Yes - 90125: practically perfect in (almost) every way
Written: Jul 22 '04 (Updated Dec 14 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: THE prog-rock group turns mainstream rock on it's ear. The result is astounding
Cons: sometimes goofy and/or syrupy lyrics and I'd make one swap in the song order
The Bottom Line: #4 of the Top Ten Albums that molded my musical tastes. This is one of those Must Have recordings, no matter what music you usually prefer…
bob_tomato's Full Review: 90125 [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] by Yes
Perfection.
For any endeavor, perfection is tantalizing and elusive, but it is a state still attainable by those with great skill and the right combination of timing and effort…
It is possible to attain perfection in sports and games – a pitcher can throw a perfect baseball game, a bowler can attain a perfect score of 300. One man has achieved the maximum number of possible points playing PacMan, though I doubt anyone has achieved the perfect score playing Yahtzee. When perfection is governed by rules and numbers, it is possible to achieve perfection ojectively.
City of Love Subjective perfection is far more difficult to achieve. Perception differs from person to person, so what may seem perfect to one may appear flawed to another. Some may see a strange collection of stones, broken and out of place, while others may feel some celestial harmonic resonating throughout Stonehenge. Some proclaim the Venus De Milo the pinnacle of artistic beauty, while others can't get around the fact that her arm's come off ("…'tis but a scratch"). Some persons like myself who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area find Pier 39 to be a horrifically crass blemish on the shores of The City – but it's also the location of a Perfect Moment in my life. I once stood at the end of the Pier and found myself gazing in complete wonder at the sight of an early summer sunset dipping below the 'Gate, the golden light delicately touching my future wife's hair as it floated gently upon the ocean breeze.
…sigh.
Where was I? Oh yes. Perfection.
It Can Happen
Is there such a thing as Perfection in music recording history? You can't point subjectively at an album and say, "that record had six top ten hits so it must be more perfect than this one with five hits". It just doesn't work. Music lovers have been trying to compare their favorites for years: Fifties Elvis or Comeback Elvis? Revolver or Sergeant Pepper? I'm Too Sexy… or The Macarena? While these comparisons are certainly fun and diverting, making a grand statement of perfection for one album over all others is daunting – but I'll give it a shot:
Yes' 90125 is the most technically perfect rock album to date.
Before any rock fans declare me a heretic, let me quickly state that 90125 is not my choice for the overall best rock album when you consider everything that goes into making a truly great album– but, I have yet to find a recording where any band exceeds this level of precise performance and sonic quality. What makes technical perfection important to me is the fact that my dream job has always been to be a music producer – I've got the ear for it and I know that I'd be good at it, too. My ear for musical detail, being able to latch onto any given part and really hear it, being able to follow it, dissect it and understand its value in the song is a gift I've had as long as I can remember. 90125 is absolutely astounding to my ear, and its musical complexity and accurate sonic quality make it my favorite album to dissect.
I'm getting ahead of myself…give me a moment or three to explain the band and the creation of this album.
Yesyears Yes is easily the best progressive-rock band in history, widely recognized for their rotating stable of extremely talented band members. There is no such thing as a brief history of Yes, and an explanation of how certain band members came to be involved in this project is of similar length. To be as brief as possible, the long years of Yes' ascension to the top of prog-rock were over by 1980; the genre was all but dead, and the various members of Yes were busy with successful new bands and solo projects (Asia for some, collaborations with Vangelis for singer Jon Anderson). Some members of Yes thought to form another band named Cinema, and guitarist Trevor Rabin was to be an integral part of the new band's direction for songwriting and overall sound. It was the decision to bring Anderson into Cinema as the band's lead singer that ultimately resurrected Yes as an entity.
For 90125, one of the best and brightest of all Yes incarnations came together with a new producer and a new guitarist to craft a record that would fly in the face of everything they had produced to that point in their long and successful career. The band's lineup:
Jon Anderson -- vocals
Tony Kaye -- keyboards
Trevor Rabin -- guitars, keyboards, vocals
Chris Squire -- bass guitars, vocals
Alan White -- drums, percussion, vocals
Trevor Horn – producer, vocals
Trevor Horn's previous work as a member of Yes gave him the knowledge of the band needed to make the best use of each musician in each song, and he and Trevor Rabin deserve the credit for the startling change in the band's sound from that in previous albums. All of the familiar Yes elements are present in 90125 – Kaye's flowing keyboard melodies and groundbreaking synthesizer sounds, White's intricate percussion and Squire's precise bass, Anderson's piercing high tenor – but Horn and Rabin sought to hone a new edge on these sounds. Rabin's guitar playing was fresh and inventive, pairing catchy hooks with fascinating melodies and chords. Horn and Rabin helped to update the sounds the other musicians created; they created a new palette of sounds that are used consistently throughout the songs. Instead of the nearly symphonic musical passages the band had become famous for, the songs of 90125 were relatively compact and edgy with a rock sound that was ahead of it's time in places. These were sounds and riffs that had not been tried before by anyone, and 90125's influence can be seen throughout future albums by other artists and bands.
