YES Hall of Fame Induction - schedule of events

[bondegezou]

^^^ Yeah, I would guess that the band (and maybe the HOF folks too...) wanted to limit it to the "inductees only" onstage for the performances.

Yes followed ELO and Joan Baez, both of whom played with numerous non-inductees. The "inductees only" argument seems odd to me.

Henry

[ronmac]

I think the next Yes album should be completely silent so everyone can speculate how mediocre, great or terrible the music is and how the payers were ambivalent towards, loved or hated the experience.

[gearHed289]

I read and believe Sherwood's account of not being allowed to play, which is in and of itself odd.

Maybe they just don't like Billy for some reason that's none of our business? Maybe he turned them down?

Seems a good percentage of our beloved rock stars of yore have become bickering old ladies.

[yamishogun]

Seems a good percentage of our beloved rock stars of yore have become bickering old ladies.

Ever since they were 23 year old bickering old ladies.

[iguana]

Ever since they were 23 year old bickering old ladies.

… and now some of them even look like bickering old ladies.

[Scott Bails]

I think he meant Geddy Lee.

Oops! Reading that again, you're probably right. So confusing...

I figured the egos on the ARW side held that their players who weren't inducted were just as worthy to play as the current Yes lineup's players who weren't inducted. I get that for Davison (who I like, but his relationship to the legacy of the band is short and recent enough that they'd have a point there), but Downes certainly has been around in a past incarnation and, fer cryin' out loud, Billy played in the band with most of those guys in the past and was Chris' hand picked replacement. I get that he isn't particularly appreciated by some, but tit for tat nonsense that froze him out from playing was really pretty crappy on the ARW side and, IMO, makes them look like d-bags no matter where you fall on the "who is Yes" debate. Billy isn't just some recent fill in and A, R and W should have been big enough to recognize that.

I was really excited when I heard that ARW was finally going to happen, but they've been so petty throughout their limited existence, that excitement has faded.

[bondegezou]

I was really excited when I heard that ARW was finally going to happen, but they've been so petty throughout their limited existence, that excitement has faded.

I will forgive pettiness if we get good music. So far, I'm thinking that more Anderson Ponty, more Anderson/Stolt and more Trevor Rabin solo work would've have been better time spent.

Henry

[Sean]

Did it occur to anyone that Howe played bass so to not tip the balances toward either camp by using Billy or Lee? Well....do think about it. Plus, Steve likes to play bass.

[Mstove]

I was really excited when I heard that ARW was finally going to happen, but they've been so petty throughout their limited existence, that excitement has faded.

I caught them in Chicago and really enjoyed it, and we are going to see them in Milwaukee later this year. That said, they definitely are coming of as petty to me lately and it definitely takes some of the good vibes away.

[Frumious B]

I think that talk of pettiness on the part of ARW is greatly exaggerated. What happens is that someone pulls a single quote from a lengthier interview covering a variety of topics where someone says something that could be interpreted as unflattering about YesOfficial and the result is a dozen plus page thread. If another interviewer asks a similar question they are going to get a similar answer and then you get another giant thread over that comment. So people get the impression that YesOfficial is under some kind of constant siege from YesFeat. It's really a little silly, especially when folks who complained for years about Anderson " playing the victim" in regards to his illness in 2008 start treating YesOfficial like some poor helpless victims being bullied around by ARW.

[Frumious B]

Did it occur to anyone that Howe played bass so to not tip the balances toward either camp by using Billy or Lee? Well....do think about it. Plus, Steve likes to play bass.

Too bad Geddy didn't stick around for one more song. That jam at the end of "Owner..." would have been even better if Howe could have been in there.

[Vic2012]

Listening to Mind Drive right now. Eeeesh. How can you Yes snobs not like this song.

[roylayer]

Just watched the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Although I was interested in most of the inductees, Yes was the main reason that I attended the ceremony in Brooklyn earlier this month. The live ceremony lasted about 5 hours. The televised version is 3 hours. Obviously some things had to go. I was curious to see how HBO would do that.

I thought that the editing helped Yes overall.

THE SPEECHES:

Yes did not come off as well as they could have during their unedited acceptance speeches. They looked much better in this version. Live, Jon Anderson rambled a bit and seemed a bit lost in thought. In addition to the jokes that aired, Rick Wakeman told some other jokes that I am glad they omitted. However, they should have included speeches by Trevor Rabin and Alan White (who included a tribute to Chris Squire). They were short and not embarrassing.

THE PERFORMANCE:

During Owner of a Lonely Heart, Trevor and Rick jammed out into the audience. That went on for too long originally and is something that some might consider a bit cheesy in the first place. (Personally I wanted to see it so that I could see the interaction between them, Joan Baez, and the other audience members.) This was cut from the broadcast.

The sound mix in Roundabout was odd. Geddy's bass was THUNDEROUS live but very much in the background here. They had Rick's keyboards turned up in the beginning of the song where it is not normally very prominent.

All told, good job by HBO.

If you missed the original broadcast, the show will be rerun on HBO many times over the coming weeks.

[elliottnow]

They really "tightened up" the breakdown of Owner for the broadcast.

[SRS]

watched it last night as well and HBO did a good job with the live performances. Owner was clearly cleaned up from the youtube versions I saw so it came across well even if I wish they hadn't cut the "Make it Easy" intro. And for sure they should have shown Alan and Trevor's speeches. Geddy and Alex were fun in their induction speeches but seemed a little over focused on saying how important Yes was to their teenage selves, I get what they were saying but it sort of came across oddly to me like Yes only had relevance at that time period and all the work since wasn't important.

