Drummer reacts to "America" by Simon & Garfunkel / Yes
Рет қаралды 7,862
4 ай бұрынStop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to my sponsor aura.com/l33 to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold!
WE ARE FINALLY HERE! After months and months of requests.... I present to you, America by Simon & Garfunkel and the cover by Yes! Also a special treat at the end for the Yes fans :)
Link to original content (Please support the artist! I'm just giving my opinion, go get the real deal.)
• Simon & Garfunkel - Am...
• America (2003 Remaster)
If you’d like to donate to the channel or just show your appreciation, all the details are below. I created this channel for my daughter, so she has videos of her father talking and doing something he enjoys(listening to music and talking about it) since I don’t have any of those of my father. :) thank you again for your generosity guys, I appreciate you all more then you will ever know.
▶️ PAYPAL◀️
www.paypal.me/L33REACTS
@L33Reacts
🔴PATREON🔴
www.patreon.com/L33Reacts
🔶️CONTACT ME 🔶️
L33REACTSYT@GMAIL.COM
IF YOU ARE IN A BAND ARE INTERESTED IN BEING FEATURED ON NEWSDAY, PLEASE SEND YOUR BEST SINGLE AND A PICTURE OF YOUR LOGO TO L33ReactsYT@gmail.com
All rights to this song belong to whoever they belong to, this is just a video containing commentary on the song and falls under fair use
#yes #yesband #simonandgarfunkel
@blanetalk 4 ай бұрын
I can't wait until you hit "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkle.
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
I have it on my list now! Definitely interested in hearing more of them now
@nancymjohnson 4 ай бұрын
The Boxer is magnificent
@aBeatleFan4ever 4 ай бұрын
@@nancymjohnson - I am a huge Beatles fan... and I think "The Boxer" may be the greatest record ever made.
@Vader1138 4 ай бұрын
Yes, hard to pick a best S&G song, but "The Boxer" is one of their best.
@PolferiferusII 4 ай бұрын
@@L33Reacts "Bookends" is a great album alround. There's an odd snippet on this album of disjointed conversations of people who mustv'e died not long after. It's always been haunting to me. Has the feel of "found sound", though the singers knew who they were. I won't reveal the title or anything else. You'll hear it eventually. Ahead of their time.
@maryyoung2549 4 ай бұрын
David Bowie did a tribute after 9/11 to Americans covering this song. Really haunting and heartfelt.
@lyndarougeau2763 3 ай бұрын
Yes does a cover of America which is unbelievable!!!
@jonathansmith3742 4 ай бұрын
In 82 I boarded a Greyhound to Beaumont. Two months later I was in the Navy. I was walking to find America and didn't know it.
@GeoffTrowbridge 4 ай бұрын
Technically this song isn’t part of the “Fragile” album. It was a standalone single, and its first appearance on an album was the “YESterdays” compilation. It has, however, been included as a bonus track on certain expanded reissues of “Fragile” and/or “Close to the Edge”.
@onsesejoo2605 4 ай бұрын
The song was originally released on Atlantic's compilation "The Age Of The Atlantic" featuring some bands in their roster.
@rcpsammy7186 3 ай бұрын
@onsesejoo2605 absolutely correct. And the take isn't doctored like this version here.
@gpg9516 2 ай бұрын
@@rcpsammy7186 I had the ‘New Age of Atlantic’ sampler on vinyl and thought I knew the recording fairly well. What was altered on the original version compared to the version included on the expanded version of Fragile or vice versa?
@cazgerald9471 4 ай бұрын
8:53 you can clearly hear Chris Squire playing the melody of "America" composed by Leonard Bernstein for "West Side Story"
@danmayberry1185 4 ай бұрын
Squire was diabolically clever.
@CharlyDS 4 ай бұрын
One masterpiece of a song, two amazing renditions. Jon with the "AmericAAAA" bit gets me everytime.
@Atom-56 4 ай бұрын
They played this live, when Steve Howe joined the band, it blew me away.
@louise_rose 4 ай бұрын
They played it live from the beginning, even before he had joined - but Howe's technical brilliance and interest in American folk music took it to a new level, of curse His long solo here really has an American tone, quite unlike the British groove of other early songs he did with them, and it's an intensely visual solo/jam: you can see and hear the road, landscapes, forests, long lines of cars, honking horns and screeching tyres "all come to look for America".
@donholl 4 ай бұрын
I wouldn't be surprised if the bell on Bruford's ride was cracked after this - he sure worked it over!
@gerrydantone6834 4 ай бұрын
I have been familiar with both versions for decades, and the S&G version is much more emotionally involving because the delivery is almost as if you are on the bus with them and experiencing their ride through America. It is just so down to earth, it is almost painful. One of the greatest songs ever written IMHO.
@meistergedanken4790 4 ай бұрын
In the [extended] intro that Yes does, they also cleverly incorporate the main motif from the totally unrelated song "America" from the musical "West Side Story". (additional note: Keith Emerson did a version of the latter piece in his early days - the live footage of him manically attacking his organ on stage while he play this is quite the sight!)
@kevinphinney932 4 ай бұрын
Emerson, whether in the Nice or any incarnation of ELP, could always stop traffic. Consummate player, amazing showman. A little could go a long way (and he was invariably pit in competition with the equally flashy Mr. Wakeman). Both have created lasting works of art.
@firaonoyus2112 4 ай бұрын
Love them both. The original made me feel like I was back in my childhood, and the Yes version took me to another dimension.
@davidwolf4677 4 ай бұрын
I love how Yes’ cover just keeps building and building dynamically.
@anthonyblakely399 4 ай бұрын
This reaction session is BRILLIANT!!! When it comes to reacting to Simon & Garfunkel's famous song, "America." It should be done reacting to both: the Original; the cover. Both absolutely Masterpieces!
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
I'm glad you enjoyed it my friend. So happy you thought doing both was a good idea. Thank you for stopping by as usual 😊
@brucehenninger2662 4 ай бұрын
Hey, L33, here's another suggestion: "Every Little Thing" by the Beatles, followed by "Every Little Thing" covered by Yes. I think you'll find it equally eye-opening.
@guidosarducci 4 ай бұрын
"...we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh..." Been in that Greyhound station many times when I was young, since I basically grew up there. That line always hits home.............
@user-ek7vx9rq2n 4 ай бұрын
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 13:45
@TigerMtnKing 4 ай бұрын
YES!! The greatest band in the history of music!🤩
@jeffschielka7845 4 ай бұрын
👍😎
@greggibson33 4 ай бұрын
Hard pass, fan boy.
@Humb7757 4 ай бұрын
That’s gonna be A good Yes Morning!! Hello America!
@anthonyblakely399 4 ай бұрын
LMFAO 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 The speech from Rick Wakeman let everyone including the fans of Yes know what sort of minds that were involved in creating Extraordinary Masterpiece music 🎶 and the humor, laughter, and personalities in the band. 😂😂😂😂
@GoodCorporateRobot 4 ай бұрын
The way Steve Howe turns folk into rock here never ceases to amaze me. One of my all time favorite songs, either way. Great request, great reaction!
@kenennis6287 4 ай бұрын
America comes from one of the most absolutely perfect albums of all time: Bookends
@YESFan1971 4 ай бұрын
YES-Saturdays are the best.
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
They really are My friend! Our longest running "day" by a mile. I always look forward to Saturday.
@YESFan1971 4 ай бұрын
@L33Reacts ...Lee, does your site accept Zelle pledges? I'm the guy that has seen YES live 49 times and backstage +/- 22 tines. I have an arsenal of signed memorabilia. Including hosting some YES members on a cruise up the Chicago River on a 44 ft Sea Ray boat. What a day THAT was. I would love to help you and your family out....due to your promoting, what a lot of people around the world think.....that YES is the best band, ever. I would be glad to contribute to your site for spreading YES music. Would love to send you pics of some of my memorabilia (including a receipt from Carmine's in Chicago, when Jon invited me to lunch....and then be a VIP guest to the YES show that night). I was also invited by Jon to a cookout on another boat where he did a watercolor picture for me. I, of course, have it framed in my office. Jon was also gracious enough to list me on the back of his solo album, 1000 Hands, as a contributor. I can now die a VERY happy man. Thanks for all you do for us YES fans. Like I posted before, I have been crying to their music since 1971. It's truly transforming. Best to you and your family.
@nancymjohnson 4 ай бұрын
Simon and Garfunkel are probably the best writers of the 60s. Yes, better than the Beatles. Just my opinion. Of course YES is the BEST EVERYTHING EVER!!
@ZONEPRESSLLC 4 ай бұрын
I agree with you. They produced some very deep songs.
@B.R.0101 4 ай бұрын
They are among the best, absolutely! No doubt about that! But music and composers are not to be compared among them, each others, I mean The Beatles created new sounds, new compositions and styles already in 5 years, but I don0t want to compare bands or composers because there's no need to do that, Simon and Garfunkel, Yes, The Beatles are very significant for the music, so no chance for me for any comparison!
@ZONEPRESSLLC 4 ай бұрын
He's talking about not sounds or compositions. The Beatles songs aren't as deep as theirs. @@B.R.0101
@thomassharmer7127 4 ай бұрын
The S&G original captures how America looked to a 1960s New York college graduate with a unique gift for poetry and melody. The song is full of introspective ambiguity, personal ennui and loss of faith in The Dream while searching for some new vision of hope, using the metaphor of a romantic relationship that's fading on a long cross-country bus ride. The Yes version captures how America looked to five ambitious and super-talented young rock musicians who grew up in post-WWII England. For them America was still a big, brash, wide open land of opportunity and a melting pot of cultures and styles, all of which they wanted to incorporate into their own newly minted musical genre.
@lindazee 4 ай бұрын
Bravo! So well put! That's exactly how I have always received the difference in interpretation from the S&G original to the YES cover. Your description is spot on!
@DocRock71 4 ай бұрын
One of my favorite Yes songs as a 50+ year fan. Its rocking, it's bluesy in parts, Steve's guitar work, the incomparable Bill Bruford drumming and percussion, and Squire's bass playing are each on another level, and just so playful and fun!
@canadianstudmuffin 4 ай бұрын
Best cover song ever!
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
You ain't kidding bro that wasn't even a cover! They made it theirs.
@TONE11111 4 ай бұрын
other than this one, best cover song ever, is: Frankie goes to Hollywood - Born to Run (1984)@@L33Reacts
@brianfileman 4 ай бұрын
This Yes version first appeared on a sampler album called The New Age Of Atlantic in 1972, which also featured Led Zeppelin and Buffalo Springfield. Yes started playing it soon after Steve Howe joined while they were writing material for Fragile. That was during Tony Kaye’s final tour, and his Hammond organ on that was pure genius. I suppose you might say it was a fair bit more than midway between the Clouds 1-2-3 version and this one. Worth looking up. There is also a Steve Howe riff towards the end that became part of Roundabout.
@stlmopoet 4 ай бұрын
I love Yes's musicianship, love a lot of their catalog, but I think the Simon and Garfunkel version of this fits the lyrics better.
@nancymjohnson 4 ай бұрын
To me, they are both incredible in their own ways.
@izzonj 4 ай бұрын
100% I love Yes, but their version doesn't fit the lyrics at all.
@heartoftherose 4 ай бұрын
The emotion is missing.
@greggibson33 4 ай бұрын
100% correct. The soul has been replaced by endless soloing.... That's not what the song is about. You feel Simon's story in your heart. You just hear the playing of instruments with Yes.
@gregjones861 4 ай бұрын
L33: Wow, I've known and loved both versions of that song my whole adult life - but hearing them side by side was a trip! It made me think that perhaps Jon especially sees and hears everything in extra dimensions, including the Simon and Garfunkel song. If we show Jon a white plate, does he see a mountain range with every color known to man and then some? Is he a human prism refracting everything in life into dazzling arrays of sensurround surprise? Does he eat plain porridge and taste Mongolian yak spleen covered in brown sugar and cinnamon? Based on this song, and videos I've seen of him speaking, I think the answer is - YES! Surround him with these saints of sound as his bandmates and we are gifted with a lifetime of adventures. Thanks, traveller, for bringing us along on your own journey of discovery. Sometimes a cigar is a peacock doing the watusi!
@larryweekley1796 4 ай бұрын
Cool to see you genuinely smiling with joy at Yes' music 😊
@yes_head 4 ай бұрын
S&G's "America" was considered *very* progressive for 1968 (the entire 'Bookends' album was a big influence on Jon and Chris). Yes started woodshedding their arrangement when Tony was still in the band, although this recording is from the 'Fragile' sessions (which is why it's on later 'Fragile' reissues). But Yes didn't want to be considered a covers band anymore, plus it was sort of a throwback to their earlier touring days with Steve's extended solo, so Atlantic originally released it as part of a compilation in '72. But for some reason old hippies really get their panties in a twist over what Yes did to this song. But it's great that you're doing this Lee, to demonstrate how far Yes would stick to or deviate from the original with their covers. Nobody else has ever done this, but it would be REALLY cool if you gave the other Yes covers the same treatment ("Every Little Thing", "I See You", "No Opportunity, No Experience Needed", "Everydays" and "Something's Coming").
@auntieprimrose4138 4 ай бұрын
Vanilla Fudge were doing the same sort of thing 4 years before. Psychedelic covers of The Supremes?
@user-rn1qi4fy9z 4 ай бұрын
Alan white gave me this c.d. back in the 90s, he was a friend and neighbor in Newcastle wa. A beautiful soul for sure! He said Paul Simon loved their version.
