The Yes Album by Album Thread (Part 2)

The Yes ABA thread Part II. Thanks to all that have contributed so far. Coming up in a day or so.

 

Where we have traveled so far-

1. Yes S/T
2.Time And A Word
3. The Yes Album
4. Yours Is No Disgrace Song Structure Breakdown
5. Fragile
6. Roundabout Song Structure Breakdown
7. Close to the Edge-Part I
8. Close to the Edge-Part II
9. Close to the Edge-Part III
10. CTTE Song Breakdown-The Solid Time of Change
11. CTTE Song Breakdown-Total Mass Retain
12. CTTE Song Breakdown-I Get Up, I Get Down
13. CTTE Song Breakdown-Seasons of Man
14. Yessongs

 

Am I crazy or did you start a break down of Ritual at some point?

Let's take our time on this one, maybe do a "song" at a time? I listened to Ritual on its own the other day and plan on doing each piece individually so that I can give them their full attention and re-evaluate them, because whenever I try to listen to the whole thing I get lost somewhere in the middle.

 

I agree. We will tackle one at a time. I already posted some of the breakdown of The Revealing Science of God on this thread. I posted the entire breakdown of the piece on another thread but I have changed it for errors on the first try.

 

I'm the opposite. Whenever iTunes picks out one of the Tales tracks, I just want to play the whole thing from start to finish.

 

WThile I am sure this is heresy to most of you folks, I've got an 80 minute CDR withmy favorite parts of TFTO along with the majority of Relayer, and when I want to listen to this music, that is what I go for 9 times out of 10.

Several minutes of chanting obtuse lyrics does nothing for me and gets edited out. This way I can enjoy what I enjoy without "earning" that enjoyment by sitting through pretensious self indulgence.

 

* Sigh *

I suppose it was only a matter of time before these words showed up.

 

Yeah but I was just talking for this thread. I don't mind listening to the whole thing just to have it on or whatever, but there's no way I can pick out everything that's going on in ANY double album, let alone this stuff.

Hi, welcome to prog rock. Comes with the territory.

 

Certainly a lot of prog rock, but I don't really feel that about any Yes other than parts of TFTO.
That's not to say I like all other Yes music, from the Rabin years on there is plenty that does little for me, but it's more often because it sounds more like REO Speedwagon than prog rock ("Love Will Find A Way")

 

Tales from Topographic Oceans-Part I

The Revealing Science of God

Everyone here probably knows about the thread I started a few years ago that basically trashed the album and this piece. I have listened to the piece TRSOG over and over in the past few years and I must say I have started to appreciate it more than in the past. I guess if you listen to anything enough times, it will start to grow on you. I am at the point where I can only say that I am not a lover or hater of the album. The album lost a lot of fans when it was first released including myself to some extent. It has been described as an example of when prog rockers go wrong and lose touch with what rock music is all about. I think that happened to some extent on this album. I guess the best thing to do here is give both sides.

The things I like about the album are evident to any Yes fan. The musicianship is first rate. You can't beat it. There are many memorable "moments" including great melodies, interesting chord progressions and arrangements. Jon is in great voice here and Steve Howe is at genius level with great fills galore. However, he sounds a little too mechanical to me. I really like how the main theme first heard played by Steve, is reset into the chorus for the big climax in TRSOG. Nice move and it serves as a nice recapitulation of sorts. There are other points in the album that are on the same level as that.

The things I do not like about it are.....well let's take TRSOG as an example. I think the piece is somewhat disjointed. The piece goes along fine until 9:48 where things start to go somewhat astray. I am having trouble determining what the heck this section is...is it a bridge, verse, chorus or something else. The piece has lots of key changes, lots of interludes, lots of sections, lots of long drawn out cadences (think..it will get there soon) and lots of everything. There are some parts that to me, do not add to the overall momentum of the piece in terms of getting to the big climax. I know this is heresy to some but, I think some sections could have been edited out and the overall impact would have been greater. For example I feel the guitar interlude at 13:05 and following bridge/verse or whatever it is at 13:49 to 15:08 does nothing to help the forward momentum of the piece. It just feels like it was shoved in to pad the song. That section would have made a great song if it was expanded and worked on. That new bridge or verse at 13:49 is never repeated in the piece. IMO, the themes that are repeated in various settings are weak. The theme heard at 1:34 on the keyboard that is later reprised over and over, is very weak. It is nothing but a three note motif that just descends with the chords. It has no character IMO. I also think the piece is a little too mellow and does not rock enough like Yours is No Disgrace or Roundabout or All Good People.

