[music] YES - 90125 (Rhino)

Here we are. "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" sounds very different having heard most of the Yes albums that came before it, sure. But it doesn't sound thoroughly different; the bombastic guitar and ridiculous whooshing that always bothered me about it still bother me even though now I can understand what it is they're overlaid upon.

The rest of the album has several more songs I would love to hear recorded by a classic Yes lineup, if they could be produced by someone who knows that his shoes are made of more than shoe polish. It's possible with familiarity I'll come to like them as they are, but let's be clear: Yes was startlingly, wonderfully unfamiliar to me three weeks ago. The flaws in this album, on the other hand, are not unfamiliar; they're what I grew up thinking all music sounded like to a greater or lesser degree. I'm not giving up yet, but expecting an extra helping of Trevor Rabin's jackass guitar to win me over would require optimism of a particularly blinded sort.