Open Your Eyes - Originally a Chris Squire solo album?

[edarnold]

According to a brief comment in a NFTE interview March 1997 Rick mentions Billy Sherwood "worked" on Chris Squire's recent solo album. Was this the project that became Open Your Eyes?

http://www.nfte.org/RW/RW171.html

see quote below

RW: See, the interesting thing is he did it to me as well in as much as he—and certainly with Chris, because he did Chris’ solo album and they worked closely together—he knows the band’s strengths and weaknesses. And the thing that was very interesting was that he was very, very keen on having all the strengths involved as against the weaknesses, and that’s what he was playing on. He’s a good musician as well so that counts a lot so all over it was a pleasure, an absolute pleasure to do that album.

[nitrus]

Basically - yes. As Steve Howe once pointed out, it's a Conspiracy record before Conspiracy actually existed, thus a Squire/Sherwood project. And knowing both Squire's and Sherwood's work quite well, I can surely say OYE is work of the former rather than the latter, though Billy was obviously the main producer and he really made the recording happen.

[erik_1099]

Yes indeed.

[kirklott]

For the most part, yes. Indeed the song "Open Your Eyes" (under a different name) was played by the Chris Squire Experiment live in the early 90s. Much of the album's lyrically content is very Sherwood - optimism/self-help stuff you'll find on his World Trade / solo albums.

However...Loveshine was actually first done for KTA2 (?!), and Somehow Someday is a reworking of O'er from the Promise Ring (which of course was cribbed from an Irish folk tune)

[Rabin105]

Love shine was orignally done for KTA2 wow. What else was considered?

I had heard rumors Telephone secrets was also considered.

[PeterCologne]

One of the many mean things in this world is, that poeple don't like Open Your Eyes... well, I like it...

... there is so much under the surface... and it is well produced and arranged... it is very musical and joyfull and offers some of the best harmony vocals. My favourite tracks are New State Of Mind (which sounds like they have just invented Funk-Rock), Fortune Seller (I love the Gospel-feeling), Man In The Moon (sounds like Motown and very funks and cool), Univresal Garden (a jungle of musical arrangement) and the title track (just a genius of a tricky pop-song)...

[RelayerI]

I like OYE in the context of a Conspiracy album. It's just not a Yes album. Nowhere near.

It's an O.K. record, not great, but stands up alongside the the other Conspiracy stuff.

For a fanbase expecting a 'Classic Yes' recording, getting Yeswest type material was always going to be very disappointing, especially when it wasn't even up to Yeswest standards...

[arsen33]

Somehow Someday is a reworking of O'er from the Promise Ring (which of course was cribbed from an Irish folk tune)

Well "O'er" is actually a reworking of "Boundaries" from Jon Anderson's Animation album.

[Tomo]

The Squire/Sherwood album Conspiracy has Wish I Knew (Open Your Eyes by another name) and Man In The Moon as bonus tracks. And Say Goodbye, which is also on World Trade's album Euphoria.

And let's not forget The More We Live, a version of which was on Union.

And Love Conquers All, which was on YesYears.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(band) is quite informative.

Damn, I'm going to have to listen to that album again now.

[HoweGuitargod]

Howe said that the album was impossible for Yes to play live as it's not Yes---as so much of it was not him or some other members songs---let's face it--the album was a disaster as far as the Yes catalogue goes---no Howe no Yes.

[Mr. Holland]

I like OYE in the context of a Conspiracy album. It's just not a Yes album. Nowhere near.

It's an O.K. record, not great, but stands up alongside the the other Conspiracy stuff.

For a fanbase expecting a 'Classic Yes' recording, getting Yeswest type material was always going to be very disappointing, especially when it wasn't even up to Yeswest standards...

...but it wasn't Yeswest type material, far from it IMO. It is very much it's own album. It's one of the things I like about Yes, that no album ever sounded like the previous one, that they were never trying to repeat themselves from one album to the next. And as for the fanbase 'expecting a classic Yes recording'; the album was put together so quickly per request of the record company in order to 'promote' the new line-up, since Wakeman pretty suddenly was out and a tour was all ready booked, I don't think people were expecting an album anyhow, so soon after KTA.

