The organ piece you're thinking of in that carnival-like section is the Toccata from Widor's "Symphony No. 5", the fifth and closing movement. True confessions, I'm an organist. By the way, impressive that you held a position at Westminster, not surprised. The Drama album is a special one in the Yes catalogue. I think you'd love the track "Tempus Fugit" also. On this 2009 tour they played several songs off Drama since original vocalist Jon Anderson refused to do so as he didn't sing on the studio album. It was a thrill to hear those songs live.
When the Buggles replaced Jon Anderson and Wakeman I lost hope that YES would survive but Chris Squire pulled them together and it did sound like YES. The great Anderson melodies were lacking but it still worked. Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn were competent replacements and Squire supplemented vocals and always had great sense of harmony. Love your commentary. In this live version the vocalist was Benoit David from the band Mystery (Canada} and the keyboard looks to be Rick Wakeman's son Oliver.
They really should stop altogether. I’m a massive fan but they should really retire now. Leave us with the memories. On a plus side, although I really hated Drama when it came out. I love it now. Trevor Horn did a decent job on the vocals, the songs really stand up in the catalogue, the production values really took a major leap forward.
This song (and the Drama album in general) demonstrates that Chris Squire's voice was a huge part of the Yes vocal sound. The vocals still sound like Yes even in the absence of Jon Anderson, simply because Chris's voice is so prominent. We might all think that Jon Anderson's heavenly voice is the key to that distinctive Yes vocal sound, and well, it is. But if you have only Jon's voice and not Chris's voice, then something very important is missing.
Yeah... ABWH doing Yes songs is missing something. That said, if this line up changed it's name to Drama (as example), I think few would think it was Yes, whereas ABWH - "Is this not Yes?" That Drama album might've flown under the radar if it wasn't a Yes album and that would be a shame.
I was showing a much younger friend a Yes concert on DVD years back. “I don’t like solo piano pieces,” he said as Rick Wakeman sat down at a piano. “But I could listen to this all day,” he continued as Wakeman began playing. Turn Of The Century is still one of my all time favourites, with the best handoffs between keyboards and guitar I’ve ever hear.
Thank you Doug, that was awesome as always. I'm glad you liked it! That live version featured Benoit David on vocals (and tambourine) instead of Trevor Horn, and Oliver Wakeman (Rick's son) on keyboards, but it was a great version for sure.
@C Hopdog: You are completely right! Sadly, it is underrated by Yes fans themselves: they didn't forgive the band for having taken on board the Buggles guys (Horn & Downes) and left Jon Anderson...During that tournee, their fans, very disappointed, threw all sorts of objects to the stage while the band was playing! It's a crazy story indeed...
Close to the edge, Fragile, Drama and 90125, all are good forever. No special order except Close to the Edge and Roundabout, my number 2 picks, the rest is just awesome.
That song is from my favorite Yes album. It's a phenomenal album. Thanks for this great reaction. Loved your explanations about the "old singing". Very interesting. Awesome!!!
This live performance is fairly faithful; but the original studio version is *towering* in it's energy and power. Guitarist Steve Howe plays his lines faster and fancier than this version, Bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White were literally on fire. Keyboardist Geoff Downes played a rich layer of sounds. ua-cam.com/video/a_8h4fJUrnk/v-deo.html
Nice! This is one of Yes's best "hidden gems", and a seriously underrated song. As an electronic music lover and musician myself, it's one of my favourite Yes pieces. You're first person I've seen react to this song on UA-cam, and it's great to hear a classical composer's take on it (I'm a fan of classical music). Having said that, as cool as it was seeing a live version, I kind of wish you'd played the album version. Much of the *intensity* of the original was captured in the 2009 concert, but it didn't quite capture the more *eerie* quality of the original. Give it a listen with headphones on, and I think you'll see what I mean.
Oh man, you are awesome, Doug. I've heard this song countless times and never made the connection of that quiet vocal part to ancient religious chants. Brilliant. Thanks for pointing that out. So, if you know Close To The Edge, do you also know The Gates Of Delirium? If not, would love to see your reaction and analysis to it. The live version from the YesShows live album (the most powerful version), or maybe watch them perform it with an orchestra on the Yes Symphonic Live concert video from 2001 (great performance, but just not as powerful as YesShows). Whatever you do, just don't watch the 1975 QPR version, which has awful sound. Thanks again.
In 2004, I saw Dream Theater open for Yes at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Dream Theater played this song. It was a great tribute! Drama is a monumental Yes album that gets overshadowed.
Great review and thanks for giving us insight into how these songs are constructed! Yes is always worth a listen, their musicianship is beyond compare.
Good stuff! If we're doing old school prog, I'd really like to hear a take on Kansas' Miracles Out of Nowhere (studio version is the best out there I think)
Someone said that Yes was whoever turned up the rehearsals and there are at least three of the band who recorded this in 1980. I think this song has really stood the test of time. This is a fascinating analysis and is a useful reminder that Yes were influenced by so many styles. Chris Squire was a choirboy and Rick Wakeman would have played church organ. Howe was hugely influenced by jazz. Remember that no Yes equals no Rush. The reference to satanic mills is a reference to Blake's poem Jerusalem which became a famous hymn, practically a second national anthem.
Thanks for the video. I’m a big Yes fan. I’ve listened to this song so many times over the years. It was cool hearing your insight into the composition that went into it.
From Wikipedia: "(...) When he was composing his keyboard parts for the song, Downes included an arpeggiated segment from the fifth movement of Symphony for Organ No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor, a piece that he was familiar with from his youth. (...)
A very good one. A very good show too. Your analysis is always very interesting. Thanks Doug. If you’re not sure to react at the old Yes catalogue, let’s make a try at Brother Of Mine of Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe. A great 80’s prog song. It’s almost a Yes song, but without their usual bass player.
Lyrically, the "singular eye" is specifically referring to a combination of CCTV surveillance and television (or mass media more generally)- word from the lyricist himself. Trevor Horn was the singer and main lyricist on the Drama album, and he was the singer and lyricist for The Buggles ("Video Killed the Radio Star") before becoming a producer (same keyboardist, too- Geoff Downes). If you listen to the first Buggles album (The Age of Plastic, songs from 1979 to 1981), you'll find it's full of a sort of zeerust-encrusted playful contempt for and criticism of futurism and would-be technological utopianism. "Living in the Plastic Age" is self-explanatory from the title, "Video Killed the Radio Star" is a bittersweet nostalgia for dead media since supplanted by the new, "I Love You (Miss Robot)" mockingly conveys the meaninglessness of casual sex on the road by cyberpunk metaphor of a literal sex robot, "Elstree" is about the gross artificiality of entertainment media as representation of reality as well as the artificiality of the industry itself, "Astroboy (and the Proles on Parade)" depicts a marked class divide with a futuristic jet-setter looking down on the little people below as their cities crumble into rust and dust, and "Johnny on the Monorail" takes an icon of the futurist urban planner- a gleaming chromed monorail- and describes within the train (and below) all the more mundane sights of urban poverty and decline, all while the rider sings in childish joy at riding the monorail- "Oh, my, my! You are *so* sci-fi! Please won't you let me ride?" Both Horn and Downes have said The Buggles were themselves meant to be a gag along largely the same lines- an artificial band, created by a committee of jaded executives, music calculated to chart moderately well and played by machines (Horn would take this bit farther and more literally later with the Art of Noise), existing as a band only in marketing and somewhere in a studio basement on tape, not live. (They were swayed into 'performing' "Video" live once on TV early on, but insisted on lip-syncing it, and on performing it while standing almost robotically still.) Even the name "The Buggles" was conceived as a sort of gross knock-off derivative of "The Beatles", and almost uniformly happy, bouncy music delivers words of abject dissatisfaction and debasement throughout the album. It's eminently reasonable to lyrically interpret "Machine Messiah" along the same lines, as a mocking criticism of one manner or another of technological utopianism. (The "mindless search for a higher controller", and "take me into the fire", as your particular points of apparent interest, could both refer to ideological possession as relates to a dogged dedication to this utopian vision.)
