YES On The Silent Wings Of Freedom | REACTION

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  • Опубліковано 23 лис 2024

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  • @JJ8KK
    @JJ8KK Рік тому +7

    In my opinion, YES' *Best Music* always feature Chris Squire dominating their Sound with his Industrial-Melodic inspirations. This was always the case over their first 5 albums, where the bass was always given the emphasis in the mix that is usually given to the lead guitarist. I absolutely loved it. Yes, his band mates were all very talented & made major contributions to the final product, but YES was the ONLY Prog Band that built their Sound around the bass player.
    The reason for this was not just the rest of his band mates seeing the wisdom of doing this, but also because from the beginning it was _Chris Squire's band._ He mentioned that before YES came together, he'd try to get session work but no one liked the way he played bass. So when he and Jon Anderson formed the band, he made sure that _all_ of his contributions would be heard clearly in the mix. He was so dominant that it would have been legitimate to describe the band as "YES: featuring Chris Squire on bass."
    But it never became that kind of band, where he was presented as THE talent in the band everyone was supposed to care about. He also wanted to make extraordinary progressive music that placed a major emphasis on vocal harmonies. And yes, he was also a major contributor to _that_ feature of the YES Sound. (As a youth, he sang in some Big Deal church choir where he became accustomed to singing those soaring, ascending harmonic climaxes...with Jon Anderson, it was always head-shaking perfection.)
    Yes, YES became THE most impressive Progressive Rock band in my opinion & in the ears of many others because of not just their individual talents coming together, but also because they were *Masters of Complexity.* They were able to fine tune that complexity into masterpieces because they'd spend hours at the sound board perfecting the mix. Overlapping melodies & perfect transitions came together to produce magnificent compositions, absolutely packed with that complexity, but mixed in a way that enabled the listener to hear it all. It is the #1 reason why YES masterpieces require many repeated listenings to fully appreciate what they had blended together. _Every time_ I'd play their studio masterpieces, I hear something, some combination of instruments I hadn't noticed before.
    Truth be told, when Chris started to _really_ dial it back after the Big Generator album (he actually started dialing it back after the Close To The Edge album, but still had many moments, like Silent Wings Of Freedom), my infatuation began to wane because it sounded like he had become content to "simply be the bass player" in a very talented band. Many different YES fans feel especially attracted to the contributions of the several other members of the band, but for me it was always Chris Squire's inspirations playing bass that put them on a special plane above other Progressive Rock bands...

  • @markdrechsler5660
    @markdrechsler5660 Рік тому +12

    I think this is a top tier Yes song. The bass playing has always impressed me, and I love how much it is pushed in front.

  • @johnjanovsky
    @johnjanovsky Рік тому +10

    Yes is fantastic! The entire Close To The Edge album plus Gates Of Delrium and Awaken are masterpieces!

  • @henryramsay3842
    @henryramsay3842 Рік тому +3

    Alan White is a beast on this one. So sadly underrated

  • @markhoward2811
    @markhoward2811 Рік тому +5

    I heard them play this live in Wembley in 1978 after just buying the album a month before. This was one of the tracks that blew me away on that day and one of the few times I've heard Chris Squire play Bass with a synth sound effect.

  • @ComedianRonBender
    @ComedianRonBender Рік тому +6

    Tormato is a good one, the whole album. This sounded fun to play.

  • @lesblatnyak5947
    @lesblatnyak5947 Рік тому +4

    Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth. Justin check out the credits, this was the bands goodbye to the suits. Blessings this Easter to both of you. I always loved this album cause it was really raw and leaned more to the rock out end of prog. Release Release is my favorite. They have a fusion prog piece you'll love called Sound Chaser 🙏🍁

  • @raymondregis6219
    @raymondregis6219 Рік тому +2

    The best track on Tormato. Also check out Future Times / Rejoice.

  • @johncritchlow8156
    @johncritchlow8156 Рік тому +2

    Love some Yes! Thanks Rob, Thanks JP. 🙂

  • @oldgoldandblack1
    @oldgoldandblack1 Рік тому +2

    There is one song on Tormato that I really like… and this is it. Squire really is incredible.

