The Mess that has become of Yes

[EVP]

Beniot David is out due to illness and Jon Davidson of Glass Hammer will be replacing him
for the next leg of the Fly From Here Tour.

http://www.noise11.com/news/exclusive-y ... r-20120208

They actually called me and I believe I may have a chance  

[Trapezium Artist]

Beniot David is out due to illness and Jon Davidson of Glass Hammer will be replacing him
for the next leg of the Fly From Here Tour.

http://www.noise11.com/news/exclusive-y ... r-20120208

They actually called me and I believe I may have a chance  

Flipping 'eck: it never ends. I do wonder quite what's meant by Mr David quitting completely while ill; I mean, it's one thing to call in a replacement for a bit if someone's sick, but to declare that it's permanent seems a little fishy. I wonder if this is the full story. Indeed, I wonder if he's quit because he'd have enough of people like me complaining that he's no Jon.

I have no opinion on the new new boy, although at least he has the right first name. I think Wilf has played some Glass Hammer on TEP recently ... will need to check it out.

Following the links, it would appear as though Mr Squire and Mr Anderson still have some considerable differences to patch over if there's to be any hope of the latter returning once again. But let's also keep in mind that JA is approaching 68 and it's not entirely obvious to me how long this sort of thing can drag on.

I was cogitating this morning on quite how the music scene might "transition" from the original artists playing their own stuff into a world something more along the lines of classical music, where the original composer is long since dead, but the music is very much still alive. There are huge differences, of course, not least with the "unique" voice of the lead singer, which is much harder to impersonate than playing the bass, keys, drums, etc. (I would posit, at least). But I'll leave that for a separate post ...

Finally, again following links, I see that Mr Squire is collaborating with Mr Hackett: was that mentioned here previously?

//http://www.billboard.com/news/#/news/yes-bassist-chris-squire-preps-collaboration-1005856952.story

[danofmayz]

They should start calling themselves 'No'  

[Mooncat]

Or 'Maybe'  :?  :roll:

[danofmayz]

Or 'Maybe'  :?  :roll:

 :lol:

[Pedro]

...or "Next!"  

[Trapezium Artist]

Or more poignantly, "Yesterdays".

[rogerg]

"Possibly"

[E.S.]

"Hypothetically"

[turbo]

I really do find this very sad indeed, to see what has happened to the band i grew up with breaks my heart,i absolutly loved yes they produced so many ground breaking albums and wonderfull shows, its such a shame to see them turn into a sham it is just so very very sad.  :cry:

[Dodie]

The various threads about this at Progressive Ears contain a lot of silly speculation and bile, but amongst it all there are some links to official press releases. It now seems Benoit David quit, and that it's permanent, and that Jon Davison is a hastily found replacement - but most who've heard his recent work with Glass Hammer are looking at this as quite a positive improvement on things. In the meantime, it's also been demonstrated that Jon Anderson was not invited back (despite rumours that he had), and would've said no had he been asked; Chris Squire and Jon Anderson are saying contradictory things about their relationship.

Personally, I think the rot set in when Bill Bruford left. Then when Patrick Moraz left. Then when Trevor Rabin left.

David

[Trapezium Artist]

The various threads about this at Progressive Ears contain a lot of silly speculation and bile, but amongst it all there are some links to official press releases. It now seems Benoit David quit, and that it's permanent, and that Jon Davison is a hastily found replacement - but most who've heard his recent work with Glass Hammer are looking at this as quite a positive improvement on things. In the meantime, it's also been demonstrated that Jon Anderson was not invited back (despite rumours that he had), and would've said no had he been asked; Chris Squire and Jon Anderson are saying contradictory things about their relationship.

Personally, I think the rot set in when Bill Bruford left. Then when Patrick Moraz left. Then when Trevor Rabin left.

David

Nah, nah, nah ... when Peter Banks left. Then when Tony Kaye left. Then when Bill Bruford left. Of course, if we continue with this, we'll have to have, what, four times when Rick Wakeman left?  

[danofmayz]

Personally, I think it should have all ended when Bruford left. They should have worked under a different name. There's something about Squire and Bruford that just nails it. To me, that is the sound of Yes.

[owen]

Progears can be quite vitriolitic but I had a look at yesfans forum. Had to have a shower after, it's a very nasty place. Didn't help that Geoff Downes had been winding them up admittedly  but demands that he should leave the band in the middle of a "welcome to..." thread is unpleasant. There seems fury that their band is taking a pragmatic view of things and replacing Benoit David rather than splitting up or going back to JA. Oh well, maybe that'll be us in 20 years? Can't see it somehow, fotunatly.  

[Trapezium Artist]

Progears can be quite vitriolitic but I had a look at yesfans forum. Had to have a shower after, it's a very nasty place. Didn't help that Geoff Downes had been winding them up admittedly  but demands that he should leave the band in the middle of a "welcome to..." thread is unpleasant. There seems fury that their band is taking a pragmatic view of things and replacing Benoit David rather than splitting up or going back to JA. Oh well, maybe that'll be us in 20 years? Can't see it somehow, fotunatly.  

Although I consider myself quite a fan of Yes as they were in the 1970s (up to Drama, for me) and much less so of more or less anything they've done since, I see absolutely no point in the kind of vicious nonsense that can be seen on those boards and fora. Frankly, people need to get a bleeding life. Shudder.

I mean, in the end, who do these people think they are? They don't own Yes; they're not company shareholders, for crying out loud. They're consumers of a product (in the most reductionist approach), and if they don't like the new product, they don't have to buy it. It doesn't affect the quality of the old product and if the producers (i.e. the band in its various incarnations) want to try and sell a product that's (in some people's eyes and ears) below par, well, that's entirely the prerogative of the producers.

I know that's a simplistic view of things and I know that bands, like football teams, can inspire a kind of tribal loyalty that borders on a manic sense of ownership, but really ...

Am I sad about what's become of Yes? Sort of, although I realise that no-one's getting any younger and things do come to a natural end at some point. Does that entitle me to spew bile on the internet about it? Nope. Does it affect the memories of the enormous pleasure that Yes and their music have given me over the years (and will continue to do so until I'm in my dotage)? Absolutely not.

As for us Frost*ies in 20 years, I certainly hope we'll behave better. Indeed, we know from recent experience that as a group, we do behave a damn sight better on this forum. With one or two exceptions perhaps, but in by far the great majority, we're bloody magnificent  :mrgreen: