I caught this tour in 1977. The band was on fire. They were truly energized with Wakeman's return. This track and "Turn of the Century" had the audience, literally spell bound. Great post!
I saw Jon last night and they played this one. Never heard it live before. Jon played harp in the instrumental; the whole thing was pretty moving. My daughter liked it too. I had low expectations for the show - until the last part of Starship Trooper kinda did me in. I was wiping tears away thinking this would surely be the last time I'd hear the song with even one original member present.
YES has been my favourite band since my 14. My life has been devolved to the music business, and at 62 I can' t live without YES songs as background of my journey. Chris, I missed you so much.
Awaken by Yes has to be one of the greatest musical rock compositions of all time. You are taken on a mind blowing journey from start to finish. That church organ is so powerful and dynamic. This is what good music is all about, the ability to get deep into your soul. Yes created a song that will last the ages and showed the world that they are special, not only as musicians, but as composers too. What a masterpiece.
what an intro! can't imagine anyone writing music like this today. The purpose of this piece is to awaken the spirit out of darkness into the light, and restore our full being alive
im 55 yrs old, and Yes has been my favorite band for 43 years, always has been and always will be, RIP MR Master of the Bass Chris Squire, you will be missed
I'm 60! What am I doing on here with all you youngsters. LOL Love my Yes. They brought this tour thru Nashville in 77'. And You & I and Awaken still knock me out. RIP Chris Squire...
I got to see this in New Orleans, on the GFTO Tour. I didn't know that the intro part was part of Awaken until the piano part came in. Very mysterious first five minute movement.
Indeed! I’m 57 y/o and saw Yes in concert 5 times before 1980. But, I let them go after Going for the One. Tormato was the end for me. I always go back and listen and enjoy everything before Tormato. The Going for the One tour was my last show. One of the best bands ever before they went Pop.
Speaking as a musician, and speaking for every musician I know, watching this video makes me wonder what the fuck I'm doing with my life, I should go back to selling aluminum siding.
there is so much joy in their music, seeing them at that time was so moving. alan white pounding away at the kit, matching squire pound for pound. what a rythem section!
Oh my. I was there. With my friend Peter. They started with Parallels. Jon announced in the middle of the gig that Rick was going to do a solo. He played one note and the place went mental.
At least we have this...No matter the quality, the talent, energy and passion are on full display.I saw them on that tour in Madison WI. Saw them many times in the 70's I kept going back because every show with this lineup was guaranteed MAGIC.I have seen many of the other lineups, but in the 70's, these guys were unmatched in a world all their own, and thankfully, ours.
Just saw them last night. They performed this, it was as awesome as when I saw them in the 70's. Jon looks like such a baby here. He still looks young.
Damn! Alan White is the BIG Surprise here! At this stage in the band's journey - he was THE Perfect drummer/percussionist for YES! His vibraphone playing at the beginning is wonderful, and his drumming throughout is strong, and musical. RIP, Alan - you more than filled Bill's shoes!
Most vocalists/band leaders do some weird dance-ish stuff etc. on live shows and then there's Jon who just stands and kinda bounces awkwardly and I'm still damn happy and amazed :'D
....this brings me so much joy. Wow. Yes has always been on the top of my list. No one else compares in their majestic arrangements. And no other band besides the Beatles brings so much positivity into their music. I appreciate all their efforts through the years. Really a soundtrack to my life :)) Mad props to Squire on the triple neck; bouncing back and forth between fret less and the 4 string...And for Yes; this is Wakemans triumphant return and proves once and for all; no one can bring the moods and atmosphere like his church organ. Alan the Master of auxiliary percussion. He is the unsung hero of the band! And Jon; such an amazing voice. Just soaring!! And his concepts and incredible use of melody over content 😉 puts him in a real unique spot among Rock singers- Nice harp too!