Are we not living in the the midst of that Utopian nightmare? Prophetic? Maybe the answer(s) to the mess we find ourselves in now can be found in another Yes /Buggles song.
In the studio version, the downswell of the keyboard sounds like an air raid siren winding down. This version has a much warmer, relaxed sound, exactly what you want in a live performance. The studio version is much darker, with a greater punch, exactly what you'd expect of the definitive version. There is an official video of "Into the Lens" on UA-cam. It is the studio version, but the band is pretending to play it live. You get to see Steve Howe playing two guitars, plus a pedal steel guitar.
As a classical composer myself, this song has always stood out to me from Yes’s catalogue. Close to the Edge is my favorite, but this song is right up there.
If you liked Rush you could do 'Cygnus X-1', which has two parts. The first one is in A Farewell to Kings and the second one is in the same record as La Villa Strangiato, Hemispheres. Cheers!
You nailed it! "When he was composing his keyboard parts for the song, Downes included an arpeggiated segment from the fifth movement of Symphony for Organ No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor, a piece that he was familiar with from his youth."
What would be the best Genesis songs for a classical composer? My suggestions: Can-utility and the Coastliners, the Lamia, Fountain of Salmacis, Mad Man Moon, In that Quiet Earth & Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers (both in one video). Also very common reaction tracks: Dance On A Volcano, Firth of Fifth, the Musical Box.
I seem to recall bassist Chris Squire (sadly no longer with us) saying his early experience was with English church music, so presumably he just ran with it as second vocalist.
I'm really interrested to hear your analyses of To be Over. A track from their 1974 Relayer album. I think you will be blown away by the structure of the piece.
Dear Daily Doug, I've been absolutely loving your prog rock analysis. I've also been joining you on a drink-per -song situation. It's been fun! Particularly on Gates Of Delirium. I'm really glad you covered this one. In particular the live version, with Beniot David on vocals. His time with Yes was brief but i think he did a brilliant job, considering the shoes he had to fill!!! This is a great version. Here's to more Prognosis! Cheers from Scotland!
I'm sorry you missed Chris live. I saw them every tour since 75 until he passed, and every one since. Billy Sherwood was asked by Chris to take his place, and he has done a great job.
First saw them in 1971, first tour with the classic line up for the Fragile album. They were the opening act for Emerson Lake and Palmer. Wakeman was clearly trying to upstage Emerson, so during a keyboard solo he smashed a tambourine and threw it into the audience. I caught it. I've seen "Yes" about a dozen times since, but the most recent tour, the Royal something, was a disappointment. I found Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman to be more faithful to Yes than "Yes".
@@silvertube52 From the UA-cam videos I've seen, the ARW show was the one to catch. It really looked like Rabin and Wakeman were having a ball together.
The recent ARW tour was unbelievable. I've lost count of how many times I've seen Yes and although I'm the world's greatest Steve Howe fan, I was knocked out by how tight this band was, especially Lou Molino and Lee Pomeroy on drums and bass. It was like the glory days with Bill Bruford. Unfortunately Rabin added lots of gratuitous audience noise to the live DVD which makes it unlistenable. What could have been one of the greatest live recordings is totally wrecked.
Awesome! - Love the comparison with organum, hadn't noticed that - but think it's been heavily adapted for modern musical ears. PS I'd love to hear a musical analysis of 'Turn it on again' by Genesis of the same year - almost sounds like a straight pop song but there's so much going on in there.
Doug, just discovered your channel because the Dance of Eternity react and loved it! I noticed you already covered a lot of interesting progressive songs from bands like Opeth, Symphony, Rush, Yes etc, and if you accept suggestions I think you will may enjoy "A change of seasons" (Dream Theater), "First Light" (Shadow Gallery) and "Still remains" (Fates Warning). By the way, I already subscribed to this amazing channel and will be following it! Congrats from Brazil!
Doug, I love your commentary in these videos. I've known this music for many years, but you have some thoughts previously "unthunk", like how they change key from Em to Fm to Gm, a larger version of the motif ;-) At the bit where you mention the portamento where Oliver is playing the 3-note motif, I'm surprised you didn't mention that the part is also played in 9ths rather than 2nds as a variation. I also want to mention that the rhythm in this live version is not quite as on as it is in the original. That long line that they play in eight notes is later played with variations where they add one eighth note, so that makes the rhythm a bit trickier, and even now, live, they don't quite get it correct. But anyway, great song from a great band from a slightly oddball album played live by a rather peculiar instance of that band!! Thanks for doing this!!
Given all of their personnel changes, Jon Anderson refused to perform any songs that appeared on Drama, which was an album that I really enjoyed. In fact, I saw Yes perform Drama like as a senior in high school, and it was a great concert. I also saw THIS tour as well, and in fact, spent the money for the M&G and had front row center seats, and finally had the opportunity to thank my musical heroes and make a fool of myself in front of Chris Squire. Some other interesting Yes songs to check out might be South Side of the Sky from Fragile, "A Venture" from The Yes Album (if you can, be sure to check out the Steven Wilson extended mix, the original was cut short due to the 33rpm album side limits) and for something more modern, "Homeworld" from The Ladder. All 3 of those songs are not Yes "standards," but they're all excellent songs, and give a slightly different side to Yes.
I am new to your channel due to a YES fan posting this video on a Facebook fan page. And I was fascinated by your deconstruction of this underrated gem from the YES catalog. I agree with some of the comments here that you should delve into some of the other tunes from YES - and then I would love to see you talk about Gentle Giant.
I just began following your channel and enjoy your reactions and analysis of the music. I'm not sure if you've already done this one, but if not, I HIGHLY recommend doing Orion by Metallica. If you're not familiar with this song, I really think you'll find it interesting. It's truly a masterpiece in my mind. Edit: there are some real treats awaiting for you in that song.
