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Album Details

• Artist: Yes
• Album: 90125
• Label: Atco
• Year of Release: 1983
• ME Rating: Indie Classic
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2012-11-30

After the Drama tour, Yes broke up and it seemed like it would be the end of the band.  Bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White continued on as an united rhythm section, first releasing a single “Run With the Fox,” and then working with Jimmy Page to try to put together a new band. After that effort concluded, the pair teamed up with South African Trevor Rabin. They added original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye to the mix and started working on a new project to be called “Cinema.”

While recording their debut album, producer (and former Yes vocalist) Trevor Horn suggested they bring Jon Anderson in to work with them. Once Anderson was added, the decision was made to rename the group “Yes.” Had they remained under the name Cinema, perhaps longtime Yes fans might have had a less negative response than they did with the 90125 album.

Clearly the sound of Yes was greatly different. Yet, that sound also got them their greatest success. The single “Owner of a Lonely Heart” presented a new, more stark and pop rocking sound, but also earned them their highest sales ever. While many of the songs presented on 90125 had that more stripped back, pop rock sound, there were still hints of classic Yes, and some of them came in unusual places. Early Yes had always had an element based on complex vocal arrangements with multiple singers and harmonies. That had fallen to the wayside a bit as time went on, but one could see 90125 as a renaissance of that side of Yes.

Yes frequently made decisions and released albums that caused controversy among critics and fans (and sometimes even band members). Previous albums like Tales from Topographic Oceans, Tormato and Drama had similar reactions. Perhaps in some ways, 90125 was the most controversial of all because the sound was so different. Still, the album was a huge hit and did well in critical reviews. The Trevor Rabin rift still exists among groups of Yes fans, with many nearly demonizing Rabin’s time in the band and others holding him above Steve Howe.
    

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