I saw Yes in 1977 in Madison Square Garden. I do not remember a 5 minute vibraphone, piano, guitar intro, but I'm glad that it was recorded. Thank you for uploading this. Saw ARW at the Beacon theater the other night and seeing them play an amazing version of Awaken just brought back all the reasons I loved Yes above all other prog rock bands. Awaken has been an ear worm for the past couple of weeks. Happy to have that as an ear worm. Also, props to Trevor Rabin for doing a great job playing the Steve Howe guitar parts, which is no easy ask.
I'm 63, & was fortunate to Experience: Awaken, Turn of the Century, Wondrous Stories...all the great GFTO epics in 1977 in the round at the Long Beach Arena and was changed forever for the better. (And many times since...) This Inspiring Soul Awakening Music does "Cast a Light on me" and on to all those who do (as someone so rightly said below) "Get it...You do... or you don't", but as for you & I, we are blessed & grateful that we do "Get It" and will continue to be inspired, encouraged & uplifted; and "As Autumn Falls, We'll All Remember all those many years ago."...and hopefully smile in Peace, as we each eventually finally "Turn around" (and find) that You are standing close to me..." Yes Forever! Thank you so much Jon, Chris, Rick, Steve, Alan, Trevor, Bill, Tony and all of you who have and continue to Keep Yes Music Alive, Inspiring, Positive & Uplifting for a World that surely needs it. (I met Jon several times...once at the Rumble Seat Garage in Long Beach, warming up for his Animation Tour...At the break I noticed his wife (at the time) Debra and sat next to her and let her know how much we appreciated her Husbands music and for her for helping to Inspire it...Jon came over and sat next to me, and I expressed what all us Yes folks feel about him... and he was so gracious and kind and even said, "Hey, I saw you here last night...(It was a small warm up venue now gone on PCH)...Thanks for coming" he said! It's now a pet store between Big 5 & Staples, but every time I walk by I can still feel the "High Vibrations" (He played Awaken...it was amazing.) and I do remember all those many (great) years ago.
Dave Thompson. Well said. Seen YES over 200 times. Started in the round Chicago 78. By far still the best band on this planet! I miss Chris so much it makes me cry. Take care and always take time to enjoy a little Heart of the Sunrise!💥
Also correct Rick; I'm a musician, but at the age they were when they composed this kind of music, we were working out Kiss and Alice Cooper, clueless to the kind of music they were making; they are truly awe inspiring
Saw this in Nashville in 1977 Had seen them every odd year in the 70s except 71 and 79..this was the best of em all! at the end of awaken I thought the wall between band and audience dissolved a true moment of magic...
Thank you for posting this! Good grief, a TREMENDOUS performance! Even through the video blips and audio quality, you can tell they're "on" in this performance. Steve Howe was awesome. The entire group was just amazing. Alan White! So much energy. Wakeman - what can you say? A master. Jon Anderson flawless. Chris Squire great. I just wish this was in high quality audio/video.
Great concert . I was there . If I remember correctly , Yes played four consecutive nights at the Glasgow Apollo ( no longer there ) during the 1977 Going For The One tour .
ANYONE liking this 1977 live cut of Awaken, should track-down Jon Anderson's LIVE performance of Awaken, with Todmobile, from 2014, with a full chorus and orchestra. I STILL cry when I listen to it, it is MORE perfect than the studio version, EXCEPT for a few embellishments the keyboardist took that Wakeman NEVER would have done.
I like that version and I agree there are many things about it I find more perfect than the studio. However it’s in the key of Eb not E and like you mentioned the keyboardist didn’t learn ricks intro.
Wowwwww!! No other band like this one at this time... True creativity, pure passion, mesmerizing, dramatic... Beautiful! Love this!!! One of my all- time favorite Yes songs! And the intro... Truly awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!
Your comment is perfect, their music will be played well after we kiss the dirt; for example, just saw Jon with Jon Luc Ponty in St. Louis, and was stunned by the quality of their performance
Wow i was at this concert with my best mate George, 40 years ago, i'm stunned to find this, we were gobsmacked at the new album Going For The One , great concert. Happy days, still love Yes
I agree, Anderson is amazing, so underrated clearly one of best vocalist of all time,love u Jon,,,,and Love the original YES, I thank God I saw them live back in 1979
I was 16 and my folks drove me and 2 mates, Gogs and Panda the 2 hours to Glasgow to see the show. It was amazing. This recording doesn’t do it justice. My ears were numb for days. Always will be a Yes fan.
