Added: 5 years ago
From: yesmuseum
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  • it seems like every awesome old school band from the era peaked in '71/'72.

  • @PinkFloydrulez They've all gone to look for America

  • i love how weird rick looked back then, and how normal steve looked. Now its the other way around. Jon, Chris, and Bill all look pretty similar to how they look now.

  • This was rare and awesome but i think it was far earlier than the 72 that they flashed at end of vid. Peter banks left band in April of 70

  • I have seenYES 23 times in concert, Steve Howe...god playing guitar, happy to be of the 70's generation. This IS the best band ever... hands down

  • i synched this video up to the album version.

    It sounded, awfull, because of the different tapes.

  • Never knew this even existed! Wow! Love it; but then again, I love all that is YES. Signature sound in all aspects.

  • This footage never fails to put me into a catatonic swound . . . can't leave it till it's over.

  • paul simon nov 2011 new orleans warehouse snl turkeysuit IdentityCrisisBH† : gone down the river like a flyfishing lure you actually prepared for with the best wet suits and pole and reel and rod and line ... and lo and behold, dropping the knot tying class on tye-die fishingbasked weaving class came up and bit me in the shinook arse

  • Brilliant footage!!!

  • today is rhymin' simons birthday!

  • yeah this is pretty much the best cover of anything ever

  • Best prog rock group in all times!!!

  • This is some of the most righteous guitar playing I've ever heard.

  • Isn't that a sheet of LSD he's holding up at 6:22?

  • @TheHillmenOfTopanga

    Oh Jeeze! Was it a sheet of blotter? I think it is. Kool! Now we know how they channeled the Muse

  • i hear a penatonic scale in steves playin i like that old time rock and country flavor in his playing ya!

  • @WingNutLCC What you're hearing is Jesus on a stick!

  • @WingNutLCC Heidi?

  • Best cover of a song ever! My second favorite is the cover of Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann (original by Springsteen).

  • paul simon cries when he listens to this

  • Eddy

    Offord!

  • Rick The FREAK

  • LOOK HOW TIGHT THEY WERE AND HAVING FUN

  • terrible recording

  • God, they were soooo young. Really does make one yearn for those days when anything was possible. Thanks for posting.

  • Funny how the screwed-up video quality makes part of this look sorta like the live bit of the "Money for Nothing video" with the pastel-like animated effects. Especially starting @3:38

  • I love that part at 2:14.

  • Saw Josh Groban sing this Simon & Garfunkel song on a Capitol Independence Day Celebration. I always loved the "Yes" version of this song.

  • Masters of their craft, and maaan......how th@ craft flew! Whoosh!! I'm gone...☺

    ♪♫♥²↑⁀⁀☼ ;-j

  • I've seen them 15 times, the last sans John Anderson and Rick Wakeman was the best seats I've had, 4th row in front of Chris Squir

  • This version of America's fabulous. Steve is a genius, like Bill and Rick. Jon's voice is like an angel and Chris gives rhythm like no one else does.

    This band was wonderful then. And they're so young ... Yes was my favorite band since I met them in 1982 when I was a kid. And still is.

  • excellent musicianship, creativity, timing in the groove, aaaahhhh - I'd like to find that America now - gone forever

  • Bill Bruford is god.

  • I absolutely adore this performance, this song, this band, this music. wish i had lived in the 60's and 70's i don't much like my generation's music and attitude overall (don't know what they are calling us- the internet generation? teenagers). Love all this old fantastic brilliant stuff. Oh. and peace now! Hehe. <3

  • @yoginipeacelove don't worry. there was just as much crap back then as today. then as now, you've got to hunt for it, seek it out, and recognize it. no need to wish you grew up in a different time, cuz you might have though the same thing then. we just tend to think 'back then' was better because we are lucky enough to have the good stuff to still enjoy and celebrate...the shite we conveniently forget about. memory is like that, we are selective...

  • @yoginipeacelove No kidding Jesus this is christ wizard . . . they were brilliant . . . glowing like alien laser mushroom beams . . . they were laughing . . . on top of the world . . . brilliant fire . . . nothing tops this jam . . . my generation . . . jesus god . . . where did it all go?

  • Do you think they had some superbomb weed? Dahhhh . . .

  • who says yes can't jam?

  • @kenlaw101 kidding right? i don't think anyone has ever said that. they were just crafty enough to edit their jams into good tunes so they didn't just noodle for half an hour at a time...they noodled with purpose!

  • This was the best Yes lineup ever.

