By the way also, just because I'm neurotic and have nothing better to do, I just scanned a bunch of live performances of Owner on Youtube. Squire uses the Electra on one or two of them but on the majority he uses the green Mouridian.
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Chris Squire on NPR rant
- Thread starter Slevage
- Start date
Alan White, Bill Buford - I didn't care for anything before Fragile or after Tales of the Topographic Oceans
I have always loved Chris's playing on South Side of the Sky from fragile. The aggressive tone on the main section in contrast to the smooth beautiful sound during the piano section - absolutely brilliant!
Probably the end of one of the three Bright and Shining Stars of Modern Bass and Bass Tone. One remains.
The world of Bass is dimmed a little by his passing.
While many look to current front runners, as well noted by the accolades for Victor Wooten's performance of 'Amazing Grace', it must be remembered that Chris did that song first.
A touch of OOLAH, Roundabout, and The Fish would have been good, followed and closed with 'Amazing Grace.'
It may be 50 years before the compositions capture the imagination of the Classical performers and the Schools of Performing Arts.
The world of Bass is dimmed a little by his passing.
While many look to current front runners, as well noted by the accolades for Victor Wooten's performance of 'Amazing Grace', it must be remembered that Chris did that song first.
A touch of OOLAH, Roundabout, and The Fish would have been good, followed and closed with 'Amazing Grace.'
It may be 50 years before the compositions capture the imagination of the Classical performers and the Schools of Performing Arts.
"why should I care? What does this matter to me?" Listen to Close to the Edge and any bass player will understand why they should care and why this matters. True innovation, and this album is just the tip of the iceberg.
Smoke a joint and listen to CTTE 4 times. I promise you,ll get it
the remembering is side 2Well, I spent a (wonderfully enjoyable, btw) few hours perusing all the old TB threads about Chris Squire and couldn't find anything to support that contention, so I hearby redact it. Far too many undocumented assertions on the internet for me to be contributing to the rumor mill.For the record: I have no idea what bass Chris used on "Ritual", but there seems to be consensus it was the Ric. Mea culpa.
I did read that he used a fretless Guild B-301 on "The Remembering" (side 3 of TFTO) ...but again, that's another poorly documented assertion. Too bad Chris was never as anal as Steve Howe in listing what instruments he used on what recordings.
I saw a post on a youtube clip of an isolated bass track. The guy said he'd have to lower his rating because Chris' playing wasn't as clean he had expected.
Which is fine... it's funny how often people don't have a clue what cuts through in the mix and more important, why. IMO IME he played exactly how he needed to get the amazing results he got. While "clean" players are puzzled as to why their tracks don't jump out like Chris'.
Which is fine... it's funny how often people don't have a clue what cuts through in the mix and more important, why. IMO IME he played exactly how he needed to get the amazing results he got. While "clean" players are puzzled as to why their tracks don't jump out like Chris'.
Yeah, Squire was plenty clean and quiet when it was needed. His bass solos during some quiet moments (say, "Heart of the Sunrise") show this clearly. Sometimes ya gotta ramp it up, and that can be noisier. This doesn't matter if it fits the music and the moment - if noise isn't audible during the tune as played, then it ain't too much!
Something from each time period of the band. Some fantastic examples are:
Everydays
Astral Traveller
Roundabout
Heart of the Sunrise
The Fish (live version from Yessongs)
All of Close to the Edge
Ritual
Gates of Delirium
Parallels
Silent Wings of Freedom
Tempus Fugit (one on my absolute favs)
Does it really Happen
Add in there,
All of "The Yes Album"
Also there are many more great tracks on the first two albums, how about "Beyond and Before"?
Yes, there are so many more. Those just off the top of my head. I would choose Yours is no Disgrace as the best (diverse) example on the Yes Album. But then again Starship Trooper...
Notice I stopped at Drama. I feel that Drama still sounds like Prog, and highlights Chris's playing and writing. It's brilliant with or without Anderson and Wakeman (please don't dish on me. I have ALL their solo stuff). I'm simply saying that Drama still has that Yes vibe.
IMHO 90215 was not the right vehicle for Chris. It has some brilliant moments and was "progressive" for it's time and I like it for what it is but... Classic Prog is not just Pop songs (even creative ones). It's music that takes you on a journey. I LOVE a well constructed Pop song (Beatles fan, huge Todd Rundgren fan), but I love to travel even more. Chris's playing "takes me away".
Notice I stopped at Drama. I feel that Drama still sounds like Prog, and highlights Chris's playing and writing. It's brilliant with or without Anderson and Wakeman (please don't dish on me. I have ALL their solo stuff). I'm simply saying that Drama still has that Yes vibe.
IMHO 90215 was not the right vehicle for Chris. It has some brilliant moments and was "progressive" for it's time and I like it for what it is but... Classic Prog is not just Pop songs (even creative ones). It's music that takes you on a journey. I LOVE a well constructed Pop song (Beatles fan, huge Todd Rundgren fan), but I love to travel even more. Chris's playing "takes me away".
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We've talked about that a few times before - what sounds good in the bedroom is often not what works on the recording, and what works on the recording is sometimes painful to listen to by itself.
I noticed that too. I'm not surprised Bruford has that attitude about his playing and it's a reminder to us all.
In a similar vein, a Billy Jean King quote captures this spirit:
"Be bold. If you're going to make an error, make a doozy, and don't be afraid to hit the ball."
