Awaken changed my life

[jeffbrock]

Hi,

To me Going for the One is my personal favorite Yes CD. It speakes to me in ways other CD can not. The first time I heard the song Awaken my soul opened up and the light of the spiritual world flowed into me. My life has never been the same. I changed into a different person. I used to be a bit of a jerk just doing what I wanted and when I wanted not thinking in the long term. Now I live a positive quiet life with love as my guide. I am happier and will execpt anyone in terms of love and compassion. If you do not have this CD, Buy it, it will bring on changes.

Peace, Love and Hope

Jeff Brock
Atlanta, GA

[Gabriel]

Old topic but I cant help myself; I know exactly what you mean mate. That song is simply stunning and it awakens a part of you that most music cannot hope to do and it definatly changes your attitude towards music and everything around you. The only other album/song that did that for me was 'The lamb lies down on broadway' by Genesis.

Peace to you! [even though you'll probalby never read this again lol]

[yesrolfer]

I'll third that motion. "Awaken" came at great time for me. Just posted this on GFTO thread. But this time had even more significance. Could it be change of perspective or more maturity,or just my "reality".
Old thread, but enjoyed reading it. I'll be taking GFTO to the car in a few minutes.

[SallyKhatru]

So true. Awaken is really able to make me feel satisfied and happy. It reminds me of how beautiful the world can be if you want to see it.

[Jackaranda]

This is a really good thread!

[Orbert]

My favorite song of all time, by any band, on this or any planet.

I don't know if it changed my life significantly, but it always feels really good to hear it. Amazing song.

Orbert

[Gabriel]

Listening to it now; utterly beautiful. I dont really have any specific image that comes into my head when I hear the song, it just kind of flows into me.

Anyone have any sort of images that you have to go with this song when you hear it? Anything specific?

[yesyadda]

jeffbrock that's cool! You should submit that post to Notes From the Edge. It took me 10 years to appreciate Awaken. I thought it was a muddled mash until I saw them perform it on the Union tour. A wonderful song and now one of my favorites.

[Gabriel]

10 years? Man thats pretty interesting in an odd way..I personally didnt think it was possible to dislike a song for so long then get into after such a long time! I figured you either hate it or like it after a month or so. Nice one mate, glad you enjoy the song now.

[mood for today]

i literally forgot about awaken until starting to join the weed craze. i was one of the many disenchanted folk that disappeared after being subjected to drama. came back into the fold to see the masterworks tour of which awaken was not part of ??????

but by the time i came back to the fold my yes collection was all vinyl and i had no working turntable. i bought a few cd's yessongs of course and yesstory and then keystudio to find out what mind drive was all about. yesstory had no awaken ????

but then i got the weed from 6/79 chicago amphitheater and there it was. as soon as rick went into the piano intro it all flowed back into me. i played it three times in a row laying on the living room floor with the headphones on. my kids thought i was nuts. i remembered every word immediately and remembered how i sat mesmerized at that chicago show watching each member of the band as the stage moved in the round. it was and is the ultimate flashback every time i play it now.

i've said it in other threads. (see my "change setlist" thread entry with my masterworks II setlist) i need to see it live one more time with rick on keys before they hang it up for good.

~like the time i ran away and turned around and you were standing close to me~

heavenly

[ANTIOCH]

True story. My brother saw YES at 'The Forum' in L.A. during the "Union" tour and said he saw a beam of light during the ending part of "Awaken" (High Vibration . .). In Yes Magazine, Jon talks of this very same incident. He said the beam came through the ceiling and down onto the stage during this very section and was for him, a most spiritual moment.
FYI - My brother is NOT a stoner (like me).

[Tourbillon]

Two pieces of music always get me "teary-eyed" - one is Mussorgsky's Pictures & Yes' Awaken. What a powerfull song Awaken is.

[Apocalypse]

Couldn't agree with you more. Fantastic song.

