A point to remember, a lot of the long held notes, especially on keyboards is that the old synths were mostly manually configured, so Rick is frantically changing the settings with one hand while he's holding that chord so the next sound could be produced.
Thank you for your effort. This isn't the easiest music to jump into. I appreciate your opinion. It gives me a new look at music I have listened to for 60 years. Keep up the good work.
Glad you didn't skip it. It's a good album. These long Yes songs are musical journeys. You have to invest the time and attention to appreciate it, or at least PARTS of it. It's like watching a movie as opposed to a TH-cam short.
In the 1970s when I was a teenager, The Remembering was my favorite Yes song. It's still a top 10 favorite as other songs from Tales and other albums became favorites as I grew older.
Nice Justin! It's a brilliant piece live. And true that YES at times can get too Anderson'ee but short people tend to get their way 😂 ✨️🎶✨️ Bet you get The Ancient
he he, I guess he was a bit cheeky there... but he was not entirely wrong. It seems that the recording of Close to the edge was quite a difficult process and though he had good musical chemistry with the other members the personal side of things was becoming a bit annoying for him, specialy with Chris Squire. So bigger, longer etc. was perhaps not a kind of challenge rewarding enough for him in that context. And then he joined King Crimson ( ho ho ho, he he he)
@@santiagoalvareztabares3598 But Bill was essentially a jazz drummer, and said he couldn't turn Fripp down when he told him: "I think you're ready now to join King Crimson".
Totally agree. I said ho ho ho because it turned out to be a very hard enterprise. During the "Starless &Bible Black" tour they were all but starving. Their record company was ripping them off big time. And by 74-75 it was over...the band was done Meanwhile Yes was making tons of money
Howe: "I’m still very proud of [Topographic Oceans] and very pleased with it. There are things in there you never would have thought Yes would do, particularly on side two [“The Remembering (High the Memory)”] - some beautiful, unusual, folk-like, almost Jethro Tull-ish things ... And one of my favorite bits is [sings portion of “The Remembering”]. Now that to me is Yes at its most exceptional. It’s not [sings riff from “Roundabout”]; it’s in the beautiful, folky world." - GuitarPlayer, 2023
@@hansvandermeulen5515 He performed the part starting at 4:36 in the video (also beginning the ending) as an acoustic rendition in the mid 90's, so there's a good chance that's it.
This is a very fair reaction, Justin. Like so many Yes epics (and Jon Anderson solo songs) this one tries to build from this simple, little thing into a huge epic statement. It's a nice headphones listening experience, but you can imagine that there were some twitchy bums in the concert halls when Yes toured this in 1974. It's only ever been played live on this tour, and it never even survived the entire run of the tour, being dropped after about 20 shows. It's a beautiful piece of music, but to the impatient or uninitiated it can be tedious. Again, the seams are easier to see, and the criticism of padding is hard to deny. Hardcore fans love this track partly because they feel it's generally under-appreciated, but also just because it has some really nice melodic themes and ideas throughout. And I'm glad you're taking a small break before tackling 'The Ancient'. To quote 'Army of Darkness', "Buckle up bonehead, cuz you're going for a ride!" 😃
You are right. This is not as easy to follow as revealing. This album takes multiple listens to appreciate the suddleties in it. These pieces get more cohesive with more listens. This song has multiple melodic motifs in common with the previous track. The whole album is that way. This album is like one of those paintings. You see something new every time you look at it. I am still hearing new things and I listen to it with you.
Great guitars and esp. the fills, Yes! Rick Wakeman...I was confident you'd find high points with the keyboards and esp. all the tonal/sound effects. I do struggle with the twists and turns, but there are sweet morsels interspersed.
Another great, honest reaction, my friend. It is a lot to take in for a first listen. I'm happy that you seem to be enjoying the album so far. And you're right, Anderson is singing "relayer," which would be the title of their followup album.😄 _Relayer, all the passion spent on one cross. Relayer, sail the futile wars they suffer. Relayer, we advance, we retrace our story. Fail safe now._
I love this tune. The climax is amazing. I didn’t like this album when I was younger and had it on cassette. Today, many years later, it’s one of my very fave Yes albums.
