Yes Music Podcast

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week Mark and I welcomed the knowledgeable Chris Dale back onto the show for the third time. If you haven't listened to the episodes where Chris talks about the Birotron (the infamous rarest musical instrument in the world) and the other keyboards on Tormato, then you may want to catch up with those before listening to this latest installment. The Birotron - episode 503 The other Tormato keyboards - episode 531 This time the focus is the keyboards on Tales from Topographic Oceans and, as usual, Chris uncovers some truly amazing facts and insights. After all, he does own Rick Wakeman's double mellotron, so who coud be better placed to share the sectrets of that instrument and its unique contributions to Tales? What keyboards did Rick Wakeman use on Tales? What makes that double Mellotron unique? Which aspects of Tales does Chris think are great? Let us know if you agree with us! Chris Dale's double Mellotron, made f

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Jeffrey Crecelius and Ken Fuller This week we welcomed the ever-generous Geoff Downes onto the show. It was great to speak to the current Yes keyboard wizard about the new DBA album, Celestial Songs, as well as the recent John Wetton tribute concert and, of course, Tales from Topographic Oceans. Geoff also hinted at what’s being planned for the forthcoming The Classic Tales Of Yes Tour so listen out for that! It’s always a treat to talk to Geoff who reiterates the fact that he is and has always been a Yes fan himself. Who is on the new DBA album? What's Geoff's approach to DBA? What's going to be performed on the next Yes tour? Let us know if you agree with us! My previous DBA albums and my copy of Barney Ashton-Bullock's book, 'Bucolicism', poems from which were used on Halcyon Hymns The new DBA V album - Celestial Songs https://downesbraide.co.uk/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEV_fIvDSpI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvV6p35GOnU

Produced by Joseph Cottrell and Ken Fuller This week we are joined by Yes book author, Simon Barrow, to talk about the concept behind Tales From Topographic Oceans. We get into a lot of detail as you would expect and explore some pretty fascinating areas of concept music - whatever that actually is! What is a concept album? Is Tales a concept album? Does it even matter? Let us know if you agree with us! Some of Kevin's copies of Tales The actual footnote Jon Anderson based the concept of Tales on:10-6: Pertaining to the shastras, literally, “sacred books,” comprising four classes of scripture: the shruti, smriti, purana, and tantra. These comprehensive treatises cover every aspect of religious and social life, and the fields of law, medicine, architecture, art, etc. The shrutis are the “directly heard” or “revealed” scriptures, the Vedas. The smritis or “remembered” lore was finally written down in a remote past as the world’s longest epic poems, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Purana

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week we are starting a new project - The Yes Album Listening Guides. Eventually this will be a series of books and I explain more with Mark in this episode. What is this new book series going to be about? What is the first album? How can I be involved? Let us know if you agree with us! Some of Kevin's copies of Tales Available now! TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O’ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellLobate ScarpMiguel FalcãoChris BandiniDavid WatkinsonNeal KaforeyRachel HadawayCraig EstenesDemMark ‘Zarkol’ BaggsPaul HailesDoug CurranRobert NasirFergus CubbageScott ColomboFred BarringerDavidGeoff BailieSimon BarrowGeoffrey MasonStephen LambeGuy R

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius Mark and I really enjoyed listening to/watching Oliver's album/DVD 'Coming To Town - Live In Katowice'. We were surprised by and delighted with the performances, the writing and the production. It's a great set from a band firing on all cylinders! Is this all progressive rock? Does Oliver take the lead? How proficient are the others in the band? Oliver's Website page about the album Let us know if you agree with us! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kJ-szP8L2KFjfPJI3b8-jbbkmU_RYh3KM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK01MVrCtbo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHnPI5OhVxw Available now! TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O’ConnorWilliam HayesB

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius Contrary to what I said last week, we are going to continue with our Why did Yes want series this week as we turn back slightly in time to Oliver Wakeman after we inadvertently got Benoit David in the wrong order last time. It was one of the most confusing periods of the band in terms of personnel so I have turned to interviews and accounts from those involved to try and get as close as possible to the truth - see if you agree with what Mark and I discuss in a few moments. Did Oliver know any of the band before he joined? How did they know he was any good? Was it just nepotism? Let us know if you agree with us! https://youtu.be/e3q3tEOP2tM Available now! TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin Kjellbe

