Bass Vid - Yes - The Gates of Delirium

0:00 - First section
8:03 - Second section (Instrumental)
16:11 - Third section ("Soon")
///
OK, bear with me here because I'm gonna get long-winded on with this one, both musically (well, it IS a 22 minutes-long song!) and in writing.
For me, Gates has always been the most fascinating song from Yes' catalogue. I used to listen to it on loop on bus rides to and from school, and it had always been a fantasy of mine to learn and play it on bass (and with a band, but I still never got that chance).
I started learning and rehearsing the song on-and-off about two months ago. My objective was primarily to do a full length, one-take, no edits video cover of the song; an endurance race, but for bass, of sorts. I also wanted to take the opportunity to study and stay close to Squire's playing, phrasing and tone without having to resort relying on gear using a pick (no disrespect to pick players, I just suck at it).
Here we now are, with my humble (but lengthy!) homage to Yes and to Chris Squire's memory; certainly one of my favorite bass players ever, and me having learnt a lot from this experience on my own playing, memorizing techniques, and the aspects of my playing I want to improve.
///
Now, I'm not experienced in writing up musical analysis at all, but still, allow me to share some ramblings and thoughts on what I think are interesting moments from the song - if I got any of this wrong or you have a different point of view to share, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
The "Listen" interlocking pattern;
One could say most of the song revolves around this pattern in different forms. Amazingly, I never managed to figure out if there is any logic in the construction of the rhythmic component of the pattern. Admittedly, I didn't look that deep into it; I think the thing to do would be to break it down into rhtyhmic cells and figure out if there is a pattern to how they're laid out. I ended up memorizing each different iteration as long non-repeating phrases. If anyone knows the secret to it, I'd be curious to know!
1:30 - First iteration; it's three parts here - voices (melody), guitar (melodic counterpoint), and bass+drums (rhythm);
5:49 - The melody part of the pattern takes center stage, supported by a wonderful harmony part from Moraz's mellotron choir (possibly with Jon Anderson's vocals layered in there?); I named the pattern after the lyrics to this section;
6:23 - Melody and rhythm parts now, with an amazing new counterpoint from the mellotron choir; this is an elongated version of the pattern with new chord changes; the pattern evolves over the changes, it does not seem to repeat or reiterate (that I could notice, at least!);
7:11 / 7:21 - Now just the rhythm part with the guitar's melodic counterpoint from the 1:30 iteration;
21:13 - You'd think they'd be done with using the pattern, but it does come back very subtly here (I had never noticed before having to learn the song!) - the rhythm part on the bass + a very soft plucked instrument (could it be Anderson's harp?) or... some sort of glockenspiel. Nice final twist when you're trying to get a perfect run at the song :)
To go further, one could even argue that many of the other melodic and rhythmic ideas used and developped in the song are variations on this pattern as well - the many rhythmic patterns used across the instruments in the instrumental middle section would be a good place to look, for example.
///
.
Other interesting misc. tidbits;
17:41 to 17:56 - The bass part repeats the vocal part in canon for a short while, and joins in unison-ish at 18:00. Caught me off guard the first time I noticed, and I'm still amazed by this little piece of melodic writing on the bass; one of many examples of why I consider Squire a master at composing beautiful bass parts.
18:42 - I'm fairly sure you can hear the wires being "turned on" on Alan White's snare here!
///
Huge thanks to Philip Roy for lending me his camera to shoot the video in glorious 60fps, doing some image correction and lending his time to produce the final render.
Please check out my band, Contemplator, if you're interested in hearing more stuff from me!
contemplator.ba...
/ contemplatorband

[@fppenque]

I fell in love with this piece of music the very first time I heard it the year it came out in 1974, at the age of 14. It blew my mind. And you sir, nailed it. Chris Squire is the reason I play bass to this very day.

[@Lineageholder]

Billiant playing! It makes you wonder how Chris came up with these lines, incredible!

[@peaveydog2111]

🐟 I bow to you. This is the best song humans have written in the last 100 years. And I loved it from the first time I heard it. If Chris would live, he would adopt you. Thank you so much, that shows how much work and art went into this song and what a brilliant musician Chris was. And you too. Whow. It looks like I have a new favorite bass player... ✌

[@Eduardo-Long]

I feel the same. First song I heared from Yes, in '76.

