What Do You Require From Yes?

[Soundwaveseeker]

What do you require from Yes or Yes music?

A band with a history and musical adventures as complicated as Yes is bound to have fans of every demeanor and level of taste for this group. We have some who go for every sound and squeak the band makes. We have some who literally only like four albums in their catalogue and dismiss the rest of it as equal to autotuned boy band celebrity dance-pop. People have favorite band members, and less favorite band members they wish were locked out of the studio when it was that member's turn to lay down some tracks. There are albums made by Yes that have touched hearts, some that people loathe and some somewhere in the middle.

So what do you require from Yes, what do you get out of their music? Music is like food, we get different nutrients from it. Everyone's system is different, and requires different musical medicine. Is it the sense of adventure in the music, the lyrical elements that evoke mystical feelings that fuse perfectly with the fantastic Dean landscapes on the cover? The tricky passages and virtuoso playing, the 'muso' angle? Rick Wakeman's glittery cape? The high register vocals? The reassurance that no two albums are ever a carbon copy of the other and perpetual change is woven into the Yes Constitution?

So what do you require from Yes? Not what do you like about Yes, what do you NEED from them? What elements do you require for a healthy balanced music diet of Yes music? I'm not sure if I even know how to ask or word this, and I may not be able to answer it myself, but give it a try if it's not too weird of a thread.

[Ceasar’s Palace]

Weird is good. Remember that.

Which leads us right into one of the qualities of Yes. Weirdness. Yes has always had it. Not as much as Gentle Giant, or King Crimson, though. But just the right amount for me. Usually.

One positive aspect of getting some not so good Yes albums is that you are reminded of what the minimum is you need as a fan.

For me it’s good songwriting. But what is good? I don’t know in which order, but it must be original, varied, catchy and weird in places. Melodies that sweep you off your feet.
If it has most of these, my minimal requirements are met.
Now this would apply to any band or artist, but, given their stand out achievements of the past, I set the bar high for Yes.
BTW songwriting is normally considered music and words. But for me the lyrics aren’t important. As long as it doesn’t offend me, it’s ok.
(and Yes lyrics have only been able to offend me two or three times in their history)

So what about sound, arrangements, production, etc? Well, I have my preferences, but as long as the songs are good, I can live with these other things being not so good. Just one exception: vocals. It’s fairly easy to rub me the wrong way with vocals. If Geddy Lee or Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson, or Axl Rose, or Billy Corgan, or anyone with those kinds of voices would sing for Yes, it would be a dealbreaker for me. Fortunately all of the lead singers for Yes have been at least ok with me.

So, I guess that’s what I need more than anything from Yes: good songs.

[Ash Armstrong]

Nothing anymore really.

[cybrkhatru]

Nothing. They've already given us so much. If they do anything, they should do what they want to do.

[luvyesmusic]

It's been an unbelievable ride, for me, for a band that was already "dead" when I truly discovered them. Then you add all the solo projects, and all YES-related bands, and shows, YES-fans.com, friends along the way, hanging and laughing with the guys; what more could a young fan at fifty-seven want?

You guys and gals have added to the pleasure and joy I've gotten from YES. Thank you!

[Ceasar’s Palace]

Just because they can do as they please, doesn’t mean I can’t need anything from them. An unfulfilled need is also a need.

[rabin105]

good music and a nap... what I get tired as I get older... Crankier too...


What age can I yell at kids to get off my lawn?

[luna65]

Like others, I don't need anything from them now. The institution of Yes is important to me, and I feel their legacy is something we should treasure - and many of us do. The whole of their history is enough to nourish me for whatever time I have left on this planet. I am grateful and joyful in what it was and continues to be. But I suppose what I need from Yes to enjoy a particular work is that sense of adventure, the contrast of Earth and Air, the idiosyncratic ways in which they explore the form and their singular style in both imagination and execution. The vision to embody something Beyond...

[Roundabob]

Like others, I don't need anything from them now. The institution of Yes is important to me, and I feel their legacy is something we should treasure - and many of us do. The whole of their history is enough to nourish for whatever time I have left on this planet. I am grateful and joyful in what it was and continues to be. But I suppose what I need from Yes to enjoy a particular work is that sense of adventure, the contrast of Earth and Air, the idiosyncratic ways in which they explore the form and their singular style in both imagination and execution. The vision to embody something Beyond...

Wow! That was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read on these pages. You touched on everything that I would like to say on this subject, but much more eloquently than I could have ever expressed. Well done!

[Somis Sound]

I require Squire....

Like others, I don't need anything from them now. The institution of Yes is important to me, and I feel their legacy is something we should treasure - and many of us do. The whole of their history is enough to nourish for whatever time I have left on this planet. I am grateful and joyful in what it was and continues to be. But I suppose what I need from Yes to enjoy a particular work is that sense of adventure, the contrast of Earth and Air, the idiosyncratic ways in which they explore the form and their singular style in both imagination and execution. The vision to embody something Beyond...

I agree with most of this too. However, since Chris passed, it seems more than ever they seem to be trying hard for the Yes formula. To call an album The Quest? Seems a bit too obvious... I admire attempting to see over the horizon, but has the sun set? I am totally thankful for something on every album up to From A Page. An incredible authentic catalog with so many flavors.

[soundchaser09]

To continue to provide me with joy through their musical endeavours, whatever direction they decide to take I would give it a chance and if it didn't work for me that's fine, they have a long history of albums to choose from anyhow!

[kkleinschmidt]

What do I require from Yes? I suppose it's what drew me to them back when I first heard them on the radio oh so many years ago...

Cosmic vocals on top of off the rails jamming is probably the way I would sum it up.

Just like other bands, thinking Grateful Dead in particular, when Yes was/is on their game firing on all cylinders there's no good way to explain it but we all know what it is. Studio recordings are all well and good, and of course Yes has created some true masterpieces, but the real magic happens during live performances where there are far fewer boundaries.

[luvyesmusic]

Front row tickets, generally. :-)

[pianozach]

What do I want from YES?

That's pretty complicated. I guess I'd have to start with what I've LOVED from Yes. There's also an awful lot of YES I LIKE.

But LOVE? This may surprise you.

Fragile
CTTE
TfTO
Relayer
FOOW
Olias of Sunhillow
The Story Of i
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Drama
90125
ABWH
Union
Talk
Magnification

What do all of these have in common? They are a pretty diverse spectrum of the Yes-iverse.

But I want more of THIS.

[Soundchaser413]

Good music. I don't care if it's prog or if it sounds like Yes from the 70's (like many Yes fans seem to). They are a band who did a lot of good things. Is there still gas in the tank? That remains to be seen.