YES - THE GATES OF DELIRIUM | FIRST TIME REACTION
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- Опубликовано: 14 дек 2021
- #Yes #Relayer #Reaction
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Reacting to:
Artist: Yes
Song: The Gates of Delirium
Album: Relayer
Released: 1974
Genre: Progressive rock, Jazz fusion.
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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS 
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This song needs context. It's a musical interpretation of Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' broken down into 3 parts. 1. Preparation for war. 2. The battle itself. 3. The aftermath of the battle.
Once you know this suddenly the battle section makes sense. The rythm sounds like galloping horses, warriors clashing. The band members raided a breakers yard and took car parts back to the studio and set them up on a rack then bashed the hell out of them, finally pushing the whole thing over at the climax of the battle.
The final part 'Soon' was released as a single in cut down version but for me the beauty of the song is best experienced after the chaos of the battle.
I hope this brings the context needed to appreciate the chaos and transition through the piece.
Try listening again with this story in mind. It's a much easier listen and you get to appreciate the musical representation of war which for me they do brilliantly. ☺️
Really good description and analysis of this song, David. I was 17, a junior in HS when it came out...I remember a lot of my friends had a difficult time digesting not only this song, but the entire Relayer LP. It was a totally rad LP for its time.
only a real yes fan knows it's about war.cudos david.
Well said. That contrast of the first 2/3rds with the last makes the end more beautiful and peaceful and the first part more intense. Visual artists do that kind of thing also.
Nicely said.
Well done!
GATES is a complex song that you need to listen to several times to start to memorize the passages. It just gets better and better with every listen. This is what makes it so great.
Absolutely right. First time listen I didn't get it. Didn't even make it past the first 5 minutes. It took me listening to other albums to finally return and take the time to listen to it. Once I dove in, it connected and it took me away. One of the greatest pieces of music ever created next to Turn Of The Century and Awaken.
Gates is one of many masterpieces from YES. I've been a fan for over 50 years and have seen them 214 times. Best band on this or any other planet!😎
Damn right
This song is wild and intense, but once you hear it several times it becomes so cool, it just works.
This is the song with the most powerful message of YES.
The composition of the song is perfect "Introduction to war → Start of war → Destruction → Prayer for peace". With the addition of a jazz keyboardist on this album, you can hear the improvisational interplay of sounds.
Especially in the first half of the song, the exchange of sounds by the talented musicians is a war and the sound is overwhelming. The second half of the song, "Soon," which comes after all that has been played out and there is silence, will leave you in tears.
Wakeman was great but I'm really glad they took this interlude with Moraz. He was fantastic on this album.
the instrumental section that starts at 08:59 is just unbelievable.
Moraz added so much to this album !
you have to listen to this album a few times before it sinks in.
Loved this album since it came out in 1974. The best Yes album for me.
Fragile
@@emiliacanet9960 Edge :)
Close to the Edge, Gates next, Yes Album third.
Fish Out of Water from Chris Squire can be second one
You don't need drugs to trip out. All you need is some YES.
My wife can't listen to these: freak her out too much. Too vivid.
@David Listen to this over many years get stoned or a bit of Acid it blows your mind
Smoke a pipe it sounds next level
Every time I hear this song and I have been listening to it for almost 50 years, I feel the sameshivers inside. Especially, "Soon O Soon." I cry EVERY TIME! It's like HEAVEN!
The more you listen to this song the more you anticipate and understand the transitions and their motivation for them. I totally understand howon a first lesson this song can be chaotic and overwhelming but once you know it it’s also very beautiful and inspiring. Give it a chance it definitely grows on you when you know what’s happening.
Exactly.
Guys!!! you need to listen to this some more. It may take a couple more times but you will eventually get it. This is truly a masterpeice of music. The whole song! Greetings from Tennessee, U.S.
When I was a teenager, I had a band that we used to write heavy rock with (around 1978) and I remember one of the guys bought Relayer... We listened to it in the dark, lying on the floor, and when the Soon part (The Gates of Delirium), we opened the window and the light illuminated our faces...we were crying... Keep in mind, this was in Uruguay, where rock news hardly reached, except for a single rock radio program that it was called "Youth Meridian", one hour a day.