SIDE 2 often hits me as hard as AWAKEN. 😢 Initially, it lulls you into dreamy DRIFTING lullaby of remembrances, then slowing builds with WAVES of more emotional depth. I LOVE THE MELODICS. As the TORRENTS begin to SWELL up and down emotionally, eventually CRESTNG and crashing into a undulating gorgeous exhilarating crescendo. This song is not about DRAMA or HARD EDGE deliveries. THE NEXT song takes full advantage of that need. BTW I've never felt jarred and unsatisfied with the transitions
It took me a long time to really appreciate this song, which I first heard back in the fall of 1984 when I was 15. I think I've listened to sides 1 and 4 so much, I kind of go to this one when I want to hear something from Tales. The edits (or drop ins, as you call them) are pretty stark, but I think it's just the reality of recording to tape, and splicing parts together. And I agree with you about Wakeman's parts here. There was no grand keyboard solo, but but his performance taken as a whole here is pretty monumental. He did do a pretty head turning solo on this track during the tour, though.
It's so funny that at one point in you life your favorite song is Yummy,yummy,yummy then a few years later it's Yes, Genesis, Frank Zappa etc. I'm enjoying your 1st time reactions and remembering mine as well. Quite often they're very similar. I will say Jon Anderson was never lost for a melodic idea. Obviously some better than others, but like Genesis there always seems to be a melody about.
The Remembering is a cool tune and I've always felt that the transcendent, upward modulating feel of the climax is the precursor to the ending of Awaken.
Back around 1980 - 82 maybe i had a friend whom i visit mostly daily and the first question of the day was just 1,2,3 or 4 ? And that meant which side of Tale we would listen to first 😄😄👍👍
This side takes you close to the beating heart of life. When I hear it, it really is a remembering again. The album is always oddly familiar though I rarely play it. Like a faint recurring dream of something important and reassuring ❤
Drove me nuts for years trying to figure out how Steve was getting that shimmering watery effect on his guitar at the beginning. Nothing i tried could accurately reproduce that, and Ive never heard anything quite like it. Then finally I read an article where Steve said it was 2 Leslie cabinets, run in tandem stereo, with the spin juxtaposition slightly offset from each other. That's the fun thing about YES: they were always experimenting with gear and techniques. That spacey chord progression that runs throughout this song takes a LONG time to appreciate over several playbacks, but its brilliant. I mean who would dream up stuff like that?? Lots and lots of wacky tobacky 🥴
I wonder if that was Eddie Offord's idea. IIR, he was the one who decided to swing a mic around in a circle during a guitar solo on _Siberian Khatru._ Yeah, Yes had _three_ sixth members: Eddie, Roger Dean, and their dealer.
I'm glad Chris tried some fretless bass playing, although this is around the time Jaco Pastorious arrived on the scene and -- well, is that who you'd want to be compared to? 😀
Agreed, this track is up and down, and tough to follow. But once it gets going, awesome texture, especially from Rick. The truly amazing thing is the fact they were able to convince producers to release a double album with 4 tracts knowing it will never be heard on radio stations. The power of yes and their confidence in their fans. An amazing feat. An amazing piece of work.
When I approach a piece of music of this length, such as ‘Close to the Edge’, ‘Supper’s Ready’, or ‘Thick as a Brick’, I know going in, it’s going to require several listens before I can wrap my head around it and assess it. I get that this is a “first impressions” video, but the twenty-something minute songs I think require multiple listens.
This doble masterpiece album was so underrated. However It contains some of the finest fragments of music I've ever heard. It is spiritual elevation music.
When this album was first released, I bought it, and like most Yes fans, I really enjoyed the first and fourth tracks, but the second and third tracks didn't hit as hard. However, the second and third tracks have grown in popularity among fans, and I listen to them more often than the other two, great as they are. I wish that I could edit the "Relayer" sections of this piece, including some nice sections from other parts of the piece, into an eight minute single. That Relayer section cooks!! Side three is so off the wall that one Rock critic thought it would change the musical landscape. It's a trip, that's for sure. And, side four is pure musical bliss, with a couple of very unsettling moments, making Ritual a classic. ❤✌
I can see why you had some problems with this track, but, for me, it's my favorite of the 4 - because of the keyboard work mostly. I can see what you're saying about the drop-in bits, but they've never bothered me. It's interesting that you say the Anderson melodic lines were a problem for you. Ironically, from a lyrical standpoint, I find this track to have the most accessible lyrics of the 4 sides. I know you don't pay much attention to lyrics, so that probably didn't register with you. Good reaction though!
It took me about four listens of the entire album before it grabbed me. I didn't like it that much at first but then I became obsessed with it for a while. For me, some of their best melodies are on this side. Interestingly, of all of their earlier albums, this album is probably the one that has held up the least for me over the years - I still love it but not as much as I used to.
