1948-2015
June 29, 2015 12:30 PM Subscribe
I feel like this calls for an epic, Roger Dean-style ASCII landscape of a topographic ocean, but I'm at work, so:
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posted by ryanshepard at 12:34 PM on June 29, 2015 [6 favorites]
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posted by ryanshepard at 12:34 PM on June 29, 2015 [6 favorites]
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posted by saulgoodman at 12:35 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by saulgoodman at 12:35 PM on June 29, 2015
No.
posted by Ratio at 12:35 PM on June 29, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Ratio at 12:35 PM on June 29, 2015 [8 favorites]
Lose one on to the heart of the sunrise.
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posted by little mouth at 12:41 PM on June 29, 2015 [6 favorites]
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posted by little mouth at 12:41 PM on June 29, 2015 [6 favorites]
., with maximum mids and trebles, via a Rick 4001.
I started playing bass when I was 11 or 12, learning purely by ear. Yes, and Rush, along with Iron Maiden, were foundational to my experience, and trying to figure out how Chris Squire did things, and got that sound, especially in an era where The Google didn't yet exist, was how I spent an awful lot of my time as a pre-teen and teenager.
Thank you, Mr. Squire. Thank you for everything, not just the bass.
posted by scrump at 12:41 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
I started playing bass when I was 11 or 12, learning purely by ear. Yes, and Rush, along with Iron Maiden, were foundational to my experience, and trying to figure out how Chris Squire did things, and got that sound, especially in an era where The Google didn't yet exist, was how I spent an awful lot of my time as a pre-teen and teenager.
Thank you, Mr. Squire. Thank you for everything, not just the bass.
posted by scrump at 12:41 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
Live at Montreux, starts cooking at 4:08
posted by jquinby at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
♫
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2015
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I liked Tales from Topographic Oceans, and I've never been stoned in my life.
posted by MrGuilt at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
I liked Tales from Topographic Oceans, and I've never been stoned in my life.
posted by MrGuilt at 12:42 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
Yes are definitely one of those bands whose early albums I can still put on and listen to start to finish. Squire was so much a part of their sound as he wove his lyrical bass lines into so much more than just the backbone of the band.
Sorry he is gone.
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posted by OHenryPacey at 12:43 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Sorry he is gone.
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posted by OHenryPacey at 12:43 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was about to break down and make my first FPP because I hadn't seen anything about this. I went back and listened to my vinyl copy of The Yes Album Sunday night in tribute. I was never a hardcore Yes fan, but the 70s stuff stands head and shoulders around a lot of other proggy stuff.
I love Starship Trooper.
posted by freecellwizard at 12:44 PM on June 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
I love Starship Trooper.
posted by freecellwizard at 12:44 PM on June 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
I relive so much of my youth and young adulthood whenever Yes comes on the radio/pandora/mp3player.
What a great band, and what loss.
What a great band, and what loss.
Speak to me of summer. Long winters longer than time can remember. The setting up of other roads. To travel on in old accustomed ways.posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 12:49 PM on June 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
Roundabout isolated bass track
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:49 PM on June 29, 2015 [14 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:49 PM on June 29, 2015 [14 favorites]
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:50 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:50 PM on June 29, 2015
I saw him in Oakland around 1990. I didn't recognize what he was playing during a solo until I recognized the bass lines to every Yes song that I knew, played at many times normal speed, one after another. I was jawdropped astonished.
posted by the Real Dan at 12:50 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by the Real Dan at 12:50 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
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posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 12:51 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 12:51 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was 18 when I first heard Yes. I'm 62 now, and not a week goes by that I don't listen to "Heart of the Sunrise" or "Roundabout".
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posted by ubiquity at 12:51 PM on June 29, 2015 [6 favorites]
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posted by ubiquity at 12:51 PM on June 29, 2015 [6 favorites]
Yes was one of those bands that I dismissed as bloated corporate rock when I was an annoying teenager in the late seventies but came to really appreciated later in life. Nothing they did after 1977 or so is worth much but the first few albums have some great stuff in them. Listening to The Yes Album as I write this and loving Squire's bass.
posted by octothorpe at 12:54 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by octothorpe at 12:54 PM on June 29, 2015
I can't even hear the word "Roundabout" (which pops up every so often on GPS) without immediately (and to the horror of my passengers, usually co-workers) belting out IN AND AROUND THE LAKE. No one ever gets it.
posted by jquinby at 12:54 PM on June 29, 2015 [23 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 12:54 PM on June 29, 2015 [23 favorites]
He was the only constant through all their incarnations.