  • @gogirouxgo I agree with you. I love Alan White, but the style of Bill Brufford is absolutely outstanding

  • i thought the potion was timeless

  • Just another display of unique talent. They sound like no one else. They made their own ship, then sailed it for 45 years.

  • Chris bass tone is killer on this recording :)

  • On the one hand:

    Why take such a classic, great song, and just NUKE the hell out of it? Have some mercy, you prog beasts!!

    But, than again, on the other hand...

    Just how FREAKIN' AWESOME was this?! The Proffessor never sounded crisper in his life, just playing circles around every body, the guys actually looking like they are having fun... Damn, I'm about to cry again...

  • 5 people don't understand grooviness.

  • would you mind if I tried my hand at making a version of this video with the album audio replacing the audio here, but using the same video?

  • @TheSchmuck2 You could pull it off, but you'd have to speed the video up by about 4%. The music plays back too slow in the video.

  • One of the hottest guitar and bass music tracks ever between time mark 304 thru 550! Extremely intentional, deliberate and confident delivery. The only thing that comes close is Rush's studio version of Free Will.

  • Damn i love Howes playing !!!! SOooooo coool to see this lineup all jamming together , and not even at their peek yet.

  • Steve is using a Hayman guitar. I used to have a Hayman model 30/30 and it looked very similar. Hayman was an English company. Bills drums in the video are also by Hayman.

  • I love these cats, don't get me wrong - but I wish they let their hair down more often and jammed like this. A little humor would have helped. They even got funky on this track! Howe and Wakeman have incredible interplay at around the 5:20 mark.

  • The guitar solo is Steve Howe doing his Duane Eddy thing. Does anyone know what guitar that is he's playing? Amazing how good the band was at developing arrangements of songs. Does anyone else hear the "everything's free in America" riff from West Side Story interwoven into this song?

  • @vze2gsgr

    I thought I was the only one to hear that. For years I have tried to explain to people that there was a bass melody from West Side Story in this song. Even though that bit is very short, it still makes me smile when I hear it. Just brilliant!

  • @vze2gsgr The guitar Steve Howe is using is a Hayman 2020. Although it does not appear on the video, the guitar solo at the end of the song is on his Gibson ES-175D.

  • Hey- At 2:50, what do you call the pedal board thing Chris Squire is playing? It would really help if I knew what that was called. Thanks

  • @coltrain210 not totally sure, but i think back then he was using the actual pedal board out of an old organ. this was probably before Moog came out with Taurus bass pedals.

  • @coltrain210 What does it actually do?

  • Squire and Howe 4 ever

  • My cousin and I were with our families in the 70's, ironically, we were in Mexico and this became my cousin and I's anthem!!

  • There was another reason Tony left; In the book "Close to the Edge, The Story of Yes" Chris said that there were personality conflicts between Tony and Steve, they just didn't get along with each other. They both shared hotel rooms together. Tony supposedly liked to drink and party, while Steve was quiet and kept to himself. This apparently started the riff with them. The band tried to repair the relationship but it got worse.

  • Yep, awesome version of a classic. I think it looks like Wakeman was really high, but nis demon was Mr Alkohol. So happy he went straight at some point before he might have become another tragedy. Right-o Tony Kaye was a Hammond / Piano man adamantly opposed to the 'new' keyboard trends of the day including the synth. and Mellotron, etc...He softened his stance though in Badger. I always thought there was more to his leaving Yes than just the instrumentation....

  • This is the better version. It fits perfectly as a Yes song. I know that S&G wrote it but J. J. Cale wrote Cocaine and it's definitely Clapton's song.

  • Bruford barley moves around but boy does he get the job done...brilliant player!

  • The sleve notes for Yesterdays say's it was recorded for Age of Atlantic.

    It was probably one of their jam session songs from their earliest days. John Anderson and Chris Squire got together because they discovered they were both Simon and Garfuncle fans. (I was never going to spell Garfuncle right)

  • Comment removed

  • Yeah, actormanic, after I made that post I checked up on the history of "New Age of Atlantic," which is where I heard "America" for the first time, and realized I had it wrong. Thanks for the correction.

  • Are directors of these things really so stupid they just don't understand they should film Steve Howe when he's carrying the song for 5 minutes straight? The only thing that surprised me was that they didn't substitute footage of paramecia, rotifera, and other microscopic life. I guess they didn't get that brilliant idea until they filmed CTTE for Yessongs.

  • I think I'm a lover!