I like the tracks in the order, side 1, side 2, side 3 and least of all side 4 (one of the least listened to Yes tracks). But I will watch you react to it Justin
Hi Justin. I’m a bit surprised that you said that you didn’t care for what Jon was doing in the early part of the song. Did you mean his vocals or the lyrics? One of the main reasons I love this song is because of the singing and harmonies with Chris and Steve. Sorry if that didn’t quite gel with the listening experience, but like you said it’s your first time listening to it. But I was happy that you liked the instrumental parts of the song! Out of the Tranquil Seas and Skylines, and into the Meteor Storm that is The Ancient-Giants Under the Sun! Yikes!!!
I disagree..... to me Andersons beautiful voice navigating through those several chord changes with Squires nice harmonies are the beautiful core of this track
I'm an exception as this is my favorite piece from this album. I like the development of reoccuring themes. I ignore the lyrics so I'm not sure what the point is.
... En el Yes de sus primeras etapas, y en general, las texturas presentan contrapunto y armonías propias de integrantes como Wakeman, Howe, Moraz con estudios formales. Es una forma de componer si se quiere mas "clásica" y esto lo torna mas sinfónico que progresivo. Por lo mismo para mi Yes es sinfónico y King Crimson es progresivo ... que no es necesariamente lo mismo.
Considering Rick wasn’t keen on this album his Mellotron work is AMAZING especially on this song and the next one ! I said to you that side one and four would be your favoured ones, that you would find this song a ‘plodder’ and your comments confirm this. You must approach side three with an open mind, a non Yes memory muscle, because you can’t compare it to any other Yes music. I love all four tracks myself but I’m looking at it from your point of view, as a reviewer.
The "cut ins" as you call them are just transitions. That's what prog rock is. The creativity and musicianship is genius! Not everyone cares for Jon's voice. You're probably not going to care much for the last two tracks either.🤩
Transitions in epic length tracks are common enough, but I think he's have an understandable reaction coming off of the high water mark that 'Close to the Edge' established. For instance, I'd say the transitions in something like "Supper's Ready" are just as abrupt -- or even more so -- than "The Remembering". But these guys did such a masterful job on CTTE that it became the benchmark by which all others are measured.
I guess this was just too deep for a pimple faced 18 year old kid back in the day. As I've stated I have had this album for over 45 years and never listened to it. The Yes Album, Going For The One etc etc where just more my flavor. Good to hear it though with you for the first time...
Did Yes themselves like this? I'd agree with your assessment that I'm used to them rocking a lot more. Not something I feel the need to really have. Yessongs, on the other hand... IMO "Going For the One" was better and it came several years later. That said there's some good stuff here anyway, melodies are always good. Yeah.
I think the folks saying to skip this may have been reacting (overreacting?) to your "This is taxing" reaction. A long time ago when I was in college, this was my favorite Yes album. It's really good music to have on while studying, writing, meditating. I still really love this song and Ritual, but I rarely sit and listen to the entire double-album anymore. I think a fair criticism of the album overall is that there are some really cool parts, but there are clearly other areas that are not as interesting. Glad you're enjoying this era of Yes. I'm very interested in your reaction to Drama, which is a criminally underrated version of Yes.
Good analysis. There's nothing wrong with this, but I'll confess to playing Candy Crush while listening. It's not that interesting, but sounds good enough. Sound-wise there's a lot of King Crimson, Mike Oldfield, Moody Blues and even a bit of Ennio Morricone in this. And the band has this fixation of "wowing" their audience through gimmicks. All in all it's not as creative as their previous stuff. It's just more for more's sake.
It's worth it I think - that said, The Remembering is the weakest track in my opinion, at least the first half. Though the changes seem dropped in (and they may well have been knowing what we know about the way they worked at that time) they still managed to play this live without skipping a beat. And yes, Jon is singing "Relayer," the title of the next studio album. I interpret this as "one that relays" or perhaps "story teller" which dovetails into the concept of 'remembering." I do love the final guitar solo and a lot of Chris's bass work throughout, though, as a whole, not the strongest entry. Next up is "The Ancient" which many find the most difficult. The shortest of the four movements (I think of the whole as a symphony.) I think it's the most experimental the band ever got and is truly taxing on the ear and brain, but reveals itself to be (IMHO) pure genius. After that, Ritual - another beast altogether. I will be interested in your take on the album Relayer since all of this is preparation for it.
I always felt just like you about this song, I like it, the keyboard sounds are beautiful, but this is my least favorite song from the 4, something about the vocal melodies never convinced me, they seem hesitant, and there is too much text, that I think is what makes this song not attract me as much as the other three, but that doesn't mean that the whole album still seems like a masterpiece to me in its entirety, it's just that this song in particular is the densest to grasp on a first listen.