  • @bookhouseboy280
    @bookhouseboy280 Рік тому +2

    Tormato's highlights include "Future Times/Rejoice" (my fav track), "Madrigal", "Release Release", and "Onward". Several others, "Silent Wings of Freedom" being one of them, were much better live.
    Howe: "We weren’t on such a high with production at the time, probably caught between changes and trends. But there are some nice moments in it, and I think there should have been someone else there helping us with that one a little bit. We’d always had a really good engineer, and we were a bit lost at sea with actually the tonal landscape and the space ... I don't think it's a crap album. I just think it's a troublesome tonal album ... To mix the tracks we had to tear each other's hair out. Tormato was a complex thing with lots of ideas that never got heard because there was no room for them."
    Wakeman: "Everything was going well and then we did the Tormato album in 1978, which was potentially one of the best Yes albums ever. But it suffered from appalling production. By that time Eddie Offord had gone to Mars and was unavailable. The whole thing ended up so compressed it was tragic. I would love to get hold of that album and have it remixed. There is some fabulous stuff on there."

    • @robshaw2639
      @robshaw2639 Рік тому

      interesting - back in the 80s i remember hearing quotes from Wakeman (paraphrasing) "worst project i ever participated in...", but dont remember the details, and of course, he left Yes after this album...

    • @bookhouseboy280
      @bookhouseboy280 Рік тому

      @@robshaw2639 Wakeman left Yes in 1980 because of his deep dissatisfaction with the aborted Paris project.

  • @Mr._Bassman97
    @Mr._Bassman97 Рік тому

    Whole album is great.

  • @Johnnywr
    @Johnnywr Рік тому +3

    I definitely wouldn't say the Chris squire 'funky bass thing' is present on Tormato. Tormato has another track called 'Don't Kill The Whale' and if anything I would describe it as close as Yes came to going disco (at a stretch), but definitely not funk or funky in the traditional funky sense. Saying that, there can be found traces of funk in Chris Squire's bass playing on earlier tracks such as 'Siberian Khatru' from 1972, 'Roundabout' from 71 and 'No Opportunity Necessary, No Experienced Needed' from 70. I would describe Chris Squire's bass playing on the Yes 1974 Relayer album's 'Sound Chaser' and 'The Gates Of Delirium' as almost inventing a new sub-genre of prog-funk rock.

  • @copernichrisrush5082
    @copernichrisrush5082 Рік тому +1

    Not a bad song on this album! Very experimental and diverse.

  • @cobbycaputo3332
    @cobbycaputo3332 Рік тому +2

    Glad you went to Tormato so fast after the question was asked in your reaction to Tempus Fugit off Drama. This is one of the 3 good tracks on Tormato, together with Release Release and Onward. Overall the album suffered from Wakeman's choice of keyboard rig and Steve Howe's insistence on playing in the higher registers. Together it just made the album too bright. But live those three songs really worked well. Squire is amazing here, of course.

  • @davep8221
    @davep8221 Рік тому +3

    They're brits. I believe it's tor MAH toe.
    There's actually a video of them working on this in the studio and they are having a problem getting the drums to sound right. Chris stops in the middle of a take seeming a bit frustrated.
    _Release Release_ is, IMO, more enjoyable. Overall, I think the album is underrated.

  • @smilerpink
    @smilerpink Рік тому

    Caught this reaction right after the one you did on “Tempus Fugit.” Very similar, driving rhythm, powered by Squire’s bass nicely complimented by Howe and White.
    Saw Yes live four times late 70’s to early 80’s. Given their classically flavored prog classics, I didn’t go to those shows expecting to rock my ass off.
    This song and Tempus Fugit were brilliant, almost shocking exceptions. Harder, more driving, a little wild. More like Rush or Dream Theater (more recently Tool) prog metal driven by Squire’s bass.

  • @kennethmckinney2532
    @kennethmckinney2532 Рік тому +1

    Thanks Rob. I have been wanting Justin to do some Tormato YES and honesty Going For The One YES for months. I am just too poor lol. Appreciate you Rob. I am a fan of the interesting "weirdness" of Tormato since its release. Cheers...

  • @toddc28
    @toddc28 Рік тому +1

    This is one of their best songs. Although overallTormato doesn’t rank too high in my list of favorite albums. It would be my least favorite overall of their 70’s albums. But looking at the entire catalog I’d put it somewhere in the middle.

  • @lesblatnyak5947
    @lesblatnyak5947 Рік тому

    Siberian Khatru has a funky feel. Squire is some kind of special.

  • @markjohnson4217
    @markjohnson4217 Рік тому +4

    No definitely not funky. The only time I have heard Squire lean towards funk is during the fast-paced keyboard solo from Sound Chaser. Chris Squire was a groove bass player, but also had a very melodic approach and often we can hear an amazing balance of the two, a melodic hook that sits right in the pocket, or an ascending, descending figure that churns around and sets an astonishing sense of groove...but not funk, Lol!!

