hang out with him and the band.  Gary Strater could have replaced Chris Squire if Squire had been abducted by aliens, he was that good!  

Starcastle employed a dual-lead guitar technique not used by many other symphonic bands (Kansas comes to mind), and both guitarists were excellent.   

Local fans understood the parallels to Yes, and we embraced that, as they were the "American answer to Yes."  Pity that the band had a tragic accident that broke the back of guitarist Steve Hagler, and destroyed much of their equipment.  

Enjoy the band for what they were, a bunch of young, hot-handed local musicians who were capable of playing Yes note-for-note and chose to run with it in a new, American direction.  RIP Gary Strater.
 

Awesome. RIP Gary, indeed.
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Points: 11612 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote TCat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 25 2019 at 11:11
I'm a long time fan of Starcastle and even find a couple of great tracks on their most commercial album "Reel to Real", but their first 2 albums were definitely their best. 

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grantman View Drop Down
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Points: 732 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote grantman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 25 2019 at 11:18
i should check out fountains of light, their 1st record is jusr great.
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Ghost Whistler View Drop Down
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Points: 313 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Ghost Whistler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 25 2019 at 13:15
Amazing bass player, such a loss
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Rednight View Drop Down
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Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:


Local fans understood the parallels to Yes, and we embraced that, as they were the "American answer to Yes."  
If that were true, God save America.
"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno
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cstack3 View Drop Down
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Points: 7411 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 25 2019 at 16:52
Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:


Local fans understood the parallels to Yes, and we embraced that, as they were the "American answer to Yes."  
If that were true, God save America.

It was all in good fun!  Starcastle could play anything (and usually did).....tunes by Elton John, Rolling Stones, etc.  They were one of the best cover bands I ever saw, in addition to playing their originals.  

Also, thanks for the God Save America, I'm not sure He can save us from our present leadership!  
I am not a Robot, I'm a FREE MAN!!
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cstack3 View Drop Down
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Points: 7411 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 25 2019 at 16:53
Originally posted by Ghost Whistler Ghost Whistler wrote:

Amazing bass player, such a loss

Thank you for that, Gary was amazing!  

This is a tribute song Starcastle recorded for him.  The vocals sound just like Jon Anderson's to me.
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Ghost Whistler View Drop Down
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Points: 313 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ghost Whistler Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 26 2019 at 08:34
Don't tell Chris (RIP), but I think Gary was actually better! :O

Both amazing players, but, despite Gary tending to overplay a lot, he could get away with it and had some brilliant lines. 
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Points: 3618 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote miamiscot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 26 2019 at 13:39
I love the first three Starcastle LP's. Citadel gets no love but is almost as good as the first two.

And the debut and Fountains Of Light are incredibly great records - Yes clones or not.

(And for the record - I don't think of Triumvirat the same way. They definitely were not ELP clones - although Spartacus was very similar to our British heroes...)
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