YES: '90125' - Is it really that bad?

The Yes album that is loved and loathed. A divisive record, that draws widespread grinding of teeth by the the Yes faithful yet aplause from many. But in this video we ask ourselves, is this album really that bad?

If you like my channel and appreciate the work that goes into my videos, please support my channel. You can -

Become a Patron! - Be part of a Classic Rock Community!

Make a one-time donation!

Buy me a coffee.

Like the Facebook page:

#Yes #90125 #classicalbumreview

[michaelkeller]

Cogent and eloquent summary. Subscribed 🙂. I for one have always been a Trevor Rabin fan and found that his thread running through the other elements of yes created something new and certainly different that was lacking in the musical landscape. I for one found it easy to love both eras of yes… Of course I also felt almost the same about big generator which followed and is generally more maligned, but Shoot High, Aim Low has always been a favorite, amongst others. Cheers!

[ukaszb]

No 90125 is not bad it's Fantastic

[Nunavuter]

I was 13 when "90125" came out. I had never heard of Yes. I liked the videos I saw, and bought the album. When I was buying the album at the record store I only then discovered that Yes had a long history. The second Yes album I bought was "Drama, " and the third was 'The Yes album, " which I erroneously thought was their debut album. Without "90125" I never would have become a Yes fan.

[NmDPlm]

I’ve always held that 90125 and The Yes Album are proper entry points to the various styles of Yes. 90125 is a great 80s rock album stripped of its progginess and moving forward, or even back to Drama, and actually serves pretty well to lead in to the slow dip back into prog that would come in the 90s. The Yes Album has the longer songs but also keeps them tightly contained, giving a listener a good sampling of the adventurous side before launching full on into things like Close To The Edge or Topographic. So is 90125 a bad album? Hell no.

[rodmac]

What? 90125 is one of the best records of the 80's. I absolutely love it!

[spinalcrackerbox]

"Changes" is my favorite track on this album as well. It's a good one bit probably that opinion is more shared by those who don't mind an 80's production and clean pop fun once in a while. Plenty of old school yes fans hate it, of course. Well, I'm the living proof that you can love Fragile, The Yes Album, Going For the One *and* 90125.
That box set would be a great idea.

[thebones]

90125 is a great album, period and Trevor Horn's production is the icing on the cake, what an epic soundscape.

[jtmichaelson]

I was once told that I should hate this version of Yes. I, too, am an 80s child, only 15 when "Owner of a Lonely Heart" came out, and I liked it. I also liked "Roundabout", then too, but this was a song of my times.

And then, in the 90s I became a snobbed up pretentious record sheep and began shunning and hating the works I, and the many cohorts pretended to hate because of change and things not being as they once were - Bee Gees gone disco, Yes gone radio pop, Pink Floyd gone Gilmor solo... the horror of me, being a pretentious butthole that told you a thing or two about the politics of Trevor Rabin joining Yes and how he destroyed the empire once known as Yes. I was a record store snob, standing at my favorite record store telling you about why Blonde on Blonde was a far superior record than say... Sgt. Pepper. Even if I didn't believe it myself.

But in the back of my lying mind I could always catch a bit of that pop-sensed ear candy of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" and told myself, "You pretentious jerk! You're missing out on the joy of what you love over what they tell you to love." And then bought myself a copy of 90210 on vinyl in the early 2000s when vinyl was unheard of. And to the shock and horror of my pretntious buttholes, I left my group to go solo and since then, I've been Ozzy Osbourne all the way.

And if you ever get a chance, check out the Bee Gees remasters. They are heavenly to the ears and wonderful shot of the past to a simpler and more fntastic time of life. And to hell with any of the other sheep and their dying breed. ;)

[treesd]

Every single track is extremely well done on 90125

[TheBlackHelicopterRevue]

90125 is a 'Crossover' album, for me. Techno-Funk with a veneer of Metal, and Soul harmonies - which, in itself is 'progressive', or a progression. The sound and feel is atmospheric and spectral. Bright and clear. Jazz Rock Fusion with the emphasis on songs rather than instrumental prowess.

[jamiethorstenberg]

90125 does need a comprehensive box set with the demos and remastered sound. Hearts would be my favorite song. This album could have a great debate for quite a few hours. Great video Barry

[neuropete]

I love this album. Honestly, it was my gatedrug to Yes, and I make no apologizes for still enjoying it. One of my favorite Yes albums.

