90125

This album shows exactly what Yes should never be, in my opinion. Actually, I cannot accept this as a Yes album, because many of its characteristics are the exact opposite of former Yes, the glorious Yes. Yes used to be a collaborative band with long songs that were filled with ideas from every member. This was part of the magic. Here, we listen to a band dominated by Trevor Rabin, and he even has said once that his style of composing is having just one single musical idea for each song, and expanding it. Is it Yes? Yes used to be a very melodic band where every instrument was almost all the time doing what pop music would call a "solo". All of them "soloing" together, with voice, that was another instrument, created a very distinctive sound. Yes sound. Here we have songs where voice is definitely more important, and other instruments just accompany it. I can hardly hear my favourite bass player, Chris Squire. Is it Yes? To me the answer is no. In Drama, from 1980, Yes showed us a new style, more "modern" facing the 80s, and closer to mainstream music. But they managed to do it without destroying their particular Yes sound. Chris was already destroying on the bass, Steve showing many timbres, styles and such a technique, and Alan was in one of his best moments. How I wish they would keep the style from Drama. But Steve left the band, the record company demanded hit songs, Trevor Rabin came in and here musicianship was left behind! What used to be one of the biggest bands from the 70s (to me the best one) became another pop band from the 80s, just like thousands of others. Production (by Trevor Horn, the singer in Drama) is as bad as it could be. The instruments are not clear and the timbres of guitars and keyboards chosen are terrible. And where the hell is Chris Squire's bass? I can't hear it most of the time, and when I can, it's not good either. Trevor Horn said that on this album, being himself a bassist, he put the bass in evidence. He couldn't have lied more. No Yes album before this one has such a inaudible bass. I don't give it one star because some of the material is reasonably good, though spoiled by production. Examples are Owner of a Lonely Heart, which becomes a good song alive with Howe, without the horrible effects on guitar and voice; and Cinema, a decent instrumental that passes the feeling that it must have twice the time it does, but the record company would not permit an instrumental with more than two minutes. Besides, Leave It is a good song, despite the horrible pop melodies, it features great vocal harmonies, very original, with the multiple voices serving as instruments, just like on old Yes. This is the only song here that has something to do with Yes. But, rather than Yes-like, it's something like "Gentle Giant meets Michael Jackson", reminding me both "Knots" by the first and "Thriller", by the latter. Not totally good, but should be checked. Listening to this album, I often think have two thoughts: "Why there had to exist the eighties!?" "How I miss the old Yes!"