BIG GENERATOR

This album is only slightly less bad than the previous one. Still, this music does not have very much to do with the Yes of old. Indeed, this is not really the real Yes at all. When this version of the band began work on their first album (that eventually became 90125) they were calling themselves 'Cinema' and not 'Yes'. Big Generator continued the in the style of 90125 and both these albums (plus the 1994 Talk album) should, in my opinion, have been released under the name 'Cinema'.

However, this album is somewhat closer to the original Yes-sound than 90125 was. As with that album this is not bad music. But it just isn't the progressive Yes we all know and love. Personally, I get some pleasure out of listening to this. But that is because I am the biggest fan of the band.

Around this time another band started working on a new album. This band involved Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Jon Anderson and Bill Bruford. They were not allowed to use the name 'Yes' so they called themselves 'Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe' instead. This band is really the real Yes of the 80's! They released a very good, self-titled, album in the same year as this album was released. This album sounded much more like Yes than Yes (read Cinema). I consider the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album to be the first real Yes album since 1980's Drama.

Well, this review is about Big Generator so let's get back to it. If you like 90125 you will most probably enjoy this album too. If you like the Yes of the 70's you should check out the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album first. The best tracks here are the longer ones plus the title track and Holy Lamb.

Good, but absolutely not essential.

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