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Customer Reviews of Big Generator

Impressive album
Yes' twelfth full-length album, 1987's Big Generator, is a pleasing piece of work. It is made up of eight compositions--I like them all. The material is in a majestical pop rock musical direction. Altogether, the songwriting is skillful, the musicianship is proficient, and the sound quality is gratifying. As for the singing, Jon Anderson--one of my favorite vocalists--does not disappoint; his tenor vocals are unique, smooth, and captivating. The tracks that I consider to be favorites are "Shoot High Aim Low," "Love Will Find a Way," and "Final Eyes." There is much to like about the well-written, epic "Shoot High Aim Low"--it is an atmospheric piece that features a memorable refrain, Anderson and Trevor Rabin trading off lead vocals, and nice keyboard work. The nicely crafted, catchy "Love Will Find a Way," one of my favorite songs in general, presents harmony vocals that are spirited and engaging, a brief passage of harmonica, and a pleasant intro which consists of a string arrangement; it is also interesting and impressive how the intricate vocal work on this tune is arranged. "Final Eyes" is a composition that I find to be special and pretty. It exhibits one of my favorite vocal performances, and a great one at that, from Anderson--his singing is moving and inspired. The album-opening "Rhythm of Love" sports vocal harmonies that are charming, soaring, and layered. "Big Generator" starts off with attention-getting, lush harmony vocals; this cut also features a propulsive chorus and an unforgettable guitar riff from Rabin. The sprightly, uplifting "Almost Like Love" begins with memorable drumming from Alan White and also contains brass instrumentation. "I'm Running" is a curious piece with interesting musical arrangements and enjoyable background vocals, while the album-closing "Holy Lamb (Song for Harmonic Convergence)" contains a beautiful, flutey-sounding keyboard melody near the end. The CD booklet includes the song lyrics. The disc is almost 44 minutes. This album flows well and is concise, and I actually give it 3.5 stars--it is an impressive piece of work.

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Big Generator sounds too mechanized
I will agree with the others who've stated that the writing on this CD is pretty strong, and that songs like 'Aim High Shoot Low' and 'I'm Running' are as close to a return to prog as these huys would get until Keystudio. In fact, I don't even mind the radio friendly fare of the title track, 'Rythm Of Love' or 'Love Will Find A Way'. In fact, I think its a rather good album, but I only rate it three stars because of the one thing that really bugs me about this album, the terrible mixing job.

Trever Horn played only a small role in the making of this album, and Rabin's productuion is all over this one. I've seen this one in stores as a remaster, but what I think this album is a prime candidate for a re-mixing. The major problem is the over-dubbed backing vocals, which were either the actual band or additional singers. I suppose this was done to make the backing vocals seems more majestic, as if done by a choir, but in reallity makes them sound like they were done by Up With People. Musicianship and writing is the hallmark of any good Yes album, with production playing a supporting role. But there is layer upon layer of over-dubbed guitar and effects, so much so that the superb 'I'm Running' is ruined towards the end. Add to that Rabin's preoccupation with himself, the keyboards and especially the bass is almost non-exsistant.

Still, there are some enjoyable moments on this album, and it doesn't get better than this for another 8 or 9 years. This will be the most consistent album they'll makwe from now on.

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It's all about Squire
Blah, blah, blah. You Howe-only fans make me sick. Trevor Rabin is the best thing that ever happened to YES. The band needed a much heavier guitar prescence. Rabin gave the group a whole new fan base and gave the families of YES musicians (including Howes') a much greater financial inheritance once they're loved ones are gone. Please get over it! Besides, Squire is the one that keeps the group's best interests at heart. If it hadn't of been for him we would all be missing some great music.