Tormato/Keyboards

[SKEETER]

One subject that seems to be dominant about Tormato is the keyboards. One thing that is very hard to keep in mind is that at the time Tormato hit the market synths were still new. Artists were still trying to find interesting ways to use them in music, and as such they often used them in fascinating ways. Now synths are just like any other backround instrument, but at the time they were being used to embellish music in very experimental ways and in a sense it was a situation of artists playing with the new toys that confounded them. Just in the time from Fragile to Tormato, technology in general but particularly in keyboards had made a huge series of leaps. When people first heard Tormato, it was a NEW sound. Noone had made sounds similar to it, and that made it fresh and interesting. Now just about anything is possible, which makes music somewhat less interesting than it was at the time, because seemingly nothing is beyond the imagination. Anything someone can conceive in their mind they can commit to a recording, given the musical ability to do so. But when Tormato came out, interesting sounds outside of the typical instruments of the time were hard to come by. Short of things like tape flanging, and tape reversing, and doing interesting things with reverb or splicing, getting strange sounds was very limited and difficult. Anyone at the time Tormato came out that understood and had access to the technology used on Tormato was way ahead of the game. You couldn't simply walk into any music store and buy the gear those guys used, it was not easily available to the average consumer, and even if someone was lucky enough to know a store that carried the gear, you had to be a Tzar or King or rock star to be able to afford it. Now the average kid has access to a computer or a synth that can make any sound your mind can contrive. The fact it was not available then to most people meant that the sounds on albums like Tormato were very strange and unusual, as well as somewhat mesmerizing.
It is also important to note that at the time Tormato came out, the music industry was not contrived and formatted like it is now, it was pretty much still creative, and anything that was interesting got airplay and attention. That left artists in the situation of having to heavily compete, and in order to do so they had to be ahead of the game, to be the first one to discover a new method of getting sounds or recording. That would be opposed to today, where every new band is expected to sound like every other band. The entire situation left bands in the awkward position of being speculators of what the public would want. The challenge was not to do what people were already buying, but to do what people were GOING to buy. Every new album was an experiment to see who could get the most interesting NEW sound, as opposed to being able to mimic last years fad.
Tormato, when new, was at the least a very good effort and a good use ot technology combined with musical creativity. At best, it is a true work of art that has stood the test of time

[Bo Locks]

"In the fountains of the Universe..."

"Set envelope time to a chord"
Sits Rick with a Polymoog
Turning knobs around and round and round
In the filter section of the manual
"Set resonance up, cut-off less"
Dreams he of glorious new sounds
Pulsating round and round and round

[Earl Grey]

It was funny...

Just a couple of short years after the release release, any kid with $50.00 could go out and buy a Casio with all the sounds of Tormato on it.

I remember buying my son a battery operated keyboard in 1982, and playing around with it, and noticing a familiar tone, and then my fingers found the ascending figure of Future Times/Rejoice... And I laughed a bit!

Ah well... True, at the time, polyphony was a new thing. Just imagine, being able to actually play a CHORD on the synthesizer!

How quickly the digital world appeared.

I still love the keys on Tormato, but truth be told, they sound a bit 'quaint'.
But no one plays a Casio like Sir Rick Wakeman!

;) :ele:

[PO]

Very true, Skeeter. Polyphonic synths was a breakthrough.

The other side of this double-edged sword of "new" is gimmick. Remember Phil Collins and the gated snare drum? Very new, but then everybody copped it and it's a silly 80's thing (to many). Orchestral stabs, like in Owner, were kinda cool at first. But, after 6 months it was way too tired and is now an embarrassment.

The newness has to be tempered with uniqueness. The original Moog came with no "sounds" ready to go. They had to be created.

But, they did still make the effort on Tormato. Moog didn't give the Polymoog as much room for sound deviation since polyphony was the feature. They got the ball rolling. Prophets, CS-80's, etc., etc.

[Earl Grey]

Paul...

Remember the 80's 'Drum Suit', where they had drum pads placed in the knees, elbows, elsewhere?

