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Yes in concert in Indianapolis in 1977 (L. to r., Steve Howe, Alan White, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman)
The popular music group Yes is a progressive rock band that formed in LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri in 1968See also 1967 in music, other events of 1968, 1969 in music, 1960s in music and the list of 'years in music' Events January 4 Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel R. Although the composition of the band has changed many times over the years, founding members Jon Anderson and Chris Squire may be considered the core of the band. Anderson performed on all but one album while Squire has performed on all official Yes albums. Rick Wakeman, on the other hand, has joined and left the band at least four times.
Band members, roughly in order in which they joined the band:
The early 1970s Yes recordings are generally considered to be their best, and in this period they were at the leading edge of progressive rock whilst simultaneously enjoying great commercial success. Despite many lineup changes, occasional splits and the huge changes in popular music, the band has endured for over 30 years and still retains a strong international following.
The classic Yes sound was defined on their third, fourth and fifth albums, recorded in 1971-72. It features complex classically-influenced arrangements, unusual time signatures, virtuoso musicianship, dramatic dynamic and metrical changes and oblique, stream-of-consciousness lyrics.
During this time Yes developed their repertoire well beyond the standard 3-minute pop-song structure, composing lengthy multi-part suites that lasted 20 minutes or more and which alternated vocal verses with atmospheric instrumental interludes, frenetic ensemble passages and extended guitar, keyboard and bass improvisations. The most recognisable sonic features of this 'classic' period are Anderson's distinctive high-register lead vocals, their strong vocal harmonies, Wakeman and Howe's respective keyboard and guitar solos, Bruford's polyrhythmic drumming and the distinctive sound of Squire's Rickenbacker model 4001 stereo bass.
Squire still owns and plays this instrument, which he purchased in 1967, the third Rickenbacker 4001 ever imported into Britain from the United States (the first was bought by Paul McCartney). Squire's unique sound was achieved by a technique known as 'bi-amping' -- splitting the stereo signal from his bass (which divided the signal from the pickups into dual high and low frequency outputs), and then sending the low frequency output to a conventional bass amplifier and the high-frequency output to a separate lead guitar amplifier. This produced a tonal 'sandwich' that added a growling, overdriven edge to the sound while retaining the Rickenbacker's powerful bass response. Squire (who is self-taught) was also one of the first rock bass players to successfully adapt electronic guitar effects such as tremolo, phasing and the wah-wah pedal to the instrument. The rhythm section of Squire and Bruford was widely considered one of the best in rock music at this time.
Their first two Yes LPs (recorded with the lineup of Anderson, Banks, Bruford, Kaye and Squire) mixed original material with covers of songs by their major influences, including The Beatles, The Byrds and Simon & Garfunkel. The departure of Peter Banks in 1970 and his replacement by guitarist Steve Howe gave Yes a new edge. The group's emerging style coalesced on their next LP, the critically acclaimed The Yes Album, which for the first time consisted entirely of original compositions by the band; it was also the record that united them with long-serving producer and engineer Eddie Offord ; his studio expertise was a key factor in creating the Yes sound.
In 1971 original keyboard player Tony Kaye left to form his own group, Badger . He was replaced by classically trained Rick Wakeman, who had just left The Strawbs and was already a noted studio musician with credits including David Bowie and Lou Reed.
As a soloist, Wakeman proved to be a perfect foil for Steve Howe. He also brought two vital new additions to the group's instrumentation -- the Mellotron and the Minimoog synthesiser. Surrounded by banks of keyboards, his flowing blonde hair and sequinned cape provided a strong visual focus on stage, although they later became the object of ridicule in some quarters.
The first recording by this 'classic' lineup of the group (Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire and Wakeman) was a dynamic ten-minute interpretation of Paul Simon's America. It was both the end of one era -- their last non-original track -- and the beginning of another, showcasing all the elements of the new Yes sound in place.
With Wakeman on board, Yes now entered their most fertile and successful period, cutting two highly acclaimed LPs. Fragile (1971) went Top Ten in America, and Close to the Edge (1972) was also a huge seller. Yes enjoyed enormous commercial and critical success around the world and became one of the most popular concert attractions of the day. They also notably benefitted from the tremendous advances in live music technology that were taking place at that time, and they were renowned for the high quality of both their sound and lighting.
Fragile also marked the beginning of a long collaboration with artist Roger Dean, who designed the group's logo and their album covers, as well as their light shows. Some consider the album Close to the Edge to be the high point of the whole progressive rock genre. Fans of this era commonly describe themselves as "Troopers", after the 3-part track "Starship Trooper" from The Yes Album.
Shortly after the release of Close To The Edge, at the height of the band's success, Bill Bruford stunned fans with the news that was quitting to join King Crimson; he was replaced by former Plastic Ono Band drummer Alan White who debuted on their next release, the three-record live collection Yessongs, recorded on their world tour in late 1972 and early 1973.
Yessongs raised the benchmark for rock album packaging to a new level -- it was a hugely ambitious project and undoubtedly a major gamble for their label, Atlantic Records. It was one of the first rock triple-album sets, featuring live versions of all-original material from the previous three studio albums. Presented in one of the most lavish album packages to date, Roger Dean's artwork spread across a triple gatefold cover, and continued the cosmic-organic design concepts of the two previous albums. Capturing the group at their best, with near studio quality sound throughout, Yessongs was a best seller.
Their next studio album, Tales from Topographic Oceans marked a sea-change in the band's fortunes, polarising fans and critics alike. Although extended compositions were by now a Yes hallmark -- the title track of Close To The Edge took up the entire second side of that album -- Topographic Oceans was an obscure concept piece sprawling across four sides of a double album. Although it was a solid commercial success, it earned mixed reviews and left many feeling that the band was beginning to overreach itself.
Frustrations over the album's drawn-out recording and increasing inter-personal tensions led Wakeman to quit at the end of their Topographic Oceans world tour in late 1973. This set the pattern for the group's soapie-like personnel history, with members coming and going several times and lawsuits flying in all directions.
Wakeman was replaced by Swiss musician Patrick Moraz for their successful return to form Relayer in 1974. The group toured through 1975-76 and each member recorded their own solo album, but these mostly demonstrated that in the case of Yes the whole was indeed greater than the sum of the parts. Moraz left in 1976 when Wakeman was persuaded to rejoin the band, and he performed on their next two albums. Going For The One (1977) was surprisingly successful in spite of being released at the height of the punk rock era in Britain, by which time Yes were being held up by adherents of punk and New Wave as epitomising the most bloated excesses of early Seventies dinosaur rock. Ironically, Yes would outlast almost all the groups of that era as well.