{"id":550,"date":"2011-07-05T04:54:34","date_gmt":"2011-07-05T09:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=550"},"modified":"2011-07-05T04:54:34","modified_gmt":"2011-07-05T09:54:34","slug":"yes-a-history-of-perpetual-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/05\/yes-a-history-of-perpetual-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes: A History of Perpetual Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In July 2011, progressive legends Yes<\/strong> released Fly From Here<\/em>, their 18th<\/sup> (or 20th, depending on how and what you count) album of studio recordings. The one thing constant with Yes has always been change: Fly From Here<\/em> marks a new \u2013 yet familiar — lineup of the classic band. On the eve of the group\u2019s 2011 North American tour, I spoke with bassist Chris Squire<\/strong>, the sole musician to be involved with every Yes album since the group\u2019s start.<\/p>\n

Casual listeners think of Jon Anderson<\/strong> as the primary voice of Yes across most of the band\u2019s catalog, and rightly so. (Anderson stopped working with the band in 2008 after being diagnosed with acute respiratory failure, though he has since recovered. His latest solo album Survival & Other Stories<\/em> was released in 2011.) But much of what is thought of as the Yes vocal sound is actually Chris Squire\u2019s voice. \u201cWith Jon being the great singer that he has been over the years, there weren\u2019t a lot of people taking much notice of my contribution vocally,\u201d Chris agrees. \u201cBut for a muso, or anyone who pays attention to how things are put together, it\u2019s more obvious now that he\u2019s not there, that the Yes vocal sound hasn\u2019t changed that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Squire cedes some of that credit to new lead singer Beno\u00eet David<\/strong>. In addition to ably handling Anderson\u2019s parts on the older material, Squire says that Beno\u00eet \u201chas done a great job on the new album. He\u2019s not trying to be Jon; he\u2019s being himself.\u201d In particular, he notes that \u201cwhen Beno\u00eet and I sing together, we have a very good blend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center><\/p>\n

That blend of which Squire speaks is a large part of the reason that both Drama<\/em> (the 1980 LP featuring Trevor Horn<\/strong> on lead vocals) and the 2011 album Fly From Here<\/em> not only are<\/em> genuine Yes, but sound and feel<\/em> like it. In fact, the Yes lineup on Fly From Here<\/em> is quite close to the Drama<\/em> lineup: in addition to Squire and drummer Alan White<\/strong>, Steve Howe<\/strong> is on board on guitar; Geoff Downes<\/strong> is on keys, and Drama<\/em> vocalist Trevor Horn produced the album. \u201cTrevor does some harmonies on the new record as well,\u201d Squire notes.<\/p>\n

At the time of its release, Drama<\/em> seemed odd to some listeners because of the involvement of \u00a0<\/span>“new wavers” Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, previously of The Buggles<\/strong>. \u201cThey just happened to arrive around that time,\u201d Squire notes. \u201cEveryone was lumped into that, and tarred with that new wave brush.\u201d In retrospect the Buggles were closer to art rock a la Roxy Music<\/strong> than any sort of punk rock, and as such the combination wasn’t so unlikely. \u201cThe Buggles were very influenced by progressive rock,\u201d Chris argues. \u201cIt was a bit of a long shot, having Trevor and Geoff come in and replace Jon and Rick Wakeman<\/strong>,\u201d Squire chuckles. \u201cIt certainly opened another door for Yes. And this new album is a bit like re-forming that band.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cIt was always our intention back in the days of doing Drama<\/em> to carry on with that particular lineup.\u201d In some ways Fly From Here<\/em> \u201ccarries on where we left off,\u201d says Chris. The new album\u2019s title track began its life prior to 1980, as it turns out: several pieces of the suite were composed by Horn and Downes when they were in the Buggles, and embryonic pieces of the track have appeared on the 2005 live Yes album The Word is Live<\/em> and the expanded 2010 reissue of the Buggles\u2019 Adventures in Modern Recording<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When Yes\u2019 self-titled debut came out in 1969, Squire had no idea the group would still be making albums 42 years later. \u201cI thought that Yes might have a six-year career,\u201d Squire laughs. \u201cAt the time that was the visible length of the Beatles<\/strong>\u2019 career; that seemed a huge career to me.\u201d Squire pinpoints a few reasons for the band\u2019s longevity. \u201cWe haven\u2019t done the obvious,\u201d he notes. He also believes the frequent personnel changes have actually helped. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like getting blood transfusions,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery new member who came in injected some new personality, some new interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center><\/p>\n

