I'm not positive but I suspect the rearrangement of AYAI in the early days was simply to not have to try and switch guitars.
I'm not positive but I suspect the rearrangement of AYAI in the early days was simply to not have to try and switch guitars.
Lemme be the second... Yeah, spirited in places, even a tad raw, but the sound quality flat out sucks to the point of distraction for me. And yes, take that fucking tambourine away from the prog nymph.Originally Posted by polmico
Here's a key to ascension: less Squire never equals better Yes... ever.
Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that
Except that Howe still had to switch guitars. That's why he used the doubleneck. I've never heard any real explanation for why they changed the arrangement. I know Howe said in his guitar collection book that he eventually realized that AYAI "had" to be played on an acoustic 12 string, which is why they eventually reverted to the original arrangement. And I imagine he probably preferred swapping to regular six string electric for the one portion of the song where he needs it, versus schlepping that doubleneck for 10 minutes a night.
I read that the reason was that acoustic guitars could not be amplified sufficiently in those days
and that electrics had to be used to avoid the feedback. The arrangement sounds pretty much the same except a 12 string electric was used rather than the acoustic.
Basically, acoustic instruments in general were tough to sit alongside electrics. With wind instruments it was easier but with acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments, it was tough to juggle the sound levels between the acoustic instruments and the electric ones without getting feedback. It’s the same reason Richard Tandy of ELO owned a Mellotron; when the amplification of the stringed instruments failed (which was inevitable), he could go in and sweeten the sound with Mellotron strings.
The piezoelectric pickup simplified things. The Barcus-Berry company had been experimenting with piezoelectric contact microphones as amplification for violins and other acoustic instruments since the early 60s (I believe Jean-Luc Ponty was an early user) but it was only in the early 70s that their stuff took off. The refining of this technology also allowed acoustic guitars and pianos to be effectively amplified.
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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
"It is not an obscenity to be free. It is a divine right." --Annette Peacock
N.P.:“Jean-Jacques”-Maneige
Yessongs sounded terrible. The mix was not very good, drums sounded like cardboard, etc.
It's probably my favourite album of all time. Incredible music, played with incredible energy. Plus, when dealing with CttE, it was the band playing it all the way through, without those annoying all-too-obvious edits that were on the album.
Yes, the production wasn't very good. But the band more than made up for that. And the cover was wonderful; it gave you something to stare at for the hours it took to listen to this bugger all the way through.
And on Siberian Khatru, why O why doesn't Steve play those four solo chords that way anymore? Sliding down to the third chord made it just perfect, and now it sounds wrong every time he plays it...
Gnish-gnosh borble wiff, shlauuffin oople tirk.
He should have used a wire recorder.
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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
"Parece cosa de maligno. Los pianos no estallan por casualidad." --Gabriel Garcia Marquez
N.P.:“Lost”-The Church/Starfish
[QUOTE=Mikhael;
And on Siberian Khatru, why O why doesn't Steve play those four solo chords that way anymore? Sliding down to the third chord made it just perfect, and now it sounds wrong every time he plays it...[/QUOTE]
What guitar part are you talking about???
And as much as I love the 12 string intro to AYAI (I play it anytime I pick up my 12 string), I think the Yessong's intro is so freakin powerful and dramatic.
Those four double-stop things he plays by himself while the band pauses. He makes five out of them by sliding the second one down, and I've always preferred that to the way he plays it now. It could've even been a mistake, but I like it.
Gnish-gnosh borble wiff, shlauuffin oople tirk.
A classic; one of the best live albums from prog's heyday! Yeah, it's not a great recording; I don't care! The band was on top of their game and Yessongs is full of inspired performances from what was a very grounbreaking band at the time.
For reasons that I can't explain, I bought Yes' debut when it came out and though I loved it, the next album of theirs I got was this one. I got so used to the live versions of their tunes that it took me a while to warm up to the studio versions when I backtracked and got The Yes Album, Close to the Edge and Fragile. I still prefer some of the Yessong versions!
I could nitpick about some things here and there, but why taint it with that sort of pettiness!? Like I said, it's a classic!
Oh, you mean those D chord inversions ending on the F#/E after the intro before the whole band kicks in on the main riff - never noticed he doesn't play that correctly recently. I sometimes (actually, most of the time!) blow that last double stop when I'm playing that, but, I ain't Steve Howe.
Actually, on the studio version (I'll have to take a listen again), i thought that was two guitars - one of them does the slide to the third double stop [ha - talk about minutia!] - creates a sort of ADT effect.
On Yessongs there seems to keyboard with that part.
Curious... what is ADT?
Automatic Double Track
The creating of the illusion two the same instruments are playing in unison.
Ah... thanks.
What I meant was it sounds like there is a bit of keyboard on that last chord on yessongs, and even on the studio version.
Ah... thanks.
What I meant (but didn't say well in my post) was it sounds like there is a bit of keyboard on that last chord on yessongs, and even on the studio version.
Best live album ever.
Ever.
I just noticed at last summer's show that he "blew" that part. I wasn't aware that it's just the way he plays it now.
High Vibration Go On - R.I.P. Chris Squire
THE Live Album, period.
My little brother had this LP in the early Seventies and I listened to it quite a lot.
When I heard Fragile, I thought it sounded less adventurous than the live-recording.
But I never bought the album nor one of the many CD-releases.
When I saw a nice Japanese 7" version though, which a stereo SACD inside, I thought it was a nice way to go back to my youth.
It looks like this 2014 version was recently re-released, this time with lyrics: https://www.discogs.com/Yes-Yessongs/release/9961058
A treat for Yes fans!
Although the version of "And You And I" here is unlistenable to me. The studio version destroys it in every way. Everything else is stellar though.
"Yessongs" sounds like one piece! Yes were still relatively young in the early 1970s (25 - 30), so they were in good shape and spread positive, Yes-typical feel-good atmosphere without end and a lot of fresh power. Three studio masterpieces in a row, almost flawlessly, lifted Yes to the zenith of their work.
It's okay that "Yessongs" doesn't included the songs from "Time and a Word", as Yes had concentrated entirely on their prodigious approach on the three sensational albums, "The Yes Album", "Fragile" and "Close to the Edge", which are milestones of Symphonic rock movement and fundamental classics of the 70's Progressive music itself. And extremely dynamic live versions of almost all relevant songs from these three albums are offered on "Yessongs"; the only song missing is "South Side of the Sky" from "Fragile".
Yessongs is an excellent live testimony of the band's heydays with a great selection of songs, a very good, powerful and cleanly differentiated sound and sometimes interesting variations of the pieces.
As the beginning of the band's golden era, this record is certainly predestined. The material is recorded during their 1972 tour, and with the exception of three songs, Alan White plays the drums.
Overall, the songs seem much more dynamic live than in the studio, without losing any of the subtleties, played almost without the handbrake on. This is particularly noticeable with "Roundabout".
This album is a revelation for me every time I listened to it. "Yessongs" may utilize more enthusiasm than some people are prepared to invest in it, but the real fans will soaking up its magic. For those who still don’t have this album in their collection, a buy recommendation on my part!
it was a triple live album, very rare for that time.
What gave Roger Dean enough room to make his best illustrations for Yes. It was on "Yessongs" the Yes / Dean collaboration gained full confirmation, and beyond: then that collaboration became being deeply-rooted in the fan consciousness as never before has there been such a similarity of the atmosphere of illustrations and music.
I have 3 triple live albums from the 70s
Welcome back my friends...
Yessongs
Wings over America
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