YES Album discussion volume 1: 90125

Well, this is where it all started for me. The first Yes song I ever heard was Owner OF A Lonely Heart back when I was only 6 or 7 years old. Fast forward several years to my junior year of college & I finally decide to buy some Yes music. My first purchases were used copies of 90125 & Big Generator. Anyway, although 90125 doesn't hold a candle to their early 7o's output, I love it just as mush as the older stuff. Trevor Rabin DEFINATELY doesn't deserve all the crap he gets. His guitar playing is very melodic & his voice is a good counterpoint to Jon Anderson's. Besides, I think Changes is one of THE BEST Yes song ever recorded!!!

Our Song has been and always will be my favorite track.

Speaking of remasters, has Big Generator had the treatment ?

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

When it comes right down to it, I think Rabin is a great player, writer and singer, and his voice/playing blends well with Squire/Anderson. The problem for me will always be Tony Kaye. He was great on the first three Yes albums, but should never have returned because he was a joke IMO by the time 90125 came around.

Ha, you're not kidding Sal - I saw the 90125 tour at Birmingham NEC and Kaye was just awful. By the time the Union tour came to town he looked even worse because was standing next to the mighty (both in playing and in height) Rick Wakeman. I suspect that Rabin played most of the studio keyboards on 90125 as he did on Talk (and probably BG) although they are basic enough for TK.

I was mightily shocked by 90125 having been into Yes already for about 5 years at that time, Drama was a big enough departure for me, but 90125, hmmm. Nevertheless it's acutally a great album althouh OOALH is completely overplayed on radio and compilations - "Leave It" was a much better single.

Of course Big Generator was an even greater dissappointment, then we had the very questionable Onion, sorry, Union and the much better, although still patchy Talk - I Am Waiting" being my favourite YesWest track by a wide margin.

Anyone who has heard Rabin's solo album "Can't Look Away" will know that he was the main song-writer throughout the YesWest era, in fact he kept many of his best tunes for that release.

So, back to the discussion, 90125 - not a lot of filler on the album, my personal favourite cuts are Hearts, Our Song (mainly because of the trade-mark climbing Squire bassline), Cinema and Leave It. Warm but precise production and indeed a real phoenix release for Yes, I think without this there was a real risk they would not have hung around for as long as they have (soma may say they wish they didn't of course).

Now we just need them to put out one final majestic album with Wakey on keys before one of them has a cardiac or something.

Some things you may or may not know:

• Eddie Jobson was originally drafted in on keyboards - he even appeared in a UK music-paper article with the band. In that review Squire (I think) said that Tony Kaye just wasn't up to it, nevertheless he came back in...
  
• Between Drama and 90125, Chris Squire was so poor that he had to borrow money to buy petrol for his Bentley
  
• Tony Kaye married one of Cris Squire's daughter's - Carmen I think...
  
• Trevor Rabin is a fully qualified orchestral conductor and writes film scores for major Holywood productions (Armageddon & Twister spring to mind)
  
• Squire used to have a stream running though the middle of his living room in his Surrey mansion.
  

"Leave It" was a much better single.

Well, "Owner" was a great single. Anything that gets overplayed that much obviously has to have been a good choice. I do like "Leave It" a lot, and "Hold On" is probably my favorite from the album.

I Am Waiting" being my favourite YesWest track by a wide margin.

You and me both! I love that song, with "The More We Live - Let Go" a close second.

Anyone who has heard Rabin's solo album "Can't Look Away" will know that he was the main song-writer throughout the YesWest era, in fact he kept many of his best tunes for that release.

Absolutely. Can't Look Away is actually a great album. As I said before, I really like Rabin a lot.

Eddie Jobson was originally drafted in on keyboards - he even appeared in a UK music-paper article with the band.

Not to mention appearing in the "Owner" video!

Between Drama and 90125, Chris Squire was so poor that he had to borrow money to buy petrol for his Bentley

Squire used to have a stream running though the middle of his living room in his Surrey mansion.

Those two, I didn't know. Interesting!

I'm a new Yes fan (been into them for less then a year) so I'm I don't know all these line-up changes that Yes have gone through. I know a few though, but whatever.

