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This week Mark and I attempted to choose 3 Peter Banks era Yes songs each. As you’ll hear, we turned out to be thinking along similar lines but it was still a very enjoyable experience listening to the earliest days of the band and discussing what made Yes unique even at that stage.
This topic was partly in response to a tweet or X post or whatever they are now called from Phil (Primarily_Prog) @primarily_prog who posted a photo of Time and a Word and said –
Continuing tonight with perhaps the most undervalued album in the Yes discography.
— Phil (Primarily_Prog) (@primarily_prog) April 21, 2024
I seldom hear it mentioned, yet the interplay between Banks, Bruford, Squire and Kaye is quite something.
And Jon’s voice to top it off … pic.twitter.com/tiO0ZlZQ5E
- What was special about the Peter Banks era?
- What are our favourite songs from way back then?
- What can we learn about how Yes music developed?
Let us know if you agree with us!
Check out the progress on my other podcast – https://anthem52.com/
Yes – The Tormato Story
Available now!
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Producers:
- Joseph Cottrell
- Ken Fuller
- Jeffrey Crecelius
Patrons:
| Jim Morrison | Jon Pickles | Declan Logue |
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| Lind | Paul Hailes | Craig Estenes |
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| Brian Harris | Hogne Bø Pettersen | Guy DeRome |
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Theme music
The music I use is the last movement of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. This has been used as introduction music at many Yes concerts. My theme music is not take from a live concert – I put it together from: archive.org
4 replies on “Our favourite Peter Banks-era songs – 625”
Loved that episode. Those first two albums are very dear to me, especially the debut. I remember going to the legendary Andy’s Records (then a stall in Cambridge Market) and buying that record in the US sleeve in winter of I think ’73 and being really blown away by it. There are some silly lyrics here and there but you can tell how powerful a live act they would have been back then with Squire and Banks being driven forward by Bruford and Kaye. I still hold out hope that at some point the current line up will incorporate some of that early music into their shows. If they can do it for relative duds / Curate’s eggs like (sorry folks) Tormato and Drama then why not a Yesterdays based first set? The songs are miles more interesting for starters and Downes is probably better suited to the beat combo material than the more classical or fusion oriented pieces in any case. Admittedly there is probably as much chance of that happening as there is of ever getting the twice promised twice cancelled Relayer tour but I continue to live in hope. After all it is only five more years until the 60th anniversary. See you there!
Good choices, especially Astra Traveler. And thanks for NOT choosing Survival. That’s a very overrated track that a lot of people seem to like, for some reason. But, how could you skip Looking Around? Easily the best pop-rock-song Yes ever did, before the Rabin years (it almost could have been on Talk, truth be told). It’s just groovy, rocky and has a 60s kinda surf vibe to it. Gorgeous song, which should have been a single. And am I the only one who feels The Charlatans ripped off this track when they released The Only One I know in the early 90s?
Hi Kevin & Mark –
I enjoyed this episode, as always, and it looks like we’re all on the same page with Astral Traveler. Steve Howe’s trademark switching of guitar sounds in the middle of a solo was anticipated, at least, by Peter Banks.
QUESTION: Why do you suppose that YMP episodes are no longer showing up in my Apple podcast app? This has been the case for several weeks now, compelling me to load the website instead for listening (with pros and cons).
Thanks as always!
Hi Greg and thanks. I’ve also heard from a couple of other listeners about the Apple Podcasts issue. I’m not sure why it’s not updating properly. My hosting provider says they haven’t had issues reported by others and my own Apple Podcasts app is up to date. I have refreshed the feed in all the different places I can so please let me know if it still doesn’t update for you and I’ll try and investigate further.