  • Wakeman looks like village idiot but the music is awesome. No robot voice shit etc. Perfect!

  • Somehow I thought Tony Kaye was still in the band when this was originally recorded. In fact if memory serves me right this was recorded long before Wakeman joined up. It's been a long time ago and I'm certainly not sure.

  • @LegZoff Actually, it was recorded in 1972, the year after Fragile was released, and just a few months before they recorded Close To The Edge. You can tell it's Rick, especially when the Mellotron kicks in. Tony Kaye didn't use the Mellotron.

  • Bruford is a monster

  • I think this is better than Paul Simon.

  • I just saw Yes, live, here in Seattle, a few weeks ago, and was seated in front of Steve Howe. They were great. Yes has been my favorite band for 31 years. They will be remembered for many years.... or more.

  • yes!

  • This was the best Yes Lineup. Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe, Squire, circa 1972 when they were writing their best music.

  • Doesn't get much better than this. Great post.

  • Ahhhh..... that truly sick / evil / fantastic Ric / Squire tone !!!!

  • Just got finished reading the majority of comments.

    Simply amazed at the mindless idiots talking about " broads and chicks". These are the same losers who sit in front of their computers and masturbate to internet porn.

    Get a life guys, and date a REAL girl once in a while.

    YES are phenomenal, and always ahead of their time!!!

  • Thanks for the great memories!!!

  • This was awesome. Thanks for posting!

  • Comment removed

  • this is the only really great song on 'yesterdays'....also the only one with steve howe on guitar - coincidence???? NOPE

  • ya, this changed much in the music world...

    5/4, 12/8...it took jazz to contemporary...

    Kudos to Simon and Garfunkel

  • IIIIIIIII LOVE IT

  • Love that bas run at around 8.00 min.... :)

  • @steebes2002: Agreed. Howe is phenomenal on this cut. I also think he outdid himself on Yessongs during the break in the middle of Perpetual Change. Five+ minutes of awesome before Bruford's solo.

  • Hard to choose a favorite vehicle for Steve Howe, but 'America' and 'Sound Chaser' are, for me, his best work with Yes. I love that someone got this recording on video.

  • saw Yes about 8 years ago with my Brother who turned me onto them when I was about 14 . Listened to them over years and had Fragile and a Jon Anderson solo album with OLias of Sunhollow album ( Sp?). Saw them at an outdoor concert with my bro who got the tickets to see them at Jones Beach, It was remarkable and these guys never missed a not or beat. I was blown away!

  • Cldfsn0200 (follow up) meant to write "note" not "not". and by the way , I'm talkiing 14 in the mid 1970's so I was listening to them for about 30 years before I saw them... what do all you Yes Freak Pot Head Groupies think of that? LOL!!!!!

  • Well, while i cant see myself actually listening to this version again.... I have to say i enjoyed this cover more than any cover iv ever seen in my life (and thats alot of covers) such a brilliant difference between the 2 songs though my heart still lies with simon and garfunkels stunning original> p.s Doesnt Rick look awesomely happy :)

  • to see these guys as I did for 20 or so years was a previlielge what great music

  • This is a good cover. Haha, I love it when Jon points to Steve ^_^

  • In no way could YES music be souless. they are like the most soulful rock musicians that ever lived.

  • This is brilliant.. I got into yes the simon and garfunkel version and stumbled across this song. one thing led to another and here i am, 20 years old and completely captivated by Anderson and Howe. They certainly dont make music like they used to.

    Love yes.

  • Once I got latched onto Yes, I couldn't pull myself away. Best band of all time! Too creative for their time and still too creative for this time. They will be the kind of band that will be around 400 years from now.

  • @moxinator1 well if you haven't done so already get their FRAGILE album (find it on ebay). Ask any FM radio rock DJ from the 70's or 80's and they will concede the fact FRAGILE is one of those top 100 all time classsic albums of the 20th century. A must have album from then and I believe America is on that album. You got to hear the full range on the album

  • Looking forward to seeing Yes again play live this month at HOB NOLA, unfortunately without Jon Anderson. But looking at this great video reminds me that I'm OK with Benoit David and Rick's son Oliver Wakeman in this upcoming version. Chris Squire is the rock! Alan White is a percussionist's percussionist! And Steve Howe will be there as well, to truly represent the core truths and beauties of what is essentially YES! And Squire's WAREHOUSE NEW ORLEANS T-Shirt is the icing on the cake!

  • The Steve solo is amazing, too much music in it.

