YES:close tothe eddge awful??

Unmitigated Prog Rock of the most extreme kind.

I have about 10 Yes albums and my favourites are probably CTTE( side 2 ) and the Yes Album. Te end of side 2 of CTTE does sound pretty poor: reading this thread made me pop down to The Sound Exchange in Reading where I found an early press, pre- bar code, for £3. Sounds fab, IMO.

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.

Yes are likely, as they are still a 'viable' band and not a tribute, to play a batch of new stuff - they'll want to sell you their latest album! Should be some old favorites in there too of course. Maybe you need to see 'Fragile' the Yes Tribute band.

I went to see 'In The Cage' saturday. I'd seen a Gabriel-era tribute band before and loved it - I treated it like a 'Musical show' experience - sort of like West Side Story. However, the vocalist of ITC was more Collins than Gabriel complete with authentic crap inter-song cockney cheery banter.



Still that's accurate too......

Stephen

Wow, I didn't know there was a tribute band - I always thought the idea of tribute bands was to, as it were, pay 'tribute' to bands that had long since broken up/ceased to exist, etc. (cf: Bjorn Again/Abba)!

Frankly it amazes me tha Yes have lasted as long as they have. Inevitably a band's 'sound' changes over the years, through lineup changes or new ideas/styles/songs, so it really takes something for a band's appeal to last so long.

And yes, Bill Bruford is a great drummer, not necessarily the best but he's certainly up there.

Regards,

JonR

OK.

It's no secret that I'm a big Yes fan. been using Yes stuff at shows for years!. The thing is, it's incredible the amount of people who ask "who/what was that last track you were playing?" When i reveal it was yes there is usually, a look of disbelief. Ok, their work has been a bit patchy over the years but there are some unbelievable beautiful moments of the finest music ever recorded (IMO) to be found if one takes the time for discovery!

In fact, last night I listened to TFTO (Revealing Science of God) in my small conservatory (little glass bit stuck on the side of my unbelievably small house) on a Denon M3 system!! Sounded not great but the music was achingly beautiful.

Myself and a few others from Naim will be at the Powderham Castle show in Devon July 10th. Who needs pills when Yes can provide the Dopamine rushes safely, on demand from a one off purchase. At least you know what you're getting.

Doug

I could not agree more Doug!

I'm off to Swindon this weekend to see my best buddy who is a massive Yes fan. I expect we will be spending a lot of time listening to them all on Saturday & Sunday evening. We will be in The Chequers on late Saturday afternoon near the flyover over the M4 on the road to Wroughton, if Mick wants to pop in for a pint!

I have been a Yes fan for 26 years the best stuff is definately the first 5 albums to CTTE and have every album up to Big Generator which i found most dissappointing after 90125. Not heard a lot since 1992 until I recently bought The Ladder which is very good.

The distortion on CTTE I have always attributed to the bad tracking of my 1977 turntable which I would not now class as HI-FI. It only appears on the sections where the Rick wakeman keyboards are quite loud the rest of the album is fine.

I think a big problem with Yes and a lot of other bands from the Progressive era is that younger people have never actually sat and listened to them, and just go by the blanket condemnation in the music press since the late seventies. About 15 years ago my insurance man( in his early 20s) called and I was playing Yes, and after I got the insurance book and he was filling it in he commented "thats good, who is it" I replied "Yes" and he said "YES! god their musics crap". He'd obviously made up his mind having never heard them.

Yours in Music

Syd

quote:

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Isn't the real problem with "progressive rock" that if you grew up with it, and like real musicians, you develop a taste for classical music? That's progress!

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Eerrr no I like classic music.I like real musicians and still do not like classical music. What a bunch of pompous crap.
Howard

Progressive Rock?

What was it progressing from?

DS

ITC - Roger Devlin - Hollywood

quote:

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Originally posted by David Slater:
Progressive Rock?

What was it progressing from?

DS

---

Rock, obviously.

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.

Oh dear! I seem to have re-stimulated the Yes debate a bit here.

I think Tom Alves and Syd have captured the point. I find the trouble with more complex music is that it takes longer to appreciate. CTTE cannot be dismissed if you just listen to it once. Nor, I believe, if you just listen to the lyrics and melody. To hear the rest takes repeated listening and I happen to think CTTE was worth the effort, and probably still is for patient newcomers.

And I forgot to say that I rather like TFTO and 90125 too, despite the absence of Steve Howe on the latter.

Of course, the all knowing music journalists in the late 70's were critical of any band which played music with more than three chords and who showed an understanding of counterpoint.

Carry on...
CB

No Tom what I was reacting to was the inference that if you like good musicians you must like or be listening to classical music.
Any way Budy Holly was in the 50s so obviously there was good music before the 60s I listen to some classical music. Opera like Shakespear though is a step too far. I like some jazz baut again a lot leaves me cold.Tried a Pat Metheney CD from the library only lasted a couple of tracks.Have bought and enjoyed some dance/trance stuff recently as recommended by your local Naim forum.
Not sure how many more changes are left in me, we'll see.

Regards

Howard

Listened to Close to the Edge remastered CD this weekend. What a dreadful dull, flat, uninspired remix. The drums are so far back they barely make any impact. This has got to be the worst remaster of anything I have ever heard. I am happy to have an unremastered version.

Thanks Rasher - that's saved me a few quid.

Regards,

JonR

Alberich
I start with all good intentions to listen/read opera and shakespear, but I just can't give that much effort to concentrate on it. It seems to me if it ain't easy it ain't working. My idea is music or reading should be stimulating and also relaxing if it is'nt then its not for me. I like the opera overtures but as soon as the "singing" starts I switch off, its all too much. My problem I know. I usually "re-visit" every few years maybe next time it will click, if not I've managed 57 years without I guess a few more won't matter.

Howard

From an interview with Classic Rock....

"CRR: Is there anything left in the vaults after this is done?
Chris Squire: Not much (laughing). Anything that hasn’t come out has either been misfiled or lost. Unfortunately that applies to quite a few of the masters. Close to The Edge we don’t have, it seems to have disappeared. On a personal note the masters for my solo CD Fish Out Of Water seem to have disappeared as well. I was looking forward to doing a 5.1 audio mix of that. Somewhere along the way with Atlantic moving their offices things have gone by the wayside.
CRR: That seems to have happened to quite a few artists over the years, bands having trouble locating master tapes etc.
Chris Squire: Yeah maybe they’re in some disgruntled ex-employees bedroom or something (laughing)."

HHHmmm. No better re-masters to come then! We had better sort out which issues are the best and go and find a copy.