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2 years 1 month ago
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I'm glad you've enjoyed my posts on 80's Yes, Edd. So I've told the stories behind the Drama and 9015 albums, I might as well complete the 80's trilogy with a look at 1987's Big Generator album.
After 90125's release Yes went on a 2 year tour, which ended in 1985 with Yes playing to their biggest audience ever at the Rock in Rio festival. Hot on the heels of this success they went into the studio to record the followup to 90125 but due to tensions between band members and their label on what direction to take Yes' music (Atco/ Atlantic wanted an even more commercial album, some Yes members wanted more to do an 80's update on their older style) as well as trying to find the optimum recording studio to work in (ultimately Big Generator was recorded in four studios in four countries) it would be some time before the album was finished. In an interview bassist Chris Squire admitted that "It was supposed to come out 21 months before it did."
Here's what Final Eyes off Big Generator was sounding like during the initial 1985 sessions with Trevor Horn producing;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgiSNsI4q9A
The song Love Will Find A Way was originally not intended for the album, Trevor Rabin wrote it for Stevie Nicks to record but when Stevie said she would record it but wanted to change some of the arrangement and lyrics Rabin became territorial and kept the song for Yes.
When the album was finally completed and released in 1987 it proved to not be as major seller as 90125 but still reasonably successful. The album's two main singles (these were some of the first Yes songs I heard in my early days of being a fan as a kid, along with my dad's copy of Fragile.)
Love Will Find a Way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiD2HsMItnY
Rhythm of Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RLMKyADJyY&feature=related
reached the lower top 40 of Billboard's hot 100 but did chart very high on Billboard's mainstream rock chart. Ultimately there were some tracks that hearkened back somewhat to the earlier Yes style. It wasn't easy to come by and the group eventually opted to close the album with a three song suite formed from various song fragments much like side two of the Beatles' Abbey Road. I'm Running originated from a riff Chris Squire and Steve Howe wrote during the 1980 sessions where Yes were recording instrumentals and jams s a trio before joined by the Buggles.
Final Eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDlO7mUrHOM
I'm Running http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTMmKsMX4jA
Holy Lamb http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEsnYhnPX2I
Group tensions continued during the '87 - '88 tour. Jon Anderson was dissatisfied with the arrangements of the older Yes songs in the setlist and Chris Squire's increased drug use. The group lineup disbanded after the tour. Jon still longed to go even further with his revisiting of the 70's Yes sound. He would do two very commercial projects in 1988, his solo album In the City of Angels where he collaborated with some of the old Motown songwriting teams on songs like the hit Hold On to Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1PmWG3-4po and sang backup on Canadian singer/ songwriter Lawrence Gowan's hit Moonlight Desires http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elbpw3d2qEk. Chris Squire appears in the Hold On to Love video but did not play on the actual track.
He used the money he made off both these to do his dream project in 1989, a class reunion of sorts of 70's Yes members called Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and they made an album of non commercial Prog Rock that he had longed to return to;
Themes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQdPjNa86-8
Brother of Mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q3Mzk7DVTg
Meanwhile, guitarist Trevor Rabin (who replaced Steve Howe on 90125 and Big Generator after Steve left to join Asia) cut a solo album, Can't Look Away which featured the single Something to Hold On to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM25s5Cn1Vg
Chris Squire and Alan White approached Supertramp's Roger Hogson about forming a supergroup. This didn't wind up happening but they did eventually record some tracks with Billy Sherwood and Trevor Rabin. One song from these late 80's sessions appears on Yes' 1991 boxset Yesyears;
Love Conquers All http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVuuIimqNPA
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The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
The Eldorado is dead. Long live the Eldorado.
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