------------------------------------------------------- APRIL 15, 1972 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Melody Maker YES v. King Crimson Yes and King Crimson strolled in after their Boston concert at the Aquarius Theatre, the last stop of a long American tour. Edgar Winter, whose band supported Joe Cocker at the Boston Garden that evening entered with his group and their retinue. Ostinsibly the gala affair honoured Yes, who received a gold record award for their million selling "Fragile," but no sooner did they receive it than they disappeared to their hotel. Yes is decidedly more "pop" in their approach, but the two groups share a similar musical foundation. A casual comparison between Yes' "Heart of the Sunrise" and Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" is revealing. The repeated staccato figure of the former is uncomfortably close to that of the latter. Although Yes' Rick Wakeman didn't write "Sunrise," he sincerely believes that Jon Anderson and Chris Squire wrote it fresh. In any case the suggestion concerned him and he promised to examine it further. When asked his opinion, Fripp just smiled knowingly out of the top of his wire rim spectacles and said, "What do you think?" "As you know," he continued, "Yes started their band, their original band with Pete Banks and Tony Kaye, just as Crimson had established itself. Yes attended our first gig at the Speakeasy in '68. When they saw that we were playing exactly what they had set out to accomplish it blew their heads and they never actually recovered you see. Yes is a very good band, mind you. We had Jon Anderson sing on our "Lizard" album and they asked me to perform on one of theirs but I declined." The internecine rivalry is actually good natured since both bands are "firm friends" and are quick to pick up the cudgels for the other. "That was a really fine set by King Crimson, wasn't it?" exclaimed Jon Anderson suddenly when Yes followed them on stage. "They are truly a great band." Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com