I forget who did it, but some synth-pop band would go on stage, dance around, and play a drum-solo on their suits.

Hilarious, in retrospect!

Ah, technology never sleeps.

:ele:

[PO]

Gawd, yea. Was that Zen-drum or the precursor to Zen-drum? That was funny. It was Laurie Anderson who used it first, that I recall.

Rick Derringer had a guitar built into a suit.
Simmons drums.
I like/hate the Devo guitar in the video It's a Beautiful World. Yellow, curved, pointy, space-age.

[mattquarterstein]

I don't hear what the big deal is about the keys on Tormato at all. I think they're cool. But then I like nearly all synth sounds.

[R'tanys]

Paul...

Remember the 80's 'Drum Suit', where they had drum pads placed in the knees, elbows, elsewhere?

I forget who did it, but some synth-pop band would go on stage, dance around, and play a drum-solo on their suits.

Hilarious, in retrospect!

Ah, technology never sleeps.

:ele:

Earlie,
I know Mick Fleetwood used one of those contraptions on tour sometime in the last few years. It may have been on "The Dance" concert, but don't hold me to it. I know I remember seeing him use one during a performance.

[pianozach]

Tormato. Keyboards.

One word.

Birotron!

[fragile34]

eck.

[Timmo]

Tormato. Keyboards.

One word.

Birotron!yep. BAD IDEA!

Still love "Tormato" though....


TIM
Venice, CA

[R'tanys]

I don't have a problem at all with Rick's keys on Tormato. Certainly they help to give this album a distinct flavor, and that's something the guys always seem to aspire to with every album. It would be interesting to hear some variations from Mr. Wakeman on these tunes, though.

[John Holden]

i think the trouble with tormato is the mix both in volume and notes between steve and rick. i recall steve saying once it felt they were "both heading for the same place".
having said all that if you listen to each track in isolation they sound good !
and squires harmonized bass is joyfull to behold !

[Doktor Rokster]

Tormato, when new, was at the least a very good effort and a good use ot technology combined with musical creativity. At best, it is a true work of art that has stood the test of time

I can't agree with this statement at all. To my mind, Tormato is the sound of a band that was washed up creatively: the synth sounds only serve to compound what was already a poor album. For some reason, Rick Wakeman has persisted in weak, tinny synth sounds as evidenced by the sounds he chose for the studio songs on Keys 1&2. I don't buy that new technology is the reason for the particular sounds Wakeman chose in 1978, because Tony Banks of Genesis never suffered from this problem: his choice of sounds has been never less than brilliant; compare Tormato with And Then There Were Three? Tormato, is just a poor album: a huge disappointment after the highs that preceded it! And don't even get me started on that pitiful cover...

[pianozach]

. . . To my mind, Tormato is the sound of a band that was washed up creatively: the synth sounds only serve to compound what was already a poor album. For some reason, Rick Wakeman has persisted in weak, tinny synth sounds as evidenced by the sounds he chose for the studio songs on Keys 1&2. I don't buy that new technology is the reason for the particular sounds Wakeman chose in 1978, because Tony Banks of Genesis never suffered from this problem: his choice of sounds has been never less than brilliant; compare Tormato with And Then There Were Three? Tormato, is just a poor album: a huge disappointment after the highs that preceded it! And don't even get me started on that pitiful cover...

There is some truth in this.

But here's my two cents worth. I appreciate a band (or an artist) that takes musical risks. Rick WAS trying out some new technology, most notably, the BIROTRON, an instrument he himself insults nowadays, comparing it unfavorably to the mellotron. Perhaps he backed the wrong horse. It sounds fairly dated today.

I dig Chris' harmonized bass sound. Perhaps it shouldn't have been so relentlessly used, but I'm all assuming that neither he, nor the band, nor the producer had any problems with it at the time.