Great choice for a song. This has always been one of my favorites in their catalog. One of those tracks that's hard to pull off live, but this lineup did a decent job. Would be cool to hear your reaction to "Song of Scheherazade" by Renaissance. If you're unfamiliar with the band, they often recorded with an orchestra on many of their 70's tracks, including Scheherazade. Truly amazing group with the best female singer in classic rock IMO. I'd recommend the studio track but the one performed live in 1977 on King Biscuit Flower Hour is good too.
If you like vocal harmonies, you should check out Moon Safari. They are a prog rock band from Sweden that is a cross between Yes and The Beach Boys. Everyone sings and they have long grandiose songs. An excellent live example would be A Kid Called Panic or Dance Across the Ocean from their Gettysburg Address live album.
The original keyboardist on this album Drama was Geoff Downes, who is also the current keyboardist these days. Oliver Wakeman (Rick's son) is playing the part live here. I think the part you recognize also sounds like some of Philip Glass' work.
I took my wife to a few YES-concerts ( and more YES-related shows ) over the years, so she's not unfamiliar with them. After a concert at Wolftrap, she said "What happened to Rick?" I responded "What do you mean?" She said, "He looks so young now!" She had thought Rick's son Oliver, was actually Rick.
Thank you so much for this. Yes had a major freaking line up change on this album. I wanted to dislike it because we were missing the original singer and a kick ass keyboard player but I simply loved this album. I refused to see the tour supporting it but probably burned out a needle listening to it over a year or so. It was the background to many an hour of D&D and just hanging out with friends. Your superb description of the musical strength in MM just made me appreciate it even more if that was possible. Now for Close To The Edge. Thanks again!
I'm not sure it's worth spending too much time deciphering Yes lyrics - especially from the earlier days. Jon Anderson, I'm sure, used words for their sound rather than their meaning (yes, I know he wasn't involved in this album...) Great analysis. I've been waiting for someone who would dive into the mechanics of what's going on, so keep it going. For Yes suggestions: my favourite Yes song - And You And I. And I still miss Chris. Not very prominent here, but what a bass player. Showing off his choir boy heritage at the very end there, too...
Brother, I just have to say that I love your videos. I have been a fan of music reaction videos for several years. Particularly when it pertains to prog rock, being that I have been a prog rock/metal musician for decades. The one thing that sometimes annoys me about reaction videos, is that most of the people doing them, have zero background in music. I often find myself amused by their sense of awe, and bewilderment, that there exists an entire world of serious musicianship beyond the myopic scope of WAP. I've been a musician for 46 of my 50 years on this planet. Beginning with Classical piano lessons at age 4. Then guitar, clarinet, alto, tenor and soprano sax, guitar, bass guitar, Chapman Stick, Sitar, Tabla and hand percussion in general. My point is that it's extremely refreshing to see someone doing these videos with whom I can actually relate to on a much higher intellectual and musical level. There are a few other guys doing this type of thing. Michael Palmisano immediately springs to mind. He's a great guitar teacher, and player. However, he's definitely in the Blues/Grateful Dead/ Jam Band wheel house. There's just some stuff that kinda goes over his pay grade though. On the other hand, you regularly site names of some really obscure composers. I'm kinda wondering if you have ever heard, or done a video on "Toccata" by Emersin Lake and Palmer. The piece itself, was origianally composed by Alberto Ginastera. Or, perhaps Gustav Holst's "Mars The Bringer Of War" by Japanese synthesist Isao Tomita. I would LOVE to see your take on those pieces.
Beniot David was a great singer for YES. If you want to hear him in his more natural singing-voice, he appeared on two or three Mystery albums in which he sounds phenomenal.
Regarding the ancient religious type vocal section, bassist Chris Squire’s earliest music experience was as a choirboy (starting at age 6). You can hear that influence in almost all of his harmony vocals.
"Awaken" would suit Doug's analytical style well, but I've never, ever understood why this track is so beloved. Just because it's long doesn't mean it's great. I find it very clunky at various points, and with little "groove." There are probably about 15 Yes tracks that I prefer.
I have always loved this song. When I was 16, the cassette was forever in my car the summer I got my driver's license. All of Drama is so much fun to listen to as it is a pretty big departure from a Yes fronted by Jon Anderson. That said, this is not my favorite performance of this song. This is very good but it just lacks the punch, the enthusiasm, the hurriedness, and the utter craftsmanship of the studio recording. Such an amazing song and a wonderful band! So glad you did this!
The punch , the enthusiasm, the hurried ness and utter craftsmanship, that you say is lacking here, must be really difficult to duplicate, 30 years after the original recording. Wouldn’t you think?
Excellent reaction and analysis as always. I really love to watch your videos, I learn more about music and it makes me enjoy music even more, thank you very much for doing this videos!! If you can react to a couple of japanese bands: Lovebites (All female band), song Dystopia Symphony and/or Edge of the world (Live) Galneryus, song Angel of Salvation (Live). Maybe these two bands could be interesting to you due they have some classical music influences (Some of the members are trained in piano and classical music). Cheers and stay safe!!
It is so cool you are reacting to some of my favorite bands. Rush Permanent Waves changed my life and musical interests ever since. I grew up with Rush, Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Any of these that you would choose would be greatly appreciated. Stay safe and much peace. Thanks.
Great video! Love that you covered this criminally underrated song. I do wish you had covered the original studio version so that you could have covered the brilliant Trevor Horn version versus the modern Yes cover band singer du jour. Also, please cover Yes' Tempus Fugit, if you haven't already (I haven't seen it on your channel). That is one of the absolute most underrated Yes songs of all-time! Keep up the brilliant work! Love your channel!
I mean this as a great complement, good sir, to hear you go "Wow!" was a real treat :). Drama was an album that took quite a bit of stick from old school fans but I have always loved it, particular Machine Messiah. Oh and 'That Guy' (TM) is no other than Trevor Horn I think :D I also have to say that it is the likes of your goodself, reactors that show once more the wonder of human creation that is music, that has reignited the passion for the beauty of it that I lost when my wife died.
I remember the first time I heard ‘Machine Messiah’ was around 2001-2002, and I bought it on vinyl (I think from a cut-out bin) I was pretty surprised by this because it’s markedly different than their other releases of the time.
I think you should do the studio version, simply because it has Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes in it who were instrumental in writing this song. And frankly no other lineup does this one better than the original. Original to this album.
Agreed. Besides Alan White was arguably at his tightest on Drama while, with all due respect to him, he was well past his prime when this was recorded.
@@michelforest6329 Some pieces benefit from that more relaxed pace- makes them more subjectively impactful. ("And You and I" off of the Like It Is live album comes to my mind- YMMV.) For "Machine Messiah", though, I'm in agreement- the studio recording is best, significantly so.
@@theAsterisk It does work on a few song, I agree. But when I listen to Close to the Edge, I always go back to the early performances (1972-1977), because that one got much too sloooow later on. I'm not sure who was behind the idea of playing at slower tempos. Howe? White? Squire?