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posted by whuppy at 12:56 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by whuppy at 12:56 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I had never heard of Yes before 90125, and really didn't hear anything from them since.
But I can still hear side 1 of that album in my head...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:57 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
But I can still hear side 1 of that album in my head...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:57 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
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I unabashedly adore Yes at their best, and very often those would be Chris Squire moments: his playing on Relayer, particularly, and also songs like Parallels, his contributions to Drama, his solo album Fish Out of Water, and so many other wonderful things.
Also, he released an album featuring a choir called Chris Squire's Swiss Choir. What more could you want, really?
posted by pinacotheca at 12:58 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
I unabashedly adore Yes at their best, and very often those would be Chris Squire moments: his playing on Relayer, particularly, and also songs like Parallels, his contributions to Drama, his solo album Fish Out of Water, and so many other wonderful things.
Also, he released an album featuring a choir called Chris Squire's Swiss Choir. What more could you want, really?
posted by pinacotheca at 12:58 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
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posted by en forme de poire at 1:04 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by en forme de poire at 1:04 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by spinifex23 at 1:04 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by spinifex23 at 1:04 PM on June 29, 2015
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Bummed about this as a Yes fan and a human being, but doubly bummed because my 2 year old daughter recently decided that Yes is her very favorite band, and now knows all the words to "I've Seen All Good People" and "Long Distance Runaround" and is learning more words to more songs each day, and I was really looking forward to taking her to see them live when she got a little older.
posted by saladin at 1:05 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
Bummed about this as a Yes fan and a human being, but doubly bummed because my 2 year old daughter recently decided that Yes is her very favorite band, and now knows all the words to "I've Seen All Good People" and "Long Distance Runaround" and is learning more words to more songs each day, and I was really looking forward to taking her to see them live when she got a little older.
posted by saladin at 1:05 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
Damn. His growly, savage, biamped tone is the reason that I picked up a bass many, many years ago.
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posted by eclectist at 1:06 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by eclectist at 1:06 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
He was the only member to play on every one of Yes’s 21 studio albums, from their debut, Yes (1969), to Heaven & Earth (2014)
Well done sir!
posted by bukvich at 1:06 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well done sir!
posted by bukvich at 1:06 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was really looking forward to taking her to see them live when she got a little older.
She would have been disappointed anyway.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:08 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
She would have been disappointed anyway.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:08 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
♪
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:08 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:08 PM on June 29, 2015
I haven't listened to Yes in years, but they will always have a place in my heart. Roundabout takes me straight back to life in the dorm where it seemed to be playing somewhere, all the time.
More significant, my first LSD trip was with friends at a show during the aptly named Close to the Edge tour. I can't imagine a better situation for a first-time user.
Thanks for an unforgettable night.
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posted by she's not there at 1:26 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
More significant, my first LSD trip was with friends at a show during the aptly named Close to the Edge tour. I can't imagine a better situation for a first-time user.
Thanks for an unforgettable night.
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posted by she's not there at 1:26 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by oceanjesse at 1:32 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by oceanjesse at 1:32 PM on June 29, 2015
One of primary reasons I started playing music was Chris Squire.
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posted by Golem XIV at 1:35 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by Golem XIV at 1:35 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Saw Yes last summer at the Warner Theater in DC. He was in excellent form then, his playing and singing were crisp, and he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. I am so glad now that I went out to see them then.
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posted by newdaddy at 1:40 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by newdaddy at 1:40 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
I, too, was going to post this if I hadn't seen anything by tonight.
I was just devastated to learn of this yesterday. Yes has been my favorite band for quite some time, and I'd been steeling myself for Jon Anderson's passing, as his health has been deteriorating over the past few years. Then, this.
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posted by DrAstroZoom at 1:49 PM on June 29, 2015
I was just devastated to learn of this yesterday. Yes has been my favorite band for quite some time, and I'd been steeling myself for Jon Anderson's passing, as his health has been deteriorating over the past few years. Then, this.
