For me the last great one was "the Ladder" but I probably like TALK a tad more. I agree that it is under rated and can't understand how anyone could label this "crappy." To each their own I guess. I actually saw this tour. Somehow the show wasn't cancelled despite it being on a rainy night. I had a great time. Mindboggling to me that it was released 20 years ago. Does anyone else feel like they should be rolling up to the bingo table in their wheel chair about now?Originally Posted by Rufus
Agree with you about The Ladder, Mike. I really love that one, too.
And yeah, it doesn't seem possible that 1994 was twenty years ago.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
+3 on "The Ladder". A very underated album in my book as I love the whole thing. 20 years......yea that is incredible.....Agree with you about The Ladder, Mike. I really love that one, too.
And yeah, it doesn't seem possible that 1994 was twenty years ago.
Yes! It doesn't seem possible. Talk came out my last year in college, and I remember walking around the Western Michigan campus with my CD player and headphones, taking it in. It's hard for me to process that those days were 20 years ago.For me the last great one was "the Ladder" but I probably like TALK a tad more. I agree that it is under rated and can't understand how anyone could label this "crappy." To each their own I guess. I actually saw this tour. Somehow the show wasn't cancelled despite it being on a rainy night. I had a great time. Mindboggling to me that it was released 20 years ago. Does anyone else feel like they should be rolling up to the bingo table in their wheel chair about now?
I love the album. Post-Drama, it's one of two Yes albums I still regularly reach for, the other being Magnification.
I got this the day it came out, and my housemate at the time (I was at Uni) ridiculed the cover, and then ridiculed the music as boring rock. I, of course, defended it, but he was right: there's no spark here. A few decent tunes, but mainly dull and uninteresting, with the final track an attempt to make a 'prog' track, but instead it all sounds like something programmed on a cheap midi keyboard. I don't think I've listened to it all the way through for 20 years, and would be quite happy to not listen to it again.
Last edited by Harbottle; 05-11-2014 at 12:55 PM.
The twenty years thing blows my mind too.
It's been mentioned/rumoured many times over the years that Squire is barely on this album due to his substance abuse/absence from the studio issues. Even Steve Howe of all people discusses it on the Classic Artists DVD (he doesn't mention Squire by name but it's clear who he's talking about), and for a second there, seems to almost feel bad for Rabin who was shouldering the burden of making the record. While I can definitely hear Squire's vocals, there's nothing about the bass guitar on that album that sounds like his style to me.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Me too only I don't spin magnification but agree TALK is a fantastic album!
Wasn't this the first digitally recorded album?
Last edited by Rufus; 05-11-2014 at 08:02 AM.
Disagree, The Calling & Endless Dream have Squire's signature sound all over them. And his playing on the tour sounds no different from what you hear on studio versions!The twenty years thing blows my mind too.
It's been mentioned/rumoured many times over the years that Squire is barely on this album due to his substance abuse/absence from the studio issues. Even Steve Howe of all people discusses it on the Classic Artists DVD (he doesn't mention Squire by name but it's clear who he's talking about), and for a second there, seems to almost feel bad for Rabin who was shouldering the burden of making the record. While I can definitely hear Squire's vocals, there's nothing about the bass guitar on that album that sounds like his style to me.
It's pretty clear that Squire was relatively disengaged from the album and there were long reports that Rabin handled some bass parts or used so much digital editing that he might as well. One report, that I have no reason to disbelieve, has that Rabin brought in Billy Sherwood to play on the sessions, and that perhaps 3/4 of the bass playing and maybe 1/2 the drumming as well is actually Sherwood. For the tour, at one point the band planned to go without Squire (with Sherwood to play bass).
Talk is the first Yes album since Time and a Word, I think, that has no writing credits by the drummer. Ditto by the keyboardist, although Kaye was, I think, closer to Rabin during the album's making than White or Squire.
Henry
Where Are They Now? Yes news: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm
Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
As Cinema albums, go, it is OK. Never was a fan of Cinema, however. Too poppy.
Na, it's all rumours with no substance! On the Yes Active CD-ROM Chris Squier is seen actively in the studio playing bass. Alan White in interviews mentioned working titles for the album& even a song that didn't make the cut, so to say he was barely involved is also ridiculous!
Sherwood has denied appearing on the Talk studio album.
