Yes - Drama
#322
by Timothy Sprague
August 18 1980
Yes
Drama
Genre: Classic Prog Rock
Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Timothy’s Rating: 5 out of 5
Highlights:
Tempus Fugit
Machine Messiah
I did not become the major Yes fan that I am until 90125 came out a few years after this while I was in high school and the band completely blew my mind live at Boston Garden. So I did not have any of the angst that older fans had when they first heard Drama along with the shocking news that much beloved singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman had been replaced by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, aka The Buggles, of Video Killed the Radio Star fame. Many were quite dismayed. Others were happy to support existing members Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White. The fact that they sold concert tickets without telling anyone that Jon and Rick would not be there probably didn’t help the album’s reception. (But they did set a record for consecutive sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden on the Drama tour.) The Buggles were being managed by Yes’ manager Brian Lane and he asked them to help work out some new songs. Trevor Horn kept wondering when Jon Anderson was going to show up to sing and eventually was told that wasn’t happening and would he please be the new singer? After protesting that people were going to hate them, Trevor and Geoff agreed. Then proceeded to be pelted by batteries and other hard objects while on stage.
But if you set all that aside, it’s actually a very good album, a strong cross between Yes, The Buggles and Asia, which Steve and Geoff would go on to form after Yes broke up shortly after the live tour. Howe’s guitar is more heavy-metal-sounding, especially on the opening track Machine Messiah, and all of the songs are much more accessible than something like Tales From Topographic Oceans. Horn has a very good singing voice that we haven’t heard much over the years since. And the harmonies with Howe and Squire are what keep this sounding like a Yes album. The enduring gem on this album is Tempus Fugit, which ranks up there alongside other classics like Heart of the Sunrise and Starship Trooper. Fans would have to wait years after the Drama tour to hear the song again, other than Squire working it into his extended live bass solo on subsequent tours. Jon Anderson refused to perform anything from this album when he rejoined. But after he was removed in the mid-2000s due to the band’s impatience with his respiratory problems not healing quickly enough, we finally got to hear it live, albeit with Anderson impersonator Benoit David on vocals.
Fans of this album should check out Fly From Here (The Return Trip), a reworking of their 2011 album produced by Trevor Horn. The original release, Fly From Here, had Benoit David on vocals but they later had the smart idea of re-recording it with Horn singing and it sounds as if the band went into the studio and made a new album to follow up Drama in 1981.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7pIdphNSHXEjdXdThmgOOb?si=WEkD4a-wSGK-7lo_jupnlg
No comments:
Post a Comment