A new beginning with a familiar name
90125 began as the work of a group called Cinema. Chris Squire and Alan White joined guitarist Trevor Rabin and keyboardist Tony Kaye to develop new material, with Trevor Horn producing. Jon Anderson's arrival helped turn that project into the Yes album released in 1983. Its origins explain the combination of familiar identities and changed priorities.
Anderson's voice connects the material with the band's history. Rabin brings songs and a different guitar perspective, while Squire, White and Kaye contribute to the line-up that shapes the record. The title comes from its Atco catalogue number. Behind those plain digits sits an album that introduced Yes to a large new audience.
One famous opening, nine songs to explore
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” opens the record and became a US number-one single. It offers an immediate entrance, but “Hold On”, “It Can Happen” and “Changes” soon broaden the picture. Defined song structures meet rhythmic changes, layered vocals and a production that gives interruptions and transitions a deliberate place in the music.
Follow the way voice and guitar share the foreground. A recurring idea can hold a passage together while the accompaniment changes beneath it. Horn's role belongs to the album's story: the studio participates in shaping the performances. Alongside the melodies, listen to the short connections that move a song from one section to the next. Those details provide another way into familiar material.
Cinema survives in the running order
The group's earlier name remains in the instrumental “Cinema”, which won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. On this edition it opens side three, followed by “Leave It” and “Our Song”. Placing these pieces together brings instrumental interplay and vocal work into close proximity. Several different aspects of the band come into focus within a relatively compact stretch.
“City of Love” and the seven-minute-plus “Hearts” share the final side. The extended conclusion receives a space of its own. Following that path from the famous opening to the longer finale offers a way to rediscover 90125. Anyone approaching it through the single will also encounter developments that have room to unfold beyond the proportions of a short radio song.
This edition
AAPA 065-45, part of the Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Series, contains two 180-gram LPs at 45 RPM. The publisher credits Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio with mastering from a half-inch tape copy of the original analog master tape. The product page specifies Quality Record Pressings and a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. The original nine selections are spread across four sides.
Also on SACD: 90125
More by Yes: Close To The Edge · Fragile
Artist page: All titles by Yes
Customer questions: Atlantic 75: which titles are worth buying? · Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe
Series: Atlantic 75 Series – all 75 albums, time journey and the people behind Atlantic
Musicians
Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.
| Name | Instrument / role |
|---|---|
| Jon Anderson | Backing vocals |
| Chris Squire | Electric bass, Vocals |
| Trevor Rabin | Keyboards, Vocals, Guitar |
| Alan White | Backing vocals, Percussion, Drums |
| Tony Kaye | Keyboards |
How Michael hears this edition
Listening impression · paraphrased from the video
Michael describes the AP 45 as rich, open and spacious. The explosive drums at the start of Hold On particularly impress him. He explicitly avoids a direct comparison with his early European pressing because his copy is in poor condition.
🎧 Review video: YES 90125 - Coltrane Plays The Blues - Joe Walsh
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Liam Molyneux –
Incredible sounding release from the Atlantic 75 series.
I have the originals of the Uk & German both mastered by Bob Ludwig.
This new 2x 45 rpm version from analogue productions is on a different level & blows the awesome sounding Og away.
Buy now before this sells out.
Wow an absolute beauty ✊
Ing. Friedrich Schirl –
Das 90125 Album wurde ursprünglich 1983 (etwas nach der Goldenen Ära von Yes in den 70ern) veröffentlicht. Ich habe die Deutsche und die US Version von 1983 mich nie wirklich überzeugt haben….
Ganz anders dieses 2 x 45 RPM Vinyl! Ich hätte mir nie träumen lassen, dass “90125” so hervorragend klingen kann. Der Top Titel “Owner of a lonely heart” klingt zum niederknien gut.
Ich mein besser geht´s nicht.