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What About Jon Anderson's Voice and His Lyrics?

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Slartibartfast View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Slartibartfast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: What About Jon Anderson's Voice and His Lyrics?
    Posted: April 30 2020 at 05:00
I'm actually kinda having fun with these voice topics. I thought for Jon we have to throw in his lyrics.  Discuss and retain the total mass while mountains come out of the sky and just stand there for reasons we can't comprehend. Tongue
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Blacksword Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 05:07
His voice is wonderful. His lyrics are 'interesting'

Lyrics mean less to me than the music, generally, but often Jon's lyrics read beautifully, even if they are possibly meaningless.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hercules Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 05:47
His voice is annoying at times, but at other times quite lovely.
His lyrics are often almost randomly generated words and that is my problem with Yes - there's little or no deeper meaning in many of their songs.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 06:23
I believe he has said that he chose his words for their sound rather than their meaning but I don't have a problem with that or his vocals.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dwill123 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 06:40
Jon Anderson's Voice = Perfect, for what he sings.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Slartibartfast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 07:44
Oddly enough I think his randomly generated lyric words can have all kinds of different deeper meanings read into it.
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 07:55
Originally posted by Slartibartfast Slartibartfast wrote:

Oddly enough I think his randomly generated lyric words can have all kinds of different deeper meanings read into it.

I agree. Especially on an album like tales from topographic oceans.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 08:00
Originally posted by Slartibartfast Slartibartfast wrote:

I'm actually kinda having fun with these voice topics. I thought for Jon we have to throw in his lyrics.  Discuss and retain the total mass while mountains come out of the sky and just stand there for reasons we can't comprehend. Tongue

Hi,

I am not sure that we can comprehend a lot about this universe ... that is so much bigger than even our imaginations can come up with ... after all we are just inside a little tiny ball in the middle of nowhere ... just look up at the sky, specially on a clear night.

My main concern is that our "human" outlook is way more important to our minds than it needs to be, and all it does is cause more and more separation and wars in the end about which deity gets a picture in your hallway that you barely notice when you walk by to go to bed!

There is a lot, in the old books ... and as an example, a friend of mine and I have been writing a series of poems called "BARDO" ... and it really has no direct references to the old book, but somewhere in the middle of 50 pages of poetry, I came up with the idea that there are no dragons at each "portal" ... and that is a fabricated image in our minds, because we FREAK OUT each time we come across something we don't know ... and my poems, all of a sudden had a "darkness" completely removed ... no longer was there a fear or a desire to hide or not go through that "next door" ... which is so difficult for all of us.

Our cultures (specially western culture) is not based on history ... it is based on the stuff that various churches have instituted over the past couple of thousands of years, and a lot of that "scripture" is being contested, only for "modern scholars" to continue telling us children stories about Leda screwing a swan, or a Witch out of her mind killing her children and her ex's new wife ... while possible I suppose, the likelihood is that a mother won't do that ... specially one with the "gift" of sorcery who would better understand the nature of her powers and arts better.

Jon's voice is fine and he is honest and clear with it ... the only sad thing is that he has not been able to continue the spiritual journey that he had started with, and I know why, and have discussed it directly, but am not interested in sharing it ... it is, a personal journey and if you don't get it, why are you throwing stones at Jon? 
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote twosteves Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 08:44
Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

I believe he has said that he chose his words for their sound rather than their meaning but I don't have a problem with that or his vocals.

yes he has said that---sound poems that evoke a feeling---I love his voice during the classic period---during the Yes west period his voice was a bit annoying at times----but maybe it was the music.Smile

In his late period as good as Mind Drive is in parts his lyrics and his voice are ok in places and annoying in other ways--but-- In the Presence Of ---he captured a perfect blend of voice and lyrics again.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote TerLJack Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 08:46
Jon's never had a bad day, as far as I'm concerned.  His lyrics are perfect for the music, and he's one of my top 5 vocalists for sure.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote judahbenkenobi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 09:04
Another acquired taste. I think his voice suits the music just fine. Just like Jon Davison's vocals fit the Heaven and Earth music
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote M27Barney Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 09:22
A seasoned witch to call you from the depths of your disgrace...
What could be clearer than that? 😎
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 09:52
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

His voice is wonderful. His lyrics are 'interesting'

Lyrics mean less to me than the music, generally, but often Jon's lyrics read beautifully, even if they are possibly meaningless.


Originally posted by Hercules Hercules wrote:

His voice is annoying at times, but at other times quite lovely.
His lyrics are often almost randomly generated words and that is my problem with Yes - there's little or no deeper meaning in many of their songs.


At times, Jon's voice can be heavenlyStar, but at others it's grating me if if I was some kind of three-years cheddar, ready to be wastedly melted on a bad pizza. Dead


Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

I believe he has said that he chose his words for their sound rather than their meaning but I don't have a problem with that or his vocals.


Yup, I also read that, but he said that to probably to avoid discussing at length what he was trying to say.

Aymeric Leroy (of the Calyx site fame) spent quite a bit of time dicephering Jon's lyrics in his French-written Yes book (published by Le Mot Et Le Reste), and I believe he makes quite a bit of sense.




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote lazland Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 10:15
adore both the voice and lyrics. My favourite vocalist.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BrufordFreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 10:16
I love it . . . when the music is right.

While I didn't really enjoy his collabs with Vangelis, nor most of his solo work, his 1994 release, Change We Must is an outright masterpiece, in my opinion. Here his voice shines. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Frenetic Zetetic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 10:54
Love his voice and lyrics.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Sacro_Porgo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 12:00
Truly one of a kind in both departments. I'm a big fan of both, and really I'm not sure Yes as a band gets off the ground without this high hippy guy chanting about nature and chess and the worst traffic invention in history. :p
Porg for short. My love of music doesn't end with prog! Feel free to discuss all sorts of music with me. Odds are I'll give it a chance if I haven't already! :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lazland Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 12:43
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

I love it . . . when the music is right.

While I didn't really enjoy his collabs with Vangelis, nor most of his solo work, his 1994 release, Change We Must is an outright masterpiece, in my opinion. Here his voice shines. 

This, with absolute spadesClap

Change We Must remains one of my favourite albums, a wonderful piece of work.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Anders Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 13:09
I haven't listened very much to Yes, but I guess he's an OK singer. His voice is perhaps a bit too "clean" for my taste.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Slartibartfast Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 30 2020 at 13:13
Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

it is, a personal journey and if you don't get it, why are you throwing stones at Jon? 
Let me be perfectly clear. I was NOT throwing stones as Jon. I happen to like his vocal style and his way with words which even if they weren't created with a specific meaning in mind have a magical quality that one can read a multitude of interpretations into.

For the record my favorite record of all of his records be it with Yes, Vangelis, Animation, or Solo remains this one - 
Jon Anderson Olias Of Sunhillow album cover
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

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