  • I've heard so many reviews call their music 'soulless' - but Howe's Chuck Berry solo is too much fun!

  • Wow - who the hell called their music soulless? Probably the same guy (Ed Masley in Pittsburgh) that called a Rush concert boring

  • Amazing recording, brings back memories. I love the Howe and Squire work in this song. Well the Bruford, Anderson and Wakeman work is pretty good too!

  • quality 'and imagination to power

  • Hey there's nothing wrong with Paul Simon but their cover is so much better

  • steve howe dominating

  • Awesome, rare and archival video of Yes interpreting a great song by Paul Simon. FANtastic! Thanks!

  • I still have a Fragile LP that's never been opened. I am curious what it's worth. America, what a fab cover, and so funky during the instrumental break. YES will grow in stature as the decades go by.

  • morleygrey............impossib­le. Wakeman didn't join up with the band until the summer of 1971, so this was Rick's "honeymoon period" with them, and he is obviously enjoying this session as he plays, right around this time period. Check out the "Yesyears" video.

  • woooo!!! that's kinda old, but still amazing!, great song, great band.... great lineup!

  • I remember hearing this on WHOT Youngstown Ohio. I want to say, 1970, late at night, after midnight, that's when alot of top 40 stations played more progressive music,. I was 10 and remember going out and buying the 45rpm at Hills Department store. I have followed them evresince then. Now I am 50 and they are still amazing. You never had the media outlet to see all this stuff back then, thanks for the video.

  • I love this song, wish i had the tabs to it. No, not those tabs, the American Flag tabs! Squire's WAREHOUSE NEW ORLEANS t-shirt floors me! Balcony Foundation SOON will see Yes again HOB nola Feb'10! Of course Jon is loved, praised & cherished dearly. Last time I saw YES at HOB was actually Jon's birthday, and the crowd sang HappyB'Day to him, a spiritual moment! Now my support and encouragement go out to Benoit, for if Jon was Jesus, Benoit is the Second Coming! The MYSTERY of Faith, AS I AM.

  • Yes didn't do a whole lot of remakes, but this is one I really like.

  • hav been a huge Bruford fan alost 40 years his chops are amazing,,,but so is Alan White ,,just a more rock style,TFTT,Relayer,Drama etc,,, incredible..stuffhe was doing even Tormato,,man!! White live is amazing.,,on par w/Peart,,,,,,,,.go Bru..and White

  • They were at a peak with Bill on drums during this time (Fragile, CTTE) wish Bill had stayed for Tales, which instrumentaly would've been this good,.. (appologies Alan)

  • RE: the "chick" comments:

    The first Yes album I bought was FRAGILE. It came with that cool booklet with the band pics. I actually thought Jon was a woman! LOL! His voice and those pics...

    Oh well, live and learn...

    BTW, FRAGILE was originally intended to be a two-LP set: one disc studio, one disc live. I wonder where those live session tapes wound up?

    Also, Alan White reputedly has films from the 1976 Solo Album tour with the Crab Nebula set... I'd give anything to see that footage!

    -

  • Comment removed

  • Really shows the brilliance of Yes arranging, and Eddie's recording... they owe a LOT to that man.

    They were covering this song when Tony Kaye was with the band... did a lot of covers in the old days, and really twisted the arrangements around.

    This is the same room/console they used to record CTTE. Just amazing.

    Bands like this only come along once in a lifetime.

    -

  • i remember grabing this record when it came out. i was like a freshman in HS.  yea that was a few years ago.

  • Chris is my god of bassists. I have a couple of Ricks and play his music daily.......love ya

  • seen them 16x~each show different yet superior

  • They all rock !!!!

  • Steve Howe RULES!!!

  • Fantastic cover.

  • Best cover ever- it actually brings the original up in stature.

  • This guitar playing is ridiculously good.

  • Or a Shergold, maybe?

  • A Sherwood.

  • What the hell is that guitar Howe's playing?

  • One of the best cover versions ever!

  • What happened to the original "Then" video? If you folks dig this stuff ad Firefoxe's downloader helper and start saving it to your files before those desperate record company assholes remove everything you once loved! GODDAMM THOSE LITTLE SHITHEADS! They're keeping history from us! This won't be here long, even with the warbley sound track. Someone should cut their fucking fingers off!! How many videos have been removed from YouTube because of some asshole record company. Just ask rundgrenfan

  • His bowtie is really a camera

  • This song is so freakin good!

