Quote:
Originally Posted by Queen Boo
My biggest disagreement with Troll so far, Fragile is my second favorite Yes album and yes I enjoy the solo tracks too, hell The Fish is one of my favorite tracks on the album, I don't think it's wank at all, it starts out very simple and only becomes more complex as it builds up with each bass overdub carefully layered over each other and I think it sounds f*cking awesome specially when the vocals come in, also the way Howe's guitar solo at the end of Long Distance Runaround segues into it is really cool.
Even Cans and Brahms is pretty charming in it's own kitschy way even if it is the weakest moment on the album, the reason Wakeman chose to cover Brahms for his solo track is because he was still signed with another label as a solo artist and wasn't able to have songwriting credits on the album so he couldn't use one of his own compositions.
Roundabout is a track everyone agrees is great but Heart of the Sunrise is the real highlight for me and it's the one that comes closest to the symphonic sound they would achieve with the next album which I'm well aware Troll also dislikes, I don't agree at all that it's lacking in structure or memorable melodies, there's a neat new hook being added like every 30 seconds, I admit the first time I heard it I thought the transitions from one section to another were too abrubt but the more I listened to it the more I realized how it all came together. It's one of my favorite Yes songs.
Also their cover of America is great, I wish they did more covers because the way they did covers was just use the original song as a jumping off point to go into an extended jam, kinda like what Phish does all the time. Could you imagine Yes covering Louie Louie or something? That would be hilarious.
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Ah, how many times have I heard that from the ladies?
Seriously though, I really think I've laid my stall out from the beginning as to how I see Yes, and I think anyone who's expecting an epiphany here is going to be disappointed. As I said to DYC, it's possible I may like the later albums, but up to
90125 or maybe
Drama (not sure about that one, think I heard it once and don't recall being impressed) I'm pretty much a non-Yes fan. Of course other people will get things I don't from this band, and from the earlier albums, and to be fair, anyone who doesn't like
Close to the Edge is really unlikely to be swayed by other albums, nomsayin? Which is kind of odd, to me, that I got so much into their later material, as I really think, on the face of it, this is a band I could hate, or at least not like, similar to ELP and maybe Caravan, bands whom a prog head should like, but I don't.
And yet, those Horn-produced albums and the few occurring in the short space of time from 1983 - 1991, love them. After that, really don't know. I recall being disappointed with
The Ladder and after that I didn't bother. So who knows? But classic Yes, um, no, so far, mostly. Also, the idea of DYC comparing them to jazz actually says a lot, since as you all know, I am no fan of that genre. So maybe there's a reason why I don't like these early albums.
Nevertheless, everyone is entitled to their opinion, as am I, but I am not ever, not with Yes or any other band, going to pretend I like an album just because it's seen that I should. Or to be liked. Well, obviously: that particular ship has not only sailed but been decommissioned and turned into a trendy restaurant.
Oh, and also: I would certainly challenge the contention that "all prog is bands being clever for themselves rather than write memorable music", or whatever the quote was. Genesis don't do that. Rush don't do that. Marillion don't do that. I could go on. I will. Arena don't do that. Nor do Mostly Autumn, Fish on Friday, Red Sand, Millennium, Haken, Jadis, Threshold....