Michael Jackson debuted at #1 with Bad

Bad Michael Jackson

Released: August 31, 1987 Peak: 16 US, 118 RB, 11 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 3.9 UK, 35.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop/R&B

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Bad (9/19/87, 1 US, 3 UK, 1 RB, 33 AC) The Way You Make Me Feel (11/21/87, 1 US, 3 UK, 1 RB, 9 AC) Speed Demon Liberian Girl (7/15/89, 13 UK) Just Good Friends (with Stevie Wonder) Another Part of Me (7/23/88, 10a US, 15 UK, 1 RB, 44 AC) Man in the Mirror (2/6/88, 1 US, 21 UK, 1 RB, 2 AC) I Just Can’t Stop Loving You (with Siedah Garrett) (8/8/87, 1 US, 1 UK, 1 RB, 1 AC, sales: ½ million) Dirty Diana (5/7/88, 1 US, 4 UK, 2a RB) Smooth Criminal (11/12/88, 7 US, 8 UK, 2 RB) Leave Me Alone (2/25/89, 2 UK) * Total Running Time: 48:40

Rating: 4.200 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: How does one follow the most successful album of all time? Michael Jackson’s approach was to “take the basic formula of the predecessor, expand it slightly, and move it outward. This meant that he moved deeper into hard rock, deeper into schmaltzy adult contemporary, deeper into hard dance – essentially taking each portion of Thriller to an extreme, while increasing the quotient of immaculate studiocraft.” STE Once again, Jackson turns to Quincy Jones as a producer but this time Jackson co-produced, as well as composing all but two of the tracks. He did move away from “his trademark groove sound and high-pitched vocals” WK and integrated modern technology such as digital synthesizers and drum machines. The result was a more aggressive, but “sleeker, slicker Thriller, which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not a rousing success, either.” STE “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” Jackson followed a similar template with the single releases as he had with Thriller. The lead single was a duet ballad, but unlike the superstar pairing of him and Paul McCartney for “The Girl Is Mine,” this time it was with the virtually unknown Siedah Garrett on I Just Can’t Stop Loving You. The song did do better on the charts, peaking at #1 – a notch higher than “The Girl Is Mine.” “Bad” Rather than waiting the usual three months between singles, Jackson again employed a technique from Thriller by getting a new song to radio even before the predecessor had cooled. Much like his title track for Thriller the Bad single was promoted with a mini-movie video. It became the album’s second #1 hit. Lyrically, the song was about boastfulness and musically it was sort of a revision of Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack.” It was initially intended as a duet between Jackson and Prince. WK “The Way You Make Me Feel” Another upbeat song with a flashy video came next. With The Way You Make Me Feel, Jackson managed a feat he hadn’t with Thriller: a third #1 song. He wasn’t done, though. Jackson would, in fact, land a whopping five chart-topping songs from the album – a feat never before accomplished in pop music. “Man in the Mirror” Next up was “the saccharine Man in the Mirror,” STE Jackson’s own personal version of “We Are the World,” the superstar artist collection from two years earlier which was penned by Jackson and Lionel Richie. Once again, Jackson writes from an ego-driven “I can change the world” perspective, although it’s hard to fault him for the sentiment of wanting the man in the mirror to “change his ways.” “Dirty Diana” Dirty Diana was Bad’s closest equivalent to “Beat It” in terms of the hard-driving guitar sound. It was lyrically similar to “Billie Jean” in its description of a sexual predator, but while “Billie Jean” evoked a paranoia of a woman out to trap Jackson, “Dirty Diana” had Jacksons “sounding equally intrigued by and apprehensive of a sexual challenge.” WK The song does lose something because of its “misogynistic” STE nature. “Another Part of Me” After five #1 songs, the sixth single not only missed the top of the charts, but the top ten. That was significant in that it was the first single out of seventeen released from his last three studio albums to not hit the top ten. In the context of the album, it also represented “a near-fatal dead spot on the record – songs three through six, from Speed Demon to ‘Another Part of Me,’ a sequence that’s utterly faceless, lacking memorable hooks and melodies, even when Stevie Wonder steps in for Just Good Friends.” STE Unlike the “tremendous songs, performances, and fresh, vivacious beats” STE found on Off the Wall and Thriller, these are songs which are “mechanical,” STE “relying on nothing but studiocraft.” STE “Smooth Criminal” Once again, Jackson followed the template of Thriller here by releasing seven singles. The seventh and final single put Jackson back in the top ten with a song characterized by All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine as “simply OK.” AMG The song was supported, a la “Thriller,” with a big-budget story video, this time with Jackson envisioning himself as a gangster. “Leave Me Alone” While it wasn’t a single or even part of the original album (it was a CD-only release), “Leave Me Alone” was significant. Erlewine called it “the best song on the album,” STE while also asking “why are all of his best songs paranoid anthems?” STE It was accompanied by a video that saw Jackson poking fun at himself and the tabloid fodder he had become since Thriller. Erlewine asserts that “not coincidentally, [it] was the best video from the album.” STE Notes: “Leave Me Alone” was a bonus track on the CD version of the album only. A reissue in 2001 added the songs “Streetwalker,” “Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu,” and “Fly Away” as well as interviews with album producer Quincy Jones. A 25th anniversary edition in 2012 added an second disc of unreleased songs and remixes.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Michael Jackson STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/21/2008; last updated 12/1/2020.