@@hpatss4966 He's lost a lot of his dexterity with age. But there was a time his playing was like nobody else's. If you look at the versatility he was in a league of his own.
Os cara faziam isso ao vivo é de cair os butias do bolso uma das mais incríveis bandas que eu já curti na minha adolescência quando este show foi feito eu tinha 10 anos de idade isto é uma obra prima te eleva aos céus
At last! Someone finally posts the whole intact version from Glasgow! I never understood what the freaking problem was. For years, all everyone could ever come up with was the 1st 11 minutes or so, then they'd tack on another show's ending. I mean, how hard is it? I've always had the whole thing. Glad someone finally got it RIGHT. Plus, you added the introductory 4 minute ambient jam too. Thank you!
What todays Yes is missing is Jon Anderson, Wakeman and most importantly, YOUTH They arn't 30 years old like they were in the 70's, with each of them being born in 40's. They still have it in them to be amazing still
Masterful. We don’t deserve to be on the same planet as Yes 1977. Festooned with glitches and desecrated by ads this is still peak spiritual/human musical achievement.
What a treat. My favorite era of Yes for live performance. Pink Floyd were another band that didn't want to be filmed in 1977. Such a shame. At least we have this. And I loved watching Alan thrashing away.
I saw the "going for the one" tour pretty wicked seeing it and 5,000 + fans between the rough age of 16 and 25 yrs old go into a silence in the middle of the breakdown of the song "close to the edge" without any WOOs or yeah's !! or any yelps. different attention span then today huh ! not to mention the bonus of having Donavan open the show Lol
I've always been a fan of people who can play... I mean REALLY play; Mahavishnu, McLaughlin, ELP, but there was NO-ONE could match Yes, and particularly this line-up, when they were really on it. An absolute joy. Thanks for posting. Only thing.. J.A., bless 'im, never really learnt what to do with his hands. I saw them in '83, and read a review that described him as 'dancing around the stage like a cosmic milkmaid'. Well, if you can sing like he can, who cares what you do with your hands???
I had read that JA was too short to be a lead singer, in their early days; Hell I'm 6'3" but he is so cosmic he is much larger than I could ever hope to be; they are stunning in their compositions.
J.A. "TOO short"? I'm 6'2 1/2" and snuck back-stage at the NYC YES-FEST 1994 with my lefty Rick V63 4001 bass, literally "STALKING" (the NOW late) Mr. Fish for an autograph. In my "tunnel vision" upon sighting 6'4"+ Squire, I NEARLY walked-into/knocked over poor Jon, who is/was only an inch (at BEST)shorter than I. I literally didn't notice him, other than as an "obstacle", but managed to get a few minutes with Chris, preforming my classic "Wayne's World" imitation of: "I'm NOT worthy . . ." on 1 knee as I offered my bass to him, to which he replied: "Why . . . it's BACKWARDS!!" and readily accepted my sharpie for a sweet signature on the pickguard . . . . It was a few minutes later when my friends in the cover band chided me about almost running Jon over, but NOT greeting him!!! MY LOSS!! Dunno WHAT physical height HAS TO DO with being a lead singer, the only R&R singer who can compete with Jon Anderson is Steve Perry, who is like 5'7", or 5'8" . . . "Size MATTERS not", but for your internal chest cavity & lung capacity. Also, for the record, Jon does entire acoustic-guitar sets SOLO, frequently plays rhythm, percussion, keyboards & harp during YES gigs. AND if ANYONE thinks his hands are that useless, Jon Anderson did this little solo album in 1975 called "Olias of Sunhillow", where he played, performed, wrote and sang EVERY vocal track and EVERY instrument on EVERY song of the 45 minute recording. Thanks to the magic of multitrack. ANYONE remotely into YES or "New Age" should just BUY it, either Japanese virgin import or the CD. "Olias" is actually MORE mystical and spiritually- transcending THAN "Awaken", which came to life only a few months later . . .
