BIG GENERATOR

Hard to see what they were trying to achieve here. Whilst this is a very similar sounding "sister" album to 90125, it lacks the cohesiveness that album had. For the first time ever, Yes seemed to have lost the idea of recording an ALBUM, with a connecting theme or purpose. This sounds like just a collection of rock songs. This was the first new album Yes brought out after I'd started listening to them. It's a million miles from progressive, and I was struck by how much parts of it sounded like the stuff Fleetwood Mac had just brought out (I later learned that one of the tracks, "Love Will Find A Way", had originally been written for Stevie Nicks!). Polished, overproduced and overtechnical, this album does not age well, and at times is fairly bog-standard stadium rock. Characterless keyboards and multi-layered guitars make things sound a little sterile, particularly on side 1 (I still have the vinyl copy). Still, the aforementioned "Love Will Find A Way" is a lovely song, as is the simple-but-powerful "Holy Lamb". And on "I'm Running", Yes show they have not lost the ability to record epics.