Months after this, the arrival in our country of the album "Going for the one" was announced. I bought it without having heard anything about it, and we repeated the operation: listening to it in the dark in my room with the guys from the band.
When we finished listening to "Awaken", all shocked by what we heard, we came to the conclusion that this was the pinnacle of symphonic rock progression. We weren't wrong, because the 80's arrived and everything was already below this level reached both in composition and execution of the instruments. Steve Howe is one of the most underrated guitarrists in rock history, ranking above many who are supposedly famous.
THANK YOU Y E S, for having allowed me to make contact with my inner self when I was very young... Sometimes I feel sorry for all these teenagers who believe that rock began with them...
I was 16 when this album was released in 1974. My first listen in 1974 was similar to yours: Soon was immense, and I didn’t really understand the rest! Second listen helped, by the third I was hooked! It’s now one of my top two Yes songs of all time. But along with The Ancient from Tales From Topographic Oceans, it’s also one of the most “difficult” Yes songs. Do persevere, it’s worth it!
George is Toast! Ha Ha!
George, my friend, imagine being really high and seeing this LIVE in CONCERT! It is not for the weak!
YES is extremely powerful live! The old YES that is. They really catch you off guard with their live show. Hearing this at TOP VOLUME is also part of it.
Impossible to describe the concert experience. It just blows you away.
One of the very best live bands ever.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing, as I watched him.
On Saturdays, after an interesting afternoon in the woods, at our local common, Tripping, we would go back and listen to the best prog albums and
Have a few smokes. Perfect end to the day.
Like you said, it’s not for the weak, but then, doing all that was the norm to us, every album we bought, every concert we went to, you just took it for granted
that your mind was going to be blown away. That’s why I love seeing the younger people, discovering the stuff we were raised on.👍
This is definitely one of those songs that takes a few listens to fully appreciate. BTW, the main sound in the last section (Soon) was Steve Howe playing a steel guitar. I would love to see you react to Siberian Khatru by YES, I think you would really dig it.
Yep, steel guitar + glass slide + volume pedal at the beginning of every pluck
Yeah I had to listen to it over and over to really appreciate it.
I became a huge Yes fan in 1972, but when I first heard this song I thought similar to how you reacted. The song was almost too much. It took another two listens before the song clicked and the pattern of the music made sense. The song is about war, the lead up to war, the actual war itself, and then the aftermath that leads to peace and hope. The group actually cut the beautiful end section away and released it as a single called "Soon."
I guess I've been listening to Yes for so long that their music seems perfectly normal. It sounds so beautiful I don't care what it means.
The live version on Yesshows and open the gates are the best live renditions I've ever heard
This!
@@stevo43068 This what?
@@alanweissaltz1882 the Yesshows version.
agree...the yesshows version of Soon is just...i'm speechless
@@alanweissaltz1882 When somebody just says "This!" they mean like pay attention to this comment or they agree with you.
This is a Masterpiece!!!! Thank you for finally answering my request!!! I hope you enjoy it!!!!
Thanks for requesting it. My favorite song by my favorite band.
Boys the song is about war and a battle. War is hell. Thus the music is perfect. YES!!!!!!
Delirium is the name of the song for a reason. A song about the horrors of War...!
Patrick is right!!! The song is based from "War and Peace" by Tolstoy. Men were going into battle and then after the destruction....like in Lord of The Rings......people beginning their lives again!!!!
The Chaos has to come before the Calm, all intended to be disjointed, and jarring, but the musicianship is incredible, the ending is Universal. "To Be Over" is Ultimately Positive
Yes likes to drag you through some uncomfortable/chaotic bits and rewards you with the most beautiful musical resolves you can imagine.
Close to the Edge. Relayer, Topographic Oceans, three unique albums with nothing to compare them to. Absolutely stunning music, the Holy Trinity of Prog Rock.
Don't forget "Going For the One" especially for the magnificent "Awaken."
@@nilsen589 How many decades since you listened to it?!!!