Our Song
Music reviews generally don't mention the production team for a recording, but in this particular instance, a curtain call for these gentlemen is well-deserved:
Gary Langan -- engineer
Stuart Bruce -- additional engineering
Julian Mendelson -- additional engineering
Jonathan Jeczalik -- keyboard programming
Dave Lawson -- keyboard programming
While the superb musical talent of the band members is responsible for the acrobatic musical wizardry on display in each song, the production team captured this incredible performance with amazing clarity, crafting a marvelous topography of sound that is wide open to detailed examination by discerning listeners. This recording holds up under very close scrutiny – despite the complex musical structure of these songs, and the multi-layered vocals and synthesizers, everything remains crystal clear. Under Horn's inspired guidance the songs are crisp and dynamic, and are powerfully driven or sublimely restrained when called for. Studio processing is used to great effect, making use of the entire stereo spectrum and the various sounds maintain volume levels relative to their importance and placement – nothing ever jumps out suddenly or mysteriously becomes lost in this recording.
throwing tormatos
I'd better get my nit-picky problems with this album out of the way before I go on to some highlights from the songs themselves. First, the lyrics – most of my problems with some lyrics are probably due to Anderson's penchant for putting on a Happy face – note the capital 'H'. In several places, the lyrics get fairly thick with a giddy hope for new-age peace and harmony; while this is not a bad thing to wish for, and is certainly a better alternative to some of the lyrics you'll find in today's music, it becomes cloying after a while. Second (and this one is VERY nit-picky), I would change the order of songs for this album. I suspect that since this album was released near the end of the vinyl era when CDs were first being introduced, the song order is somewhat dictated by song length. My suggested change is minor – swap the opening song Owner of a Lonely Heart with Cinema and Leave It. I'll explain why I think this is important in a moment. Let's move on to the highlights of the album, following my preferred song order…
90125
Here's my preferred song order – if you have the album saved on your computer, try this lineup yourself and see what you think. It's a small change, but I think it makes a world of difference.
Album Side 1 Cinema (Live) / Leave It/ Hold On / It Can Happen / Changes /
Album Side 2 Owner of a Lonely Heart / Our Song / City of Love / Hearts
The album actually begins with the band's #1 hit, Owner of a Lonely Heart - this was the first song on Side 1 of the record and the cassette. Side 2 begins with Cinema and Leave It and these songs must stay together – Cinema ends on a transitional chord that allows Leave It to begin on top of Cinema's final guitar harmonic. Many albums start off with the lead radio single or the expected hit and I think this is the only reason for Owner… to be placed first. Cinema is a short rock instrumental that, despite it's updated sound, would also have been at home on some of the previous Yes albums. The sound of the piece is very anthemic – it is a strong declaration to the music industry of the band's continued relevance, that Yes is capable of playing mainstream rock. I feel it is the perfect opening salvo for this album – it goes against convention, but the strength of the track coupled with the unique sounds of Leave It makes for a compelling introduction to the "new" Yes.
Leave It stands on it's own as a testament to vocal skill and the technical prowess of the production team. It begins with an a cappella chorus, four part voices pushed to far left and far right, adding a bass voice in the center after the intro, while the rhythm voices are introduced far left and right, inducing an alternating effect as they move in counterpoint to each other. As the song goes on, percussion is added under the first lead vocal, then bass guitar, synth strings with the second chorus, and then an ever-increasing number of vocal embellishments. The whole thing becomes a danceable groove, layer upon layer upon layer of sound – the key to the success of the song is that the elements are introduced gradually. This allows for a natural rise in the dynamic level of the song, but it allows the listener the opportunity to learn the new element before the next one is introduced. By the time the song reaches its conclusion, the net effect is awesome.
Together, Cinema and Leave It are a stronger introduction than Owner of a Lonely Heart. QED
There is one other reason to place Leave It in the second slot of the album – the a cappella vocals foreshadow the a cappella bridge of the third song. Hold On is a solid, driving rock song that uses something of a cut time swing feel as it's main draw, with strong guitar riffs and a lot of bass rhythm and movement. Horn peppers the far reaches of the speakers with vocal effects that recall Leave It, and the song also makes use of the band's ease with time changes and off-kilter rhythms. Rabin adds a thoroughly eighties guitar lick towards the end for some authentic flavor, but it's not easily ignored – he has serious skills with his instrument.
