ABWH - Long Distance Runaround (Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA 1989)
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- Опубліковано 21 гру 2023
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I’ve probably said enough about drum solos, one of which follows this Yes classic ‘Long Distance Runaround’. I’ll make an exception here though, because I feel I owe you an explanation about what’s going on in my head while i'm playing this.
It’s a big drum kit, largely electronic, with acoustic metals (cymbals and hi-hat) and snare drum. The heritage of the back-rack dates back to working with Jamie Muir in King Crimson in 1973. His was strung with small acoustic instruments, years before the idea of electronic percussion had made an appearance, but the idea stayed with me. When he left, I adopted back- and side-racks to cover some of his territory.
This was the flagship: the state-of-the-art, sample-based, electronic drumkit from Britain’s Dave Simmons. The back-rack was designed to make me reach for things, so these gestures could be seen from the back of large rooms. At these gigs, the visual is important. It was too expensive for anyone to be able to afford it, but, aside from that small blemish, it was a creative slice of electronic engineering. You could assign literally dozens of samples to each pad in invisible concentric zones. So, a triangle in an inner zone, a shotgun in a central zone and a tambourine in an outer zone. Play outer and central zones together and you get a tambourine-shotgun blend, all parameters infinitely adjustable.
The first tricky bit is remembering which pad has what sounds in what zones - not easy when you’ve got perhaps a dozen identical pads! You never quite knew what sound you were going to get when you played a pad anywhere on its surface. That was demonstrated in one of my better performances - a little Improvised ‘small -instrument’ solo on the Earthworks album ‘Dig?’, in a song called ‘Stromboli Kicks’ (3.58”-4.40”) • Bill Bruford's EARTHWO... .There I got lucky, and the drumming had all I wanted in one pass.
My only plan in this ‘large-scale’ solo was to start by working from the back-rack, and move to the seated drum kit as the action heated up. Things started well enough with some random drum sounds inserted between the repeated full-band ‘Heart of the Sunrise’ figures. My version of that lick on a pitched pad at 3.45” was perhaps unwise - the pitch is more variable than I thought! If programmed properly, the pads were very sensitive, so I thought I’d try some finger work across a pad at 4.16”, abandoned fairly quickly as it seemed too quiet. But what I’m playing, generally, is a function of whatever sounds came up under the sticks, with a large quantity of surprise dictating events.
This sort of heroic, high on the visuals, vaudeville-strength ‘stadium-rock’ drum solo is nothing I shall venture again, although it was fun bringing my particular way of doing things to that space on that tour at that time. The nine as-loud-as-possible hits at the end - on the biggest sounding drums to hand - had been my go-to signature exit phrase, signalling to band members and audience alike, I’m done. No more. “That’s plenty enough of Bruford, for now”, say the drums.
#electronicdrumkit #billbruford #drummer #drumsolos #yes #improvisationmusic #kingcrimson #paistecymbals #jazzdrumming #tamadrums
No matter what their taste in music is, everyone seems to love this song. It is one of those songs that resonates. A piece of music that should exist.
I've always been conflicted about Yes: Love the music, but Anderson's counter-tenor voicing is often at odds with the energy of the song. Why similar singing by Robert Plant doesn't have the same effect I cannot explain. Geddy Lee also has a voice similar to Anderson's, but doesn't distract from the music quite as much. Hope this comes off as more of an explanation than a critique. Your thoughts are welcome.
@@jefferyroy2566 Although I love Yes, I agree 100% with you. Many bands in prog rock and even prog metal suffer from this. In more modern music, Dream Theater is a good example of it. Songs like "As I Am" would have been instant classics if they were sung by a voice with more body such as James Hetfield from Metallica or Layne Stayle from Alice In Chains.
Regarding Robert Plant, I think Plant has a lot more personality in his singing than Anderson, Lee, or most high pitched singers in general. He's got blues, rock, his singing is hot as hell. Anderson is a great singer but he's not a "cool" singer, if you get what I mean.
I so Miss these days.
ABWH and UNION.
Was awesome.
Amazing! It's real talent from real musicians! I miss this era of music!
