In the 1980s Steve Howe met Paul Simon and he asked him if he had ever heard Yes's version of the song. Paul said he had and that he really liked it. In fact, he told Steve that he should have taken a songwriting credit for his amazing solo. Steve said he was quite taken with Paul's graciousness.

Strangely enough, it seems important to me to consider the year each of these was recorded. The first, by Simon and Garfunkel, was in 1968. A very tumultuous year in this country. America was heavily involved in the Vietnam War, the summer of love was just a memory by then, violent anti-war protest, Martin Luther King jr and Robert Kennedy assassinated. By 1971, the mood of the country had shifted considerably. Looking for America in 1968 meant trying to find what this country is supposed to be. History seems to be repeating itself.

My vote is for Yes' version. They take the core concept and expand upon it in their own way. I think the extensions, impressions, improvisations, changing tempos, and transitions tied to the original theme expresses the diversity of the subject, America. The song does appear on a deluxe version of the Fragile album that was released some years later.

I prefer the more quiet, pensive energy of the original. Not that this is bad, but I feel like Simon&Garfunkel were able to reflect the lyrics better, which makes sense, since they were the ones who wrote it.

I love Squire playing the chorus from West Side Story’s song, also called “America” (🎵 ‘I want to be in America’ 🎶), at 2:47. I file this song in the “Cowboy-Yes”-category. The “Cowboy-Yes”-journey began with “No Opportunity Necessary”, was improved with “Yours is no Disgrace”, and was finalized and perfected on “America”. Cowboy-Yes” did show up years later for ‘minor guest appearances’ on “The Revealing Science of God” and “Gates of Delirium”, but “America” is the culmination of that artistic tangent. My favourite part is Howe’s guitar solo. I love how the bass, drums and guitar lock in to a groove around 7:30. This song is twice as good live, and it was played on many tours. It’s is always a showstopper. The Keys to Ascension live version is superb.

I love this version even more than the original, which of course is excellent too. This is one of my all time favorite cover versions. It rocks!

Simon and Garfunkel's original is by all means a good song, but Yes turns it into a masterpiece. Every member shines on this song. Steve Howe is outstanding, his solo is probably my favourite guitar solo ever.

2:47 Chris play West Side Story's AMERICA theme on bass!

You're right, so different it's hard to choose but you don't have to, you get them both! The Simon and Garfunkel version focuses on the lyrics and vocals, while the Yes version focuses on the vocal melody with variations and new complimentary melodies. I love both and I don't have the choose!

Can see how yes fans would love this but I am more of a Simon and Garfunkel fan

I don’t know JP, this is a toughie. I seem to be in the minority on this one. I love Yes. There’s just something about the S&G version that touches me more. The poetry of that song and the soaring chorus towards the end with all the instrumentation always gives me goose bumps. Hope you had a great July 4th.

This is my favourite version but they're both the best.

You could do another Yes cover vs original with The Beatles Every Little Thing. I prefer the Yes version (of America) , it's also the first version of the song I heard.

Justin, I do believe this is my most favorite of all your reactions! Just loved it! What a wonderful gift for us on this Fourth of July, 2020!!!! This will be a reaction I will come back and watch again and again, as long as it stays up on KZfaq!!! What a freaking masterpiece this stunning cover is!!!!! Yes took this song and truly made it their own!!!! It is just a sonic joy, start to finish!!!! Between the transition in the music and the expression on your face at 4:12, I was brought to tears!!!!! Of course, it is not unusual for me to be brought to tears by music, and by Yes music especially! But I am just so touched by your emotional reaction!!!! Thank you so much for this fantastic, honest and entertaining reaction! I hope your Independence Day is as joyful as you made us feel with this video!!! :)

I often think that if you can't equal or improve a song by covering it then the song should be left alone .. this is exactly how I feel about this. It's interesting but doesn't do it for me.

This what it would sound like if Gabriel-era Genesis covered John Denver’s ‘Rocky Mountain High’.

S&G version is the salad. Yes gives us the full meal.

