This is my favorite song by Yes and I think it is the best of the best. It amazes me that they play it in concert and it doesn't miss a thing from the studio version. "Awaken in our heart", indeed.
You will never see the likes of this type of band again. It happens once in a generation...and yet they will live on for generations to come. YES, it will move on and on, through time.
I grew up with YES and I am for ever greatful for that.. I saw the singer Jon Anderson in Uppsala Sweden last summer. He was performing with a music class of youngsters and they playd old YES songs. Jon is 79 i think and he sounded just like in The old days. YES is master class and beyond. Thank you.
If you can see Jon Anderson with The Band Geeks, run don't walk! He's going to be 80 this year and the opportunities to see this amazing man won't be many anymore. Definitely will leave you in awe, joy and perhaps tears, as it did me.
Ladies and gentlemen YES the greatest show on earth. Sounds excellent here. ✨️🎶✨️ Well done sir. The divinity of YES had many in the audience wiping tears from our cheeks. Magnificent ✨️🙏✨️
Best of the best! One of the most uplifting and spiritual pieces of music ever written. It's difficult to react with words, easy to react with emotions. As you did.
I was fortunate enough to see this performed "Live" here in Nashville in 1977. It still ranks as one of the top 5 concerts I have ever seen!(Donovan was the opener)
I am so happy to be retaking this ride with YES right now. The people speak, and you listen! Now you should hear the studio version, with the REAL pipe organ. That last stanza..."like the time I ran away...turned around, and you were standing close to me"...really connects with me (and surely many others), and pulls tears every time. This is good times. Keep going! Waht do ya think folks? Is he ready for "Close to the Edge"?
You used the right words "this is musical art" Yes, together with a few other bands, came up with prog rock in the early 70s that many bands learned from and still do, Great reaction🙏
Absolute Epic Masterpiece. From The Masters of Prog’. Sensational. I’ve been a Yes fan since 1971, aged 15. This is my All Time favourite Yes Track. Truly Wonderful. You must also treat yourself to the original studio recording, from the Album, ‘Going For The One’. (1977). Genius. 🎶❤️🎶
On the original recording, the section where it slows down and Wakeman plays his church organ part was done on a real pipe organ from a nearby church. Oh, to have been sitting in that church.
First time stopping by…Awaken is one of my favorite songs by Yes! I’m always surprised when people listen to Yes for the 1st time and they listen to them live? 😆 And one of their epics too! If you listen to the studio version first you’ll hear a lot more of the intricacies going on. Yes is complicated and Full as you say. Each member is a master of their instrument and voted Best in the world(guitarist, keyboardist & Bass player)! Jon Anderson ‘s voice is his instrument and uses it as one! It is said you need to listen to a Yes song at least 3x before getting it. Yes energizes you-you feel it for days after a concert(I’ve seen them live 50+ times) Yes has an amazing library and hope you indulge more!
Jon Anderson has such a unique voice. Haven't heard this one in awhile. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻 They are amazing musicians 👌🏻👌🏻 The tuners are at the base of the guitar. I have never come to grips with that look in a guitar.
Thanks so much for sharing . Im 64 and grew up with YES. They are truly an experience. Like reading a book. Put on the headphones and drift off into the story. Sadly bands of this stature are fading into history. The music lives on.
That guitar with no headstock is a Steinberger 12 string. These performances back from 2003 by the classic 5 is the band at it's finest apex. Bless all of them for the magic they gave us.