The Smiths Strangeways, Here We Come released

Strangeways, Here We Come The Smiths

Released: September 22, 1987 Peak: 55 US, 2 UK, 27 CN, 28 AU, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, 0.10 UK, 0.60 world (includes US and UK) Genre: college rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours [3:00] I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish [3:47] Death of a Disco Dancer [5:26] Girlfriend in a Coma [2:03] Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before [3:32] Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me [5:03] Unhappy Birthday [2:46] Paint a Vulgar Picture [5:35] Death at One’s Elbow [2:01] I Won’t Share You [2:48] Total Running Time: 36:37 Other Songs from This Era: Shoplifters of the World Unite London Half a Person You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby Sheila Take a Bow Work Is a Four-Letter Word I Keep Mine Hidden The Players: Morrissey (vocals) Johnny Marr (guitar, etc.) Andy Rourke (bass) Mike Joyce (drums)

Rating: 4.024 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album This was The Smiths’ fourth and final studio album. “After striving for international success for a few years, The Smiths finally had a hit album with The Queen Is Dead…Now the path was cleared in front of them, and them were off to international stardom, with arena gigs and extensive media coverage.” TG The name for Strangeways, Here We Come came from “the notorious Manchester prison,” RD which sounds like a statement about how the band felt trapped by their contractual obligation to Rough Trade, the UK indie label that had released the band’s first three albums. They recorded the album for Rough Trade while trying to renegotiate their deal. TG-35 Alas, it was all for nought as friction grew between singer/songwriter Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr was fracturing as they argued over management and the direction for the band. Still, they “labored hard over the songs, working to expand the Smiths’ sound within their very real boundaries. For the most part, they succeed.” AM Both of them have said this is their favorite of the band’s four albums. TG-35 Nonetheless, Strangeways, Here We Come, is the most carefully considered and elaborately produced album in the group’s catalog.” AM “Before the band entered the Wool Hall Studio (then owned by pop stars Tears for Fears), they got ride of Craig Gannon, and also asked Stephen Street to help them with the recordings once again, this time as a credited co-producer (with Morrissey and Marr).” He helped them create “a subtly shaded and skilled album, one boasting a fuller production than before.” AM “The sessions are now mostly (in)famous for the after-work parties, with the well-kept wine cellar in the studio premises one of the main reasons for the extensive partying (though they started drinking after Morrissey had gone to bed, as he didn’t want anything to do with those sorts of things, according to Street.” TG-35 “To call it The Smiths’ most diverse album isn’t an exaggeration. If the band had used synthesizers and keyboards as an experiment on The Queen Is Dead, they had now fully embraced them and made this an integral part of the soundscape.” TG-35 This did upset the fan base who “saw The Smiths as a guitar pop band, but Marr, in particular, felt that they had to develop as a band, and break free from their shackles of jangly indie-pop if they wanted to go anywhere.” TG-35 In the end, “though it aspires greatly to better The Queen Is Dead, it falls just short of its goals.” AM Still, “Strangeways is a graceful way to bow out. While it doesn’t match The Queen Is Dead or The Smiths, it is far from embarrassing and offers a summation of the group’s considerable strengths.” AM “It remains a noble epitaph to one of Britain’s greatest bands.” RD The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs featured on Strangeways, Here We Come as well as other songs recorded and released during that era.