@Cheryworld 4 ай бұрын
Scarborough Fair / Canticle by Simon And Garfunkel = prettiest thing you will ever hear (unique combination of two songs)
@billbitterman9487 4 ай бұрын
Paul Simon is a genius level songwriter. He stands shoilder to shoulder with Dylan as far as a lyricist/poet. Git to see them in concert in 1968 when I was 14/15 years old. That concert had a significant impact on me that lasts to this day
@kmg2480 4 ай бұрын
That was a nice surprise at the end! I'm actually going to see Wakeman in December. The music will obviously be good, but I'm just as interested in listening to his wondrous stories 😂.
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
Hahaha he's hilarious, dude. I wasn't expecting a stand up session but I loved it lol
@DocRock71 4 ай бұрын
Simon & Garfunkel's biggest classic hits were Scarborough Fair / Canticle, The Sound of Silence, Cecilia, The Boxer, and Me & Julio, which are a must for reacting to on the channel
@craigfazekas3923 4 ай бұрын
I remember calling WMMR in Philly to request America by Yes. The DJ was "Bubba" John Stevens at the time, around 1984. When I called ? He told me, "you're not listening right now, are ya" ?"I said no I wasn't.... Natch, he was playing it at that exact time, which blew me away- I was def stoned.... I mean, what's the chances ? Especially an obscure track from Yes that is over 10 mins. long.... He told me to call back in a week or so & that he'd put it on tge air again for me- cool dude that Bubba was. All those guys, Pierre Robert, Joe Bonnadonna, Bubba, Michael Tearson. And we still had Gene Hart calling hockey games, and Harry Kalas & Whitey with The Phillies. Great days for Philly radio back then. Don't get me started with John Facenda !!!! Lol 🚬😎👍
@lesblatnyak5947 4 ай бұрын
Dang straight. I'm in Ontario and miss all the great sports castors of the past. The ones on tv are unlistenable
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
The chances of that happening are so low. ... that it must have been fate my friend! That is a wild story.
@user-ek7vx9rq2n 4 ай бұрын
Were you with me at JFK in July of 1976?
@phillyflyer12 4 ай бұрын
❤
@user-ek7vx9rq2n 4 ай бұрын
I just read your whole comment and it freaked me out when you mentioned John Facenda tell me if my memory serves me right wasn't he a broadcaster on channel 10 I live in Florida now and have not heard that name in around at least 40 years
@lesblatnyak5947 4 ай бұрын
Ladies and gentlemen YES the greatest show on earth. Co starring Rick Wakeman on the Jokestand. 🙏🎶
@jeffschielka7845 4 ай бұрын
👍😎36
@frankhoulihanfh4972 4 ай бұрын
❤
@kidpoker007 4 ай бұрын
Paul Simon is obviously a genius song writer
@13terapyn 4 ай бұрын
It's worth checking out David Bowie's cover of this song from the 911 benefit concert. It's brilliant!
@Vader1138 4 ай бұрын
Paul Simon was a brilliant poet songwriter. As much as I love YES, their version lacked the melancholy and longing in the search for the lost self & the missing American dream. Simon wrote this after having been living in London for a while and returning home with his girlfriend Kathy. The Yes version is a great fun jam, but the feeling of the lyrics are lost. They did several covers in the first few albums. Some are amazing and others are more like this. S&G you should look at. Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson, Cecilia, El Condor Pasa, The Boxer, Dangling Conversation
@Yanto-Bardic 4 ай бұрын
Has anyone else noticed that Jon (Anderson) opted to miss out the line "And the Moon rose over an open field" (5:40) (Probably the most beautiful and poetic part of the whole song). I once asked Alan White why Jon had elected to not sing that and he shrugged and said "That's Jon he does whatever he wants". Which seems kind of like a pity as Jon hitting those high notes, with Chris Squire doing the harmony would have been something else. Yes are my Favourite Band since I first saw them Live in 1970, but on this occasion the Simon & Garfunkel version is the better of the two. Great choice of song(s) to review btw. Maybe you could do more 'Comparisons' of songs by different artists ? #justsaying.
@johnmavroudis2054 4 ай бұрын
Paul Simon is one of the greatest songwriters in history. His catalog of great songs is staggering. Well-worth exploring. Some absolute gems: "THE BOXER," "POEM ON THE UNDERGROUND WALL," "SCARBOROUGH FAIR/CANTICLE," "I AM A ROCK," "KODACHROME," "THE BOY IN THE BUBBLE," "UNDER AFRICAN SKIES"... to name but some of his stellar songs. Happy journey!
@dragon-ed1hz 4 ай бұрын
Next to Dylan, Paul Simon is the greatest American pop songwriter.
