Yes

"Close to the Edge" and "Fragile" are my two favorites.

 

i hate my Squier P-Bass's tone!!!

j/k

 

Songs:

"Yours Is No Disgrace"
"Roundabout"
"Does It Really Happen?" (recorded in 1980 so it's a little less distorted, but still has mucho grind)
"Astral Traveller"
"Siberian Khatru"

"Astral Traveller" is the shortest of these songs at about 6 minutes, just so you know.

 

Essential Yes Albums are the three-album "main sequence" of The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge. This is the band at its peak, in my opinion. Not just because of Chris Squire's tone (and playing), but composition-wise as well. Virtually any song from any of these discs is required listening for any potential Yes (or Squire) fan.
However, Squire's tone was quite distinct from almost the very beginning of Yes' recorded work. In fact, the extremely powerful song "Survival" from their self-titled debut is a fantastic forewarning of things to come.
Enjoy the journey.

 

I'm glad to know that somebody besides me enjoys Yes. Squire's work isn't quite as innovative as it is on the "classic" albums, but that is more than made up for by the Supreme Coolness that is Peter Banks' guitar playing. The fact that he was getting some of those awesome Roger McGuinn-esque leads out of a 6-string is amazing, and then to top it off, he played more than a few excellent solos. It's a shame that they really screwed him in the mix in favor of Tony Kaye's rather blah (IMO) keyboards, and Steve Howe isn't as interesting of a player (again, IMO; my favorite guitarist is Robert Fripp, so take that into consideration).

 

I used to be a big Yes fan in the 70s, but although his basslines fit very well in Yes and stand out very well in the mix; I never really liked the actual tone - it's just too brittle and clanky to use in any "normal" band and really only works when there is a "stadium-type" setup with big bass bins to carry the bass as well as other amps to carry the part of the signal that is brighter and slightly overdriven. It is not the sort of sound you can get with a single combo amp for example!!

I always preferred the tone of someone like John Paul Jones in Led Zep, which was more useful and achievable!

 

"Heart of the Sunrise" from Fragile is the quintessential Squire performance IMO.

"Long Distance Runaround" from the same recording is very interesting. He and Bruford had a blast putting the accents in very odd places.

"Close to the Edge" is the band's opus, and Chris' playing shines there as well.

And I really like the jazzier, heavier feel of the Relayer recording. Adding Patrick Moraz really changed the band's sound, and Alan White has a more muscular drum approach than Bruford's. Squire's tone is deeper and more overdriven on Relayer, rather than the signature trebly "thwak" sound of the earlier recordings. For a gonzo bass tune, check out "Sound Chaser."

Other standouts: "Yours Is No Disgrace," "And You and I," "Roundabout."

 

...IMO, also!

For some reason, I never bought/heard(?) anything pre-The Yes Album...somebody clue me in, huh? I do recall holding those LPs in my hands on numerous occasions(not having a job back then sorta cramps one's music purchases...to a degree!).

Gruffs? JT? Bruce?

 

The only Yes I've heard besides Roundabout is "90125" or whatever that album is. It's the one with "Owner of a Lonely Heart" on it and whatnot. They're really better than that, right? Is that the "lame" album that all bands put out?

 

Siberian Khatru is [email protected]

 

Ritual, man. It's all about Ritual

IMO, the best bass by Chris ever is on that song.

 

Pre_The Yes album. Ok not must haves in my book.
They have Bill Bruford but no Steve Howe.
I love Steve Howes playing and to me it is missed on these disks. Bruford plays pretty well, but Squire really isn't a big force on these disks. The Yes album is probally my favorite.

 

Yes is one of my favorite bands, and all my favorite songs have been listed above.

 

Going for the One has always been my most favorite Yes album. "Awaken" the last track, was always IMO what a fantastic progressive rock song should be. This was the album that Rick Wakeman rejoined the band since his departure after "Tales from Topographic Oceans". You can tell his return was a catalyst for the album.

 

I found a Yes CD set that had alot of early (Pre-Steve Howe) live stuff on it. The sound is very different from Fragile era Yes, but I really like it. One neat thing is that in one song, you can hear the band messing around with an early form of Heart of the Sunrise!

Lee