Forum Home Forum Home > Progressive Music Lounges > Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Is 90125 the most underrated Yes album?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedIs 90125 the most underrated Yes album?
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  123 7>
Author
Message
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
rogerthat View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer


Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Is 90125 the most underrated Yes album?
    Posted: May 15 2011 at 10:10
As I listen to it, I wonder how this album actually gets so much flak.  Right now, I would call it their best since, um, Relayer or at least since GFTO.  On 90125, the band sounds rejuvenated and there are hooks galore (and I mean really good hooks that grab you by the collar).  It's their freshest effort since CTTE but I shall give consideration to Relayer and GFTO being considerably studied and ambitious efforts. I grant that 80s production values don't make it the easiest to endure initially but is that really reason enough to ignore Changes, Hold On or Leave It?  

Also, it doesn't sound so different from 80s Rush anyway, so I wonder if only second generation prog rock bands are 'allowed' to incorporate AOR or New Wave elements in their music. LOL  The only thing that doesn't go down so well with me is that it feels as if it was quite consciously made with an eye on commercial accessibility but, again, that's not to me such a huge consideration as to put this one down and applaud Drama in the same breath.  Thoughts?   
Back to Top
lazland View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: October 28 2008
Location: Wales
Status: Offline
Points: 13627 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 10:13
Well, it's certainly not underrated here. I love it, and think it is a true highlight of the band's career.

However, there are people who think that anything that remotely smells like a commercial song, let alone sounds like one, is automatically a bad thing. It isn't, but it's probably best to ignore the snipers and carry on enjoying. 
Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org

Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time!
Back to Top
rogerthat View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer


Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 10:17
Even the first time I heard it, I never found it as bad as it was made out to be in some quarters but today it clicked for me like it never did before.  Yes, I love it too and I am glad I gave it a shot today.
Back to Top
cannon View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: July 03 2010
Location: Coho Country
Status: Offline
Points: 1302 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 10:32
King Crimson's Discipline incorporated new wave at the time(1981) but not AOR IMO as did Yes for 90125. I like the album but I think Trevor Rabin's AOR/pop/rock influence lasted through the 90's with the band except for both Keys albums. IMO, the compilation Keystudio, the studio tracks from Keys To Acseension Vol. I and II is the most underated album from Yes.
Back to Top
Slaughternalia View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: February 17 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 901 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 10:53
90125 was immensely popular and I certainly wouldn't call it underrated. Personally, I don't like it at all, along with 80s Rush. Going For The One is the Yes album that doesn't get the love it deserves
Back to Top
proginrev View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: February 28 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 23 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 12:28
Yes progressed rather than remaining with the traditional prog sound and that is never popular with fans initially. Look at Marillion and even Genesis. But always in retrospect I enjoy these albums. 90215 is a class album, yes it has AOR influences but why not? That is the art of moving on. That is true progressive music.
Back to Top
cstack3 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
VIP Member

Joined: July 20 2009
Location: Tucson, AZ USA
Status: Offline
Points: 7265 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 12:41
On Rick Wakeman's website, he wrote the following under his "Grumpy Old Rick" blog:

http://www.rwcc.com/

"Jon is in pretty constant contact with Trevor Rabin and music has already started flying back and forth. Jon has sent through some great ideas and I will shortly be sending some stuff back across the Atlantic to both Trev and Jon. Trev, I know, is also working on music for the project and we are all really up for it and excited as to what it’s going to produce. 

As many people know, it’s a combination of YES personnel that’s never been used on recordings, and certainly, if the chemistry that happened on the UNION tour between the three of us can reignite itself, then we are in for a treat making the music and hopefully it’ll be a treat for others to listen to it......and then, with a bit of luck...live performances...and special ones, not hundreds of gigs one after the other which dissipates all meaning of the music."

Since it appears that Trevor will reappear soon in a Yes formula, I've been giving his Yes catalog a good listen recently.   I agree, 90125 has some excellent material (my favorite being "It Can Happen,") although I don't care for followup material such as "Big Generator" as much.