@inexplicablyleft2729 4 ай бұрын
Yes has been at times my favorite band, and this is the first fully filled out example of what they would achieve later in their music. It isn't their masterpiece, and America is, for me, Simon & Garfunkel's masterpiece, though by a small margin over some of their other songs. I start choking up every time I hear "And the moon rose over a broken field", and I'm often unable to sing along with "Kathy, I'm lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping". It was the song for those of us who loved America, but couldn't figure out where it was, if it was, or if it was still waiting to be, in that troubled time.
@kevinmcconnell3641 4 ай бұрын
I had been singing this song acapella since it hit the airwaves in 1968. I were borned in 1956. A girl I worked with tried to turn me on to YES’s version in 1976, I scoffed at her, she said just try it. After a couple few listens it became my favorite. Paul Simon was asked once about yes and their version, Paul replied, “oh that song belongs to YES now”. Just as Dylan said about “all along the watchtower” “I didn’t know it at the time, but I wrote that song for Jimi”
@thomassharmer7127 4 ай бұрын
FYI, the extended Yes version is actually quite closely based on an earlier cover of the song by proto-prog band 1-2-3. They performed their take on America at The Marquee club in London in 1967. There is an audio recording of their performance on KZfaq (search 1-2-3 America). Chris Squire and Jon Anderson (and Keith Enerson) were regulars in the audience at the club and formed Yes the following year. Anderson has said that 1-2-3, who later changed their name to Clouds, were an early influence on Yes. And a further fun fact: Paul Simon had cut a demo of America in a London studio in 1965. The engineer then gave a copy to the band 1-2-3 who started doing their arrangement live before S&G actually recorded it. So technically theirs was the first version of the song 😊.
@edwinawilcox663 4 ай бұрын
Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer. Recommend!
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
I'll add it to the list! I'm definitely interested in hearing more from them. This one track intrigued me to see what else they have 😍
@SpaceCattttt 4 ай бұрын
When you name a song after your own country, there are a few results you could end up with, and most of them are not very good. You could do what the (usually great) Neil Diamond did, and create an overblown cheese-fest that is like Eurovision for housewives, or.......you could write a quietly epic travelogue filled with metaphorical allusions to innocence lost on both a personal and national level. Paul Simon beautifully juxtaposes his (then) youthful restlessness and aimlessness with that of his nation, which was going through extraordinary political upheaval during the 60s. - It's an incredibly mature song from someone so young, and very very moving.
@user-fc8lz1cg4x 4 ай бұрын
😂 cheese-fest.
@gpg9516 2 ай бұрын
And later erased the accomplishment with the crap of Kodachrome.
@SpaceCattttt 2 ай бұрын
@@gpg9516 Hard disagree.
@brianvernon249 4 ай бұрын
I’m angry and empty and I. Don’t! Know! Why? Yes’ emphasis on that line gave me goosebumps when I first heard it 2 years ago.
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
What a line.... very profound and introspective. And honest!
@jeffschielka7845 4 ай бұрын
2 years ago? I heard it for the first time 50 years ago.👍😎
@brianvernon249 4 ай бұрын
@@jeffschielka7845 Yes, well my Yes discovery was more chronologically scattered than a Tarantino film. Relayer was the last album I discovered between The Yes Album (1994) and Talk (1994, duh) and did so in 2019. Tormato & Drama were 1995. 90125 & Big Generator I was still younger than 11. I was raised on CttE & Fragile. After Talk, it just seemed a faded version of themselves until Fly From Here. Tony Kaye is still has the strangest tenure of any Yes member.
@glenndespres5317 4 ай бұрын
Empty and aching
@brianvernon249 4 ай бұрын
@@glenndespres5317 true. I was going to edit but L33 gave the heart.
@jameskasson8484 4 ай бұрын
This song was recorded when they were doing the Yes album. Steve Howell had just joined the band and Tony Kaye is playing keyboards.
@nancymjohnson 4 ай бұрын
In the video of them in the studio for this, it’s Wakeman. Watch that sometime. It is so much fun! Auto correct- Howe ☮️❤️😎🎼
@brucehenninger2662 4 ай бұрын
Yes first started playing this live while Kaye was still in the band - there are live versions floating around featuring Tony - but they never recorded a studio version until after Wakeman joined, so this one has Rick on keys, not Tony. (Note the mellotron and electric piano in a couple of spots, instruments Kaye never played with Yes.)
@joelliebler5690 4 ай бұрын
That is what I thought. Tony was quite good in his own unique way!
@onsesejoo2605 4 ай бұрын
@@brucehenninger2662 I have seen information that Kaye also played on the original version of "Heart Of The Sunrise", but Wakeman overdubbed them.
