DRAMA

I saw the Yes Drama tour and remember when the original Yes members left the stage to leave Downes and Horn alone to perform Video Killed The Radio Star and other Buggles hits that half the audience booed. I think those guys that booed didn't realize the history they were witnessing. OK Buggles aren't prog but don't forget that VKTRS was the first video every shown on MTV, signaling a new era in music. But, hey, this isn't some novelty album. Of the neo-symphonic Yes albums it's clearly the best, with homages to Relayer and hints of Progressive Metal yet to come. A bridge between the old and the new that future Yes albums failed to live up to. I think it's second only to Closer to The Edge as a studio album. Yes Album and Fragile are much better as parts of Yessongs. 90125 may have inspired more of the modern prog bands, but some of it's hardly even rock, let alone prog; I don't think I've made it through the whole album in 30+ years. Drama on the other hand stands up just fine and I listen to it on a regular basis. So why is to good? As Jon and Wakeman started to go wishy-washy and left the band, Steve Howe gets to play a major role in the album, and do some of his heaviest work on Machine Messiah, but it's still Yes through and through. If Dream Theater ever decide to do a Yes cover in their bootleg series then Drama is definitely the album for it. Heaven forbid but the Buggles hit I am Camera morphs into a modern prog classic as Into the Lens, with Relayeresque guitars and keyboards, but with lyrics that you can actually understand, plus a heavy dose of classic Squire's classic bass. White's drums are great throughout, and Downes and Horn are eye opening. What a shame this was just a one-off lineup. So it's Yes's forgotten album, but what a great record.