at a booth that sells vocoder software there is a man earnestly saying in a silvery, elven speaking voice reminiscent of Glinda the Good Witch "no, no, NO, you don't understand. I want to make my computer-" and here he erupts into a shivery high melodious flutter "s-i-i-iing!" and it's HIM and he's singing the word "sing" in THAT Yes voice.
― Drew Daniel, Friday, 27 August 2004 05:52 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 27 August 2004 05:54 (nineteen years ago) link
What is NAMM, anyway?
― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Friday, 27 August 2004 05:57 (nineteen years ago) link
― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 27 August 2004 07:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― ___ (___), Friday, 27 August 2004 07:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 02:15 (nineteen years ago) link
I just watched some of that DVD "The Future Is Wild", the cheezy computer animated forecast of what freakish species will dominate this planet in 200 million years. It was very Yessed out too, CGI supercontinent-formation footage and giant global oceans (topographic tales of .. .)
― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 03:30 (nineteen years ago) link
http://stat.discogs.com/R/262506-1103102672.jpg
― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 03:37 (nineteen years ago) link
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 03:43 (nineteen years ago) link
Olias of Sunhillow Critical Edition, with commentary track guest starring the 'scientists' from The Future Is Wild
― sharkopath (Jon L), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 03:46 (nineteen years ago) link
maybe a little like the trevor horn yes (or maybe i just wish it sounded more like trevor horn yes).
it's basically arp-heavy metronomic 1978 eurosynth cheese.
― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 04:19 (nineteen years ago) link
― LaRue (rockist_scientist), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 04:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 04:45 (nineteen years ago) link
― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 04:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 17:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― 6335, Tuesday, 21 December 2004 19:15 (nineteen years ago) link
I always see a Dean landscape, or some Art Nouveau P. Craig Russell planet landscape whenever I listen to Yes. Except for Yes mach-90125 and onward.
― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Tuesday, 21 December 2004 21:35 (nineteen years ago) link
I guess the only interesting thing in them was that apparently Eddie Jobson was in the "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" video. They tried to edit him out when he ended up not being in the band, but couldn't do it completely. The edits are one reason why the "plot" is so hard to follow.
― wetmink (wetmink), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 04:26 (nineteen years ago) link
and yes, there ARE maggots on the dude's eyes.
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 27 December 2004 01:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― 57 7th (calstars), Monday, 27 December 2004 14:59 (nineteen years ago) link
BUT! just guess what my classic rock station is playing right now on their so-called DEEP CUT weekedn at this ungodly hour ...
yup, STARSHIP TROOPER!!
good god what a tune.
and i'm out
― Stormy Davis (diamond), Sunday, 13 March 2005 11:39 (nineteen years ago) link
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 26 August 2005 04:52 (eighteen years ago) link
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 26 August 2005 04:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Friday, 26 August 2005 14:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― Jordan (Jordan), Saturday, 20 January 2007 03:20 (seventeen years ago) link
I found my mint LP copy of Relayer for a dollar in a used bin.
― sleeve version 2.0 (sleeve testing), Saturday, 20 January 2007 03:36 (seventeen years ago) link
― R_S (RSLaRue), Saturday, 20 January 2007 04:11 (seventeen years ago) link
http://www.drjazz.ch/album/bilder/Moraz30.jpg
― timmy tannin (pompous), Saturday, 20 January 2007 04:13 (seventeen years ago) link
damn, and i'm not even close to being drunk tonight!!
― Eisbaer, Sunday, 21 October 2007 06:38 (sixteen years ago) link
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/Eisbaer29/be70040c-9265-47c2-ab7b-0dc6abe418a.jpg
― Eisbaer, Sunday, 21 October 2007 06:39 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm yessed out on poppy pod tea and I just played guitar for an hour. Yes!
― trashthumb, Sunday, 21 October 2007 06:41 (sixteen years ago) link
karaoke, yes-style!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwoE9r11a-c
― gershy, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:01 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh dear...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlgH7Oec__s
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:14 (sixteen years ago) link
Nothing succeeds like excess: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMF1-OEZYBE
Watching Bruford in that clip makes me think of the story (perhaps apocryphal) of the Genesis tour he was on when he'd get bored and start playing different beats just to screw things up.
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:22 (sixteen years ago) link
DIG IT! (the "it" being really bad stock footage, apparently)
as much shit as tormato gets, i do like squire's bass sound on that and wtf with wakeman's synths? the birotron - cheesy to the max xpost
― gershy, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:23 (sixteen years ago) link
LOL cheesy late 70s video effects -- also, it reminds me of the "i want candy" video.
― Eisbaer, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:24 (sixteen years ago) link
"don't kill the whale" is actually an OK song, maybe the best thing on tormato. and the really painful wakeman synths are in the beginning of "arriving UFO" (maybe the worst yes song of all time?)
― Eisbaer, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:26 (sixteen years ago) link
The Birotron was an ill-fated tape replay keyboard conceived by Dave Biro of Yalesville, Connecticut, USA, and funded by Rick Wakeman of the progressive-rock group Yes in the late 1970s.
