BIG GENERATOR

three stars or lower by YES' own and everyone else's standards - but i like the album immensely for what it is. hence the four stars, yell at me if you must. this album is by no means faultless but it has the one ingredient that is vital to creating a great YES-album - it has every band member's contribution to the music. this has resulted in an at times patchy collection of songs - indeed, the term "album" is somewhat misplaced here, as the music is hardly cohesive - however, the upside is the diversity to the songs, which is certainly not everyone's cup of tea but a good thing in itself. another downside - a track-by-track review is probably required:

"rhythm of love": the other (minor) hit, a straightforward, slightly undistinguishable AOR-song, that has little to do with YES' legacy and it is only jon anderson's unmistakeably singing that tells us what band may be at work here. still, pleasant to listen to - not sure if the lush strings/harmony-opening needed to be sellotaped to the beginning - and to rock along to (if you must), however, it is still a mystery to me, just how and why this tune has survived in the band's live set for so long.

"big generator": now we're talking! many people accuse this of being patchy and (by today's terminology) being a cut-and-paste-job, but the shifting moods from the crunchy guitar riffs to the YES-like verses with lots of exciting sounds, effects and gimmicks inbetween make for a great headphone-augmented listening experience.

"shoot high aim low" is the definite high point of the album. the sparse arrangement creates an all-engulfing ambience and jon anderson's and trevor rabin's alternating vocal lines add an urgency to the proceedings that make the song genuinely exciting to listen to. this is music that creates images. this is what YES is good at. this is YES music at it's finest.

"almost like love" sees the album taking another u-turn, it's a funky, fast-paced rocker augmented by a driving brass section. probably a mistake for YES, even more so for YES' audience, but everyone's performance on it is top notch, squire had the idea for it, rabin plays one of his most relentless solos, kaye lets rip on his beloved hammond organ, white hammers home a relentless beat and jon anderson hits the stratosphere during the final part.

"love will find a way" is the hit single that the ATCO execs were breathing down rabin's neck all those years that the album took to become finished, but it works well enough with its jangly guitar motif and west-coast-rock like vocal harmonies - albeit staying well clear of YES' own template (it even boasts a short harmonica solo). good but hardly essential. i personally don't care much for the string quartet intro.

"final eyes" is another song that sees YES being the most true to themselves with a more intricate arrangement and trevor rabin probably coming closest to steve howe's commanding legacy on the acoustic guitar. everyone else plays a supportive role, if a little nondescript, however it is a pleasantly poignant and very moving track, however esp. towards the end a bit on the polished side. they certainly take things further on "i'm running", a full-throttle tour-de-force that once again has everyone's input and is an undeservedly forgotten YES gem. i personally am fond of that latin feel and the way jon anderson (who delivers some of his best performances on the entire album) just lifts the whole song into outer space at the end. "holy lamb" is simply another one of those esoteric little ditties that jon anderson loves to close albums with and thus once more sneaks in the final word as to who is the true spiritual focal point of YES.

alas, spirituality does not fill up refigerators and that made the album a painful experience for everyone involved. it is a remarkable collection of diverse and challenging music but YES payed a very high price for it, as "big generator" saw the band off into a decade of internal and external turmoil, from which they never truly recovered, despite many more fine attempts at creating their very own brand of music.