The most underrated writer in yes

[rabin105]

Something that occured to me many talk about Jon anderson or Steve Howe or Trevor Rabin or trevor horn but Chris is writer that helped create a lot of classic yes songs and some modern stuff that i enjoy

list of songs Squire either wrote or cowrote

beyond and before
harold land
looking around
sweetness
the prophet
for everyone
dear father
yours is no disgrace
starship trooper
ive seen all good people
perptual change
southside of the sky
the fish
heart of the sunrise
and you and i
(the way Wikipedia lists song writers and music for tales is weird it says he only co wrote remembering, and the ancient but i think the 5 of them wrote every song so yeah)
All of relayer
parallels
future times/rejoice
dont kill the whale
release release
onward
on the silent wings of freedom
money
you can be saved
country side
golden age
richard
in the tower
friend of a friend
all of drama
go through this
crossfire
telephone secrets
fortune hunter
run with the fox
Owner of a lonely heart
hold on
it can happen
Cinema
leave it
Our song
hearts
it can happen cinema version
All of big generator except for love will find a way and holy lamb (special mention to the best bass line of the late 80’s i’m running
love conquers all
lift me up
the more we live let go
the calling
real love
be the one
that that is
mind drive
footprints
children of light
all of open your eyes
all of the ladder
all of magnification (special mention to can you imagine)
Fly from here suite (year parts1 and 5 are all he is credited with but i am not splitting up epics)
the man you always wanted me to be
into the storm
the game
in a world of our own
the gift of love


that is a pretty impressive list honestly and one that should be celebrated

[josuev80]

Alan White

[rabin105]

Alan White

I can do a list for him

[Enlighten]

Francis Monkman

[bondegezou]

Alan White

I think a strong case can be made for him, yes.

I think Tony Kaye's writing contributions are underrated.

[Ash Armstrong]

Eddy Offord

[Ceasar’s Palace]

I think a strong case can be made for him, yes.

I think Tony Kaye's writing contributions are underrated.

Especially on Big Generator.

[Homemade Parachute]

Really you could make an argument for almost anyone but Anderson/Howe/Rabin, maybe even Wakeman I-or Bruford. But yeah, Squire and White, even skipping the albums that are all group-assigned, certainly had their share of monster songs.

[rePete]

Squire's writing contributions are extensive and sound-defining. But I never think of him as underrated - I always think of him as front and center.

I agree with josuev80 and Henry above. White and Kaye are far more underrated.

[bondegezou]

Really you could make an argument for almost anyone but Anderson/Howe/Rabin, maybe even Wakeman I-or Bruford. But yeah, Squire and White, even skipping the albums that are all group-assigned, certainly had their share of monster songs.

Anderson, Howe and Squire have the most writing credits in Yes and roughly level. White comes in 4th. Rabin is way back in 5th: he was obviously a dominant songwriter on the 3 and a bit YesWest albums, but Yes have released a lot more albums than that!

There calculations and rabin105's list above include those albums where everyone in the band is co-credited as a writer on everything. That can be misleading, particularly on albums like ABWH and Open Your Eyes.

[rabin105]

Anderson, Howe and Squire have the most writing credits in Yes and roughly level. White comes in 4th. Rabin is way back in 5th: he was obviously a dominant songwriter on the 3 and a bit YesWest albums, but Yes have released a lot more albums than that!

There calculations and rabin105's list above include those albums where everyone in the band is co-credited as a writer on everything. That can be misleading, particularly on albums like ABWH and Open Your Eyes.

Still i wanted to create a thread honoring chris so now in yes music i will create a different thread

[Homemade Parachute]

Anderson, Howe and Squire have the most writing credits in Yes and roughly level. White comes in 4th. Rabin is way back in 5th: he was obviously a dominant songwriter on the 3 and a bit YesWest albums, but Yes have released a lot more albums than that!

You're certainly right about the overall numbers, I guess my sense was Rabin's impact is much larger than it appears from the three and a half albums he appears on - all but two tracks from 90125/BG/Talk/Union have a Rabin credit.

My sense of the group-credited albums is, as you say, ABWH and OYE are maybe more about politics and/or finances than actual writing contributions, but The Ladder feels to me more actually group written and arranged, though I'm less sure of Magnification…

[Drone Decipher]

I wouldn't say that Chris Squire is underrated as a writer in Yes because I think we all correctly rate him highly. He's the one fella I've never heard anyone claim to have made any mistakes, musically, ever. It's like he's the one untouchable aspect. I myself can't think of any criticism of anything he's ever done.

[The sage]

I think TK is not given his dues- in the long interview available on this site it seems he did a lot more on 90125 & BG - and he was there "everyday" with TR when they wrote Talk-
M

[bondegezou]

My sense of the group-credited albums is, as you say, ABWH and OYE are maybe more about politics and/or finances than actual writing contributions, but The Ladder feels to me more actually group written and arranged, though I'm less sure of Magnification…

Aymeric Leroy did an interview with Sherwood that goes through The Ladder tracks and who wrote what to an extent: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/iv/bsinterview.htm#p3 Magnification is more of an enigma.