--------------------------------------------- MARCH 2000 --------------------------------------------- Souce: Bass Player Magazine Contributed by Tim Morse Chris Squire Still Climbing By Tim Morse The Ladder [Beyond] is the latest release from the legendary progressive rock band Yes. It was recorded earlier this year in Vancouver, British Columbia with producer Bruce Fairbairn (Aerosmith, The Cranberries) who died tragically during the mixdowns. The Ladder is a fine addition to the Yes catalog and at the heart of their music is bassist Chris Squire, the only member to have been in every line-up in their 31 year history (the band currently features vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarists Steve Howe and Billy Sherwood, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Igor Khoroshev and Squire). We spoke with Chris just before the band was to start the North American leg of their world tour. BP: I've heard that you kept a lot of playing from the basic tracks on The Ladder --that there wasn't very much overdubbing. CS: Yes, that's true. Surprisingly enough a lot of the guitar and keyboards were kept, which is not normal. In many cases on this album we kept those as well. I had a couple of repairs here and there, but for the most part it was the ground tracks that were used. We've worked every which way it's possible to work in the studio: From it all being live to working with a computer. We have virtually recorded every conceivable way that you can. But it was good to do The Ladder this way, personally it is a method that I approve of -- I like working like this. BP: There is an excitement in the music that must be in part from the band playing together at the same time. CS: Also, plus the fact that we were pretty well oiled I think as it were by the time of recording. In '97 through '98 we toured and so it was actually a good time to go and start a new album. Whereas in the past on a lot of Yes albums there have been major breaks before we got together to play, so I think that could be a contributing factor as well. BP: Did you use much in the way of effects? CS: You know I didn't -- not as much as I usually do. Nearly all of the sounds on the album I think are straight. I don't really think I used any fuzz or anything like that. Although when I play live I'll probably add a little more color to some of the sounds. But that was the way we wanted to record. It was one of those things...I didn't use my effects unit in the studio just for a better overall sound quality. We discussed it and decided that if we were going to use any effects we'd put them on later -- it never got to later! BP: Which basses did you end up using on the album? CS: The funny thing was when we started Bruce wanted me to use a Rickenbacker the whole time and I said, "Well, we can start off like that." But then I kept saying to him, "Let's try this one on here" and he'd go, "Oh, that one! That's much better -- don't use the Rickenbacker!" So I used the Mouridian quite a bit and I played my eight string Ranney on a couple of tracks. I actually used a Fender Jazz for the part on "Face To Face." I also used my Tobias extra long B-E-A-D bass on "New Language" and my Electra Outlaw MPC with the flanger on "Finally" -- which is probably the only affected bass on the whole album. BP: How significant was Bruce's influence on the recording of The Ladder? CS: He was very important really. I mean obviously Yes is a band full of musicians/producers in their own right so it's a good idea to have a referee! [laughs] He had everyone's respect from his track record. I enjoyed working with him a lot and it was very sad when he passed away, I must admit, it was very sudden too. No one could have seen it coming at all. There were quite a few times where he'd have suggestions -- good points about things -- and we'd talk it through and ultimately come up with the finished product. It's a shame that Bruce passed on, because we were discussing working with him again on a future project, because we were happy with the way the system was working. BP: Who was responsible for the world music influence on this album? CS: Yes, there is kind of an Afro-Caribbean feel to some of the songs and a little bit of reggae on "The Messenger" and a little oriental flavor on "It'll Be A Good Day." I don't know where those influences really came from, they just started when we were rehearsing the tunes and we went in those directions, especially with "The Messenger" where Jon eventually wrote the words as a tribute to Bob Marley, because it sounded so reggae like. BP: Do you listen to much world music yourself? CS: Not particularly, I listen to the radio when I'm in L.A. so I hear all different kinds of shit! I'm not a big fan of one area in particular, really. BP: Does it take a while to write and arrange an intricate, melodic bass line like the one in "New Language"? CS: Well, that's what I do! During the course of rehearsals I'll discover what feel Alan is going for and where the groove is going the ideas just come up and the best ones stick. It's not just that, it's also in regards to the tune and what Jon's doing with the vocal line and that influences the way I play too. That's another good thing about this album, that we had a lot of information, more than possibly in the past about what Jon was going to actually sing. It's not like the vocals were a big mystery, that got overdubbed three months later, which in the past we've worked on albums that have been exactly like that. BP: Do you feel that you have a telepathy with Alan, do you know what he is going to play before he even goes there? CS: Well, when we are doing new stuff it's a bit more interesting because we don't really know exactly what we're doing. In fact when we play live there is a sixth sense about knowing what he's going to play even without looking at him, but that's what's exciting about making new music, because it is untrodden territory. You're looking for new stuff and hopefully you're not just churning out the same old licks that you're used to doing, you know? BP: I don't hear that on this album at all, in fact that's one of the things I like about it is that it sounds like new areas for Yes. CS: That's good. I'm glad you said that, because I think we have achieved quite a degree of that on this album. BP: Can you tell me about the Conspiracy project? Is this what your long-rumored solo album has transformed into? CS: Well it's not the solo album actually. We've been trying to put this solo album thing together for a long time, but there are two things going on with Conspiracy really. The first thing is that we're about to put out a bunch of songs that Billy and I have worked on since '89 through '96 that have been gathering dust on the studio shelf. They were finished quite a while ago and we're putting that out. A couple of the songs we used on Open Your Eyes, but they're our version, before Jon, Steve and Alan got involved so that makes them valid; but they're hidden tracks on the end of the album - people aren't really supposed to know that! But the eleven tracks are all original songs, although we've thrown "The More We Live - Let Go" (from Union) on there just for a bit color too. But once again that's our version of "The More We Live" before the band got involved. So there are nine other songs where Billy and I share lead vocal roles on various songs. It's the Conspiracy and there it is and we're just finalizing the deals on it right now, but it will be out before the end of the year I hope. Tim Morse is the author of Yesstories and Classic Rock Stories (both published by the St.Martin's Press). Purchase YesStories Purchase Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com