It’s never helpful if you find it difficult to tune into the singer as you have already admitted. I can understand as I have exactly the same problem with Rush. Generally I thought your assessment of this track was pretty fair and although I love Jon more than you do it is absolutely correct that this track does not hang together as well and has less catchy hooks than the revealing.
Attempting to judge 'Tales" in a sitting is tantamount to judging a novel by flicking through its pages -- it's laughable. You would have to listen to each side at the very least about '10' times before you can even begin to offer credible reflections. So much passes by unnoticed. For example, 'Ritual' contains bits and pieces of all the other sides and even parts of 'Close To the Edge', so what may appear to be just random straying actually is a carefully constructed summation. 'The Remembering' in particular requires the most listening before it seeps in, an extremely acquired taste. Yes refused to play this live because of its near impossibility, especially the harmony at the end. In this piece Yes, as they often do, 'sets the listener up' with intentionally weak parts ("Out in the city roaming free") that are repeated in the piece but become progressively intense, so what sounded perhaps uninteresting and weak in an earlier part becomes something else. 'Going for The One' is perhaps the best example of being set-up, with the unmistakable build-up in intensity of earlier parts.
The first half of this side does go on a bit too long and seems like padding to make up the time available on the side. The second half is better. Just remember to view the album as a whole and complete amazing work of art. I agree about the instrumentals but is is still probably the weakest of the four side. Relayer is the name of their next album and I am fairly sure in my own mind that the Relayer is Christ.
12 minutes of beauty mercilessly stretched and diluted into 19 minutes of significantly less interesting noise. Thought so when i first heard it in the eighties, still think it now. Only Ritual is fully realised as a piece of music, and I could do without the comedy drum break. Whether it was ego, hubris, drugs, money or just wildly overreaching...this could have been a single album of our ten minute tacks that would have rivalled Close to the Edge or Relayer or Going for the one. Just to clarify, I love the album, but it could have been so much more...
Too stretched out and disconnected. Not something I would actively listen to. Just ok at low volume for background sounds while doing things around the house.
This was the song where creatively and conceptually they got ahead of their skis. While there are some interesting instrumental sections, the time signature changes introducing them are too abrupt. And the vocal sections are not melodic but forced to being grating and boring. Thumbs down on this one.
A point to remember, a lot of the long held notes, especially on keyboards is that the old synths were mostly manually configured, so Rick is frantically changing the settings with one hand while he's holding that chord so the next sound could be produced.
Thank you for your effort. This isn't the easiest music to jump into. I appreciate your opinion. It gives me a new look at music I have listened to for 60 years. Keep up the good work.
Beautiful album from side 1 to side 4...we all like different things so never bother what other people think !
Brilliant. Just beautiful.
Glad you didn't skip it. It's a good album. These long Yes songs are musical journeys. You have to invest the time and attention to appreciate it, or at least PARTS of it. It's like watching a movie as opposed to a TH-cam short.
It took me years to appreciate this one. Now it’s one of my favorites!!!!!
I hear some influences. Sibelius. Stravinsky, in sometime baroque complexity. Guitar is glorious
Some of the slow parts give me a Debussy vibe. _Trois Nocturnes_ or _La Mer._ They're both on the same disc, so I'm not sure which... could be both.
The most challenging side on the album. Absolutely love it now! Give it a few listens. You'll hear something different every time.
In the 1970s when I was a teenager, The Remembering was my favorite Yes song. It's still a top 10 favorite as other songs from Tales and other albums became favorites as I grew older.
Wakeman's chord resolutions still move me after all these years.
Under Legedary in the dictionary, there is just a picture of Rick.. Best to ya~
My favorite off the album and one of my go-to Yes songs - liked Steve's part especially.
Nice Justin! It's a brilliant piece live. And true that YES at times can get too Anderson'ee but short people tend to get their way 😂 ✨️🎶✨️
Bet you get The Ancient
Bruford talking about why he left Yes:
"I knew what was coming: bigger, longer, more difficult...."
Well, he also said all he could think of what YES would do after "Close To The Edge" was "Son of Close To The Edge".
he he, I guess he was a bit cheeky there...
but he was not entirely wrong.
It seems that the recording of Close to the edge was quite a difficult process and though he had good musical chemistry with the other members the personal side of things was becoming a bit annoying for him, specialy with Chris Squire.
So bigger, longer etc. was perhaps not a kind of challenge rewarding enough for him in that context.
And then he joined King Crimson ( ho ho ho, he he he)
And don't you think he was very brave?
Leaving the band when they have an international top ten charted LP, wow
@@santiagoalvareztabares3598 But Bill was essentially a jazz drummer, and said he couldn't turn Fripp down when he told him: "I think you're ready now to join King Crimson".