I agree that they're 2 very different animals. As much as I like Yes' version I get the feeling they completely missed the point of the song, this could have been any song they put through the Yesinator machine. Honestly the lyrics hardly mean anything but that's normal for them, their vocals are more an instrument than presenting a message or meaning. They convey a feeling or image but it's not the same feeling I get from the Simon & Garfunkel version. I like both.

The perfect song on the 4th of July! This version by Yes is just amazing! It was also released on the Album Yesterday's! Which has songs from their earlier albums! Always a great job of breaking down the song!

I'm liking the intro, the "Yes" part. Well. I love Yes, it's kinda impossible to not like this, but...the mood of the song is entirely changed. It's a different song. It's imminently listenable. (not sure if I spelled imminently right). So I"m enjoying it, but it can't even be compared with Simon and Garfunkel. Simon and Garfunkel are experts at conveying depression and hopelessness in a beautiful song! So, I will say I really, really like this a lot, but I love Simon and Garfunkel.

Well, I've known and loved the S&G version for almost 50 years. This is the first time I've heard this cover. So, I'm pretty biased. Yeah, I prefer the original. The cover isn't awful, but it doesn't capture the spirit of the story very well. In the original, I feel like I'm watching the story in a movie, and I feel the angst of the narrator. Much more emotional experience.

Know what's brilliant here ? Listen @2:46- Chris Squire (bass guitar, for the uninitiated) plays a snippet of "America" (altogether different song by Leonard Bernstein from West Side Story). Squire plays it twice, in quick succession. Listen, it's there...🇺🇸😎 Happy 4th Of July, everyone !! Today would've been my grandfather's 112th birthday, as well.

Don’t know where you stand on Bowie but he did a wonderful version of the song during the concert for 911. Poignant

You can not compare the two versions. They are both superb in their own right. Yes have just turned this classic Simon and Garfunkle song into prog rock and made a brilliant job of it. Depends on what mood you are in to which one you want to listen too. Love both versions.

Happy fourth, well timed viewing! Hopefully America can find it's way to a brighter future!

After ..."bowtie is really a camera" , the transition dovetails into an endless tapestry of magnificence . Extremely high level ensemble .

ladies and gentlemen this song is THE EPITOME OF IMPROVISATION BY YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s not the song versions that are better or worse. It’s apart from a song melody lines, this version is so far from Paul Simon’s original intention that I treat them as two different songs. They could Yessify so many songs, and will always be excellent.

This version is a perfect example of Picasso's statement - A good artist copies, a great artist steals out right and makes it there own. While the original is a nice song, this song is now a song by Yes pure and simple. This version is just amazing.

You are my favorite reviewer. Your breakdowns are insightful and technical. I was surprised that you didn't bring up that here is a British band, playing a song about America and during the journey, exploring MANY different genres of American music. Keep it up!!!

My favorite Steve Howe solo.

It's good but it's a bit of mess production wise. I prefer Simon and Garfunkel's simplicity in this case.

This is pretty typical of how Yes did cover songs. Not so much a cover as a complete re-imagining. They do some covers on their first two albums. Someone already mentioned Every Little Thing, on their first album.They also covered a song on their second album called No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed. This song was something they worked up after Howe joined the band. Apparently Tony Kaye was messing around playing what would become the very opening of the song, and Anderson heard it and told him to keep playing it. There are some early live recorded versions of it from around then. I believe this studio recording is from in between Fragile and Close to the Edge (perhaps closer to Fragile, since it ended up on the remastered album as a bonus track.) It was recorded for the Atlantic record label's sampler album called Age of Atlantic, and since Yes were one of their big bands, they were asked to provide something. By this time,of course, Wakeman was in the band. The song also showed up on Yes's first "Best Of" albums called Yesterdays, which featured tracks and outtakes from their first two albums. It is the only song on the album to feature Howe and Wakeman, IIRC. At the time of the recording, Yes were finally becoming more popular in America, especially with the success of the album Fragile, and particularly the song Roundabout. I recall reading that they really wanted to show the U.S what they could do, and I think they definitely pulled it off. What is interesting is that The Yes Album and Fragile, though considered Rock albums, were very English in their approach and sound. But for America, they really changed it up. The song as a whole has a fair amount of reverb on it. They quote the song America, from West Side Story, in the intro. (They also did a cover of the song Something's Coming, from the same musical, back when Peter Banks and Tony Kaye were still in the band.) Bruford and Squire really lay down a nasty pocket more closely linked to American Rock than British Prog. Wakeman's keyboards are downright jazzy at points (but I wonder if that was more Bruford's influence.) And Howe's playing runs the gamut or Rock and Roll, Country, and Roots music. This is one of his biggest featurings in any song. And just look at how his big middle section solo transitions seamlessly back to the verse It is that completeness of thought and playing that really sets him apart from most other players for me.

