Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Let's face it, the real question is: "Hey, is there any more in that bottle?"

Well I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy.

You guys crack me up!

IMHO, I think my fave would be whatever Mr Squire happens to be playing at the moment... recordings are nice but nothing beats a good live performance! Although one of me personal faves is South Side of the Sky, I think it's a wash as to the technical sound of the albums and the tones therein.

South Side of the Sky is one of my faves! I actually like it better than Roundabout.

South Side of the Sky is one I can actually play!

Roundabout has lost its charm for me through sheer repetition (no I don't play this one).

The first Yes tunes I heard on the radio were Beyond and Before followed by South Side of the Sky. The good ole days of free form FM - it was two tunes (one old one new) by the artists night. Anyhow needless to say I was hooked! Then came CTTE.... Fragile vs. Close to the Edge a draw!

To me, CTTE as an album, is a more complete piece of work than Fragile. While many of the tracks mentioned are awe inspiring, I feel that the title track (CTTE) is an actual, over the top masterpiece. And while Yes continued to put out amazing and inspiring works, CTTE has (IMO) one real peer and that is Awaken. To this day, listening to either one of these still brings me to the verge of tears.
There, I said it.

=JR=

Agreed, John.

As for South Side, that's right near the top of the list for me. It's also one of the few songs (by anyone) that really stirs things for me lyrically (besides those situations where I like the lyrics for no real reason). I think it clicked years ago when I read a couple first hand accounts of the '96 Everest climbing season disaster.

Quote - "And while Yes continued to put out amazing and inspiring works, CTTE has (IMO) one real peer and that is Awaken. To this day, listening to either one of these still brings me to the verge of tears."

John, I actually cry pretty much every time I listen to Awaken. Just call me a wuss .

Awaken is arguably my favourite piece of music in the entire history of the world, along with the intro to Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond.

Actually, that reminds me of the first time I met Jon Anderson, after a Yes gig in Manchester. Not wanting to keep him too long, I just shook his hand and said "lovely to meet you, and thanks for Awaken". As they hadn't played it that night he looked at me as if I'd grown two heads. I was actually thanking him for writing it, which I think I should've clarified!

There are two songs that, whenever I listened to them in Antarctica, seemed to be the perfect musical expressions of my surroundings: Bill Bruford's "Sahara Of Snow" and Yes' "South Side Of The Sky"...

When I listen to either of them now, it takes me right back there.

I feel YES are flawless from the first LP through Going For The One. Each one of those LP’s has been my favorite at one point or another. A few of them I bought the day they were released and had my mind blown. Chris’s solo record has been at the top of my list for periods as well; Tails From Topographic Oceans has been on my Hi Fi exclusively for months at a time. If I had to choose just one to live with for the rest of my life, I may choose death hoping to get the complete set in heaven. Or in hell maybe as some of you think I belong there instead. For three days now I have been listening only to the last 72 seconds of the song, A Venture. Chris and Bill are so strong together during that section. Give it a listen.

A Venture is on song I've never seen Yes do live or ever heard another version of. For that reason, every time I hear it I'm taken back to the time and place in 1973 when I first heard it off of the album. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard it on the radio either.

I love A Venture! You can hear towards the end where it sounds like Chris kicks in the horseshoe and starts gettin funky.... And then that rippin Howe riff just as it fades out....