Yes released 90125

90125 Yes

Released: November 7, 1983 Peak: 5 US, 16 UK, 3 CN, 27 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 3.88 world (includes US and UK) Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Owner of a Lonely Heart [4:27] Hold On [5:18] It Can Happen [5:25] Changes [6:16] Cinema [2:07] Leave It [4:10] Our Song [4:13] City of Love [4:46] Hearts [7:36] Total Running Time: 44:49 Other Songs from This Era: Run with the Fox [4:09] Make It Easy [6:08] The Players: Jon Anderson (vocals) Trevor Rabin (guitar, keyboards) Chris Squire (bass) Alan White (drums, percussion) Tony Kaye (keyboards)

Rating: 3.938 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Death of Yes? “90125 is the album that introduced a whole new generation of listeners to Yes.” PC It was a “stunning self-reinvention by a band that many had given up for dead.” PC The band called it quits after 1980’s Drama. Jon Anderson, the only singer the group had ever known, left in the early making of that album, as had Rick Wakeman, who’d been the keyboardist for most of the band’s classic ‘70s albums. In their place came singer Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of the Buggles (“Video Killed the Radio Star”). Cinema Longtime Yes members Chris Squire (bass) and Alan White (drums) went on to form the short-lived XYZ project with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and released a single as a duo in 1981. Squire and White then started working with South African guitarist Trevor Rabin. He tried out for Asia, the project taken up by Yes members Steve Howe and Geoff Downes and was potentially going to part of a proposed trio with Keith Emerson and Jack Bruce. WK The new trio decided they needed a keyboardist and Squire suggested Tony Kaye, his former Yes bandmate. They called themselves “Cinema” and started recording their anticipated debut album in early 1983. The material consisted mostly of music Rabin had intended for a solo album produced by Trevor Horn. WK Horn brought a slick production while Rabin offered a “distinctly ‘80s guitar sound.” PC Jon Anderson Comes on Board Squire played some of the group’s demos for Jon Anderson, who then came on board. At this point, they revived the Yes name. “Rabin was dubious at first, not wanting to be perceived as Steve Howe’s replacement, but rather the lead guitarist for a new group. However, he quickly changed his mind once Anderson brought in some new lyrics and put his distinctive vocals on the existing music tracks.” WK The Album’s Reception While the album had “plenty of naysayers, 90125 is a really good album. Despite the 1980s’s production bells and whistles, it stands up well today. There are several reasons for this. Horn gave the band focus and concision. Rabin – as it turned out – was a first-rate musician and songwriter albeit with a tendency to write and play within AOR conventions.” SL-84 Of course, the “new corporate rock era led to a new lease of life for the band.” SL-84 They found themselves embraced not just by rock radio, but by MTV and even pop radio with their #1 hit with “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” The Album Name The album, which was released in the autumn of 1983, was “simply titled after its Atco Records catalogue number (for example, 7-90125-1 for the LP).” WK It “launched Yes to the MTV age and to a whole new breed of fans.” WK The new musical direction was “was catchy, contemporary and well liked by reviewers and their new fans (many of whom had little clue of the band’s previous incarnation). The Logo “The album’s logo was created and designed by Garry Mouat at Assorted Images on an Apple IIe computer, which would be used on Yes’ next studio album Big Generator as well.” WK Reissues The album has been reissued multiple times. The most notable addition to the album is “Make It Easy,” a Trevor Rabin song which came about in 1981 before Yes had reformed. 90124 Trevor Rabin released an album in 2003 called 90124 which was comprised of demos from the 90125 sessions. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Run with the Fox Chris Squire & Alan White

Writer(s): Chis Squire, Alan White, Pete Sinfield Released: single (Dec. 1981), Yes Years (box set, 1991) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming About the Song: This single by Chris Squire and Alan White came in the interim between Yes’ 1980 Drama album and the reformation of Yes for 1983’s 90125 at a time when the band’s future was unclear.

Make It Easy Yes

Writer(s): Trevor Rabin First Recorded: 1981 Released: single (10/6/1991), Yes Years (box set, 1991), Yes Story (compilation, 1992), Yes Singles 2 (compilation, 2024) First Charted: 8/24/1991 Peak: 36 AR, 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.19 streaming About the Song: Before Yes had officially reconvened, this 1981 Trevor Rabin demo, originally called “Don’t Give In,” was eventually reworked by Chris Squire, Alan White, and Tony Kaye as “Make It Easy.” It was included as a bonus track on a remastered version of 90125. “It is a decent Rabin song, sung by him in the AOR style, and feels like it might have been on one of his solo albums. The fusion-style intro, however, is better than the main song and was used by the band as the introduction to ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart,’ when the Rabin lineups played it between 1984 and 1994.” SL-87

