------------------------------------------------------- APRIL 30, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Tampa Tribune http://ae.tbo.com/index.cfm/?fuseaction=front_music_detail&musicID=6533 Yes Goes Roundabout With Lineup, Sound By Curtis Ross Yes is a band with few constants. Roger Dean's eye-popping artwork, for example, didn't grace a Yes cover until 1972's "Fragile,'' its fourth album. Even its epic, progressive rock sound went down some unusual roads, especially in the 1980s, thanks to the presence of keyboardist-producer Trevor Horn and guitarist Trevor Rabin. And its personnel? Consider this: The current edition reunites one of Yes' more familiar lineups … featuring the band's second drummer, guitarist and keyboardist. Even singer Jon Anderson, whose voice quite possibly is Yes' most identifiable sonic trademark, was absent for 1980's "Drama.'' In fact, only bassist Chris Squire, who founded the band with Anderson in 1968, has been around for every album and every edition of Yes. Most Yes members left … although many returned … when "they were pursuing solo careers ... and I was left holding the baby,'' Squire says with a laugh by telephone from Santa Barbara, Calif. "Every member that's come in and out has brought something to the table that has allowed Yes to continue and develop in an interesting way,'' Squire says. "Yes has always been a kind of eclectic bunch of musicians that have always had their own influences,'' Squire says, "usually completely different from the other guys' influences. "For instance, Steve Howe always had a very big country guitar-picking influence, which was something that had not played a factor in my favorite types of music,'' Squire says. Vocal harmony, particularly that of Simon & Garfunkel and the Fifth Dimension, was the influence that brought together Anderson and Squire in 1968. The group … which also featured guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye and drummer Bill Bruford … released its eponymous debut in 1969, following it the next year with "Time and a Word.'' Howe then replaced Banks and the band recorded 1971's "The Yes Album,'' which included such favorites as "I've Seen All Good People'' and "Yours Is No Disgrace.'' Keyboardist Rick Wakeman brought his classical background to 1972's "Fragile.'' The album gave Yes a hit single ("Roundabout'') and catapulted them into the ranks of the world's most popular bands. This lineup also created 1972's "Close to the Edge,'' considered by many to be the band's finest, most consistent work. Bruford then left, replaced by ex-Plastic Ono Band drummer Alan White. Since then, White and Squire "have remained a stable team since the early 1970s,'' Squire notes. "I had a good education from both of those guys,'' Squire says of White and Bruford, "mainly because they're quite different.... Bruford was a big jazz lover so he had a way of playing that was not traditional rock 'n' roll-type drumming. The bass became more the permanent time- keeper and Bill would decorate around what I did.'' The more rock-solid White "was 180 degrees opposite to that, which at first was a little strange to me, but turned out to be really good for me...playing with a drummer who came from a different standpoint,'' Squire says. As a band, Yes has seen a few different standpoints itself, from the ultimate (some say ultimately overblown) prog-rock double album, 1974's "Tales From Topographic Oceans'' (the first with this tour's Anderson-Howe- Squire-Wakeman-White lineup), to the stripped-down, commercial sound of 1983 hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart.'' Squire has been there through it all. Has he ever considered quitting? "Yeah,'' he says with a laugh, "but it's never happened.'' WHEN: Sunday, 8 p.m. WHERE: St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa TICKETS: $35, $50 and $65; box office, (813) 301-2500; Ticketmaster, (813) 287-8844 Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com