@brucehenninger2662 4 ай бұрын
@@onsesejoo2605 That's very interesting. I've often wondered what some of the "Fragile" material, including "HotS," would have sounded like with Kaye instead of Wakeman. I can see Kaye pulling that one off; if he could manage the insane middle part of "Perpetual Change," he might have been able to handle that as well. Of course, it would have been Hammond during the intro rather than mellotron...oh what could have been!
@stanleymerritt4722 4 ай бұрын
"America" is a buffett of Yes. I think you got it right, they got together and decided they were going to have some fun.
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
A buffet of Yes indeed.... it's beautiful and wild.
@sueprator9314 3 ай бұрын
S&G's style so evolved from the folk era. They were questioning who we were - where is that America.
@lyallbenjamin1045 4 ай бұрын
Paul simon is the genius.
@michaelrogers7426 4 ай бұрын
Yes meets the Allman Brothers via Simon and Garfunkel… such an appropriate sound to represent America
@ashulman2008 4 ай бұрын
One of the finest moments for both bands. Yes total obliterates the poignancy of the lyrics, but its so awesome it doesn't matter
@trainman5323 4 ай бұрын
Dude you knocked it out of the park with this one. So smart to listen to both. And both are great for different reasons. S&G are special. YES. Musicianship to the max
@anthonyblakely399 4 ай бұрын
A little history..... Simon, Garfield & Jon Anderson were friends. Use to hangout and jam together. Yes was a cover band before they became this progressive rock god band. Yes would perform songs from other songwriters and bands like The Beatles or The Beach Boys....sometimes they perform show tunes. Well, this song they has permission to do on their album, "Fragile, " however "Fragile " became this concept album of souls coming from Heaven taking a Roundabout tour of life on planet Earth....."America," didn't fit the theme...so they left it off the original vinyl album. In 2004, remastered version of the vinyl album of "Fragile," the band decided to add, "America, " to the CD. Ok. Now I am ready to listen and see your reactions. 🎉🎉🎉
@owl-gd6ce 4 ай бұрын
bridge over troubled water by these guys..listen to that and feel the love..
@lindazee 4 ай бұрын
I once took a cross-country bus trip from NY to California with a friend of mine. It was the mid 70s. As I listen to "America," either version, I can close my eyes and still see the passing images through the bus window, the sounds, the other passengers, and all that entailed a bus trip across America, along with many mixed emotions. This powerful song captures the feeling of that experience so well. I love both versions. It wasn't until many years later that I picked up on Chris Squire's nod to the other "America" song by Leonard Bernstein (from the musical West Side Story). Clever guy. Clearly, YES appreciated Bernstein's songs because they also covered Something's Comin' from the same musical. 💚
@dlk44 4 ай бұрын
Love this song . Have heard Simon and Garfunkel version. Didn’t realize YES did it . Awesome
@195511SM 4 ай бұрын
David Bowie opened 'The Concert For NEW York City' with this song....back in 2001.
@derekkannemeyer2375 4 ай бұрын
I do like the Yes version as a musical reinvention but unlike, it seems, just about everyone else commenting, I just don't feel it lyrically. To me, it does no service at all to Paul Simon's empty and aching text, and I wish that they'd written their own new words. Oh, and what people seem to forget is that the S&G song is part three of a seven piece suite-mostly, amazingly, in free verse, but incorporating an "old people's voices in conversation" section. The parts bleed into each other, and the "Bookends" theme is split in two to frame them, so on the album you really can't miss that it's a suite. . It's actually longer and more complex than the Yes cover of a section of it.
@procopiusaugustus6231 4 ай бұрын
💯
@gpg9516 2 ай бұрын
What’s the point of covering a song if all you’re trying to do is evoke the same emotional response as the original version with a few new nuances? If the same old same old is what you’re after, then Yes in their prime is not what you’re looking for. I’m pretty sure that if Paul Simon had been worried about it he would have refused permission for them to record or perform the song. Yes also took a fairly lackluster Beatles song and turned it on it’s ear with great results.
@derekkannemeyer2375 2 ай бұрын
@@gpg9516 Refuse permission? Why? I'm all for covers that refresh the meaning and impact of a song. For me, this one succeeds musically, and fails lyrically. I'm not after the same old same old, I'm after something that fits and reinvigorates. To you, apparently, and a lot of people, this setting of the text does. To me, it leaches it of all its power. (Again: NOT musical power. The music is excellent.) Lyrically, the S&G version breaks my heart. With this one, I feel, narratively, zilch. Just a total disconnect. I'm sure you would feel similarly unaffected by some of the stuff I love. I really, honestly apologize, though-not for having a different opinion but for coming on the site to say it. It's not fun when you love a piece of music to have your enjoyment spoiled by naysayers. I've experienced that myself and I don't like it.
