12. 90125 YES

This is what greatness sounds like.

I’d like to think 90125 is a band record, but my producer sensibilities tell me otherwise.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone, anywhere, more talented than Yes newcomer guitarist Trevor Rabin.

I remember some of my purist prog rock friends who tried REALLY hard NOT to like this record. Not because they thought it wasn’t great, but because it wasn’t YES to them. Now that nearly 30 years has passed, I think (hope) they’ve gotten over it.

There was such a small circle of musicians in Prog Rock circles (I call them the usual suspects) that bands of that era (Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Genesis, Asia, etc…) seemed to just share band members. Prog rock geeks like me think it's awesome. Must have been hell to the guys trying to sort the business aspects out…

The opener of this album does what Queen’s “Opera” record does to me.

Since I had this on a cassette tape, each side is a complete thought to me. I cannot listen to any of these songs in isolation. But If I have a favorite on the album, it would be a hard call between “It can happen” and “Changes”.

I travelled a lot with this record… mostly around Florida as a high school student going to a myriad of music competitions for solo piano and high school band. But I also had an amazing trip to Ireland with my family, to meet some of my dad’s side of the family in the north. The soundtrack to that trip… 90125.

YES had always been a tight sounding group, but never perfect… until 90125. Fragile, for example, had a raw bite on it (listen to how hard "South Side" rocks after the long piano instrumental, and wind). But 90125 has no raw edges of any sort. I can’t imagine how difficult these sessions were.

As with most Yes records, there are a couple of strange songs on 90125 (City of Love, especially), but the overall production transports me to that “art” place again.

I also had the tremendous fortune of seeing/hearing Trevor Rabin’s solo tour when I was at Berklee. His “Can’t Look Away” cd is a must if you dig this one. I’ll say it again… what a talent.

Final thought on this record… the drumming is INSANE. You go Alan. You go with your bad self.

  ¶ 8:27 PM