One for Yes Fans: Yes With Rabin or Without?!
Question: Like Genesis fans who eternally debate about the Phil Collins vs Peter Gabriel years, there're generally 2 camps of Yes fans: those who love Trevor Rabin-era Yes & those who think he ruined them.
Personally, I'm definitely in the pre-Rabin camp, BUT also like plenty of songs from the Rabin years. I don't think he ruined them.
I was just revisiting the '90125' album (1983) & I think most of it's aged pretty well. It was a great updating of the Yes sound & kick in the a.ss that they so needed by the early 80s. I remember how new & hip it sounded. One track ("Leave It") almost sounded like a *dance* track!
Even the *look* of the album was a huge departure from the 70s Roger Dean, "post-hippie look".
But I think Rabin was good for them for that album for sure & maybe 2 albums afterwards. I have to revisit "Talk" sometime. Haven't heard that one since the 90s...
Answers: Like Genesis fans who eternally debate about the Phil Collins vs Peter Gabriel years, there're generally 2 camps of Yes fans: those who love Trevor Rabin-era Yes & those who think he ruined them.
Personally, I'm definitely in the pre-Rabin camp, BUT also like plenty of songs from the Rabin years. I don't think he ruined them.
I was just revisiting the '90125' album (1983) & I think most of it's aged pretty well. It was a great updating of the Yes sound & kick in the a.ss that they so needed by the early 80s. I remember how new & hip it sounded. One track ("Leave It") almost sounded like a *dance* track!
Even the *look* of the album was a huge departure from the 70s Roger Dean, "post-hippie look".
But I think Rabin was good for them for that album for sure & maybe 2 albums afterwards. I have to revisit "Talk" sometime. Haven't heard that one since the 90s...
I like both Era's of "Yes" Myself. But like you I am more of a Classic "Yes" Fan
They just had for more great songs and more output with Steve Howe on Guitar
but I think that both "90125" and "Big Generator" are both excellent Yes Albums
I think that the 1980's were a fertile era for Yes all the way around Fonz, The splintering of the group in the early 80's made for some of the better albums and side projects in Yes's Career including.....
"Drama" the VASTLY underrated Yes album that was a semi-prototype for the "90125" Era
"Asia" by Asia. The best Prog Supergroup in History
"90125" by Yes, with Trevor Rabin, which led them in an entirely different direction than Yes had ever been in before
and
"Anderson Bruford Wakeman & Howe" One of Yes's best albums....even though it's not technially Yes.
I'm like you Fonzie, I prefer the "Classic Lineup" but Trevor Rabin never seemed to be a "sore thumb" when he was with the band. I had the pleasure to meet and interview him a couple of times during the 90125 tour and he genuinely seemed both amazed and challenged at the thought of standing in Steve Howe's shoes. I talked to him again later during the "Union" phase and he was giddy like a child in getting to play with Howe, Bruford, and Wakeman as well as the rest of his previous band mates. I guess what I'm trying to say is his quite sudden appearance never really had me as confused as, say the Trevor Horn phase. I can't say I didn't enjoy the
"Drama" album, but the Rabin/Anderson one-two punch seemed to work well. When you look at his body of work with "Rabbit" and then the solo stuff, and now the Movie Scoring, he's got it going on still! Great question!
Without . Trevor Rabin is great, a real talent . But the real Yes is Steve Howe all the way. I love Yes. They are my favorite band, and I have seen them about 40 times .The Yes West era you speak of was a great shot in the arm for Yes . It was almost not Yes at all . It was to be called Cinema . Then Jon
Anderson was called and poof it was Yes . I love Hold On .
It rocks .
Gotta agree--Yes was better with Howe in the 70's, but I still like the Trevor Rabin stuff. 90125 was an excellent album but was not really Yes--it was "Cinema" as the other poster said. The "Yes" of that era was recording/touring as Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe (with Tony Levin on bass). Anyone looking for some "current" Yes type music should check out Circa--Alan White, Billy Sherwood, Tony Kaye (and some else, I forgot his name).
Big Generator (Rabin era)was a great album "Love Will Find A Way"..great song from that album....with the Howe era, he instilled the use of the Portuguese guitar on some of their jams. I'm more of a fan of the early YES, but if there ever was a band to successfully pull off the whole re-inventing of themselves, YES definitely succeeded in that area.
I am from the old school...I love the original "Yes" albums and especially "Fragile"...