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posted by DrAstroZoom at 1:49 PM on June 29, 2015
Being introduced to Chris Squire at age 16 was pretty much the start of my obsession with all things bass.
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posted by Hutch at 1:55 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by Hutch at 1:55 PM on June 29, 2015
My 16 year old self would be horrified by me today in many ways, but he'd think it was AWESOME that I could play that "Roundabout" part.
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posted by thelonius at 1:59 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by thelonius at 1:59 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by Farce_First at 2:01 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by Farce_First at 2:01 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by Joey Michaels at 2:02 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:02 PM on June 29, 2015
I was introduced to Yes in my first week at university, back in 1989. I got to see them live twice, and both times were among the best concerts I ever went to. The Union tour in 1991(?) with ABWH & Chris Squire's Yes was just magical, especially when they played 'Awaken'. Their later output should in no way diminish the brilliance of their early 70s albums.
posted by salmacis at 2:06 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by salmacis at 2:06 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yes was the soundtrack for me skipping college classes and playing chess instead.
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posted by MtDewd at 2:10 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by MtDewd at 2:10 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yes was one of the bands in heavy rotation on the 8 track in my car. Definitely someone who will be missed.
posted by TedW at 2:17 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by TedW at 2:17 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by Meatafoecure at 2:19 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by Meatafoecure at 2:19 PM on June 29, 2015
Dammit. Yes was part of a glimmering vision of a future that never would be...
I imagine Fish is now catching up with the Ox. Perhaps we'll hear them trading riffs the next time the heavy clouds roll in.
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posted by mondo dentro at 2:20 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I imagine Fish is now catching up with the Ox. Perhaps we'll hear them trading riffs the next time the heavy clouds roll in.
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posted by mondo dentro at 2:20 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
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It would've been almost exactly forty years ago that I saw Yes live for the first time when the Relayer tour hit town. I was already a fan going in, but nevertheless had my puny teenage mind blown wide open and well past the edge.
In retrospect, that's as good as Yes ever got with nothing but decline, absurdity and embarrassment to follow (ie: I am no fan of the band post 1970s). But man, that was superlative peak, one that I think it's safe to say that no mere band of five guys has ever really matched. And it would've been inconceivable without Chris Squire laying down (and tearing to shreds) the bottom end.
R.I.P. sir. You expanded my universe.
posted by philip-random at 2:21 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
It would've been almost exactly forty years ago that I saw Yes live for the first time when the Relayer tour hit town. I was already a fan going in, but nevertheless had my puny teenage mind blown wide open and well past the edge.
In retrospect, that's as good as Yes ever got with nothing but decline, absurdity and embarrassment to follow (ie: I am no fan of the band post 1970s). But man, that was superlative peak, one that I think it's safe to say that no mere band of five guys has ever really matched. And it would've been inconceivable without Chris Squire laying down (and tearing to shreds) the bottom end.
R.I.P. sir. You expanded my universe.
posted by philip-random at 2:21 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
You know, when Mick Jagger dies, Heaven forbid, The Rolling Stones will just become a cover band, or retire from performing altogether. But I'd like to think that somehow Yes is more of a Socratic ideal than a collection of personalities. While I wasn't thrilled with their most recent albums, last year's tour was kind of awesome (I never saw Yes in either their early grandeur nor during The Rabin Usurpation).
It would be great if their lineup grew to be a little more diverse. Yes only really works when it's not just one guy's ideas. If you read the reporting from those early years, you (or at least I) get the sense that there was always some level of strife, clashing and/or combining ideals, one-upsmanship, unfulfilled ambitions going on. When Yes was good, they were good as a group. It would be great if that could continue on somehow.
posted by newdaddy at 2:22 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
It would be great if their lineup grew to be a little more diverse. Yes only really works when it's not just one guy's ideas. If you read the reporting from those early years, you (or at least I) get the sense that there was always some level of strife, clashing and/or combining ideals, one-upsmanship, unfulfilled ambitions going on. When Yes was good, they were good as a group. It would be great if that could continue on somehow.
posted by newdaddy at 2:22 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
Newdaddy, there has been talk of that. Of course, the prog forums get into heated debate over the topic but I like the idea.
How fitting that the Progeny discs were released this year so the fans could relive the band in their fiery peak, playing like it mattered.
