Re: YES: My favourite band. Analysis, thoughts about Yes or/& any derivative
Great thread.
When I was in my mid teens, my parents used to go away every weekend , so being great kids, that we were, we partied.
Since I had two older brothers, much of my musical influences came from them and Yes was one of my brothers favourite bands. He wore their t-shirts, had their posters on his bedroom walls, went to their concerts and even bought a Rickenbacker bass guitar so he could play like Chris Squire. I also loved this band but I preferred the earlier stuff; fragile, close to the edge, the yes album , yessongs, up until ‘going for the one. ‘After that they just weren’t the same. ‘Owner of a lonely heart’ seemed so commercialized compared to their earlier stuff. ( just my opinion)
Yes had music you could drift away to and get lost in. To the point; it was great stoner music. The talent these musicians had was nothing short of genius and I was fortunate enough to have seen them three times. All three times were with my brother. It was fun and memorable.
Some of my favourite songs were :I’ve seen all good people, Long Distance Runaround, Starship Trouper, And You & I, Yours is No Disgrace, Perpetual Change, Wonderous Stories. These extremely talented musicians told such captivating stories through their music and their ability to harmonious was magical to say the least. Being a teenager was tough enough but listening to YES gave me the ability to drift away and get lost for a while. Listening to music I loved became a reliable outlet.
I also really appreciated their artwork. It was CRAZY good. The timeframe I’m referring to was back in the mid seventies when having vans with elaborate murals was super cool. Well my neighbours boyfriend had the coolest van. It was covered with YES murals.
I’ve also had the privilege of being with friends who loved YES. One day we took a bunch of amplifiers and blasted yes at an old abandoned airport. Talk about an awesome party. It was a BLAST!!!
We had sooo much fun.
So yes I AM a BIG yes fan. Every time I hear a YES song it reminds me of my brother whom I lost in 1979.