Empty ? Bill is the Man!!!

[lindil]

Well i got here and all i saw was tyhe same old avatar thing so I thought i would post re: bill .
he is my all time favorite percussionist. I am a string/ vocals guy myself, but Bill is one of only a few percussionists that I will listen to ignoring the rest of the tune.

A few of my BB favorites are:
#1 !!! Neurotica , requiem and Satori in tangier --- off of Beat by Crimson, the best drumming i ever heard, period
~~~also Discipline- the whole album.
~~~an evening of yes music plus. awesome especially Close to the edge and the ABWH tracks. although he is a bit loud on the fake snare at times he is still excellent.
~~~ the fragile version of 'heart of the sunrise'.

well such as it is ther is my Bruford offering.
The man is bold, to LEAVE YES after CttE for a crimson that had hither to been a pale reflection and then help crimson create their first excellent album - larks tounge and then play on 'fractured' is bold. it paid off I think for him in the first 2 80's KC albums , for yes woud have restricted him -- although i would have loved to have heard him on tales and relayer - not Gft1 though!


-lindil

[YYY]

I just listen to some classic K.Crimson and Earthworks after a long time. Now I used try and be very considerate of Alan's contribution to YES but the bottom line is BILL"S the MAN. I love him with KC but if he would have stayed with YES, they would have been even better. I know that hard to imagine, but Bill's influence on TALES and RELAYER would have blown Alan away.
I sincerely believe that. I only wish that Bill could have been in both bands at once. Wow! would that have been something to behold. YES even Mo' betta'! It's hard to believe, but it's true.

[ANTIOCH]

I will agree that the drumming on ABWH , studio and 'live' is excellent , and the work Bruford did with 'King Crimson' certainly stands on it's own ; but to say Alan White's drumming on "Relayer" is anything short of excellent is short-sighted and
without merit.
It's like saying "What if Pat Mastelotto was Crimson's drummer" . . . oops , he is !

[YYY]

Again I'll never say that Alan isn't extremely talented. I just believe that Bill would have shined even more than Alan on Relayer and Tales. Look- if you put Bill's drumming style with King Crimson into Yes music, you'd have something that would be much more distinct, funky, jazzy and original. Alan is a good Rock drummer, but Bill was more innovative. Yes probably would have stifled Bill, but in a perfect world and if he would have stayed with them and been able to play to his full potential, I think Yes would have been better off than they were. and THAT I would like to have seen (heard)!

I am speaking in terms of musically, not personality.
Musically the CTTE year was the perfect ensemble. No question.
If they could have maintained their enthusiasm with the CTTE incarnation, they would have taken over the planet (figuratively speaking)

Also I always thought that what Yes needed and still needs is an incredible innovative percussionist in the band. Someone who was really proficient in (not only rock but) Jazz, Funk, African, East Indian, Brazilian, Cuban rhythms. To eccentuate that TRIBAL energy they used to have in their music. Jon has the feminine side
wrapped up but they also needed balls at times. Chris and Steve can only do so much. An extreme drummer can really light up the whole band.