On Practicing Guitar

Chris Squire passed away on June 27^th, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 67, as reported in theguardian and other publications. Squire was among a small group of dominant bass players that came out of the ‘60s rock music scene. The four top bassists – to my ears and in no particular order – are Jack Casady of the Jefferson Airplane, John Entwistle of the Who, Squire, and Jack Bruce of Cream. With Squire’s passing, only Casady remains.

From the first notes of “Beyond and Before,” a repeated and resounding D4 played way up at the 19^th fret of Chris Squire’s bass, from Yes’s eponymous first album, the rock world of 1969 should have known – a star was born. It took Yes several more LPs to gain traction on the charts and in the concert halls, but the counterpoint was there from the beginning, with Squire and Jon Anderson respectively holding down the lower and the upper voices of what would become an epic progressive rock sound. A perfect example of this highly original approach can be found on the verses of “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experienced Needed,” the first track on Time and a Word, their ambitious sophomore effort.

When I saw Yes live at Madison Square Garden in 1977, the two band members that stood out most for me were Squire and Rick Wakeman. Yes was a band that featured only top flight players. Yet it’s a difficult fact of music performance that sometimes even superstars such as the extraordinary guitarist Steve Howe can be overshadowed. Squire was attired in the jagged, graphic suit that you see above, and his rocking stage presence seeming to resonate into infinity.

Wakeman, on the other hand, melted into his keyboards while attired in a sparkling cape with his long blond hair hanging over his face, absolutely killing the Hammond solo on Close To The Edge. Donovan opened the show but was sadly heckled. I remember a fan of his, who makes me smile to this day because he sported a T-Shirt that said on the back, “Nostalgia Now.” Although the crowd may not have made the connection back to Donovan’s heyday, it was a vertiginous, psychedelic concert. The last thing I remember was the entire building shaking as Yes played “Starship Trooper.”

I’ve been thinking about Chris Squire a lot recently, although I have never stopped listening to Yes, especially the first five or six albums, with a more recent emphasis on the first two. But I was shocked to hear that he had passed away. For those who would like to glimpse another side of him, I suggest that you listen to an interview he gave regarding the first time that he saw Jimi Hendrix perform in London, when Squire’s band, The Syn opened up for The Experience. He was a good storyteller with a sense of humor, in addition to being a great musician.