Yes - Drama

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Free Music Notes for Drama

Free Music Review: An EXTREMELY underrated Yes album - Outstanding
Hit: 5 Stars

Prior to 1980, Yes saw times of great success in the 70s, their main key points being the early 70s with Fragile(1972) and Close To The Edge(1973), and the late 70s with Going For The One(1977). Afterwards, the band recorded Tormato(1978) which although an interesting album, wasn't nearly as inspired and didn't fare quite as well as previous outings. The recording process created such high tension among the band that when they went back into the studio in 1979, the band was separated into two opposing sides: The Squire/White/Howe side, and the Anderson/Wakeman side. This caused Anderson and Wakeman to both leave the band, leaving the others to look for replacements. It wasn't as big of a deal losing Wakeman because he had jumped the ship at an earlier point in the band. The real problem was replacing Jon Anderon, THE VOICE of Yes and one of the two most Yes-like bandmembers.

Enter vocalist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes, two goofy looking guys that formed the Buggles, a new wave band that previously created the smash hit 'Video Killed The Radio Star'. All five formed the lineup for 1980's Drama album. The main consensus I've gathered from the fans was that this album was bad because of the lack of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, so I avoided getting the album for a while. I was worried that Drama would never be as great as other Yes albums. While it's no Relayer(1974) or Close To The Edge in terms of progressiveness, at the same time it's actually quite good on it's own terms. No, make that INCREDIBLY GOOD! While Horne and Downes aren't exactly the best bandmembers to circulate in and out of Yes, they offered a much needed outside contribution that was absent on Tormato. In fact, Downes' keyboards are much better than Rick Wakeman's cheezy casio sounds that were all over the last album. The synths here are much more full in sound, often depicting deep atmospheric textures to the music. And as for Trevor Horne... he actually sounds a lot like Jon Anderson (I know, I just committed blasphemy among Yes elitists, but it's true. He does!). So I don't see the problem with him. He was only on this album anyway. Thankfully, the songwriting here is more focused than on Tormato and as a result the music sounds cohesive and brilliant. With the exception of 'Into The Lens', I could call this one Yes's second best "short song" album (Going For The One is the best).

Here's an analysis of the tracks. Starting off is the GIANT soaring 10-minute opener 'Machine Messiah'. This song is one of my favorites and concludes that Yes is still in fact Yes. If anything is to be noted it's that this is definitely one of Yes's heavier albums they've made. 'White Car' is simply a short melodic intro which leads into 'Does It Really Happen?', an energetic rocker that showcases a lot of great guitar playing. Then there's 'Into The Lens', the only real dud on the album. If anything, this Yes song is really a Buggles song in disguise. It certainly has some of the STUPIDEST lyrics ever penned to a song, "I am a camera, camera". It's the only song here I don't like. Thankfully, things pick up with the melodic, yet heavy 'Run Through The Light'. This track is a foretelling of the style that Yes would employ on their 80s reunion album 90125(1983). The final album track is the fast-paced 'Tempus Fugit', considered by many to be classic Yes's swan song. It's no end to the band, but it makes for an outstanding closing track.

Like the other new Yes remasters, Rhino Records does a stellar job packaging and including extras. The liner notes detail this era of the band and feature many photos (Trevor Horne has to have some of the nerdiest looking glasses I've ever seen). Of course, Rhino Records doesn't skimp out on the bonus tracks either, counting a total of 10 bonus tracks, almost tripling the size of the album. These include single versions of 'Into The Lens' and 'Run Through The Light', the demo versions of 'Tempus Fugit' and 'White Car', and the Squire/Howe/White instrumentals 'Have We Really Got To Go Through This' and 'Satellite'. The real bonuses here though are the four final tracks taken from the '79 Paris sessions when Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman were still in the band! 'Dance Through The Light' is a vocal-less early version of 'Run Through The Light'. Then there's the uplifting rocker 'Golden Age', and the brief moody 'In The Tower'. It's too bad these last two tracks never saw the light of day, as they would've fit great on Drama. 'Friend Of A Friend' is pure pop rock, but still decent.

If you ever had any doubts whether this album would measure up to earlier Yes, then put your worries to rest because Drama showcases very inspired songwriting. It's a very underrated album in the context of Yes's work and is much better than most fans will lead you to think. 5 stars for both the album and the remastering. There is one bad song, but the other 5 more than make up for it. Of course, with Trevor and Geoff, the band just wasn't the same, so after the tour, Yes was put on indefinite hold. It's too bad the band themselves don't like this album because there's many great songs to be heard. If you're open minded and can take Yes without Anderson or Wakeman, then you'll definitely enjoy Drama. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Other similar albums:
-'90125' by Yes
-'Going For The One' by Yes
-'Signals' by Rush
-'Asia' by Asia

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