Trev has chops & good compositional sense, so I'm curious how he'll sound 30 years after 90125!  He has some serious growth under his belt from his film scoring & other work.  I'm more excited about the Anderson/Wakeman/Rabin project's potential than I am about the latest Yes lineup, although time will tell.  
Back to Top
The T View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: October 16 2006
Location: FL, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 17493 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 13:09
No, I think it's actually overrated.
Back to Top
richardh View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28029 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 13:09
I prefer Talk where the band sounded a bit more 'relaxed'. 90125 was just too forced for my liking much like Genesis post Duke output. That happens when commercial considerations overtake artistic ones (imo).
The eighties is almost a total write off for most seventies prog bands with only Rush and King Crimson seeming to have an actual artistic vision.Rush's music about impending oblivion was hardly the stuff for radio airplay.
Back to Top
Dellinger View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
VIP Member

Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 12732 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 13:27
I'm still waiting for more news from that project, really looking forwards to it. I find 90125 a really enjoyable album, though few songs are really highligts for me. However, it's a really good pop album. Still, for a Rabin era song, my favouirte is "Endless Dream" by far.
Back to Top
Harry Hood View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 15 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 1305 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 13:56
The Ladder
Back to Top
Guests View Drop Down
Forum Guest Group
Forum Guest Group
Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 13:59
Originally posted by The T The T wrote:

No, I think it's actually overrated.
Back to Top
chopper View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: July 13 2005
Location: Essex, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 20030 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 14:17
Originally posted by The T The T wrote:

No, I think it's actually overrated.


Me too.
Back to Top
Slartibartfast View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam

Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29630 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 15:32
Hey, I liked it at the time but I have better things to listen to these days.  
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
Back to Top
TheLionOfPrague View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: March 08 2011
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 1063 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 19:58
I like it.

It's not at the level of "Fragile", "The Yes Album" or "Close To The Edge", but it's a good album.
I shook my head and smiled a whisper knowing all about the place
Back to Top
rogerthat View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer


Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 19:58
Originally posted by Slaughternalia Slaughternalia wrote:

90125 was immensely popular and I certainly wouldn't call it underrated.


Welcome to popular and underrated. In other words, if it is popular and especially a popular album in the 80s from a prog rock band, it cannot be very good, is the usual presumption and it thereby gets more than its fair share of flak. 
Back to Top
The Dark Elf View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
VIP Member

Joined: February 01 2011
Location: Michigan
Status: Offline
Points: 13056 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 20:07
Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by Slaughternalia Slaughternalia wrote:

90125 was immensely popular and I certainly wouldn't call it underrated.


Welcome to popular and underrated. In other words, if it is popular and especially a popular album in the 80s from a prog rock band, it cannot be very good, is the usual presumption and it thereby gets more than its fair share of flak. 
 
Perhaps he just didn't like the album. I could never hear it again and would never miss it. It does nothing for me. Personally, I think Going for the One is underrated and Yes sounds rejuvenated and lyrical on that release after falling into the ELP Works I and II trap with the bloated and pretentious  Relayer and Topographic Oceans albums.
...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...
Back to Top
rogerthat View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer


Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 20:18
Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

 
Perhaps he just didn't like the album. 


Fair enough and I was really addressing the general assumption that something that is popular cannot be underrated.
Back to Top
The Dark Elf View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
VIP Member

Joined: February 01 2011
Location: Michigan
Status: Offline
Points: 13056 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2011 at 20:25
Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Fair enough and I was really addressing the general assumption that something that is popular cannot be underrated.
Well, there have been plenty of albums that have been critically panned, even savaged, that still proved to be wildly successful with the public. So, I suppose an album can be underrated in that sense. We were just talking about Tull's A Passion Play in another thread. There's an album that the critics attacked almost  universally, but it still went to #1 in the U.S.
...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...
Back to Top
richardh View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28029 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 16 2011 at 01:12
Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by Slaughternalia Slaughternalia wrote:

90125 was immensely popular and I certainly wouldn't call it underrated.


Welcome to popular and underrated. In other words, if it is popular and especially a popular album in the 80s from a prog rock band, it cannot be very good, is the usual presumption and it thereby gets more than its fair share of flak. 
 
Perhaps he just didn't like the album. I could never hear it again and would never miss it. It does nothing for me. Personally, I think Going for the One is underrated and Yes sounds rejuvenated and lyrical on that release after falling into the ELP Works I and II trap with the bloated and pretentious  Relayer and Topographic Oceans albums.
 
Interesting. For me the holy trinity of Yes albums is The Yes Album,Fragile and Close To The Edge. That may have had something to do with the line ups. Moraz never really fitted into Yes and should have remained in Refugee imo. I still like Gates though. Going For The One has some very strong material but it feels a little bit too forced for me.
 
ELP's Works Volume album is a decent effort and much more interesting musically than many albums of the time. I wish it was more respected. The average rating it currently gets of around 2.5 is criminal imo.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  123 7>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.227 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.