BIG GENERATOR

Not much to say about this 'sound-alike' album, except we made it this way. Our trenchant criticism of '90125' meant that YES knew they wouldn't keep us as fans no matter how technically proficient they played, no matter how outstanding the songs were compositionally - so why bother?

This album sounds like '90125' but don't make the mistake of thinking it's in any way related musically to that slice of 80s excellence: 'Big Generator' is fairly awful, a cross between hair metal and dissolute, directionless pop-rock. But what makes it unacceptable are the poor compositions, not its sound or its commerciality. All the sweet or complex intros the band came up with can't mask the paucity of ideas here. In the end it comes down to the songs, not the sound or production or arrangements or style, and there are no songs on this album worth listening to. And no wonder: the major composers did not see eye to eye. ANDERSON wanted to return to YES's former gory, while RABIN wanted to go beyond '90125'. In the end, of course, they did neither. Go with a vision, not a compromise by committee, or end up with this sort of thing.

Having said this, I don't think this is quite as dire as some say. 'Shoot High, Aim Low' almost works - and an early demo of the song definitely does work - and there are moments of cleverness scattered throughout the record. And that's it. Move along.