Leave It
| "Leave It" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Yes | ||||
| from the album 90125 | ||||
| B-side | "Leave It" (a cappella version) | |||
| Released | 7 November 1983 February 1984 (single) | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | Art rock, new wave[1] | |||
| Length | 4:14 | |||
| Label | Atco | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire, Trevor Horn | |||
| Producer(s) | Trevor Horn | |||
| Yes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Leave It" on YouTube | ||||
"Leave It" is a song by English rock band Yes. It appears on their 1983 album, 90125.
It was the second song from that album to be released as a single. The 12" single release (ATCO 0-96964) featured an extended "Hello, Goodbye" remix by Trevor Horn (9:30) as the A-side, with the B-side consisting of the 7" single remix (3:52) and the A Capella remix (3:19). The 7" single includes the two B-side tracks of the 12".
There were repeated single-issues, most backed with remixes of the song or an a cappella version. The original version was occasionally placed as the B-side of "Owner of a Lonely Heart", and on another instance, the original version was found on a 12-inch single with another A-side track, "City of Love".[2] The song has the distinction of being the only track from 90125 virtually unaltered from the version recorded by Squire, Rabin, White and Kaye before Jon Anderson rejoined.[citation needed]
The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100[3] and number 3 on the Top Album Rock Tracks chart.[4]
The song is the second track on the album's second side, with the song "Cinema" serving as a form of prelude.
Music video
The music video (directed by Godley and Creme) shows the band standing while going through video-created abstract effects. It was one of the first music videos to utilize computer-generated imagery. Eighteen different variations of the video were made (the first one, for instance, simply had the band upside-down, but motionless for the whole song), with the eleventh one chosen as the "standard" version, and has remained the "official" video. A half-hour documentary on the making of the video was broadcast on MTV in 1984.[5] Also, a marathon showing all eighteen videos, one after the other, was also shown on MTV.
Personnel
- Jon Anderson – co-lead vocals & backing vocals
- Trevor Rabin – electric guitar, keyboards, co-lead vocals & backing vocals
- Chris Squire – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Alan White – electric drums, backing vocals
- Tony Kaye – keyboards
Additional Personnel
- Trevor Horn – backing vocals
- Graham Preskitt – electric violin
Live performances
"Leave It" appeared in a similar manner on the 9012Live tour as it had on the album; it was the second song performed each night, with "Cinema" serving as the intro. The song was performed on all 113 shows of the 9012Live tour, but has never been performed by the band since.[6]
Remixes
Several remixes of the song exist, two of which can be found on a tape issued in 1984, known as Twelve Inches on Tape (Atco 7-90156-4-A). The cover of the tape displays the cover of a 12" A-side single issue of "Leave It" backed with "Owner of a Lonely Heart" as its B-side. This 12" single, however, may not actually exist, with this cover being only created for the tape. The tape track-list is "Leave It (Remix)", "Owner of a Lonely Heart (Red and Blue Mix)", "Leave It (Hello, Goodbye Mix)", "Owner of a Lonely Heart", the last of which is the same as the 90125 album version. All four tracks appear on both sides of the tape. These remixes can also be found on other singles. While this tape is a rarity, "Leave It (Hello, Goodbye Mix)" was re-released on the ZTT Records compilation The Art of the 12" Volume Three in February 2014 with a runtime of 9:29.
An a cappella version was issued, which appeared as the B-side to other versions of the single. The 2004 remastered CD version of 90125 includes the a cappella and single remix versions of the song.
References
- ^ "Re-play: Trevor Jackson on the influence of audio/visual pioneers Godley & Creme". 8 October 2013.
- ^ Yesworld Archived 2007-10-30 at the Wayback Machine Yes official website, retrieved 2 February 2007.
- ^ "Yes Album & Song chart History". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ^ Whitburn, J. (1996). Rock Tracks. Record Research. p. 142. ISBN 978-0898201147.
- ^ "Yes - 1984 MTV Special: Making of the "Leave It" Music Videos". YouTube. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Forgotten Yesterdays Yes tour log, retrieved 2 February 2007