Great version great band vocals and harmony great musicians yes are great live and still are Steve's guitar work is brilliant best line up rip Chris

The difference in the two songs can be summed up in this way: Simon and Garfunkel's versions is as Americans, looking at America and wanting to find the greatness they've heard about, but the emptiness in their own hearts keeps them from seeing it.... The Yes version is like British tourists coming to see America and seeing America with the excitement of foreign eyes. Any emptiness they have is from being an outsider who will one day return home... I think the perspective difference is felt in the tone of the music and the way they sing different lines. It would be the same as me, an outsider, visiting the UK and not understanding what it is like to grow up there.

Steve Howe's guitar solo and instrumental work throughout this song is mindboggling. Truly fantastic--one of the best guitar solos ever by anyone!

This song is an absolute masterpiece!! The added bonus is if you grew up in Michigan as I have, and hear the elevated harmonies for the passage: "Michigan seems like a dream to me now Took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw All gone to look for Amer-America All gone to look for Amer-America" I get goosebumps every time. I have always loved this song, and always will.

I also have a difficult time choosing which version I prefer, I love both and appreciate the Simon and Garfunkel version for its whimsical storytelling and beautiful harmony as well as the music not overshadowing the beauty just enough to enhance it. The Yes version is just a incredible interpretation of how they imagine the story from their perspective. Instrumentation up front, Jamming to the original composition as a mere outline and taking the opportunity to make it a Yes song! Jon’s vocals are fantastic and enhancing the lyrics with his emphasis on not even trying to copy the original, instead making it his own. Both are fantastic and unique, which child do I love more? Both..

Wow - S&G and Yes fan for over 50 years and I have never heard anyone digrace a S&G song more than this.

Song For America by Kansas would be a good one to do today.

the Simon G version is untouchable... there's so much pain, longing, hope in that version that it just seeps deep into your soul.

If I recall, this song was released on an album called Yesterdays back in the 70's. Great everything!!

I love the tangent Howe goes on in this. One of my favourite examples of his lead playing.

S&G's original is poetic magic. I'll always love it. This, however, explores so much more of America's music through the guitar and bass. More greatness.

Finally someone did this song. I've gone on record calling this the finest rock recording of any song, the band runs through some extraordinary tempo changes for at that time a very young version of Yes.

Yes has my vote in saying that I love S&G

I think this is a great tribute to Simon and Garfunkel and this incredible song not to impersonate the original but to do it in a Yes version! I heard Paul Simon really appreciated this cover! ☮️❤️

I was one of those who recommended this song to you...glad to see you review it, and yes, your reaction was just as I knew it would be :) FYI, before Yes's period of Masterpiece compositions starting with The Yes Album, they had developed an exciting reputation (in certain circles) as one of those innovative bands--like Vanilla Fudge--that could produce high energy 'remakes' of popular songs that were originally a bit more 'pastoral.' On Yes' first album they a cover of the Beatles' "Every Little Thing She Does" that didn't sound anything like the original, but it did show off the band's creative talents in putting a 'hard rock' edge on otherwise melodic slow-tempo tunes that had enjoyed some popularity. This was a Chris & Jon thing who shared an interest in melodic tunes they could harmonize on. BTW, I thought I'd point out that at 2:47 Chris throws in a chorus from a Leonard Bernstein song entitled "America" that was composed for the play/movie "West Side Story" that was popular in the early 1960's: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/lctinMqLyt7Ufac.html (If you're pressed for time, it's at 1min 50sec) It's a little treat for those who were familiar...