Some fans that say they think it is their best work, usually make arguments in its favor that are pretty weak. "You don't get it" is one of them as to imply it is too complicated for most listeners. That is hogwash IMO. Another one is you have to listen to it many times before you may fully enjoy it. Well, I both "get it" and have listened to it over and over and I can say the payoff is not as great as what I get with CTTE or many other songs by the band. Not even close. We all hear things differently though.

So, in summary I will stick by my guns and say IMO, this album was somewhat of a misstep. Keep in mind, a misstep for Yes is different than a misstep for any other band on the planet. Rick Wakeman's departure is telling in this case. He was the member that was able to fit the pieces together that Jon and Steve came up with. I remember reading that they would go to Rick and say "We have these two pieces but we can't get them to fit". Rick would make them fit in most cases. I think in the case of Tales, he got them to fit somewhat but IIRC, he told them more than once that it sounded forced and did not serve the song. IIRC, Rick thought Tales was a misstep and I have to agree with him. IMO, if a guy as knowledgeable as him says that, you can believe it is probably true to some extent even though it is his opinion.

It certainly is an adventurous work and is a testament to the talent of the band. I just think it is a little overblown and disjointed.

So which version do you guys like? I like the longer version with the cool volume swelled guitar intro. Go figure.

 

The Revealing Science of God

:00- :32- Opening chant section in B Minor.... Jon Anderson "sings" a chant like series of verses. There is very little melodic movement in Jon's delivery focusing around the B note except for the tail end of the verse lines with a slight ascension. Very static. Steve Howe plays volume swelled notes on his guitar. The chant lifts to B Major at the end.
:32-1:34- The chant section continues with Steve Howe and Chris Squire singing harmony to Jon's chant. The dynamics gradually increase with keyboard effects added into the chant. Still focusing on B Major.
1:34-1:57 After a brief cadence, an introduction still in B Major enters which is used as a theme throughout the piece. The chord progression is B-A then to G at 1:55. The theme played on the keyboard is based on three note motifs that follow the whole tone descension around each chord. The progression continues to descend.
1:57-2:35 A second theme (main theme) in E Major enters. The first five notes are firmly rooted around the tonic E Major chord. Steve Howe plays a series of patterns all in E Major mostly descending with octave jumps at the end of some lines. Rick Wakeman follows with some ascending/descending lines also rooted in E Major.
2:36- 2:48 The introduction theme (subsidiary theme) is restated in B Major.
2:48-3:30 After a brief cadence, the main theme section (E Major) returns and is used as a pre verse section. We hear another theme sung by the group. Steve Howe paraphrases this theme in sections of his guitar solo on To Be Over from the album Relayer. We also hear it in the final section of the album in Ritual.
3:31-3:37 An ascending cadence.
3:38-4:19 The main verse section enters. The chord progression is based around A Major-D Minor-C-G.
4:19-4:50 The "Revealing Science of God" main chorus enters with a modulation to E Major.....the tonal center of the piece. The chord progression is E Major-F# Major-A Major.
4:50-5:02 A chorus tag enters.

 

I feel the same. It is a whole work of art and listening to it in pieces is like only listening to part of a song or watching part of a movie. Of course, it requires a good bit of commitment, but commitment is part of enjoying this album. It is well paid-off imo.

 

5:02-5:20 The section in E Major used originally for the main theme exposition is now used again as a sort of pre verse but this time it is used more as a cadence/transition section. Steve Howe plays a guitar cadence line straight out of the E Major scale ending on an A note. Notice I say a cadence type line. Listeners say they hear a variation of the main theme here but I cannot. If there is, it is a very distant variation. I guess we can say that this is a new theme introduced.
5:20-5:55 The verse section in A Major heard previously returns.
5:56-6:26 The chorus in E Major heard previously returns. Steve adds some funky jazz flourishes on guitar.
6:27-6:39 The chorus tag heard previously re enters and now is extended slightly.
6:39-6:54 The pre verse section used as a cadence enters again but this time is used as a transition for the next section. The guitar line cadence stops short of A and instead ends on G sharp.
6:54-7:49 A bridge section enters based in G sharp Minor. The chords are G # Minor-F#-A. The section harkens back to a section in Siberian Khatru where the verses are two word or syllable utterances. A Yes trademark.
7:50 -8:49 The pre verse/cadence section heard before the bridge returns. Still in E Major as before. Steve once again plays ascending lines using the E Major scale. Some harmony is added at the tail end. Reminds me of a chorale with some great vocals from Jon who sings in unison with Steve.
8:50-9:02 The introductory keyboard (subsidiary) theme first heard at 1:34 originally stated in B Major is now reset into E Major.
9:02-9:44 The pre verse/cadence section heard before has once again returned (still in E Major) now with Rick Wakeman playing the mostly ascending lines that Steve played before at 7:50. Now Steve plays some jazzy guitar fills underneath the ascending lines. We realize that the section has once again been used as a pre verse with what follows.
9:44-9:47 A brief cadence
9:48-10:16 A completely new verse section enters with a modulation to D Major. The chords are based around D-G-A-A Minor. Steve Howe plays some nice harmonics on the guitar.
10:16-10:46 To my ears a new chorus (II) section enters based in G Major. The chords are G-F-D Minor-A Minor.
10:47-11:10 The section continues but is back in D Major and is similar to the verse heard at 9:48. I think this section is a bridge even though it is similar to the verse line at 9:48.

