90125

There are so many reviews of this album on this site that to review this in the usual sense is an act of redundancy. Either you love it, you think it's okay, or you hate it because it's too poppy. Sure it is the closest thing Yes would come to pop-rock, but in my opinion, it is not pop in the pure sense.

I suggest if you think this is nothing but disco or pop, you need to listen to the album "90124" by Trevor Rabin. That album is pop with an 80s feel. It also features the songs from "90125" before "Yes" owned the songs. This is a good way to hear how these songs sounded before any kind of prog element was added to them. "90124" is a two star album which boasts only one interesting thing, this is how most of the songs developed on "90125". The first iteration of these songs was intended to be released by a group that was going to be named "Cinema" and it featured Trevor Rabin, Alan White and Chris Squire. All I can say is thank goodness Jon Anderson opted into the project, because it was at that time that the prog elements got added into the mix. Jon brought Tony Kaye in as keyboardist, who had done work in Yes previously, and since 4 of the 5 members now had previously worked in Yes, they made it into a Yes album. Comparing "90124" with "90125" will show you what happens to music when Prog is added into the mix. Before "Yes" the songs were bland, after "Yes" the songs are vivid, lively and amazing. It's true that these songs would not have been on this site or considered Progressive if released as "Cinema" instead of "Yes", but that is because they were not Prog when they were "Cinema" songs. Not only that, I don't think anyone would have remembered any of them by this time.

I love this album. Sure it is the lighter side of Prog, but it is sure as hell a lot better than any Pop or Disco music I have ever heard. It also brought in a lot more Yes fans that would not have existed without it. I find this album extremely valuable to Progressive music. It is true that there are a few weak tracks that I consider a little dated, namely "Our Song" and "Hold On" which still retain a bit of the 80s vibe, but there are a lot more excellent songs that have withstood the test of time and constant playing, including "Changes", "City of Love" and "Hearts". Also, "Leave It" and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" still stand on their own as great singles which add so much to popular music and still continue to inspire artists to venture further outside of their usual Pop formulas. I stand on the side of the ones that consider this an excellent album and essential to Progressive Rock. And that is coming from a person that is a huge Yes fan. But, as a post script, I am very disappointed in the last two albums, "Fly From Here" and that other lousy one that came after it. I admit I find both of those albums very embarrassing.