Hi Doug, This is my first viewing of one of your reactions and it was most engaging. May I suggest something that may boggle your mind - a track by cult British psychedelic prog/punk band Cardiacs called Jitterbug (Junior Is A), the tail end of which has more chord changes than you can shake a stick at. Also, their track Dirty Boy is an epic with a final held note that will make your jaw drop. There's never a dull moment with a Cardiacs tune.
When l was 3 years old, l remember sitting next to my beloved Grandad at his big church organ whilst he played, Widor's Toccata. He was an incredible organist/pianist and played twice at The Royal Albert Hall in front of our Queen Elizabeth The II, by Royal command in the 1950s! XXX
I saw them live on this tour in Detroit and when they played this song, I was just transfixed on Chris Squire... I regard him as the greatest bassist ever to walk this green earth...
That was so entertaining, thanks :) Loved hearing about the chanting, motifs, the Widor piece, and how you jumped at every key change - one of Yes' motifs! I'm also quite new to Yes, amazed by what I'm hearing and feel I've missed out a bit. As a software developer, this song to me is describing the replacement of religion with technology. And if you want to grow your list a bit more, how about Dire Straits? Very big in the 80's in the UK, influenced by American blues and soul, very story/character-based - try out Romeo and Juliet, or if you like 'em in Em, Private Investigations, or long ones, Telegraph Road.
Hey Doug, I would love to hear your thoughts on the band Nevermore. Listen to "This Godless Endeavor". They are like the best parts of Opeth, Dream Theater, and Iron Maiden combined. The level of talent in this band with powerful riffs, vocals, and musical virtuosity is a treat to the ear. Greatly enjoy your learned ear and dissections of some of my favorite songs.
The Bass player used to be a member of the choir at St. Andrews Church in England (Listen to his ballad, Onward, from the Tormato album to get a bit of an insight into him). All through their 50 year run they have been concerned about war, and how we mistreat one another (even, early on, making the argument, to soldiers in battle, "You're in a kill or be killed situation, so yours is no disgrace."). In 1974 they released Relayer, which included the grand epic, The Gates of Delerium, which ends with what I can only call a sort of a cross between a hymn and a prayer, after graphically depicting, in audio, the various elements of a war. I'm not asking you to do a reaction to any of the songs I've mentioned here; only that you listen to them, in order to learn about the fine men of Yes. Thank you for your time and for your efforts.
Thank you for mentioning the "tasteful guitar". That is Steve Howe. Kind of a legend my workplace. We call him the "Crypt Keeper", while he not everyone's or even anyones favorite guitarist, he is such a badass that we all just default to 'that's not how the crypt keeper would play it'. He does some really incredible stuff.
I saw Asia on their last tour with John Wetton and Steve couldn't maintain the tempo of the songs any longer but hadn't quite figured out what to drop to make it work. During one of the breaks (we had no idea that John was so ill at the time) Steve came out and did a solo guitar set that was mostly country and jazz and he was FANTASTIC. It really was one of the highlights of the show (along with Carl Palmer's drum solo).
Hi, Doug. I like a lot your channel, because your reactions are from a real musician, and your analysis of the progressions teaches me a lot. I´m from México. Please, can you react to a song from Camel? Can be some song of "The snow goose". Thanks!
The organ piece you're thinking of in that carnival-like section is the Toccata from Widor's "Symphony No. 5", the fifth and closing movement. True confessions, I'm an organist. By the way, impressive that you held a position at Westminster, not surprised. The Drama album is a special one in the Yes catalogue. I think you'd love the track "Tempus Fugit" also. On this 2009 tour they played several songs off Drama since original vocalist Jon Anderson refused to do so as he didn't sing on the studio album. It was a thrill to hear those songs live.
Thanks! Glad I got the composer correct!
Good call! Widor's Toccata "rocks"! I think he'd appreciate the nod to him.
@@Doug.Helvering That info is on Wikipedia, BTW, in the write-up for this album.
The first time I heard this song I jumped up at the Widor organ symphony!! Too cool!!!! Love this song!
Organist? What do you think of Olivier Messiaen?
The Drama album is a special one for me. You should do “into the lens”. You will enjoy it.
the 1st time i heard the bass line that opens it, i had no idea what the rest of the band was going to do when they came in-huge surprise...
I love the original version by the buggles, and Yes’ version. Just a great song.
Agree but if you want to hear probably Chris Squire’s best bass playing on any YES song is on the DRAMA ALBUM. “ Does it really happen “
Tempus Fugit is another fantastic track from Drama
When the Buggles replaced Jon Anderson and Wakeman I lost hope that YES would survive but Chris Squire pulled them together and it did sound like YES. The great Anderson melodies were lacking but it still worked. Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn were competent replacements and Squire supplemented vocals and always had great sense of harmony. Love your commentary. In this live version the vocalist was Benoit David from the band Mystery (Canada} and the keyboard looks to be Rick Wakeman's son Oliver.
They absolutely died on stage at The Glasgow Apollo. I am afraid they weren't well liked. Then there were three...
I love Chris’s singing on this one. It really stands out.
Benoit David and Chris Squire harmonized beautifully. Oliver Wakeman nice keys! This is probably the last time they sounded really polished.
They should have kept Benoit. I can't stand Jon Davison
They really should stop altogether. I’m a massive fan but they should really retire now. Leave us with the memories.
On a plus side, although I really hated Drama when it came out. I love it now. Trevor Horn did a decent job on the vocals, the songs really stand up in the catalogue, the production values really took a major leap forward.
Not exactly that polished...
@@mattmallecoccio8378 YEP.
That'll be Rick's genes and tuition methinks....
This song (and the Drama album in general) demonstrates that Chris Squire's voice was a huge part of the Yes vocal sound. The vocals still sound like Yes even in the absence of Jon Anderson, simply because Chris's voice is so prominent. We might all think that Jon Anderson's heavenly voice is the key to that distinctive Yes vocal sound, and well, it is. But if you have only Jon's voice and not Chris's voice, then something very important is missing.
Just like Anthony in VH
Yeah... ABWH doing Yes songs is missing something. That said, if this line up changed it's name to Drama (as example), I think few would think it was Yes, whereas ABWH - "Is this not Yes?" That Drama album might've flown under the radar if it wasn't a Yes album and that would be a shame.
Excellent!! One of my big favs - The whole album Drama is amazing - thanks Doug love your work
10:44 Indeed, Steve Howe is simply brilliant. R.I.P. Chris Squire (Bass). Would love to hear your take on "To Be Over" from their album "Relayer".
Gates Of Delirium, Close to the Edge's more aggressive sibling.
Hey, he did this if you don't already know. He's actually done all of Relayer (just not all at once).
I was showing a much younger friend a Yes concert on DVD years back. “I don’t like solo piano pieces,” he said as Rick Wakeman sat down at a piano. “But I could listen to this all day,” he continued as Wakeman began playing. Turn Of The Century is still one of my all time favourites, with the best handoffs between keyboards and guitar I’ve ever hear.
