The Gonzo Daily: Forty-six years on, Yes is anything but “Fragile”

Friday, 8 August 2014

Forty-six years on, Yes is anything but “Fragile”

Yes was on the short list for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year but didn’t make the cut.

You won’t find any of the veteran British progressive rock group’s members grousing about the slight, however.

“I sleep OK either way,” guitarist Steve Howe says with a laugh. “Those kinds of things. ... Obviously I wanted to win Top Guitarist and I wanted us to get a gold album and I’m flattered that we did far more than that. We’ve had so much great success to be happy about and grateful for. So (the Rock Hall) is just another area that will deal with itself if and when.”

Bassist Chris Squire, the only constant in Yes’ lineup since its formation in 1968, adds that, “In some ways I knew the way it worked. Many of the other people who were on that short list with us had been nominated before, and I figured that unless you’re in Nirvana you’re not going to get in the first year, so there you go.

“I’m not too disappointed. I’m sure it’ll come up again.”

And Yes certainly has plenty to keep it occupied until then.

This year, in fact, not only marks the 45th anniversary of the group’s self-titled debut but also finds Yes mining both its present and its past. The latter comes in the form of a summer tour that continues a theme Yes began last year of playing some of its classic albums in their entireties. This time around the group is reprising 1972’s “Close to the Edge” with it’s sidelong, nearly 19-minute title track, as well as 1971’s “Fragile.”

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