One of the few albums from the Seventies, that I still love to play now and again is Two Sides Of Peter Banks, obviously by Peter Banks, but with Jan Akkerman and Phill Collins playing on some tracks. Some great guitar work on the first side of this album.
Peter Banks, gave yes their name and designed their logo, but was sacked after a couple of Albums. He formed Flash who made a couple of Yes like albums, before fading into obscurity. Here is the pretty sad story of Banks, after Yes.
Well you learn something new…
Why was he sacked?
From the link I inserted in my OP:
Following Time And A Word, the guitarist was ousted from the band, along with Kaye. The pair supposedly objected to singer Jon Anderson supplanting many of their recorded parts with an orchestra.
Didn’t Kaye play on The Yes Album?
Yes, Kaye lasted until the the end of the Yes Album.
Kaye would have been on keyboards when I saw them in Southampton on The Yes Album tour. That would have been around 1970-71.
Edit: 21st January 1971 according to Wikiwotsit.
I saw Tony Kaye on keyboards in David Bowie’s band at the Wembley Empire Pool in 1976.
Banks made a couple of other albums in the Nineties. Both can be filed under interesting.
Instinct and then self contained
Saw Yes at the QE Hall on the South Bank in 1970.
My main memory is that when Squire did his “Obligatory Pretentious Rock Bass Solo” bit, the follow spot stayed stubbornly on Pete Banks, despite the fact that he waved his hands over his head to show he wasn’t playing.
Had a revisit to “Time And A Word" recently, for about half a song. Post the punk revolution and all that’s happened since, the only question I now ask myself is “good grief, what was I thinking”?
Still got a soft spot for CTTE, mind, now and again.
Two sides of Peter Banks is good on the first side.
When I came across Pat Metheny, I left the world of Rock for Jazz. I too wonder how I managed to listen to much of the Progressive 70’s crap. Mid period Yes is still listenable, but much else has dated badly.
Ha ha, I ask myself the same question. I did hear Fragile a while back and quite enjoyed it. On the other hand I heard ELP’s Brain Salad Surgery and it made me feel physically sick.
According to a documentary a few years ago, the guy with the bigger amps and more instruments took over - in this case Steve Howe - who did at least stop improvising on riffs from West Side Story and had a nice line in acoustic playing. I enjoy Time and a Word though for nostalgia (bar the cover :-))
Tony Kaye played on the Yes Album and its early 1971 tour (which I saw at the Colston Hall, Bristol). Wakeman, by 1971 a well-known session star, replaced him in August 1971 and IMHO they weren’t really as coherent as a group again.
Yes were my favourite group up until Relayer, which I saw live at QPR. After that I feel they went downhill fast, and I lost interest. I feel they peaked with Close to the Edge.
I have a fascinating Steve Howe CD, where he plays some of the guitars in his collection. I get the feeling like a lot of Rock artists, his true musical interests lie out of Rock.
no hate for Peter Banks as he’s a great musician but this was one of the best firings ever
that gave us one of the greatest bands of all time and a great run of classic albums
some are mentioning he played on The Yes Album, i certainly can’t hear him or see him listed on the half dozen or so copies of this record i have
Wikiwotsit says he did not. It would be interesting to know the provenance of such assertions (early “roughs” perhaps?)
Mandela effect i assume
i’ve heard of this before too, but to be fair some albums require an open mind and a minimum amount of musical enthusiasm which unfortunately not all possess
Pray explain.
No, he did not play on the Yes Album. He was sacked before this album was made, during the Time and a Word tour.