By way of Yes history, the "classic" version of the band broke up in about 1979. Bassist Chris Squire owned the legal rights to the name "Yes", and he and drummer Alan White were not quite sure what they were going to do when they were in different recording chambers noodling while at the same time, a band called "The Buggles" were recording next door. When they learned that Squire and White were also on the premises, they dropped by to say they had composed a song they thought would be perfect for Yes to record. The Buggles was a two-man group famous, if at all, for being the first band with a song played on MTV, "Video Killed the Radio Star". The two men were Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. This happenstance meeting led to Horn and Downes joining Yes, a marriage that produced one album, "Drama", which is actually quite nice. But vocalist Horn could not comfortably hit the high notes from the Yes back catalog, and the tour in support of Drama was not very well received by fans. So, the Drama version of Yes died a quick death, and White and Squire were working on a new band called "Cinema" when Atlantic Records (long-time label for Yes) asked the boys to check out a new young phenom from South Aftrica, vocalist, keyboardist, and lead guitarist Trevor Rabin. Then it was decided that the new band would need a keyboard guy for times Rabin was playing lead guitar, and Squire asked Tony Kaye, the guy who played keyboards for Yes before Wakemen, to climb aboard. During rehearsals with Rabin handling both lead guitar and lead vocals, Squire decided that was a bit too much to put on Rabin's shoulders, so he gave Jon Anderson a call. Anderson loved all the Rabin compositions, and eagerly joined Cinema. With Anderson now doing lead vocals, Atlantic and the band decided that might as well just call the band "Yes", so they did. Yes then played Rabin's pop music with a special Yes touch, and experienced its greatest period of commercial success. The Rabin-led band stayed together from about 1983 to about 1990 or so, then Anderson left to join a band called "Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe" or ABWH for short. It played mainly classic Yes songs from the early 70's while out on tour. For a while back then, there were two versions of Yes. Lawsuits ensued, and the album "Union" was released and a Union Tour occurred, but the members never really re-united to form a permanent version of Yes, and fans thought the Yes era was finally over. But in about 1995 the classic lineup of Anderson, Squire, Wakeman, White and Howe reunited and released a new studio recording, "Keys to Ascension", which was really surprisingly good overall, and started touring again. What you saw in this version of Awaken was the aforetmentionsed classic lineup,, now visibly aged, doing their best to play Awaken live. (There is a debate about the make-up of the true classic lineup, with some fans supporting the idea that Bill Buford on drums makes for the real classic lineup) The band has had members come and go continuously since the Keys to Ascension days, but a version is still recording and a tour is set for this coming summer with Deep Purple billed as a co-leading act. Howe is the only classic member still playing with Yes. Anderson has his own solo projects. White and Squire have passed away.
Excellent synopsis! Thanks for sharing! Yes, all the iterations of YES are enough to make one's head spin. Still, I for one am so glad they kept going, in one form or another. The official YES headed by Steve Howe have, in my opinion, lost some of the YES glimmer, vibrancy and energy, but I wish them well with their new albums. As for me, I am enjoying Jon Anderson with The Band Geeks. I saw him last year in NYC Palladium and tears of joy streamed down my face as I couldn't believe how good he sounded and how well the other band members brought us that old YES spirit. It was wondrous (😉). Luckily, I get to see them again next week, this time in NJ, and I am so excited. Jon Anderson is a treasure I feel so blessed to hear live again. 🙏 🙌 💚💚
@@lindazee This version of Awaken seems down-tempo from the album version. To my ears, it drags along, maybe even a bit like a dirge. With your love of Jon Anderson, I have to think you've watched the performance by Todmobile, with Jon as special guest. IMHO, it's the best version, ever, even if it is not really by Yes. Here's the link, just in case you haven't seen it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d_Va3e_52TE.html
Awaken in this reaction video is slowed down. I had never heard it played like that before. I agree the Jon Anderson with Todmobile version is absolutely beautiful! I have heard Awaken performed live many times, including the Going for the One tour. Over the years, it has become my favorite YES song. Thanks!!
I'm glad you continue the Yes journey. Nice also that it reminds you of childhood and took you out of your troubles. Get along with this band. All the best…
@@SaeedReacts. Thanks, you too. I'll continue watching your reactions in the next days, I like your comments. If you want to experience bands that are unusual, try songs by Gentle Giant (try On reflection) and other prog bands from the seventies.
In all fairness, there's a lot to be angry about....but Jon Anderson has a new band, and has recorded new songs with them, and yeah, it sounds exactly like YES. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xn-kFz5ibGA.html
Would highly suggest the studio version of this song! From a 22y/o Yes fan. Should do the studio versions first and if you enjoy them enough and want to dive into it a bit more, the live performances are great.