R.I.P. Chris, you were a musical god walking among the mortals.
posted by Ber at 2:29 PM on June 29, 2015
How fitting that the Progeny discs were released this year so the fans could relive the band in their fiery peak, playing like it mattered.
R.I.P. Chris, you were a musical god walking among the mortals.
posted by Ber at 2:29 PM on June 29, 2015
All I know about him is this. Good story.
posted by juiceCake at 2:34 PM on June 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by juiceCake at 2:34 PM on June 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
He was self taught. It makes the magnitude of what he accomplished even greater. He will be missed.
posted by Meatafoecure at 2:39 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by Meatafoecure at 2:39 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by grumpybear69 at 2:41 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:41 PM on June 29, 2015
• 🎼
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 2:48 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 2:48 PM on June 29, 2015
Seems weird that Chris Squire and Geddy Lee never met.
posted by oakroom at 2:56 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by oakroom at 2:56 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you are new to Yes, and only can afford one CD, may I suggest:
The Yes Album
if you save up a few more shekels add:
Fragile
next, add
Close to the Edge
then perhaps, for a different twist:
90125
still have some funds left on your gift card?
Asia: Asia
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe
posted by Yosemite Sam at 3:02 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
The Yes Album
if you save up a few more shekels add:
Fragile
next, add
Close to the Edge
then perhaps, for a different twist:
90125
still have some funds left on your gift card?
Asia: Asia
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe
posted by Yosemite Sam at 3:02 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
Was out on a cave trip this weekend -- put the headphones on Saturday night because of snoring bunkmates in the cabin & loud revelers around the campfire outside & listened to the Steven Wilson mix of Close to the Edge as I drifted off to sleep, (brilliant, BTW, if you care about such things) then woke up the next morning to the news.
I've come full circle on Yes -- when I was a kid in the 70's he was a God, & my first bass was a Rick, but I grew out of the prog stuff when New Wave came along & switched to Fenders & Gibsons. As prog sort of collapsed under its own weight by the late 70's & early 80's I got pretty disdainful, & didn't even listen to their old albums for a long, long time. But I finally got over myself -- The Yes Album, Fragile & especially Close to the Edge still hold up pretty well as pieces of art.
Spent the last 4 years off & on playing in a Yes tribute project, and let. me. tell. you. about the respect for Squire I gained after having to REALLY sit down & learn that stuff note for note.
He was a busy motherfucker, but damnit, he was pretty brilliant. Besides that, the two points I'm left sort of amazed by are his tone -- the Rick through the Marshalls & the crazy grind when he plays hard & the lovely clean tone when he backs off -- tubes. Gotta have tubes. No other way that shit's possible -- and lastly, the crazy fact that they pretty much collaboratively wrote the majority of that stuff in the room together. I try to fathom the conversations as they hashed out the nutty arrangements and I seriously can't even. Not unlike their time signatures.
I won't say I literally learned how to play the bass from him -- I wasn't good enough to comprehend what the hell he was doing when I was a young acolyte, & I moved on to other things, but he did profoundly influence the way I listened to music and the bass, & he brought so much profound joy to my ears. Heart of the Sunrise still makes the hair stand up on my neck from time to time.
Thank you so much Mr. Squire, I wish I could once have said that in person.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:07 PM on June 29, 2015 [9 favorites]
I've come full circle on Yes -- when I was a kid in the 70's he was a God, & my first bass was a Rick, but I grew out of the prog stuff when New Wave came along & switched to Fenders & Gibsons. As prog sort of collapsed under its own weight by the late 70's & early 80's I got pretty disdainful, & didn't even listen to their old albums for a long, long time. But I finally got over myself -- The Yes Album, Fragile & especially Close to the Edge still hold up pretty well as pieces of art.
Spent the last 4 years off & on playing in a Yes tribute project, and let. me. tell. you. about the respect for Squire I gained after having to REALLY sit down & learn that stuff note for note.
He was a busy motherfucker, but damnit, he was pretty brilliant. Besides that, the two points I'm left sort of amazed by are his tone -- the Rick through the Marshalls & the crazy grind when he plays hard & the lovely clean tone when he backs off -- tubes. Gotta have tubes. No other way that shit's possible -- and lastly, the crazy fact that they pretty much collaboratively wrote the majority of that stuff in the room together. I try to fathom the conversations as they hashed out the nutty arrangements and I seriously can't even. Not unlike their time signatures.