The Birotron was a keyboard instrument that used 8-track cartridge tapes to play sounds whenever a key was pressed on the keyboard. It is similar in concept to the Chamberlin and Mellotron, and was a forerunner of digital sampling. Keyboards like the Mellotron and Birotron were mainly used for strings, choirs, brass, and flutes; sounds not easily reproduced on the synthesizers of that era. The major innovation of the Birotron was that it stored its sounds using 8-track tape loops, which allowed it to play the sounds indefinitely, a great improvement from the 8-second limit of the Mellotron.
History Dave Biro invented this instrument and showed it to Rick Wakeman, who was so impressed by the idea that he offerred to fund its manufacture. It was developed by Birotronics, Ltd which was one of Wakeman's Complex 7 businesses. The Packhorse road case company was under this umbrella as well. Birotronics apparently made a very limited number of these instruments (David Biro says only 17 were made, including the original and 4 prototypes, while Rick Wakeman claims 35.) 4 of those were owned by Rick Wakeman, who noted in an interview in 1999 that 2 were stolen and 2 were damaged beyond repair. Only 5 or 6 Birotrons are accounted for today.
Two major factors led to the Birotron's demise. The most direct cause was a lack of necessary and consistent funding. The Birotron also suffered from poor timing, being introduced very shortly before the arrival of the digital sampling technology (such as the Fairlight_CMI) which would render it obsolete.
― gershy, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:29 (sixteen years ago) link
OOooooh the band Yes... I thought you meant high.
― trashthumb, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:29 (sixteen years ago) link
Squire on "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q5KQIaHFma4
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:30 (sixteen years ago) link
The world of Yes tribute bands on YouTube is very strange, but I gotta give them points for trying...
The packs of Marlboros in the foreground totally makes this video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=lvjkG5EgFxA
― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, 21 October 2007 07:34 (sixteen years ago) link
-- trashthumb, Sunday, October 21, 2007 7:29 AM
OMG I AM YESSED OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A COON'S AGE
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 21 October 2007 08:53 (sixteen years ago) link
A raccoon killed my pet rabbit. It grabbed the thing through the cage, and smashed it again and again through the rails, and a lot of its body that the raccoon couldn't get dropped down into the plastic tub that captured its feces. So be careful what you say BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, or you might totally ruin my yes sesh..
― trashthumb, Sunday, 21 October 2007 09:01 (sixteen years ago) link
Utterly ridiculous, but Howe really kills it here.
― Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Tuesday, 9 December 2008 08:25 (fifteen years ago) link
OMFG. "Awaken" sounding transcendent right now really LOUD after a night of bourbon & Guiness. On headphones, mind.
― François de Roobabe (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 23 December 2009 09:21 (fourteen years ago) link
interesting that they covered "america" -- the beginning of "el condor pasa" sounds a lot like the beginning of "roundabout"
― kamerad, Saturday, 16 January 2010 22:23 (fourteen years ago) link
my wife and I were playing Yessongs after we got home from a show last night around 2 A.M. and I was telling her about this thread.
― sleeve, Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:45 (fourteen years ago) link
I come to revive this and look who posted last.
Really feeling CTTE this last week, listening to "And You And I" atm.
― sleeve, Thursday, 9 December 2010 06:05 (thirteen years ago) link
to answer the question way up above, yes, tormato is as bad as everyone says, and I can be captain save a yes. but really I think pretty much everything after 90125 (which I love) is awful, except for some things on Magnification, and drama is my third favorite Yes album after the Yes Album and Fragile.
― akm, Thursday, 9 December 2010 08:33 (thirteen years ago) link
Can never decide between Relayer and The Yes Album as my favourite. Going For The One and CTTE round out my top 4. Have never really liked Fragile; honestly I'd much rather listen to TFTO.
― a lout deeply plugged into the Po (acoleuthic), Thursday, 9 December 2010 08:46 (thirteen years ago) link
And I probably won’t, there’s been too much “yes” irl recently
― calstars, Sunday, 21 April 2024 00:18 (two weeks ago) link
I've only ever had the remaster and I never really noticed a problem with its sound.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 21 April 2024 00:46 (two weeks ago) link
When I ask myself,“how much yes is too much yes?”I see that boxed set and think“that’s too much yes.”
But if you love YES this boxset is not nearly enough. Seriously, though, it's a great listen.
― completely suited to the horny decadence (Capitaine Jay Vee), Sunday, 21 April 2024 13:05 (two weeks ago) link
goldilocks option: thus entire box set except cut out all the wakeman solo spots = JUST RIGHT
― mark s, Sunday, 21 April 2024 13:09 (two weeks ago) link
the dolby issue: according to brian kehew (an actual genius) eddie offord recorded the original tormato sessions in dolby-A, they fired him and overdubbed the rest not in dolby-A cuz they are dumb. when brian went the tapes later on he knew eddie liked to record in dolby A and went to playback the tapes and they sounded WAY BETTER except for the over dubs which still sounded like shit. so there's no saving the sessions.