Shoplifters of the World Unite The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 1/26/1987 (single), The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side(s): “London,” “Half a Person” Peak: 4 CO, 12 UK, 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 26.67 streaming About the Song: This “might sound like a hymn to thievery, but…you should[n’t] take the lyrics literally as it’s probably ‘a metaphor for all those repressed and marginalized by society,’ as author Simon Goddard wrote in his book Mosipedia (2009). Morrissey himself has also said that the song is about ‘spiritual shoplifting.’” TG-32 “Apart from that, the lyrics appear to be filled with ‘loans’ from other works, like The Last Chance Texaco (Rickie Lee Jones, 1979), Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (Joni Mitchell, 1977), and a snippet from a James Dean TV drama from 1952 called Campbell Playhouse.” TG-32 “This is the only song in The Smiths catalog that was produced by only Johnny Marr, just shortly after he was involved in a serious car crash in November 1986.” TG-32

London The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 1/26/1987 (B-side of “Shoplifters of the World Unite”), Rank (live: 1986, released 1988), The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 12.16 streaming About the Song: “Probably the hardest rocking song in The Smiths canon. The lyrics are about a man who boards a train to Euston, leaving his dismal hometown behind while sneering at the people staying up north – a theme he borrowed from the book By Grand Central I Saw Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart.” TG-33 “The lead guitar during the song’s chaotic coda was played by Craig Gannon.” TG-33

Half a Person The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 1/26/1987 (B-side of “Shoplifters of the World Unite”), The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: 39 CO, 9 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 82.22 streaming About the Song: This song “forms some kind of trilogy with ‘London’ and ‘Is It Really So Strange?,’ as they’re all about moving from the north to the south (Manchester to London, for instance).” TG-33 “The narrator says that he’s ’16, clumsy, and shy’ and in the autobiography, Morrissey mentions that he moved to London for a few days when he was seventeen.” TG-33 “Marr has said that it’s one of his favorite among the songs he wrote with Morrissey. He remembers the exact moment that they wrote it, on the stairway to the Mayfair Studio, and that it was probably the best songwriting moment the two ever shared.” TG-33

You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 12.49 streaming About the Song: This was intended as a single – 900 copies had even been pressed – before the label changed their mind and released “Shoplifters of the World Unite” instead. TG-32 Marr said the band simply considered the latter a better song. TG-46 Morrissey also reportedly disliked “all the overdubs that were made by John Porter.” TG-46 The version on Louder Than Bombs featured fewer overdubs. TG-46 It has been “widely suggested that the lyrics were aimed at Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis, since the title was one of his favorite sayings, but Morrissey later stated that he never said it was aimed at Travis.” TG-46 Kirsty MacColl later recorded the song for the She’s Having a Baby soundtrack in 1988 with Johnny Marr on guitar.

Sheila Take a Bow The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 4/13/1987 (single), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side(s): “Is It Really So Strange?,” “Sweet and Tender Hooligan” Peak: 10 CO, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 18.83 streaming About the Song: Sandie Shaw recorded backing vocals for this song, but the band opted not to use it. Morrissey, who was sick at home when she was in the studio, sang the tune to her over the phone. She “later claimed that the song was ‘horrid,’ so it was probably for the best.” TG-33 The band also “scrapped an original John Porter recording in favor of a Stephen Street version.” TG-33 “The song has quite a lot in common with the UK glam rock scene of the 70s ,and Marr has admitted that he was trying to find a ‘Mott the Hoople sound’ for the tune. Lyrically, the lines ‘Throw your homework onto the fire’ probably inspired one or two young Smiths fans to rebel against their parents.” TG-33

Girlfriend in a Coma The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: March – April 1987 at the Wool Hall, Beckington, Somerset Released: 8/10/1987 (single), Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side(s): “Work Is a Four-Letter Word,” “I Keep Mine Hidden” Peak: 4 CO, 13 UK, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 81.11 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: This was released as the first single from the Strangeways, Here We Come album. Sadly, it was the same week when The Smiths announced they were hanging it up as a band. RD The B-sides, “I Keep Mine Hidden” and a cover of Cilla Black’s “Work Is a Four-Letter Word,” were the last songs the band recorded together. TG-37 In the video, Morrissey is featured miming the song over footage from the 1964 movie The Leather Boys. TG-37 Girlfriend in a Coma is “a classic example of Morrissey’s abrasive wit.” RD It is “actually about a girlfriend (it remains unclear who’s girlfriend it is) being in a coma, and Morrissey seems unsure whether he thinks it’s a good thing or a bad thing, even though he says that he ‘would hate anything to happen to her.’” TG-37

