90125

90125 was released after a period that saw YES lay dormant for nearly two years, up to that point, nobody really knew what was to become of the band, Were they finished? Enter Trevor Rabin, singer/songwriter and guitar virtuoso that also had a knack for impeccable production. So now the band had become a three piece, consisting of Rabin, Squire and White, soon afterwards they were joined by none other than original Keyboard player Tony Kaye. Squire and Rabin were initially set to share vocals and the band would be called 'Cinema'. Jon Anderson was called up to guest on a few tracks to spark a bit of interest and to add his unique touch to the vocal delivery. Anderson then became a full time member and with him back in the fold there was no other option but to call the band YES again. So how does the material sound now?

Well looking back at Yes during this period it's obvious they wouldn't win any beauty contests, but the music they recorded still sounds incredible. The album is a cohesive and powerful effort. Highlights include the 'Roundabout of the 80s' Owner of a Lonely Heart, with its distinctive Rabin guitar riff, state of the art production and dazzling guitar solo, a whole new generation of Yes fans were spawned. This was also where most fans of previous Yes incarnations left off. However, 90125 had material that could easily match, if not better the well known Owner of a Lonely Heart. 'Changes', the more accepted track among prog fan, has an excellent percussion led intro and is possibly the strongest track on the record, great guitar work again from Rabin. The short yet breathtaking instrumental 'Cinema', sounds stunning and packs quite a punch over just two minutes, winning a grammy in 1984 for best instrumental. 'Leave it' has an odd vocal intro that reminds me of 'Knots' by Gentle giant, throughout the album the vocals are excellent between Squire, Rabin and Anderson. 'City of Love' is also not a bad track, another rocker with a nice chorus. The albums closer 'Hearts' is one of the greatest songs Yes did during the 80s, melodic, beautiful and touching. As the song builds it almost becomes a rocker at one point, but towards the end of the (almost) 8 minute track, it dies down and ends gracefully. Fantastic.

It's easy to pass this album off as Yes trying to become commercial, but the album sounds very natural, nothing sounds forced, the material is excellent and it still sounds fresh and exciting today. Fans of all sorts of music should give this album a try, it is much more 'ROCK' rock than 'PROGRESSIVE' rock, yet the quality of the album should shine through to the open minded music fan, prog or not.

As a progressive rock album I would give this 3 stars, as an album regardless of genre I would give this 4 stars, so i'll meet in the middle and award 90125 3.5 stars. Very much an 80s album, but one of the better albums of the 80s.