YES — Big Generator (review)

YES — Big Generator album cover Album · 1987 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
BIG GENERATOR is definitely the point where YES jumped the shark. I can honestly say i love 90125 as much as many of YES' catalogue beginning with the first album to that very one, but on this one it is clear that the great decline has begun. Not saying there weren't some good albums after this but it was never quite the same. Having said all that, i actually like BIG GENERATOR and despite it being a substandard album for one of the best bands ever to grace the planet, it is nevertheless a decent listen. Part of the decline stems from the fact that the progressive pop era of YES which was supposed to be a new supergroup called Cinema had dropped some of the progressiveness that 90125 had. The sound went a little bit more towards the new wave and pop sound and despite the huge hit they had with 90125 they decided it was a good idea to distance themselves from it. Were they convinced at this point that ANYTHING progressive was lethal? Who knows but it probably is more a result of a group of talented individuals just going through the motions having displayed their utmost chemistry together and now just having to fulfill a contract.

Still though this is YES and even though this is not in the top ranking of their output they are quite talented in crafting clever, catchy and interesting pop songs. Upon my first experience i found a few tracks on here very good such as the total pop sellouts "Love Will Find Away" and "Rhythm Of Love" as well as the title track and the excellent "Shoot High Aim Low" which takes a political stance regarding the horrific illegal wars of the US in Nicaragua. It is a fairly lengthy song for this phase of YES and it has a very subdued melancholic sound.

Many tracks on BIG GENERATOR sound rather new wave but nothing on this one sounds as original and unique as 90125. Despite the pop sounds reigning on this one, there are some moments of past glory. "Final Eyes" has some hippy dippy "And You And I" acoustic guitars going and "I'm Running" has some cool proggy time sigs and instrumental prowess despite its calypso type of island feel at the beginning.

This is a decent album despite being a major step down from anything YES had previously done. I actually don't mind listening to this on occasion. Yeah, i know. This is not what anybody wanted to hear from their favorite supergroup in prog history but this isn't really a YES album. Maybe there should be a human rights law at the UN that mandates anytime a band loses a certain percentage of its members it should be required by law to change its name. Couldn't they have called this era of their career MAYBE? Ugh. It is what it is. Not their best but certainly not their worst.
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