I think that 90125 is a pretty good, solid album. I don't think there are any bad songs on it, and I thought it was very well done. Although I can't really talk about it from an historical point of you like you guys can(and have).

Yea, I don't have much to contribute here. :P

Between Drama and 90125, Chris Squire was so poor that he had to borrow money to buy petrol for his Bentley

Damn :(

Speaking of remasters, has Big Generator had the treatment ?

Just saw this, gaz. No, BG hasn't been remastered. The whole catalog from Yes through to 90125 has been (several times each for many of the titles), and despite strong fan support on the official Yes site(s), it still hasn't happened. I personally don't care either way, that is the one release I won't buy a remaster of. (Well, I wouldn't buy one of Union or Open Your Eyes either, I guess. ) The album was a complete mess IMO, and if you read/hear about the strife and problems they had going on in the band at the time, you can't help but see how that affected the music. They did manage a couple of decent radio-friendly Rabin tunes ("Rhythm Of Love" and "Love Will Find A Way", which sounds straight off of Can't Look Away, and I like "Shoot High Aim Low" a lot. A real great mood to that piece and I always include it on any Yes compilation that features Yes West. But to me, the rest of the album is a stinker.

I look forward to being able to speak positively about Yes West when Keith does the Talk thread.

ORIGINAL: KeithK

ORIGINAL: Kevman


I have yet to pick up the remastered "90125" - any thoughts on it?

--Kev

Yeah...it sounds a ton better...a sonic masterpiece...WELL worth picking up....

I've always thought 90125 was one of the better sounding albums, especially when you compare it to other albums of the 80s. Maybe it's just a matter of taste.

I'm not a big Yes fan. In fact, this is the only Yes album I own. What's the general consensus among Yes fans regarding the sound of the original release? I know it might be difficult to put it into words and just "has to be heard", but what's improved sonically on the remastered version?

ORIGINAL: Jagk80

I'm a new Yes fan (been into them for less then a year) so I'm I don't know all these line-up changes that Yes have gone through. I know a few though, but whatever.

A quickie history of Yes.

1969-1970: Yes are Jon Anderson, Peter Banks, Chris Squire, Tony Kaye & Bill Bruford and they put out 2 albums, Yes and Time And A Word

1970-1971: Peter Banks is out and Steve Howe is in and they do 1 album, The Yes Album.

1972: Tony Kaye leaves and Rick Wakeman joins, resulting in Fragile and Close To The Edge.

1973: Bill Bruford is replaced by Alan White and Tales From Topographic Oceans is released.

1974: Wakeman leaves (first in a long string of exits for him) and Patrick Moraz joins for 1 album, Relayer.

1975-1976: Everybody is pretty much on their own for a bit, but they reconvene in....

1977-78: with Wakeman back in and put out Going For The One and Tormato.

1979-1980: The only era without Anderson after he and Wakey leave, replaced by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. Drama is released.

1981-1982: Yes is pretty much declared dead, since there's no interest from any of the band members to continue.

1983-1988: The band affectionately known as YesWest is in play, with Anderson, Kaye, Squire and White back, joined by Trevor Rabin. They put out 90125, Big Generator.

1989-1990: YesWest goes dormant and Anderson hooks up with Bruford, Wakeman and Howe to form ABWH and they release an eponymous album.

1991-1992: The biggest Yes band ever, with Bruford, Wakeman and Howe joining with all of the guys from YesWest. ABWH were working on an album, as were Trevor and company (minus Anderson, since he was working with ABWH) and they ended up combining their work into one album. I think the only real overlap between the two bands' songs might have been Anderson doing vocals on the Trevor-led tracks.

1993-1995: YesWest is back with Talk. Who knows where Bruford, Wakeman and Howe disappeared to.

1996-1997: The classic line-up of Anderson, Howe, Wakeman, Squire and White reform Yes and do some live shows, in particular, a couple in San Luis Obisbo, which are recorded and released, along with some new tracks in two sets, Keys To Ascension 1 and 2.

1997-98: Wakeman walks again, this time replaced by Billy Sherwood, a friend of Squire's, I believe, and they do Open Your Eyes.