  • @richierich398
    @richierich398 Рік тому +1

    Yeah, dig it. Not heard any songs off of this album before. Yeah definitely not funk for sure. On the base. To me, that drumming at the beginning of the song is kind of a fusion style. Very light with a lot of Ghost-Notes.

    • @robshaw2639
      @robshaw2639 Рік тому

      Just so you know.. "dig it, dig it" is in the lyrics of this album, lol.

  • @Snowcrasher1
    @Snowcrasher1 Рік тому

    I need to do a complete catalog re-listen for Yes. It would be super convenient to do it here!
    Besides this track, I really like Don't Kill the Whale, Arriving UFO & Release, Release the best off Tormato. Circus of Heaven is bad. The other 3 are somewhere between OK & meh.

    • @robshaw2639
      @robshaw2639 Рік тому

      Release Release is making a comeback - many of the first commenters to Tempus Fugit vid said Release Release was the worst, but now I think the likes outnumber the dislikes for it... The opinions for Tormato are all over the map, which is really interesting - I love the whole album...

  • @kennethmckinney2532
    @kennethmckinney2532 8 місяців тому

    Hey Justin in your Yes journey I hope you remember this one and get to the entire Tormato album. Obviously you can skip Going For The One and I would skip Tales From Topographical Oceans. It's too laborious in my opinion. Cheers 👍

  • @TheAmazingSpaghetti
    @TheAmazingSpaghetti Рік тому +1

    Squire used some of his bass work on this song for his live concert solos. The album isn't one of the better ones, the mix has issues. Onward is top notch though. I think Yes were at their prime on the previous album Going For The One.

  • @poppydogz
    @poppydogz Рік тому

    'In the valley'.....

    • @robshaw2639
      @robshaw2639 Рік тому +1

      the valley? don't get.

    • @poppydogz
      @poppydogz Рік тому

      @@robshaw2639 It ends with "In the valley" If you listen..

  • @lloydbraun6026
    @lloydbraun6026 Рік тому

    This album is when Yes lost me. It was downhill from here. Started following them in 1971 when first seeing them live.

  • @MrDuneedon
    @MrDuneedon Рік тому

    Tormato ain’t the greatest Yes album in the world (understatement), but this song is a really good one.

  • @R01120
    @R01120 Рік тому

    This was kind of a "throw away" record by Yes. Maybe had to record something for contractual reasons? Definitely not their best effort. But still better than most of the stuff at the time.

  • @ZealZaddy
    @ZealZaddy Рік тому +2

    Now that you’ve heard everything that matters on Tormato, maybe put the rest of it away. No need to reduce your appreciation for the album by listening to it.

    • @frankmarsh1159
      @frankmarsh1159 Рік тому +2

      Lot's of good stuff on Tormato.

    • @robshaw2639
      @robshaw2639 Рік тому

      Are you a Rush fan? What do you think of HYF?

    • @kennethmckinney2532
      @kennethmckinney2532 Рік тому +1

      So not true. This is one of the last tracks I would have picked from Tormato. Just my opinion. Future Times/Rejoice I probably would have picked first. I bought the album when it was released and always enjoyed it. GFTO is way better but I still enjoy Tormato...

    • @bookhouseboy280
      @bookhouseboy280 Рік тому +1

      @@kennethmckinney2532 Future Times/Rejoice is my fav on the album. One of Yes' better songs. Tormato is to Yes what Goats Head Soap is to the Rolling Stones in that it's seen as a lesser sequel because it gets unfairly compared to a very successful previous album. Which reminds me, even Rolling Stone Record Guide gave Tormato a good (3 stars) rating.

    • @ZealZaddy
      @ZealZaddy Рік тому

      @@robshaw2639 Yes. HYF is okay, but a lesser album than the other albums that preceeded it in the decade prior.

  • @yes_head
    @yes_head Рік тому

    Other than Jon's lyrics this is all Chris. Steve and Rick weren't given much direction so just tried to fill space as best they could. Which was a problem with this entire album. This is a definite highlight, although by classic Yes standards it's a bit of a mess. They produced the album themselves, which also made it a bit of an unfocused affair. Re: the "funkiness", Yes are a VERY white band, and their fan base are mostly of a similar persuasion. 😁

  • @DanPemberton
    @DanPemberton 5 місяців тому

    Somehow, that word funky has come back among many reactors. Highly misused!

  • @colinburroughs9871
    @colinburroughs9871 Рік тому +1

    This record is interesting because it's bad. lol. Onward and the intro here are good. The rest? Well it was Yes' first death. This era started the transition in prog rock from an art to a technical ability.

