Here’s a thought. A single LP based upon the period in Yes history when Trevor Rabin was the man on guitar. Go!…

It could be argued that Trevor Rabin saved Yes. True there were many other people and factors at play, but the three albums on which he appeared between 1983 and 1994 saw the band rebooted and extending the legacy even if the path of Progressive Rock in its truest sense took a slight backseat.

Of course, Yes has always been a band with a degree of fluidity and flexibility in the line up. Just when the departure of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman threatened to decimate Yes as the Eighties beckoned, up stepped The Buggles. The Horn/Downes version of Yes lasted for one album and tour – the album Drama now hailed as strong a Yes album you could expect given the circumstances in 1980. But no longevity you see.

the rabin legacy

The chain of events that led to a resurgent Yes in 1983 are well documented. Sonicbond publisher Stephen Lambe has written ‘the book’. Chris Squire and Alan White and their Cinema project and the presence of Trevor Rabin in the songwriting, guitar playing and singing departments became the catalyst to reunite Anderson with Squire and White (plus Tony Kaye) was crucial to the ongoing presence of Yes.

On Rabin’s watch, three albums appeared with the name Yes on the cover. The hugely acclaimed 90125 and less so Big Generator were followed by a brief regrouping of the every Tom, Dick & Harry line up for the Union album/tour, before a return to the Anderson/Rabin/Squire/White/Kaye lineup with Talk.

So – enough of my waffle. Here’s the plan. Pick a set of songs that would form the ‘best of’ the ‘Rabin years’. We’ve been bold and limited ourselves to a single LP (obviously the CD version might include a couple of bonus tracks…) and been ambitious at keeping to around 20 minutes per side. And what better way to start than with a bit of controversy and the non-selection of Owner Of A Lonely Heart whilst declaring Talk as a personal favourite of the three Rabin albums. The focus is on Jon Anderson as the main singer, the famous Yes harmonies and combining the mainstream and the prog. We’ve also ignored the fashion and haircuts… We’ve also tried to balance the selection across the three albums, and – in keeping with the era – the cover WON’T be a Roger Dean design…

Side One

Hold On (5.15) – A bit of Yes hard rock to begin with. After being right at the front and hearing ARW play this at Stone Free in 2016 it really drove home how powerful the song genuinely is played live. Close To The Edge or classic Yes, this is not but quite some way in which to herald the brave new world.

Love Will Find A Way (4.49) – Ignore the fact that some of the lyrics are trite – “I eat at chez nous“… (or am I reading too much into this?). Packed with hooks that line up and deliver after the quasi classical opening, the Rabin/Anderson vocal combo is right at its best at the start of verse 2 – when they combine on “so you want to get over me, and that’s how you feel.”

A tricky choice between this and Walls (4.58), but LWFAW wins out as it’s been written in house rather than Roger Hodgson’s contribution to Walls desoite Anderson’s gorgeous “Oh, this indecision, Can break me down, Let it run to the river, tell me” seeming improv after the final chorus. Hmmm, just listened again and the jury is out on a decision between these two.

State Of Play (5.00) – one that shows off the thumping production on Talk and also puts the modern Yes sound under the spotlight.

Holy Lamb (3.23) And from modern production values to one of Anderson’s fanciful outings with his “all the magic of the earth and the skies.” The opening IMHO isn’t dissimilar to Wondrous Stories and while the “hold the light” section might recall Hold On, there’s even a Wakeman-esque keyboard line to lead us out.

Side Two

Our Song (4.18) – the most underrated song from 90125 and nice to hear Squire’s bass lines a little more to the fore. A track too that’s more of a collaborative effort from the Cinema/Yes recording period and it shows. Brilliant dancing synths, a fearsome guitar and a fab Anderson vocal. The same sort of frantic urgency as Going For The One.

Endless Dream (15.44) – the one ‘prog’ track that’s more in the mold of classic Yes, certainly in terms of using the extended format to explore different moods and themes. Kicking off in the vein of a Prog Metal adventure, the journey twixt pastoral calmness, computer generated shenanigans and soaring guitar lines and crescendos – even Rabin’s country & western guitar near the finale fits perfectly before the celestial playout and reminder of the “where will you be when you’re not here” melody line.

Here’s Walls:

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