I saw that tour - ill never be the same 😘
Thanx Bill - whatta a life we lived ......
I was at this show, it was awesome. And I remeber driving up to Sacramento the very next day to see them again (ah, to be 27 again!)
Saw the TALK show 3 times.....driving form one to the other.
Saw this show in Chicago and it featured Tony Levin on bass and the duel between he and bill Buford was spectacular!
I saw it Toronto! That duet was KILLER!
I saw Yes many times throughout the 80's. This tour was my favorite. All the best Bill.
A virtuoso display of the importance of both Space and Time in music.
One of the (very) few drummers who grasped the possibilities of the Simmons drums...
Thanks Bill!😊
your drum parts in long distance runaround was awesome so did your drum solo, hope you make more videos!
GoldenTimes of Yes👍👍👍
😊 ✨
I've not heard anyone else smack the Simmons into life quite so convincingly. Well done, sir!
without a doubt!
Sina,Rock aswell
Tim
Tim
phil collins
One of the finest drummers ever!
I was fortunate to have attended this concert. I was in CA for business and found out about from a local that day! Fantastic!
One thing we can all agree on is that YES never struggled with any ego problems...
The tempo shifts are fantastic, Muir's style got some love too with the interlude
Jamie Muir ?? He was long gone from music and painting by now.
Yes, the trousers!
I can tell these were winners
That ending 9-note phrase is also to be found at the end of "Birthright" and King Crimson's "Waiting Man." A very cool motif.
Intemporel, superbe, un de mes batteurs préférés depuis toujours et à jamais
Simply the best 🎶🎶👍👍
❤❤❤THESE MUSICIANS!! 🤗
I love King Crimson, Yes and Bill Bruford is one of my all time favorite drummers. This performance is great, but that drum solo is just too funny!
Really? I thought it was really cool (especially when you think of Bruford's total body of work and phases) and there's nothing "funny", as in.... to laugh at. What is funny, is watching Neil Peart doing solos and people falling all over themselves exclaiming how great he was; now that is really funny. I wasn't going to go there, but context matters with my replying to your comment.
I don't care about Neil Peart at all. It's just the sound of those electric toms that's so funny to me, it sound to cheap. I can place it in the context of the time and know that Bill is a pioneer, but it's almost like a Tim and Eric skit.
That's funny, because I was thinking how good those drums sounded for that time. But, I guess we are different. Some people look for certain things, others observe and listen to the things being played.@@m-tetsuo
@@m-tetsuo Of course you can go back to 1978 when Knock On Wood by Amii Stewart came out that had the earliest of electric drums.. I wonder if that was an actual drum pad or that Fairchild unit at that time?
@@zappatx What about Kraftwerk playing on those flat pad things on AutoBahn 1973?
Loved it. Nice camera coverage too!
Mr. Bruford, was at the San Luis Obispo show just before. Such a modest beast you are. Best was watching you play Three of a Perfect Pair tour Berkeley Greek Theater in '84, I was just 15, and won't soon forget it. My sister and I were just a few rows back from the front, your performance was epic.
Ian, Bill, Rick, Steve, and base, etc. UUUFFFF. I still remember the 60's and 70's.❤
Simply brilliant.
Thanks for sharing 👍
Hey Bill !!! Love your Genie trousers, very mystical and mysterious. Drumming top notch,on point
He traded in his Boston Bruins overalls for those pants!
Thanks for sharing, I really enjoy the videos and most of all your words in the description, that enriches every one of your videos for me, thanks again
First time hearing this version. Enjoyed the arrangement. I wonder what Carl Palmer would say about this as he also experimented with electronics.
I saw this tour on Long Island … jones beach amphitheater…. Amazing show
I Loved this tour. ABWH FELT LIKE HOME! Saw you guys in philly twice, and the nj arts center twice. would have loved to have seen you with Jon, Rick and Trevor.
I saw the show before (or after?) this in Los Angeles. My wife says to this day that it was the most entertaining, fun and downright *sexiest* drum performance she ever saw! Good thing I'm not a drummer or I'd be jealous!