We sit down waiting for 'a song' and, instead, are taken out of our expected comfort zone and brought into a musical opera.
Despite the many transitions, it is a wonderful unified whole. One of the truly great compositions.
The clue is in the title - Delirium and it is a war as depicted on the cover. It's suppose to be the madness of war. When I first heard this in '74 it was a shock. It was a new guy on keyboards - Patrick Moraz with totally new sounds and not the dulcet tones of Rick Wakeman. I didn't like the first half of this track. Took me a while to get into it. I would only play the last 10 minutes, but gradually I did get round to understanding. I played it through my speakers rather than headphones, and that helped alot. I enjoyed it more & more that way...but the ending song !!!!!!! That just blew me away....and still does over 45 years later.....One more important point - MP3 streaming is the worst possible way to listen to this track. I have listened to the album on vinyl I bought in '74 and a cd , and the mp3 version is terrible ! - The songs meaning ? - Surviving the war and seeing the sunrise and realizing how precious life is, and our right to live as we choose.
In Yes music, there is more to the word sun than first meets the ear.
"To Be Over" is the best song on this album.............
You need to work up to this classic by Yes. This is advanced prog and if that’s not your cup of tea, well.. it’s strong tea. I am a lifelong fan and really love this piece. Most of their songs are on a spitirtual level and positive. This one is about the clash of good and evil; war and peace.
Gracias George & Patrick por esta reacción. Escucho Yes desde hace más de 40 años y este album siempre me pareció INCREIBLE. Y como pasaba con estas bandas icónicas de los 70, estas canciones de más de 20 minutos eran toda una vivencia para escuchar. Era imposible permanecer indiferente ante tamaña obra y sobre todo al hermoso final de Gates of.........................!. Abrazo desde Patagonia Argentina!!!
Soon, after the Battle scene is truly one of Yes's Greatest emotional moments ever !!!!
Jon's Voice and Howe's Amazing Beautiful Steel guitar playing with the Mellotron soaring in the background !!! : D
"The Gates of Delirium" - Yes, this is a real challenge. I love this song.
The craziness in the middle was the delirium part. Look up the word. You enter the gates and come out the back in to peacefulness. Its.brilliant.
I'll write this comment before the end. I have been listening to Yes over 50 years now and in my opinion, this is the best Yes song of all time. "Yours is no disgrace" also comes pretty close. Hope you love it.
Yeah baby!!! G.O.D..... YES FOREVER!!! THANKS BOIS...🥰 This goes right into "SOON" I saw this live also...Its based on Tolstoys. War & Peace....Love the reaction, YES was a Drug..❤🎄💯
Guys - Much gratitude for your journey into Yes! It is the type of music that requires many listenings in order to appreciate and understand what's going on. So it's not easy to follow what's happening on just a first listen, and may turn off potential fans who have not taken time for repeated listenings. To that end, may I suggest a more accessible yet progressive band called The Dixie Dregs, with guitarist extraordinaire Steve Morse. Specifically check out Night Meets Light from the album What If. Trust me, you will not be disappointed! Enjoy!!
This song is for YES experts only. Unless you've listened to lots of other music by them and are a seasoned fan you can't really appreciate it. You need to know what the song is about. The beginning is a preparation for war. Then that crazy music in the middle is the battle. Then the peace at the end. For a long time I had "Close to the Edge" as my number one favorite but as I listened to this one more and more, this just barely edged it out and is now my favorite YES song. One of you got it right during the reaction when you said "I feel like this is a war". That was the perfect reaction. Try playing this while you do some aerobic activity. It will energize you and the time will pass by very fast. I must have heard this a thousand times and I never get tired of it. You can't just play this once. Keep listening to it.
I can't have a favorite I love them all. Squire was a genious and miss him .
This was my favorite Yes song from the very first time I heard it.
My all time favorite by YES as well. Bought this album the day it was released.
@@frankmarsh1159 Ditto, loved Moraz's influence.