[@davep8221]

Except for when I'm listening to _GoD,_ _Awaken_ is my favorite. But for a lot of pieces, the one I'm listening to becomes my favorite. The best thing is that the moods of the songs are so different; each will scratch a particular itch. I didn't like _GoD_ for a long time, in fact it just clicked for me a year or so ago, after listening to it for decades.

[@tommyd1871]

​@@davep8221come on boys you have to give CTTE some love. That song started it all.

[@arthuroffen7879]

Superb! Good God that low verse line I never noticed! Sooo bad ass! Tremendous job!!❤

[@Rowenband]

Incredible. I like the power of your playing, the agressivity, and every note is on the right place. Thanks for sharing this.

[@buzzkemper]

What a treat! In the videos I've seen of Yes performing this piece, the camera is almost never on Mr. Squire's hands. Now I can finally see how this is played. Nicely done, sir.

[@lesblatnyak5947]

Wonderful wonderful wonderful. Loved the contrast between pick and fingers. 🙏🍁

[@enkiitu]

Pick?

[@richardball8365]

Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Excellent. And in the hundreds of times that I've listened to this track it's the first time I've had such clarity on the bass part. What a truly unique and creative bassist Chris Squire was.

[@scrambaba]

Beautifully played…utterly gripping to watch and listen to. Deserves many more views. The bass is brutal in this song, very rough until the last part. I didn‘t realize just how rough until I watched this. Thank you for this.

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

13:12 😤😤 das what I’m talkin’ about. God I love that riff. Killer tone for it too. That low E is sounding mighty thunderous!! ⚡️⚡️💃🏻💃🏻

[@bernielomax532]

Bought this as vinyl as a 15 year old when it first came out. Wore the grooves out on this! Really good example of prog at its pinnacle. Great job at replicating CS. He was one of a kind.

[@DougKercher]

Chris would give you 2 thumbs up.

[@johncase2408]

Good job! Squires bass lines are so interesting. They're like the track of a Rollercoaster that guides the band.

[@CPacaud]

100% agree with you! A huge part of what makes Yes's music so special for me is the incredibly deep interplay between the bass and the rest of the music. It helps that the band's music was an amazing playground for Squire to spread his wings, too!

[@johncase2408]

Chris must have learned alot about counterpoint when he was in the boys choir.

[@eduardoOlima]

One can never get tired of listen g such piece..... 50 years or só

[@The_Baobab_Tree]

Very, very good. You absolutely aced it. Faultless.

[@rjrudi1]

Your technique and commitment to this piece is outstanding. I - like many others - looked forward to seeing how the section beginning at 12:52 came into being, physically. We consider that portion to be some of the most beautiful music ever conceived. But it needs someone like you to lift it from the paper, and bring it to life. Thank you!

[@willguyer]

No question of Chris' genius. This is a great demonstration of that brilliance.

[@johnroenigk7846]

In my humble opinion, this is an important piece of music alongside classics like Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Musical Offering or The Art Of Fugue, Gorecki’s Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs, time-capsule stuff to speak of human possibility. Certainly a pinnacle of Yes’ considerable canon of work. Your playing is impeccable and inspiring (even if you’re not using a pick, like Chris). Humbling for an aging bassist like me. You keep the ball rolling in style and with an understanding of the detail of the music and the spirit of the piece that will keep it alive for a good long while, perhaps forever. Yay!

[@danstewart9047]

Fantastic cover brother... No body better than Chris,rest his soul

[@David-iv6je]

Can you play "Owner of a Lonely Heart?" Kidding! So many people have no idea what Yes did. Lovely work on this, You did it justice!

[@ylmazmhmtcan]

What a great cover, congratulations! I wonder how Chris wrote this when it's so difficult to even memorize such a line. He was a real master. RIP

[@tommyd1871]

I've listened to Gates probably 1000 times, and I can't wait to listen another 1000 times.

[@derekcummings5429]

So very VERY good! I am especially entranced by CS's softer and slower passages at the end of this piece and on others like Awaken and Turn of the Century. - Such a light touch but conveying so much emotion! Well done, and thank you for sharing your talent!

[@chrislindley3847]

Brilliant performance...for you to deliver what Chris Squire created and played (and then you freaking memorized this) is nothing short of amazing!