I saw Yes live in late 1977 in Rotterdam when the album Going for the One was released, and I saw Yes Symphonic live in 2001 (dvd released in 2002) in Amsterdam. This recording seems a later concert than the one on dvd, I think Tom Brislin did keyboards on the dvd of Yes Symphonic, and not Rick Wakeman. Magical experience anyway. I love it how you discover much of the music that made an important impression on me during my life.
@Racklehane Yes, I also have seen Jon Anderson in recent years and his voice is as phenomenal as ever. Twice with ‘YES-ARW’ (Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman’), in 2017 at the (BIC Bournemouth) and 2018 at (The Barbican, York). And in 2023, (London), Jon performed with the ‘Paul Green Rock Academy’. Jon and the amazing young musicians, (From the US), performed the whole of the ‘Close To The Edge’ Album, to celebrate its 50th Anniversary from the previous year. Plus many ‘YES Classics’. And Jon was 78 at that performance, (July 2023). Incredible as ever. 🎶❤️🎶
Yes...zoning out was our specialty back in those daze......thanks for checking this out....this was an especially good live recording.....would still urge you to listen to the studio recording when you can close your eyes and get lost..........appreciate your efforts and content.....
@@SaeedReacts. Well yes it's indeed the wrong title. This video is wandering around for some time on YT, don't know why its the wrong title. There is a live concert registration of Yes together with a symphony orchestra; that's the original Yes Symphonic live recorded in the Heineken Hall Amsterdam 2001. This is the YT link: ru-vid.com/group/PL77D7C50C9D7E2218&si=C-Fn5lK3ruFiplUo Pay special attention to 'In the Presence of...' and 'The Gates of Delirium' although the Yesshows version of the last is by far the best live song I ever heard.... But first: listen the studio versions of all Yes songs.
"Tales From Topographic Oceans" is my favorite. Four elegant, majestic, and well connected epics. Most people find it too ponderous or not as exciting as "Close To The Edge" or "Gates of Delirium," but it was a major development in my love of music. 50 years on, it's still my favorite album on Earth.
It is one of their most beautiful albums, BUT it will take a lot of listening to get through the whole thing, as I recommend you listen to all four album sides, back to back or at least as close to that as possible. It's a very esoteric, different type of album based upon ancient texts. Do some brief research FIRST before sitting down to listen to it. The studio version, please. @SaeedReacts.
Masterpiece? Spiritual? - I forgot what it felt like the first time I heard this, but every time since I feel my third eye opening into bliss and thankfulness. An unforgettable experience.
This is part of the trifecta of epic, long Yes masterpieces, along with "Close to the Edge" and "The Gates of Delirium." As I told you before, they never had any problem recreating their masterpieces live. They have always been an incredible live band, with top-tier musicians. But you really should listen to the studio version of "Awaken," especially with headphones, because it's a true sonic experience.
I got to see this live in Munich, front row, 1990, right in front of Steve Howe and his array of guitars. It’s an overused adjective, but was true for me - a life-changing experience.
@@SaeedReacts. Yes, absolutely. The syntax and vocabulary are closely woven into the music much like a tapestry. When you look at the structure and composition of the lyrics, there is a lot going on. My kids are always amazed that I can remember the lyrics to all these and so many different songs. That’s the writer in me. ❤️
The headless guitar Steve played is a Steinberger carbon fiber guitar. It uses double ball end strings instead of tuning pegs. I believe he used it on the album. These guitars feel so good they make you a better player. The wide frets or something. The 2nd guitar is some type of very expensive fender telecaster.
❤❤❤ So you went LIVE for this masterpiece. Though great and intensely magically powerful in concert, the studio version is mixed to perfection. ALTHOUGH this video is mistitled and is NOT an actual Symphonic version backed by the orchestra like in their 2001 Tour. BTW 2003 was the next to the last Tour with Jon Anderson as singer, which for me was the END of YES. Glad you noticed the Eastern influences. ALSO I saw NUSTRAT FATAH ALI KHAN & son several times because I've been a fan of Sufi Kawalli music since the 80s but also my wife is Bangladeshi. ALSO, there is Live video version of this with just Jon and an orchestra plus a choir called Todmobile, that is just SUBLIME! This is a PEAK in their career. NOW you MUST react to "CLOSE TO THE EDGE" their original groundbreaking Album masterpiece!