Oh wait, I *am* a drummer...
I still remember their concert at Chastain Park, Atlanta. Magical! ❤
Best of YYYYEEEESSS. SINCE MY 15 YEARS OLD. ST LEAST. .🎉❤
It was so awesome to hand Jeff Berlin the CD insert from the live CD of this tour, and he was confused. He didn't even know he was the bass player for that recording!
BRUFF-FORD! That says it all! Now if could only play a beat! lol! Just watching him play a tune is inspirational!
I remember this song like it was just yesterday!
☆☆☆☆☆
💯
Amazing show, amazing night. Majiks were in the air...
Full fledged YES.
Saw this show @ Wembley Arena 1989. Jeff Berlin filling in for Tony Levin due to illness.
I saw this tour in Philadelphia at the spectrum,, great show!Tony Levin on bass!!
10 thumbs up the Simmons set was shinning!
I scanned the explanatory essay looking for the words 'snare' and 'machine gun'.
Bill Bruford , the best progressive´s drummer .
Your polyrhythm are amazing .
Played with Yes, King Crimson, Genesis and others.
Except for mickey hart
No it's not either one of these drummers, it's who you vote for LOL
I've always felt that the studio version of Long Distance Runaround could have been a commercial radio hit, had it been available as a single-edit and properly marketed. The song has a strong pop sensibility (a bit like Supertramp in places), and is catchy as hell. The version from "Yessongs" reveals it could sound kinda funky too. Imagine if somebody were to cover the song today, with a view to making it popular.
Awesome tune !
Love your pants Bill LOL
LOVE Jeff Berlin, but I miss Tony Levin on this. Too bad he was sick. Glad to have seen them with TLev twice.
If I drop dead right now I’d be a happy woman. This is everything. THANK YOU…amazing…
We were at this concert.
One thing that always stood out for me in this clip is how in sync the whole band start the unison part at for example at 3:00. I wonder was it just really good eye contact and familiarity with each other, or was there something else that gave each of the players a cue.
I can't imagine looking up to the drumset from lower, trying to look past all the simmons pads 😅
It's all done by counting in their head..
I doubt it. Bruford doesn't solo over a steady pulse, so although they are incredibly talented, that would be unnecessary complicated. Especially for Bruford to solo in free time, while keeping another pulse in his head. There are way easier and effortless (and more precise) ways to play in sync.
And even if they were counting, the common pulse doesnt seem to connect between the unison parts. So either they have some really odd counting to do, or they all counted wrong the same way. Thats why I think that a visual cue with hawk eyes is most likely.
Either way very impressive. Cant forget about the stage lights either that probably shine right into eyes😂
The Worst Album, the greatest tour. r.wakeman
@@timothydillow3160Wakeman had trouble with the abwh album? Baby you know something I don't, I thought Wakemans problem was with the Union album
Since this is basically Yes, I don't believe this is an improvised drum solo but rather something that was carefully rehearsed.
YOU had work with My friend from Caracas Venezuela. Leo Alvarado. 😂🎉❤.
Musicians call Happy crowd music 🎶🎵
Todas esas canciones de Yes las conocí por este concierto, fue mi primer acercamiento a su música... luego oí las originales pero no me gustaron, siempre preferí estas. Las adoro... Y ese quiebre acá con Heart Of The Sunrise y todo lo de Bill es sublime.
BB wearing Rush P/G attire😏😊
Lovely.
That's an excellent point about the lack of differentiation between Simmons pads if you're looking at a wall of them. They should've offered color options for the pads or trim so you could customize.
I had one of the early simmonds kits, the pads were solid and when you hit the the vibration went back up your arm.
Looks like you were using a later iteration, sounds superb, knowing you don't need your ego stroking I won't mention the god like performance you put in here.
What a great lineup Rick Wakeman is always needed to complete this group
Come a long way since the days of tuned milk bottles ;-)
Wow!!😮
I saw this show in Portland Oregon- Chiles Center U of P
Nice pants Bill😆
This is about as far as anyone ever took electronic percussion. Terry Bozzio and later on Neil Peart were pretty much the only others I know of who at least “got it” and used the stuff to do more than just sound like a normal drumkit.
