Written by In 2018 Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan told Prog how much Yes – and in particular, Rick Wakeman – means to him, and where you’ll find their influence in his musical output.
“I remember hearing Roundabout on the radio in the 70s – I was just a kid and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s amazing! I gotta get this record!’
Rick Wakeman’s such an amazing keyboard player. Being a classical guy, he had the same background I had. So it was wonderful to hear Roundabout and try to learn that solo, like every other keyboard player in the world.
I started my first band when I was 13 and we were jamming out everything we liked. We tried Roundabout… we made a valiant attempt! We didn’t have computers then, where you could slow things down; you just had to listen to it a million times, mimic it and figure it out.
You have to be really good to play that solo, though. It was a great sound. I started learning classical piano when I was seven, so I’d played for many years before I was a teenager. But Rick was 100 percent original. What a virtuoso. His playing came out of his training and he was putting that into his vibe.
I remember when he did Journey To The Centre Of The Earth. I went to Madison Square Garden to see him do it. But it wasn’t just the keyboards I enjoyed – it was the musicality of it.
I bought so many records when I was young; whatever I could get my hands on. But my favourite album was Yessongs. I just really liked all the tracks; I still listen to them and I’m still a fan.
Even in the 80s, Yes were more complicated than a regular rock band, with chord progressions and timings that were very complicated. I loved Owner Of A Lonely Heart – that was cool.
I love other prog stuff, like Jellyfish. I’m a fan of music so I’m always listening to find out what’s new.
Since 2000 I’ve been working on musicals where I get to write songs that challenge my brain. We did one on Princess Diana and was been fun giving the Royals ‘voices.’ I love it because it’s so complicated.
All the Yes stuff and all the really complicated music – ELP and all the stuff I’ve ever listened to – fits into that melting pot.”
