Favorite Chris Squire moments

[Scott Bails]

Excellent! Thanks!

[miamiscot]

Gotta go with Heart Of The Sunrise!!!

[bondegezou]

I love what Chris does differently in each chorus. It's that same bass climb that makes "Wurm" what it is, and it's so subtle that it escaped me the first...gosh, fifty or so times I heard the song. Much like in a lot of Yes songs, Chris's bass lines make it what it is.

Some lovely backing vocals from Chris as well during the YesWest years.

Henry

[bondegezou]

The first Yes song I fell in love with was "It Can Happen", which isn't one of those classic Squire songs built up from a bass riff, but is a lovely example of his songwriting and his backing vocals. Then it was The Yes Album, Drama and Big Generator that cemented my love for the band, all full of classic Squire moments.

Henry

[N_Singh]

All four of the 1975 yes solo albums are great (still haven't heard Alan whites). But fish out of water is the best of the. All. Incredible record !

[ItalProgRules]

His bass solo on "Ritual" on the Yes Symphonic Live DVD is right up there.

[the winter tree]

My favorite Squire moment was in the late 90s at a theater in Boston. He started playing his famous bass break near the beginning of HEART OF THE SUNRISE and a young man obviously on some sort of mind bending drug ran onto the stage and sat/cowered in front of Squire's amp stack. Squire walked over to him while playing, sustained a note and shook the guys hand, not missing a beat, and continued playing like it was no big deal! Some stage hands gently helped the guy off the stage.

A truly awesome moment and showed how much class the big guy had.

[strawberrybrick]

Beyond and Before (how fitting that Squire's bass, and that tone, are the first thing we hear on the first Yes album)

Exactly this.

[everyday]

I remember seeing Yes at Hammersmith Odeon about 10-15 years ago and he did a great bass solo - just him I think while the rest of the band were off-stage. Wish I could remember what it would have been. Any ideas? (They started the concert with Siberian Khatru as far as I can remember).

[bigbassdrum]

I can still remember my seat, and the nearby railings, vibrating at the Hartford Civic Center during his solo on the 90125 tour.

Powerful.

I also remember his style of putting on and taking off his bass.

Smooth.

[JJ88]

Great, memorable, melodic parts all over songs like Roundabout, Heart Of The Sunrise, Siberian Khatru, And You And I, Starship Trooper...

[Paulrus]

Beyond and Before (how fitting that Squire's bass, and that tone, are the first thing we hear on the first Yes album)

Yeah, talk about a declaration of intent! OK, class -- let's look at this song because it's a microcosm for Chris' entire approach to how the bass can work within the context of a song.

1. The tone
2. A cool riff behind the verses
3. Lead lines throughout, some big some small
4. The harmony counterpoint in the chorus
5. Expansion and development of the harmony counterpoint in the climactic final chorus
6. A fearlessness to explore the entire tonal range of the instrument



And it was the first song off the first album. Jeeeezus, f-ing Christ!

As my appreciation for Chris has matured I often think back on the earlier Yes pieces, because they were just so fucking ballsy. That is what Chris was all about to me. Here are other examples from the early days:

- Something's Coming (the jazzy walking bit during the intro is sublime)
- Survival (another bass solo in the intro!)
- Harold Land (that loping thing again)
- No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (the precursor bass line to Roundabout in many ways)
- Astral Traveler (another Roundabout-ish main riff, and of course his part in the instrumental section is amazing)

Later moments include the gut punch tone he gets on America, which happens again years later on Into the Lens.

[JJ88]

^One of my favourite lesser-known Yes songs. That coda in particular is beautiful.

[Scott Bails]

Remembered another thing I always loved:

How Squire would quote things, like how he played the "Day Tripper" bass line in Yes' cover of "Every Little Thing," or how he quoted Bernstein's "America" in Yes' cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "America." I always thought that was so cool.

[Garden Dreamer]

Oh man... the section in Machine Messiah - "history dictating symptoms of ruling romance"... he's laying down a single repeated note but on one note he digs in and gives it that signature GROWL... wow. Then a few measures later, the ascending lines he plays around "all of us standing in line, all of us waiting for time..." Yeah, that's a vintage Chris moment for me.

And the whole FOOW album.

[profusion]

On bass, I'd say that the entire Drama album is a high point for him (well, except for "Run Through the Light", on which Trevor Horn plays bass). Squire's lines throughout that album were consistently inventive and rhythmically quirky. That version of Yes had a more stripped-down sound, and it gave him some room to maneuver.

On vocals, besides FOoW, I've always liked anything where he was singing lead in unison with Jon and not just providing harmonies. He and Jon had one of the greatest vocal blends in rock, and it never sounded as good with just Jon singing by himself.

[Zalmoxe]

As i see that the majority of you are focusing on his career with Yes, I wonder if anyone else here keeps this song in high regards:

[ItalProgRules]

As i see that the majority of you are focusing on his career with Yes, I wonder if anyone else here keeps this song in high regards:

Hell yeah. My favorite song on FooW. Love the jazzy vibe. Broof was the perfect drummer for that track and the album as a whole.

[jazz2896]

I gotta say The Gates of Delirium from Yesshows. That middle "war" section or whatever in the middle is pure adrenaline and power, I can't help but stare in awe every time I hear it.

[N_Singh]

This thread has made me re-watch Ritual from Symohonic.
Beautiful beyond words !!!

[Progatron]

This thread has made me re-watch Ritual from Symohonic.
Beautiful beyond words !!!

Did the same earlier. You always know an epic piece like that is finished when you see Chris point his finger high in the air.

[chalkpie]

For me its Fragile, Close, and Relayer demonstrating Chris's finest moments (besides live stuff of course).

[Reach]

Everything mentioned, and my fave off of FOoW: "Silently Falling." I love the ascending/descending flute/bass/piano combo at the beginning. Love the lyrics. Love that intense section before the last part--it's mind-expanding cosmic, like you are ecstatically traveling through a kaleidoscope, feeling ever greater joy and love...And love his combination of almost aggressive strength and tenderness and peace. At it's best, his music is just sublime...

[Mister Triscuits]

My favorite Squire moment was in the late 90s at a theater in Boston. He started playing his famous bass break near the beginning of HEART OF THE SUNRISE and a young man obviously on some sort of mind bending drug ran onto the stage and sat/cowered in front of Squire's amp stack. Squire walked over to him while playing, sustained a note and shook the guys hand, not missing a beat, and continued playing like it was no big deal! Some stage hands gently helped the guy off the stage.

A truly awesome moment and showed how much class the big guy had.

Great story!

[Reach]

Don't believe in miracles, but I do believe in love
Don't advise you to stick to rules, but their ain't no need to push and shove
Or in the end you`ll reflect the pool, reaching for the sky above...