So, this Christmas break, I rediscovered YES 90125 from my youth. As a kid, I was a Yes fan, but this lineup was something different and it featured Trevor Rabin's enormous songwriting talents and playing. He replaced Steve Howe on guitar (who had moved on with the band Asia). This album came out in the early fall of 1983 and featured many hits, including "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and is in my opinion, a masterpiece. My musician girls, wife, and I listened to the entire album 4-5 times within a 10 day period and I have come to realize what an amazing collection of songs sit inside this comeback effort. Trevor Rabin essentially wrote most of the album and sang and played some of the most incredible guitar playing imaginable. What a force of nature and creativity that man has inside him. Alan White's drumming is simply sublime. Between is tasteful and imaginative drumming and the sound of his drums for the time...he just knocks it out of the park track after track. This album also brought back original keyboardist Tony Kaye, along with Jon Anderson on vocals, and the late great Chris Squires on bass. I saw them in concert on this tour in March of 1984 in Detroit. It was an event not to be missed. I had forgotten how many hits this album had. I think we counted 6 songs that were played on the radio. Anyway, the production is outstanding and if you haven't heard it in a while, rediscover it for yourself.
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Rediscovered YES 90125
- Thread starter Treviso1
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repete
This one goes to eleven
I agree! I also saw them on this tour
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That was an incredible album. One of my favorites. Just an explosion of great sounds.
The album has decidedly mixed reviews among noodly-doodly fans on the ProgArchives.com site. Here's a good example:
"This was supposed to be the debut album of yet another 80s supergroup - Cinema. There was a lot of press and speculation about the Cinema project in the early 80s, so when instead 90125 materialized under the name Yes it was a bit of a surprise. But not nearly as much of a surprise as the music. The band appeared to have followed the lead of fellow 70s stalwarts Moody Blues, Genesis, ELO, Jethro Tull, and the Go-Gos (okay, that's kind of a low blow) by abandoning their progressive sensibilities in favor of glossy, highly synthesized, and danceable music, ready-made for heavy MTV rotation. The result was the band's most commercially successful record to-date, multi- platinum and even with a Grammy award for "Cinema". A truly remarkable, and utterly boring comeback.
I've spent this fall reacquainting myself with the Yes catalog, spending dozens of hours reliving the entire suite of studio albums from the self-titled debut through Magnification, including a number of live albums and compilations. And I have to say that when laid alongside everything the band did up to this point, 90125 pales in comparison to even Drama, which I had thought was the weakest album the band had ever recorded. I stand corrected."
Review by Clemofnazereth
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"This was supposed to be the debut album of yet another 80s supergroup - Cinema. There was a lot of press and speculation about the Cinema project in the early 80s, so when instead 90125 materialized under the name Yes it was a bit of a surprise. But not nearly as much of a surprise as the music. The band appeared to have followed the lead of fellow 70s stalwarts Moody Blues, Genesis, ELO, Jethro Tull, and the Go-Gos (okay, that's kind of a low blow) by abandoning their progressive sensibilities in favor of glossy, highly synthesized, and danceable music, ready-made for heavy MTV rotation. The result was the band's most commercially successful record to-date, multi- platinum and even with a Grammy award for "Cinema". A truly remarkable, and utterly boring comeback.
I've spent this fall reacquainting myself with the Yes catalog, spending dozens of hours reliving the entire suite of studio albums from the self-titled debut through Magnification, including a number of live albums and compilations. And I have to say that when laid alongside everything the band did up to this point, 90125 pales in comparison to even Drama, which I had thought was the weakest album the band had ever recorded. I stand corrected."
Review by Clemofnazereth
.
Who cares what the reviewers think? They also hated Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Chicago, etc... Art reviewers, in general, are a bunch of self indulgent, pseudo intellectuals who think they have a better understanding of art than the rest of us. It's nonsense. The people have clearly chosen the winners and losers in the history of music and while it isn't always fair, it is what people wanted to hear at the time. Unless you were of age when YES 90125 was released, it's hard to describe how monumentally HUGE this album was and how it exploded onto the charts from absolutely nowhere...it came out of nowhere and instantly because HUGE. You couldn't turn the radio on without hearing it on several stations simultaneously. YES 90125 is clearly the winner, no matter what pencil neck nerd wrote negatively about it. It was their biggest success to date...
