Cord of Life (And You And I)

[miguelbass]

Hello friends,

I guess this topic hasn't been covered here and it's been always a mystery for me.
The bass studio version of AYAI begins with a sort of low D, which is not a bass guitar - consensual. Then, when the second verse comes...

"Changed only for a sight of sound, the space agreed.
Between the picture of time behind the face of need,
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid,
Emotion revealed as the ocean maid,
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you.
Oh."

... live, Chris is playing it, as we all know, that kind of major pentatonic melody. Now, in the studio version I always thought that it sounds like a guitar, with some chorus, phaser... but doesn't sound really like a bass... furthermore, when Chris Squire plays it live, the melody is somewhat embelished... I imagined that this could be an interpretation of Steve Howe's original playing, adapted to a live situation... So, anyone knows about this? Is it Chris on bass? or Steve on guitar... or even Chris on guitar?

Miguel

[just_bassics]

Hello Miguel,

I think you touched on something that's had me curious for a long time as well, if we are talking about the same thing. In that section of AYAI is an instrument that, to my ears, has always sounded a bit like an old Wurlitzer organ, with that phasey sort of "roller skating rink" effect, very warbly. I always thought that was played by Rick, partly because a friend of mine growing up who was a very talented keyboard player (he turned down Steppenwolf after auditioning for them in the 80's) would play his home organ and it sounded exactly like that. Also, since Steve is playing the 12 string and Chris the pedal bass notes, it would make sense for Rick to have that part.

But... My ears now tell me that it could be some sort of guitar and since Rick was using very signature sounds back then (piano, mellotron, and moog) why does this sound not appear anywhere else? For that matter, why does Steve not use this sound elsewhere?

When I was twelve, we used to go to the local skating rink a lot and the organ music played there had that same sound. CTTE came out that same year and to me, it sounded like the same organ patch. So I'm listening to it on headphones as I write this and it still sounds like it could be either, although when it rears it's head again, just before "Coming quickly to terms..." 4:38, there it clearly sounds to me like some type of keyboard, like the old home organs that were around in the 60's and caught on in early rock music.

On "The Symphonic" live DVD from 2002, AYAI really soars. It's a shame to me that Rick was not present on that tour, because the orchestra is doing exactly what he must have envisioned thirty years earlier. I don't usually like orchestras being added after the fact, to me it sounds "forced" but on AYAI it is perfect. One of the smartest things YES did on Magnification was to involve the orchestra arrangements early in the composition and so it all seems very natural, like the Moody Blues used to do. The very fact that YES can go onstage and perform Ritual, "Gates" and Close to the Edge with a Conductor beating time and a full Symphony Orchestra is proof enough to me that they are indeed among the modern classical geniuses of our time.

[fran4001]

I've always thought it to be Steve's guitar, with the low E dropped two steps to D, played through a Leslie. After another close listen this morning, I'd bet the house on it.

[fran4001]

Actually, after another listen, I don't even think he detuned. Lowest note appears to be his E. Hmmm...

[miguelbass]

Thanks Jim and Fran for your contributions, things are warming up

I took the time to go on listening again to that section just before "coming quickly..." and yes, Jim it seems like the same kind of sound, this time played with a slightly different pattern.
Therefore, I think i am yet more inclined to the Steve/Guitar answer, and it sounds like a fretted string instrument being played.

Many times the guiatarrists (and keyboardists) get to play multiple tracks on the recordings (rhythm, solo, acoustic, etc...) and when performing live, it can happen that the bassist can cover some notes from a particular layer while the guitar is playing other. To me this was the solution found. Another example of such is the initial verses of Lift Me Up, where, live, Chris plays a (originally from the studio version) guitar pattern while Trevor Rabin is playing the rhythm guitar.

Miguel

[seyesbass]

Hi Miguel,
I always assumed that "D" at the start of the track was a chord played on bottom E string 10th fret and F# on the 11th fret of the G string.
The next bit we are talking about sounds as though Steve is playing guitar through a Leslie to my ears.
There seems to be bass guitar under pinning that too.

When those "Classic Album" programmes came out I always hoped they would do CTTE for the very reasons we are discussing here.
Eddie Offord and Steve Howe have talked about the splicing and overdubbing that took place during CTTE and TFTO but it would be great to see Offord dig his way through the master tapes and show us how it was constructed.

I found that using Shure in ear monitor headphones on my iPod brought out stuff in the records I had never heard before....give it a try sometime on the various EQ settings and see what you think.

[seyesbass]

Oh ,and I think the low end stuff may be bass notes from the minimoog on the intro.