That's true!! it's a masterpiece!! Yes it is a Band from another galaxy! I'm a fan maybe since the end of the 70s! Yes is not a Band for any Person!! because I recognize that his lyrics are very complex as well as his music!! ✌🏻✌🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Guys, I would highly recommend you get the Symphonic Live DVD recorded in Amsterdam, 2001. They play with the European Youth Festival Orchestra and it's a stunning combination. The Gates of D version is killer, IMO. Complex, not always an easy listen the first time, but then again, the concept of war probably wasn't meant to nice and comfy in a composition. That's why the 3rd part, "Soon" just brings you down from the chaos with a degree of resolution and peace. You have to admit, not too many bands could come up with something like this.
No shame in knowing you need to listen to a piece more than once to completely or better understand it. I did for this song. And I was already a fan. This song will sound more amazing the longer you listen to it.
How cool to witness you guys listening to this for the first time. Thanks George and Patrick!
Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth.
Many others have commented on the context of this song. Well really it is a story in music. Jon Anderson drew inspiration from books he read. Well Tolstoy's War and Peace was on his list. Once you know this the whole context of the song becomes crystal clear and it becomes yet another Yes masterpiece. You have to listen to it many times to hear all the sounds, themes and messages in this work. You can hear screams in the war section for example. Now you have some more background enjoy this masterpiece with new ears.
I always imagined A medieval village plagued by an evil and a group of men (YES) go into the pit to do battle. The guitar taking the part of the evil, the keys n bass are YES. You can hear the guitar getting weaker, more disjointed as it goes on. Finally, the guitar is beaten and he joins the band with full vigor. Soon is the journey back up towards the surface, the light.
"Too much madness". This is how wars end, when everyone feels this way. The fire must burn out.
You mentioned war.
Amazing perception.
The song is based on The novel War and Peace.
Goodness this takes me to my bedroom when a teenager, I adored this track ❤
For me this is an exceptional example of what prog was capable of and love every minute of this fantastical musical journey. Maybe for some it takes a few listens to get acclimatized!
Every second should we say
You know what guys? You cannot assimilate such a masterpiece in just one shot. You 'd have to listen to it a few times. And it would help to know more about the meaning and the signification of the song. The first part is about war and the madness of men craving for power and destruction. And all that ,madness fades away, slowly, naturally, to lead us to Peace and Love: 'Soon, oh soon, the LIGHT, pass within and soothes this endless night...'This song is eternal. Even today, with the WAR going on in Ukraine because of the madness and the fear of a single human(or a few of them), this will turn on to stg different. And after all this is over, the TRUTH will reveal itself. Yes was a very progressive and Spiritual band, led by Jon Anderson. And I saw this piece of music LIVE in 1975. No wonder they've always been my favourite band...
Seeing and experiencing it front row is incredible! I can still feel it! Memories!❤️ Gates deserves to understand the story within the song, and definitely listened to more than a couple times. It’s a ride and Yes fans appreciate the skills and imagination in this Album! 🤘
George and Patrick, as has been written before to Yes' Annals, Yes' Gates of Delirium was inspired by Russian Novelist Leon Tolstoy's Masterwork, War and Peace. You, we, are here Witness to Yes' take on these Themes; of Conflicts, of Wars, of Deliriums they Breed and then of hopeful and subsequent resolutions of Light and of Clarity - of Peace.
"Sounds like a war and now everybody's dead."
Fabulous reaction guys!! Lifted to see your first time reaction to this. Yes! Back in 1996, hearing this at age 19… I felt like a smashed potato too! Delirium was probably the greatest 20 minute + track ever committed to tape!!🥂👍💫💪🎉
If you haven't already done so, you guys should listen to !Sound Chaser" off the same album, "The drummer is killing it..."
Can't go wrong with Yes!
One of the best guitar songs ever...never seen anybody snap their fingers to it though...
The last section was released as a single called "Soon."
cudos to David's perfect analysis. First off YES are known for the brilliant changes to advance and visualize scenes that develop the story. 70s YES were not a band that cared about allowing you to groove out on an extended rhythm & most fans loved that about them. This story about descending into war builds extremely well from contemplating war, marching to war then into the battle itself and the victory before ascending into the futility & the hope of ending wars forever. LIsten again and you'll understand the pacing & the incredible build up into the madness.
