Artist - Yes
Electric Bass - Chris Squire
Difficulty - Beginner/Intermediate
This weeks transcription is another from the world of prog rock, this time the British band Yes. Owner Of A Lonely Heart was part of a playlist in one of the hotels we were staying at while on the road in Europe recently and it got me thinking about the 90125 album. It’s from an interesting period in Yes’ history, given that it originated from what was supposed to be a side project (Cinema), and hearing this track on the radio prompted me to not only go and re-listen to the record but also to transcribe Chris Squire’s bass line!
This song is something of an antidote to the idea that the Prog bands of the 70s/80s didn’t know how to write ‘songs’, the main groove and the chorus melody were in my head for a good day and a half after I heard it. Executing the song properly means working on a given idea and executing it consistently and repetitively, something i’ve been working on recently with some of my students. Alongside an incredibly catchy groove there are also fun instrumental unison lines and some lovely melodic ideas.
I don’t own a Rickenbacker and the closest I could get to Squire’s sound on this track was my Fodera in dual coil mode, biased towards the front pickup, EQ flat and my Boss CEB-3 chorus.
Hope you all enjoy!
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