Owner of a Lonely Heart Yes

Writer(s): Trevor Rabin, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Trevor Horn (see lyrics here) Released: single (10/24/1983), 90125 (1983), Yes Years (box set, 1991), Yes Story (compilation, 1992), Highlights: The Very Best of (compilation, 1993), In a Word (box set, 2002), Ultimate Yes: The 35th Anniversary Collection (U.S. version, 2003), Ultimate Yes: The 35th Anniversary Collection (compilation, UK version, 2003), Yes Singles (compilation, 2023) B-side: “Our Song” Peak: 12 BB, 12 CB, 12 GR, 12 RR, 14 AR, 28 UK, 2 CN, 14 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 46.0 video, 329.55 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Based on their musical output in the 1970s, who would ever have guessed Yes would land a #1 pop hit? They practically defined progressive rock with songs based on classical music pieces infused with space-themed lyrics that took up entire album sides. This was “a band who “where often criticized for being overindulgent and pretentious,” FB who made songs “that couldn’t become hits, almost by design.” SG As Stereogum’s Tom Breihan said, “Owner of a Lonely Heart” is “a total betrayal of everything that the band had done before…It also kicks ass.” SG It didn’t start out as a Yes song. After their 1980 Drama album, it looked the band was done. Rabin wrote the song in 1979 while going to the toilet. WK In 1981, the song was included amongst demos he pitched to Arista Records’ Clive Davis WK who said it “was too weird to be a hit in America” SG but Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records insisted it was a hit. SF In 1983, the toilet played a role yet again in bringing “Owner of a Lonely Heart” to fruition. While Rabin was in the bathroom, his demo tape was running and Trevor Horn (who produced 90125) heard it. “He begged the band to record the track, feeling that the album needed a single.” SL-84 He pleaded with the band to record it. WK Rabin’s version already sported the “big synth sounds and its central riff,” SG but had other parts that were later deleted. Other members of the band polished it and made it “sound bigger and weirder.” SG It may be the first rock hit to use a sample. The drum break at the beginning of the song and the horn stab from several times in the song are similar to a bit from 1971’s “Kool Is Back” by Funk, Inc. SF Subsequently, the song’s “orchestral break has been relentlessly sampled by rappers ever since.” PC The lyrics expressed the idea that “it’s OK to be on your own and that you can decide your own destiny rather than putting all your energy into falling in love.” SG It “describes the paradox of loneliness> Once you’ve been hurt, loneliness is better than a broken heart.” SF While this was #1 in the United States, “Relax” by Frankie and Hollywood topped the charts in the UK. Both songs were produced by Trevor Horn, giving him the distinction of being the only producer to have simultaneous #1 songs on both sides of the pond by different artists. SF

Hold On Yes

Writer(s): Trevor Rabin, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire Released: single (11/20/1985), 90125 (1983), Yes Years (box set, 1991), In a Word (box set, 2002) First Charted: 3/17/1984 Peak: 27 AR, 17 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.55 streaming About the Song: “Hold On” “is a big, cinematic, melodic rock song in the Rabin AOR style with a lead vocal from Anderson. It became a live favourite on tour, and although the song itself is relatively conventional, the beat – with its lovely ‘swing’ and the vocal arrangement throughout – lifts the track from the ordinary and gives plenty of hints of 1970s Yes alongside Rabin’s neo-metal riffling.” SL-85 This was released as a single in support of the follow-up live album, 9012Live.

It Can Happen Yes

Writer(s): Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin Released: single (1/24/1984), 90125 (1983), Yes Years (box set, 1991), In a Word (box set, 2002), Ultimate Yes: The 35th Anniversary Collection (box set, U.S. version, 2003), Yes Singles 2 B-side: live version of “It Can Happen” First Charted: 12/3/1983 Peak: 51 BB, 5 AR, 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.90 streaming About the Song: This was a song that saw “fairly extensive reworking” SL-85 from its original incarnation as a Cinema song. The original version appears on the Rhino re-master of 90125 as well as the Yes Years compilation. Once Jon Anderson came on board, the song “was restructured to cut out a mediocre verse originally sung by Squire. After an interesting intro played by Deepak Khazanchi on sitar, the replacement verse – the ‘constant fight’ section – is much better, making excellent use of some heavy reverb on the piano, and some inspired, heavily-treated backing vocals from Squire.” SL-85 The spoken word section during the guitar solo is from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.” SL-85 This was released as a single but didn’t fare so well on the Billboard Hot 100. However, along with “Changes” this song helped establish Yes as a critical part of the album rock radio format, reaching #5 on the mainstream rock chart.

