November 7, 1983 - 90125

A month after my last release and a long six years since the the last album I have "Going For The One", Yes released their eleventh album "90125" on November 7, 1983. Yes released two albums that I don't have since 1977 and subsequently broke up in 1981, but a different line-up brings Yes back for another go and this would actually end up being their most commercially successful album of their career and also spawned their only #1 hit single. This line-up still has lead singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White with the band but it also sees the return of their original keyboardist Tony Kaye. I like this reunion as Kaye is a great keyboardist and rounding out the group is new guitarist Trevor Rabin, who brings a pop-y style of rock music to the group. The departure of guitarist Steve Howe stings a little, but he is now part of Asia and that didn't go so well, so it seems it worked out for Yes. This new 80s, more popular style is not like the progressive Yes of the 70s, but there's some solid music here as well, let's check it out! 

The album begins with Yes's only #1 hit song "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and it would become immensely popular. White starts it off with a little drum fill before Rabin comes in with an emphatic guitar riff that sounds pretty cool. Squire and White form a pretty pop-y rhythm section but things sound pretty catchy and Kaye adds some cool keyboards as well. The guitar quiets down for the verse as Anderson sings in his classic high voice, delivering a pretty solid verse. I've missed Anderson's vocals and it's great to hear his crystal clear voice again. The verse leads right into a similar chorus as Anderson sings the name of the song a few times over and Rabin does the catchy "much better than an" backing vocals. After this pretty simple chorus they play another catchy verse that has some nice moments to it before resuming the chorus. At the end of this chorus Rabin takes over the role of singing the name of the song and he also plays a nice little guitar bit while Anderson does some nice rambling vocals overtop. His high voice continues to sound great and after he says "and don't you hesitate at all, no no!" he does a cool little back and forth with Kaye on keyboards that ends with Jon letting out a really nice yell that I love! This smoothly segues into a distorted and very 80s sounding guitar solo and Rabin doesn't do anything too flashy, but he does deliver a solid solo that fits the pop-y mood pretty well. After the solo they slowly make their way back to the chorus and after a quiet go through they ramp it up once again for another rambling part. Anderson does some more great singing overtop the catchy chorus riff and they begin a slow fadeout that eventually takes us to the end of the song. It's definitely not like their 70s stuff, but it was still a pretty cool song. Up next is "Hold On" and after a very soft rock opening by White and Rabin the band settles into the main riff led by a repeated keyboard riff by Kaye. Anderson and Squire both sing the verse but Jon's voice definitely stands out more as they sing a slow, very pop-y verse. If you're a big fan of "Close To The Edge" or "Fragile" and you were expecting more of that awesomeness, you would be sadly disappointed as this whole album has a very pop-y, radio-friendly feel. The keyboards used to be one of the amazing highlights of Yes, but the synths in this song sound very 80s and also pretty boring. Anderson's singing is nice though and it leads into a slow, epic chorus riff that sounds decent, once again thanks to some solid singing by Anderson. The guitar and bass sound good when you hear them and Rabin gets a chance to play some cool guitar after the chorus. This leads right back into the chorus again and after another go through they shift to a new part with just keyboards and vocals as Kaye plays a