Stegzy's Music Project

A commentary on Stegzy's album collection

May 10

Greatest No.1 Singles – Various Artists [#559]

by stegzy

41SXZJ8MHCLWhether it’s Garth and Wayne singing Bohemian Rhapsody in a car, Robert de Niro in Jackie Brown rocking away to a strip tease to the Supreme’s Baby Love or fish faced Julia Roberts poncing down a New York high street to Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman, this compilation has a selection of songs that everyone born in the last 50 years should be familiar with somehow or other.

Originally this was a two volume compilation (still available on Amazon)but over time volume 1 has been lost. Probably for the best as the “greatest” singles on the second volume were all a little too contemporaneous compared to those presented on volume 1. There was a spate of similar compilations after the millennium, Greatest This, Greatest That and who could forget the Absolute All Time Best of Super-dooper Mega Party Funtime Hoo-Har Music Ever Volume 3, all vying for the  hard earned cash of the gullible.  Of course, as with all compilations, there are some tracks I feel shouldn’t be there, and others that are conspicuous by their absence. Never the less, Greatest No.1 Singles is a nice “leave it on in the background while you do the cleaning” album.

 

 

2001 compilations Various Artists

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Jan 20

Fly From Here – Yes [#483]

by stegzy

220px-Fly_from_HereIn my eyes, Yes’ best but final album. Technically, this isn’t Yes’ final album but it is the last one I bought before Chris Squire’s death in 2015.

Following the departure of long time lead singer Jon Anderson who was undergoing throat issues and Wakeman who was busy being a grump, Squire, Howe and White looked to former band mates Buggles – Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn, to reform the line up that made Drama a hit.

Horn obviously remembered how difficult Squire’s music was to sing when you register no longer reaches the notes of your youth and opted to produce the album instead. At this point surrogate singer Benoît David was asked to join the band, David’s singing style having been recognised by Squire who had seen David’s performances with Yes tribute act Close to the Edge on Youtube.

Aurally, Fly From Here is very much in the style of Drama era Yes. In fact, the song from which the album’s title comes is one that Horn and Downes worked on that almost became a Buggles song before they joined Yes. I really like this sound of Yes. It shows how the band might have developed had 90125 not happened, a richer more illustrative sound with a strong prog taste. The final flourish and farewell, in my eyes, of a band that helped me enjoy music as a developing youth. My only regret being that I never had the free time my youth afforded me to listen to the album on a regular basis.

 

2011 Buggles Chris Squire Geoff Downes Steve Howe Trevor Horn Yes

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Aug 29

Drama – Yes [#388]

by stegzy

Yes_DramaChris Squire, bass player and founding member of Yes, passed away a few weeks before I began writing this entry. His passing was about to leave a massive uncertainty with the bands future in that how can you possibly fix a giant Chris Squire sized hole in the fabric of the Yes continuum. Then came news that Squire’s colleague and former band mate and Music Project attendee, Billy Sherwood would step up to the plate.

Which is nice.

Drama arrived at an interesting point in Yes’ history. Jon Anderson had left the band to pursue projects with Vangelis. Rick Wakeman had gone too, his goal to add ice skating and twiddly keyboards to everything. That left a huge hole in the band. No singer; No keyboard player. What to do?

It was about this time that the band met producer to be, Trevor Horn and keyboard jedi, Geoff Downes. You might remember Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes from global supergroup and ground shaking behemoths the Buggles. That’s right, the band that brought you Video Killed the Radio Star.   In recognising their potential, Chris Squire invited the two to join Yes and fill the shoes of Anderson and Wakeman and history was made.

This is possibly my most favourite Yes album. I really wished that the Drama era Yes line up had produced more music like this. Contrasting between the previous Yes album Tormato and the following 90125 it’s certainly a distinctive sound. Horn struggles to reach the same pitches as Anderson, while Downes seems to lack the fingers to compete with Tony Kaye and Rick Wakeman, yet it isn’t a disaster. There are some songs on the album that were many, many years ahead of their time and it certainly shows what sort of geniuses makes up the band.

1980 Buggles Chris Squire Yes

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Aug 5

Album #95 – Asia – Asia

by stegzy

Screen Shot 2014-07-20 at 14.15.38Asia by Asia

It was, so John Wetton (ex-King Crimson), Steve Howe (Yes), Geoff Downes (also Yes and Buggles) and Carl Palmer (ex-Emerson, Lake, Palmer) sing, the heat of the moment.

Indeed it was, the heat of the moment when I got this album thinking “Hey! It must be ok if two fifths of Yes play in it“. It was a moment that quickly entered an ice age where all life ceased to exist. Because, this album, is actually an accurate description of the word bollocks.

And so, I leave this album review with a warning. Buying side project work can be harmful to your musical credibility.

 

Asia

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Jun 29

Album #58 – The Age of Plastic – Buggles

by stegzy

images The Age of Plastic – Buggles

Video, apparently, killed the radio star.

I don’t know what to say about that.

I’m sure video will have a fair trial and execution.

This is Buggles’ first album. Famous for its second track, Video Killed the Radio Star,  frequently cited as the first popular music video. Of course, anyone that knows anything knows that the first music video was My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock by George Formby, but what do I know eh?

After you listen to VKTRS and replayed the mental image of some tinsel wigged dancer in a tube, you might as well turn this CD off.

Buggles

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Jun 26

Music Project – Album #55– Adventures in Modern Recording – Buggles

by stegzy

AdventuresInModernRecording Adventures in Modern Recording – The Buggles

More than likely, if you’re over 25, you’ll probably be familiar with The Buggles. You’re probably also aware of Trevor Horn and his production skills. If you’re a Yes fan, you’ll probably also know of Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn’s brief stint as members of the progressive rock supergroup.

If not, you’ll probably go “meh” and skip over this entry. Adventures in Modern Recording is the Buggles’ “difficult” second album. I have the 2010 remastered re-release. Two tracks from which stand out, I Am a Camera, which is a reworking of Into the Lens from the Yes album Drama, and We Can Fly From Here which was later reworked by Yes and appears on their album Fly From Here.

As with all second albums, it’s nothing groundbreaking. It’s a nice to have if you’re a Yes fan or you happen to be curious about The Buggles having just heard Video Killed the Radio Star.

Buggles

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