On The Road Again: Yes "Big Generator"

jueves, 15 de junio de 2017

Yes "Big Generator"

Big Generator is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band Yes, released on 17 September 1987 by Atco Records. Following the conclusion of their 1984–85 world tour in promotion of 90125 (1983), Yes retreated to Italy with producer Trevor Horn to record a new album, but several personnel issues caused recording to relocate to London and Los Angeles. The album saw the group continue with their pop-oriented and commercially accessible sound, though singer Jon Anderson wished to write music similar to the group's progressive rock sound of the 1970s.

Big Generator received mixed reviews, but continued the group's success in the 1980s, reaching No. 15 in the U.S. and No. 17 in the UK. In April 1988, was certified Platinum for sales in excess of one million copies in the U.S. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Following the album's 1987–88 supporting tour, Anderson left Yes to form Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe. Big Generator was reissued in 2009 and 2013 with bonus tracks.

A laborious album to make, Big Generator's sessions dragged on for two years, largely because of creative differences. Guitarist Trevor Rabin was aiming to progress beyond 90125, while founding lead vocalist Jon Anderson was beginning to yearn for more traditional Yes music. Trevor Horn, who was a major factor in the success of Yes' previous disc 90125, was part of the early recording sessions. However, he dropped out after a few months due in major part to his inability to get along with keyboardist Tony Kaye. In a 2011 interview with LineaRock Italy, Anderson stated that Horn had told Anderson to stay away from the rehearsal and recording sessions for three months, presumably so that Horn could develop material with the other band members. The band recorded some material in Italy ("Shoot High Aim Low"), moved to London to produce "Rhythm of Love", and finally to Los Angeles to produce the final tracks for the album. 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.

The result was an album that was successful commercially, with two songs reaching the US Top 40: "Love Will Find a Way" (also a No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart) and "Rhythm of Love" (their last US Top 40 hit). The album was not as popular as 90125, and feeling that the band was going in a direction he did not want to pursue, Jon Anderson began working on other projects at the conclusion of the Big Generator tour in 1988 including a partial reformation with his Yes bandmates from the 1970s as Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe.

At the beginning of the songwriting process, Rabin recalled the group used Abbey Road (1969) by The Beatles as a model and influence for the music on Big Generator. He explained: "If we come up with an idea, why pressure ourselves into making it a song? Just have it there. If you can't come up with a chorus, don't throw it out because it's not a complete song and don't put a bad chorus around it". Such an approach led to the album having tracks longer than common pop songs of the time, peaking at seven minutes in length. Rabin described Kaye's role as a greater one than he had on 90125, but continual clashes between Kaye and Horn resulted in his keyboard parts being recorded in another studio away from Horn.

At Rabin's suggestion, the band agreed to record at Lark Recording Studios, a facility situated by Castello di Carimate, a castle in Carimate, Italy. He thought that such a location would help the band bond together and bring some new ideas to the music which would create a better album as a result. Rabin first spoke of the friction between Anderson and Squire during this time three years after the album's release, which suited him as it "created a great vacuum for me to work in". Squire maintained that Rabin made the choice to record there as a step to save money and for tax purposes, and called it the wrong move, a view that Rabin denied years later and clarified that "It was never the intention to save money, although I don't want to waste money." Squire recalled more time being spent on what recording equipment to use than the music itself during the entire project, which also affected the tense situation.

After three months in Carimate, most of the backing tracks had been put down but progress on the album was affected by internal problems. Rabin recalled a lot of partying going on and not enough substantial work getting done, calling it "a real drug time" which affected unnamed members to focus on work. This led to Horn suggesting they halt production and resume in London. For the next several months, recording took place at SARM East, SARM West, and AIR Studios in London. However, when the move was not enough to improve internal relations and differences in the album's direction, Rabin felt it was time to relocate the recording once more, this time to Los Angeles where he had settled, when he once entered the studio by himself on a Sunday to work, and later found it the happiest time of the entire experience. While in London, Horn found himself unable to finish producing the tracks as the band could not agree and ended his association with the project, adding: "It wasn't a case of being a committee. It was just warring factions trying to kill each other". Rabin later revealed that Horn's departure was also partly due to his differences with Anderson and Kaye.

After failing to finish the album in London, Rabin returned home to Los Angeles and completed it at Southcombe, Westlake, and Sunset Sound Studios with producer and engineer Paul DeVilliers, who was their sound engineer on the 90125 tour. Rabin also worked on the album with a 24-track studio at his home studio in the Hollywood Hills, which inspired him to work on all of his musical projects in the studio which he named The Jacaranda Room, since 1988. Rabin estimated the album cost $2 million to make.

"Jon Anderson had an idea for that sleeve, which was basically a drawing of a scroll," designer Garry Mouat (who had worked on 90125) told Classic Rock. "It was like something you may have done at school. I remember saying, 'I like where you're coming from, but how about another idea?' The band were all looking out of the windows, avoiding eye contact and leaving me to pay lip service to Jon."

Big Generator was remastered in 2009 by Isao Kikuchi and released in Japan under Warner Music Japan as part of their Yes SHM-CD papersleeve series of reissues. An international remaster was included as part of the band's 2013 box set The Studio Albums 1969–1987.

Big Generator (Atco 790,522) reached #17 in the UK, and #15 in the US during a chart stay of 30 weeks.

The album, like its predecessor 90125, received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Track listing

Side one