@gpg9516 2 ай бұрын
@@derekkannemeyer2375 my statement about permission was in reference to the songwriter himself. Appreciation of the arts is entirely subjective and no two people will have exactly the same opinion or even love for a piece of art, music, literature etc. nor should they. And you have nothing to apologize for regarding your opinion or even having to express it online. This is a forum for sharing opinions, reactions etc. No right, no wrong, no absolutes. I didn’t grow up listening to Simon and Garfunkel other than playing Mrs. Robinson on the jukebox at Sunday morning breakfast so my experience is going to be different from a lot of other people and I get that.
@jessicalee7119 4 ай бұрын
Simon and Garfunkel ~ Pure Magic! The list of Paul Simon's songs is a loooonnng one! Highly recommend all of them! There is also a book about his life that is well worth your time to listen to. This song, America, is one of my favorites 🥰 The, Yes version of this song sounds like a ride on a Harley Davidson motorcycle instead of a quiet Greyhound bus! lol!
@jimdukeproject 4 ай бұрын
No one does a song better than Yes. They progged this one out.
@user-fc8lz1cg4x 4 ай бұрын
Have seen Yes several times live back in the 80's. Jaw dropping every time. Saw Rick Wakeman with Ringo's All Star Band too. Ringo used to have some great musicians for his tours. It was a twofer. 😊
@user-ek7vx9rq2n 4 ай бұрын
Thanks Lee because last week I asked you to be a good boy and cover America and to my delighted surprise you did 😊😊😊😊
@nealeger8154 4 ай бұрын
The Yes version also encorperates some musical bits of "America" written by Leonard Bernstein for the musical West Side Story.
@wendellwiggins2900 4 ай бұрын
❤ great reaction. "THAT, THAT IS" song.. surprise your YES fans
@jameswarner5809 4 ай бұрын
I'm a huge Yes fan, but the atmosphere that Simon & Garfunkel generate in the original is unbeatable. You feel like you're on the bus with the protagonists. The Yes version would have been better as a completely different song with different lyrics. They totally ignore the wistful, melancholy mood intended in the original. Don't get me wrong, musically, the Yes version is great, it just seems almost sacrilegious to detract from Simon & Garfunkel's vision. Regarding the acceptance speech, Rick has always been an amusing speaker.
@andrewwallace4481 4 ай бұрын
Rick Wakeman was the host of Live at Jongleurs Comedy Club! his Humour Comic Genius is legendary 😂
@halweiss8671 4 ай бұрын
There’s a place in there where Chris Squire, on his bass, plays “America” from West Side Story.
@HRConsultant_Jeff 4 ай бұрын
Always a fan of Yes,, but I have to vote for the original by Simon and Garfunkel. The feel and impact of the song is so different. This came out at the height of the national passion to put on a backpack and thumb your way across America in search of something new and different. This is why we had Woodstock and other events with thousands of migrating Americans.
@joelliebler5690 4 ай бұрын
2 magnificent versions that are equally great in their own spectacular category amongst the top of their mountains in each !Bill was a virtuoso who could blend in when needed!For me Tales turned my head upside down though cured my insomnia. The YES album, Close To The Edge, and Fragile along with the live Compilation of The YESSONGS album was the pinnacle of the band. Then they Taled off a bit!
@Newfie-zc7ug 4 ай бұрын
You're hitting the Classics now..with The Floyd, Neil Young and Simon and Garfunkel..........keep it goin'....... :)
@kimberelyanngunter6341 4 ай бұрын
I always interpreted it as a coming of age song.. stepping out in the big wide world and grabbing it by the balls. Fabulous song!❤
@rk41gator 4 ай бұрын
Such lovely meaningful music.....S&G were special. As you say, subtle; but sweetly cynical too. Bittersweet? I feel blessed to have grown up with them. Every folksy tune they created was immense.
@michaelwebster8389 4 ай бұрын
Just about my favourite of their songs - but there's a whole lot that are around equal. Such a brilliant and short time together - perhaps about 6 years.
@ignatzmuskrat3000 4 ай бұрын
There is a dvd or two of Rick's grumpy old man tour where he tells us his charming and vulgar stories.
@johnthegreek5836 4 ай бұрын
Simon and Garfunkel were one of the best duos, even though they weren’t together long, with Paul Simon’s songwriting they created masterpieces, I’m also a huge YES fan and their cover was definitely more elaborate especially musically but I did like Simon & Garfunkel vocals slightly more
@julianbarber4708 4 ай бұрын
Played the S&G version at my partners funeral service, two years ago. Also, We've only Just Begun by The Carpenters, Bird of Paradise by Snowy White and a bit of Finlandia, as she was Finnish.
