YES keyboardists: one keyboard apiece

[Soundwaveseeker]

Here's a silly scenario, just for fun: In an imaginary setting, Yes enlists all of their former main keyboard players for an album/tour. Downes is still involved. The catch? They can generally only play one type of keyboard instrument per person. Maybe two, if someone else isn't playing the same keyboard. Who gets to play what keyboard and why? Just for fun. Here's what I came up with:

Rick Wakeman: moog synthesizer, the kind you hear on Close To The Edge, Tales and Fragile. Maybe a polymoog too.
Geoff Downes: any digital, futuristic techno-type synths. And maybe vocoder.
Igor Khoroshev: piano/grand piano. Seriously, he has the best piano solo album(Piano Works, 1999) of all the Yes keyboardists.
Patrick Moraz: whatever that jazzy synth with the note bendy thing, he's on that. He's the best with electric piano as well.
Tom Brislin: ok, not a full-time member and only toured with them, but I suppose someone's got to handle mellotron. You can include him if you want.

and:

Tony Kaye: nobody touches the hammond organ but him. Anyone else attempting it gets their hand slapped. Kaye has the best organ sound.

So there, how would you assign keyboard duties? There's no wrong answer.

[Gilly Goodness]

KAYE. yep. Driving organ
WAKEY has to be the Birotron doing whale noises
MORAZ yep electric piano
IGOR that flutey synth from The Ladder
TOM just being theatrical slammin' anything
GEOFF all of them. Brings the earworms.

[luvyesmusic]

Here's a silly scenario, just for fun: In an imaginary setting, Yes enlists all of their former main keyboard players for an album/tour. Downes is still involved. The catch? They can generally only play one type of keyboard instrument per person. Maybe two, if someone else isn't playing the same keyboard. Who gets to play what keyboard and why? Just for fun. Here's what I came up with:

Rick Wakeman: moog synthesizer, the kind you hear on Close To The Edge, Tales and Fragile. Maybe a polymoog too.
Geoff Downes: any digital, futuristic techno-type synths. And maybe vocoder.
Igor Khoroshev: piano/grand piano. Seriously, he has the best piano solo album(Piano Works, 1999) of all the Yes keyboardists.
Patrick Moraz: whatever that jazzy synth with the note bendy thing, he's on that. He's the best with electric piano as well.
Tom Brislin: ok, not a full-time member and only toured with them, but I suppose someone's got to handle mellotron. You can include him if you want.

and:

Tony Kaye: nobody touches the hammond organ but him. Anyone else attempting it gets their hand slapped. Kaye has the best organ sound.

So there, how would you assign keyboard duties? There's no wrong answer.

Spot on!

Mini-Moog for Rick, it's his favorite.

Geoff likes/prefers his Sledge, that will do just about everything.

Oh, and Jon Anderson on the black keys only, on anything. Those are his favorite keys.

[Ceasar’s Palace]

I’m slightly off topic, but I would love to listen to
Rick playing only piano, mellotron and harpsichord.

[Soundwaveseeker]

Oh, I forgot about the harpsichord. Rick would be the one for that for sure. I forgot to list Oliver Wakeman as well, maybe I can assign him harpsichord. Also didn't list Eddie Jobson as he didn't get as far as even playing a note with Yes. He can do....violin! And appear in the video.

[brianos]

Kaye: Hammond organ
Wakeman: piano
Moraz: Fender Rhodes
Downes: Roland Fantom (like most modern "workstation" synths, in many ways modern-day successors to the early sampling synths like the Fairlight that Geoff used on Drama)
Khoroshev: Minimoog
Brislin: Alesis Andromeda
Oliver: Moog Voyager

[luvyesmusic]

Kaye: Hammond organ
Wakeman: piano
Moraz: Fender Rhodes
Downes: Roland Fantom (like most modern "workstation" synths, in many ways modern-day successors to the early sampling synths like the Fairlight that Geoff used on Drama)
Khoroshev: Minimoog
Brislin: Alesis Andromeda
Oliver: Moog Voyager

Brian knows his keyboards, and Brian knows YES keyboard parts. And I know, that Brian certainly kicks arse playing YES-music ( everything really ).

[bondegezou]

Also didn't list Eddie Jobson as he didn't get as far as even playing a note with Yes. He can do....violin! And appear in the video.

He did play a few notes with Yes. It's just that none of them were recorded.

[Kenny]

Tony Kaye - Hammond organ
Rick Wakeman - mini Moog
Patrick Moraz - Steinway grand piano
Khoroshev - Mellotron
Tom Brislin - Korg of his choice
Oliver Wakeman - Clavinet
Geoff Downes - Stylophone (about his level)
Francis Monkman - doesn't matter because Geoff will pinch it.

[Gtkgasman]

Tony Kaye - Hammond organ
Rick Wakeman - mini Moog
Patrick Moraz - Steinway grand piano
Khoroshev - Mellotron
Tom Brislin - Korg of his choice
Oliver Wakeman - Clavinet
Geoff Downes - Stylophone (about his level)
Francis Monkman - doesn't matter because Geoff will pinch it.

Quite the cheap shot at Geoff. He doesn’t need me or anyone to defend him. But i will venture a guess he is better than you. 😉. And certainly me. 😂.

I think there’s plenty of room for great discussion and agreement and disagreement without undue snarkiness and disrespect for an artist or a member.

Be happy! 😊. It’s only music and opinion. Not life and death.

And, as I said before, he is a truly nice man in person. Many occasions, diff settings, genuinely a good guy. It’s easy to tell the diff between phonies and decent folk. He’s ok in my book!