I won't say I literally learned how to play the bass from him -- I wasn't good enough to comprehend what the hell he was doing when I was a young acolyte, & I moved on to other things, but he did profoundly influence the way I listened to music and the bass, & he brought so much profound joy to my ears. Heart of the Sunrise still makes the hair stand up on my neck from time to time.
Thank you so much Mr. Squire, I wish I could once have said that in person.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:07 PM on June 29, 2015 [9 favorites]
If you are new to Yes, and only can afford one CD, may I suggest:
or you can do what I did when I was fourteen and just pick up Yessongs, six sides of vinyl, plus booklet and ever expanding cover.
And later, the movie came out ...
posted by philip-random at 3:12 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
or you can do what I did when I was fourteen and just pick up Yessongs, six sides of vinyl, plus booklet and ever expanding cover.
And later, the movie came out ...
posted by philip-random at 3:12 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
Ah, to be fourteen again, receiving my uncle's copy of Yessongs, in my first tentative expansion past their radio-saturated hits. I saw them play once and consider it among my favorite performances.
I haven't listened to Squire's solo work aside from Fish out of Water but I like its message in Lucky Seven:
You and I, the more we strive in our search for truth, love, and honesty, could be lucky tonight.
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posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 3:34 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I haven't listened to Squire's solo work aside from Fish out of Water but I like its message in Lucky Seven:
You and I, the more we strive in our search for truth, love, and honesty, could be lucky tonight.
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posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 3:34 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I realize now that he was only 11 years older than me, which means that all the great albums, from the Yes Album to Relayer, were made by a bunch of guys in their early to mid twenties. This impresses me more the older I have become.
How I loved those perfectly punctuative bass lines that sounded, for me, like nothing else until I heard the Gang of Four. He deserves all credit for being a master of his instrument.
posted by jokeefe at 3:48 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
How I loved those perfectly punctuative bass lines that sounded, for me, like nothing else until I heard the Gang of Four. He deserves all credit for being a master of his instrument.
posted by jokeefe at 3:48 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
I only first got into Yes at all after hearing "Roundabout" be used for the end credits of the TV adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, of all things, shortly into which I bought Fragile on iTunes with zero hesitation.
Shame to see him go.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:48 PM on June 29, 2015
Shame to see him go.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:48 PM on June 29, 2015
It would've been almost exactly forty years ago that I saw Yes live for the first time when the Relayer tour hit town. I was already a fan going in, but nevertheless had my puny teenage mind blown wide open and well past the edge.
We were at the same show, philip-random. What a glorious night that was (was it the one where Gentle Giant opened)? Or was that the Topographic Oceans tour?
posted by jokeefe at 3:50 PM on June 29, 2015
We were at the same show, philip-random. What a glorious night that was (was it the one where Gentle Giant opened)? Or was that the Topographic Oceans tour?
posted by jokeefe at 3:50 PM on June 29, 2015
And if you're wondering where to start, I'd recommend starting with the Yes album and moving chronologically until Relayer and then not listening to anything else (sorry!).
posted by jokeefe at 3:51 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by jokeefe at 3:51 PM on June 29, 2015
Fish Out of Water is a great, great album, and really should be considered a full and proper part of the Yes canon. If you find yourself moving through the catalog and kind of tuning out a bit during the more bloated parts of Tales or Relayer and wish they'd get back to the punchier structures of The Yes Album or Fragile, that's when you reach for Fish Out of Water.
posted by anazgnos at 4:08 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by anazgnos at 4:08 PM on June 29, 2015 [2 favorites]
His work on Fragile and Close to the Edge alone will forever cement his legacy. I don't think rock has ever had a better bassist, with the (less) possible exception of Jack Bruce. Another tragic loss.
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posted by Seekerofsplendor at 4:14 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by Seekerofsplendor at 4:14 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've heard Yes for almost my entire life it seems like. The vocals and guitar styles were so distinctive. And despite a good friend telling me that "Yes are like, Gods, man", it never caught me. But, the repetitive bass riff in "It Can Happen" is absolutely sublime.
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posted by Windopaene at 4:23 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by Windopaene at 4:23 PM on June 29, 2015
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posted by the sobsister at 4:29 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by the sobsister at 4:29 PM on June 29, 2015
We were at the same show, philip-random. What a glorious night that was (was it the one where Gentle Giant opened)? Or was that the Topographic Oceans tour?
