Having been a Yes fan for almost fifty years I think I’m finally able to share with the group that on first listen I almost took Close To The Edge, perhaps the greatest Prog album of all time, back to the shop for a refund because I preferred the Yessongs versions.
Musical Confessions
I declared Guns n Roses, Van Halen, and The Wildhearts as ” a bit rubbish” cos my brother liked them.
It works both ways – he professed a dislike for The Jam and The Specials.
I can report that we have both grown up (a bit), and share similar musical enthusiasms
You were right the first time.
There was a time when I was discovering music probably early teens and I naively believed that Van Morrison was famous only after he left the Velvet Underground and the Who were Elton John’s backing band because I’d seen the Tommy LP somewhere.
I also had no idea there had been an earlier incarnation of King Crimson when I decided that Discipline was my favourite album in the world.
I went to see Van Morrison at the Albert Hall in 1989 and enjoyed Georgie Fame, his support that evening, singing ‘Yeah, Yeah’ the most.
I thought Pink Floyd was a solo act.
They are a duo. “Which one’s Pink?”
Not so sure about the Close to the Edge live versions on Yessongs- the title ‘track’ sounds a bit tinny to these ears and played a tad too fast whilst the faux strings on And You and I are a bit cringey. However, the live versions of Perpetual Change and Starship Trooper are, to me anyway, vastly superior and more powerful than the studio versions.
When I first heard the Gibson Brothers hit “Que Sera Mi Vida” on the radio, I was 100% convinced it was the latest platter from The Skids. I did think it was a sharp change of direction for the band, but I loved it. When the song appeared on TOTP, I was utterly gobsmacked.
I still think that the “If You Should Go…” bits sound a bit like Richard Jobson, though.