[@Denon395]

Incredible performance... and your bass sound is phenomenal.

[@DWHarper62]

You are my brother 40 years ago... He became the asst. principal bassist for the Colorado Symphony... He knew every lick that Chris Squier ever played... Well done!

[@douglasfix7297]

For someone who wasnt even born when this was released you know this song better than I do and I was 18 at the time

[@massimoperli1696]

The great thing is that you managed to render tone and technique born with the pick using your fingers

[@Magnetron33]

I saw YES over 40 times. I saw them play this several times. I consider it Squires masterpiece. You nailed it! Thank you so much! It made me cry! Thank you for your dedication. What a magnificent tribute! You are an amazing player!

[@CPacaud]

That is one of the most wonderful compliments a musician can hope for. Glad I could give you a nice moment, especially in these weird times. Thank you for taking the time to write this, makes my day. :D

[@Magnetron33]

@@CPacaud Thank you for taking the time to figure that out so meticulously. Squire was an incredibly thoughtful player and your analysis bears witness to that. I saw them the 1st time in Chicago 9/22/1972 the week Close to the Edge came out. Bill had quit and Alan learned the material on the plane. It changed my musical life forever. There are bass only tracks of CTTE and some others and I and many others have sought out the isolated track for this. I feel I no longer need to look. You have it right here! Once again, I have seen Stanley Clarke w RTTF in 78, I saw Jaco in the early or mid eighties with Weather Report and I have seen Victor Wooten with Bela Fleck on 911 and here locally as a solo and as great as they all are, Squire will always be my favorite. You could obviously play with ANYBODY! Now I am going to watch it again. Cheers!

[@CPacaud]

​@@Magnetron33 I get the feeling Chris Squire was the best of both worlds - a great musical instinct and a great composer. He could rock out with the best of them, but he also crafted some intricate melodic parts that created genius interplay with the other instruments, and made the compositions he took part in greater in the process. You obviously have great respect and knowledge of Chris's work, so to get such praise from you is truly heartwarming. Clarke, Pastorius and Wooten are of course giants in their own right too, so to even have them mentioned here is incredibly touching. Damn, music is awesome. I'm less familiar with Clarke (I've heard him through my father, a big fan), but Pastorius and Wooten have been huge inspirations for me. I have the incredible luck of being surrounded by fantastic musicians in my own circle of friends - all highly accomplished musicians who I get to play with from time to time - and sometimes I get the feeling like I get to play with future legends, so yeah, I won't get to jam with or chat with musical superheroes like Squire, but I'm blessed nonetheless! Thanks again!

[@Magnetron33]

@@CPacaud You really are blessed! My sister brought their first album home in about 70 and they already had, I think Time & a Word (Brufords favorite) I was just starting to try to learn guitar. I had musical friends and got them to show me some things . We started listening and had never heard a lead bass before. I never noticed anything about rotosound round wounds prior to that. Eddie was such a good engineer and producer. He put Squire up front with his rattling strings. Brilliant! Yours is no digrace was incredibly Squire and with Fragile, their fortunes were made when "bucketloads of money" according to Wakeman started coming their way and Squire was on his way to becoming a legend. Do you play professionally?

[@CPacaud]

​@@Magnetron33 That's amazing! I know there had been other innovative bass players before, but Squire's work with Yes must've been mindblowing when their stuff came out. I've heard stories about his main Rickenbacker having a unique sound because of all the modifications it had over the years. The man's fingers and pick stroke is a huge factor in there too, anyway. Depends on your definition of professional musician! I don't make my living out of playing bass in bands and such (but I do paying gigs from time to time), but I'm a full-time sound designer (sound effects!) and composer for video games. What about you? Do you play music?

[@vincecacioppo285]

Awesome! nice to see finger work!!

[@pensive_]

Freekin Yes !! Bless you. Fantastic! One of my favorite yes pieces/sagas. As a guitar player I know now who I would call if I ever should go on a Yes tribute world tour. It was a great pleasure to watch. You make Chris proud (pun intended) .

[@marcelor.montero3905]

Usted Señor esun ENORME VIRTUOSO DEL BAJO!!!! .... esta es una de las obras musicales mas perfectas que ha dado el rock progresivo ... lo de Chris Squire es la EJECUCION TOTAL . LA PERFECCION ABSOLUTA . EL MEJOR BAJISTA DE LA HISTORIA DE LA MUSICA, sin ningun lugar a dudas.....Lo que usted hace interpretando esta seccion de bajo es SUPERLATIVO .. OJALA PUDIERA TOCAR ASI...

