BIG GENERATOR

90126? As much as 90125 is better than this album, there is nothing on it as good as "I'm Running." This is easily the best thing 'Yes' had done since "Machine Messiah." This is even the best song they did from 1983-1991 (I'm including ABWH in there too). At times this song almost sounds like a hybrid of The Yes Album and GFTO. This song is simply head and shoulders above anything else on this album in every conceivable way. A Caribbean flavour to this track. Begins with some bass playing you wouldn't expect to hear in the late 1980s. Nice mallet percussion. A little bit of organ in this song. When it gets to the short guitar solo after 5 minutes, I have to remind myself two things: 1) this album was released in 1987; 2) Steve Howe is not in this line-up.

Oh, there are some other songs too. Imagine, in an alternate universe somewhere, that Yes released an album in 1987 and "I'm Running" was the *worst* song on it! Well I'm going to describe the rest of the album we have in this universe. Most of the songs are not bad for what they are: late '80s commercial rock. Apart from "Running," "Shoot High, Aim Low" is the best of the rest. "Rhythm Of Love" was the main single from the album. I like the Beach Boys style harmonies at the beginning. Probably the third best song. The title track starts with some "Leave It" like a capella vocals. You can hear the guitar solo from "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" in this song. Is Jon trying to rap in "Almost Like Love"? "Love Will Find A Way" has chord changes similar to Rick Springfield's song "Jessie's Girl."

"Yes" of the 1980s was a different beast than the Yes of the 1970s. Apart from "I'm Running" you wouldn't notice a connection between the two here. Just as Phil Collins did not ruin Genesis, Trevor Rabin did not ruin Yes. Both these bands just had slowly ageing musicians who had to cope with an era where it was more important to get paid than to make any kind of artistic statement. For fans only. 2 stars.