Totally agree. I said ho ho ho because it turned out to be a very hard enterprise. During the "Starless &Bible Black" tour they were all but starving. Their record company was ripping them off big time.
And by 74-75 it was over...the band was done
Meanwhile Yes was making tons of money
Howe: "I’m still very proud of [Topographic Oceans] and very pleased with it. There are things in there you never would have thought Yes would do, particularly on side two [“The Remembering (High the Memory)”] - some beautiful, unusual, folk-like, almost Jethro Tull-ish things ... And one of my favorite bits is [sings portion of “The Remembering”]. Now that to me is Yes at its most exceptional. It’s not [sings riff from “Roundabout”]; it’s in the beautiful, folky world." - GuitarPlayer, 2023
So, what favorite bit did he sing! I'm curious.
@@hansvandermeulen5515 He performed the part starting at 4:36 in the video (also beginning the ending) as an acoustic rendition in the mid 90's, so there's a good chance that's it.
Great album. As much time as this song takes to get going, it's probably my favorite movement of this beast of an epic.
The ending is so goosebump-y.
This is a very fair reaction, Justin. Like so many Yes epics (and Jon Anderson solo songs) this one tries to build from this simple, little thing into a huge epic statement. It's a nice headphones listening experience, but you can imagine that there were some twitchy bums in the concert halls when Yes toured this in 1974. It's only ever been played live on this tour, and it never even survived the entire run of the tour, being dropped after about 20 shows. It's a beautiful piece of music, but to the impatient or uninitiated it can be tedious. Again, the seams are easier to see, and the criticism of padding is hard to deny. Hardcore fans love this track partly because they feel it's generally under-appreciated, but also just because it has some really nice melodic themes and ideas throughout. And I'm glad you're taking a small break before tackling 'The Ancient'. To quote 'Army of Darkness', "Buckle up bonehead, cuz you're going for a ride!" 😃
You are right. This is not as easy to follow as revealing. This album takes multiple listens to appreciate the suddleties in it. These pieces get more cohesive with more listens. This song has multiple melodic motifs in common with the previous track. The whole album is that way. This album is like one of those paintings. You see something new every time you look at it. I am still hearing new things and I listen to it with you.
The Danelectro is used on _Close to the Edge_ as well. It kicks in @ ~3:55.
You can see it on _CttE_ on the _Yessongs_ movie.
Great guitars and esp. the fills, Yes! Rick Wakeman...I was confident you'd find high points with the keyboards and esp. all the tonal/sound effects. I do struggle with the twists and turns, but there are sweet morsels interspersed.
Another great, honest reaction, my friend. It is a lot to take in for a first listen. I'm happy that you seem to be enjoying the album so far. And you're right, Anderson is singing "relayer," which would be the title of their followup album.😄 _Relayer, all the passion spent on one cross. Relayer, sail the futile wars they suffer. Relayer, we advance, we retrace our story. Fail safe now._
I love this tune. The climax is amazing. I didn’t like this album when I was younger and had it on cassette. Today, many years later, it’s one of my very fave Yes albums.
SIDE 2 often hits me as hard as AWAKEN. 😢 Initially, it lulls you into dreamy DRIFTING lullaby of remembrances, then slowing builds with WAVES of more emotional depth. I LOVE THE MELODICS. As the TORRENTS begin to SWELL up and down emotionally, eventually CRESTNG and crashing into a undulating gorgeous exhilarating crescendo. This song is not about DRAMA or HARD EDGE deliveries. THE NEXT song takes full advantage of that need. BTW I've never felt jarred and unsatisfied with the transitions
It took me a long time to really appreciate this song, which I first heard back in the fall of 1984 when I was 15. I think I've listened to sides 1 and 4 so much, I kind of go to this one when I want to hear something from Tales. The edits (or drop ins, as you call them) are pretty stark, but I think it's just the reality of recording to tape, and splicing parts together. And I agree with you about Wakeman's parts here. There was no grand keyboard solo, but but his performance taken as a whole here is pretty monumental. He did do a pretty head turning solo on this track during the tour, though.
It's so funny that at one point in you life your favorite song is Yummy,yummy,yummy then a few years later it's Yes, Genesis, Frank Zappa etc. I'm enjoying your 1st time reactions and remembering mine as well. Quite often they're very similar. I will say Jon Anderson was never lost for a melodic idea. Obviously some better than others, but like Genesis there always seems to be a melody about.
The Remembering is a cool tune and I've always felt that the transcendent, upward modulating feel of the climax is the precursor to the ending of Awaken.