  • the music change at 2:15 was just funky as hell. these guys did a commendable job.

    thanks for posting.

  • You got that right!

  • @fulls787 - they lost the "dead in the pocket" funk aspect when Bill left the band. Not only were they lacking his unique drumming style, but the inclusion of Alan White in Yes changed how Chris Squire played dramatically. When forced to lock in with Bruford's precision, Squire was brilliant. When things got looser with Alan White's more "open" feel, the rhythm section, while still sometimes interesting, became a slopfest. Sorry, Alan.

  • @Vince1961 I COULDN'T AGREE MORE. ALAN WHITE IS NO BILL BRUFORD. YES WAS NEVER THE SAME ONCE BILL LEFT.

  • joooooooooder que pasada! nunca crei que veria algo asi. bendito youtube!

  • I was born in the 60's and remember hearing this on my dad's turntable. what a thrill to see a visual and hear this fantastic version. Rock on....

  • EXCELENTE cover. YES hace de este tema, una version superior a la original de Paul Simon. ( Ah, soy heterosexual)

  • I wouldn't make those comparisons. Yes was simply great at those 'remakes'. Remember 'Every Little Thing She Does'? A masterpiece.

  • Grabado junto con close to the edge

  • I am sure Paul Simon is very proud of this version.

  • Guys who make cracks about "who's that chick" are usually insecure in their heterosexuality, and secretly harbor a desire to be little sissy girls, in pretty, pink, frilly dresses.

  • It's certainly not a bad cover at all, though I think they went a bit too overboard on embelishing the melody. It doesn't sound as melencholy as I think it should be.

    it is a fairly sad song :) But as I said, I do like this.

  • One of the greatist recordings in rock history and one of the greatist bands. Amazing to see a video of it.

  • it seems a shame someone takes the effort to find this incredible performance (especially howe's guitar solo) and debases themselves and this forum by calling these ace musicians girls! they just had long hair, tight clothes and heels on their shoes becuse that's what all early 70's rock musicians did.

  • or your just plain gay....

  • hey brian and gunga, take up some ukelele lessons or whatever and them come back and comment on any kind of music......obviously your morons

  • There are and never were any females in this band.  Since when do Rick Wakeman, John Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Bill Bruford sound like girl names? Dumbass

  • How can you guys be talking about the chicks in this video. For the record there is no broad playing the keys it's rick wakeman

  • Fuck off troll

  • I like the hot blonde chick that plays keyboards. She's a little buck toothed, but I find that sexy in a girl. I think she did a line at the 8:00 mark!

  • HaHa go to bed now child

  • Hey Brian. I saw it too. Two of the broads in this fabulous band bend down and one comes up wiping her nose. I wish I was there. I bet those broads had some primo coca. I'd love to party with the very talented, very beautiful broads in this band.

  • fuck you your gay bastard brianjlg

  • I agree, axzck, that she's one hottie.

  • Impeccable

  • someone please tell me how to tune my snare to get the bruford sound! I've found that really thin heads help. anything else?

  • You can find a description of his kit and the tuning in the late 60's in billbruford(dot)com.

  • The vocals & lyrics, the guitar solo, the drums, the bass, the keyboards... there's not a thing about this song that I don't absolutely love.

  • When I bought a used copy of "TNAOA" in Chapel Hill, NC in the summer of '75, I immediately recognised that "America" had been recorded during the "Close To The Edge" sessions, due to the identical studio ambience; subsequently, I was disgusted that reverb had been added, for no damned reason, to the "Yesterdays" version! That ruined the beauty of the original...

  • I have been listening to yes for decades and this video is a treasure. To see Rick Wakemen, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford..Jamming on this great Paul Simon song..one of my favorite sonngs..In fact I cringe when i hear the 3minute version. They should have never ever let anyone cut those minutes out of the song! Bravo Yes

  • Crushing version. Gloria a Yes!

  • YES! this is sweet! yes is so so killer! i love the bass in this song!

  • Remarkable that there is a video for this! Thanks for posting this!

  • wow, how good was that video?

    its been a favorite of mine for years and years. it is a real pleasure to see it preformed in its era.

    thnks or posting it Yesmuseum!

  • shoot me for this if you want but I prefer the single version. may be because I heard it first and didn't even know about the extended one (I picked up the remastered close to the edge) and usually I absolutely HATE when 10 minute songs are butchered down to three and a half minutes but they did an excellent job with this song.

  • Funny. When I first heard the single, I hated it, but the moment the I heard full version, I fell in love with it.