New interesting interview with Rick Wakeman

[abhorsen]

It's pretty well documented that that's how it went down(es).

But in context it sort of made sense. They were dusting off "Fly From Here", plus they had to come up with new music to go with it to have a full album. That old Buggles stuff had a very particular sound and texture to it that Geoff Downes has in his DNA. Oliver Wakeman -- not so much. And as the producer Trevor Horn felt it within his purview to make that call. I'm sure he thought that after the FFH album was done the band could then decide to keep Geoff or release him and bring Oliver back, but the tour and album did well enough that they decided to continue on with Geoff. There were other benefits around replacing Oliver with Geoff as well, including the fact that Steve was working with Geoff in Asia at the time, and they could tour all of Drama without as much time or effort.

I can understand this, and certainly the Asia angle was there. Downes is perfect for that material and the album turned out really well. I would have preferred they bring in Geoff as a guest musician for the FFH suite, given the band had no intention of playing most of the album live as they had with Drama. For most of the classic Yes songs that have featured in the band's live show since, well, forever it seems now, O Wakey would seem the better choice. Heck, Oliver might even manage to make some of that Asia muck interesting! Apologies to Asia fans. I know I'm being overly critical.

[calyx]

II would have preferred they bring in Geoff as a guest musician for the FFH suite, given the band had no intention of playing most of the album live as they had with Drama.

Not true, they did perform most of the album live - the entire "FFH" suite plus "Life On A Film Set", "Into The Storm" and (iirc) Steve's solo piece "Solitaire". That's more than they ever played of many of their last few albums. They didn't even perform a single track from the latest album in Europe...

[Dan Roth]

"There were all sorts of stories going around that “Oh, Chris wanted it to continue.” I know for a fact people that spoke to Chris and that isn’t true.

And Billy Sherwood’s response on Facebook:

“Looking forward to the next Touring cycle with YES, playing one of my favorite records from tip to tail "Relayer". Challenging bass parts to say the least, composed by my dear friend Chris... It's an honor to play his parts and have taken his spot on stage (as per his request). It's also comforting knowing Chris wanted YES to continue into the future and thrive doing so.... Despite the naysayers, who ever they may be this week lol... YES goes on with the highest regard for the music and with the integrity of knowing Squire wanted it this way. Chris being the only member to have never left the band, ever.... He had the vision to see the way forward and keep YES relevant. I'm honored to be a part of YES history and YES FUTURE !!!!! Thanks to all the amazing YES fans for the support and love. This pic is from the Talk tour, Chris insisted we do a double bass thing, so we played the intro piece to "Endless Dream" together in octaves, I played my 5 string and Chris played his 4 string. This for me is a highlight of my being involved with YES. There has never been 2 bass players on stage with YES until this... Chris was a brother of mine.”

[Mister Triscuits]

There has never been 2 bass players on stage with YES until this...

Didn't Howe and Squire play "A Bass Odyssey" together in 1970?

[Man In The Mountain]

Dear Billy. We get it, Chris told you to fill in until he got better. But he didn't. The end.

[aith01]

Dear Billy. We get it, Chris told you to fill in until he got better. But he didn't. The end.

No wonder he doesn't hang out here anymore...

[abhorsen]

Not true, they did perform most of the album live - the entire "FFH" suite plus "Life On A Film Set", "Into The Storm" and (iirc) Steve's solo piece "Solitaire". That's more than they ever played of many of their last few albums. They didn't even perform a single track from the latest album in Europe...

Wait, really? I had no idea. I seem to recall the setlists in the States being quite a bit less than what is above, but I probably misremembered. I'd love to hear a good gig with that setlist as a boot.