I heard this version first and, not to dismiss Simon & Garfunkel (I love many of their albums), I memorised every note and word. It's a firm favourite with me. Lovely song, though. Congratulations to Paul Simon for turning a story into a song and not even caring about rhymes as it flows so well.

Yes has always been my favorite version by a wide margin.

My favorite Steve Howe guitar solo ever! It totally showcases his style!

Bruford, Squire and Howe are so freaking amazing 😉 on this! I wish Bruford had never left Yes 🥁 But I love him in the 72-74 King Crimson!

I love Yes, but i`m more into the original version i think. Sometimes quiet is the more sensible choice to allow the emotions to shine trough in the music.

Glad to see you are finally settling into yes. To me, they are the best blend of the ELPs and Gensises of the world. I am curious of your opinion on your older yes reactions, like heart of the sunrise, now. I believe you were not to too thrilled, then.

Ok, so to make a long story monotonous... I was born in the summer of '59 in So Cal, and listened to a ton of folk and then folk rock starting in the mid '60s. I started playing guitar the summer of '67 at age 8, and of course, was playing Simon & Garfunkel along with many other folk & folk rock groups. S&G's harmonies and lyrics just amazed me. Then Rock&Roll was really breaking out of the '50s vibe and I was digging it. First time I heard Yes was when Roundabout came out in '71 and I was completely blown away! WHAT IS THIS MUSIC?? Yes has been my favorite band ever since. My first introduction to Prog Rock, and I couldn't get enough. Naturally, I love S&G's version for so many reasons, but I also agree with you that Yes's version is NOT the same song. Same lyrics, indeed, but that's where it ends. They created something completely different, especially with Steve's amazing solos throughout. I love them both equally, and for different reasons. I really cannot compare them side by side. In my view, they are two different animals.

Agree.. abt it on an album.. they greatly admired the harmonies and I think they did it justice to it .. so i'll give it the edge

The song was "Yesified", as we Yesheads call it. It was released as a B-side on a single (I think for Roundabout). It is considered a popular concert favorite. Also on most Best Of compilations. It just wasn't released on a studio album at the time. One more thing: they actually omitted one verse from the original. "Toss me a cigarette...".

Hey JP. You are a great youtuber! Thanks for entertaining us so much.

Fun Fact: Steve Howe doesn’t use distortion on his guitars... which makes the sound he gets even more impressive.

Soooo glad you featured this wonderfully creative version of this song. This was EARLY Yes, my god, they were all in their early twenties ! Agree on your great analysis, including great respect for the original. I believe Yes was truely inspired by it. Wakeman was great playing, but his fooling around in the studio was hysterical. I'm subscribing now, just on the basis of this well thought out review. Thanks.

Love your clean content, Justin! 👍😁🌸💖

Everyone in the band does a tereffic job you say. That's true, that's Yes. A great song of Yes you have to listen to minimal 7 times, better 13 times. And then having a judge about you like it (for yourself). I always listened (from starting knowing Yes in 1971) to a track of Yes as a whole to get the atmospere of the whole song. Then I listen it back 5 times, each time really focussing on 1 instrument (voice as well) and then listening to the whole song again as a river flowing through my senses. And repeating that again. Yes means: most talented individual musicians can play together while still being individual musicians. That makes them unique!

I'm really happy to see you doing these two songs together. I mentioned listening to the original first a few months back but I didn't think about reacting to them back to back -- I think it worked great. When I first heard the Yes version in the early 70's I was familiar with the S&G original. I liked that song well enough, and still do, but I loved the Yes version. I'd almost always chose Yes' song over the original. Thumbs up!

Glad you played this Just-In time for Indelendence Day!

The Yes version is like getting lost in the city. It is claustrophobic and frenetic. Simon and Garfunkel present a sweeping cinematic journey through the landscapes of melancholic longing..." And the moon rose over an open field" Less is more, and to whisper is to drown out the noise.

You are a gentleman. You give me faith in the next generation.