In a very real sense, the rhythm section has always been the “engine” of Yes. Through most of the band’s time together, it’s been Chris Squire and Alan White. Up until 1972, the drum throne was occupied by Bill Bruford<\/strong> (later of King Crimson<\/strong><\/a>). The \u201972 change did affect the band\u2019s approach. \u201cWhat Bill and I did together was just organic,\u201d observes Squire. \u201cHe was playing the way he wanted to play, and I was playing how I wanted to play. And it ended up becoming kind of a \u2018thing.\u2019\u201d Squire notes that Bruford\u2019s style was \u201cdifferent from most rock drummers, and gave Yes that sort of quirky feel\u201d across the first five albums.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Alan came in,\u201d Squire continues, \u201cthe adjustment was more for Alan. He had been involved in playing with John Lennon<\/strong><\/a> and George Harrison<\/strong> in a fairly simple rock way. Which, of course, is his forte.\u201d He chuckles when he says that White had to take a lot of learning hours when \u201ccoming in and trying to copy some of Bill Bruford\u2019s stuff on the older songs, even though he was certainly capable of doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI was never sure it was going to work out when Alan first came in,\u201d Squire admits. \u201cBut after awhile, he did so well that we melted into being the new engine room.\u201d The duo will soon mark their forty-year anniversary playing together as Yes\u2019 rhythm section.<\/p>\n

Chris Squire\u2019s bass playing is some of the most distinctive and influential playing in all of rock. The trebly yet thick sound of his Rickenbacker is a hallmark of the Yes sound. Though he\u2019s closely identified with the RM1999 (a monaural version of the popular 4001) he uses a variety of bass guitars both onstage and in recording. In addition to Fender Jazz basses, he\u2019s used Gibson SG and Les Paul four-strings. \u201cAnd I have a Thunderbird that I use quite extensively,\u201d he says. Squire also enthusiastically mentions his Meridian bass, a Martin acoustic bass, a Lakland custom and a \u201cTobias bass guitar that is on this new album.\u201d The custom Tobias is a four-string with a longer neck, tuned as low as a five-string but without the latter\u2019s wide neck.<\/p>\n

\"\"Most everyone in, formerly in, or associated with Yes has released several solo projects. But other than 1975\u2019s Fish out of Water<\/em>, Squire has stepped outside Yes only on rare occasions. He recorded a pair of albums with Billy Sherwood<\/strong> (a Yes member 1997-2000) as Conspiracy<\/strong>, and has a new project in the works. \u201cOne of the main things I\u2019ve done recently hasn\u2019t been released yet,\u201d Squire says. A new collaboration with ex-Genesis<\/strong> guitarist Steve Hackett<\/strong><\/a>, the project is called Squackett<\/strong>. The pair has worked together at least twice before: Hackett played guitar on Squire\u2019s album of Christmas songs (2007\u2019s Chris Squire\u2019s Swiss Choir<\/em>), and Chris lent his bass playing to two tracks on Steve\u2019s 2010 solo album Out of the Tunnel\u2019s Mouth<\/em>.) An official Squackett release date hasn\u2019t been set, but Squire hopes the as-yet-untitled album \u201cwill be out by the end of 2011.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As far as a proper follow-up to Fish Out of Water<\/em>, that may never happen: \u201cEvery time that I get \u2018round to writing for another solo album, the material always gets hijacked,\u201d Squire laughs. \u201cIt always ends up going somewhere else. Then I have to start again, and the same thing happens.\u201d Squire wonders aloud, \u201cMaybe I should leave it alone; maybe I should leave Fish Out of Water<\/em> as the only solo album I ever make.\u201d Reflecting on that record, Squire credits its success in large part to his friend Andrew Jackman<\/strong>: \u201che did all the orchestral parts. He was a very big part of why that album was so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"While Fly From Here<\/em> does include the 24-minute-plus title suite, the album \u2013 again like Drama<\/em> \u2013 is a very song-based recording. It lies in great contrast to 1973\u2019s Tales of Topographic Oceans<\/em>, a sprawling album with four lengthy songs extending across four sides of vinyl. \u201cI knew at the time we did Tales<\/em> that we were asking some of the not-so-invested fans to maybe bite off more than they could chew,\u201d Squire believes. \u201cI\u2019m glad we made it, though. It\u2019s part of the Yes history of doing odd things. And possibly it contributed to the fact that we still exist today. Because we took chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band’s history of taking chances continues with their latest album. \u201cIf Fly From Here<\/em> is well-received by the general public,\u201d Squire offers, \u201cI\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be looking to do another one with the same people, and with Trevor producing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The full tour itinerary of Yes (co-billed with Styx<\/strong>) is available at http:\/\/www.yesworld.com\/ywtour.html (NOTE: When that tour concluded, that link became invalid.<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

Follow \u201cthe_musoscribe\u201d on \"\" Twitter<\/a> and get notified
\nwhen new features, reviews and essays are published.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In July 2011, progressive legends Yes released Fly From Here, their 18th (or 20th, depending on how and what you count) album of studio recordings. The one thing constant with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","cat-41-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}