Work Is a Four-Letter Word The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 8/10/1987 (B-side of “Girlfriend in a Coma”) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.19 streaming About the Song: This cover of a 1968 Cilla Black recording and “I Keep Mine Hidden” were the last songs the Smiths recorded. “Most fans seem to think that those two are the worst recordings they put out.” TG-39 “Marr later said in interviews that it was the last straw for him and shortly after the sessions, he decided to leave the band.” TG-39

I Keep Mine Hidden The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 8/10/1987 (B-side of “Girlfriend in a Coma”) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.11 streaming About the Song: This “whistling, jolly tune” TG-39 “was the last song that Morrissey and Marr ever recorded together.” TG-39 It is “far from a classic Smiths song.” TG-39 During the same sessions they recorded an unreleased cover of Elvis Presley’s “A Fool Such As I.” TG-39 “Morrissey sings about how hard he finds it to express his emotions and also how he envies those who can.” TG39

A Rush and Push and the Land Is Ours The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 62.35 streaming About the Song: “Morrissey’s Irish roots are explored on ferocious war cry A Rush and a Push.” RD “The song is one of many on this album that deals with death in one form or another, and it all kicks off with Morrissey presenting himself as ‘the ghost of Trouble Joe,’ who, in the song, hung eighteen months earlier.” TG-36 “While the song itself might not go down in Smiths history as their most memorable, it does hold a very special place in their catalogue – it’s the only song they ever recorded with no guitars at all, which must be see as a bit odd for a band with one of the world’s most renowned guitarists in its lineup. But this was all part of Marr’s desire to further develop the band’s sound.” TG-36

I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 11/2/1987 (single), Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side(s): “Pretty Girls Make Graves,” “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” (live) Peak: 12 CO, 23 UK, 33 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.28 streaming About the Song: “Marr’s crunchy glam guitar on I Started Something anticipates Morrissey’s future solo work with Mick Ronson.” RD “The song begins with a few power chords from Marr, and then goes on to reveal details about a fictional (?) relationship that Morrissey doesn’t seem to be too convinced about.” TG-36 This was released as the second single from the album. Originally “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” had been planned as a single but the label thought “it was inappropriate…as it mentions planning a mass murder.” TG-36

Death of a Disco Dancer The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) Peak: 16 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 13.54 streaming About the Song: “This song offers quite a pessimistic view on world peace in our lifetime: ‘And if you think peace is a common goal / Well, that goes to show how little you know,’ and ‘Love, peace, and harmony? / …Very nice, very nice, very nice / But maybe in the next world.’” TG-36 “This song is also unique in its own way, as it’s the first and only time Morrissey played an instrument on a Smiths recording, though [it’s questionable] his tinkering on the piano in the coda of the song can be labelled ‘playing.’” TG-36

Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: Spring 1987 Released: Oct. 1987 (single), Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side(s): “I Keep Mine Hidden” Peak: 9 CO, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 52.71 streaming About the Song: “The self-parodying Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” is an album highlight. RD Morrissey “sings about a relationship in its final stages, during which the narrator drinks too much and has a minor cycling ‘accident.’” TG-37 “The mentioning of a mass murder made the band stop the release of a single…in the UK, but it did come out in several other countries.” TG-37

Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 12/7/1987 (single), Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side(s): “Rusholme Ruffians,” “Nowhere Fast” Peak: 12 CO, 30 UK, 37 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 44.07 streaming About the Song: The “dramatic” RD Last Night features a “harrowing extended introduction underpinned by foreboding piano and rioting crowds.” RD That intro, running nearly two minutes, “consists of a BBC sound recordings from the miners’ strike in 1984-1985.” TG-37 It was cut from the single version of the song. The song finds Morrissey “once again longing for love, the drama intensified by Marr’s synthesizer string arrangement.” TG-37