After listening to this masterpiece many thousands of times..I would not change a singel note. Its perfekt. Thanks guys for a great reaction.
You have to follow this up with 'Close to The Edge' guys. You'll seriously appreciate it I promise you ☺️
They already did it. Check it out. Great reaction.
Guys you definitely must hear Heart of the sunrise by Yes. The song defines what prog rock it is ;)
Greetings from chile
The song is very loosely based on Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace". The first part was war, after which came "Soon" - peace. Also, don't forget Yes had a new keyboard player then (and only on this album), Patrick Moraz (from Switzerland) who was more inclined on the jazz-fusion type of sound (think Chick Corea). Yes also wanted to change the musical style a bit. The first time round, "The Gates of Delirium" may really overwhelming and overbearing, but, believe me, in time you'll like it, then love it. It is, in fact, one of the greatest pieces by Yes, and one of the biggest rock pieces ever written.
Ah...
I'm in an office, so I need to hold off watching until I'm home. But, I can hardly wait to see all y'alls reaction to this.
Guys! I watched this last night but could not leave a comment. I wanted to say a few things. If you are diving into Yes and Prog rock in general, this song is definitely not the place to dive in. Since Close To the Edge, these longer pieces cannot be appreciated on a first listen. Gates and Soon belong together and you have to know what the songs are about before listening.
That said, I was out driving today to go visit my Mom and listening to my favorite music and had a few thoughts.
1. You MUST listen to We Have Heaven and Southside of the Sky from Fragile. Together… one after the other. This is Yes before they went to 20 minute epics. The music is just too good to miss.
2. I was thinking of my brothers and how we are all going through some tough times, and how much I appreciate them. And I have come to really like you guys the more I watch. You are reallly just great nice guys and could easily be my brothers, so I appreciate you guys too. So don’t give up on Yes but maybe start with the earlier stuff and go from there? I will watch!
I discovered Yes when I was about your age, back in the 1980s... FIrst time I ever heard "Soon" was at night, on Walkman headphones, while walking across campus under the stars. To this day I believe it is the prettiest song I have ever heard.
The pace and sound of the first part of the song correlates to part of the name of the song; "Delirium"
My favorite band!!!
Relayer. What can you say? One of my all time favorites for damn sure! The cover art alone is great. Somebody in the past tried to convince me that one of the riders is Jimi Hendrix. Hhmmm.....
Well done ,lads... a lot to take in but over the years it becomes a favourite.
I loved your faces guys!! I have been listening to YES since I was a child because of my parents and I love their music, you are reacting to the best prog rock of history!!! Congrats!!
I bought the lp when it was first released; liked it so much a cassette was purchased so I could listen to it in the car. Somehow the tape became twisted in such a way that the music only played backwards.
I sometimes would loudly play the backwards tape as I rolled up to stoplights, just to see the nearby drivers look at me as though I was from another planet. Ah, such simple pleaures of my misspent youth.
When Yes put out a new album out back in the 70s, it usually took a few listens before I 'got used to it' and decided I really liked it. First time listening quite often had a WTF effect, just like your reaction.
Saw YES in Vancouver B.C. Relayer tour. Unreal. Alan White on drums a fenom.
That piece was wrhitten in reaction to war and peace from Tolstoï. War and after. Live it was exactly like that; Imagine the light show, chaos, smoke, all kind of stage forms and shadows. Unfogettable in1975, and still now, a warning, war is death.
I loved seeing your reaction to this outstandingly great music! Having been into Yes since 1970, When the Relayer album was played live in 1975,
I went to see them 8 times in that year. Just loved it.
I’ve watched a few videos now, of people discovering Yes for the first time and the pleasure they get from this mind blowing music is so uplifting, then
afterwards they are speechless, just as you two were.
So glad you had a good experience. Thank you. 👍
45 years ago my first reaction was one of being overwhelmed by the sheer density of it.But I already knew from my peers that it would take 4 or 5 listens for it to make any sense.