The compositions and arrangements seem to be a widely eclectic bunch of stuff:

Future Times/Rejoice is a worthy opener. The marching snare thing is a little odd though

And Don't Kill the Whale was a minor political risk: Although they had not really been overtly political previously, no one could really object to not killing whales. And I thought the BIROTRON was extraordinarily well used on this song, evoking the soul of whalesong. Even the "Dig it, dig it," although very uncharacteristic for Yes, was refreshing and hip at the time.

Madrigal is a very tasteful and tasty harpsichord/keyboard & and classical guitar fantasy.

Release, Release pretty much kicks butt. Cool vocal contributions from Chris and Steve. The "live" drum solo was and remains a head-scratcher. I think that the addition of crowd ambience was a poor attempt to create extra excitement, and probably did more harm than good. Well, live and learn, I guess. The final bass note sting is cool. Wakeman's goofy synth sounds were kept to a minimum.

Arriving UFO's subject matter created another perfect moment to use the BIROTRON. It's almost as though Rick obtained the instrument and the band wrote pieces to showcase it. The outro is pretty cool. I guess that the now overdone subject matter, which Jon handled in a fairly overhanded and obvious way, along with the now outdated BIROTRON sounds, have caused this otherwise fresh piece to age poorly

Circus of Heaven was pretty much a Jon piece. I think the rest of the band worked like hell to make this one work, but verse after verse of the same two chords (played under lyrics attempting madly to fit rhythmically) was a vain effort. The guitar is cool, the keyboards fit, the percussion is tasty.

Everyone seems to love Onward. Lyrics, arrangement, harmonies, structure all click perfectly.

And On the silent Wings of Freedom is a banquet for Squire fans. I think the only detraction to this piece are some of those tinny Keyboard sounds that everyone complains about.

The bonus tracks don't count.

I think the album gets an undeserved bad reputation. It's flaws are trotted out and magnified (Yep it's hard to ignore Circus of Heaven).

And as for the cover . . . :shrug:

[Genevive]

I actually enjoy many songs on this album, but the key sounds get a bit grating after awhile. Too many high-pitched, squealing sort of notes for me.

[Jackaranda]

Our friend Rick was at the height of his drinking career during Tormato and the keyboard work shows it. Talent - yes. Taste - no. It's still very difficult to listen to. The live versions are better, imho.

That was a good thing about Drama and, to a lesser extent, 90125. The keyboards sounded SO much better.

But I love Rick like a brother and he's sounding fabulous nowadays.

[PO]

I can't agree with this statement at all. To my mind, Tormato is the sound of a band that was washed up creatively: the synth sounds only serve to compound what was already a poor album. For some reason, Rick Wakeman has persisted in weak, tinny synth sounds as evidenced by the sounds he chose for the studio songs on Keys 1&2. I don't buy that new technology is the reason for the particular sounds Wakeman chose in 1978, because Tony Banks of Genesis never suffered from this problem: his choice of sounds has been never less than brilliant; compare Tormato with And Then There Were Three? Tormato, is just a poor album: a huge disappointment after the highs that preceded it! And don't even get me started on that pitiful cover...

Excellent points. Tony Banks' work on And Then There Were Three is nothing short of brilliant. Wakey lost his tonal taste after Tales (which is arguably Wakeman's best tonal work).

For example, when Tony Banks started using the newer electric grands of the day (CP-70) it NEVER came across as "Gee Whiz, listen to this". It was simply a new timbre used very well. Banks's orchestrations are brilliant. Listen to Many, too Many. Simply gut-wrenching.

Wakey's use of new instruments post-Tales bordered on gimmickry, especially his use of the strap-on keyboard during the Tormato tour. Absolutley cheesy and totally unnecessary. Embarrassing, even. His introduction of the mellotron and Moog in Yes fit the music very well (CTTE and Tales).

Tormato has some good work on it, but has too many throw-away songs and sections.

[Timmo]

Excellent points. Tony Banks' work on And Then There Were Three is nothing short of brilliant. Wakey lost his tonal taste after Tales (which is arguably Wakeman's best tonal work).I agree, and think it's some of Wakeman's best keyboard work, period.

Odd that he decries it so.

TIM
Venice, CA