Thank you Doug, that was awesome as always. I'm glad you liked it! That live version featured Benoit David on vocals (and tambourine) instead of Trevor Horn, and Oliver Wakeman (Rick's son) on keyboards, but it was a great version for sure.
Jon Davidson has been the best since Anderson. IMHO
Davison.
Benoit for me@@nancymjohnson
Cool deep cut. the Drama album is way underrated in Yes' discography.
Drama is the Yes album I'd want if I could have one.
@C Hopdog: You are completely right! Sadly, it is underrated by Yes fans themselves: they didn't forgive the band for having taken on board the Buggles guys (Horn & Downes) and left Jon Anderson...During that tournee, their fans, very disappointed, threw all sorts of objects to the stage while the band was playing! It's a crazy story indeed...
yes...one of my favorite albums by them, and of all time...
Close to the edge, Fragile, Drama and 90125, all are good forever. No special order except Close to the Edge and Roundabout, my number 2 picks,
the rest is just awesome.
Tempus Fugit
I prefer the studio version over this one, but it's indeed an amazing song!
That song is from my favorite Yes album. It's a phenomenal album. Thanks for this great reaction. Loved your explanations about the "old singing". Very interesting. Awesome!!!
This live performance is fairly faithful; but the original studio version is *towering* in it's energy and power. Guitarist Steve Howe plays his lines faster and fancier than this version, Bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White were literally on fire. Keyboardist Geoff Downes played a rich layer of sounds. ua-cam.com/video/a_8h4fJUrnk/v-deo.html
Well, the studio album came out almost 30 years before this. What did you expect?
The studio version of this tune brings just about the most energy of any of their recordings.
Steve NEEDS some cheeseburgers
Oliver wakeman plays the keyboard here the of Rick
Nice! This is one of Yes's best "hidden gems", and a seriously underrated song. As an electronic music lover and musician myself, it's one of my favourite Yes pieces. You're first person I've seen react to this song on UA-cam, and it's great to hear a classical composer's take on it (I'm a fan of classical music).
Having said that, as cool as it was seeing a live version, I kind of wish you'd played the album version. Much of the *intensity* of the original was captured in the 2009 concert, but it didn't quite capture the more *eerie* quality of the original. Give it a listen with headphones on, and I think you'll see what I mean.
Oh man, you are awesome, Doug. I've heard this song countless times and never made the connection of that quiet vocal part to ancient religious chants. Brilliant. Thanks for pointing that out.
So, if you know Close To The Edge, do you also know The Gates Of Delirium? If not, would love to see your reaction and analysis to it. The live version from the YesShows live album (the most powerful version), or maybe watch them perform it with an orchestra on the Yes Symphonic Live concert video from 2001 (great performance, but just not as powerful as YesShows). Whatever you do, just don't watch the 1975 QPR version, which has awful sound.
Thanks again.
Drama is one of my all time favourite Yes albums. ❤️🔥
What a wonderful performance, and likewise, a great reaction. I truly enjoyed your commentary...and super sharp ear for details!
I agree: "kick ass song." I love YES, I love DRAMA.
You should do "Awaken" for the going For the One album. It is their magnum opus. Wakeman used a real pipe organ on it.
..and it was played over the phone, true story.....
it's a good song. wouldn't go so far to call it magnum opus
Awesome suggestion Steve! I got to see this lineup of Yes with Asia as the opening act (and Steve Howe did double duty with both bands).
Such an underrated album- love the whole thing!
As it Tormato
One of my all-time favorite Yes songs
Thanks so very much for that 👏
In 2004, I saw Dream Theater open for Yes at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Dream Theater played this song. It was a great tribute! Drama is a monumental Yes album that gets overshadowed.
Fucking brilliant song!!! I had not heard it for a long time and had forgotten how great it is. Wonderful!!!
rip Mr Chris Squire. the man, the myth, the legend. when you hear thunder it's just Chris teaching god how to play bass.....
Well met and well put. 🤘🏼
❤️🔥
That's perfect. I saw him play on 2 occasions and he is to this day the best bass player,composer,singer ive ever come across. Music for musicians. ❤❤
I love your comment, whenever I hear thunder now I will say those words. Top man.
Great review and thanks for giving us insight into how these songs are constructed! Yes is always worth a listen, their musicianship is beyond compare.
Loved hearing about the Gregorian chant parallel.
Good stuff! If we're doing old school prog, I'd really like to hear a take on Kansas' Miracles Out of Nowhere (studio version is the best out there I think)
If just for the "Baroque break" only.
Yeah!
Someone said that Yes was whoever turned up the rehearsals and there are at least three of the band who recorded this in 1980. I think this song has really stood the test of time.
This is a fascinating analysis and is a useful reminder that Yes were influenced by so many styles. Chris Squire was a choirboy and Rick Wakeman would have played church organ. Howe was hugely influenced by jazz.
Remember that no Yes equals no Rush.
The reference to satanic mills is a reference to Blake's poem Jerusalem which became a famous hymn, practically a second national anthem.
More great insight!
Thanks for the video. I’m a big Yes fan. I’ve listened to this song so many times over the years. It was cool hearing your insight into the composition that went into it.
From Wikipedia: "(...) When he was composing his keyboard parts for the song, Downes included an arpeggiated segment from the fifth movement of Symphony for Organ No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor, a piece that he was familiar with from his youth. (...)
Good ear there, Doug!
A very good one. A very good show too. Your analysis is always very interesting. Thanks Doug. If you’re not sure to react at the old Yes catalogue, let’s make a try at Brother Of Mine of Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe. A great 80’s prog song. It’s almost a Yes song, but without their usual bass player.
"I wanna be that tambourine guy!"...Great Doug, really amazing!😊
Lyrically, the "singular eye" is specifically referring to a combination of CCTV surveillance and television (or mass media more generally)- word from the lyricist himself.
Trevor Horn was the singer and main lyricist on the Drama album, and he was the singer and lyricist for The Buggles ("Video Killed the Radio Star") before becoming a producer (same keyboardist, too- Geoff Downes). If you listen to the first Buggles album (The Age of Plastic, songs from 1979 to 1981), you'll find it's full of a sort of zeerust-encrusted playful contempt for and criticism of futurism and would-be technological utopianism. "Living in the Plastic Age" is self-explanatory from the title, "Video Killed the Radio Star" is a bittersweet nostalgia for dead media since supplanted by the new, "I Love You (Miss Robot)" mockingly conveys the meaninglessness of casual sex on the road by cyberpunk metaphor of a literal sex robot, "Elstree" is about the gross artificiality of entertainment media as representation of reality as well as the artificiality of the industry itself, "Astroboy (and the Proles on Parade)" depicts a marked class divide with a futuristic jet-setter looking down on the little people below as their cities crumble into rust and dust, and "Johnny on the Monorail" takes an icon of the futurist urban planner- a gleaming chromed monorail- and describes within the train (and below) all the more mundane sights of urban poverty and decline, all while the rider sings in childish joy at riding the monorail- "Oh, my, my! You are *so* sci-fi! Please won't you let me ride?"