The reason why the keyboards aren't as evident in this song is because the arrangement was developed and performed during the Yes Album tour while Tony Kaye was still in the band. I get the sense that Wakeman wasn't that into it (and apparently didn't even bother to play the Mellotron parts, that's Bill Bruford), and as far as I know there is only one known live performance during this era and it wouldn't turn up live again until '96 if I recall. The live versions from the Yes Album Tour are longer (up to 18 minutes) with Steve's solo not yet settled into this form. At one point it had what would become the solo in Roundabout. But on the Yes Album (and tour) they really let Steve take the lead in the arrangements, and as you can see here, he stepped up.

I am an aging Baby Boomer, and that no doubt influences where I stand: No contest; the S&G original creates a mood, an atmosphere. I can imagine myself on the bus watching the moon rise over an open field as we roll through the night. I can identify w/ the feeling of drifting through life w/ an uncertain future. (I attained age 19 the year the song was released.) While the Yes version displays some virtuoso guitar work and has the same lyrics, for me it arouses none of the emotions the original does. RogerC 6/27/24

The two versions are like a literary short story that has been used as loose inspiration for a Hollywood blockbuster. Yes use it as a showcase for the bluesier side of the band's improvisational skills and their phenomenol instrumental talent pool. The song is transformed into something completely new, in the spirit of jazz but in the progressive rock idiom: like taking a classic pair of Levi jeans, cutting them up and reworking them into a wierd and wonderful catwalk fashion statement piece. I like both a lot in different moods, but I think the S&G original probably has the slightest edge as an enduring classic, but having said that I listen to the Yes track more. It's a blast. It's just that other original Yes tracks have more lasting emotional appeal.

'From an original idea by... ' A significant re-imagining. An exciting work-out.

Both are great, just depends if I'm in the mood to rock or chill. I'd give it to Yes most of the time.

Simon and Garfunkel were pure 60s intellectual existentialism asking the big questions. Yes was a band that you either loved or hated. They certainly represented the 70s penchant for bombastic navel gazing and instrumental ad nauseum that turned progressive rock into the cul-de-sac musical cemetery that ushered in disco and as a reaction, the short-lived but necessary Punk.

Chris Squire sets his bass to "spin cycle" at the end of the song there.

Thank you so much JP for doing this reaction! It made my week! I knew you'd appreciate both versions, and I'm glad you liked the Yes cover. I definitely agree with you that since it wasn't included on Fragile or CttE, it can get overlooked by music lovers and Yes fans even. You are doing a great job man, and this was an excellent blessing for this day! You rock!

I became aware of Yes's "version" of this song in '76 or '77 when I was devouring anything Yes (still am, obviously). Even though the original was on an Atlantic sampler, they released an album called Yesterdays which was this song and 8 or 9 other songs from their pre-"The Yes Album" albums... sort of a Greatest Hits: The Early Years. I loved their take on this truly great on it's own S&G classic. Perfect Yes. Perfect. Great review and insight. Thanks!

This song is loosely a "cover" of the original S&G song, America. Yes, absolutely blows this song apart and away!!! 💜💜💜💜💜

This a Brit band taking us on a musical trip thru the US Every style is showcased by these masters. Delta blues, southern rock, country twang, LA paced vibe and then back to NY/Carib conga beat. Simon and Garfunkel version seems so parochial and local.

Really enjoyed your reaction and analysis! Thanks so much!

Yessssssssss !!!!

Why does one necessarily have to prefer one version? We love both versions equally. And once again your thoughts about the two different versions mirror ours. You are definitely our preferred reviewer on KZfaq.

As a huge fan of early Yes (all the way up to Relayer), I'm sad to say that I don't prefer their version of this song. It's got some nice ideas in it, it's played with their typical verve and energy... but. But I think it doesn't really gel as a song, and it doesn't seem to reflect the meaning of the lyrics all that well. S&G's original is beautiful, haunting and the music serves the lyrics so much better.

You're right - two different songs. Both can be appreciated for what they are but the Yes version just blew me away when I heard it for the first time on the Age Of Atlantic sampler nearly 50 years ago. Still one of my top 10 Yes tracks. It rocks.

This song is medicine to me.