1999-2000: The group add Igor Khoroshev for The Ladder.

2001: The group slims down to a 4-piece for the very first time with Anderson, Howe, Squire and White backed by an orchestra. Magnification is released.

2002?: Things are hazy in here for me, but at some point, Wakeman comes back and they end up touring with DT in 2004.

Whew! Guess that wasn't much of a quickie after all.

For those that lost track, Chris Squire is the only band member to be featured on every last album that Yes has put out, due to Anderson's absence on Drama. I guess that puts Alan White in third place, since he's been with them continuosly since 1973.

And Salmacis is welcome to correct any error he sees.

And Salmacis is welcome to correct any error he sees.

LOL!

1973: Bill Bruford is replaced by Alan White and Tales From Topographic Oceans is released.

Not an error, but technically the fans' introduction to Alan White was the Yessongs triple-live album, since he was the drummer for the CttE tour.

1975-1976: Everybody is pretty much on their own for a bit,

Well, not really. They toured quite a bit throughout that period, for Relayer and then the solo albums in '76.

2002?: Things are hazy in here for me, but at some point, Wakeman comes back and they end up touring with DT in 2004.

And during this period, they release The Ultimate Yes with reworked acoustic studio tracks and a full band rendition of Jon's "Show Me" that he & Rick had been playing during the Full Circle and 35th Anniversary tours.

Yes is one of my favorite bands

This is one of my favorite albums

I am glad they did not play "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"

I am sad they did not play "Changes." Not an average song to introduce you to this band, but I play that keyboard riff you were talking about on my Marimba all the time. Also I love the drum part with the sixtuplets on the snare drum, and that is an example of how unappreciated Allan White is. Not so hard to play, but really awesome stuff nonetheless

BTW, thanks for tha history. WOW!!! I knew Chris was the only constant member throughout the whole 35 years, but MAN, I didn't know their lineup history was that complicated

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

And Salmacis is welcome to correct any error he sees.

LOL!

1973: Bill Bruford is replaced by Alan White and Tales From Topographic Oceans is released.

Not an error, but technically the fans' introduction to Alan White was the Yessongs triple-live album, since he was the drummer for the CttE tour.

1975-1976: Everybody is pretty much on their own for a bit,

Well, not really. They toured quite a bit throughout that period, for Relayer and then the solo albums in '76.

2002?: Things are hazy in here for me, but at some point, Wakeman comes back and they end up touring with DT in 2004.

And during this period, they release The Ultimate Yes with reworked acoustic studio tracks and a full band rendition of Jon's "Show Me" that he & Rick had been playing during the Full Circle and 35th Anniversary tours.

Ah, see, I don't have YesSongs or The Ultimate Yes. I have all of the studio albums and I was just going through those and making notes on who was playing on each, therefore, I was slightly off.

Thanks for filling in the blanks. I knew if anyone knew the rest of the story, it would be you.

Thanks for filling in the blanks. I knew if anyone knew the rest of the story, it would be you.

Just minor points really. You basically have everything important listed there. You did forget Tom Brislin on keys too.

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

Thanks for filling in the blanks. I knew if anyone knew the rest of the story, it would be you.

Just minor points really. You basically have everything important listed there. You did forget Tom Brislin on keys too.

?!?!?!? Never heard of him.

?!?!?!? Never heard of him.

Keyboardist on the Symphonic tours.

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

?!?!?!? Never heard of him.

Keyboardist on the Symphonic tours.

Saw the show in Lewiston, NY (near Niagara On The Lake). Had 2nd or 3rd row. I was very impressed by Brislin. He tore up The Gates Of Delirium. Played it to a T, and was enjoying himself immensely. A great show.

1979-1980: The only era without Anderson after he and Wakey leave, replaced by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. Drama is released.

Wait.. Drama isn't with Anderson? Wow... I didn't even notice.

Thanks for the history lesson. *thumbs up*

ORIGINAL: Salmacis
You did forget Tom Brislin on keys too.

I love The Ladder, but I can't help to think if Tom was playing keys instead of Igor, how it would have sounded. Tom brought so much energy to the symphonic tour and his playing/sounds were even better than modern day Rick! Tom went back and used analog syths and patches, where Rick is only currently using a mini-moog (surrounded by tons of digital synths!) Don't get me wrong, I like seeing Yes with Rick for nostalgia reasons, but I would rather HEAR Tom.