Yes, i went with the link that was provided in the request and that video has apparently the wrong title. I did really enjoy this song and as you said it is a masterpiece. Amazing you saw Nusrat. Thanks for sharing that.
There are Asian elements. It’s quite strong on this one. This is also less acoustic than others. A lot reflects cosmologies and so on. The “tings” are prayer bells used to commence meditation, ritual, and prayer in Eastern spiritual traditions such as Tibetan buddism. 👍
Jon Anderson (the main singer) traveled to Iceland to pair up with Todmobile and did a version of Awaken which is just as spectacular. You might want to check it out. If you do, let me know what you thought and good luck with your channel. I wish you every success
The "headless" guitar is tuned on the bridge. Rick Wakeman is my favourite keyboard player. You can really tell he's a classically trained musician, as are so many prog-rock musicians. They just didn't like the snobbish and restrictive environment that classical music brings. When you think about it, people spend all those years perfecting their technique on their chosen instrument only to play other people's music that's been played for 100 years or more. Creating something from scratch is so much more fulfilling. ✌❤🇬🇧
You can obviously appreciate the musicianship of these guys, your emotions show that. You get it, you dig it. Move on now to 'Gates of Delirium', Jon and Co's musical interpretation of War and Peace. Stand by to be amazed.
@@SaeedReacts. Sure is Saeed - but - cautionary warning here, you must listen right to the very end, or the track will not make sense at all. Enjoy buddy!
The studio version is a bit better but this live version is almost exactly like the studio one. I wanted to show you what great musicians they are to be able to can play this complex music live. Although I haven't seen a great live version of "Close to the Edge". When you get to that one you definitely have to do the studio version. There's no comparison. But I would save "Close to the Edge" till later. There's plenty more to do first. I would recommend "Turn of the Century" and then "The Gates of Delirium" next.
It's called a headless guitar, the tuning pegs are at the other end. A bit of a gimmick popular in the 80's. Chris's triple neck bass is also a bit of a showpiece with dubious advantages. And heavy.
Jon wrote this after reading The Singer by Calvin Miller. It’s an allegory of the Christian gospel, so your comments about “meditative” are perceptive. Good reaction. Thanks.
I just watched the original video because I was negatively surprised by the sound of the song when you reacted; but it's the original, not you. For some reason, they used a pretty heavy limiter when recording or mixing. As a result, the dynamic of the volume is very limited... so everything sounds about the same loudness. With a song like "Awaken", which works a lot with volume dynamics (meaning it has quiet and loud passages on purpose), this is of course poison. Maybe you should listen to the song again in the studio version... at least privately, it doesn't have to be on your youtube channel.
@@SaeedReacts. I completely agree. Please listen to the studio version. Ev3n live, I have seen Awaken performed many times and unfortunately, this particular video's sound isn't properly calibrated to depict the true dynamics of the song as I have seen and heard so many times before. It will definitely be worth your time to revisit.
I would suggest listening to the studio versions of songs by Yes before you listen to live versions, as the studio version of Awaken is infinitely superior to this version. Also, when it comes to live performances you should react to the triple live album Yessongs and the double live album Yesshows, as some of the songs on those albums are even better than the studio versions.
No worries, sometimes written text can be interpreted wrong. I might have been in a defensive mood 😅. Throughout the years i have listened to a lot of emotionally laden music, but this one is definitely on another level.
Try Rush… maybe Tom Sawyer, or limelight first…also YYZ is awesome but an instrumental. 3 man power trio.. Geddy Lee sings, plays keyboards, and is one of the best bass players ever, playing with one of the best drummers ( if not the best) ever.👍
very poor quality, that is why you should listen to album version, this is another expierience. In this version is like i hear music from the basement. Why i be so pain the ass? Because this composition is peak of the music. The best what music can do. I don't listen anymore because of this quality
