On to the heart of the sunrise....
For as inevitable as death is, for as common and universal, I would wish that all of us would leave, in our own spheres, such a positive influence as Chris Squire.
February 21st, 1974, at the age of 15 was the first time I ever observed the force of nature that was Yes; touring on the heels of "Close to the Edge" and in support of the new album "Tales of Topographic Oceans" - the air pressure increasing in the arena as Stravinsky's "Firebird Finale" crescendo'd into a dawn swarm of bird song as the stage exploded with light and color with the first burst of Squire, White, Howe and Wakeman igniting the primal sunrise with the opening accent of "Close To The Edge".
I was keyboard crazy at the time, with Wakeman the focus of most of my eyes and ears; but Mr. Squire, the most animated person on stage, was impossible to ignore in his struts, leaps and physical manifestations of every note he played. It wasn't long before my bassist friend Tom was diligently sitting and grabbing at any Squire signature groove, syncopation and riff that a young mind could figure. Naturally the harmonics of "The Fish" were an easy catch, "Heart of the Sunrise", "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Siberian Khatru" - even groking the smallest snippet was an education.
Tom's purchase of a Maestro Brass Master distortion wasn't far behind.....
40 years later, I'm playing a '78 Rickenbacker 4001 Azureglo - and only over the last 3 years have I been focusing on performing as a bassist with any consistency. Nevertheless, many other influences, to be sure, aside, Chris Squire's way of playing bass-as-orchestra - not merely playing in pocket, but straddling both the rhythmic core in the lows, whilst leaping to the top of the neck for a tsunamic percussive punch or a counter melodic statement - has given scope to the many, many rolls that a bass instrument can express.
It's - how can I say it? - something of a spiritual feeling to read all of the thoughts here on reflection of this man, an icon of innovation, that further put bass in the face for so many of us. How fortunate we've been to partake in his artistry and to be inspired as we take in the sparks of it toward making our own playing glow a little more brightly. -- At least it's that way for me. Maybe it's the Rickenbacker. Maybe it's the style of music I grew up on, the classical music and piano lessons, the British '69-70s progressive rock movement....
Indeed a McCartney and an Entwistle had stirred the embers a few years pre, yet, in service of the simpler song, they could be a tad easier to miss if one wasn't ear accustomed to the bass already. But Squire? Not bloody well likely! -- I was surely dragged across the cat's foot, iron claw and blood rack barbed wire as Greg Lake serpentined through Fripp's 21st Century minefield in 1969, but that was electric funeral jazz, hard bop meets psychedelic rock (sort of) - quite present and impossible to ignore, yet, when came Squire, the bass began to speak with a new, distinct voice.
Tonight, a toast, a listen, a heartfelt cheer and contemplative lament, yet an appreciation for the footprints and afterglow - like on the moon and in the background radiation of the big bang, some things persist. - Thank You Chris Squire, for what you gave and what you leave behind.
To be celebrated