Holy Crap, that was fantastic, man did I love this version and agree it doesn't have a cover feel. If I just heard both songs today, the Yes version would get my vote, however nostalgia will always win in my book. Man Howe is beginning to become one of my favorite guitarist. Loved the reaction.

I live both versions, but the Yes version will never have the beauty of Simon and Garfunkel singing the line "and the moon rose over the open field."

Not only am I a huge Yes fan, but I heard the Yes version of this song 50 times before I ever heard the original by S&G. Still, I can’t help but prefer the original for its evocative capturing of the emotions of trying to find oneself at that age. It’s lulls and climaxes are beautiful and haunting. I thoroughly enjoy the musical fun ride of the Yes version, but something in the original grabs me in a deeper way that goes beyond entertaining and into musical magic.

As far as I remember this was the first song recorded with Steve Howe as their new guitarist. The fact that it did not end up on the Yes album says something but they have played at live over the years because it became a fan-favorite when it was released.

This is so ridiculously good and I agree that it should have been on a Yes album. I can't compare it to the original because they're so different. Love both versions.

I am so happy you enjoyed this one and prefer this version of America...slightly! It is one of those classic YES songs that is not proggy at all. Yes, it has a progressive arrangement but it rocks out more compared to other YES songs. The jam in the middle reminds me so much of what other bands were doing in the early 70's. It reminds me of something the Allman brothers would have done. The country and blues guitar flavors along with the classic Hammond organ and Fender piano gives it a classic Americana flare. It is such a lost YES gem!

There were several mixes of this done. It was originally released on an Atlantic Records promo vinyl with multiple artists, then later released with more reverb and then a single version. I liked the original mix the best.

This puts a smile on my face every time.

I'd never really sat down and listened to this all the way through until now. Strangely, the jamming solo section reminds me of the Grateful Dead

An insanely great reinterpretation of Simon & Garfunkel's original with one of the best guitar solos in rock history. Yes is all about the chemistry between Squire and Howe. Funny this song never made it on one of their main albums, and only the compilation Yesterdays.

Took an innocuous,sleepy little “slice of life” S&G campfire singalong and did no less than assemble the greatest studio jam in the history of rock n roll.

I love this version The musicianship in This version of this great classic song is amazing I love Yes and I love Simon and Garfunkel So how guess I'll take the easy way out it's a toss up.

An album everyone ignores is the Jon Anderson-less "Drama" from 1980. Very underrated especially "Machine Messiah" and "Does It Really Happen?". Fascinating to hear some of the lines sung in a lower key!

There's a strong argument to say that Yes covered the version by a prog group called 1-2-3 rather than the original S&G version. 1-2-3 played at the Marquee Club in London during Yes's early years. You can find it on KZfaq, decide for yourself!

I first heard Yes' "America" on the Yesterdays compilation when I was 14. I heard the S&G version years later when I was in college, so having grown up with the Yes version it's natural that it would be my favorite. It still is, simply because it's such a mind-blowing instrumental tour de force with few peers. The Howe-Squire-Bruford workout must have been on their minds when they put together the opening to "Close to the Edge". There's some debate about whether Yes started working on this in the Peter Banks days. There are live recordings of it from The Yes Album tour with Tony Kaye, and considering the band was heavily influenced by S&G, plus their reputation for extravagant covers, it would make sense that it was being kicked around that early. But no recordings exist and they insist it wasn't begun until after Steve had joined. I get the sense that they wanted a song that would go down well on American college campuses, which was their early market in the U.S.

I just got the Wilson remix bluray.of Close to the Edge which includes this and listened to it yesterday. While I like it with the bass being the standout, I prefer the original. There were too many points where I didn't like Steve Howe's choices and some of his bits were arguable cheesy. Still good, but I prefer the original.

I am generally not very fond of covers but sometimes it can be worth it, as in this case. You are absolutely right. Yes has completely appropriated "America" to make it their own song, and that's what's attractive. what would be the point of making a faithful reproduction of the original? not interesting. I also like it when an artist transforms and recreates some of his own compositions for the stage (as David Bowie or Todd Rundgren did a few times during their careers). this is what keeps the music exciting and changing and not frozen for eternity.