Both Horn and Downes have said The Buggles were themselves meant to be a gag along largely the same lines- an artificial band, created by a committee of jaded executives, music calculated to chart moderately well and played by machines (Horn would take this bit farther and more literally later with the Art of Noise), existing as a band only in marketing and somewhere in a studio basement on tape, not live. (They were swayed into 'performing' "Video" live once on TV early on, but insisted on lip-syncing it, and on performing it while standing almost robotically still.) Even the name "The Buggles" was conceived as a sort of gross knock-off derivative of "The Beatles", and almost uniformly happy, bouncy music delivers words of abject dissatisfaction and debasement throughout the album.
It's eminently reasonable to lyrically interpret "Machine Messiah" along the same lines, as a mocking criticism of one manner or another of technological utopianism. (The "mindless search for a higher controller", and "take me into the fire", as your particular points of apparent interest, could both refer to ideological possession as relates to a dogged dedication to this utopian vision.)
Bravo
and he was awsome
Are we not living in the the midst of that Utopian nightmare? Prophetic? Maybe the answer(s) to the mess we find ourselves in now can be found in another Yes /Buggles song.
This is how I always took to the lyrics of this song.
In the studio version, the downswell of the keyboard sounds like an air raid siren winding down. This version has a much warmer, relaxed sound, exactly what you want in a live performance. The studio version is much darker, with a greater punch, exactly what you'd expect of the definitive version.
There is an official video of "Into the Lens" on UA-cam. It is the studio version, but the band is pretending to play it live. You get to see Steve Howe playing two guitars, plus a pedal steel guitar.
That's prog music the best of rock !! now listen to Close to the Edge "Yes rules" !!
He told that he has been...
As a classical composer myself, this song has always stood out to me from Yes’s catalogue. Close to the Edge is my favorite, but this song is right up there.
A Yes song!! I'm recovering from a facial surgery and your videos are perfect for relaxing. Thank you for continuing to put up excellent content, sir.
If you liked Rush you could do 'Cygnus X-1', which has two parts. The first one is in A Farewell to Kings and the second one is in the same record as La Villa Strangiato, Hemispheres.
Cheers!
You nailed it! "When he was composing his keyboard parts for the song, Downes included an arpeggiated segment from the fifth movement of Symphony for Organ No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor, a piece that he was familiar with from his youth."
Love your analysis, always illuminating, and brought new life and admiration for one of my favourite Yes tracks!
What would be the best Genesis songs for a classical composer? My suggestions: Can-utility and the Coastliners, the Lamia, Fountain of Salmacis, Mad Man Moon, In that Quiet Earth & Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers (both in one video). Also very common reaction tracks: Dance On A Volcano, Firth of Fifth, the Musical Box.
I would add "Supper's Ready to that list. Tony Banks is an excellent composer.
Dance on a Volcano has very interesting meter changes
Blood on the Rooftops, Entangled, Ripples?🗿
Firth of Fifth!
One for the Vine
Fascinating video Doug! Thanks for posting!
Wonderful song and a really great analysis alongside!
Wow great reaction, cheers. Close to the edge is another amazing song
I seem to recall bassist Chris Squire (sadly no longer with us) saying his early experience was with English church music, so presumably he just ran with it as second vocalist.
A former choirboy
I'm really interrested to hear your analyses of To be Over. A track from their 1974 Relayer album. I think you will be blown away by the structure of the piece.
Dear Daily Doug, I've been absolutely loving your prog rock analysis. I've also been joining you on a drink-per -song situation. It's been fun! Particularly on Gates Of Delirium. I'm really glad you covered this one. In particular the live version, with Beniot David on vocals. His time with Yes was brief but i think he did a brilliant job, considering the shoes he had to fill!!! This is a great version. Here's to more Prognosis! Cheers from Scotland!
I deeply regret not seeing these guys when Squire was still alive. I really like the climbing Bass line at 17:20
I saw them at Wembley in 91. Chris's bass actually made my rib cage vibrate. Awesome concert. Union Tour.
I'm sorry you missed Chris live. I saw them every tour since 75 until he passed, and every one since. Billy Sherwood was asked by Chris to take his place, and he has done a great job.
First saw them in 1971, first tour with the classic line up for the Fragile album. They were the opening act for Emerson Lake and Palmer. Wakeman was clearly trying to upstage Emerson, so during a keyboard solo he smashed a tambourine and threw it into the audience. I caught it. I've seen "Yes" about a dozen times since, but the most recent tour, the Royal something, was a disappointment. I found Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman to be more faithful to Yes than "Yes".
@@silvertube52 From the UA-cam videos I've seen, the ARW show was the one to catch. It really looked like Rabin and Wakeman were having a ball together.
The recent ARW tour was unbelievable. I've lost count of how many times I've seen Yes and although I'm the world's greatest Steve Howe fan, I was knocked out by how tight this band was, especially Lou Molino and Lee Pomeroy on drums and bass. It was like the glory days with Bill Bruford.
Unfortunately Rabin added lots of gratuitous audience noise to the live DVD which makes it unlistenable. What could have been one of the greatest live recordings is totally wrecked.
You are correct about the choral influence in the harmonies. Chris Squire started singing in church choirs at age six.
Yes, "Turn of the Century". Such a melodic song and story, poetry. Please review that one.
Awesome! - Love the comparison with organum, hadn't noticed that - but think it's been heavily adapted for modern musical ears.
PS I'd love to hear a musical analysis of 'Turn it on again' by Genesis of the same year - almost sounds like a straight pop song but there's so much going on in there.
Doug, just discovered your channel because the Dance of Eternity react and loved it! I noticed you already covered a lot of interesting progressive songs from bands like Opeth, Symphony, Rush, Yes etc, and if you accept suggestions I think you will may enjoy "A change of seasons" (Dream Theater), "First Light" (Shadow Gallery) and "Still remains" (Fates Warning). By the way, I already subscribed to this amazing channel and will be following it! Congrats from Brazil!
I've been grooving on this tune for 40 years. I'm not tired of hearing it yet.
Doug, I love your commentary in these videos. I've known this music for many years, but you have some thoughts previously "unthunk", like how they change key from Em to Fm to Gm, a larger version of the motif ;-)
At the bit where you mention the portamento where Oliver is playing the 3-note motif, I'm surprised you didn't mention that the part is also played in 9ths rather than 2nds as a variation. I also want to mention that the rhythm in this live version is not quite as on as it is in the original. That long line that they play in eight notes is later played with variations where they add one eighth note, so that makes the rhythm a bit trickier, and even now, live, they don't quite get it correct.
But anyway, great song from a great band from a slightly oddball album played live by a rather peculiar instance of that band!! Thanks for doing this!!