[@danieljacob732]

Toute une main droite, bravo Christian! J'ai eu le plaisir de jouer avec ton père en 1971-72... de bons souvenirs!

[@CPacaud]

Merci ! Ahhh cool ! J'ai manqué ça, moi :D

[@josephmorse4318]

Well, that was nothing short of f****ng magnificent.

[@babarishka]

Holy crap dude. Just awesome. This should have about a million more likes. After listening to this album since it first came out, I finally realized a few months ago that the section that starts at the 12:53 mark is played differently by Squire in the first rep as opposed to reps 2 and 3. The constantly descending first rep almost feels like the floor is falling out beneath you, while reps 2 and 3 are simpler and more Rock. How the hell did he even think to do that, or the entire song for that matter? There's always something new to hear with Yes's music, even after decades of listening. It's truly an eye opener to see up close just how complex the bass line is for Gates Chris was all over the neck pretty much constantly. This is definitely one of their most complex tunes, the only other song perhaps as complex being "The Ancient." I hope you've posted this on Yes's Facebook page (assuming there wouldn't be any copyright niggles). I've played guitar since the 70's and Steve has been my guru for as long. Unfortunately, my stubby little fingers (and now, at age 61, mildly arthritic stubby little fingers) can only do so much. I've been focusing on learning many of Steve's acoustic tunes for the past couple of years, and although progress is slow, I've learned close to a dozen and my acoustic technique is gradually improving. According to a hand doctor I saw a few years ago, the only thing that has been staving off severe arthritis is just playing guitar more, so I happily trudge along as best I can. Anyway, thank you for that inspiring performance.

[@CPacaud]

Thanks! Hehe, I'm quite happy with the occasional thumbs up from people like you. A million likes sounds like too much attention to me :P Yeah the 12:53 section is amazing. 70's Yes sometimes feel like it's written like orchestral music, except it's multiple composers collaborating on the same piece. That descending line, to me, feels closer to how classical counterpoint is written than a rock bass part, but it flows into exactly that. Best of both worlds! I haven't posted this anywhere but on my personal social media pages. I trust it'll reach the ears it needs to reach in its own time! Cool thing about KZbin is the royalties for copyrighted material that's used in anyone's videos is redirected to the appropriate owners - so any money generated from this video, for example, theoretically goes back to the rights owners. I'm not seeing a single cent from this (never been the goal, anyway). Steve Howe is one unique guitarist - I wish I was talented enough to take some of those songs on, but I'm far away from that point :) That's awesome though that you're playing and learning and improving. I hope when I'm your age I get to do the same thing! My father also is an inspiration to me on that note - in fact, this year we started making video covers together in which he plays bass and other instruments, and I take on the rest (guitars, synths and arrangements, mostly) - you can find that (a Porcupine Tree and a Steven Wilson cover - if you're not familiar with the music, you might enjoy!) in my other videos.

[@babarishka]

@@CPacaud That's so cool that you and your dad play together. I'll definitely check out those covers. My dad grew up during the Benny Goodman era so for him, there was no good music after 1950!!! At least he was open-minded enough to buy me my first electric guitar and amp in the early 70's - a tiny Univox amp and a white Univox Hi-Flyer. Funny story: when I was about 10 years old (1969), a hippie guitarist (a son of a family that we knew - he might've been around 20) invited me to try his amp and electric guitar. I had only played a cheapo acoustic for 2 years. The speaker cabinet was the size of a refrigerator (it could've been a Kustom cabinet). So, I picked up his guitar, played a single note and literally jumped up in fright, as it was so loud that I'm surprised the windows didn't shatter!!!! That was a brand new and rather shocking experience. He laughed and was quite amused at my reaction. I couldn't look back after that - I was off to the races!!!!!