That said, whether you liked it or not, it doesn't matter. Tastes differ amongst all of us. This album was a monumental success and millions loved it and better yet...bought it!
I totally agree. It's his genius that put it all together. I really should have included him in my original write up. Thanks for pointing it out.
langmick
Well-Known Member
Absolutely, solid and punchy, and that snare sound is one of the best. Really love his creativity too, combined with his power an energy. He's one of the underrated drummers, the way he could play with time signatures, incredible.
Dumpy
DFO Veteran
My brother brought this album and Dire Straits Brothers in Arms home from Cali. I wore the sheezit out of BOTH albums. Great music, no matter what critics say.
You know, I met him at the NAMM show in the early 2000s...he was a kind, gentle soul...about as unassuming as they come. I spoke with his wife and she told me that he really didn't think of himself as a great drummer who had any influence on anyone. I was absolutely shocked. I told her how much he influenced me as a player and probably millions of other drummers throughout his career. He was totally humble, quiet, and classy. Not a blowhard like so many others that I have met throughout the years. It reminded me of how Bonham at the end of his life thought he was nothing special and questioned his own talents and achievements. Alan White was exactly the same way. His playing on this entire album is just on fire GREAT.
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Polska
DFO Veteran
I grew up a big Yes fan, right up to and including 90125. Kinda lost track of them after that, but I love the album. We listened to it a ton back in the 80's and I still pop it on here and there. It completely re-energized a band that was fading fast.
Check out this excellent interview with Trevor from my favorite music journalist: https://www.innerviews.org/inner/rabin.html
Check out this excellent interview with Trevor from my favorite music journalist: https://www.innerviews.org/inner/rabin.html
MrDrums2112
"Normal" Drummer
Form your own opinion, man.
MrDrums2112
"Normal" Drummer
This brings back memories! I wore out this album back when it came out, and now I will have to revisit this one!
90125 was definitely a new chapter for Yes, just what they needed at the time, I believe. The whole album is just solid, one song after the other, Alan's drumming is just killer too. Good for them to get some commercial exposure/success back in the 80's. I'm sure I'm not the only one that practiced "Changes" until I got it right. I love that they did the intro to "Make It Easy" on 9012Live. I picked up the extended version a few months back just to get the entire song.
This is a great album! This was the third line up of Yes, that I had seen live. First was the "Tormato" tour in '79. Then the "Drama" tour in '80. The follow up to 90125, "Big Generator", was also a great album! I just cued up 90125 on Apple Music, going to give it a listen. 
Heartbeat
Advanced Heart Guru
Loved this album!!! Everything about it was perfect, and yes (no pun intended), it was HUGE. I wore it out on cassette playing along to it.
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Spot on!
I said this recently (different wording) on another thread and a few members soiled their shorts ... mostly because I was the one that stated it. "issues"
Man, art is what it is.
It doesn't exist for ALL to like or even understand.
It's that self expression from deep within.
If it connects ... that is awesome.
If it doesn't ... so what? Who the heck cares.
This album ... and many others that were panned by the elitist pseudo intellectuals ... will have a permanant place in my library.
Because ... I know better ... and THAT eats them up inside ... when they realize others have the ability to think freely for themselves.
They have to one day admit ... they don't matter.
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langmick
Well-Known Member
Same
thejohnlec
Very well Known Member
Huge Yes fan and I love this album so much. Literally no weaknesses anywhere in the writing, execution, or production. Tony Kaye is my favorite Yes keyboardist and, although Rabin did a good bit of keys when Kaye briefly stepped away, his spots are excellent. I saw them on this tour and Big Generator, and Kaye did not disappoint live. White and Squire were forces to be reckoned with in the Drama/90125/BG era - fantastic playing.
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