Unhappy Birthday The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 10.50 streaming About the Song: “The jolly singalong Unhappy Birthday” is an album highlight, RD although AllMusic.com’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it “glib and forced.” AM “As ever so often with Smiths songs, Marr’s fairly happy music once again contrast with Morrissey’s rather nasty birthday wishes for – well, we don’t know who he had in mind here, but one thing is for sure – it’s not his best friend.” TG-37 “Marr once said that this was one of his favorite Smiths songs, partly because of the amazing interplay between his guitar and Rourke’s bass: ‘Only we could play it, and only Morrissey could sing it.’” TG-37

Paint a Vulgar Picture The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) Peak: 16 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.63 streaming About the Song: “Paint a Vulgar Picture, with its bitter refrain of ‘Re-issue! Re-package!’ seems rather ironic in the light of endless Smiths and Morrissey compilations released since.” RD “Morrissey tells the story of a greedy record label who has a dead star in its roster who continue to exploit his back catalogue with endless reissuing and repackaging. But amid all this label heckling, he also finds the time to tell the story of a big fan…who dreams of meeting his big idol.” TG-38

Death at One’s Elbow The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.93 streaming About the Song: “The title of the song was taken from the diaries of Joe Orton…with the corpse in question being his mother, whose funeral he attended the same day…The lyrics echo Orton’s own demise, as he was beaten to death by his lover in August 1967.” TG-38 This is “hardly any fan’s favorite, but it does mark another first in The Smiths history…as Marr provides the backing vocals.” TG-38

I Won’t Share You The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) Peak: 38 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 36.64 streaming About the Song: This “lullaby-like tune” is a “fitting closer” TG-38 which “allegedly reduced drummer Mike Joyce to tears.” RD It has often been suggested that one of the reasons The Smiths broke up is Morrissey’s frustration with Johnny Marr “moonlighting with other artists (like Kirsty MacColl and Pretenders).” TG-38 “With that in mind, the lyrics to this song become almost self-explanatory.” TG-38

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 573. TG Tommy Gunnarsson (2021). On Track…The Smiths & Morrissey. Sonicbond Publishing: United Kingdom. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 4/27/2008; last updated 9/20/2026.

Yes Big Generator released

Big Generator Yes

Released: September 21, 1987 Peak: 15 US, 17 UK, 14 CN, 44 AU, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Rhythm of Love [4:49] Big Generator [4:31] Shoot High Aim Low [6:59] Almost Like Love [4:58] Love Will Find a Way [4:48] Final Eyes [6:20] I’m Running [7:34] Holy Lamb (Song for Harmonic Convergence) [3:15] Total Running Time: 43:14 The Players: Jon Anderson (vocals) Trevor Rabin (guitar, vocals, keyboards) Chris Squire (bass) Alan White (drums, percussion) Tony Kaye (keyboards)

Rating: 3.416 out of 5.00 (average of 18 ratings)

Following Their Greatest Commercial Success When the re-formed Yes emerged in 1983, no one would have predicted that the prog-rock outfit who’d been around for more than a decade would suddenly find their greatest commercial success with 90125, even landing a #1 hit with “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” That same lineup reconvened for a follow-up album but “sessions dragged on for two years, largely over creative differences…Rabin was aiming to progress beyond 90125, while…Anderson was beginning to yearn for more traditional Yes music.” WK He would, in fact, reconvene with former Yes bandmates from the ‘70s for Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe in 1989, but the so-called “Cinema” lineup would come together again for 1991’s Union and 1994’s Talk. Big Generator fell short of its predecessor in terms of sales, chart position, and overall rating. It does have “some fun songs on it” SE and did find top-40 and AOR success with “Love Will Find a Way” and “Rhythm of Love,” but 90125’s singles “’Owner of a Lonely Heart’ and ‘Leave It’ threw long shadows.” SE “ Production “When asked if the band had plenty of material for Big Generator, Rabin’s answer is a resounding ‘No.’ One of the strengths of 90125, he says, was that he brought a lot of material to the table in an almost finished form but for the follow-up album the band decided to go and see what they could create together. This turned out to be much harder work.” SE When looking at the credits for Big Generator, “the alarm bells immediately start to sound. For example, wonder-producer Trevor Horn is still there but his name appears fourth on a list after Yes themselves, Trevor Rabin and Paul de Villiers.” SE He “was a major factor in the success of….90125” WK but dropped out of the sessions for Big Generator after a few months, largely due to his inability to get along with keyboardist Tony Kaye. WK “Rabin assumed the production duties after the departure of Horn, and is credited for pulling together the final line-up of music on the disc.” WK “The number of different recording studios used is also a worry” SE with at least six “in Italy, London and Los Angeles. If previous Yes recording situations are a guide, this proliferation of producers and recording locations doesn’t point towards a harmonious and efficient process.” SE Big Generator “was encased in an incredibly heavy sheen of 1980s production: cavernous reverb, shimmery guitar textures, non-existent bass… [and] blasts from synthesized horns.” SE “The LP did hint at things past with the suite-like “I’m Running.’ Still, the sonics were a symptom of the time.” SE Reissue A 2009 reissue added five bonus cuts – two more versions of “Love Will Find a Way” and three of “Rhythm of Love.” The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Rhythm of Love Yes

