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Squire vs. Entwistle (again)



>Chris has admitted being influenced heavily by
>John's playing, but Chris to me is melodic for melodic's sake. 

And what is John? John is melodic for the sake of being heard.  *ALL* of the
guys in the Who used their abilities in attempts to be at the center of
attention.  Entwistle is the *only* member who opted not to carry that over
into his stage show, as well.

Chris's role in his band is largely the same as John's in that both men
wanted to establish the melodic potential of the bass guitar within a rock
music framework.  Unlike Entwistle, Squire ended up working with a band that
also wanted to experiment with:
a.  longer musical pieces and passages
b.  more developed, intricate vocal harmonies
c.  multiple layers of melody (guitar, keyboards, bass)
 
>[Chris Squire] doesn't carry the songs the way John does

This is purely your opinion.

>>>if he is replaced with a quieter and less busy player like on the
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe tour he is not  missed, (for the most
part :)<<<

As a longtime Yes fan, I would miss him. Chris's bass always has me
interested and it's one reason why I tended to downplay ABWH (that, and the
fact that I knew they wouldn't last).

>>>In the Who, John is too important to maintaining the structure of the
songs and would definitely be missed if he 
was not playing with the group. <<<

The same is true of Squire even if you can't see it or accept it.

>>>Chris' style is distinctive, but is not as important to the music as John
is by far, IMO.<<<

Gotta disagree.  Go back and get some Yes albums out.  Try envisioning
"Roundabout" without the bass line, or "Tempus Fugit," or "Long Distance
Runaround," or "Sound Chaser," or "City of Love," or "Heart of the Sunrise,"
or "Siberian Khatru."  I think what it comes down to for you is that you
prefer the Who to Yes, which is fine.  But that shouldn't mean that you
misinterpret Chris Squire's importance as a rock bassist just because you
like the Who better.  

>>>If that's so, then why was his bass turned down so low at MSG?  I realize
everything had to be quieter for Pete's sake<<<

It's just a guess on my part, but maybe the bass was lower in the mix at MSG
because John didn't care enough to argue on his own behalf.  We know that the
man has plans for himself and his other band, so his focus and attention may
have been on them, and he participated in this QUAD thing as simply a way to
get some visibility, perform before a big crowd, and cash some checks.  I
think Roger has made it pretty clear that he and JAE don't like working
purely at Pete's behest and whim.  This QUAD thing, IMHO, is purely
Pete-driven and will benefit Pete more than it does RD and JAE, and
*everybody* involved knows it.  So maybe John simply relented to save the
argument. I have to think that if it mattered that much to John, he wouldn't
sit out the encore (that utterly amazes me that he did).
 
- --Jim