There were basically two Relayer tours that hit Vancouver as I recall. 1975 and then 1976. Gentle Giant was the opener in 76, which I didn't see as I was up in the Yukon working a summer job. Ace opened for them in 1975. And yes, it was glorious.
I saw them again in 1977 but that wasn't quite as glorious. Probably because the new album (Going For the One) got played in its entirety ... and it's no Relayer. Yes came to Vancouver again in 1979, purportedly on the Tormato tour, but they only played a few songs from it and quickly got down to a superlative set of what we now tend to think of as the classics.
The last time I saw them was in 90125 days. But to my mind, that just wasn't the same band. Same name, lots of the same faces, but falling magnitudes short in terms of what I'd call the Yes magic.
So to my mind, they had ten good years (69-79), five stellar ones (71-75). Enough to forever redefine my personal space-time-continuum. So who's complaining?
posted by philip-random at 4:46 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
There were basically two Relayer tours that hit Vancouver as I recall. 1975 and then 1976. Gentle Giant was the opener in 76, which I didn't see as I was up in the Yukon working a summer job. Ace opened for them in 1975. And yes, it was glorious.
I saw them again in 1977 but that wasn't quite as glorious. Probably because the new album (Going For the One) got played in its entirety ... and it's no Relayer. Yes came to Vancouver again in 1979, purportedly on the Tormato tour, but they only played a few songs from it and quickly got down to a superlative set of what we now tend to think of as the classics.
The last time I saw them was in 90125 days. But to my mind, that just wasn't the same band. Same name, lots of the same faces, but falling magnitudes short in terms of what I'd call the Yes magic.
So to my mind, they had ten good years (69-79), five stellar ones (71-75). Enough to forever redefine my personal space-time-continuum. So who's complaining?
posted by philip-random at 4:46 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day, so satisfied, I'm on my way.
My mother told me Yes were "star people" as a child. I got to hear them while I was in the womb.
I think it made me a better person. Or maybe listening to them did that.
Hey, remember in School of Rock, Jack Black wanted the keyboardist to be like Rick Wakeman? That alone was enough to love that film.
posted by JLovebomb at 4:52 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
My mother told me Yes were "star people" as a child. I got to hear them while I was in the womb.
I think it made me a better person. Or maybe listening to them did that.
Hey, remember in School of Rock, Jack Black wanted the keyboardist to be like Rick Wakeman? That alone was enough to love that film.
posted by JLovebomb at 4:52 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
This band was a big part of my life. I'll be listening to Yessongs tonight. I'll have to check out Fish Out of Water.
So long Fish
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posted by jabo at 4:56 PM on June 29, 2015
So long Fish
.
posted by jabo at 4:56 PM on June 29, 2015
The punchy, growly tone Squire coaxed from his Rickenbacker bass is as much a part of the Yes signature sound as Jon Anderson's unmistakable vocals. He was one of the handful of bassists who could bring their instrument to the forefront with style and virtuosity.
Now I'm off to listen to South Side of the Sky and Roundabout.
RIP Chris.
posted by rocket88 at 5:36 PM on June 29, 2015
Now I'm off to listen to South Side of the Sky and Roundabout.
RIP Chris.
posted by rocket88 at 5:36 PM on June 29, 2015
Yes came to Vancouver again in 1979 [...] and quickly got down to a superlative set of what we now tend to think of as the classics.
same tour, a few nights earlier in Philadelphia. And oh yeah, the stage was revolving.
posted by philip-random at 5:40 PM on June 29, 2015
same tour, a few nights earlier in Philadelphia. And oh yeah, the stage was revolving.
posted by philip-random at 5:40 PM on June 29, 2015
One time in the late 90's, a band I was in played The Big Bop on Queen Street here in Toronto, which by then was a pretty divey multi-floor club in an old building that not many people went to anymore. Aside from an audience consisting entirely of our friends, Chris Squire somehow ended up drinking at a table with his entourage for most of the evening. I was unaware of his presence until one of our nerdy prog friends came up to us after we were done, completely freaking out that OH MY GOD CHRIS SQUIRE IS SITTING RIGHT THERE. Mr. Squire said he liked the show and that we were pretty good which was quite nice of him because we really, really weren't. Also I think he was pretty drunk because why the hell would he have been at the Big Bop, of all places in Toronto.
