scratched a million on my checklist 3 years ago lyrics

Scratched a million on my checklist 3 years ago lyrics trial#

Given Fragile’s success it would have been very easy for Yes to have pursued what was obviously a winning formula. It’s a line that perfectly describes the point at which the group found itself in 1972 as they entered Advision Studios to begin work on Close To The Edge. As novelist Paul Auster once put it, “If you’re not ready for everything, you’re not ready for anything.” With these two parts of the jigsaw now locked firmly in place, Yes seemed capable of anything. Between the two of them, the new members embodied a technique that could be either as surgical or as flamboyant as the moment demanded.īoth also brought with them a masterly grasp of texture and dynamics, an element that had been front and centre on the multifaceted showcasing that was Fragile.

Scratched a million on my checklist 3 years ago lyrics trial#

While there was sometimes an inherent value in sifting through what amounted to trial and error, he helped speed up proceedings in a way that the band had, until then, all too rarely encountered. Within a few minutes of listening to something, Wakeman was able to explain or demonstrate what might be possible, where something might go. His formal musical background allied to his experience as an in-demand session player, where efficiency and speed went hand in hand, meant he quickly understood why one thing worked over another without the need to laboriously engage in a process of elimination. However, his real value was in his ability to remodel the base metal that accrued in the Yes rehearsal room and writing sessions there were numerous riffs, runs and sequences that all needed to be honed and threaded together. That he could replicate his talented predecessor’s work was a given. Wakeman’s arrival shortly afterwards was every bit as significant.

His debut was the very definition of hitting the ground running. Steve Howe’s impact on the band on The Yes Album was nothing less than seismic, shaking their sound from top to bottom with a galloping virtuosity that bordered on the rapacious, greedily swallowing any and all challenges with relish as they rushed toward him. The influx of adrenaline and creative energies accompanying such decisions didn’t just raise their individual game as players but formed the impetus that would put the band in a position where it would not only survive but evolve, grow and hopefully prosper.

In those early years it was indicative of a ruthless pragmatism that at its best sought to ensure Yes’ reach would always exceed their grasp, striving to always transform and improve rather than settle for the ordinary or average.īy actively embracing change and taking the difficult decision to part company with original members Peter Banks and Tony Kaye, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, and Bill Bruford were making a deep commitment to what Yes might become rather than what it was.

Injecting new talent as a matter of policy would always triumph over sentiment. This was not about finding mere substitutes to continue along a particular path. In 1971, the year before they recorded Close To The Edge, Yes had undergone two important changes in personnel.