Awaken

And so, dear reader, our journey through my top 8 songs (as per the Desert Island Disc format) comes to a close, with 15 minutes and 31 seconds of prog rock joy courtesy of Yes. You can listen to the song here.


I've blogged previously about my thoughts on both the soap opera that is the regular changes in the Yes line-up here and what I think of their last album here.

In the same way that much of my affection for 1970's music was acquired, by listening to albums over and over again at a friends house, I first remember listening to Yes following my friend Nigel having a Damascus Road type conversion to their music. This was after "The Old Grey Whistle Test" (a British rock show) broadcast a 1975 concert. The gig was live at QPR's football stadium and Nigel went straight out and bought "Yessongs" the band's triple live album from a previous tour and played it to us at every opportunity. As it was six sides of music, there was always a side to listen to, that we hadn't heard for a couple of days!

Awaken comes from the band's 1977 album "Going for the one" (GFTO), which was the band's first new release since I became a "fan" and it was issued on 7/7/77 which was just before I started work! This meant that I had money and could actually buy the album some weeks later rather tape someone else's. In fact I could also go and buy the two 12" singles released at the same time, which still have pride of place in my vinyl collection.

GTFO was very much a re-launch for Yes, as it marked the return to the line-up of keyboard player, Rick Wakeman, who had found the excesses of Tales of Topographic Oceans, too much. but when he heard the working demo's for this album, returned reinvigorated! It was also the first album for five plus years not produced by Eddie Offord (the band produced it themselves) and the album cover was by design company Hipnosis (best known for their work with Pink Floyd), not long time album artist, Roger Dean. It was also recorded in Montreux, at Mountain Studios, which Queen would later use to record among other songs, Under Pressure, with local resident David Bowie!

GFTO is a fairly short (39 minutes) five track album, but in my view, it is the high point in the Yes canon.  I will never tire of listening to it and Awaken as the last track brings the album to a stunning climax.

If someone asked me to play them a song that for me defined "prog rock", I would be hard pressed to play them a better example than Awaken. For a start is effectively two pieces of music, moulded together with an introductory and end section that bookend the piece superbly. The song starts with Wakeman on the piano showing off and then leads into Anderson singing about "high vibrations" over ethereal keyboards and guitar. This then leads to a guitar track that starts the the first half of the song which is a rock workout with Steve Howe's guitar work showing what a great player he is. Over the top Jon Anderson sings about "the workings of man" and bass and drums thunder around with a church organ in the mix as well!

It's the second half of the song, however, that takes it to epic proportions. In the mix, Yes add, timbrels and harp, with the church organ now quietly over the top. This church organ part builds as Rick Wakeman puts the organ at Eglise des Planches, Montreux through it's paces. Added to this then comes Howe with some beautifully fluid guitar soloing. The rest of band join in, with again some great soloing from Howe and Anderson's voice adds his falsetto/angelic magic (including the lyric from which this blog gets its name!) and then the church choir (yes really) put a choral harmony over the top to which Wakeman now playing thunderous organ takes the whole experience to a truly spiritual level. Howe then solos for his country and the songs just builds and builds until THE chord change at 12' 48" just makes you punch the air. The track finishes with the choir and Anderson reprising the beginning of the song in a gentle angelic way that finishes the track and album off perfectly.

Music like this just makes the world a wonderful place.