Yes's 1983 album, 90125, has been on steady play lately on my iPod as I have come to appreciate it more and more over the years. And yet, the album almost never happened. By 1982, Yes had all but faded into oblivion with poor sales and squabbling band members. When relative newcomer and musical genius Trevor Rabin joined forces with Yes bassist Chris Squire to form a new band, they decided to call themselves Cinema. Soon after, Yes vocalist Jon Anderson as well as former members Tony Kaye and Alan White joined the fray to become what was ultimately a new Yes album. At that time, I had recently discovered the band, and especially enjoyed their classics, Fragile and The Yes Album.
Despite the massive success of its singles, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and "Leave It" (thanks to the song's "groundbreaking" upside-down video), the strength of this disc lies in the rest of the album tracks. "Hold On" and "It Can Happen" anchor side one before giving way to the powerful yet disjointed time signature of "Changes". Side Two was effective as well, turning 90125 into a different sounding yet timely rock classic. Often brushed aside as utter crap by Yes fans and prog rock purists, 90125 was instantly accessible upon its release. Were the videos cheesy? Yes. Were the outfits and the hairdos tacky? Sure. Was the tour pompous and overblown? Of course. But 90125 stands the test of time and rocks as much if not more than any album from the 80's.
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1 comment:
Even better, in my never to be humble opinion, was the a capella version of "Leave It", though it was probably just the vocal tracks minus the instrumentation rather than a separate recording.
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