Given all of their personnel changes, Jon Anderson refused to perform any songs that appeared on Drama, which was an album that I really enjoyed. In fact, I saw Yes perform Drama like as a senior in high school, and it was a great concert. I also saw THIS tour as well, and in fact, spent the money for the M&G and had front row center seats, and finally had the opportunity to thank my musical heroes and make a fool of myself in front of Chris Squire. Some other interesting Yes songs to check out might be South Side of the Sky from Fragile, "A Venture" from The Yes Album (if you can, be sure to check out the Steven Wilson extended mix, the original was cut short due to the 33rpm album side limits) and for something more modern, "Homeworld" from The Ladder. All 3 of those songs are not Yes "standards," but they're all excellent songs, and give a slightly different side to Yes.
really interesting one there Doug, not one I would have looked for but still pretty special
Great song from a great album..thanks so much for the analysis.
I am new to your channel due to a YES fan posting this video on a Facebook fan page. And I was fascinated by your deconstruction of this underrated gem from the YES catalog. I agree with some of the comments here that you should delve into some of the other tunes from YES - and then I would love to see you talk about Gentle Giant.
I just began following your channel and enjoy your reactions and analysis of the music. I'm not sure if you've already done this one, but if not, I HIGHLY recommend doing Orion by Metallica. If you're not familiar with this song, I really think you'll find it interesting. It's truly a masterpiece in my mind.
Edit: there are some real treats awaiting for you in that song.
Really appreciated hearing your take on this! Love the “Drama” album very, very much.
Great choice for a song. This has always been one of my favorites in their catalog. One of those tracks that's hard to pull off live, but this lineup did a decent job.
Would be cool to hear your reaction to "Song of Scheherazade" by Renaissance. If you're unfamiliar with the band, they often recorded with an orchestra on many of their 70's tracks, including Scheherazade. Truly amazing group with the best female singer in classic rock IMO. I'd recommend the studio track but the one performed live in 1977 on King Biscuit Flower Hour is good too.
Wow! A cut from the Drama record!?! Great suggestion Steve!
If you like vocal harmonies, you should check out Moon Safari. They are a prog rock band from Sweden that is a cross between Yes and The Beach Boys. Everyone sings and they have long grandiose songs. An excellent live example would be A Kid Called Panic or Dance Across the Ocean from their Gettysburg Address live album.
Excellent choice! I'd also recommend the song "Lover's End Pt. III: Skellefteå Serenade".
Listen to the Yes song- "Siberian Khatru"
He probably knows that one too.
When you figure out Yes, you have become the machine messiah
Great analysis You could react, too, with the music Into the lens, from this same album. It's another wonderful song from Yes.
Agreed. "Into the Lens" is epic. Probably my favorite song on this album.
The original keyboardist on this album Drama was Geoff Downes, who is also the current keyboardist these days. Oliver Wakeman (Rick's son) is playing the part live here. I think the part you recognize also sounds like some of Philip Glass' work.
He was also in the Buggles appearing in the very first video MTV played “ Video killed the radio”
Glass came to my mind too
And Trevor Horn on vocals. My favorite Yes lineup and album.
@@Wizardofgosz trevor horns voice on drama was amazing...
I took my wife to a few YES-concerts ( and more YES-related shows ) over the years, so she's not unfamiliar with them. After a concert at Wolftrap, she said "What happened to Rick?" I responded "What do you mean?" She said, "He looks so young now!" She had thought Rick's son Oliver, was actually Rick.
Thank you so much for this. Yes had a major freaking line up change on this album. I wanted to dislike it because we were missing the original singer and a kick ass keyboard player but I simply loved this album. I refused to see the tour supporting it but probably burned out a needle listening to it over a year or so.
It was the background to many an hour of D&D and just hanging out with friends.
Your superb description of the musical strength in MM just made me appreciate it even more if that was possible.
Now for Close To The Edge.
Thanks again!
I'm not sure it's worth spending too much time deciphering Yes lyrics - especially from the earlier days. Jon Anderson, I'm sure, used words for their sound rather than their meaning (yes, I know he wasn't involved in this album...)
Great analysis. I've been waiting for someone who would dive into the mechanics of what's going on, so keep it going. For Yes suggestions: my favourite Yes song - And You And I.
And I still miss Chris. Not very prominent here, but what a bass player. Showing off his choir boy heritage at the very end there, too...
It's about A.I. becoming self-aware and humans seeing it as an answer to all problems and eventually being absorbed into it's singular consciousness.
Impressive your reaction on the song “Machine Messiah” by Yes. “Drama” is my favorite Yes album. Greetings from Puerto Rico 😎
Brother, I just have to say that I love your videos. I have been a fan of music reaction videos for several years. Particularly when it pertains to prog rock, being that I have been a prog rock/metal musician for decades. The one thing that sometimes annoys me about reaction videos, is that most of the people doing them, have zero background in music. I often find myself amused by their sense of awe, and bewilderment, that there exists an entire world of serious musicianship beyond the myopic scope of WAP. I've been a musician for 46 of my 50 years on this planet. Beginning with Classical piano lessons at age 4. Then guitar, clarinet, alto, tenor and soprano sax, guitar, bass guitar, Chapman Stick, Sitar, Tabla and hand percussion in general. My point is that it's extremely refreshing to see someone doing these videos with whom I can actually relate to on a much higher intellectual and musical level. There are a few other guys doing this type of thing. Michael Palmisano immediately springs to mind. He's a great guitar teacher, and player. However, he's definitely in the Blues/Grateful Dead/ Jam Band wheel house. There's just some stuff that kinda goes over his pay grade though. On the other hand, you regularly site names of some really obscure composers. I'm kinda wondering if you have ever heard, or done a video on "Toccata" by Emersin Lake and Palmer. The piece itself, was origianally composed by Alberto Ginastera. Or, perhaps Gustav Holst's "Mars The Bringer Of War" by Japanese synthesist Isao Tomita. I would LOVE to see your take on those pieces.
Beniot David was a great singer for YES. If you want to hear him in his more natural singing-voice, he appeared on two or three Mystery albums in which he sounds phenomenal.
Saw them in 08 with Beniot. They did most of Drama. He was much better than Davison. I simply can not listen to that guy.
Great take, definitely more Yes please
Regarding the ancient religious type vocal section, bassist Chris Squire’s earliest music experience was as a choirboy (starting at age 6). You can hear that influence in almost all of his harmony vocals.
DH - Do a reaction to Awaken by Yes. This is a must
my favorite Yes song.
One of the greatest Yes songs
"Awaken" would suit Doug's analytical style well, but I've never, ever understood why this track is so beloved. Just because it's long doesn't mean it's great. I find it very clunky at various points, and with little "groove." There are probably about 15 Yes tracks that I prefer.
I have always loved this song. When I was 16, the cassette was forever in my car the summer I got my driver's license. All of Drama is so much fun to listen to as it is a pretty big departure from a Yes fronted by Jon Anderson. That said, this is not my favorite performance of this song. This is very good but it just lacks the punch, the enthusiasm, the hurriedness, and the utter craftsmanship of the studio recording. Such an amazing song and a wonderful band! So glad you did this!