[@davep8221]

​@@CPacaud This is one thing people rarely mention about Yes... the classical *compositional* techniques they use: dynamics (loud/quiet, hard/soft, fast/slow), variations on themes, recapitulations, movements emphasizing particular moods (The Battle vs Peace ( _Soon_ ), the order of the movements in a song (again Battle/Peace), and between songs on an album. Not symphonic rock, but more like rock symphonies and other classical forms. Like symphonic, the styles are all over the map: _Sound Chaser_ vs _And You and I_ (&U&I), _CTTE_ vs _A Venture, _Going For the One_ v _Wondrous Stories._ Nothing sounds the same, but everything sounds like *Yes.* Some of the influences are clear, much of _Relayer_ is jazz fusion. Others aren't -- at least to me -- obvious. A major theme for _Yours is No Disgrace_ is *pure* country, but played ... differently. The influence is a *basis* for a section, but it's not like they're a country band for, say, 10 seconds. I never made the association. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWLZp2ajpNeprpI This a video with Steve talking about the making of _Yours is No Disgrace:_ The whole thing is fascinating, but this timestamp is specifically about writing that theme. He plays the original sitting in his home studio alone, then they cut to a live version of that theme. You do deserve some of the money and a few "cents" should go to you. This is kind of like a documentary, where you add insight, clarify, and show the brilliance of the composition and performance.

[@daniellacroix5086]

Ce morceau est un monument. C'est un pur régal que de voir interpréter de cette manière une ligne de basse aussi monstrueuse. Bravo !

[@louis.lake-music]

So powerful, so precise, so souly, so Squire, so YES ! thank you so much ! I cried

[@CPacaud]

Wow, thanks! It helps that the music is incredible. :)

[@hexagonalawareness3584]

Good shit, interesting to see you not using a pick.

[@georgeford3687]

Amazing! This came up due to all the Yes I watch. After, several appeared all using picks and sounded nothing like the original Gates. Chris would be proud.

[@CPacaud]

Thanks! I wish I was even halfway decent with a pick, though! Many of my favorite bass players use it. I guess it ended up influencing my playing style in the end!

[@NVP12345]

Probably because Chris used a pick :) I'm not a bass player but seeing as Christian here absolutely nailed this cover I think the tone, rhythm and intensity of the playing are the most important things. And obviously playing the right notes :)

[@davep8221]

Now, do it wearing a cape and high heeled boots, jumping around or standing on one leg ;-) He was a showman to be sure. If you haven't heard them, you should check out the Steven Wilson remixes. He's absolutely mixed them in the way *he* wants to listen to them; he's even said he realizes many people won't like what he did, so beware. They reveal a lot of stuff that's buried in the mixes, the most noticeable to me are Chris' parts. Too often, he just wasn't loud enough, except when bass is the "center of attention." The things he does that aren't prominent are often quite interesting (shocker, right?!), and bringing them to the fore is -- to me -- very revealing; lots of "I never noticed that!" moments, even after listening for decades. There's a bit where there's another harmony track by Jon that, IMO, was properly buried because he sounds a bit off. Steven clearly loves Chris and he is no longer buried (in the mix). Steve is often kind of pushed into the background in favor of Chris, which is good as a way to let the other guys shine a little brighter. Not for everyone, but is really worth a listen.

[@bobbyggare8364]

one take is amazing!

[@vaultmasterhd2316]

the finish on that bass is beautiful, a performance to compliment it... well done friend

[@CPacaud]

Thanks! The bass is nothing too fancy. It's a Korean-made Lakland from 2007 (judging from the serial number). It's my main instrument, I love it! I agree it does look really good on that video! The pickguard is one made by a friend, the original one was white - at some point I even had it "naked" with no pickguard.

[@vaultmasterhd2316]

@@CPacaud Cool man I've just purchased a Fender Jazz Bass which arrives tomorrow.. aged white with a red tortoise guard, birdseye maple on the neck. Very excited

[@CPacaud]

@@vaultmasterhd2316 Ohhhh that sounds like a cool looking instrument!

[@johnwallace3990]

Damn good sounding bass. Adventurous to do without a pick!

[@destincasimiro6984]

You did a very good bass work on this piece! I always wanted to learn this song but never wanted to go through the daunting task of learning all the parts. Now that I have found this video and see that you have done all the ground work. I'm going to learn it, so thank you Christian for that... Thanks for sharing...

[@CPacaud]

Made my day when I read your comment! I'm glad you found my cover inspiring. Go for it, have fun!

