90125

After the Drama tour ended, Chris Squire and the rest of the band sat down to decide what was next for Yes, or what was left of it. To Squire's surprise, it soon became clear that only he and Alan White were still in the conversation. Jon Anderson had found new creative energy working with his close friend Vangelis. Steve Howe was busy forming the supergroup Asia. Rick Wakeman was releasing solo albums at the pace some people change clothes. Of the Drama recruits, Trevor Horn had focused entirely on producing hit songs, and Geoff Downes had followed Howe into Asia. In short, Yes, as it had been, was no more; it was history.

Despite this, White and Squire returned to the studio, encouraged by their manager and friend Brian Lane, who introduced them to none other than Jimmy Page. The idea was to form a new band called XYZ (ex-Yes and Zeppelin), reuniting Page, Squire, and White. The project held great promise, but was ultimately abandoned due to conflicts with management and, more importantly, Robert Plant's dislike of the material. According to White, some of the musical ideas developed during the XYZ sessions would later resurface and evolve into what would become 90125.

What remains from that time is the faintest trace of a collaboration that could have been monumental, but went largely unnoticed due to a lack of cohesion and long-term vision among those involved. Still, Squire and White weren't willing to abandon the idea of ​​Yes. They began exploring new directions, attempting to reimagine the band's future. Two names stood out during this exploratory phase. One was Eddie Jobson, the creative force behind the band UK and a close friend of Bill Bruford. Jobson, a multi-instrumentalist who had also worked with Frank Zappa, was brought in to contribute orchestrations and keyboards. His virtuosity and musical vision made a deep impression on Squire.

Meanwhile, South African virtuoso Trevor Rabin was living in London, and his manager, a fervent Yes fan, introduced him to Squire. Rabin arrived with a suitcase full of demos he'd been working on, including "Owner of a Lonely Heart," "Hold On," and "Changes." These songs immediately caught Squire's attention and were integrated into the developing project he and White were developing. With Jobson on keyboards and Squire adding Trevor Horn as lead vocalist, the lineup began to take shape. Rabin, clearly on the rise and with a promising career ahead of him, was becoming a key player in the new sound.

However, Atlantic Records had other plans. They wanted this new project to be a Yes album, not just a side project. To ensure market appeal and continuity, the label discreetly contacted Jon Anderson and invited him to the studio. The goal was to avoid repeating past mistakes. Anderson listened to the material and assured them that, despite its pop orientation, it still sounded like Yes. Meanwhile, another old friend returned: Tony Kaye, the original keyboardist who left the band in 1971, was invited to collaborate, further cementing the connection to Yes' legacy.

Eddie Jobson, creator of the album's full orchestral soundtrack, left the band after its release and was never officially acknowledged, despite playing keyboards and contributing essential textures, sounds, and atmospheres to the album's initial structure. Trevor Horn, initially hired to sing, took over as the project's sound director. The album cover completely departed from Roger Dean's iconic imagery, opting for a sleek, minimalist design. The title, 90125, is said to come from the Atlantic Records catalog number assigned to the album, although this has never been fully confirmed.

Ultimately, Yes released the most commercial album of their career, moving almost completely away from their classic sound, but managing to capture and revitalize their old fanbase and attract a new audience. Personally, it's one of the Yes albums I enjoy the least. I think the band lost its way here. Despite being a brilliant musician, Trevor Rabin was just that: a hitmaker who helped the band achieve the commercial success they were never going to achieve on their own. But at what cost? From this point on, Yes would never again produce a studio album on the level of Fragile or Close to the Edge?or even close. This was the end of the Yes I loved, and the beginning of a band that would no longer impress, sustaining itself primarily through pompous live shows and endless reissues. This doesn't erase their legacy, but with each new studio album, the legend seemed to fade a little more.

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