Back around 1980 - 82 maybe i had a friend whom i visit mostly daily and the first question of the day was just 1,2,3 or 4 ? And that meant which side of Tale we would listen to first 😄😄👍👍
Ive seem perfoming this ..amazing
This album is more than music. It's a vehicle to transport you to eternity.
Yes Justin. Right about Rick..due to the purpose of remembering
I always called this song Think Very Well, that way I’d remember which song this is.
JP I see the TV on in the background. It's the same shows I remember watching when I was a kid. 😅
I think the track from "Don the cap" until the end is perfect, especially the "Awaken" ending.
Same here, the guitar is so bright and I just love the bass in this section.
Shouldn’t we say that Awaken has a „The Remembering“ ending? 🤣
On Live TV, in the 90s, Rick was asked what the influence for this album was, Rick replied "Mushrooms"
This side takes you close to the beating heart of life. When I hear it, it really is a remembering again. The album is always oddly familiar though I rarely play it. Like a faint recurring dream of something important and reassuring ❤
WXLO radio out of NY used to use parts of Rick's breakaways from The Remembering in one of their radio ads.
When you're in the mood for The Remembering, nothing else will do.
Drove me nuts for years trying to figure out how Steve was getting that shimmering watery effect on his guitar at the beginning. Nothing i tried could accurately reproduce that, and Ive never heard anything quite like it.
Then finally I read an article where Steve said it was 2 Leslie cabinets, run in tandem stereo, with the spin juxtaposition slightly offset from each other.
That's the fun thing about YES: they were always experimenting with gear and techniques. That spacey chord progression that runs throughout this song takes a LONG time to appreciate over several playbacks, but its brilliant.
I mean who would dream up stuff like that??
Lots and lots of wacky tobacky 🥴
I wonder if that was Eddie Offord's idea. IIR, he was the one who decided to swing a mic around in a circle during a guitar solo on _Siberian Khatru._
Yeah, Yes had _three_ sixth members: Eddie, Roger Dean, and their dealer.
This track like the first one is enjoyable. This is probably my first time listening to it in about 10 years. It’s actually better than I remember.
Yes he was saying Relayer, which is the name of the album that follows this one.
They performed the entire album on tour. No studio dropping in there.
That Guild bass sound is lush. Wonder why he didn't use it more often?
Love the band. Not fond of this album. Sorry, Tales lovers out there.
@@DanPembertonI wasn’t. Now I am. But I am acutely aware of its flaws. Anyway, Relayer coming up 😊
Ty for reaction! I stand by my parts and portions remark on this album, but I love them so nonetheless.
I'm glad Chris tried some fretless bass playing, although this is around the time Jaco Pastorious arrived on the scene and -- well, is that who you'd want to be compared to? 😀
😎
Upon first listen, it’s fine
Ok. From the first notes I remember (no pun) that I like this track too.
Amazing how it really is a remembering at times ❤
Thanks Justin. Skip this album???😅 it is a beatiful album
Agreed, this track is up and down, and tough to follow. But once it gets going, awesome texture, especially from Rick. The truly amazing thing is the fact they were able to convince producers to release a double album with 4 tracts knowing it will never be heard on radio stations. The power of yes and their confidence in their fans. An amazing feat. An amazing piece of work.
Lol I can't wait to hear your reaction to the next track. People's opinions vary the most on that one.
the whole album is a rock symphony, the 2nd movement of most symphonies are the more pastoral ones.
When I approach a piece of music of this length, such as ‘Close to the Edge’, ‘Supper’s Ready’, or ‘Thick as a Brick’, I know going in, it’s going to require several listens before I can wrap my head around it and assess it. I get that this is a “first impressions” video, but the twenty-something minute songs I think require multiple listens.
A lot of Rick's work on this song would be perfect as part of a soundtrack to a space exploration scifi movie.
This doble masterpiece album was so underrated. However It contains some of the finest fragments of music I've ever heard. It is spiritual elevation music.
What about cover? Its beatiful.
When this album was first released, I bought it, and like most Yes fans, I really enjoyed the first and fourth tracks, but the second and third tracks didn't hit as hard. However, the second and third tracks have grown in popularity among fans, and I listen to them more often than the other two, great as they are. I wish that I could edit the "Relayer" sections of this piece, including some nice sections from other parts of the piece, into an eight minute single. That Relayer section cooks!!
Side three is so off the wall that one Rock critic thought it would change the musical landscape. It's a trip, that's for sure. And, side four is pure musical bliss, with a couple of very unsettling moments, making Ritual a classic. ❤✌
My cat likes it. hahahahaha LOL
Cats have taste 😅
Meow!! 😸😻
My cat will come into the basement stereo area, sit right in front of it regardless of how loud it is, she also has taste, Yes, Rush, Zeppelin, etc.