Thank you for that informative, albeit, lengthy post. I must clarify myself, It was JA himself who said he was told he was too short to be a lead singer; it was a making of type of documentary, I think it was CTTE, but I checked the official Yes site, and they listed him as being 5'5" tall. I know it's a small detail, but Yes music is about the details, that's why they are one of my all time favorites; and of course the height of a singer is not relative to their singing ability, Ronnie James Dio, and JA, are proof of that
wow, the song was brand new and they were already playing "around" with it live....amazing piece of music played even better on stage.....why the hell didn't they professionally film these shows?? ugh!!
Mark, the 4 minute original intro is as known as The Flight Jam and would have probably been on the GFTO album but not included, I suspect because the track would have been too long to fit on a single album. It was only on this tour that they included the full Awaken epic i.e. including The Flight Jam intro to my knowledge never played since this tour. I saw this concert when it played at Wembley Arena during this tour, I can still remember some of the show to this day and I have never seen anything like it since and am never likely too again, truly awesome. This is some of the very best music ever written, you are right though I have always thought they should have filmed these shows professionally, this is the only shame about 70's Prog Rockers.
Beyond belief. I have this show on DVD. About 90 Minutes. Cuts off where this one does. Nectarines of the GODS! No live version of Awaken after 1979 is in the same universe as 1977, 1978 & 1979!!! Sight, sound, musicianship! No contest! Watch Awaken 1991, 1996,1999, 2002, 2004, 2012, 2013. All of them added up together don't = this! They have the nerve to call what they did in 2013 Awaken.
+evolutionary transgression I watched it a few times. It's great. But after watching this and the footage of Awaken from 1978 on youtube it's hard to watch any other version.
+linkone11 - The person above asked the same thing. No biggy. I watched it a few times. It's great. But after watching this and the footage of Awaken from 1978 on youtube it's hard to watch any other version.
482 likes and 15 dislikes I'd say the dislikes do not exist as people! I mean 482-15 that is unreal odds! I remember first listening to this song in the 1990's when I bought "Going for the One" album I am 49(going on 50 in about a month) but love this stuff more than the 80s that my akin is listening to and certainly it blows away the "noob" music of the 20s! LOL!
--- LYRICS --- High vibration go on to the sun, oh let my heart dreaming past a mortal as me Where can I be? Wish the sun to stand still Reaching out to touch our own being Past a mortal as we Here we can be We can be here, be here now Here we can be AWAKEN SUNS HIGH STREAM THRU AWAKEN GENTLE STRONG DREAMS BEGIN HERE AWAKEN MASS .)(. MASS TOUCH STAR,SONG,AGE,LESS TOUCHING Workings of man set to ply out historical life Re regaining the flower of the fruit of his tree All awakening, all restoring you Workings of man, crying out from the fires set aflame By his blindness to see that the warmth of his being is promised for his seeing, his reaching so clearly Workings of man driven far from the path Re released in inhibitions So that all is left for you all is left for you all is left for you all this left for you now Master of things Songs cast alight on you Hark thru dark ties That tunnel us out of sane existence In challenge as direct As eyes see young stars assemble Master of light All pure chance As exists cross divided In all encircling mode Oh closely guided plan Awaken in our heart Master of soul Set to touch. All impenetrable youth Ask away That thought be contact With all that's clear Be honest with yourself There's no doubt, no doubt Master of time Setting sail Over all of our lands And as we look Forever closer Shall we now bid Farewell Farewell High vibration go on to the sun, oh let my heart dreaming past a mortal as me. Where can I be? Wish the sun to stand still. Reaching out to touch our own being Past a mortal as we Here we can be We can be here. Like the time I ran away and turned around and you were standing close to me. Like the time I ran away and turned around and you were standing close to me. ---------------------------------------------------------
