| Yes – Awaken Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The first time I heard Awaken was live at the Chicago Amphitheater in 1977. Wow. I was in high school and working as an usher at the concert. About halfway through the opening band, they let us go for the night. So we changed back into our street clothes, and went back to an area where we knew there was some space. About this time, I was just figuring out the piano and all the cords. I was also a major fan of the Who, who were all about 'chord patterns'. But the came Awaken, which Awakened me to real music. The first part did grab me, with the back and forth theme. The music itself seem to say, "I keep going through the same shit. Go up, and then cascade down to where I started." It's all in minor chords. But then they wander into some major chord, and the music takes a turn for the more positive. But then it pauses for the middle part. This involved a floating triangle in the dry ice smoke taken around by Jon Anderson, and they had a killer laser light show going on, which you never see when you just listen to album. (Trust me, it was killer on hooch.) The music then got more intense. It seemed almost menacing. But then it seemed to want to try to resolve itself. Be happier. When the lyrics "Master of Things, Master of Light.." start, it becomes a glorious piece. The major chord progression slowly starts to be ingrained, but then quickly going into crescendo. But then it backs off, and Wakeman starts his Church Organ Solo. As an aspiring keyboard enthusiast, I was enthralled. Again, similarities to Close to the Edge, but unique in its own way. But they were just building up to the big ending, the chord progression to God. I still wish they would have played it more than once on the album, because they played it about 3 or 4 times in concert. I was reading the Simarillion at the time, and it seemed to me that I was listening to Ainulindalë, the musical creation of Middle Earth. That's how much it rocked my world. It inspires me until this day. There have been time when that has made me cry, it's so perfect. Thank you Yes. To me you sit with Beethoven as composers, and you set the standards by which all other contemporary musicians of your time should be judged (if that's actually necessary) on your respective instruments. Oh, and Jon Anderson is perfect too. Yes is perfect, all the way from Awaken to 5% of Nothing. But then for a real Bill Bruford album, one must turn to Red by King Crimson. Immortal stuff. These were truly gifted musicians who inspired me to this day. What was it about the time period between 1964 and 1974? God descended to earth and touched so many. |
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