My cat heard "Kashmir" earlier and LOVED IT.😻
I can see why you had some problems with this track, but, for me, it's my favorite of the 4 - because of the keyboard work mostly. I can see what you're saying about the drop-in bits, but they've never bothered me. It's interesting that you say the Anderson melodic lines were a problem for you. Ironically, from a lyrical standpoint, I find this track to have the most accessible lyrics of the 4 sides. I know you don't pay much attention to lyrics, so that probably didn't register with you. Good reaction though!
It took me about four listens of the entire album before it grabbed me. I didn't like it that much at first but then I became obsessed with it for a while. For me, some of their best melodies are on this side. Interestingly, of all of their earlier albums, this album is probably the one that has held up the least for me over the years - I still love it but not as much as I used to.
Only took 15 years for me to like it.
I like the tracks in the order, side 1, side 2, side 3 and least of all side 4 (one of the least listened to Yes tracks).
But I will watch you react to it Justin
Hi Justin. I’m a bit surprised that you said that you didn’t care for what Jon was doing in the early part of the song. Did you mean his vocals or the lyrics? One of the main reasons I love this song is because of the singing and harmonies with Chris and Steve. Sorry if that didn’t quite gel with the listening experience, but like you said it’s your first time listening to it. But I was happy that you liked the instrumental parts of the song! Out of the Tranquil Seas and Skylines, and into the Meteor Storm that is The Ancient-Giants Under the Sun! Yikes!!!
I disagree..... to me Andersons beautiful voice navigating through those several chord changes with Squires nice harmonies are the beautiful core of this track
I'm an exception as this is my favorite piece from this album. I like the development of reoccuring themes. I ignore the lyrics so I'm not sure what the point is.
this is the stuff that drove Rick Wakeman to quit Yes
Okay, I confess that I think this is dance music 😅 (which is what I was doing during most of this)
the cover without the yellow heavy-marketing stripes looks ... well not like a store display
Side 2, those 'drop ins' remind you that it's still going. A lot of wishy-washy padding, both sides should have been shortened onto one side IMO.
I'm trying to keep an open mind on this album. But I'm struggling.
... En el Yes de sus primeras etapas, y en general, las texturas presentan contrapunto y armonías propias de integrantes como Wakeman, Howe, Moraz con estudios formales. Es una forma de componer si se quiere mas "clásica" y esto lo torna mas sinfónico que progresivo. Por lo mismo para mi Yes es sinfónico y King Crimson es progresivo ... que no es necesariamente lo mismo.
Now you know how I feel about this album. There are a lot of great moments but it's not a solid whole. imo
Considering Rick wasn’t keen on this album his Mellotron work is AMAZING especially on this song and the next one !
I said to you that side one and four would be your favoured ones, that you would find this song a ‘plodder’ and your comments confirm this.
You must approach side three with an open mind, a non Yes memory muscle, because you can’t compare it to any other Yes music.
I love all four tracks myself but I’m looking at it from your point of view, as a reviewer.
The "cut ins" as you call them are just transitions. That's what prog rock is. The creativity and musicianship is genius! Not everyone cares for Jon's voice. You're probably not going to care much for the last two tracks either.🤩
👍😎
Transitions in epic length tracks are common enough, but I think he's have an understandable reaction coming off of the high water mark that 'Close to the Edge' established. For instance, I'd say the transitions in something like "Supper's Ready" are just as abrupt -- or even more so -- than "The Remembering". But these guys did such a masterful job on CTTE that it became the benchmark by which all others are measured.
@@yes_head 👍😎
@@yes_head Good point!🤩
I guess this was just too deep for a pimple faced 18 year old kid back in the day. As I've stated I have had this album for over 45 years and never listened to it. The Yes Album, Going For The One etc etc where just more my flavor. Good to hear it though with you for the first time...
This has a nice vibe, but is nowhere near the power and majesty and endless melodic ideas and gorgeous textures as Revealing Science of God.
Did Yes themselves like this? I'd agree with your assessment that I'm used to them rocking a lot more. Not something I feel the need to really have. Yessongs, on the other hand... IMO "Going For the One" was better and it came several years later. That said there's some good stuff here anyway, melodies are always good. Yeah.
lots of fretless bass on this
Bet your favourite will be ritual..