[@douglasfix7297]

Nice sunburst Rick that you've got there. Exacting playing and tone

[@michaelodonnell5710]

Every nuance and microtone of the studio version is burned into my neural pathways as I've listened to it endlessly upon its release since `74 so I regard myself as qualified to say the following: nice work, sir! And I'll agree with the other comments about how difficult it is to watch any video of any musical performance since there appears to be a WorldWide Conspiracy among production crews (I'm talking about YOU, cameramen, directors and editors!! ) to conceal *ALL* evidence of the existence of bass players. It's therefore nice to be able to watch a good player in action - thanks.

[@LetsDoEntertainment]

unbelievable. I am always telling people how great a bass player Chris was but most of his technical excellence is disguised in the many layers of YES. I just discovered these "bass cover" videos and I'm even MORE impressed with both Squires' ability to compose complex bass parts but also people's ability to play them back note-for-note without sheet music and in a single "take." Much impressed. Great work. Thank you!

[@andrelevesque2405]

Sensationnel autant à écouter qu’à regarder ! Et quel son de basse ! Vous êtes un virtuose, monsieur Pacaud !

[@CPacaud]

C'est très gentil. Merci André !

[@andrelevesque2405]

@@CPacaud Chris serait fier, même si ce n’est pas sur une Rickenbaker !

[@eckie4679]

Love your E string tone 😎

[@davit25]

Insane playing.

[@benjaminsanabria6021]

Impressive playing brother, wow thanks🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@alanglen6589]

Absolute stunning musicianship !! Well done !!!!! Bravo !!!

[@PascalNagat]

Bel hommage, Gates est l'un de mes titres préférés de Yes. C'est aussi un tour de force ! Bravo

[@richardball8365]

Just read your notes too. Cohesive, intelligent, literate. This is gold medal stuff!

[@CPacaud]

Woah, thanks Richard! Much appreciated. Some of it is admittedly a bit far-fetched, but hey, we're just having fun here!

[@richardball8365]

@@CPacaud Seriously, this was so good that I just watched it again! I mean, such a fantastic piece of music in the first place, but you have NAILED this!

[@user-yx9gz2rd5v]

Brilliant! Just wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

[@NickWebber-vp4pd]

Amazing cover…now i can appreciate even more what a true genius Chris was…

[@dnafe]

Phenomenal Job!

[@anthonydblackmore]

Impressive

[@daniellacroix-t9h]

As for the whole piece of music, the bass part for the Gates is awesome. All the guys on fire ! It's very impressive to see a player covering it so precisely. Without a pick ! Great great job Man !

[@andyhbassman]

Bloody brilliant! Thanks for sharing Christian.

[@nicodegallo7886]

This is great, your tone is perfect. Keep this up, you really did the song justice

[@rauldubois3910]

Una de las obras mas hermosas de Yes. Una de mis favoritas. Titánica labor montarla. Y hacerlo de manera extraordinaria nada fácil. Mis respetos. Gracias por permitirme ver el trabajo de Chris y el tuyo. Eres Chingon

[@marcinbaj3000]

cool video!

[@GabrielCyrGuitarist]

Wow!!! Quelle job de fou! Vraiment bon!

[@ronniefarnsworth6465]

Truly Excellent !!! : D

[@Eduardo-Long]

Brillant, the only I can say.

[@waynerandall9073]

You are my hero!

[@CPacaud]

Haha! No capes for me (I'll leave that to Chris, Rick and co.), but thanks Wayne :)

[@TheHerakin]

... impressive.

[@richfaille6244]

WOW - CS's genius really comes out when you have focus on it...and I am beyond amazed at your skill to play it so impeccably. Bravo!!!

[@CPacaud]

Thanks Rich! Reading your words is a great way to start the day :) Hope you have a good one too!

[@AntoineBaril]

C'est magnifique Christian!

[@stukevideo]

A most excellent performance!

[@The__Respecter]

Asti que tu arraches toute man! Bravo.

[@TA_Freak]

Wow! Speechless. Very nice!

[@marcobiolcati]

Absolutely AMAZING!!!! Great performance and GREAT SOUND!

[@dmbmdb2860]

Opera prima Masterpiece Obra maestra

[@Theodore764]

Incredible! This is executed perfectly!