cool riff and Anderson, Squire and Rabin all sing together in a part that actually does remind me of some older Yes! Not the crazy solos sadly, but the harmonized vocals still sound pretty good! All roads lead to Rome they say as this riff also seamlessly leads back to the slow and epic chorus. They continue to jam out this slow chorus for over a minute to end the song and aside from a couple nice guitar licks by Rabin, it's largely pretty unexciting. This song has a very epic chorus, but not much else going for it. Track 3 is called "It Can Happen" and we hear some guest sitar that gives the song a very Eastern feel to it as Rabin's guitar and the sitar sync up for an interesting main riff. Anderson sings some nice high vocals and Squire comes in and out with some cool little bass bits in what turns out the chorus riff as we Anderson sing "it can happen to you, it can happen to me, it can happen to everyone eventually". From here they shift nicely into a new riff with Kaye playing some cool piano and Rabin adding some distorted guitar. They use some cool echo effects on Anderson's voice as he leads this slightly trippy, but somehow still pop-y verse. They connect nicely back into another epic chorus that is a bit longer this time as the sitar comes back and Anderson sings some great vocals. Kaye's piano and the lack of sitar signal a shift back to the trippy verse and after another solid verse and chorus it's time for a "guitar solo". Rabin plays some decent guitar but the bass and keyboards and drums are all playing good stuff as well and it doesn't really stand out like a real solo. It's not bad, but it leaves me wanting more from a band I know is definitely capable of it. They pick it up at the end of the verse and return nicely back to the opening riff and make their way back to the full chorus. Anderson sings a verse on one track and it plays overtop of the repeated chorus riff in a closing bit with a lot of different vocals singing different parts at once. It's an interesting effect, but I didn't think it really added anything and it definitely couldn't be replicated live. The final song on this side is "Changes" and it's driven by a cool riff that sounds like it's being played on a xylophone, but it's actually Rabin using some sort of keyboards to achieve the effect. Kaye syncs up with him on piano and eventually Squire does the same on bass and White completes this cool intro with a drum roll that leads into a full-blown main riff driven  by the same xylophone-y part by Rabin. This eiff sounds pretty cool and Rabin comes in on guitar toned even more to it, playing some nice stuff that culminates in a sweet little lick that makes everything stop. It's an unexpected and nice pause and they quickly resume the main riff as Rabin instead plays a slower complementary guitar part and things shift nicely into a new light rock riff led by Rabin on guitar. Rabin sings lead vocals by himself in this lighter riff and his voice doesn't sound super memorable, but it's not too shabby either as he leads this soft verse nicely. Anderson joins him for the more upbeat chorus and Rabin plays a nice heavier guitar part. White plays a nice drum fill to segue back to the lighter, sappier verse and while Rabin sounds alright on his own I think Anderson would've inevitably done it better. After a much longer chorus this time we eventually reach a guitar solo by Rabin and he does a decent job in this one leading the way with some nice guitar. Rabin tries to sound epic in a new verse but once again, Anderson is right there, just let him do it! They do exactly that and when Jon takes over I think things sound much better for sure. He leads the way back to the chorus and they jam out the catchy chorus several times over before segueing nicely back into the opening riff for a final run through. This whole first side had it's moments, but compared to the Yes of old it pales in comparison.