@pwethman1 4 ай бұрын
If you listen closely about 2 minutes in, Chris’ bass line is the vocal line from the West Side Story song of the same name! Very clever!
@cmichaelanthonyimages2197 4 ай бұрын
Talk about a jam. This groves from start to finish. Steve and Bill kill it big time. Not to mention Chris, Rick and of course Jon brings it all in. This was deserving of a music award, but they are prog. Need I say more.
@rk41gator 4 ай бұрын
Rick Wakeman is really a good standup comedian!
@steve-qe1sv 4 ай бұрын
Great song, in two different forms, by two iconic groups. Loved your reaction, well done!
@Squarewave39 4 ай бұрын
So great that you’re listening to the song through the point of view of the album and the year it was recorded it’s important to view them from what was going on around them in the history of the times this song by Simon and Garfield was monumental and influenced millions of people it’s an important song in history
@ritagryphon222 4 ай бұрын
I love S&Gs original... I like your reactions too (:
@jeremygray1331 4 ай бұрын
Set aside politics. When he first ran for President Bernie Sanders used this song behind one of the most effective political ads ever. It’s almost as good as the benchmark Reagan’s “Morning in America.”
@TheProgCorner 4 ай бұрын
Amazing.
@Lightmane 4 ай бұрын
Can you imagine how hugely popular it would be if Rick and Jon and Trevor and Bill all got together with the current lineup of YES, for one last show?
@jonathansmith3742 4 ай бұрын
I would be there.
@Lightmane 4 ай бұрын
@@jonathansmith3742 as soon as they came to Chicago, I'm there.
@jeffschielka7845 4 ай бұрын
@@LightmaneJust take out the current line up and it would be great!👍😎
@Lightmane 4 ай бұрын
@@jeffschielka7845 LOL
@peteharper2687 4 ай бұрын
I love both versions of America.
@martinreed5964 4 ай бұрын
if you like Rick humour, check out his narration of the YES acoustic rehearsals...more spinal tap than the actual spinal tap
@michaelr4063 4 ай бұрын
The only other comparison that would mirror this would be the original “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Croft vs. the re-make by The Isley Brothers (aka. Summer Breeze pts. 1 and 2 by The Isley Brothers). The original is perhaps one of the greatest most thought provoking pieces ever recorded and the re-do by The Isley Brothers turns it up just as Yes did with ‘America’, as well as adding a slick ‘Mick Taylor-esque’ (Rolling Stones) guitar solo to finish it off.
@jeffschielka7845 4 ай бұрын
Hey Lee! Glad you took my suggestion to do the Americas back to back! It's like night and day. Was hoping for a live version from YES.👍😎
@L33Reacts 4 ай бұрын
You and like 20 other people, Jeff 🤣 nah, studio all the way. That was great! There's a surprise after as well :)
@lesblatnyak5947 4 ай бұрын
@L33Reacts well the best live version is from Keys to Ascension
@jeffschielka7845 4 ай бұрын
@@lesblatnyak5947 👍😎36
@jeffschielka7845 4 ай бұрын
@@lesblatnyak5947Great version 36. Try the version where they play on the streets on NYC. Look up Fox After Breakfast.👍😎
@lesblatnyak5947 4 ай бұрын
@@jeffschielka7845 I stumbled on that live, it was raining that day or else I would have been working.
@heartoftherose 4 ай бұрын
Yes blows my mind, but Simon and Garfunkel break my heart.
@lisarainbow9703 4 ай бұрын
Just imagine if Yes had covered "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" by Simon and Garfunkel.....🤔
@kenrobins6262 4 ай бұрын
If you got an answer to your question, I missed it... it's a soprano saxophone in the Simon & Garfunkel version.
@TheCybertiger9 4 ай бұрын
Yes lee your right, the song tells a story
@MilosDaddy 4 ай бұрын
I hghky recommend that entire "Bookends" album. It's superb!
@onsesejoo2605 4 ай бұрын
Adding "America" from "West Side Story" with bass. :) Actually Bill Bruford plays some mellotron parts on this as Rick Wakeman apparently hated doing this song.
@michaelnorris7353 4 ай бұрын
In those days many of our generation were on the road not only trying to find what America was about but also trying to find ourselves. Being in the now was very important to a lot of us.
L33Reacts
Рет қаралды 6 М.
Classical Composer Reacts to FRANK ZAPPA: The Adventures of Greggery Peccary | The Daily Doug Ep 779
Doug Helvering
Рет қаралды 23 М.
Andrew Rooney Drums
Рет қаралды 45 М.
KillBimu
Рет қаралды 15 М.