Rest peacefully Mr Chris Squire

Started by MMJ_fanatic, Jul 02, 2015, 03:30 AM

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MMJ_fanatic

So I came today and poked around off topic ramblings and other music and to my utter disappointment and disgust I found ZERO threads recognizing or memorializing the passing a bass giant--Mr. Chris Squire--original founding and constant member of the musical leviathan Yes.  I read a aptly British memorial the day he passed from Bill Bruford which I will not try to paraphrase here but recommend anyone here, touched by the music Mr. Squire made with them, read for themselves.  This guy is one of the reasons I waffled between bass and guitar for so long and his clunking bass lines hooked me long before I fell in love with Dusty Hill's playing with that little old band from Tejas.  But i digress--if you love the way a solid and sometimes funky bottom end moves you through a song this guy was a giant in the field--undeniably--even if you weren't attracted to the bands brand of music it is irrefutable that they were a whirlwind collective of massive musical talent.  Rest well now Chris and thank you for all you did in your 67 years.
Sittin' here with me and mine.  All wrapped up in a bottle of wine.

Mr. White

Well, I fumbled by not starting a thread here. When I found out about Chris Squire dying, the Forum was still down. When it came back, I didn't think about it because I was distracted by some other stuff going on at the time. I did start one over on the Pono Community (Forum). I even provided a link to this Rolling Stone article.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chris-squire-yes-bassist-and-co-founder-dead-at-67-20150628

Besides the intro to the Pono Community thread and the R.S. link, I added this post: "I never got to see Chris live with Yes. The only time I got to see "Yes" was when the version known as Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe toured in support of their self-titled album back in 1989. I saw them at the SDSU open air amphitheater in San Diego (where I saw Santana just the night before). Tony Levin was playing bass for this lineup."
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) Member Since 2011

MMJ_fanatic

I found BB's eulogy:
Bill Bruford
Really saddened to hear of the death of my old Yes band-mate, Chris Squire. I shall remember him fondly; one of the twin rocks upon which Yes was founded and, I believe, the only member to have been present and correct, Rickenbacker at the ready, on every tour. He and I had a working relationship built around our differences. Despite, or perhaps because of, the old chestnut about creative tension, it seemed, strangely, to work.

He had an approach that contrasted sharply with the somewhat monotonic, immobile bass parts of today. His lines were important; counter-melodic structural components that you were as likely to go away humming as the top line melody; little stand-alone works of art in themselves. Whenever I think of him, which is not infrequently, I think of the over-driven fuzz of the sinewy staccato hits in Close to the Edge (6'04" and on) or a couple of minutes later where he sounds like a tuba (8'.00"). While he may have taken a while to arrive at the finished article, it was always worth waiting for. And then he would sing a different part on top.

An individualist in an age when it was possible to establish individuality, Chris fearlessly staked out a whole protectorate of bass playing in which he was lord and master. I suspect he knew not only that he gave millions of people pleasure with his music, but also that he was fortunate to be able to do so. I offer sincere condolences to his family.
Sittin' here with me and mine.  All wrapped up in a bottle of wine.