Nothing cracks me up more than watching Patrick Moraz play the middle of Close to the Edge at Queen's Park. When the lead comes on, he has to tune his synth and it sounds awful!! Not to mention the Fender Rhodes on Soundchaser! That is so loud in the mix!!

Nothing cracks me up more than watching Patrick Moraz play the middle of Close to the Edge at Queen's Park. When the lead comes on, he has to tune his synth and it sounds awful!! Not to mention the Fender Rhodes on Soundchaser! That is so loud in the mix!!

The whole QPR show sounds awful, it was mixed so horrendously. Jon is #1 in the mix for one thing. Ummm, sorry but we'd rather hear Steve Howe's guitar than Jon's rhythm guitar. Moraz is way off the charts and makes me cringe when he comes in. It's such a shame because the show itself is dynamite - the band was on fire and that is my favorite period of the band for how they looked on stage. Steve Howe looks so cool, and there was a time when Jon Anderson looked cool too. When they do "Gates Of Delirium", it is just KILLER. Such a shame about the mix.

Thanks for the info, Salmacis.
I really like BG, only has one dud for me, Almost Like Love, the is brilliant.

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

Moraz is way off the charts and makes me cringe when he comes in. It's such a shame because the show itself is dynamite - the band was on fire and that is my favorite period of the band for how they looked on stage. Steve Howe looks so cool, and there was a time when Jon Anderson looked cool too. When they do "Gates Of Delirium", it is just KILLER. Such a shame about the mix.

It was interesting to see Moraz going off as he did. It looked kind of peculiar, but was very entertaining, and very interesting. A good showman. Anyone can just stand there and play, but he added a new element to it. The times I saw him with the Moody Blues were entertaining also. I think he wore a cape a few times onstage. I agree, that show was tremendous. That was a great setting for a concert: a neighborhood soccer/football stadium.

ORIGINAL: Duke
It was interesting to see Moraz going off as he did. It looked kind of peculiar, but was very entertaining, and very interesting. A good showman. Anyone can just stand there and play, but he added a new element to it. The times I saw him with the Moody Blues were entertaining also. I think he wore a cape a few times onstage. I agree, that show was tremendous. That was a great setting for a concert: a neighborhood soccer/football stadium.

Not to mention, his piano solo is brilliant and unique in the realms of Yes. Rick used to do the whole "Six Wives" passages and Patrick just goes in and rips out an awesome piano solo. He took it back to the roots of the keyboard. Maybe Patrick can do a piano on ice for a tribute to Rick in the future

I agree with Sal on the mix. During the middle of "To Be Over," all you hear is Jon's guitar. Where's the pedal steel? Steve is always never loud enough on that thing in every mix! I also love at the end of "And you and I" when Steve goes down to the lower octaves of the pedal steel. It sounds like a Violin and is so effective!

Thanks Duke and Sal -now I'll have to watch QPR right before the Michigan State game!

Damnit, one more thing.

I always loved how they throw one line of "The Remembering" in on Ritual! Not to mention "The Ancient" parts during Chris's bass solo (right before the Ritual.)

EDIT: Hey Duke, you're getting very "Close to the Edge" of 2112 posts.

ORIGINAL: Moog
Not to mention, his piano solo is brilliant and unique in the realms of Yes. Rick used to do the whole "Six Wives" passages and Patrick just goes in and rips out an awesome piano solo. He took it back to the roots of the keyboard. Maybe Patrick can do a piano on ice for a tribute to Rick in the future

I agree with Sal on the mix. During the middle of "To Be Over," all you hear is Jon's guitar. Where's the pedal steel? Steve is always never loud enough on that thing in every mix! I also love at the end of "And you and I" when Steve goes down to the lower octaves of the pedal steel. It sounds like a Violin and is so effective!

Thanks Duke and Sal -now I'll have to watch QPR right before the Michigan State game!

Damnit, one more thing.

