Cans And Brahms by Yes

Album: Fragile (1971)

License This Song

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

This song is made up of extracts from Brahms' 4th Symphony in E minor, Third Movement. It was arranged by keyboard player Rick Wakeman, who said the piece "was dreadful, but contractual hangups prevented me from writing an original solo track."

Wakeman was also recording as a solo artist at the time, but for a different record company (he was on A&M, Yes was on Atlantic). He did write an original piece for the album called "Handle With Care," but when legalities abrogated that effort, he did "Cans And Brahms" (credited to Johannes Brahms) for Fragile, and reworked "Handle" as "Catherine of Aragon" for his 1973 solo album The Six Wives of Henry VIII.
Each of the five members of the band contributed one track of their own design to the Fragile album. "Cans And Brahms" was keyboard player Rick Wakeman's contribution, and he played all the parts on the song. And the other four contributions: Jon Anderson sang all the vocal parts in "We Have Heaven," Bill Bruford created "Five Per Cent For Nothing" (played by the entire group with percussion instruments), "The Fish" was created by Chris Squire using only the bass guitar, and Steve Howe did "Mood For A Day" as a solo guitar piece. >>
Suggestion credit:
Randy - Chicago Heights, IL

Comments: 4

Rich from Bellevue, WaYou're really missing something if you don't go back and listen to the *real* Brahms symphony. Yes, it's kind of cool what Wakeman does with it, but the original is vastly better. Despite the claim that "they sound nearly identical", they in fact sound very different. Yes, the notes are the same, but the sound is different. Wakeman's keys sound very thin and inconsequential compared to the glory and majesty of the full symphony orchestra. I was blown away when I finally heard the real Brahms.
Max from Sydney, AustraliaRick Wakemen us a talented player and it shows you in this song. Like in The Yes Album They got Newcomer Steave howe to play "Clap" or "The Clap" and also "wurm" is a solo peice by Howe.

And Rick Wakemen Plays like 3 keyboards in this song
Kent Lyle from Palo Alto, CaWakeman was currently under contract with A&M records at the time and was not allowed to write music for any other record company, like Atlantic. So he instead re-arranged a classical piece to avoid controversy (actually, I've heard the orchestral version and they sound nearly identical). The song he wanted to include, "Catherine of Aragon", came out on his "Six Wives of Henry VIII" solo album, and included cameos by Bruford, Howe, and Squire.
Jonathan from Ann Arbor, MiWhen I first bought fragile and was first starting to get into progressive rock. I was a little bit confused on why they would put a Brahms Symphony on the album. After a while however, I started to realize how much this song shows the talant of the band. It shows that they are farmilier with all types of music which can really make a rock and roll song interesting.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

I SwearAll-4-One

"I Swear" was a #1 country hit for John Michael Montgomery before All-4-One made it a #1 pop hit.

I Won't Back DownTom Petty

"I Won't Back Down" is a very personal song for Tom Petty. "I thought it wasn't that good because it was so naked," he said.

MargaritavilleJimmy Buffett

"Margaritaville" is a state of mind, but it's most associated with Key West, Florida, where Jimmy Buffett moved when he was 24.

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On MeElton John

Recording "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," Elton John was frustrated and sang the line "don't discard me" with an exaggerated American accent, which is why is sounds strange.

Cult of PersonalityLiving Colour

"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour incorporates speeches by John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Street HassleLou Reed

Lou Reed's 11-minute "Street Hassle" features a spoken part by Bruce Springsteen.

Editor's Picks

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.