I must be old because I was never comfortable with Bill not being part of Yes for so bloody long it was doing my head in. Alan was a great drummer, and very smart with his technique, but Bruford just had 'it'.
For most, Bill is the drummer of Earthworks, then King Crimson, and lastly Yes. He was with Yes for less than 4 years, right? Much, much longer with his other bands.
@@fabrikk60 Umm...ok? I know this. What point are you trying to make?
1:18 Jon Anderson rocking the Golden Girls look
As usual Bill showing unbelievable skill and demonstration of padaddile variations.
I loved this tour but personally hated the drum sound. Particularly sounds so dated now. Found myself yearning for that wonderful crisp natural snare sound. Fortunately there are loads of other clips of Bill with I think a much better sound. Only my view of course.
That outfit. That goddamn outfit
Simmons 👍
Сразу видно старую гвардию . Спасибо всем .
LDR studio version had a nice snare pattern that accented a different quarter each time ONEtwothreefour, oneTWOthreefour, onetwoTHREEfour, and so on, actually counting backwards at one point too. I can’t quite figure out the pattern here.
That harmony singing is SO high pitched.
Composition has always reminded me of Zappa.
I love their clothes
Looks like they raided MC Hammer's closet for trousers.
Thing never sounded right without Bill on kit
In my opinion - the musician high above all the others in this clip is Bill Bruford.
Bruford: Greatest prog rock percussionist ever!
When is the Simmons SDX drum giveaway gonna be?
After the Union tour Chris Squire said he would not play with an electronic drummer again.
i love you Rey Crimson; is very mucho de Peter swiming en la pileta !! and Bruford es mi favorito all time con Tony Levin un loco lindo
Not my favorite drum solo of yours, but damn, I love it that you take risks and experiment. Thanks for your insights each week.
Despite their clothes the were still a badass band!
Who was on bass in that lineup? (avoid the Abbot & Costello joke, please LOL)
@@chrisgale5634 Oh, yes... hairstyle and moustache (he use to have back in the time) kinda confirm it's him. Thanks.
Hepatitis actually.
@@chrisgale5634
I will never understand Bruford’s decision to abandon the acoustic drums he played so magnificently. The machine-like uniformity of pads is a pathetic substitute.
Is This Simonns?
We were cheated in Dallas as that Tony Levin fella was ill that week but I got autographs at the old Sound Warehouse of that time. But that Simons stuff was risky.. Love that performance here!! It adds to see Bill smiling. Everything Bill does leaves it's mark on us fans more than the other guys because percussion is everywhere. I can reuse what he did on my steering wheel. Can't do that with Steve's parts.
Seeing this stage I was thinking my old vintage Kleinschmidt Teleprinter (Teletype) could make an interesting arrangement of percussion sounds matching that song and solo perfectly. I gotta get it working again,.
The Bad Plus does a great cover of this with Wendy Lewis on vocals
That SDX snare sound is odd: it sounds like it has no dynamic range at all, always turned up to 11, never less. It’s not a SDX limitation, I’m pretty sure, the other pads seem more responsive. (I’ve only ever tried a SDS-8, once around 1990.)
I owned them. They had a pretty limited dynamic range that at a gig one would easily out run. They sucked.
Bill even made Simmons E drums sound great ...
Love Tony Levin but sorely miss Chris Squire in these recordings
had the record version, record are real 24 bits music ,cd are 16 bit digital . t had so much bass an treble and present on junk full range polly from " speaker x2. this album was cool to smoke weed with. LOL
Bill In your Gypsy Uniform! 😂
I love Bruford and completely am aware of his genius. BUT, that solo sounds like a Guitar Center drum department on a Saturday afternoon!
I was there. No photos. No ticket stub. Just, I was there.
The dreaded drum solo. Even when Bruford does it, it’s a drag. Time to hit the bar.
Of course they would not play THE FISH.
How can people say that peart was a better drummer?
There is no Yes without Jon Anderson. Hard enough without Chris Squier