"It was a cruel song, but fair."-Roger Waters
White also has absolutely nothing but good things to say about Talk whenever he is asked and he seems sincere about it to me. I know he's the consummate team player, but I'd think that if he felt he'd been treated unfairly or shut out of the making of the album that the praise he offers would be less glowing.
Last edited by Frumious B; 05-11-2014 at 09:28 AM.
"It was a cruel song, but fair."-Roger Waters
Good lord, no. There have been digitally recorded albums since the late '70s, before there were CDs. Talk wasn't even the first album made on a DAW.
I almost bought this album years ago when I saw it in a used CD store. But then I remembered how much I hated the Rabin era of Yes, and having read overwhelmingly negative reviews of the album, I put it back in the bin. At one time I had 90125, Big G, and ABHBWAHB (or whatever) and got rid of them all. Big G was the closest one of those three to being kinda good, considering the times. Really, IMO the only thing worth a damn that YES has done in 33-34 years (after Drama) is KTA2. I'll never understand the disdain people here have for that album. Christ, what do you want? You have the freaking. classic lineup (minus Bruford), you've got a long epic track that's as good as anything on Drama or GFTO (IMO). Yeah, there are some keyboard sounds on KTA2 (studio) that have that twee, toy keyboard sound but the songs are good to great. And people fall all over themselves over 902125 and that horrible, synthetic, bullshit sound. No wonder Rick left the band AGAIN over this KTA fiasco. What a blown opportunity.
Personally I liked Talk when it came out, but it hasn't stood the test of time for me. Yet the boots from the tour are quite good. I really like the version of Endless Dream on the Santiago DVD for example, though I never much liked it on the studio disc.
But it's not a Cinema album. Cinema was built on the Rabin/Squire partnership, with White and Kaye. Talk is an album by Rabin and Anderson with Squire/White less involved. Talk is its own thing.
Henry
Where Are They Now? Yes news: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm
Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
I didn't say either was "barely involved". Both clearly did work on the album. But I think the evidence is clear that Squire in particular, but also White were less engaged with this album than earlier ones and that not all the bass playing is by Squire.
You only have to look at the writing credits to see Squire/White were less involved.
Album: # songs : # Squire co-writes : #White co-writes
Tormato: 8 : 5 : 2
Drama: 6 : 6 (notionally, at least) : 6 (notionally, at least)
90125: 9 : 7 : 4
Big Generator: 8 : 6 : 3
Union: 4 (YesWest) : 2 : 0
Talk: 7 : 2 : 0
Keys to Ascension: 2 : 2 : 1
Keys to Ascension 2: 5 : 3 : 2
Henry
Last edited by bondegezou; 05-11-2014 at 11:05 AM.
Where Are They Now? Yes news: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm
Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
Wakeman didn't leave the band over KtA2. He left because the band changed management and planned a tour without consulting him. The band were in agreement with Wakeman over presenting the studio material on KtA2 differently, but lost control over the situation and the record label did what they want.
Henry
Where Are They Now? Yes news: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm
Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
IT'S all about the songs & KTA 1&2 hasn't a decent one, just some good half baked ideas!
Interesting interview. Time has allowed some better perspective on that period, though it's obvious just from this thread that the album is still controversial among hard core fans and there's not much consensus about its merits. I come down on the "It sucks" side of the fence, but I get why some folks are more fond of it. It was a perfect storm of bad luck though. The early 90s was certainly not kind to a LOT of ex-70s superstars (see: ELP).
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
I've been going thru my cd collection and playing discs that I haven't listened to in years. not a big fan of the studio tracks on 1 but the ones on 2 are quite good. No they're not the second coming of early -mid 70's Yes, but they are quite enjoyable. YMMV
It wasn't that "Talk" was bad to me, I just thought that it "tried to hard".........
I like 90125 a lot (even though it has some songs I skip over) — it at least has some balls, unlike Talk. And BG is solid as long as you don't expect "prog" rock. That said, I like the original material presented on the KTA albums and I also don't get why all those songs are dismissed by a lot of fans, especially when Yes was finally sounding like a prog band again. I guess it all boils down to "damned if you do...damned if you don't!"
Last edited by dropforge; 05-11-2014 at 02:32 PM.
I've always had a soft spot for Talk. I think it's easily the best YesWest album and was a breath of fresh air after Union. The album radiates positivity for me and it sounds like a band that actually gives a shit. I even like Where Will You Be!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks