839. Yes--90125 (1983, #5) (4)

839. Yes--90125 (1983, #5) (4)

1. Owner of a Lonely Heart (7+)
2. Hold On (?) (2)
3. It Can Happen (2)
4. Changes (7)
5. Cinema (?) (2)
6. Leave It (8)
7. Our Song (?) (2)
8. City of Love (?) (2)
9. Hearts (?) (2)

REVIEW: (Mostly) good stuff. Three very good tracks--Owner, Changes, Leave It.
A good "comeback" album that represented a different direction for the band. A little overproduced by the heavy hand of Trevor Horn. 4


ED'S TAKE

#839 Yes - 90125

1. Owner of a Lonely Hearts ++7 (engaging, in a synth pop way, but I don't like it THAT much)
2. Hold On - ++5 (quite boring)
3. It Can Happen ++4
4. Changes +++8
5. Cinema ++7
6. Leave It ++5
7. Our Song ++6
8. City of Love ++5
9. Hearts ++6

OVERALL RATING: 6

COMMENTS: I think I overrated this one. I'm torn between my view of them as one of the better progressive bands around vs. the disappointment on this "big comeback", altering their signature sound with a synth wash that doesn't work for me, except in small sections. Frankly, I'll take "Close to the Edge", "Fragile" and the earlier ones ANY DAY over this one. I'm still in shock over the gushy review this gets from allmusic...."a stunning self reinvention" (yeah, I WAS stunned alright!)....."the slick production of Trevor Horn" (you got that right....is that a GOOD thing?)......'the return of prodigal keyboardist Tony Kaye, whose crisp synth work on "Changes" marked the band's definitive break with its art rock roots." (is that to be taken as ANOTHER GOOD THING?)...."but there's nary a duff track on the album" (who IS Paul Collins, the allmusic reviewer, and why would he say such a thing?".) Just kidding Paul. You're entitled to your musical quirks and so am I. I keep wondering why I gave this a "6". After all, in my book, a "6" is an album that is listenable with some reservation. A "4" would mean "serious reservation". Again, a close call.