My personal favorite of the entire album is the fourth song on the album. It Can Happen is simply brilliant. Opening with a sitar glissando and a droning intro of sitar, synth, and high bass notes falling in quick arpeggios, the music and the lyric complement each other perfectly –
you can fool yourself
you cheat until you're blind
you can cut your heart
it can happen
you can mend the wires
you can feed the soul apart
you reach…
The song begins with a stroke of musical genius – the sitar moves in a simple four pattern that sets the rhythm for the listener but then…Alan White starts the drum pattern and it falls on an offbeat of the sitar's apparent time signature. It takes a few moments to realize that the drum is actually beating the two and four of each measure and it's the sitar that was on the offbeat all along. These sorts of touches and details are what make music interesting, and Yes excels at this sort of rhythmic complexity.
As the song progresses, new sounds and themes creep in, and I can only describe them for what they really are: an advanced Pink Floyd hybrid. It's my classic rock dream come true – Pink Floyd sounds played by much more skilled instrumentalists (sorry, PF fans - Waters, Gilmour et al can write great songs, but they can't play like this…). There are three themes that present themselves throughout the song, and they all come together in the final 90 seconds of the song in a brilliant finale – Horn smartly refuses to allow the song to reach its climax until the very, very end, just before it fades out to leave you wanting more.
It's been said in other reviews, but it bears repeating – the opening seventy-six seconds of Changes is a master class in time-keeping. The varying rhythmic patterns have no other purpose in the song other than to form an introduction to the song itself, which stays in a four pattern most of the way through, but I see them as a musical interpretation of the song's title. For those of you who care, the entire sequence (before it repeats) is made up of 17 individual beats that can be represented by a Fibonacci sequence:
2 2 3 2 2 3 3 (the twos are fairly easy to locate, but the speed of the threes makes it tough to latch onto the pattern) If you can manage to track the sequence throughout the introduction of Changes, then you have a gift…use it well, young padawan.
Hold On
OK – I've wandered into mathematical theory which means I exhausted this analysis a long time ago, so let's wrap this thing up – (and the peanut gallery yells "YES - LET'S!"). I've fully discussed my personal choices for side 1 of the album, and side two displays similarly amazing feats of rhythm, masterful production work, fantastic instrumental performances and strongly crafted melodies. The second half is more conceptual and leans more towards the classic Yes song structure and feel – veteran Yes fans will probably appreciate songs like the long meandering Hearts more than the techno-pop flair of Owner of a Lonely Heart. There is still the matter of the syrupy lyrics that make me giggle - "all angels of the magic constellation / be singing us now" … sure, Jon. Whatever.
But, it all boils down to this: Yes' 90125 is a masterpiece of technical skill, both in musical structure and in it's production value. It is a flawless performance by a band recreating itself for a new generation of listeners, a re-invention that stunned their long-time fans, a reference recording for the entire music industry. I can't guarantee that this sort of music is something you will want to listen to, but I am absolutely certain that if you give 90125 your critical attention, you will have experienced something very close to musical perfection.
"hey bob_tomato - are you through yet?"
Yes.
"Perfect."
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Yes - 90125
Originally released November 7, 1983 by ATCO
2004 Re-master released by Rhino Records
Original Track listing
Owner of a Lonely Heart / Hold On / It Can Happen / Changes / Cinema (Live) / Leave It / Our Song / City of Love / Hearts
Expanded and Remastered
Rhino Records released a completely remastered version of 90125 in the summer of 2004. Again, the production value is wonderful, taking full advantage of advances in audio technology – the stellar engineering of the original tracks makes the new production sparkle. Rhino also included six bonus tracks in this version, providing some interesting unreleased Cinema recordings, and a very early version of It Can Happen (hey, where'd the verses go?). There is an a cappella Leave It (they just removed the instrumental tracks to leave the vocals exposed), and a club remix version of Owner of a Lonely Heart that should have stayed in the clubs – I suppose it's good for sampling the song, but that's it.
Bonus Tracks (2004 re-release only)
Leave It [Single Remix] / Make It Easy / It Can Happen [Cinema Version] / It's Over / Owner of a Lonely Heart [Extended Version] / Leave It [A Capella Version]
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My Top Ten List of albums that molded my musical tastes
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