I’m glad I stuck with it,cos present day it still affects me like nothing else
I used to listen to this every morning on 8-Track tape in my 1973 Dodge Charger on my way to school my senior year of high school in 1983. It was a wild ride! 😆🤣😂 Jon Anderson's voice is absolutely perfect for this piece of music 🎶
love your reactions So glad you're finally doing Gates, but one has to listen it a few times to hear it and when you do it all becomes whole. The last song of this album "To Be Over" Is more easier to grab on to.
Lads. Its a interpretation of War and Peace by Tolstoy. First section is the start of the war. The second is the conflict and battle. The third part is after the war and the peace that followed.
The first listen of ‘Gates’ almost always leaves people in shock.
Once you know the story behind this MASTERPIECE, you will appreciate it much more.
Enjoy😁
I don't think that there was ever a Yes album that I really liked first time, (and I have to admit that even as a massive Yes fan, this was a tough one) but like with all good things, you have to train your palate. Listen again, and again, and again, maybe just have it on in the background, and another time really scrutinise it, and then suddenly you "get" it, and it just gets better and better, and you never lose that. The stuff you really like first time round is superficial and quickly palls. Albums used to be expensive, and as a kid I had no money so had to rely on getting them for birthdays and Christmas. They were rare and wonderful, and if I didn't like an album at first playing (and by that, I don't mean I hated it) I'd just listen over and over, mostly in a dark room, lying on the sofa - totally immersive - until the music "clicked". I still do this to this day and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes I hate stuff so much that I can't even bear to try the process I've just mentioned. (Sadly, that goes for a lot of contemporary music, but there are occasional gems). Music is so fickle now. You don't have to save up your pennies to buy it. You can hear it anywhere and so much of it doesn't get the attention that it deserves. It's throwaway. You hear it for free (on whatever platform you use) and there is no investment; it's just so easy to dismiss. Treat it like a fine wine, and savour it.
Thank you for posting.. yes i will always Love so much. 2023 n forever they are mind blowing . Not many can grasp.the intensity of this. Nothing like this in the universe.
Great! FINALLY! Thank you. I've seen this live, it's pretty mind blowing. I just really wanted you guys to hear this at least once. Yes can be difficult at time. If you listen to some of the shorter things you might get a better idea of what they're about.
Well finally - an honest review on RUclips! I'm fed up looking at people waxing lyrical about complex songs that simply can't be absorbed and fully appreciated on first hearing. Oftentimes songs by Yes/ELP/Genesis etc. have many disparate sections that need time to analyse and to become acquainted with before becoming loved. The same applies to classical music.
The music of Yes for lifelong fans like me is a major part of my musical heritage; I naturally would love other people to be able to appreciate it in the same way and to gain as much enjoyment from it as I have, but I can understand that Prog Rock isn't to everybody's taste. To some extent you had to live through its development period to accept some of the excesses!
I would prefer if reviewers would be honest about how they felt about a song instead of pretending to like it because they know that they'll get more views that way.
close to the edge was epic and they were very very good at the times i saw them live 3x-70's
I had to smile when you said "It sounds like there's been a war and now everyone is dead." Without actually knowing what the song is about, you just showed how well Yes expressed the intended theme of the song in purely musical form (with no lyrics).
You'll need to listen to this again, and you will understand more.
Again and again and again...
If it’s any help I felt the same when I bought in on release around 1975. It’s complex but a fantastic musical experience- the way the band intended. Not a note or instrument struck without purpose…. 👍👏❤️❤️❤️❤️
This song is a represation of War... at first there was the tension, then the invocation of War.. then the war, then the aftermath, then the coming home, the message of Peace. Soon of the Soon the Light of peace.
You cannot get YES by listening to them once, it takes time guys 👍🙏
"Soon" at the end of GoD shows exactly why Yes is Yes. Contrasts and movements to convey a much larger meaning in a composition. It's more than just sticking "i, ii, iii, iv" in a song (even though this doesn't even do that.) They know how to use dynamics: loud/quiet, hard/soft, fast/slow, complex/simple, long/short... Whatever it takes to make a song that best conveys the meaning to the listener, because Jon certainly didn't do it with the words; he did it through the sound of his voice, the phrasing, melody, etc. Voice as instrument. He did say that he would go back to the lyrics and put a meaning to them. From interviews, the meanings of the lyrics would change over time, which is even cooler.