 

11:10-11:52 The first bridge in G Sharp Minor returns. First heard at 6:54.
11:52-12:17 An ascending cadence section enters
12:17-12:36 A new bridge section enters in A Major based around the semi chromatic ascension of A-Bb-B.
12:36-12:41 The bridge section continues but modulates to E Major
12:41-12:59 The bridge section continues but goes thru a quick series of modulations. At 12:41 it modulates to D Major. At 12:47 it modulates to C Major. At 12:53 it modulates back to D Major.
12:59-13:05 A cadence enters
13:05-13:49 The song modulates once more to but now to E Minor. Steve Howe plays a beautiful Spanish romance type interlude on guitar. The piece is very reminiscent of Spanish guitar romance pieces utilizing a moving upper voice and repeating open strings.
13:49-15:08 After a cadence a new bridge section in A Major enters.
15:08-15:17 The intro theme (subsidiary) first heard at 1:34 is now "reset" into A Major. Originally it was in B Major. Now Steve Howe plays the theme as opposed to Rick.
15:17-16:01 The "main theme" section first heard at 1:57 once again returns with a series of ascending patterns. Jon adds in a choral touch.
16:01-16:42 The section modulates to A Major and continues to build.
16:42-17:31 An instrumental bridge section enters and goes thru a series of modulations.

 

Glad to see I'm not alone in my heresy

 

The finale of TRSOG

17:31-18:13 The verse section first heard at 9:48 re enters but is now "reset" in F# Minor without any drums and is very somber sounding as opposed to its original presentation in D Major.
18:13-18:45 The chorus (II) first heard at 10:16 is now reset in A Major.
18:45-18:54 The bridge first heard at 10:47 enters in E Major, but now the tempo is quicker and the instrumentation builds up signaling a push for the song to start conclusion.
18:54-18:56 The bridge moves to a B Minor chord in a critical point in the song as the tension is at its peak. The B Minor chord is the turnaround chord. What happens next is pretty amazing.
18:56-19:33 The incredible Steve Howe plays an awesome cadence line on his guitar which leads us to the most dramatic moment on the album. At 19:01, we hear for only the second time on the entire piece, the return of the main theme of the song. The chord returns to E Major and we finally realize that the main theme has now been brilliantly reset into the main chorus of the song first heard at 4:19. Fantastic use of the theme and a great songwriting move. A recapitulation of sorts. Steve Howe plays the theme now using an octave pedal. The theme is not extended as first heard. Steve plays the first half of the theme section and then changes it up with some great guitar fills.
19:33-19:46 The chorus tag re enters but now harmonically disintegrates.
19:46-20:29 A final chant section enters as the coda in E Major. The song ends with an E Major chord in the vocals.

 

You are not alone. Not heresy at all.

 

Any particularly good sounding live recordings of this tour worth seeking out? I have one, but the quality is quite poor.

 

I never sought any out.

 

I am hoping someone will comment on the structure breakdown. I had a terrible time figuring out what some of the parts were and many are best guesses. It's only Rock and Roll but I like it.

 

Not seeing any heresy at all here, all you did was state an opinion.

Yes is one of my favorite bands but they're certainly not above criticism - just wait 'til we get to "Tormato", that should be good..

 

I commend the work you are doing on these and hope to return to them later as a resource to deepen my understanding of the music and ability to play parts of it, but don't have the time to go through them in depth at present.

 

Thanks. I don't blame you. This was really tough. In fact I just changed a mistake regarding the opening chant. It is clearly in B Minor and lifts to B Major at the tail. Pretty cool actually.
I better stop analyzing it. I like it more and more each time as I look into it in more detail.