Classic 1980's Albums: YES: 90125

I remember it like it was yesterday: late 1983 in Indianapolis and I'm strolling into a record store at the mall. Coming over the sound-system was a tune that had all the familiar elements of a band I used to love but the music had been given a jump-start with a current upbeat, almost funky kind of sound.

The band was YES - the 1970's progressive-rock super-band that had supposedly broken up just 3 years before and now they were back with a new album entitled 90125: already making its way up the charts thanks to the group's soon-to-be- number one hit - Owner of a Lonely Heart!

I was happily stunned. This was YES? Couldn't be! I called over to a nearby clerk: "Hey - who is this band?" I asked. "The vocalist sure sounds like the lead singer from YES." The clerk motioned over to a CD display by the checkout line where e the new CD was proudly displayed. "...Yeah. New album from YES...sounds pretty cool...!"

YES had been the quintessential super-group from the 1970's. Selling out stadiums with performances all over the world. But YES had a rough time of it in 1980 when lead vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman left the group. Now they were back with their new album 90125 and new producer Trevor Horn, who was on the cusp of becoming one of the most successful record producers in the industry (re: Seal, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and others). Oh, and the presence of new guitarist and vocalist Trevor Rabin didn't hurt things either.

YES' 90125 album not only gave the band a number one hit with Owner of a Lonely Heart, but the CD also went multi-platinum selling in the neighborhood of 6 million units. Bringing it all full circle was when the band garnered a "Comeback of the Year" award from the Record Industry of America.

90125 was definitely not like any YES album I'd ever heard before: gone were the rambling, cosmic lyric-driven tunes of lead vocalist Jon Anderson. The rock-and-roll element and trademark YES harmonies were still there on many tunes, but 90125 had -- GASP - shorter songs! Owner of a Lonely Heart became a staple of discos everywhere and become a cross-over hit on R&B stations as well.

Some 26 years later, YES' 90125 holds up pretty well. A lot better than much of the music of the 1980's as a matter of fact. Think I'll give it another listen right now!

You can pick up YES 90125 at: www.amazon.com/90125-YES/dp/B000002jk8
www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6670828/a/90125.htm
www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jpfyxqq5ld0e
www.we7.com/album/90125=expanded-?albumld=165068
www.oldes.com/YES/90125