[sissywoods]

This song is a pure masterpiece and my favorite of the epic(?) songs Yes has done.

[soulsearcher]

awaken is my favorite song,,,by far, and it has changed my life, my conciousness, my soul.
it is not with me..it is in me. :yesbird:

[Timmo]

My top three Yessongs aren't really in order, but are all my favorites, depending on my mood.

They are "The Gates of Delirium," "Close to the Edge," and "Awaken."

"Gates" for when I want thrilling, pounding envelope-pushing avante-guarde virtuosic musicianship.

"CTTE" when I want to float on crystalline musical perfection.

"Awaken" when I'm feeling spirtual.

TIM
Venice, CA

[Amy]

Listening to it now....still the best.

[Doktor Rokster]

A wonderful song, but I can't say it changed my life in any way. A big influence certainly, but that's because of who I am.

[Gabriel]

I love the choir like sounds at the end of the song; that really does it for me!

[Mr. Holland]

It is such a beautiful song, it is my favorite Yes song. Especially the KTA version is great, but also the Union version and the 78/79 tour version.....heg every version!!!
The song never fails to touch me. Amazing, every time again!

[Gabriel]

Indeed my friend, the Keys version is fantastic. I must admit, I did miss the choir at the end of the song though, which was present in the Union show and the Full Circle show I have, but it was still just as magical!

[btw, I hope everyone knows what 'choir' I mean since i'd feel abit stupid babbling on about something no one understands but i'm betting you do since another Yes fan I talked to did]

[Hernan1987]

I just cannot find any song as beautiful and powerful as close to the edge and this one. Even though the middle section is pretty simple, It is the most beautiful section of music ever written in my opinion. I don't know why YES are bashed by critics and I don't know why it is not popular here in Miami,USA

[rickweber]

Yes has never been too concerned about what "critics" have to say about their music. They know they have a huge fan base that supports whatever they decide to do. Some parts of the U.S. are more into Yes than others. Philly, for example, always sells out at the Spectrum. New York, too, is also big on Yes. Florida may not be Yes country. Look how much crap Yes got for "Tales". What a big stink the so-called critics made about it. But the fans still love that album. And that's all that matters.

[overState2004]

I've been hearing that song since before I can remember (just like the rest), but I didn't get to appreciate it until I was in my mid-teens, having just re-started liking Yes music. Awaken leaves me with a smile on my face every time hearing it, which is saying alot (I experience frequent bouts of depression).

[Timmo]

"Awaken" and "Gates" are yin and yang.

Awaken is the light, and Gates the dark.

It amazes me that one group of musicians (well, switch keyboard players) could arrive at two songs, one of which is the epitome of the "dark night of the soul," and the other a soaring testimony to spiritual trancendence up there with Beethoven's late works like the 9th Symphony and the Missa Solemnis.

[overState2004]

I don't necessarily believe that Delerium was such a "dark night' track as much as a stark look at what a race of people have to go through to be alright with themselves, as a race.

Having said that, I do agree on the Yin-Yang Idea. I mean, hell look at the labels. Relayer was a deep, vivid orange with a picture of snakes and horsemen and wierd rock structures, whereas Going for the One is a dark, night-sky blue with, as the new linernotes put it, "[futuristic designs] and world-trade-center-esque fasciae...." And whilst Relayer contains depictions of the necessary chaos we all live with, Going sings skillfully about Heaven, taking a willing listener to their own heaven while hearing it.

Go YES!

[heishere]

i literally forgot about awaken until starting to join the weed craze. i was one of the many disenchanted folk that disappeared after being subjected to drama. came back into the fold to see the masterworks tour of which awaken was not part of ??????

but by the time i came back to the fold my yes collection was all vinyl and i had no working turntable. i bought a few cd's yessongs of course and yesstory and then keystudio to find out what mind drive was all about. yesstory had no awaken ????

but then i got the weed from 6/79 chicago amphitheater and there it was. as soon as rick went into the piano intro it all flowed back into me. i played it three times in a row laying on the living room floor with the headphones on. my kids thought i was nuts. i remembered every word immediately and remembered how i sat mesmerized at that chicago show watching each member of the band as the stage moved in the round. it was and is the ultimate flashback every time i play it now.

i've said it in other threads. (see my "change setlist" thread entry with my masterworks II setlist) i need to see it live one more time with rick on keys before they hang it up for good.

