After touring in support of their previous album, 90125 (1983), which saw the band move from progressive rock towards a pop-oriented and commercially accessible direction, Yes started work on a follow-up in 1985 with producer Trevor Horn.

It was a laborious album to make; recording began at Carimate, Italy, but internal and creative differences resulted in production to resume in London, where Horn ended his time with the band due to continuing problems.

In April 1988, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies in the US.

Yes supported Big Generator with a tour of North America and Japan from November 1987 to April 1988, after which Anderson again left the group.

In February 1985, the Yes line-up of Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, keyboardist Tony Kaye, drummer Alan White, and guitarist and vocalist Trevor Rabin, ended a twelve-month world tour in support of their eleventh studio album, 90125 (1983).

[6][7][8] Rabin felt nervous and pressured when their label, Atco Records, informed him that they wished for another hit like "Owner of a Lonely Heart", but he wanted to move from the band's past and do something different regardless of its success.

[9][10] Anderson, wishing to "extend the musicianship" of the band and its new music, wanted to capitalise on its now larger fanbase and attempt "more adventurous" songs for the album.

Anderson looked back on this decision as a "big mistake" as he wanted to encourage Rabin to "jump on a Stravinsky-ism" and "go crazy wild" with musical ideas.

[13] At the beginning of the songwriting process, Rabin recalled the group used Abbey Road (1969) by the Beatles as a model and influence for the music on Big Generator.

[14] Such an approach led to the album having tracks longer than common pop songs of the time, peaking at seven minutes in length.

[12] White was experimenting with sound designer and technologist Reek Havoc on the Dynacord ADD-One drum machine and pads.

[10][14] Rabin first spoke of the friction between Anderson and Squire during this time three years after the album's release, which suited him as it "created a great vacuum for me to work in".

"[16][14][10] Squire recalled more time being spent on what recording equipment to use than the music itself during the entire project, which also affected the tense situation.

[14] While in London, Horn found himself unable to finish producing the tracks as the band could not agree and ended his association with the project, adding: "It wasn't a case of being a committee.

Due to the trauma involved, Rabin initially decided to quit Yes and to use the album release press conference to announce his departure, but was talked into staying in the band by his wife and by management.

[15] Anderson claimed the group were strong for its chorus, but he felt unsure and needed the lyrics "fashioned" and changed some words.

[23] It features Anderson as "the guy in the helicopter going in at ninety miles an hour and I'm going to blow everybody up", yet has Rabin's backing vocals sing a love lyric that involves a couple enjoying their company in a car.

[24] Rabin enjoyed working on the production and arrangement for "Final Eyes", but deemed it a particularly difficult song to make, owing to its many changes in mood and style, yet he liked the acoustic guitar with Anderson's vocals.

Anderson had met some spiritual people during a visit to Las Vegas several years prior to writing it, who told him that he would be singing about it.

[10] "Jon Anderson had an idea for that sleeve, which was basically a drawing of a scroll," designer Garry Mouat (who had worked on 90125) told Classic Rock.

The band adopted a low-key approach for the 1987 dates as they had spent so much time in studio and wanted to start touring and try out their new material.

[31] In early 1988, six shows were cancelled after Rabin collapsed backstage following a concert in Tampa, Florida due to exhaustion from performing with the flu and a fever.