I always loved how they throw one line of "The Remembering" in on Ritual! Not to mention "The Ancient" parts during Chris's bass solo (right before the Ritual.)

EDIT: Hey Duke, you're getting very "Close to the Edge" of 2112 posts.

Interesting. I'll have to capture the screen. I go on record now though that I will never change my avatar again. I've grown tired of changing it, and think I settled on the right one.

Not to mention, his piano solo is brilliant and unique in the realms of Yes. Rick used to do the whole "Six Wives" passages and Patrick just goes in and rips out an awesome piano solo. He took it back to the roots of the keyboard. Maybe Patrick can do a piano on ice for a tribute to Rick in the future

Moraz is an awesome piano player. The main part of the solo on the QPR video is the main theme from the opening track "Papillon" on the album "Refugee" that Moraz did with the two other member of The Nice just before he joined Yes.

ORIGINAL: Salmacis

Nothing cracks me up more than watching Patrick Moraz play the middle of Close to the Edge at Queen's Park. When the lead comes on, he has to tune his synth and it sounds awful!! Not to mention the Fender Rhodes on Soundchaser! That is so loud in the mix!!

The whole QPR show sounds awful, it was mixed so horrendously. Jon is #1 in the mix for one thing. Ummm, sorry but we'd rather hear Steve Howe's guitar than Jon's rhythm guitar. Moraz is way off the charts and makes me cringe when he comes in. It's such a shame because the show itself is dynamite - the band was on fire and that is my favorite period of the band for how they looked on stage. Steve Howe looks so cool, and there was a time when Jon Anderson looked cool too. When they do "Gates Of Delirium", it is just KILLER. Such a shame about the mix.

I think it was a general tecnhical problem at the concert itself - the crowd got exactly that mix, I remember a load of newspaper articles about it from the time.

ORIGINAL: dabby

Moraz is an awesome piano player. The main part of the solo on the QPR video is the main theme from the opening track "Papillon" on the album "Refugee" that Moraz did with the two other member of The Nice just before he joined Yes.

...and the acoustic rendering of "Papillion" he did on that tour doesn't even do it justice. That's a really good, manic sounding tune, from an even better band that's seemingly lost to history.

Moraz is pretty out there, tho. A former colleague of mine was his American management (maybe even his only management, I don't remember) in the early/mid-90's. From all he told me, Patrick is nearly impossible to work with on an artistic or business level...but he's always, always totally cool with his fans.

ORIGINAL: Noware

ORIGINAL: dabby

Moraz is an awesome piano player. The main part of the solo on the QPR video is the main theme from the opening track "Papillon" on the album "Refugee" that Moraz did with the two other member of The Nice just before he joined Yes.

...and the acoustic rendering of "Papillion" he did on that tour doesn't even do it justice. That's a really good, manic sounding tune, from an even better band that's seemingly lost to history.

Moraz is pretty out there, tho. A former colleague of mine was his American management (maybe even his only management, I don't remember) in the early/mid-90's. From all he told me, Patrick is nearly impossible to work with on an artistic or business level...but he's always, always totally cool with his fans.

The whole Refugee album is great, especially the epic "Grand Canyon". I have it on tape but would dearly love a CD re-issue!

Moraz did a piano CD a few years ago and I hear a sample track from it called "Birds" that was just the most technical piano piece I have ever heard. Around this time he was offerring to play concerts for free as long as his travel expenses were paid for.

I make no apologies for bringing this back from the archives, especially considering how surprising it is to resurrect this thread in particular. I've been on a bit of a Yes binge lately, after seeing the Classic Artists: Yes DVD and documentary a few weeks ago. One of the surprising revelations in the disc is from Trevor Horn. I'm paraphrasing, but he says despite how proud he was of the finished product he was unsure if he would have liked it if he weren't involved with it as a fan of the group's prior material. In Steve Howe's interview, in talking about the first time he heard "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", (again paraphrasing) he said he felt a little bit as if Yes were trying to copy Asia since "Heat Of The Moment" had already been a big hit by then. Just some interesting tid-bit's to pass along to my fellow Yesfans 

My feeling about this period in the band's career is a tiny bit mixed. The spiritual and adventurous side Jon, Steve and Rick brought to the classic Yes albums which predated 90125 was pretty much gone. It's a bit of a mystery to me why Jon stuck around but I don't question it too much because he did some amazing singing during this period. "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" is a great pop-rock song, and it still stands up today. That it went straight to #1 on the American charts justifies that. It still works live, too. I've been watching the Yessymphonic DVD lately, and the performance of it on there is amazing. But my favorite song has to be "It Can Happen". As I said earlier, the spiritual side was pretty much gone but this was an exception. Jon's influence is pretty strong here where it's probably not as strong in other places.

