Ranking the Discography: Yes Part XI: 90125 (1983)

Following the Drama tour in 1980, Yes disbanded and Chris Squire, Alan White, and guitarist and singer Trevor Rabin (formerly of Rabbitt and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) formed Cinema, while Horn and Downes joined Asia. In 1982, instead of Cinema releasing a debut album, they reformed as Yes with Rabin. Both Jon Anderson and Tony Banks returned to the band, marking Banks’ first time recording with Yes since 1971. While Trevor Horn did not sing lead on the album, he remained as producer. Gary Mouat designed the logo and cover on an Apple IIe computer, and it was named after Atco Records’ catalog number for the album. 90125 had 3 singles, and reached #16 in the UK and #5 in the US.

Members:

Jon Anderson: vocals

Trevor Rabin: guitar, keyboards, vocals

Chris Squire: bass, vocals

Tony Kaye: organ, electric piano

Alan White: drums, percussion, Fairlight CMI, backing vocals

The Tracks:

1. “Owner of a Lonely Heart”: This is Years only single to ever top the Billboard Hot 100. It contains a sample from ” Kool is Back” by Funk, Inc, which was stored in Horn’s Fairlight, creating the famous “pow” noises during the bridge. It’s still one of my favorite Yes songs.
2. “Hold On “: This song has a good rhythm and I like the keyboards.
3. “It Can Happen”: This was one of the songs that was originally intended for the Cinema debut. It’s a tad overdone, but I like it.
4. “Changes”: This feels more like an arena rock song than a prog rock one.
5. “Cinema”: This is a short instrumental that won Yes their only Grammy.
6. “Leave It”: I don’t like the vocals on this, but the instruments are good.
7. “Our Song”: This song is a tribute to Toledo. It has some good guitars and bass.
8. “City of Love”: This song was inspired by Rabin’s visit to Harlem. I like the keyboard work.
9. “Hearts”: This is a good closer.

Final Verdict: Like the previous album, this feels like Yes is changing their sound too much. Some programs bands at the time, like Rush and Genesis also evolved to fit the 80’s sound, but they still maintained a prog rock sound. This feels like a mix of pop and rock. I do enjoy this album, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who has little familiarity with Yes. It’s not their best work, but I don’t hate it at all.

Grade: C

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