In 2015, multi-instrumentalist Billy Sherwood found himself ahead of a rather daunting task. He was hand picked by his close friend, Mr. Chris Squire, to be the bass man for progressive rock legends Yes, after Squire – founder member and only constant – discovered his ongoing fight against leukemia would soon be lost. It was obviously a job he’d would rather not have, but given the circumstances, he was the most obvious and sympathetic choice. In many ways, the only choice. Sherwood’s links with Yes go back a long way, of course: he’d previously been involved with the band in an on/off role since the turn of the 90s, if anyone could fill the void and at least have half a chance of fan acceptance, it would be Billy Sherwood. Looking back even farther, Sherwood’s own music with Lodgic and World Trade had showed parallels with the more commercial sounds of Yes. The 1989 World Trade debut, especially, often sounded like the album Yes might have unleashed after ‘Big Generator’ had they continued along the shiny, techy, AOR-prog path.
Tag Archives: chris squire
The Yes studio albums poll
In June 2015 the world lost one of its finest musicians. Mr. Chris Squire, founder and only constant member of Yes was not only one of the best bass players in progressive and classic rock circles, but one of the finest bassists, period. Perhaps only second to Jack Bruce in terms of huge influence, Squire’s playing was always near the pinnacle of brilliance.
He could be simple, complex, lyrical…and sometimes all within the confines of the same passage of music. It may sound cliched, but Squire was a man who knew how it felt to be one with his instrument of choice, someone able to really make their bass speak.
At Real Gone, we’ve always been huge fans of Yes – in most, if not all incarnations – and it’s unlikely a week passes without at least one Yes album being spun.
Chris Squire (4th March 1948 – 27th June 2015)
On June 27th 2015, legendary bassist Chris Squire lost his battle with leukaemia. He was known to millions as the founding – and only constant – member of progressive rock titans Yes. His trademark sound provided the heard of the band’s ever evolving sound for twenty one studio albums and several live releases over a period of five decades.
Whether delivering a psychedelic sound, as per the first two Yes releases – an extension of musical themes practiced in Squire’s earlier band The Syn – or shaping the progressive rock of the seventies, or even the pop/rock band Yes eventually became in the 1980s, Squire could often be relied upon to steer his musical vision with some absolutely stellar performances.
YES – Heaven & Earth
The first Yes studio album in a decade – 2011’s ‘Fly From Here’ – came under fire from various quarters. Since the core of the material first took shape in the early 80s, some (unfairly) lambasted the release for scraping the barrel for ideas, while others were less specific, wheeling out their beliefs that “no Jon Anderson = No Yes”. Neither short-sighted opinion held much water, since the album featured some of the best material the band had committed to record since the mid 90s, possibly even before. Benoit David did a great job vocalising both the new material and those ideas laid down by Trevor Horn and band some decades previously; Steve Howe sounded very comfortable in his role as guitarist – happy not to overplay his role (as he perhaps had done on some other Yes work) – while bandleader Chris Squire’s bass work appeared impeccable throughout. As with the often maligned ‘Drama’ of 1980 and the pop-oriented ‘90125’ from 1983, this more than showed that whatever the incarnation, there can be enjoyable results.