[jimmyheathmusic]

I like this album. I was already a fan of yes. Especially the first three albums with Steve Howe. This is very different but the songs are solid. Trevor Rabin was a fine addition. He is a monster guitar player and has a nice voice. For me the songs Heats and City of Love are the weakest. My favorites are Changes, Hold On and Our Song. Not my favorite Yes album but I still enjoy listening to it every now and then.

[dallasjackson]

LOVE this album. Melodic, harmonic, great energy. Different than what we were used to but SO good!

[mbrownie]

Was a great album in 1983 and is still a great album, despite the 80s production values, most of it still sounds great. Nice review btw.

[MichaelCKJ]

I knew of Yes when this album came out, namely Roundabout, I've Seen All Good People and Starship Trooper. From knowing these songs I was quite excited to hear of a new es album coming out. I didn't have any expectations as the older tunes were just "radio" tunes to me and wasn't really considered a fan at that point. Enter the release of "Owner Of a Lonely Heart." This was played all over radio. It was on our top 40 station as well as our rock/classic rock station. When the full album came out I was blown away. From "Owner" to "Hearts" I quickly became a Yes fan, at least of the 80's version of Yes. I love every song on the album. At one time every song was my favorite. I must have listened to this album at least 2 or 3 times a day. It was a while after the album was released that I finally got to see Yes live for the first time. Boy was I entranced. Hearing most of 90125 was great, but the songs of the past were just as awesome. At that point I wanted to get the albums of the past. Mainly with the ones of the songs performed at the concert. This cemented me as Yes being my favorite band. Slowly I dug into their back catalog. The Yes Album, Fragile and Tormato were the first ones I listened to. Later on I got into Relayer and finally Talles From Topographic Oceans. Funny thing is I never got into Going For the One until the Union Tour.

90125 became the album that got me into Yes. I was excited when Big Generator came out and I equally loved that album as well as the tour. After the hype from all of that wore off I decided it was time for me to see Howe and Wakeman and the ABWH album/tour came together. That album took my attention away from everything else and I was focused on seeing ABWH live. After seeing them in concert I still listened to that album for another year and a half constantly. Then we had Union. The hype around that album was strong. All of our favorite Yes men playing together and releasing an album, at least that is what we thought. Though I loved Union as well I didn't like the mish mash that it was. It really wasn't a "true" union. The union tour was magical though. All 8 of them on stage playing away at all the new and classic Yes songs. For the set closer was a song I wasn't too familiar with. That song of course was Awaken. After this show I had to go out and buy Going for the One. I got it on cassette since I wasn't able to find it on vinyl at that time. The Union era was the most exciting thing for a long time. Following Union was Talk. This album gets more bad talk about it than 90125. It took me a while to get into it. It's different. The songs are good but the production value is amazing. "Endless Dream" is one of the most amazing Yes Songs. A lot will disagree it fares well against "Gates of Delirium" and actually playing thos two song back to back they really compliment each other. We had the SLO shows. The Keystudio tracks which are great, Open Your Eyes and the first time Revealing Science of God had been played live in a long time. Though this was a good period for Yes the excitement wasn't there as it had been in the past. Then enter the Magnification album. Yes with an orchestra was pretty exciting to me. Though not as great as past albums, Magnification was still solid in my eyes. Where the tracks shined though was in concert. The Yes Symphonic tour was amazing. Gates of Delirium with an orchestra was the most amazing thing I have ever heard.

We will end this story here. So back to 90125. I know you said you didn't really like "Hearts" but I think this is the most prog sounding song on the album. To this day it is my favorite song off of 90125. I would love to hear you do a review like this on the "Talk" album.

[Lee.Higginbotham]

My first YES album was Going For the One. I thought ok nothing to see here. Then I heard Owner Of A Lonely Heart on the radio several years later I ran out and got 90125!! For me a great album. 👍 🎸🎸🎸

[haybarnvideo]

My first lp when I was 9 years old in 1983. Loved it then and still love it now. Great video!

[eyesofchild]

It was a fantastic gateway drug. Beyond that, it’s so steeped in those production tropes that only a de-80fying remix would liberate it from my nostalgia bin. Until then... fond memories and gratitude remain.

[merlinscat]

In 1983 I had just broken up with my partner and was driving home in tears when Owner of a lonely heart came on the radio. That song always takes me back to that day, hard to listen to it all these years later.