Writer(s): Kaye, Rabin, Anderson, Squire Released: 12/7/87 (single), Big Generator (1987), 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 (box set, U.S. version, 2003), Yes Singles 2 (compilation, 2024) B side: “City of Love” (live) Peak: 40 BB, 2 AR, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.83 streaming About the Song: “There are much more interesting, progressive-sounding songs on Big Generator” SE but “Rhythm of Love” “undeniably has a great, driving pulse, interrupted by effective passages like the bridge section, and the instrumental performances are excellent, as you would expect. The melody is catchy and Rabin solos in characteristic style, with lots of notes and lots of creativity. It’s a rabble-rousing opening to Big Generator.” SE Trevor Rabin said the song is “animalistic” in approach SE “rather than what one might associate with the classic uplifting and affirming Yes aesthetic. However, for 39 seconds, we could be forgiven for thinking that Yes have returned to their progressive roots – albeit in a modernized form.” SE “Wordless vocals combine with washes of keyboards, woodwind and other assorted instruments. There are echoes of the opening of Close to the Edge, maybe. Then White tears in with a heavy rock beat, accompanied by Squire’s pounding bass and Rabin’s lead guitar and we know that, in fact, we are in full-blown stadium rock mode.” SE “Anderson comes in brightly, but it does feel more like he is singing a Trevor Rabin song very effectively than the opening song to a Yes album. The verse is very much in an ’80s-rock style. The bridge gives us hints of prog rock with a high, soaring Anderson line brilliantly supported by the wide-ranging pitch of the backing line – but then the chorus catapults us back into the world of Trevor Rabin, despite being adorned with a great set of vocal arrangements.” SE

Big Generator Yes

Writer(s): Rabin, Kaye, Anderson, Squire, White Released: Big Generator (1987), Ultimate Yes: The 35th Anniversary Collection (box set, U.S. version, 2003), Ultimate Yes: The 35th Anniversary Collection (compilation, UK version, 2003) Peak: 15 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.34 streaming About the Song: The title track for Big Generator “seems desperate in its need to sound modern.” SE It “was a carbon copy of ‘Owner,’ so maybe that was the problem. More likely, though, ‘Owner’ was a one-shot (courtesy of producer Trevor Horn).” AM The song “contains writing contributions from the entire group, but sounds very little like the music of old from the world’s greatest progressive rock band.” SE It “evolved from a riff by Yes’ late stalwart bassist Chris Squire, which was then embellished by Trevor Rabin. Alan White’s snare is tuned high and tight, and the guitar and drum onslaught almost buries the vocals by Jon Anderson.” SE “Taken as a whole, this Yes song is like your favorite donut. It tastes good at first, but you know there’s little nutritional value – and it will eventually lead to decay.” SE