~like the time i ran away and turned around and you were standing close to me~

heavenly

True story. My brother saw YES at 'The Forum' in L.A. during the "Union" tour and said he saw a beam of light during the ending part of "Awaken" (High Vibration . .). In Yes Magazine, Jon talks of this very same incident. He said the beam came through the ceiling and down onto the stage during this very section and was for him, a most spiritual moment.
FYI - My brother is NOT a stoner (like me).

this thread is so much fun to read!
and i can see mood for the day flat on his back while his kids look on bewildered... pass the headphones around to each one of em, i say... and
IS THERE A DVD WEED OUT THERE OF THE LA UNION TOUR I WONDER

[Albedo]

I was very cool to the GFTO album when it first came out except for Wonderous Stories. I had to hear Awaken live to really get into it - now I have at least a half dozen weed copies of various eras plus the HOB DVD. It's truly a mystical experience in a live venue with the lights down, and Rick laying on the organ notes, Jon on harp, the almost subsonic base sustained notes underneath ... wonderful.

[Vic Anderson]

mine too man

[InverYes]

Keep your eyes out for the "Awaken Yesfans" weed that's out there. Eight different performances of the song from 1977 to 2004. Magical stuff!

[YesJen357]

No song before or since reaches out to my heart and soul, as Awaken does.
I like Jon's quote in the Yes-Years DVD where he says "it was the most perfect piece of music as could be made in this life-time." (Or words very similar to those.)
I play Awaken whenever 'things get me down.' The song has theraputic qualities which encourage me to persevere. There is inspiration to be found in the places to which that beautiful music carries my soul.
With sadness though, I note that not everyone experiences what I do when this masterpiece is performed on stage. - I really hate the fact that on quite a number of my audience recordings from various shows, there is often heard drunken (or just plain moronic) persons talking, yelling or generally trying to spoil the performance for everyone else. Especially in Rick's special quiet organ parts in the middle of the song. Try listening to New York 2002 tour, Radio City, Aug 5, 2002 if you want to know what I mean.
To me that is akin to talking through the National anthem or f*rting in church. And whilst I don't believe in capital punishment in too many instances, I do for those rude people who show such disrespect during a live performance of this song! :)

[heishere]

No song before or since reaches out to my heart and soul, as Awaken does.
I like Jon's quote in the Yes-Years DVD where he says "it was the most perfect piece of music as could be made in this life-time." (Or words very similar to those.)

i just love these posts on awaken...
the "master of images, songs cast a light on you..." segment kinda reminds me of what i've often wanted ta say with the our father...

[Albedo]

...
With sadness though, I note that not everyone experiences what I do when this masterpiece is performed on stage. - I really hate the fact that on quite a number of my audience recordings from various shows, there is often heard drunken (or just plain moronic) persons talking, yelling or generally trying to spoil the performance for everyone else. Especially in Rick's special quiet organ parts in the middle of the song. Try listening to New York 2002 tour, Radio City, Aug 5, 2002 if you want to know what I mean.
To me that is akin to talking through the National anthem or f*rting in church. And whilst I don't believe in capital punishment in too many instances, I do for those rude people who show such disrespect during a live performance of this song! :)
This is so true! Some great weed versions of Awaken are marred by audience chatter like " hold my seat I'm going to the bathroom". I agree with Jon, there should be a "Shut the F--- up and listen" tour.

