Trevor Horn & 90125

[yarstruly]

hey everyone....

I was wondering a few things about Trevor Horn's involvement as a producer on 90125...

1) Who's Idea was it to have him produce?
2) Was it he or Trevor Rabin who came up with the unique "sounds" such as the harmonized guitar & orchestra blasts on OOALH?
3) Does anyone have any links to articles where he talks about his work on the album?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[yarstruly]

Anyone?????

[Jacaranda]

Hi Yars; good questions, here's what I know:


1) Who's Idea was it to have him produce?


I'm not sure, but I think Chris Squire was a driving force in having Horn produce. From what I know, Horn was producing while they were still called "Cinema", since it turned into a Yes album late in the game, and Squire was pretty much the top guy with Trevor Rabin just coming in and all, so it sounds like he would be the one calling those kind of shots. Plus Squire really wanted Horn to join the band for the "Drama" album beforehand, so I think Squire was quite confident in Horn


2) Was it he or Trevor Rabin who came up with the unique "sounds" such as the harmonized guitar & orchestra blasts on OOALH?


It sounds like Horn was responsible for the unique sounds in OOALH. If you can check out the book "Yes stories" by Tim Morse, which is a great book, it gives some comments on 90215 by Horn and Rabin. Plus if you listen to T-Rabin's version of OOALH on his 90214, the version Rabin brought in was more of a straightforward rock song. There is a quote by Chris Squire from Yes stories that explains some of it..."Trevor Rabin wrote it. I wrote the bridge section to replace his original bridge. Trevor Horn had this wacky idea of sampling all the James Brown horns onto the Fairlight...He sampled the thirteenth chord and Alan White played it on the Fairlight". I have also read how Rabin is thankful of Horn for his belief of OOALH while the pressure for making a single was on during the making of 90125.


3) Does anyone have any links to articles where he talks about his work on the album?
Thanks in advance for your help!

I havn't ran across any online sources, but I would say check out the Yes Stories book and some of the other books out there.

J

[yarstruly]

Thanks, that is very helpful!

[kirklott]

Chris Squire wanted Horn to be the lead singer for Cinema, but Horn declined, as he wanted to focus solely on producing.

As for the wacky sounds on OOALH, the samples were recorded at discos and clubs in New York by Malcolm McLaren, former manager of the Sex Pistols. Horn produced MaLaren's first solo album, and those samples were reused on Owner.

Alan White played the samples on the Fairlight keyboard. The next day, Horn had growing doubts about the samples on Owner, but Squire overruled, said he loved them, and they stayed. The rest is chart magic history.

[90125yes]

horn - great producer , average singer

although he did a reasonable job on drama and on the live tour

( with the exception of " i asked my love to give me sheeeeeelter ")

originally 90125 was to be called " the new yes album " - it would have sold even more