[Mr. Holland]

Howe said that the album was impossible for Yes to play live as it's not Yes---as so much of it was not him or some other members songs---let's face it--the album was a disaster as far as the Yes catalogue goes---no Howe no Yes.

----- and moan, ----- and moan from Howe. Sherwood has gone on record as saying that he called Howe several times from the beginning of the process of puting together OYE, to ask him to join in on the creative process, but Howe declined. He didn't want anything to with it. He rather remained seated on his not so fat behind in good ole England. Which was his choice and is fine, but then don't complain later on that you didn't have a say and that your songs are not on it. He was given the chance and opportunity.

If Sherwood and Squire wouldn't have pulled the wagon, it is very likely Yes would have collapsed right there and then. They took the responsibility and showed a commitment that other so called keymembers didn't.

[RelayerI]

...but it wasn't Yeswest type material, far from it IMO. It is very much it's own album.

Well, yes and no - it is it's own album, but stylistically it sounds (to me at least) much closer to Yeswest than classic Yes.

I like Billys stuff, but that isn't what I wanted at that point.

[Micah68]

Apparantly Steve Howe sat in the corner reading his newspaper whilst the album was being made - He had no input

[YesNY]

Open Your Eyes has eleven songs. Two or three songs are mentioned as having roots from the Conspiracy and The Chris Squire Experiment projects, and yet the whole album is being called a defacto Chris Squire solo album. I don't quite get it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(band)

________

Universal Garden and Wonderlove are among my favorite songs from the album. Does anyone what member(s) brought those songs to the band? Thanks to anyone with the answer. (I'm going to GUESS Jon and/or Billy. Even a collaboration, perhaps?)

[Rabin105]

I love the album but then again I am the only one it seems. the album is just a rocking good time. I plan on listening to it this afternoon (right now listening to bond's dossier off the Casino Royale site.. after 6 years I still love listening to this and it make me feel very focused for some reason.)

[Mr. Holland]

Apparantly Steve Howe sat in the corner reading his newspaper whilst the album was being made - He had no input

But he was offered input by Sherwood several times in the process of the writing/recording of OYE and declined each time, so that was Howe's own choice then. If one makes that choice that is fine, but then don't complain afterwards about having no input.....

[bondegezou]

I'm not certain why this thread has re-appeared now, but anyway... The answer to the original question is actually "no". The project Wakeman is referring to in that quote is what was eventually released as Conspiracy, at that stage to have been released as by The Chris Squire Experiment and to be called Chemistry, but basically the same album.

While OYE was rumoured at the time to be effectively a Conspiracy album, that seems to have been an exaggeration. Two Conspiracy tracks ("Open Your Eyes", "Man in the Moon") were cannibalised from Chemistry, but Sherwood has said that most of the album was put together with the intention of being a Yes album with Squire/White/Anderson involved.

It now appears that the album was largely written by Sherwood. "Man in the Moon" was mainly Squire. "From the Balcony" was a Howe piece with Anderson adding vocals. "Somehow..... Someday", as described upthread, is Anderson re-working "Boundaries" for the second time. I don't know about the report that "Love Shine" was leftover from KtA2. Everything else -- "New State of Mind", "Open Your Eyes", "Universal Garden", "No Way We Can Lose", "Fortune Seller", "Wonderlove", "The Solution" -- appears to be mainly written by Sherwood. I don't think any other Yes album has been so dominated by one composer (except possibly Time and a Word).

Henry

[bondegezou]

But he was offered input by Sherwood several times in the process of the writing/recording of OYE and declined each time, so that was Howe's own choice then. If one makes that choice that is fine, but then don't complain afterwards about having no input.....

I'm not certain we have a full enough picture of events to say that with confidence. Sherwood has been detailed in his description of what happened, but obviously has his perspective. It appears the band were trying to get Rabin involved and dump Howe in this period, which doesn't strike me as being very welcoming towards Howe!

Henry

[Micah68]

But he was offered input by Sherwood several times in the process of the writing/recording of OYE and declined each time, so that was Howe's own choice then. If one makes that choice that is fine, but then don't complain afterwards about having no input.....

--

I was just looking at the end product and various reports that Steve said he had no input

Not a complaint just stating a few quotes