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week Mark and I return to the second part of our 'Why did Yes want...' series and it's time to consider Mystery's album, Beneath The Veil Of Winter's Face. HIs this Prog? How did Benoit sound? Why did Yes want him based on this record? Let us know if you agree with us! Available now! TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O’ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellLobate ScarpMiguel FalcãoChris BandiniDavid WatkinsonNeal KaforeyRachel HadawayCraig EstenesDemMark ‘Zarkol’ BaggsPaul HailesDoug CurranRobert NasirFergus CubbageScott ColomboFred BarringerDavidGeoff BailieSimon BarrowGeoffrey MasonStephen LambeGuy R DeRomeSteve DillHenrik AntonssonSteve PerryHo

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week Mark and I return to our 'Why did Yes want...' series and it's time to consider Benoit David. Jon Anderson had been unwell and so the band needed to find what Chris Squire referred to as an 'understudy', presumably with the intention of Jon returning at some point. How did the band find Benoit? How did he know the music? What was he up to just before joining Yes? Let us know if you agree with us! Available now! TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O’ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellLobate ScarpMiguel FalcãoChris BandiniDavid WatkinsonNeal KaforeyRachel HadawayCraig EstenesDemMark ‘Zarkol’ BaggsPaul HailesDoug CurranRobert NasirFergus CubbageSc

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week Mark and I talk about various different approaches Yes have had to their stage design over the decades. This was partly prompted by the rumour that the band are intending to change they way in which they set up from 2024 onwards. Do let us know what Yes stage setups have been your favourites and why in the show notes for this week's episode. What is your favourite Yes stage setup? Do you like 3D sets? Are the current video walls a good idea? Let us know if you agree with us! The 'revolutionary' revolving stage - photo by Jeremy North A selection of Forgotten-Yesterdays.com live photos: 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1980 | 1984 | 1991 | 2003 | 2019 | Available now! TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius Unless you have already read my book, Yes The Tormato Story, you may not recognise the name Derek Dearden. However, you have certainly heard the results of his amazing technical wizardry. This is another deep dive episode but it also contains much of interest to any Yes fan. Derek was a delight to speak to when Mark and I interviewed him a few months ago and I’ve been keeping this fascinating interview under wraps so that early readers of the book had a few surprises to discover. If you don’t like spoilers, then consider coming back to this episode at a later date. I won’t be offended. Quite a bit of this conversation was used in the chapter entitled The Other Drums in my book but even if you have read that, I’m sure you’ll love hearing Derek explaining how it all came about in his own words. To whet your appetite, Derek was employed at Advision as a technician and then went on to found a company very closely associated with Alan

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week Mark and I subjected ourselves to 2 sides of Yes by Rick Wakeman. As you’ll hear, it was a bit grim at times. See what you think of our responses and let us know what you think of this collection in the comments on this week’s show notes. What is this collection like? What was Rick thinking? Come on...! https://youtu.be/stACRExjX_E Order the new album now! https://Yes-Band.lnk.to/MirrorToTheSky https://youtu.be/UiMwIBTBs3o https://youtu.be/NdEF-vMO8vc https://youtu.be/4ZJaP9ThILI Available now! TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O'ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellLobate ScarpMiguel FalcãoChris BandiniDavid Watkin

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week, Mark and I return to our perennial favourite, the 'why did Yes want' series. Rick is back - again - after the orchestral diversion of Magnification and the Symphonic Tour just after the turn of the century (pun intended). He produced two albums of Yes-related music shortly before returning to the band so we are going to listen to those this coming week and bang on about them next week - you are most welcome to join in via the comments below. I've spent all my spare time(!) this week packaging and sending copies of my Tormato book across the world so there's been no time to look at the usual social media places, I'm afraid. So we move straight onto the discussion. See if you agree or disagree with what’s said and let us know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode. What was Rick up to before returning to Yes once again? What are the 'Two Sides Of Yes'? Why does he do 'that'?!? https://yo

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius A momentous week in a number of ways. There have been so many positive reactions to the new Yes album Mirror to the Stars and it’s even doing really well in the charts. You’ll know from our reviews that Mark and I are very impressed with the record and we invited Simon Barrow to discuss it with us - listen out for that in a few minutes’ time. We also took the opportunity to share some thoughts about the other release sharing today’s date, Yes The Tormato Story by me. Despite the paper book being literally in my hands, the internet marketplaces seem to take some time to catch up. So you might find that the book doesn’t turn up in your local internet supplier immediately. However, if you have pre-ordered via the fabulous Burning Shed, I know they have boxes of books in their warehouse and will be sending them out without delay. So it won’t be long now, I hope. Let us know what you think of the album and the book once you receive

