"Make It Easy" is a 1991 song by the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

. An early version of this song from 1981 was written and sung by

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African musician, songwriter, and film composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and produc ...

, originally as a demo titled "Don't Give In". It was later re-worked by Yes which included

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

, Alan White and Tony Kaye after Jon Anderson made his departure from the band. The song was unreleased until 1991, when it was included on the Yes boxed set ''

Yesyears ''Yesyears'' is the first boxed set by English progressive rock band Yes, released in August 1991 on Atco Records. After the group left Atco for Arista Records when they became an eight-man formation in 1990, the deal gave Atco the right to the ...

'' and released as a

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single (music), single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was introduced in 1980 in music, 1 ...

backed with "

Long Distance Runaround "Long Distance Runaround" is a song by the progressive rock group Yes first recorded for their 1971 album, '' Fragile''. Written by lead singer Jon Anderson, the song was released as a B-side to "Roundabout", but became a surprise hit in its ow ...

". The single debuted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart in August 1991, eventually peaking at number 36. It was later included as a bonus track on the remastered version of ''

90125 ''90125'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 7 November 1983 by Atco Records. After Yes disbanded in 1981, following the ''Drama'' (1980) tour, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White and Tre ...

''.

Background

The 1980 incarnation of Yes included

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

Geoff Downes Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group the Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to Lond ...

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, London, Holloway, North London, Howe d ...

, Chris Squire and Alan White. When this group split up following the tour for the album ''

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

'', Squire and White joined forces with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n singer and guitarist Trevor Rabin. The three were eventually joined by former Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye, and the four began writing and recording demos under the band name "Cinema". Demos produced from the Cinema sessions included "Make It Easy" and "It's Over", with both having lead vocals by Rabin, and an early version of "

It Can Happen "It Can Happen" is a song by the progressive rock band Yes, from their 1983 album ''90125''. It was released as the third single from that album, reaching number 51 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1984. It also reached number 5 on the ''Bi ...

" featuring Squire on vocals. The Cinema version of "It Can Happen" and "Make It Easy" appeared as previously unreleased recordings on 1991's ''Yesyears'' boxed set compilation, and "Make It Easy", recorded in 1981, was released as a cassette single, backed with "Long Distance Runaround", from 1971's '' Fragile''. The single debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart August 24, 1991, eventually peaking at number 36. Both "Make It Easy" and the demo version of "It Can Happen" as well as "It's Over" were later included as bonus tracks on the remastered version of ''90125'' released in 2004 by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

. The beginning of "Make It Easy" has been used as an Intro into "

Owner of a Lonely Heart "Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by British progressive rock band Yes. It is the first track and single from their eleventh studio album, '' 90125'' (1983), and was released on 24 October 1983. Written primarily by guitarist and singer Tre ...

" when played live by Yes from 1984 to 2000.

has never performed it with the exception of his appearance with Yes at the Trevor Horn Celebration Concert in 2004; during the 2017

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

induction, Rabin played the "Make it Easy" intro alongside Howe, but Howe did not join in until the beginning of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" proper (during which he played bass).

Billy Sherwood William Wyman Sherwood (born March 14, 1965) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes as guitarist and ke ...

played guitar on the "Make it Easy" intro on the ''Open Your Eyes'' and ''The Ladder'' tours. In 2003, the early version of this song was released by Trevor Rabin on a collection of demos titled '' 90124''. The track is mistakenly listed as "Cinema Demo 1981". The liner notes reveal the song's real title, "Don't Give In".

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1991 singles Yes (band) songs Songs written by Trevor Rabin