[Jon08]

What happens to me often with songs is that my initial impression isn't that fantastic, but then I might read about how much other people love the song. I then listen with a completely open and searching mind, and discover its beauty. That's what happened with Awaken and Turn of the Century, which are now two of my favorite Yes songs, in league with Gates of Delirium and Close to the Edge, which are my all-time favorites.

This is also similar to how I first got into Yes. My dad had always talked about how much he loved Yes as a kid and particularly Close to the Edge, so my mother and I decided to buy it for him for Christmas one year. I would just sit on the couch playing video games while listening to it, not particularly impressed by anything, but drawn to its intricacy. After reading that one of my favorite bands was greatly influenced by Yes, I dug up Close to the Edge and really listened to it. Now it's one of my favorite albums of all time. My generation has been musically spoiled by fast-paced, electronic music, and it took me some time to learn to relax and enjoy the mellower tone of Yes. Luckily I was already a huge Tool fan, who have many "out-there" and long songs, so it wasn't too difficult for me to truly enjoy Yes's music.

But there have been instances where I immediately connected with a Yes song. The greatest examples of this would probably be Gates of Delirium, Mind Drive, and The Revealing Science of God. I was immediately hooked on these songs. They just seemed to epitimize my vision of great, epic music. But now I have been able to broaden my musical tastes thanks to Yes's exreme variety.

[YesJen357]

Good to read your thoughts and experience, Jon08.

Sometimes you have to dig around for a while to find treasure, other times it seems to reveal itself quite easily.

[Scooty]

Awaken takes me to "that place"

Especially live...I lose myself in that piece...my hands go in the air...I begin to sway and then BAM!! The "Master of Images" section begins and i lose control of my emotions...I tear up, I praise the prog God and just go with it...

My favorite Yessong without a doubt.

[MrZuLu]

My generation has been musically spoiled by fast-paced, electronic music, and it took me some time to learn to relax and enjoy the mellower tone of Yes.
:dog:
Jon08

Wait till you see them live...

and you will!

it is not exactly "mellow" !!!!!!

"intense" is the word I ALWAYS leave the concert repeating endlessly

[CybrKhatru]

True story. My brother saw YES at 'The Forum' in L.A. during the "Union" tour and said he saw a beam of light during the ending part of "Awaken" (High Vibration . .). In Yes Magazine, Jon talks of this very same incident. He said the beam came through the ceiling and down onto the stage during this very section and was for him, a most spiritual moment.
FYI - My brother is NOT a stoner (like me).

Antioch!
I was at that show too!!

Honestly, I don't remember a beam of light, but there could have been---I remember we were all just transfixed by their performance of it that night. One of my all-time favorite Yes concert memories for sure.

I have a VHS of this show around the house somewhere...I'll have to cue up the end of Awaken and see if one can see this on the tape....;)

Awaken is probably my all time favorite Yes song, if I had to choose one....

---Matt

[smatt]

Awaken changes my life everytime I hear it! :clap: It lifts me up to a place I love to visit.... Nothing quite like that feeling, well almost nothing! ;)

I was also at the LA Forum Uniuon show... As I've been at EVERY LA show since 77.. But I don't remember such a beam, but hey anythings possible!

[CybrKhatru]

Another quick memory---Jen wrote about people talking during the quiet parts, and this annoys the hell outta me too....but...

I recall one of the LA House of Blues Ladder shows...I'm thinking it was the first show...maybe Tasia remembers...Awaken (other than the new material) was one of the highlights of the show(s)...and I very distinctly remember everyone being hypnotized by the middle harp section...at least in the standing-room-only front 10 "rows"..everyone was completely into it..... Maybe it was due to the venue size...all of a sudden the show felt even more intimate. An amazing moment.

Hell, it was so good, we had to come back 2 nights later! :lmao:

---Matt

[Symbol]

Great thread for an excellent song!

[Imperatrix]

Yes, I DO remember that, Matt! We held hands and raised them to the roof right after Rick's keyboard cadenza before the coda. Our heads were uplifted...it was one of the most magical Yes moments ever.