Heart of the sunrise : is it just me or is the absolutely brilliant?

[Hernan1987]

After the bass riffs appear in the beginning of the song ... I hear Bruford hitting his drum kit randomly but I think he knew what he was doing and I never have been so amazed at a drummer in my life. It's my favourite drum solo of all times...


What is so special about it? Is it just me?

[umgekehrt]

It does sound like random but of course all of it was part of a very intricate jazz improv drumming that Bill loves. I agree that it's brilliant.

[Nellsalot]

Amazing stuff. The best. That song has such an amazing feeling, and indeed Bruford did well here.

[ANTIOCH]

I cannot add anything to what's already been posted.
A brilliant song from a band truely discovering themselves. Counterpoint harmonies, great lyrical theme, wonderful soundscapes and a ton of energy . . does it get any better than this ?

[Sheerah]

The song is pure brilliance!

[Scooty]

The song is pure brilliance!


Fantasticness :)

[Jaybird]

To me this is the quintessential Yes. If I only had one song to present to a newbie to get across what Yes is all about, I would play Heart of the Sunrise. Not so long as the epics (to risk alienating those of short attention spans) but definitely long enough and rocking enough to display what progressive rock is all about.

Peace,

[ANTIOCH]

To me this is the quintessential Yes. If I only had one song to present to a newbie to get across what Yes is all about, I would play Heart of the Sunrise. Not so long as the epics (to risk alienating those of short attention spans) but definitely long enough and rocking enough to display what progressive rock is all about.

Peace,

Perfectly said !

[Thoughtbecontact]

Well, I will add something to this. IMHO, HOTS didn't mature as a song until approximately the late 70s. It is too sedate on the album version, especially, and in the early concert versions. It really didn't become the powerhouse it is today until Jon "learned" how to sing it--that occurred sometime in the late 70s--I would say approximately 1978 or so. That's when the emotion really got poured into it and it overflowed into the instrumental portions too.

[rickweber]

Fragile is an incredibly tight album. The way Bill played was a big part of it. All the songs on Fragile (to me) have a drive to them that's hard to put to words. No other band sounded anything like that. Heart of the Sunrise amazed me way back then, as it does now.

[Faceintheplace]

Heart of the Sunrise is very special to me cause it's the first Yes music I ever heard and it made me an instant fan.

[True Believer]

No, it's not just you, it's AWESOME!

[tardistraveler]

To me this is the quintessential Yes. If I only had one song to present to a newbie to get across what Yes is all about, I would play Heart of the Sunrise. Not so long as the epics (to risk alienating those of short attention spans) but definitely long enough and rocking enough to display what progressive rock is all about.

Peace,

Absolutely!

It's my favorite of all Yes songs - showcases ALL the talent in the band - has dramatic transitions - and the voice . . . "Sharp . . . distance" . . . brings tears every time I hear it . . .

[AwakeMan]

I agree the original Fragile studio version version is a bit clinical and almost too "perfect", but they never matched the intensity of the end of the song on any of the live versions. I think the same applies to "Close to the Edge", and both of them have Bill Bruford's fantastic drumming.

My favourite live version of "Heart of the Sunrise" is the one on Yessongs - Wakey's floating keyboard at the start is really beautiful. Some of the 1978/79 concert versions were very exciting but not the keyboards. My favourite video of it is the ABWH concert - Jon really expresses himself here.

It's a brilliant work, no doubt about it !

Sé

Well, I will add something to this. IMHO, HOTS didn't mature as a song until approximately the late 70s. It is too sedate on the album version, especially, and in the early concert versions. It really didn't become the powerhouse it is today until Jon "learned" how to sing it--that occurred sometime in the late 70s--I would say approximately 1978 or so. That's when the emotion really got poured into it and it overflowed into the instrumental portions too.

[relayeire]

one of the greatest Yessongs, but not terribly representative of their music as a whole... this was one of their earliest attempts at a complex song (Roundabout, for all its beauty, is at heart a verse-chorus tune), and kind of feels like it... great stops and starts, and contrasts of fast and slow, loud and soft... I think they were on their way to perfecting arrangements, but hadn't quite yet... they did that on the next album...

[DesertCat]

It's a great song and one that the band clearly enjoys playing live. I've been re-listening to some of the bootlegs from the Talk tour and it just seems to me that HOTS is when the band really "switched on" during many of those concerts. During early parts of the set a member or two might be playing with energy but they all come together for Heart of the Sunrise. After that the energy is on for the rest of the show. That the crowd gets into it so much certainly doesn't hurt.

[Faceintheplace]

I agree, good observations there. I saw Yes do it in Toronto in '97 and Chris made a big show out of the intro, holding his bass over his head while he played.

[soulsearcher]

Absolutely brilliant!!
(aren't you glad you aren't nuts?)

[Wakey's #1 Fan]

No, it's not just you...I agree, this track is an absolutely masterpiece!

[CybrKhatru]

Always loved this track.

Sure, the Fragile version is restrained; in some ways that makes it more exciting.

Live performances are another story. Yessongs is great.. Wembley 78 is great...and on the Talk tour, this was the highlight of the "classic" songs. It is a fun song to play, bet that's one of the reasons they do it so much! :D

[JaneEyre]

I'll go with absolutely brilliant.

[Bob Barker.]

heart of the sunrise is AMAZING! i was just listening to it this morning


(got the record for $1.00!)

[Wakey's #1 Fan]

heart of the sunrise is AMAZING! i was just listening to it this morning


(got the record for $1.00!)

I own the CD for many years (remastered), but this week I bought the LP with booklet, and I have to admit, the sound is much better than on CD...maybe because of my great turntable...I love LPs :hearts:

[Yes2Yes]

Still remains one of my favorites.

[Simon Woodhouse]

Considering it's only ten minutes long, there's a lot going on, and I really like some of the lyrics, especially -

'Straight light moving and removing sharpness of the colour sunshine'

[teenyesfan]

I know exactly what you mean about the drumming there... I LOVE that part. The first time i listened to that it made me sit up and say holy crap. It sounds random but it sounds so amazing with the music and then he plays the little triplet figure that sounds awesome with the music.

Bruford also plays amazingly in the middle section of SSotS. The drumming there is very hard to copy but Bruford makes the 10/8 time sound so natural.

[YYY]

Considering it's only ten minutes long, there's a lot going on, and I really like some of the lyrics, especially -

'Straight light moving and removing sharpness of the colour sunshine'

Yes that is such a great lyric. Just singing it, feels good because of the melodic sound of the words.

[YESYOUANDI]

No........It's not just you.....it IS absolutely fckin brilllllient.

MUSIC............

Cheers fans.

[YESYOUANDI]

SHARP.....DISTANCE ....HOWE..... can the............

YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS.

Cheers fans.