Authored by Dale Nickey:
Yes – America
The greatest Prog band in rock history started life as the greatest covers band in rock history. They followed the template of The Vanilla Fudge and decided extreme makeovers were the best mode of expression for material already recorded definitively by the original artists. Original artists Simon and Garfunkel gave “America” a mopey, existentially ambiguous reading. Yes tore it a new asshole and drove it off the cliff.
The track belongs to guitarist Steve Howe; who took the track as an excuse to catalog every American guitar lick in his arsenal. The guitarist himself cites Delaney and Bonny has his jumping off point. However, there is much more to enjoy than guitar solos on this track. This version careens from slow to fast and soft to loud. It further boasts Mellotrons, odd meters, wah wah congas and gleefully swipes musical quotes from Leornard Bernstein’s “America Suite” as well as “My Country Tis’ of Thee”. An edited, single version of the track exists for the convenience of classic rock radio and should be avoided.
THE MUSE PATROL 