Yes vs Genesis vPink Floyd?

Three - fates - I have my e-mail address in my profile - I'm a big boy - I didn't mind getting the email - I regularly get REALLY sick e-mithers from a man/boy who thinks I am the Rob Barnett who was his maths teacher at school (I am a business/Systems analyst - Never taught!) - I laugh at his new and ingenious insults then delete the offending post !

Fragile wrote: Bilbo are you still under that infernal mountain with Gollum looking for some sort of ring? You don't know what album ' Wonderous stories' is on and if you have listened to 'Going for the One' then you will have heard one of rocks most beautifully sung,worded and played songs ever in 'Turn of the Century' Anderson a whiney voice!!!!!!!!! The man has the purest most emotional voice in music and his lyrics during the classic years were fantastic.You seem to know all about Genesis and who you prefer as opposed to the Yes men but know so very little about Yes;prog's greatest band!!!!! Methinks there is a small wind up at play.If you are indeed genuine then listen to the Yes album,Fragile,Close to the Edge then Relayer and if you still think in the same vogue then okadokay.But musicianship wise the Genesis boys are in second place.

This is no wind up (although I do like to play Devil's Advocate sometimes!). I have heard several Yes albums inc 'The Yes Album' and I guess 'Going for the one' on LP (so I won't have heard them for around 20 years!) and 'The Ultimae Yes' on CD which is what I have been listening to recently. The reason I created this poll was that I was curious as to how acurate Channel Four's '10 Greates Prog Rock Band' was when you throw the same survey at dedicated Prog Fans rather than using the album sales aa a guide. The thing about Prog is that whatever band you are into, you will probably have been through the pain barrier with the respective band in order to fully appreciate thier repetoire. For me, I started with the 'pop' stuff with Genesis back in the late seventies, and I pretty soon realised that it was the middle years, 'Trick' onwards, that I liked. I did like the odd Gabriel track but on the whole that period was alien to me in terms of complete album appreciation. Then suddenly out of the blue I got it! I just got it! Nursery Cryme, which for me had been the most inaccessible album, had one of the best tracks of all on it, Musical Box, and I saw the light. Although I would still say 'Trick' is my personal favourite, it is now closely followed by 'Foxtrot', and 'Selling England..', with Firth of Fifth being my absolute favourite track of all time. (closely followed by nearly all the tracks on 'Trick')

The point I am trying to make here is that every track by Yes has bored me to tears...so far, and I am begining to think that, unlike Genesis where there is a kind of 'entry level' ie the 'pop stuff', there is a pain barrier to go through with nearly all the Yes albums. The only thing that concerns me is that I have to have light and shade with music, beat wise, tone wise, harmonically, and melody wise. I am wondering if this is even there with Yes and that maybe they are just a technical extravaganza, in which case this would not be enough for me.

Also, the 'Mucicianship' you mention. I consider creativity to be an essential part of this and not just the aility to fly over the ebony and ivory (although Tony's solos on 'In the cage', 'Firth of Fifth', and 'Cinema Show' would have tested any Keyboard player!). I feel that Tony is better at 'Creativity' than Rick Wakeman so I am not comfortable with using the term 'Musicianship' as a parameter to judge someone's ability as a lot of what goes into what makes a good 'musician' is personal taste and unless you get each musician to play the same complex solos you would not find out how technically gifted they were. 

Calvo wrote: For me Pink Floyd is the best band. Their career is simply amazing. I also like Yes and Genesis but from my point of view Pink Floyd is at the top of the world.

What? No Dream Theater?

 (Just joking, pal...)

Edited by mirco

In terms of technique, sound quality, music structures, musicianship and quantity of back catalogue there's no any competitor for Yes, surely  Maybe for pure listening pleasure (for myself) too. Yes is also the band with most stable quality of albums - they have no any record worse than "better than average" from the very statr of their career (36 years ago!).

Emotionally VDGG and Genesis are at the top.

Fragile wrote: Bilbo you mention the same songs of Genesis all of which I dearly like, but you clearly haven't listened to the albums I mentioned too clearly or for 20 years, perhaps you were having a bad time then Listen to the classic Yes albums; so many people cannot be wrong,but there is no accounting for taste sometimes.Even Genesis fans can be guilty of that and I am a huge fan of Peter Gabriel's Genesis.

Hey Mr Fragile .... read this quote from my message:-

'The point I am trying to make here is that every track by Yes has bored me to tears...SO FAR'

You see? I'm not having a go at Yes because I can see a lot of people do not just like them, they appear to adore them and I wanna know what i'm missing out on! :) It's messages like yours that are inspiring me to give them a good and objective listening to. Maybe I could encourage you to listen to 'Counterpoints' by Argent?

Reed - Is my Rush post 1980 listening going to be a hit/miss ?

Hey Cert, the masses can always be wrong quantity versus quality or have I have I got that the wrong way round, hmphh! It's late,time for bed.goodnight

BebieM wrote: Fragile's right, Yes is the ultimate prog band, All Yes fans say that... and not (just) because they have the best musicians. I can think of better musicians... One day you'll sink into their music and understand it... Almost every prog band i listen to kinda bored me on the first listen. Yes have managed to do that to me every time I've heard them (with a few exceptions) over the past 25 years or so...

Good for you Bilbo, glad to see you have Spunk!Thanks, I don't recall mentioning Genesis and emotion in the same sentence.Forgive me, if I have mislead you Bilbo but you done me wrong same old song; Yes are the masters in all fields.After CTTE has blown your grey matter go into orbit with the frenzy and mayhem of' The Gates of Delirium' from' Relayer' if you survive the battle through to the sheer heart stopping opening of' Soon oh soon the light' then you will be wholly converted, if not you'll probably wake up in Arkam Asylum for retired Genesis fans and thanks again Bilbo I really am young and Fragile. First concert I saw was 'Free' Glasgow Greens Playhouse 1970 swiftly followed by Deep Purple the following week.Oh to be that young again Just for your interest;After Close to the Edge, The Lamb is my favourite album ever and I never quite got the hang of that damn trumpet.

Cert, oh forget it!!!!!! you know what I was going to say

                                                                                                                 

Edited by Fragile

Swinton MCR wrote: Reed - Is my Rush post 1980 listening going to be a hit/miss ?

if you like DT you ought to like all Rush!