Cinema

The first time Cinema plays, there are no voices or lyrics to distract: just a clean and precise guitar riff, as if someone had recorded the sound of a clear morning in Los Angeles. That’s what makes it special. It’s not a long or complex track, but in its two minutes and eight seconds, it captures all the energy of a band that, without intending to, was redefining its sound. The song wasn’t born as an instrumental: it started as a twenty-minute sketch called Time, but after editing, it became the shortest track on 90125, the album that brought them back to the top of the charts.

The story behind Cinema is almost as interesting as its music. In 1980, the classic lineup of Yes had disbanded following the Drama tour. Chris Squire and Alan White teamed up with Trevor Rabin, a South African guitarist who already had experience in local bands. They were joined by Tony Kaye, the keyboardist who had left the band in 1971. Together, they recorded demos under the name Cinema, a nod to that quartet that, without knowing it, was rebuilding the band’s future. When Jon Anderson heard those recordings, he wanted to join, and the name Yes was heard again. Thus, Cinema is not just an instrumental but a tribute to that fleeting lineup that ultimately became the bridge to the success of 90125. In 1985, the song won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, the only one Yes has received to this day.