Changes Yes

Writer(s): Trevor Rabin, Jon Anderson, Alan White Released: single (6/9/1984), 90125 (1983), Yes Years (box set, 1991), Yes Story (compilation, 1992) First Charted: 11/26/1983 Peak: 6 AR, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 16.03 streaming About the Song: Songs like “‘Changes’ marked the band’s definitive break with its art rock roots.” PC It “represents all that is good about Rabin era Yes. It is a modern, conventional hard rock song given a bold ‘Yes’ treatment.” SL-86 It “seemed both immediate and progressive.” SL-85 While the brunt of attention for the new version of Yes was on the #1 single “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” it was songs like this and “It Can Happen” that gave the band its real clout at album rock radio. “It works beautifully and has rightly become a classic.” SL-86 “The powerful mallet-percussion and bass intro – written by White – also include some interesting eastern-style guitar before Rabin’s bold, shredded guitar introduces the main song, wit the riff now played on piano. The way that the drums and the guitar seem to weave around each other in this section is also inspired.” SL-85 “The chorus – sung in harmony by Anderson and Squire – is catchy, and the contrast between these sections and the parts sung by Rabin is nicely done. Although the song has a conventional middle eight – sung by Rabin – this section also has an unconventional middle eight with Anderson’s gentle ‘one word from you’ section, which he probably wrote, adding a nice lyrical twist to the song, and which builds tension before the release of the final chorus and a final return to White’s opening.” SL-86

Cinema Yes

Writer(s): Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Alan White, Tony Kaye Released: 90125 (1983) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.44 streaming About the Song: While the Cinema band name got scrapped when this became an obvious incarnation of Yes, they kept it as a title for the album’s lone instrumental. “White and Squire are particularly impressive here, although White’s crash cymbal ‘splashes’ might have been toned down in the mix. Apparently, this was supposed to be the opening to a twenty-minute progressive-rock epic called ‘Time.’” SL-86 It won a Grammy for Best Instrumental.

Leave It Yes

Writer(s): Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Trevor Horn Released: single (Feb. 1984), 90125 (1983), Highlights: The Very Best of (compilation, 1993), In a Word (box set, 2002), Ultimate Yes: The 35th Anniversary Collection (box set, U.S. version, 2003), Ultimate Yes: The 35th Anniversary Collection (compilation, UK version, 2003), Yes Singles (compilation, 2023) B-side: 7-inch single remix, a capella remix First Charted: 12/29/1983 Peak: 24 BB, 24 CB, 11 GR, 17 RR, 3 AR, 56 UK, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 11.49 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “The vocal harmonies of ‘Leave It’” ae one of the “high points” on the album “but there’s nary a duff track on the album.” PC Prior to 90125, Yes had only landed two top-40 hits (“Roundabout” and “Your Move,” an excerpt from “I’ve Seen All Good People”). After “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” the lead single from 90125, gave the band their first #1 single, Yes followed it up with “Leave It,” another top-40 hit. This “was originally conceived as an a cappella piece before some basic band instrumentation was added. It is a masterpiece of vocal processing, with Rabin and Squire laying down vocal track after track to Horn’s masterly direction. Anderson’s brief (but useful) contributions were added much later. It has an insistent keyboard and bass riff and a pleasing, sing-song melody, but the 80s stylings feel rather more forced than on ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart.’ It still stands up to repeated listens, however.” SL-86

Our Song Yes

Writer(s): Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Alan White Released: B-side of “Owner of a Lonely Heart” (10/24/1983), 90125 (1983) First Charted: 11/12/1983 Peak: 32 AR, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.52 streaming About the Song: “Though it is largely conventional in structure, there is an up-tempo exuberance to this track that always satisfies. Anderson sings the lead vocal, and there are very few bells and whistles production-wise, giving it a real ‘band’ feel. The keyboards – possibly played by Kaye as he has a writing credit – are some of the best on the album, too.” SL-86

City of Love Yes

Writer(s): Trevor Rabin, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Tony Kaye, Alan White Released: 90125 (1983) Peak: 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.27 streaming About the Song: This is “Yes’s heaviest track…Clearly, this was very much Rabin’s show, with a tone similar to his solo albums, although giving the lead vocal to Anderson – who delivers a rasping vocal performance rarely heard outside live shows – is something of a masterstroke. Despite the deliberately plodding beat, there is actually more complexity to the arrangement than might first be apparent, and the vocal arrangement – mainly layered up by Rabin – is once again excellent, as is White’s thunderous drumming. The guitar solo is an exercise in flashy feedback manipulation, extended to become a showcase for Rabin’s virtuosity at live shows.” SL-87

Hearts Yes

Writer(s): Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Alan White, Tony Kaye Released: 90125 (1983) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.59 streaming About the Song: “Hearts” “is a little lackluster…[but] there’s still a lot to enjoy. Anderson clearly had a strong hand in the finalization of this piece, and it is unclear how much work had been done on it before his arrival. He dominates, and in particular, many of the backing vocals are his too, whereas, on the main bulk of the album, it is Squire and Rabin that provide them, as they do towards the end of the song here. His voice contrasts well with Rabin in the gentle opening…although the middle instrumental section [is] a little lacking in inspiration. The main vocal theme is pretty enough, and the hard rocking section – with some swirling Hamon from Kaye – is very good, but…it is a slightly disappointing ending.” SL-87

Resources and Related Links: PC AllMusic.com review by Paul Collins FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 582. SL Stephen Lambe (2023). On Track…Yes: Every Album, Every Song. Sonic Bound Publishing: United Kingdom. SF Songfacts page for “Owner of a Lonely Heart” SG Stereogum “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia page for 90125 WK Wikipedia page for “Owner of a Lonely Heart” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 6/7/2011; updated 6/19/2026.