I think the folks saying to skip this may have been reacting (overreacting?) to your "This is taxing" reaction. A long time ago when I was in college, this was my favorite Yes album. It's really good music to have on while studying, writing, meditating. I still really love this song and Ritual, but I rarely sit and listen to the entire double-album anymore. I think a fair criticism of the album overall is that there are some really cool parts, but there are clearly other areas that are not as interesting. Glad you're enjoying this era of Yes. I'm very interested in your reaction to Drama, which is a criminally underrated version of Yes.
I remember once when I was in a San Francisco bookstore looking at a book of 'music to meditate to', and guess what was in it? 😉
@@yes_head makes perfect sense to me.
Good analysis. There's nothing wrong with this, but I'll confess to playing Candy Crush while listening. It's not that interesting, but sounds good enough. Sound-wise there's a lot of King Crimson, Mike Oldfield, Moody Blues and even a bit of Ennio Morricone in this. And the band has this fixation of "wowing" their audience through gimmicks. All in all it's not as creative as their previous stuff. It's just more for more's sake.
It's worth it I think - that said, The Remembering is the weakest track in my opinion, at least the first half. Though the changes seem dropped in (and they may well have been knowing what we know about the way they worked at that time) they still managed to play this live without skipping a beat. And yes, Jon is singing "Relayer," the title of the next studio album. I interpret this as "one that relays" or perhaps "story teller" which dovetails into the concept of 'remembering." I do love the final guitar solo and a lot of Chris's bass work throughout, though, as a whole, not the strongest entry. Next up is "The Ancient" which many find the most difficult. The shortest of the four movements (I think of the whole as a symphony.) I think it's the most experimental the band ever got and is truly taxing on the ear and brain, but reveals itself to be (IMHO) pure genius. After that, Ritual - another beast altogether. I will be interested in your take on the album Relayer since all of this is preparation for it.
I always felt just like you about this song, I like it, the keyboard sounds are beautiful, but this is my least favorite song from the 4, something about the vocal melodies never convinced me, they seem hesitant, and there is too much text, that I think is what makes this song not attract me as much as the other three, but that doesn't mean that the whole album still seems like a masterpiece to me in its entirety, it's just that this song in particular is the densest to grasp on a first listen.
It’s never helpful if you find it difficult to tune into the singer as you have already admitted. I can understand as I have exactly the same problem with Rush. Generally I thought your assessment of this track was pretty fair and although I love Jon more than you do it is absolutely correct that this track does not hang together as well and has less catchy hooks than the revealing.
Attempting to judge 'Tales" in a sitting is tantamount to judging a novel by flicking through its pages -- it's laughable. You would have to listen to each side at the very least about '10' times before you can even begin to offer credible reflections. So much passes by unnoticed. For example, 'Ritual' contains bits and pieces of all the other sides and even parts of 'Close To the Edge', so what may appear to be just random straying actually is a carefully constructed summation. 'The Remembering' in particular requires the most listening before it seeps in, an extremely acquired taste. Yes refused to play this live because of its near impossibility, especially the harmony at the end. In this piece Yes, as they often do, 'sets the listener up' with intentionally weak parts ("Out in the city roaming free") that are repeated in the piece but become progressively intense, so what sounded perhaps uninteresting and weak in an earlier part becomes something else. 'Going for The One' is perhaps the best example of being set-up, with the unmistakable build-up in intensity of earlier parts.
The first half of this side does go on a bit too long and seems like padding to make up the time available on the side. The second half is better. Just remember to view the album as a whole and complete amazing work of art. I agree about the instrumentals but is is still probably the weakest of the four side. Relayer is the name of their next album and I am fairly sure in my own mind that the Relayer is Christ.
12 minutes of beauty mercilessly stretched and diluted into 19 minutes of significantly less interesting noise. Thought so when i first heard it in the eighties, still think it now. Only Ritual is fully realised as a piece of music, and I could do without the comedy drum break. Whether it was ego, hubris, drugs, money or just wildly overreaching...this could have been a single album of our ten minute tacks that would have rivalled Close to the Edge or Relayer or Going for the one. Just to clarify, I love the album, but it could have been so much more...
This is my least favorite of the four sides. Now, on to the most challenging…
To me , when Jon starting being too wordy on tracks, they lost their way.
The Remembering.. not much to be remembered
Too stretched out and disconnected. Not something I would actively listen to. Just ok at low volume for background sounds while doing things around the house.
This was the song where creatively and conceptually they got ahead of their skis. While there are some interesting instrumental sections, the time signature changes introducing them are too abrupt. And the vocal sections are not melodic but forced to being grating and boring. Thumbs down on this one.
*The Remembering > Awaken* in my opinion...
Hot take! But I can see where you're coming from. For me The Remembering is better than Gates.
Side 2,3 and 4 are absolutely painful to sit through. Good luck!