Shoot High Aim Low Yes

Writer(s): White, Kaye, Rabin, Anderson, Squire Released: Big Generator (1987), Yes Years (box set, 1991) First Charted: November 14, 1987 Peak: 11 AR, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.22 streaming About the Song: “It’s possible to stereotype the songs on Big Generator as cobbled-together, brash and too stadium-oriented.” SE However, there is also “poise and expansiveness” SE in songs like “Shoot High Aim Low.” “The whole feel is very cinematic” SE with “an elaborate and quite progressive approach.” SE “’Shoot High Aim Low’ is a long song and it feels like it has been given time to breathe, to establish itself before rushing into a chorus. Maybe this is something it shares with some of the older, more epic Yes pieces.” SE It is clearly the track with which Rabin was happiest and Jon Anderson seemingly agrees. SE “The blue fields referred to are apparently in Nicaragua, and Anderson previously said he plays the part of a helicopter pilot coming to shoot everything up while Rabin is in a sedan with a girl – a contrasting image of love.” SE “The sung conversation between Jon Anderson and Trevor Rabin in the verse works really well and, when the chorus does get going, it’s understated and uses some great word painting.” SE “The song starts in a moody and intriguing fashion that’s eventually complemented by an Alan White beat, which sparkles and pops. The hi hat-led and inventive-but-rock solid drum pattern is surrounded by subtle shades of guitar, bass and strings, providing an effective contrast to that slow-moving aural bed.” SE White said they achieved the drum reverb effect not with electronic techniques but “by recording in a palace in Italy in a room where the King used to eat meals in front of a fire.” SE . The elongated lines of the accompaniment bring listeners along on slow waves of positivity…Heavy bass doubles the vocals, making for a slow-paced but compelling effect with Alan White’s more frenetic hi hat above” SE and “Chris Squire’s growling bass at the bottom filling out the texture and heightening the mood further.” SE At about two minutes in, “the elaborate and fast-moving Rabin acoustic solo” SE is “a blistering blast of contrasting texture while the rest of the band continue with the main feel.” SE

Almost Like Love Yes

Writer(s): Kaye, Rabin, Anderson, Squire Released: Big Generator (1987) Peak: 33 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.65 streaming About the Song: In his review of “Almost Like Love” at SomethingElseReviews.com, Preston Frazier asserts that “you almost get a good yes song…but not quite.” SE He compliments Trevor Rabin, saying his “guitar playing is beyond reproach, as always. Even with his ’80s stadium-rock flash, he comes across as interesting and non-formulaic.” SE He says the song “also features stellar Hammond B3 playing by Tony Kaye” SE and “a straight-ahead rocking back beat from Alan White.” SE However, he knocks the song for “solid (if uninspired) bass playing from Chris Squire” SE and, while he speaks favorably of Jon Anderson’s “strong vocals” SE he says they “are wasted amid lyrics which rank among the most forgettable by Yes.” SE Frazier also says, “The heavy-handed production doesn’t do “Almost Like Love” any favors, either: There’s an annoying horn arrangement played by the Nick Lane (trombone), James Zavala and Greg Smith (sax), and Lee Thornburg (trumpets). The fact that such heavyweights could not rescue this song is telling.” SE

Love Will Find a Way Yes

Writer(s): Trevor Rabin Released: 9/14/87 (single), Big Generator (1987), Yes Years (box set, 1991), In a Word (box set, 2002), Yes Singles 2 (compilation, 2024) B side: “Holy Lamb” First Charted: October 3, 1987 Peak: 30 BB, 73 UK, 1 AR, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 18.01 streaming About the Song: As the lead single from Big Generator, “’Love Will Find a Way’ gave the world’s greatest progressive rock band exactly what they wanted: A hit song.” SE It wasn’t as big as “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” the #1 song from the previous album, but it did reach the top 40 on the pop charts and #1 on the album rock chart. “Credit the production approach by Trevor Rabin and Trevor Horn.” SE In addition, “Rabin’s lead vocals are strong and the Yes choir has never sounded better. Anderson’s few vocal contributions are well placed. Additionally, keyboardist Tony Kaye is once again used effectively with just the right touch on Hammond organ. Chris Squire and Alan White can make even this conventional pop song sound interesting,” SE despite its “lyrically dippiness.” SE

Final Eyes Yes

Writer(s): Rabin, Kaye, Anderson, Squire Released: 4/4/88 (single), Big Generator (1987) First Charted: February 20, 1988 Peak: 20 AR, 17 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.05 streaming About the Song: “’Final Eyes’ seems to walk a better balance between rock and pop than Side 2 opener ‘Love Will Find a Way.’ The song, written by the entire band sans drummer Alan White, builds convincingly off of Trevor Rabin’s acoustic guitar. Jon Anderson sings a direct lyric which avoids ’90s-rock cliché, while Tony Kaye’s organ and piano swirl in the background. Light touches of synthesizer assist in developing the mood, which then shifts with a less-than-nuanced rock back beat. The Trevor Rabin-sung bridge and electric guitar leads are a nice touch, but the synthesizer sound becomes a little too conventional.” SE “’Final Eyes’ has a lot going on, but for the most part it works. At almost six and a half minutes, it seems to have been an unlikely single, but the song does have more credibility among fans of the progressive rock band than either of the era’s two hits. It’s also an interesting milestone for the band working as one in the studio.” SE