― kurt schwitterz, Monday, 22 April 2024 16:53 (two weeks ago) link
huh, maybe that explains it, I always thought Tormato sounded weird but could never articulate why. I knew Wakeman's Birotron had something to do with it (is this the only album that actually uses it?) but like what I got a vinyl copy and played it on a good system I remember thinking I needed a new stylus because something was just off about it. it's got such a narrow soundstage, everything is kind of in a line...when Wakeman is playing you can't really hear anything else, ditto for a lot of Anderson's vocals, while Howe and White just kinda languish in the background surrounded by pillows. I can't really remember a single Howe guitar line on the album, outside of the more straightforward rock n' roll ones.
but also the songs aren't quite as good as they were, I mean yeah it's kinda interesting to hear them try disco and power pop but it's not really their strong suit, also they don't really have any of the cool jam sections that Yes excelled at. they come close sometimes but you can tell "no epics" was sort of their M.O. here. it does have some tracks I like though - the opening and closing track are both great, and I'll defend "Arriving UFO" just on the grounds that its really odd, I just wish they had the courage to get even weirder with it
― frogbs, Monday, 22 April 2024 17:28 (two weeks ago) link
there's a demo of the Birotron here, if you're interested. apparently Wakeman financed the development of it and there were only ever 2 working units.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URR7l-uI6JA
I recommend reading the description, its pretty insane:
Life is short. The Birotron is in danger of disappearing and both positive vibes and hard work are now required to save it. 'Trolls' harassing anyone, 'internet beggars' demanding free sounds, 'sound poachers/criminals' sampling this video to exploit it, and pushers of any political agendas will be:a) Permanently banned from this page / other related Birotron pages. b) Permanently blacklisted from buying, owning or using these sounds if and when they become available commercially. c) Prosecuted for any crimes or offenses committed in relation to the above. (This page is being monitored by a Private Investigation Agency 24/7) Protecting this instrument, and all of you visiting here deeply matters to us, especially when this is your only source for it.
I think it's cool people are trying to 'restore' the sound of the thing, but it kinda sounds shitty doesn't it? my understanding with the mellotron is the machine itself is pretty faulty and doesn't really reproduce the sound of the tapes well but it distorts it in a way that gives it this ethereal and mystical quality. that's a pretty tricky thing to reproduce. the Birotron just sounds cheap to me.
― frogbs, Monday, 22 April 2024 17:42 (two weeks ago) link
leon theremin meet robert moog meet dave biro (actual name)
― mark s, Monday, 22 April 2024 19:04 (two weeks ago) link
The version of "Days" on Tormato bonus tracks is really lovely, I prefer it to the version that ended up on Song Of Seven, it's just vocals and works really well
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 22 April 2024 19:15 (two weeks ago) link
I could not take it oh so seriously reallyWhen you called and said you'd seen a UFO
- noted skeptic and debunker Jon Anderson
― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 22 April 2024 19:20 (two weeks ago) link
Don't know Borstlap but nice to have these collectionshttps://www.cherryred.co.uk/bruford-borstlap-sheer-reckless-abandon-3cd1dvd-editionhttps://www.cherryred.co.uk/patrick-moraz-bill-bruford-temples-of-joy-3cd-edition
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 22 April 2024 19:24 (two weeks ago) link
https://shop.spotify.com/en/artist/7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil/product/yes-incense
― calstars, Monday, 22 April 2024 22:46 (two weeks ago) link
Along with several other Ilxors, I was born during the brief period known as the Gerald Ford era, meaning that nearly all of my memories of that decade are of the "Long '70s" variety that ran through '83 (wood-panel basements and weird swirly lights as room decor, leaded gas, classic rock's last stand on MTV before the Prince/Lauper/MJ era, malls with massive plants near the Miller's Outpost, you get the idea). Tormato, especially "On The Silent Wings of Freedom" (which might be the most 'Yes' song title ever), makes me 'remember' the late-70s, as if they are teleporting me to an era where I get to experience borrowed nostalgia, whether I actually experienced it or not.
― Front-loaded albums are musical gerrymandering (Prefecture), Tuesday, 23 April 2024 00:32 (two weeks ago) link
Joni Mitchell played the Birotron on one of her best late songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOfJ7S9f2LM
― the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 23 April 2024 00:35 (two weeks ago) link
That's a misnomer - the actual credit on Night Ride Home is "Billatron", which is a keyboard sample of the guitarist Bill Dillon.
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 23 April 2024 01:00 (two weeks ago) link
The bonus tracks on Tormato show that they still had a lot of ideas, but no-one was capitulating to fit those ideas together. Anderson wants to get soft, Howe wants to get hard, Bootsy Squire's Mutron pedal whose sound doesn't fit in with what anyone else is doing, and Wakeman's assortment of shrill keyboards covering everything like a tinsel explosion. I like most of the record in spite of its flaws.
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 23 April 2024 01:07 (two weeks ago) link
Waksman’s baroque solo on the Birotron on Don’t Kill the Whale rules so hard.
― timellison, Wednesday, 24 April 2024 15:48 (two weeks ago) link