Is 90125 the most underrated Yes album?

Haven't heard Talk and didn't like Time and a Word so much, don't know why. But if we go strictly by the ratings here or on the more general rateyourmusic.com, Time and a Word is ranked higher anyway than 90125. But on rym, 90125 touches 3.38 as compared to Drama's 3.56, which is much closer to what my own rankings would be for both albums (a near-4 for 90125 and sub-3.5 for Drama). On rym too, Time and a Word is rated higher than 90125, though the margin again is narrower.

Vibrationbaby wrote: giselle wrote: I agree it's more accessible, but it sounds like a band whose day is long gone and who don't know where they are. Nothing wrong with the playing etc (other than the usual Yes question of taste and excess) - this is a band of always high quality musicians after all - but for me, the albums following Fragile were all downhill, they had their day in the sun. So Close To The Edge and Relayer were pieces of sh*t then?

No, far from it, but it was a downward slope. Fragile was as good as it got (IMO).

Also, in answer to the actual thread question, 90125 is not the most underrated.  That distinction belongs to either Time and a Word or The Ladder.

Blacksword wrote: Epignosis wrote: Blacksword wrote: cstack3 wrote: Blacksword wrote: ^^^ 90125 is how I discovered Yes. My next purchase was Topographic Oceans. I chose that one next because I liked the cover artwork so much. You can imagine my horror and surprise when I heard it. It was a slow grower, but yes Rabin era Yes, specifically 90125 was my introduction to the band.   Good heavens, I can only imagine!!  Going from "Owner of a Lonely Heart" to "The Ancient".....!! At the 35th Anniversary Tour in Chicago, there were many older fans like myself who also brought their kids along (teens, twenty-somethings etc.).    I watched the crowd throughout the show because they were so interesting... When OOALH was played, it brought a loud cheer & the "kids" became visibly animated....so yes, I believe that OOALH and 90125 did bring some new fans back to Yes.   The kids responded well throughout the show, I think because the lighting and visual presence was so stunning, if not only for the music.  A sublime performance, one of the best I'd seen from Yes.  Now, how much these new fans ever got into "Tales" is beyond me! Genesis had a similar experience, when the "Duke" era band would pull out old classics....I had heard that their audience would go "Huh?" when "Apocalypse in 9/8" was performed.  I don't think the kids got into it quite so much as the Yes kids dug the band.   It's always interesting to see how these bands attempt to woo the younger generations!  Oh yes, it was quite a moment when I first put TFTO on the turntable. The vinyl went straight into the sung intro. Me and my friend sat there opened mouthed for a few moments before laughing our arses off!! Looking back, I worked backwards with Genesis too. Well, sort of. I started with ATTWT, then Trick, then Genesis (shapes) Mama was in the charts at the time, and I loved it. But with Yes, I think they've produced gems in all their manifestations. TFTO sits in my Yes top 5 these days, along with Going for the One, Fragile, CTTE and The Yes album. That's a nice story!  TFTO is my favorite album of all time, but I did not have an "entry album" for Yes really.  My first experience with Yes was their Masterworks Tour (Kansas opened).  Yes played 8 songs in 2 hours.The next morning, "I get up, I get down" and "I still remember the talks by the waters, the proud sons and daughters" rang in my head, and I knew I had to discover more of this band (even though at the concert I was like, "Lordy, when does this song end?") I wound up purchasing Yessongs from Circuit City, thinking it was a compilation with all these songs on there, but was initially disappointed that it was a live album.  Still, it was enough to get me hooked and familiar with many classic songs.I just wound up acquiring studio albums one by one.  I don't recall which one I got first. Kansas opening for Yes! Sounds like one of those dream concerts. 8 songs in 2 hours Yep! Sounds like prog heaven.

I wish I could relive the concert now- it was an amazing set list:

1. Close to the Edge
2. Starship Trooper
3. The Gates of Delirium
4. Leaves of Green
5. Heart of the Sunrise
6. Ritual
7. Your Move / I've Seen All Good People
8. Roundabout

Horizons wrote: A "bleh" album made by a band who should of done better. If you call that album's lineup Yes somehow.

The only new member of the band was Rabin. Even Kaye had been a member previously, so why should the line not be called Yes?

If the current average ratings of Drama (3.75) and 90125 (2.82) are swapped, both are really close to what they should be. 90125 is their best album since Going for the One. I don't know the albums that they made afterwards.

Was among one of the first prog albums I owned (and the second Yes album I bought; Close to the Edge was the first one)  and I loved it  from the first listen although toatlly different to Close to the edge and I  still d olove it  today! Yes,  90125 its underrarted!

cstack3 wrote: Blacksword wrote: ^^^ 90125 is how I discovered Yes. My next purchase was Topographic Oceans. I chose that one next because I liked the cover artwork so much. You can imagine my horror and surprise when I heard it. It was a slow grower, but yes Rabin era Yes, specifically 90125 was my introduction to the band.   Good heavens, I can only imagine!!  Going from "Owner of a Lonely Heart" to "The Ancient".....!! At the 35th Anniversary Tour in Chicago, there were many older fans like myself who also brought their kids along (teens, twenty-somethings etc.).    I watched the crowd throughout the show because they were so interesting... When OOALH was played, it brought a loud cheer & the "kids" became visibly animated....so yes, I believe that OOALH and 90125 did bring some new fans back to Yes.   The kids responded well throughout the show, I think because the lighting and visual presence was so stunning, if not only for the music.  A sublime performance, one of the best I'd seen from Yes.  Now, how much these new fans ever got into "Tales" is beyond me! Genesis had a similar experience, when the "Duke" era band would pull out old classics....I had heard that their audience would go "Huh?" when "Apocalypse in 9/8" was performed.  I don't think the kids got into it quite so much as the Yes kids dug the band.   It's always interesting to see how these bands attempt to woo the younger generations!

Oh yes, it was quite a moment when I first put TFTO on the turntable. The vinyl went straight into the sung intro. Me and my friend sat there opened mouthed for a few moments before laughing our arses off!!

Looking back, I worked backwards with Genesis too. Well, sort of. I started with ATTWT, then Trick, then Genesis (shapes) Mama was in the charts at the time, and I loved it. But with Yes, I think they've produced gems in all their manifestations. TFTO sits in my Yes top 5 these days, along with Going for the One, Fragile, CTTE and The Yes album.

Slartibartfast wrote: Here's a side question for old Yes fans: would this album serve as a "gateway drug" to the older Yes albums? In other words, if people listen to this album and like it, would they likely move backwards and take a liking to stuff we consider classic Yes?

I have also discovered Yes via 90125 (and Tormato) and then moved to The Yes Album, CttE, Fragile and the other 'classics'. So to answer the question: Sure! :D

Blacksword wrote: ^^^ 90125 is how I discovered Yes. My next purchase was Topographic Oceans. I chose that one next because I liked the cover artwork so much. You can imagine my horror and surprise when I heard it. It was a slow grower, but yes Rabin era Yes, specifically 90125 was my introduction to the band.

I was a bit of a backwards explorer myself. I got on board with prog late '70's.  90215 is OK with me.