Chris Squire (1948 – 2015)

[7/4]

Chris Squire, Yes Bassist and Co-Founder, Dead at 67
Bassist was only member of legendary prog rock group to appear on every album

BY DANIEL KREPS June 28, 2015

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chris-squire-yes-bassist-and-co-founder-dead-at-67-20150628

 

I know he's not a jazz musician, but to some of us, Chris Squire was important.

[A Lark Ascending]

Very sad.

Yes were my favourite band in my mid-teens from The Yes Album to TofTO...hard to explain just how fresh and exciting those records sounded as they appeared; Squire was a vital part of the band with that beefy yet agile bass approach.

RIP

[Joe]

Damn, this has been a rough year.

Nobody but nobody got a sound of the electric bass like Squire. Very melodic player, too. That Squire - Bruford rhythm section was both supple and powerful.

[clifford_thornton]

RIP and much respect; I was never able to get into Yes' music, but one can't deny their musical importance.

[StarThrower]

Bummer. Yes Fragile made a huge impression on me as a 14 year old. It's still a great sounding record. Evergreen in my opinion.

[Steve Reynolds]

First great bassist I ever saw live. 1978 and 1980 I think

 

still irritated they played nothing from Tales or Relayer

 

RIP, Sir!

 

[Rooster_Ties]

Just listened to Drama this morning, and will spin more Yes tonight and this week. RIP.

[7/4]

Edited June 28, 2015 by 7/4

[Hardbopjazz]

I was and still am a big fan of YES.

I will pull out "Close To The Edge" and play that album.

RIP Chris.

[Ed S]

I'm a huge Yes fan - from the days of the Yes Album.  I was 14 back then and their music was so different, complex, interesting, artistic, and exciting.  Squire was so much a part of that.  I remember listening to Close To The Edge over and over - focusing on each instrument individually - and loving Squires bass work throughout.

The band went through various periods with various degrees of success and acceptance.  I guess their best period  (for me) might be from the Yes album up through Going For The One - but there have been a few gems since then.

I was so happy to be able to take my sons to their first Yes concert last summer in Tucson while I was on our annual summer vacation.  Fabulous show - indicative of the fact that no matter what their studio  output was since their golden era - they could still kick ass live.  Squire was in great form - as was Howe. 

Listening to Fish Out Of Water and wishing Chris had done more solo stuff.

 

To change the subject somewhat - If any care to hear some great Jon Anderson - go to Youtube and check out Jon Anderson and Todmobile - Awaken - as well as the other songs performed at that concert.

 

... Silently Falling ...... and feeling kind of bummed right now.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2015 by Ed Swinnich

[7/4]

[Ed S]

Nice!

[Guy Berger]

Not many rock bassists who could be simultaneously busy and tasteful.

[CJ Shearn]

RIP   I need to get more familiar with Yes

[7/4]

RIP   I need to get more familiar with Yes

 

Pre-1983* is great. Close to the Edge is a great place to start.

 

 

*Trevor Rabin replaced Steve Howe in the band that year, it's all downhill after Drama (1980).

Edited June 29, 2015 by 7/4

[Aggie87]

Pre-1983* is great. Close to the Edge is a great place to start.

*Trevor Rabin replaced Steve Howe in the band that year, it's all downhill after Drama (1980).

I can understand not caring for the Rabin material.

But there are some moments post-Rabin when Howe was back in the fold that are worthwhile, at least for me.  Particularly the Keys to Ascension studio material, and Magnification.  

Of course, I was pimping "Magnification" back in the very first post of the Viva Prog Rock thread, in 2003 lol, so I've been a fan of it for a long time now.

RIP Chris.

 

[sidewinder]

Sad news - news like this makes me feel damn old. RIP.

[BFrank]

RIP   I need to get more familiar with Yes

 

Pre-1983* is great. Close to the Edge is a great place to start.

 

 

*Trevor Rabin replaced Steve Howe in the band that year, it's all downhill after Drama (1980).

I would say start chronologically with The Yes Album, then Fragile and Close to the Edge. Their 3 best, IMO.

[StarThrower]

RIP   I need to get more familiar with Yes

 

Pre-1983* is great. Close to the Edge is a great place to start.

 

 

*Trevor Rabin replaced Steve Howe in the band that year, it's all downhill after Drama (1980).

I would say start chronologically with The Yes Album, then Fragile and Close to the Edge. Their 3 best, IMO.

Be sure to get the version of Fragile with the America bonus track. It's a great 10 minute Yes treatment of the Paul Simon tune. It's also available on Yesterdays. A compilation of tracks from their first two albums.

[Shawn]

Don't forget that there are two very good albums that came out prior to The Yes Album.  The 1969 debut is definitely worth investigating.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq9ySD4xOk4

[A Lark Ascending]

Tastes clearly vary - I started at The Yes Album and love the run up to and including Tales of Topographic Oceans (I've reconciled myself with Relayer after being horrified by it when it came out). I went backwards to the first two Shawn mentioned which I also came to love. The only one I really like after that was a very late one - 'Magnification' - where the songs are as strong as the golden era.

In the orthodox history of rock Yes tend to get dismissed as part of the 'pretentious prog-rock era'. Yet that's not how it sounded at the time. They grabbed my ears because they sounded so fresh compared with the standard blues-rock of the early 70s. Critics go on about the length of their songs and the 'self-indulgence' of the solos but what attracted me was the sheer colour of the melodies, the drama of the arrangements (the build up at the end of 'Starship Trooper', the grand organ entry in 'Close to the Edge', the deft way they shifted between electric and acoustic sections). It's often overlooked how these chaps were coming out of the melodic pop of the late-60s and mixing it in with the longer formats of the early 70s. Far from being dinosaurs they were one of many cutting edges. Of course it's hard to sustain that when the money comes rolling in.

Squire was central to that overall sound - someone mentioned the melodicism of his bass which I think is spot on. But don't forget his vocals - he may not have been a front man but the layered harmonies, often shifting into harmonically unexpected places were a central part of the band sound. I recall reading that they were very taken by groups like The Association and The Fifth Dimension. You can hear that in those arrangements.   

45 years on and I still get a thrill from those records. Yes, the dew of nostalgia has added to their sparkle but there's plenty of other music I cared for then that makes little impression now. But those records still excite.  

 

Edited June 29, 2015 by A Lark Ascending

[CJ Shearn]

Cool, I think I've heard bits of those first three, the title track of "Tales of Topographic Oceans", and I like "Changes" from "90125"

[Milestones]

I was pretty big on Yes back in the day, though I've never had any of their stuff on CD or in digital format.  It may be time to rectify that.

It would be interesting to follow the "Yes tree," since it appears that Bill Bruford and Steve Howe have dabbled (or more than dabbled) in jazz.  

Edited July 1, 2015 by Milestones

[Shawn]

You have to admire Bruford's artistic choice to leave the very lucrative Yes at the height of their popularity...and join the experimental King Crimson in time to unleash Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Starless & Bible Black and Red.  That's quite an impressive trajectory he was on during that era.  

 

[bluesoul]

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/30/chris-squire-made-prog-rock-rock/