They once said their goal was to be the new Stravinsky. And, with respect to rock, I think they did.
Some bands may have done some parts of what they did better, but no one comes close to doing them *all* as creatively and consistently as Yes. IMHO, Mike Oldfield comes closest but he's not as well known. But he's popping up in more and more of these reaction videos. AFAIK, no one's done "Amarok" yet. The first song on the album is definitely the best.
All of these Yes reaction videos give me hope that *true* prog (by my definition, of course ;-) will make a comeback. Prog metal, really isn't. It focuses on technique over all. None of the subtlety of of Yes or the compositional brilliance of Yes.
Mike Portnoy played part of Tales with Jon. He said something, loosely, like ~the individual parts aren't too hard to play, but the *overall* structure was challenging.~
Based on your conclusion, every complex song needs multiple listens. Anticipating the changes adds to the enjoyment and are no longer jarring. Except those where they are meant to. FWIW, I actually *dis*liked this song, when I first heard it (early 80s). And the second time, and... It's only recently that I place it second after "Awaken" in my favorite Yes songs. But it's also the same with other prog bands, as well as classical like Stravinsky, Dvorak, (non-Bolero) Ravel, etc.
Other comments have explained it more in detail, but as they have said, the first part is the buildup to war, the ugliness of how men turn against each other. The second part is the war and the horrors of war, and the devastating destruction that war causes, that's why it was so chaotic, they used music to make you feel the chaos and destruction. The third part, SOON is about coming out of it, with hope, peace, and love. Give it a listen again, it takes a few listens to get used to the middle section, but it all works together, and when the third part, SOON comes, it's all worth it. The entire album is amazing. Check out SOUND CHASER that opens side two. It will blow you away.
i listened to this album for almost 3-5 years on and off. This and Close to the Edge (album) are, IMO, their grand entrance into prog rock. They represent pure experimentation and confidence. I am so lucky, as many of you are I am sure, to have listened to this in our lifetimes. The musicianship is incredible. I think a collaboration with Prince, David Bowie and Yes would have been pretty cool.
That's not madness, that's passing the gates of delirium.
The first part is the state of this world in war, chaos and turmoil, after so much death and anguish they came to their senses and peace (last section) was restored, my explanation, so in that regard the whole song makes sense
I like to think this song is where The Mars Volta got 50% of their inspiration from.
I think when listening to YES it is important to read the synopsis behind the song. Reading why the song was created gives a more meaningful approach to the reasoning. The GATES iis in the plural. There is more than one gate.. For me there are three main points to this song. The first being the anticipation and trepidation of going into a war. This can create delirium. The second being the delirium of fighting and war itself. The intensity of the mind created by this activity. The third being the contemplation of what you have just experienced as a taking stock of the madness, violence and survival, the bravery and the purpose, viewing it from an opposite state of mind. It conjures up so many thoughts, you want to understand them in their rightful place. Three separate dynamics of delirium where delirium itself can be the understood as the intensity of thought that cannot be quietened because of trying to be rational over your reasoning. That for me what this song is all about. It is my favorite YES song of all time. It takes YES as being the most progressive of the Prog rock genre to the highest in progressive of the whole of the YES catalogue. I love it.
I have been listening to this since it came out. I still love it. Not quite the equal of Close to the Edge, but a true masterpiece.
I'm back .It just takes more listens to comprehend the beauty of the arrangement. It's about preparing and entering war and battle until the outcome taking us into the futility of conflict. WAR AND PEACE. ITS A MASTERPIECE beyond explanation
Appreciate your honesty guys. This isn’t for all. It’s not chill (except the last part) and it can bring on feelings of confusion imo. It’s best listened on your own and in the dark, you might connect more them
Try the Yes tune “AWAKEN “ from Going For The One album. I think you’ll like it a lot.