I'm Running Yes

Writer(s): Rabin, Squire, Anderson, Kaye, White Released: Big Generator (1987) Peak: 37 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.71 streaming About the Song: “I’m Running” “steps out of the arena haze with an interesting but not totally successful gambit.” SE “The back beat seems forced and for the world’s greatest progressive rock band, downright weird.” SE It “seems like a bad joining of good and well-played musical ideas.” SE It was based on a drum track from Alan White. SE “Of course, part of being a progressive rock bands means bending convention. ‘I’m Running’ does that giving the listener a fantastic Squire bass part, another strong Jon Anderson vocal, and interesting lyric and modern keyboard sounds from Tony Kaye and Trevor Rabin. Rabin’s acoustic guitar is strong, but it will never make you think he’s Steve Howe. The electric guitar leads and solo would be great, if only the overall song could match them in concept.” SE

Holy Lamb (Song for Harmonic Convergence) Yes

Writer(s): Jon Anderson Released: 9/14/87 (B side of “Love Will Find a Way”), Big Generator (1987), In a Word (box set, 2002) Peak: 18 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.05 streaming About the Song: Jon Anderson wrote “Holy Lamb” and it “seems as if it could have fit on one of Anderson’s solo albums.” SE “The song, based on a world-wide meditation event, starts in a spiritually uplifting way” SE “provides a simple and delicate melody which is conveyed by Trevor Rabin’s synthesizers and acoustic guitar.” SE However, “Yes’ bombastic Rabin-era production does the song no favors. Over-caffeinated drums and bass quickly overwhelm Jon Anderson’s voice and the acoustic guitars.” SE “It is said that by the time Yes finished recording Big Generator in Los Angeles, Anderson had had enough of the in-fighting with Squire and departed producer Trevor Horn, and was ready to move on.” SE

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by William Ruhlmann SL Stephen Lambe (2023). On Track…Yes: Every Album, Every Song. Sonic Bound Publishing: United Kingdom. SE SomethingElseReviews.com “Big Generator” WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Pages: First posted 6/7/2011; last updated 6/24/2026.

50 years ago: Count Basie charts with "One O'Clock Jump"

One O’Clock Jump Count Basie

Writer(s): Count Basie First Charted: September 18, 1937 Peak: 12 US (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.075 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Count Basie and his Orchestra crafted this instrumental jazz “landmark of the big band Swing Era” NRR around a head arrangement, an approach in which a song was developed through rehearsal and memorized without being written down. NRR The approach let musicians focus on the rhythmic drive NRR which was the main thrust of Basie’s and other Kansas City dance bands. Such songs were known as “stomps” and “shouts” or, in this case, a “jump”. TC The approach also allowed soloists a lot of freedom. In “One O’Clock Jump”, extraordinary players like Lester Young, Herschel Evans, and Buck Clayton are allowed a showcase their interplay of brass and reeds. NRR The song grew out of a rearrangement of Fats Waller’s “Six or Seven Times” TC and became a song originally called “Blue Ball”, TC which showcased the band’s ties to the blues. However, when Basie & crew were scheduled to perform the song for a radio broadcast, the announced balked at the risqué name so Basie retitled it “One O’Clock Jump”. TC Basie was the first to chart with the song in 1937. The following year, Harry James and Benny Goodman had top 10 versions with it. However, the song has become known as “Basie’s signature theme, and the band played it at the end of their performances for more than 50 years.” NPR As a demonstration of this instrumental’s staying power and ability to cross genres, country group Asleep at the Wheel won a Grammy in 1978 for best country instrumental performance. TY Neil Peart, the drummer with progressive rock group Rush, used it to conclude his solos in concert from 2002 to 2004. WK Resources: TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 370. NPR National Public Radio web site (1999). “The Most Important American Musical Works of the 20th Century” NRR National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress The Full National Recording Registry TY Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Page 181. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 9/18/2011; last updated 8/16/2022.