Overall, I can understand the Yes-West haters despite not totally agreeing with them. Yeah, they went with a more commercial direction here but it saved the band from being written off as a 70's relic. Genesis did the same thing but it was obviously more organic and gradual partly because they never replaced Gabriel or Hackett. They continued despite the attrition. I'm not saying Trevor Rabin was bad for the band overall, anything but really. His abilities as an arranger and songwriter were a big part in this album becoming a monument in their recording career. But his style as a guitarist isn't even on the same planet as Howe's. And obviously towards the end of the Yes-West period, Rabin's style had become stale which allowed for Steve to rejoin and bring his style as a guitarist (not to mention backing vocalist).

ORIGINAL: onthewall2983
I've been watching the Yessymphonic DVD lately, and the performance of it on there is amazing. But my favorite song has to be "It Can Happen". As I said earlier, the spiritual side was pretty much gone but this was an exception. Jon's influence is pretty strong here where it's probably not as strong in other places.

Listen to Yes' Yours Is No Disgrace, then It Can Happen.  There is a very striking similarity in a recurring sound being played in It Can Happen that it seems was lifted from Yours Is No Disgrace, just played a little quicker. 

Simply amazing album that still sounds captivating to this day. Still not overly fond of the
single, but happy it brought such success, however every other song is top notch.

Love this album. It was groundbreaking sound in its time. Cinema is one of the most underrated.....albeit short....instrumentals. And Alan White is excellent on this disc.

Don't know how I never posted in this thread originally, but it is a great album. The remastered version has an acapella version of Leave It that blows my mind. Changes would have to be my favorite song off of this one. Great stuff.

Best YES album ever. Blasphemy to some, but I'm far more of a fan of the Trevor Rabin-era YES... I just like the production, the songwriting and his style of guitar playing much more than "classic"-era YES> but that's in no way to disrespect the legacy or influence or talent of the previous incarnations of YES. "Changes" is certainly a high watermark for the bad, as far as songwriting is concerned. The post-90125 CD's aren't bad either... again, it's almost an entirely different band (literally!) so I can understand the "era's of YES" argument in effect.

Our song
It gives us a reason
Our song
That good remedy
Music has magic
It's good clear syncopation

Treat it good
Treat it rightly
And if you get it flowing
The harmony is glowing
So get ready
So get ready
Don't go toledo toledo don't go
Music - Good to you
Music - Good to you

This was the first album (and there have been a few since) that having got home with it I put on, sat down to listen to all the way through, and then listened to all the way through again immediately.

I must play it tonight!  Maybe just the once since I reckon I know every nuance inside out and backwards.

Awesome at the time.  Still awesome.

Listening to this album now for the first time ever. I had heard Owner of a Lonely Heart on TV one morning, and this was just around the time I had dived into Close To The Edge. So I was like "....what the fuck is going on?" and then never saw any reason to check out the album that the song came from, and just assumed the majority of their 80's stuff was bland and medicore and not really worth any time. Maybe it's because I just watched Transatlantic's Live In europe from start to finish, but I am really enjoying this album. I don't think I'll fall in love, but it's good, and sometimes that's all you need.

I have spent the last 2 days going through my complete Yes discography and I can
honestly and boldly say, with todays ears this is my favorite Yes album. Hands
down. It has a unique sound and feel and I am still astonished at how much I still
connect with this masterpiece.

I sometimes agree that this is the most modern Yes and it still sounds fantastic. It takes a lot shit for little reason. My least favorite tune on it, Our Song reminds me of where Yes would of been with Jon on Drama. 
 
One other side note. Does it Really Happen and It Can Happen are the same songs..