Side two begins with a two-minute instrumental titled "Cinema" and White starts it off with a nice drum beat and Rabin leads the way with a slow, epic guitar riff. Kaye adds some droning keyboards in the background but it's Rabin who's in the spotlight as he plays some cool guitar. Squire's bass sounds pretty good as well and they stick to this riff for almost the whole song. Near the end they move into a flourish ending as White and Rabin both play some cool stuff before they end this short song. Up next is "Leave It" and Anderson and Rabin sing in unison in this musicless opening. It's only vocals at the start and after the opening lines Kaye, Squire and White all start their own "do do" or "dumdum" vocals tracks and it makes for a pop-y but also pretty cool part. Rabin begins to sing a nice verse overtop of all the backing vocals as they continue to add more voices and still no instruments! They don't join in until we reach the chorus, where finally guitar, bass and keyboards join the song as Anderson and Rabin sync up again for the chorus. The bass sounds pretty good and Kaye plays some pop-y, catchy keyboards as well. The instruments remain as they move back for another verse, this time with Anderson singing lead vocals and he does a great job as usual, singing a solid verse overtop a very busy riff between the music and all the backing vocals. After another catchy chorus Rabin and Anderson begin their own "do do do" parts and we have five different scst singers at once for quite an interesting effect! This leads right back into another chorus and afterwards Rabin plays a short guitar bridge that takes us to a more epic version of the opening part. This also takes us right back to the chorus, but it's an undeniably catchy one and despite this song sounding a lot more like pop than rock, Yes do a fantastic job coordinating five different sets of vocals into a unique and interesting song. Track 7 is called "Our Song" and Kaye opens it with a fast-paced keyboard riff and Rabin plays off of him with a different but also fast-paced guitar riff that sounds pretty good. Squire and White form a solid rhythm section as they complete this main riff and while things sound good, I think they could sound even better if the keyboards were an old organ for instance, instead of the light synths that dominate this decade. Alas, it's a solid main riff and Anderson sings a nice verse overtop. They slow things down for the chorus and the synths really take over and dominate as Anderson sings a slow, soft chorus. It sounds okay, but the light pop-y feel is just such a downgrade from the progressive music of their past. Rabin throws back to that past a bit with a decent little guitar solo after the chorus, then they move nicely back into another verse. Rabin adds another nice little guitar bit after the verse and then they finally reach the chorus once again. This leads into Anderson singing a short new verse before the end song as they started it with a throwback to the opening riff. The next song is "City Of Love" and it's driven by a slow and simple bass riff by Squire that sounds heavy and pretty gnarly! After a trippy opening Rabin plays the same heavy riff on guitar and Kaye adds some offbeat piano as they form a headbanging main riff. Anderson begins the first verse and his voice sounds like it's usual good self in the verse, but he really turns up the epicness for the chorus. Rabin and Squire sing the same backing vocals and it sounds very emphatic and epic! Kaye plays some cool keyboards overtop the same heavy main riff and at the end of a pretty sweet chorus, Rabin plays a sweet little guitar segue that leads right into the next verse. After another cool verse and chorus Rabin sets himself for up a guitar solo and even though it's a pretty short one he does a nice job and makes things sound pretty epic. It's right back into another bumping verse and Anderson gives a little shout out to Bob Marley as he sings "no woman no cry" right before they move into another epic chorus. Rabin's nice finish to the chorus this time leads to a nice heavy bridge riff and it seems like they're building for a real solo. Instead of an awesome guitar and/or keyboard solo, we hear a bunch of heavily distorted noises and effects in a part that I'm certainly a bit disappointed with. They manage to end the song on a decent note and aside from that one weird part I thought it was the best song on this second side. The album wraps up with "Hearts" which clocks in at over seven and a half minutes; easily the longest song on this album, but short compared to the epics of the 70s still! It begins with a keyboard riff that sounds like a pan flute almost and White playing some light percussion. Anderson sings nicely overtop this light main riff at first, then he switches to backing vocals and Rabin sings lead the next verse. They keep swapping and sometimes singing together as they play off each other really nicely and both lead the verse. White plays a more standard slow drum beat and Squire joins in to give a bit more oomph to things as they continue with this riff that reminds me a bit of Japan. They do eventually come to a chorus as Anderson lightly sings "two hearts are better than one" and the band lightly plays along in a very pop-y chorus. They return to the main keyboard riff but instead of another verse Rabin gets a chance for an extended guitar solo. He does a pretty great job as he starts slow and ramps up into a pretty sweet solo that fits the mood nicely. This leads right into another chorus and for a brief second, we hear Kaye play some old school organ and it sounds great I think! It's not nearly long enough as the lighter keyboards return and they form a new riff that sounds a bit heavier with Rabin playing some nice guitar. Anderson sings overtop this new riff but it somehow meshes perfectly with the main riff as they combine the two to nice effect! This moves seamlessly into a stripped down chorus with just keyboards and vocals and then we even hear another guitar solo! This one is a bit lighter than the last one but it still sounds pretty good  and it's followed by a final chorus. It gets quiet for the final minute as Kaye plays some trippy keyboards and Anderson sings an epic final line to bring this record to it's end.

That is the end of "90125" and I think on it's own, it's a pretty good album. With everything sounding much pop-ier it's no surprise this was their biggest album commercially and Trevor Rabin brings a new spark to Yes. It's still a bit 80s for me, but I can't deny that this was an enjoyable album. But how does it compare to the older albums I have by Yes? My bottom rung for Yes is "Going For The One" and although it is more in the style of rock that I prefer I thought this new album was more complete overall. In that same vein, I also like it better than their double album "Tales From Topographic Oceans", but that is where this new version of Yes stops as I don't think it surpasses their debut album and that late 60s/early 70s style. Yes would continue to make many, MANY more albums, but this is the last we will hear of them in my library as I do not follow them past this point. In their prime, Yes were one of the best bands around, but they are a long way from those days and so here are my final rankings for Yes:

1. Fragile
2. Relayer
3. The Yes Album
4. Close To The Edge
5. Time And A Word
6. Yes
7. 90125
8. Tales From Topographic Oceans
9. Going For The One