It's a Crate and Barrel now.
Thanks, Chris. RIP.
posted by chococat at 6:02 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
It's a Crate and Barrel now.
Thanks, Chris. RIP.
posted by chococat at 6:02 PM on June 29, 2015 [5 favorites]
Bill Bruford's tribute on facebook, which has been quoted in some of the obituaries I've read, is really perceptive and well-written.
Here's the last substantive paragraph:
An individualist in an age when it was possible to establish individuality, Chris fearlessly staked out a whole protectorate of bass playing in which he was lord and master. I suspect he knew not only that he gave millions of people pleasure with his music, but also that he was fortunate to be able to do so. I offer sincere condolences to his family.
That first sentence has to be the most beautiful sentence ever written about a bass player, and I feel it's so appropriate that it is written about Chris Squire.
posted by ferdydurke at 6:22 PM on June 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
Here's the last substantive paragraph:
An individualist in an age when it was possible to establish individuality, Chris fearlessly staked out a whole protectorate of bass playing in which he was lord and master. I suspect he knew not only that he gave millions of people pleasure with his music, but also that he was fortunate to be able to do so. I offer sincere condolences to his family.
That first sentence has to be the most beautiful sentence ever written about a bass player, and I feel it's so appropriate that it is written about Chris Squire.
posted by ferdydurke at 6:22 PM on June 29, 2015 [4 favorites]
I made vegetarian dinner for them once, served it and sat around while they ate, pre-show. This was way back in the early seventies. They were nice. I was nice. It was OK. They liked the food.
posted by Oyéah at 6:23 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 6:23 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
His lines were important; counter-melodic structural components that you were as likely to go away humming as the top line melody; little stand-alone works of art in themselves
I read somewhere, and I am sorry I can't recall where, someone speculating that the English prog rock bass players were shaped by their experience as church singers growing up, and tended to be more melodic and scalar in their playing than American bassists.
posted by thelonius at 6:29 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I read somewhere, and I am sorry I can't recall where, someone speculating that the English prog rock bass players were shaped by their experience as church singers growing up, and tended to be more melodic and scalar in their playing than American bassists.
posted by thelonius at 6:29 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Without dating myself too severely, Yes was the first concert I ever saw. About 1975, Pacific Colisseum in Vancouver. Backed up by Donovan. I think I was about 13.
Haven't listened to them in years but that's a pretty vivid memory. Holy shit. RIP
posted by Rumple at 6:37 PM on June 29, 2015
Haven't listened to them in years but that's a pretty vivid memory. Holy shit. RIP
posted by Rumple at 6:37 PM on June 29, 2015
A comment from me that illustrates how much I love Yes in a great Yes post.
posted by unliteral at 6:57 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by unliteral at 6:57 PM on June 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
.
posted by Herodios at 7:27 PM on June 29, 2015
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
Shiiiiine a delirious pro-o-om mom on a tooo-our buuuuuus . . .
.
posted by Herodios at 7:27 PM on June 29, 2015
Yes - Hemel Hempstead 10-03-1971 ... when they're just on the cusp, still playing small halls and, by the looks of things, blowing folks away. Some good interview stuff as well. Rick Wakeman is not in a gown yet.
posted by philip-random at 8:13 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by philip-random at 8:13 PM on June 29, 2015
.
posted by Fibognocchi at 8:24 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by Fibognocchi at 8:24 PM on June 29, 2015
"I read somewhere, and I am sorry I can't recall where, someone speculating that the English prog rock bass players were shaped by their experience as church singers growing up, and tended to be more melodic and scalar in their playing than American bassists."-thelonius
From my experiences i've discovered the Anglican church is exceptionally rich in music so I would have to agree completely with your affirmation.
posted by Meatafoecure at 8:41 PM on June 29, 2015
From my experiences i've discovered the Anglican church is exceptionally rich in music so I would have to agree completely with your affirmation.
posted by Meatafoecure at 8:41 PM on June 29, 2015
Squire did sing in a choir as a boy. In fact, that's him, back row center ...
posted by philip-random at 8:52 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 8:52 PM on June 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
.
posted by reprise the theme song and roll the credits at 10:18 PM on June 29, 2015
posted by reprise the theme song and roll the credits at 10:18 PM on June 29, 2015
In honor of Chris Squire, I'm going to out myself here. I like some new Yes. I even love some newer Yes. I'm admitting it right here, right now.