[SteveSly]

I totally forgot to DVR this last night. Will have to try to catch a re-broadcast.

[Obscured]

Yes only had relevance at that time period and all the work since wasn't important.

Pretty much...

[roylayer]

Mike Tiano wrote a detailed analysis of the differences between the live event and the HBO broadcast on the Notes from the Edge Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NotesFromtheEdge/?fref=nf

[SRS]

what does the shirt say that Jon wears all the time, and also wore at the Hall of Fame? Is that his kids names or something, can't make it out.

thanks for the link above - Here is the full video of the Yes speeches so we can see what was dropped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYlcJH8BEWI

[rdclark]

I'm not at all surprised Howe played bass on Owner.

They have to play their biggest chart hit.

Howe plays the song live routinely only because he's the only guitarist and there's always a bass player already.

For the first time, they had a live performance booked where the bass slot was open and someone else could, arguably, play the guitar part better. To him, I expect it was a no-brainer. He would leap at the chance.

I admit I had a momentary fantasy where Yes reformed with Rabin instead of Sherwood, and Trevor and Steve traded off bass and guitar duties depending on whether it was a Rabin-era song. Then I woke up, and Rick Wakeman (looking like Sasquatch in a suit) was telling toilet jokes on my TV. There is no reality.

[Prog Lives]

Title of the new album

Prostate Gophers and Erections in e minor

[dmarkfie]

Oops! Reading that again, you're probably right. So confusing...



I was really excited when I heard that ARW was finally going to happen, but they've been so petty throughout their limited existence, that excitement has faded.

Hate to say, I really agree. Rolling Stone recently had an article about Owner where they interviewed Jon and Trevor. In it they talk about how Jon had to forgive the band before he could rejoin. WTF?!! He was the one who left them. I just hate all this revisionist history and constant bickering. Let there be two bands. More music. Just be quiet. (and btw the fight over the name isnt any grand artistic fight - its all about branding)

[calyx]

Rolling Stone recently had an article about Owner where they interviewed Jon and Trevor. In it they talk about how Jon had to forgive the band before he could rejoin. WTF?!! He was the one who left them. I just hate all this revisionist history and constant bickering.

It's difficult to know exactly what happened in 1980. One version had Anderson, in view of all the fighting and musical incompatibility, suggest they take a one-year break and then regroup, but the band went ahead as a three-piece, then Horn and Downes joined and they did "Drama".

Few people seem to know that following the Paris debacle of November/December 1979, the band reassembled for rehearsals with Anderson, but without Wakeman, throughout February 1980. Anderson had written new lyrics for the band-composed material (like "The Yes Song", which became "Tempus Fugit") while on holiday in the New Year, but his lyrics were rejected, as had most of the material he and Wakeman had put forward. (In my opinion, the material in question was weak while the Howe-Squire-White trio had strong ideas.)

[Firth]

Just watched the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Although I was interested in most of the inductees, Yes was the main reason that I attended the ceremony in Brooklyn earlier this month. The live ceremony lasted about 5 hours. The televised version is 3 hours. Obviously some things had to go. I was curious to see how HBO would do that.

I thought that the editing helped Yes overall.

THE SPEECHES:

Yes did not come off as well as they could have during their unedited acceptance speeches. They looked much better in this version. Live, Jon Anderson rambled a bit and seemed a bit lost in thought. In addition to the jokes that aired, Rick Wakeman told some other jokes that I am glad they omitted. However, they should have included speeches by Trevor Rabin and Alan White (who included a tribute to Chris Squire). They were short and not embarrassing.

THE PERFORMANCE:

During Owner of a Lonely Heart, Trevor and Rick jammed out into the audience. That went on for too long originally and is something that some might consider a bit cheesy in the first place. (Personally I wanted to see it so that I could see the interaction between them, Joan Baez, and the other audience members.) This was cut from the broadcast.

The sound mix in Roundabout was odd. Geddy's bass was THUNDEROUS live but very much in the background here. They had Rick's keyboards turned up in the beginning of the song where it is not normally very prominent.

All told, good job by HBO.

If you missed the original broadcast, the show will be rerun on HBO many times over the coming weeks.

Geddy discussed his hearing of Squire 's Rickenbacker Bass and how that turned him on to playing bass. However he played that dull Fender bass, what a disappointment.

[per anporth]

It's difficult to know exactly what happened in 1980. One version had Anderson, in view of all the fighting and musical incompatibility, suggest they take a one-year break and then regroup, but the band went ahead as a three-piece, then Horn and Downes joined and they did "Drama".

Few people seem to know that following the Paris debacle of November/December 1979, the band reassembled for rehearsals with Anderson, but without Wakeman, throughout February 1980. Anderson had written new lyrics for the band-composed material (like "The Yes Song", which became "Tempus Fugit") while on holiday in the New Year, but his lyrics were rejected, as had most of the material he and Wakeman had put forward. (In my opinion, the material in question was weak while the Howe-Squire-White trio had strong ideas.)

Did any of the material that Anderson brought to this second set of sessions end up on Song of Seven, Aymeric?

For what it's worth, I think SoS is a fine record, although for the most part, not a record one could have envisaged being a Yes album. Oddly enough, given the background, it comes across as a very relaxed, laidback (in the good sense), recording - a great ensemble of musicians having a lot of fun playing music they clearly enjoy (I think this is borne out by the recordings of the live shows at the time).