  • @donnelson6694
    @donnelson6694 Рік тому

    I like some songs on this album. This isn't one of them. I am also bothered by the fact that the hi hat and cymbals are totally lost in the mix.

  • @stuartdmt
    @stuartdmt Рік тому +1

    No. No funk. Not on this track. You can hear elements of funk in other Yes pieces, and often, in the early live shows, when the band is kind of jamming between and in front of songs they get "funky" and "soulful" - but not funk. "Tormato" has several good tracks and the playing is superb as usual for this band, but it in many ways feels either unfinished or that there were too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak. As for Chris' bass being so far up in the mix, it all began in the early days when in the studio the techs didn't have the equipment set correctly and they kept turning up the bass on the board. The end result was the bass being on an equal plain as the guitar, keyboards, and vocals. By the "classic period" of the band, each player including the vocalist was considered a "lead instrument" and, as you say, that's fine! "Tormato" in a sense is a diamond in the rough. I think there were a few poor arrangement decisions and a lack of what I call "album cohesion," an element that shines on many of their other projects. I appreciate your reviews and reactions! I would like to see you check out "Sound Chaser" from the 'Relayer' album....

    • @robshaw2639
      @robshaw2639 Рік тому +1

      Weird... I think the album has strong cohesion in that everything in some way fits in the spectrum between Circus of Heaven ... and .. Onward

    • @stuartdmt
      @stuartdmt Рік тому

      @@robshaw2639 That's an interesting take. I wouldn't know where to put "Release, Release," "Don't Kill the Whale," and "Silent Wings of Freedom" in that continuum. The most "Yes-ish" track(s) in my view is "Future Times/Rejoyce" and I can see it's connection to "Circus" and "Arriving UFO." "Madrigal" might be comparable to "Onward" - but with all of those tracks, to me, their is no lyrical or musical thread that connects them. Clearly my own take on the album. I do listen to it on a regular basis, but not as often as other fringe Yes albums like "Magnification," "Union," "Open Your Eyes" and "The Ladder."

  • @anthonyblakely399
    @anthonyblakely399 Рік тому

    I wouldn't say it is their funky album. There is no funk on this album.

  • @patrickmcevoy5080
    @patrickmcevoy5080 Рік тому

    I've always disliked most of this album, mainly because the keyboard sounds are awful, but also because the songwriting is extremely lackluster, IMO. However this song stands head and shoulders about the others on Tormato, despite the grating keyboards. The bass is monstrous, and the Steve Howe leads are brilliant.

  • @magmasunburst9331
    @magmasunburst9331 Рік тому +1

    With all due respect, I don't think you have a real definition of what funky means. Look at it this way, there's no word to describe a rocking bouncing rhythm like what's going on here or specially the song roundabout except the word funky. That's why everyone is using it. I think you're in the minority. Also, these guys were all looking up to Keith Emerson in 1967. Most serious Old School proggers don't really consider rush in the top-tier Prog bands. Why don't you give some Emerson Lake and Palmer a chance. Listen to the song when the apple blossoms bloom in The windmills of your mind. See if you can define that as funky.

    • @JustinPanariello
      @JustinPanariello  Рік тому +3

      My bad... writing and producing for Earth Wind & Fire disqualifies me as someone knowing what the word 'funk' is, means, or how the music sounds/feels... got it. You even said 'rocking bouncing rhythm'... its not funk it's rock. Note length and placement is important in playing funky. This ain't funk. Rush ain't funk. Yes ain't funk. I'll venture to guess ELP ain't funk. Parliament... Prince... that's funk. Roundabout is not funk or funky. It's a rock tune (prog rock really). Played in a rock style. It grooves. It has a groove/feel. But it's not a funk feel, there's a difference. This isn't even blue eyed soul. It's the whitest bread rock. Nothing wrong with that at all. It's just not funk. The word funk should be nowhere around this.

    • @robshaw2639
      @robshaw2639 Рік тому

      What Justin said.

    • @cybore213
      @cybore213 11 місяців тому

      ​@@JustinPanariello"What we have here is a failure to communicate". Yes is prog rock / symphonic prog, of course. None of their songs could be categorized as being in the funk genre. I'm pretty sure the people saying this song or Chris' bass is "funky" are using the other definition of the word: "Modern and stylish in an unconventional or striking way", emphasis on unconventional or striking.

  • @1mbpdf33
    @1mbpdf33 Рік тому +2

    Sounds like a complete mess. So many cool Yes tracks but this isn't one of them.