I love Drama. I love the second half of Talk. I think Open Your Eyes has some awesome cuts on it. I loved 90125 then, and on a good day, it still sounds great to me. I still wonder about Big Machine. I think parts of Magnification are brave (though some of it is clunky.)
I even like some of the woo-woo parts of The Ladder and Keys to Ascension.
Thanks for all of it Chris.
posted by newdaddy at 2:53 AM on June 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
I love Drama. I love the second half of Talk. I think Open Your Eyes has some awesome cuts on it. I loved 90125 then, and on a good day, it still sounds great to me. I still wonder about Big Machine. I think parts of Magnification are brave (though some of it is clunky.)
I even like some of the woo-woo parts of The Ladder and Keys to Ascension.
Thanks for all of it Chris.
posted by newdaddy at 2:53 AM on June 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
.
posted by El Brendano at 2:54 AM on June 30, 2015
posted by El Brendano at 2:54 AM on June 30, 2015
Fly From Here was an unexpected pleasure in 2011, although I gather it was actually written in around 1980.
posted by salmacis at 3:24 AM on June 30, 2015
posted by salmacis at 3:24 AM on June 30, 2015
I was an avid fan while at school and saw them on the Fragile tour in '71, the last album I bought was Yessongs and have not really listened to much by them since. Partly because my tastes changed, partly because they seemed to became their own tribute band, and in doing so they and especially Wakeman drifted into pompous self-parody.
I'm glad I gave up when I did as all my memories are of a unique and decadently talented band at the height of their powers, Chris has gone far too soon. RIP.
posted by epo at 3:47 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm glad I gave up when I did as all my memories are of a unique and decadently talented band at the height of their powers, Chris has gone far too soon. RIP.
posted by epo at 3:47 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
.
posted by Brian Puccio at 6:42 AM on June 30, 2015
posted by Brian Puccio at 6:42 AM on June 30, 2015
One of the most influential bass players of my lifetime, a core element of many of my own inner psychic travels, and the granite rock of Yes. He died far too young. RIP
.
posted by dbiedny at 7:04 AM on June 30, 2015
.
posted by dbiedny at 7:04 AM on June 30, 2015
I'm probably the only person in the world who loves Tormato
Nope. Dig it, dig it.
90125 is a brilliant reinvention and just plain brilliant, I think, however much of Travor Rabin's DNA is involved. It was also the moment that I realized a tour could be sponsored by spark plugs. Quintessentially '80s, as are the >amazing< extended mixes of some of the 90125 hits. CS was just an iconic, wonderful player through every incarnation.
posted by mintcake! at 8:39 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Nope. Dig it, dig it.
90125 is a brilliant reinvention and just plain brilliant, I think, however much of Travor Rabin's DNA is involved. It was also the moment that I realized a tour could be sponsored by spark plugs. Quintessentially '80s, as are the >amazing< extended mixes of some of the 90125 hits. CS was just an iconic, wonderful player through every incarnation.
posted by mintcake! at 8:39 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:47 AM on June 30, 2015
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:47 AM on June 30, 2015
.
posted by Gadgetenvy at 12:06 PM on June 30, 2015
posted by Gadgetenvy at 12:06 PM on June 30, 2015
.
posted by monkey closet at 8:55 AM on July 1, 2015
posted by monkey closet at 8:55 AM on July 1, 2015
90125 is a brilliant reinvention and just plain brilliant, I think, however much of Travor Rabin's DNA is involved.
Yeah, 90125 remains one of the (many, I admit) core albums in my personal discography, mostly because of the memories of a time of my life it evokes. I forget which song it's in, but there's this moment when Squire's base just becomes this long rolling subterranean thunderous swell that, with the right headphones, makes my heart stop, all these decades later.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:17 PM on July 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yeah, 90125 remains one of the (many, I admit) core albums in my personal discography, mostly because of the memories of a time of my life it evokes. I forget which song it's in, but there's this moment when Squire's base just becomes this long rolling subterranean thunderous swell that, with the right headphones, makes my heart stop, all these decades later.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:17 PM on July 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
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