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What did they do next part 24a- Chris Squire – 489

Produced by Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius and Preston Frazier

This week I am officially on holiday from the day job but that didn’t stop Mark and me discussing the next person in our What Did They Do Next series – it’s Chris Squire. He never really left Yes but during the hiatus period he did get up to some interesting things…

  • What did Chris Squire do in the hiatus?
  • Why was it a return to former times for him?
  • What was the result and was it worth it?

Listen to the episode and let us know what you think!

Syndestructible on YouTube Music:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z7UUgmhef4&feature=share

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Show notes and links:

Join us in August to record episode 500 here:

Sadly, this trip has had to be cancelled due to travel restrictions. We hope to be able to reinstate the event next year.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_4749-1024x680.jpg
Lewis Clarke / West Devon : Yes Tor / CC BY-SA 2.0

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Producers:

  • Jeffrey Crecelius
  • Preston Frazier and
  • Wayne Hall

Patrons:

Aaron Steelman

Dave Owen

Mark James Lang

Paul Tomei

Joost Maglev

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Martin Kjellberg

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Robert and David

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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 the following two creative commons sources: thanvannispen and archive.org

4 replies on “What did they do next part 24a- Chris Squire – 489”

I was lucky to be able to contrive a work-related reason to travel from home in Edinburgh to London on the date that the reformed Syn played their first gig at the relocated Marquee club at the end of 2005.
The event had the air of a PR launch, with an us-and-them feeling noticeable between those of us who would travel hundreds of miles overnight to see anything involving Chris Squire and other who were there for business reasons. As a result the attention of the audience was inconsistent. It was an odd venue, somewhere near Leicester Square and I think it was several stories above ground floor.
They played and sang really well. I knew it was going to be good as soon as they came on an saw the Chris had restyled himself as his sixties persona, in a Hendrix/Townshend way.
The repertoire was all of the new “Syndestructible” album and one medley of older songs. Some people near me were holding out hope that they’d play a Yes song, but I thought that would have been inappropriate.
There was an unavoidable charisma imbalance between Chris Squire and Steve Nardelli, who held himself as though he’d been caught shoplifting throughout the evening, while Chris crested along on a wave of confidence and semi-self-parody.
I’m glad I went. I’d known Gerard Johnson socially beforehand and it was exciting to see him working with Chris Squire. I’ve subsequently appreciated Jeremy Stacey’s work with King Crimson.
But, it did feel like watching a showcase rather than a gig from an ongoing band with a fanbase and a continuous repertoire to sample.
I was a very dutiful Yes fan during the hiatus. This was the second time I’d seen Chris Squire during it, the first being the Princes Trust Gala Evening – Produced By Trevor Horn about a year earlier.
I was bitterly disappointed when the More Drama tour failed to start at the last minute. It’s odd to think that in subsequent years most of what I wanted – Downes back in the band, Horn making a cameo, all of Drama performed – came to fruition, but it’s perversely cruel that the last two happened without Squire.

I’m definitely interested in what you think, Kevin and Mark. I like Syndestructible a great deal (more than Conspiracy, usually). It’s a shame the tour never happened.
Coming back to last week’s show, on The Ladder vs. Fly From Here, I think they are both very good albums. But I’ve listened to both again, and for me The Ladder is the clear winner. Here’s why: Fly From Here has some great stuff, and I very much like the title epic, but it sounds a little too clean and controlled — too much down the middle. It does not sound exciting. By contrast, many of the songs on The Ladder sound like they could spiral out beyond their production (if that makes sense). Maybe I mean that they sound more like rock and roll songs. That’s definitely true for Homeworld. I actually don’t like the sound of Jon’s voice at this point in Yes’s history — it had become to shrill. But he is committed to the songs (Finally is a very good example). Also, the overall soundscape of The Ladder looks back to the Yes or old while still providing something new and future-looking. Some of this could be Igor’s channeling of the Wakeman style, compared to Geoff’s more restrained approach. And maybe some of it is the difference between real band-written songs, versus individual efforts. Hard to know. But thanks so much for the episode — it made me a better listener of both albums.

I’m a big fan of The Syn, more so while Chris & Peter were involved. The weak link for them was & is Steve’s lead vocals. He’s a very good lyricist but his voice is limited & they were never going to hit the big time with him out front. He knows that & so smartly got Chris back in the band in the 00s, then next added Tom & others who are good singers for the following lineup, and lastly added Moon Safari on the last Syn album, as they sing fantastic vocal harmonies & are great musicians.

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