[@bostonaudi]

Incredible- I find learning Chris’s bass lines to be extremely cathartic - they just make so much sense once you have them down, I find myself learning new melody structures. This was a monster effort - I’ve gotten myself through some parts of this song but never the whole piece - well done!

[@CPacaud]

100% with you, Chris's parts are immensely satisfying to play. The interplay between the instruments in Yes is just amazing.

[@eduardoOlima]

Incredible playing my friend

[@megasoid]

Well done.

[@volkerd714]

Dude. YES

[@johnnicholson8345]

Great job Christian. Now you just need a pick and a 4001!!! :)

[@Magnetron33]

What for? He already perfected it with his fingers. I saw Chris use his fingers occasionally, but for him, it was pretty incidental

[@johnnicholson8345]

@@Magnetron33 I'm pulling his chain. He nailed this.

[@chomusic]

You are awesome sir. Thank you.

[@robstearns7080]

Well Done Sir!

[@kikoissa]

Amazing bass cover!

[@billbigler1366]

Wow, wow, wow. Incredible job. I am a hobbyist drummer and cannot play this song well. It is a monster song. The way Chris and you play with Steve Howe in some places then trade like licks is amazing. And the same for playing with and then trading with Alan White the drummer is fantastic. Like some of the other Commenters I had never seen just the bass guitar play on this masterpiece. You are a master of your instrument. What do you think of Jeff Berlin and his playing with Bill Bruford on Bill's first solo projects? Have you heard them? All the best, Bill.

[@CPacaud]

Hey Bill! It IS a monster song, haha! I've been fascinated by it for as long as I can remember, and it was immensely satisfying to reach a point where I felt like I could finally tackle and tame it. I can't begin to imagine the rush it must've been for the band to pull this off live - I barely managed to play it in one go without major mistakes, and while I'm proud of it, achieving a full take on video was more stress than enjoyment (because I never got to the point where I was completely confortable playing it "naturally"). Anyway, I don't mean to deflect the compliment. Thank you, truly. I'm mostly familiar with Jeff Berlin by name and reputation, but I'm not familiar at all with his work. I know he's a monster player though (and actually played in one of the Yes live incarnations at some point I think?!).

[@billbigler1366]

@@CPacaud thanks much for replying. I had no idea you were a little nervous. You look so comfortable playing it. Now I wish I could follow your lead and tackle Gates on the drums. Cheers.

[@CPacaud]

@@billbigler1366 Do it, have fun! :D

[@victorsarmiento8835]

I LOVE this song! Thanks, you play it so well.

[@poodius7]

Superbe!!! Impressionant!!!! Très bien jouer!!! ...finalement un canadien qui fait Squire hommage. Surtout cette oeuvre fabuleux! Merci!!

[@psbarrow]

My favourite song, by my favourite band, and done by my favourite bass player. Wonderful stuff. 10/10 and a Koala Stamp from Australia.

[@sventheroadgod6662]

brillant thank you quite the undertaking you nailed it

[@kallyfest]

wow à partir de 10:50 tu es en feu ,pièce pas facile à jouer mais quand on joue Starless (tres bien en passant ) que j'ai vu au Club soda ,qu'est ce que l'on ne peut pas jouer ? Grande performance et grande Discipline ,merci pour la démonstration et le vidéo posté ici .

[@CPacaud]

Hahaaa merci! C'était tout un thrill à jouer live, Starless avec la gang de Prog Story :) Tout le setlist, en fait! Des bons souvenirs!

[@tayjayvideo]

WOW!!!

[@magicpassos]

Wool! Awensome!

[@patricerainville3234]

Just wow

[@polygraphovich]

Wonderful job!

[@gregorflea]

WOW. I can’t believe I just stumbled upon this. This is Fantastic! What a thrill it must be to play this. Done so well. Thank you ☺️

[@CPacaud]

Lots of fun to play! But as a musical challenge, to play it all in one go with a minimal amount of mistakes was honestly a bit terrifying! It took me 4 or 5 takes that day to get a version I was satisfied with, after weeks of rehearsal. Quite a ride, I can tell you!

[@sgmeero]

Wonderful

[@FormerCrat]

Well done!

[@DPJ_Nolan]

Just discovered this today, absolutely awesome, many thanks for sharing and great tone

[@VitaliyUkhov]

Respekt

[@trilingual6725]

Well done sir!!