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week Mark and I had a lovely conversation with Yes lead singer, Jon Davison. We chatted about the new album, Mirror to the Sky and his contributions to it as well as the band’s live plans and the future. We also touched on Tormato (there’s a surprise), John Lodge and other topics in a packed interview. Jon was an absolute delight and his passion for Yes music is obvious. As he points out, Billy, Jay and he have always been Yes fanboys. As i write this there is one week to go until both the new Yes album is released and (hopefully) Yes The Tormato Story finally sees the light of day, so it’s once again an exciting time to be a Yes fan. See if you agree or disagree with what’s said and let us know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode. Is Jon pleased with Mirror To The Sky? What was his role in creating the album? Is this album part of a development of songwriting for the band? https://yo

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week, Mark and I were joined by Henry Potts to talk about the new Yes album, Mirror to the Sky as well as some of the more controversial topics of the day. In case you are unaware, Henry is one of the most knowledgeable Yes historians anywhere and his amazing online resource where he stores the chronicles of the world’s greatest progressive rock band can be found at http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/  See if you agree or disagree with what’s said and let us know by leaving a comment on the show notes for this episode. Do we all agree on Mirror To The Sky? Why was the Relayer Tour Cancelled? Will we ever hear Sound Chaser live? https://youtu.be/NdEF-vMO8vc https://youtu.be/4ZJaP9ThILI No Barriers from Scott Goodell https://nobarriersrocknrollcomics.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_1.html?m=1 TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and W

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius Mark and I listen to the new Yes album Mirror to the Skies this week and share our responses to it. Spoiler alert - it’s really good. Is the rest of the album like Cut From The Stars?? How progressive is it? What is the epic title track like? https://youtu.be/4ZJaP9ThILI TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O'ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellLobate ScarpMiguel FalcãoChris BandiniDavid WatkinsonNeal KaforeyRachel HadawayCraig EstenesDemMark 'Zarkol' BaggsPaul HailesDoug CurranRobert NasirFergus CubbageScott ColomboFred BarringerDavidGeoff BailieSimon BarrowGeoffrey MasonStephen LambeGuy R DeRomeSteve DillHenrik AntonssonSteve Perry

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius Mark and I have been watching videos of Jon Anderson’s latest live project, this time with the fabulous Band Geeks. We discuss our reactions this week. How did the Band Geeks get on playing a whole concert of Yes music with Jon Anderson? How did Jon's voice hold up? Was it an enjoyable concert of Yes music? https://youtu.be/qZEkwtqOUuQ https://richiecastellano.com/bandgeek/ Jon's website: http://jonanderson.com/ TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O'ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellLobate ScarpMiguel FalcãoChris BandiniDavid WatkinsonNeal KaforeyRachel HadawayCraig EstenesDemMark 'Zarkol' BaggsPaul HailesDoug CurranRobert NasirFergus CubbageScott Col

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week Mark and I spoke to the generous and talented composer, Larry Groupé, about his compositions for the 2001 Yes album, Magnification. We also talked about the orchestrations he did for the Symphonic Tour and his conducting. It was a wonderful, wide-ranging conversation. How did Larry Groupé end up working on Magnification? How did Larry approach the writing? Was he happy with the results? Larry's website - https://www.larrygroupe.com/ Larry Groupé https://soundcloud.com/larry-group TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob MartilottaLindMichael O'ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellLobate ScarpMiguel FalcãoChris BandiniDavid WatkinsonNeal KaforeyRachel HadawayCraig EstenesDemMark

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week Mark and I continued to subtly subvert the format of our ‘Why Did Yes Want…?’ series by looking at Larry Groupé who provided orchestrations, arrangements and unique orchestral music for the 2001 album, Magnification. We learned some interesting things about the Professor and prolific film and TV composer which will make our forthcoming conversation with him even more fascinating. As is so often the case, Larry is a big Yes fan which makes his choice a good one. Mark and I are both huge supporters of Magnification and we are looking forward to speaking to Larry, hopefully next week. Who is Larry Groupé? What skills did he have which might have attracted Yes? What did he add to Magnification? Larry's website - https://www.larrygroupe.com/ Larry Groupé https://soundcloud.com/larry-group TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius Mark and I finally got round to finishing off our examination of why Yes wanted Igor Khoroshev this week after listening to a very enjoyable bootleg recording from the Open Your Eyes Tour. We also had a chance to discuss in a two pence the recent news of the postponement of the Relayer Tour in the UK and Europe until 2024. Please leave your own comments as always on the show notes for this week if you have anything to add to either of those topics. Can we hear why Yes wanted Igor? How did he fit into the band? Why has the Relayer Tour been postponed? Open Your Eyes Tour Poster - the first time I saw Igor Khoroshev play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qug5JDj827k TormatoBook.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Ken Fuller Jeffrey Crecelius and Wayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenPaul WilsonMartin KjellbergBob