why late at night in the u.s. does ilm get all yessed out

huh, maybe that explains it, I always thought Tormato sounded weird but could never articulate why. I knew Wakeman's Birotron had something to do with it (is this the only album that actually uses it?) but like what I got a vinyl copy and played it on a good system I remember thinking I needed a new stylus because something was just off about it. it's got such a narrow soundstage, everything is kind of in a line...when Wakeman is playing you can't really hear anything else, ditto for a lot of Anderson's vocals, while Howe and White just kinda languish in the background surrounded by pillows. I can't really remember a single Howe guitar line on the album, outside of the more straightforward rock n' roll ones.

but also the songs aren't quite as good as they were, I mean yeah it's kinda interesting to hear them try disco and power pop but it's not really their strong suit, also they don't really have any of the cool jam sections that Yes excelled at. they come close sometimes but you can tell "no epics" was sort of their M.O. here. it does have some tracks I like though - the opening and closing track are both great, and I'll defend "Arriving UFO" just on the grounds that its really odd, I just wish they had the courage to get even weirder with it

there's a demo of the Birotron here, if you're interested. apparently Wakeman financed the development of it and there were only ever 2 working units.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URR7l-uI6JA

I recommend reading the description, its pretty insane:

Life is short. The Birotron is in danger of disappearing and both positive vibes and hard work are now required to save it. 'Trolls' harassing anyone, 'internet beggars' demanding free sounds, 'sound poachers/criminals' sampling this video to exploit it, and pushers of any political agendas will be:
a) Permanently banned from this page / other related Birotron pages.
b) Permanently blacklisted from buying, owning or using these sounds if and when they become available commercially.
c) Prosecuted for any crimes or offenses committed in relation to the above. (This page is being monitored by a Private Investigation Agency 24/7)
Protecting this instrument, and all of you visiting here deeply matters to us, especially when this is your only source for it.

I think it's cool people are trying to 'restore' the sound of the thing, but it kinda sounds shitty doesn't it? my understanding with the mellotron is the machine itself is pretty faulty and doesn't really reproduce the sound of the tapes well but it distorts it in a way that gives it this ethereal and mystical quality. that's a pretty tricky thing to reproduce. the Birotron just sounds cheap to me.

leon theremin meet robert moog meet dave biro (actual name)

The version of "Days" on Tormato bonus tracks is really lovely, I prefer it to the version that ended up on Song Of Seven, it's just vocals and works really well

I could not take it oh so seriously really
When you called and said you'd seen a UFO

- noted skeptic and debunker Jon Anderson

Don't know Borstlap but nice to have these collections
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/bruford-borstlap-sheer-reckless-abandon-3cd1dvd-edition
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/patrick-moraz-bill-bruford-temples-of-joy-3cd-edition

https://shop.spotify.com/en/artist/7AC976RDJzL2asmZuz7qil/product/yes-incense

Along with several other Ilxors, I was born during the brief period known as the Gerald Ford era, meaning that nearly all of my memories of that decade are of the "Long '70s" variety that ran through '83 (wood-panel basements and weird swirly lights as room decor, leaded gas, classic rock's last stand on MTV before the Prince/Lauper/MJ era, malls with massive plants near the Miller's Outpost, you get the idea). Tormato, especially "On The Silent Wings of Freedom" (which might be the most 'Yes' song title ever), makes me 'remember' the late-70s, as if they are teleporting me to an era where I get to experience borrowed nostalgia, whether I actually experienced it or not.

Joni Mitchell played the Birotron on one of her best late songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOfJ7S9f2LM

That's a misnomer - the actual credit on Night Ride Home is "Billatron", which is a keyboard sample of the guitarist Bill Dillon.

The bonus tracks on Tormato show that they still had a lot of ideas, but no-one was capitulating to fit those ideas together. Anderson wants to get soft, Howe wants to get hard, Bootsy Squire's Mutron pedal whose sound doesn't fit in with what anyone else is doing, and Wakeman's assortment of shrill keyboards covering everything like a tinsel explosion. I like most of the record in spite of its flaws.

Waksman’s baroque solo on the Birotron on Don’t Kill the Whale rules so hard.