The punch , the enthusiasm, the hurried ness and utter craftsmanship, that you say is lacking here, must be really difficult to duplicate, 30 years after the original recording. Wouldn’t you think?
Excellent reaction and analysis as always.
I really love to watch your videos, I learn more about music and it makes me enjoy music even more, thank you very much for doing this videos!!
If you can react to a couple of japanese bands:
Lovebites (All female band), song Dystopia Symphony and/or Edge of the world (Live)
Galneryus, song Angel of Salvation (Live).
Maybe these two bands could be interesting to you due they have some classical music influences (Some of the members are trained in piano and classical music).
Cheers and stay safe!!
Great song, performance and arrangement by YES... INTO THE LENS,
GATES OF DELIRIUM with the Classical Band.
💯❤️🎼
It is so cool you are reacting to some of my favorite bands. Rush Permanent Waves changed my life and musical interests ever since. I grew up with Rush, Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Any of these that you would choose would be greatly appreciated. Stay safe and much peace. Thanks.
Great video! Love that you covered this criminally underrated song. I do wish you had covered the original studio version so that you could have covered the brilliant Trevor Horn version versus the modern Yes cover band singer du jour.
Also, please cover Yes' Tempus Fugit, if you haven't already (I haven't seen it on your channel). That is one of the absolute most underrated Yes songs of all-time!
Keep up the brilliant work! Love your channel!
I mean this as a great complement, good sir, to hear you go "Wow!" was a real treat :). Drama was an album that took quite a bit of stick from old school fans but I have always loved it, particular Machine Messiah. Oh and 'That Guy' (TM) is no other than Trevor Horn I think :D
I also have to say that it is the likes of your goodself, reactors that show once more the wonder of human creation that is music, that has reignited the passion for the beauty of it that I lost when my wife died.
I suggest (or request 😅) Awaken, Close to the Edge & Heart of the Sunrise.
Or Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - Brother of Mine.
I remember the first time I heard ‘Machine Messiah’ was around 2001-2002, and I bought it on vinyl (I think from a cut-out bin) I was pretty surprised by this because it’s markedly different than their other releases of the time.
I think you should do the studio version, simply because it has Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes in it who were instrumental in writing this song. And frankly no other lineup does this one better than the original. Original to this album.
Agreed. Besides Alan White was arguably at his tightest on Drama while, with all due respect to him, he was well past his prime when this was recorded.
Yes, the tempo is a bit too slow, but that's the problem with Yes since at least 2000...
All these comments are spot on.
@@michelforest6329 Some pieces benefit from that more relaxed pace- makes them more subjectively impactful. ("And You and I" off of the Like It Is live album comes to my mind- YMMV.) For "Machine Messiah", though, I'm in agreement- the studio recording is best, significantly so.
@@theAsterisk It does work on a few song, I agree. But when I listen to Close to the Edge, I always go back to the early performances (1972-1977), because that one got much too sloooow later on. I'm not sure who was behind the idea of playing at slower tempos. Howe? White? Squire?
Please review the songs "Close to the Edge", "The Gates of Delirium" and "Starship Trooper" all from Yes.
What's cool about that portamento part near the end is that it's the same old E-F#-G motif only played in leaps of a 9th instead of stepwise.
Oh . Thank you very much for the education
Hi Doug,
This is my first viewing of one of your reactions and it was most engaging. May I suggest something that may boggle your mind - a track by cult British psychedelic prog/punk band Cardiacs called Jitterbug (Junior Is A), the tail end of which has more chord changes than you can shake a stick at. Also, their track Dirty Boy is an epic with a final held note that will make your jaw drop. There's never a dull moment with a Cardiacs tune.
Love it Doug. Proper music.. ..❤
When l was 3 years old, l remember sitting next to my beloved Grandad at his big church organ whilst he played, Widor's Toccata. He was an incredible organist/pianist and played twice at The Royal Albert Hall in front of our Queen Elizabeth The II, by Royal command in the 1950s! XXX
I saw them live on this tour in Detroit and when they played this song, I was just transfixed on Chris Squire... I regard him as the greatest bassist ever to walk this green earth...
That was so entertaining, thanks :) Loved hearing about the chanting, motifs, the Widor piece, and how you jumped at every key change - one of Yes' motifs! I'm also quite new to Yes, amazed by what I'm hearing and feel I've missed out a bit. As a software developer, this song to me is describing the replacement of religion with technology. And if you want to grow your list a bit more, how about Dire Straits? Very big in the 80's in the UK, influenced by American blues and soul, very story/character-based - try out Romeo and Juliet, or if you like 'em in Em, Private Investigations, or long ones, Telegraph Road.
Hey Doug, I would love to hear your thoughts on the band Nevermore. Listen to "This Godless Endeavor". They are like the best parts of Opeth, Dream Theater, and Iron Maiden combined. The level of talent in this band with powerful riffs, vocals, and musical virtuosity is a treat to the ear. Greatly enjoy your learned ear and dissections of some of my favorite songs.
The Bass player used to be a member of the choir at St. Andrews Church in England (Listen to his ballad, Onward, from the Tormato album to get a bit of an insight into him).
All through their 50 year run they have been concerned about war, and how we mistreat one another (even, early on, making the argument, to soldiers in battle, "You're in a kill or be killed situation, so yours is no disgrace."). In 1974 they released Relayer, which included the grand epic, The Gates of Delerium, which ends with what I can only call a sort of a cross between a hymn and a prayer, after graphically depicting, in audio, the various elements of a war.
I'm not asking you to do a reaction to any of the songs I've mentioned here; only that you listen to them, in order to learn about the fine men of Yes.
Thank you for your time and for your efforts.
Thank you for mentioning the "tasteful guitar". That is Steve Howe. Kind of a legend my workplace. We call him the "Crypt Keeper", while he not everyone's or even anyones favorite guitarist, he is such a badass that we all just default to 'that's not how the crypt keeper would play it'. He does some really incredible stuff.
I saw Asia on their last tour with John Wetton and Steve couldn't maintain the tempo of the songs any longer but hadn't quite figured out what to drop to make it work. During one of the breaks (we had no idea that John was so ill at the time) Steve came out and did a solo guitar set that was mostly country and jazz and he was FANTASTIC. It really was one of the highlights of the show (along with Carl Palmer's drum solo).
He looks like he came from the crypt but he’s still a badass player and my favorite guitarist
@@Kenneth_Fishing Heck yeah. We would not have taken the time to give him a nick name if he weren't awesome!
Hey! You did find a good live version.
Saw them do this right after the album came out...
Philly, DC, Hampton roads....
OMG
This is one of the best Yes songs. I suggest you to listen to The Gates of Delirium now! Thanks for doing this!!!
Hi, Doug. I like a lot your channel, because your reactions are from a real musician, and your analysis of the progressions teaches me a lot. I´m from México. Please, can you react to a song from Camel? Can be some song of "The snow goose". Thanks!