Q
03-15-2002, 01:07 PM
Tony Kaye is a tough discussion because his tenure in the band is so protracted. I would suspect that any fan wishing to comment would have to sort out which Tony Kaye they mean, for Kaye (like Squire) is both a Trooper and a Generator.
Rick Wakeman is by definition the most prodigal of Yes men - if he returns this summer, it will be his fifth trip through the front door of Yes (1971; 1977; 1991; 1995; and possibly 2002). Tony Kaye's formal passages are fewer (1968, 1982) but unofficially he has quit and rejoined more than any other member. His tours of duty look odd on a calendar (1968-1971; 1982-1995) but the changes in his musical role are odder still.
Tony the Trooper made much greater musical contributions to the band than Tony the Generator. In the band's early years he was serving in an ensemble capacity, following Peter Banks' paradigm; upon his return he was essentially a sideman, partly because Trevor Rabin played keyboards competently enough for recording purposes and partly because he really has never cared to be a multikeyboardist in the sense that other Yes keyboardists have been (as an example, is it Kaye or Rabin playing that wonderful Hammond part in "Final Eyes?" It's lovely and interesting; if it's Kaye we would like to know for sure, bravo to whoever played it!). Yet some of his finest work emerged at the very end of his membership.
Some appreciative notes follow:
1) The conventional structures of the songs on "Yes" and "Time and a Word" leave a number of crevices for creative outstretch, but more for Squire and Banks - not so much for Kaye. The Yes Album, however, was a different story: with the assumption of an "open" structural framework for band composition, Kaye was given opportunity to demonstrate his power as a player. Moments of Kaye flavor that are now indelible include his wonderful coloring of Howe's riff in the second half of "All Good People," his rhythmic organ accents in "Perpetual Change," and his unobtrusive but dynamically ideal piano work in "Runaround" ...
2) Kaye is best appreciated in light of his achievement as a keyboardist playing with Bill Bruford. There could be no hotter hell on earth for melodic players in the late Sixties, building on a blues-inflected foundation, than to play with Bruford, who forsook the rock-blues rhythmic vocabulary in total (and thank god for that). Other prominent players would have convulsed (Jon Lord, for instance, would have cried for the Almighty above to call him home after a month with Bruford). The two intrinsic bolt-holes for the Hammond players of the day - gospel and English choral - were closed by Bruford's intransigence vis a vis common time and the familiar blues-rock backbeat (exceptions later emerged in the latter category, with Alan White, and once with Bruford, in "Close to the Edge" where, significantly, he lays out). Tony Kaye didn't even blink! He not only kept pace with Bruford but close attention will show that he was a subtle ally in Bruford's quest to participate in the melodic motion of early Yes work. "Perpetual Change" stands out; but a more subtle example is "Starship Trooper," where Kaye and Bruford unite to create a joyous sonic wash as set-up for "Lifeseeker."
3) Of Generator Tony there is almost nothing to say. History is clear on his side-man role, and while he can't be happy about that, his own preference for the Hammond and piano over more versatile and contemporary instruments was his principle limit - his skills as a player were more than adequate in every phase of his Yes work. Specifically, his great strength is transitional chording and a gift for precision chording along melody lines (the "All Good People" riff), as well as a knack for exploiting the Hammond's percussive capabilities (he's have been terrific on "Khatru," had he still been in the band at the time)
4) However, before bowing out, Kaye had a chance to really shine. One of his finest moments on Yes vinyl occurs on Talk, where he plays only the Hammond, and that on only three of the album's seven tracks. Rabin steps aside in "The Calling" for Kaye to intersperse some Hammond lead with his own pseudo-country licks. The result is joyous; the song is uplifting throughout but in particular when Kaye steps forward. The part itself not only shines, but Kaye's textured, chorus-y voicings on the Hammond are particularly exciting and bouyant.
Anybody else?
Rick Wakeman is by definition the most prodigal of Yes men - if he returns this summer, it will be his fifth trip through the front door of Yes (1971; 1977; 1991; 1995; and possibly 2002). Tony Kaye's formal passages are fewer (1968, 1982) but unofficially he has quit and rejoined more than any other member. His tours of duty look odd on a calendar (1968-1971; 1982-1995) but the changes in his musical role are odder still.
Tony the Trooper made much greater musical contributions to the band than Tony the Generator. In the band's early years he was serving in an ensemble capacity, following Peter Banks' paradigm; upon his return he was essentially a sideman, partly because Trevor Rabin played keyboards competently enough for recording purposes and partly because he really has never cared to be a multikeyboardist in the sense that other Yes keyboardists have been (as an example, is it Kaye or Rabin playing that wonderful Hammond part in "Final Eyes?" It's lovely and interesting; if it's Kaye we would like to know for sure, bravo to whoever played it!). Yet some of his finest work emerged at the very end of his membership.
Some appreciative notes follow:
1) The conventional structures of the songs on "Yes" and "Time and a Word" leave a number of crevices for creative outstretch, but more for Squire and Banks - not so much for Kaye. The Yes Album, however, was a different story: with the assumption of an "open" structural framework for band composition, Kaye was given opportunity to demonstrate his power as a player. Moments of Kaye flavor that are now indelible include his wonderful coloring of Howe's riff in the second half of "All Good People," his rhythmic organ accents in "Perpetual Change," and his unobtrusive but dynamically ideal piano work in "Runaround" ...
2) Kaye is best appreciated in light of his achievement as a keyboardist playing with Bill Bruford. There could be no hotter hell on earth for melodic players in the late Sixties, building on a blues-inflected foundation, than to play with Bruford, who forsook the rock-blues rhythmic vocabulary in total (and thank god for that). Other prominent players would have convulsed (Jon Lord, for instance, would have cried for the Almighty above to call him home after a month with Bruford). The two intrinsic bolt-holes for the Hammond players of the day - gospel and English choral - were closed by Bruford's intransigence vis a vis common time and the familiar blues-rock backbeat (exceptions later emerged in the latter category, with Alan White, and once with Bruford, in "Close to the Edge" where, significantly, he lays out). Tony Kaye didn't even blink! He not only kept pace with Bruford but close attention will show that he was a subtle ally in Bruford's quest to participate in the melodic motion of early Yes work. "Perpetual Change" stands out; but a more subtle example is "Starship Trooper," where Kaye and Bruford unite to create a joyous sonic wash as set-up for "Lifeseeker."
3) Of Generator Tony there is almost nothing to say. History is clear on his side-man role, and while he can't be happy about that, his own preference for the Hammond and piano over more versatile and contemporary instruments was his principle limit - his skills as a player were more than adequate in every phase of his Yes work. Specifically, his great strength is transitional chording and a gift for precision chording along melody lines (the "All Good People" riff), as well as a knack for exploiting the Hammond's percussive capabilities (he's have been terrific on "Khatru," had he still been in the band at the time)
4) However, before bowing out, Kaye had a chance to really shine. One of his finest moments on Yes vinyl occurs on Talk, where he plays only the Hammond, and that on only three of the album's seven tracks. Rabin steps aside in "The Calling" for Kaye to intersperse some Hammond lead with his own pseudo-country licks. The result is joyous; the song is uplifting throughout but in particular when Kaye steps forward. The part itself not only shines, but Kaye's textured, chorus-y voicings on the Hammond are particularly exciting and bouyant.
Anybody else?