DRAMA

Can Yes be Yes without Jon Anderson or Rick Wakeman? Well, this album proves it not only can be but "it really happens to" be! To be fair, the band had already lost Wakeman after "Topigraphical Oceans" and Patrick Moraz stepped in and did very well on "Relayer." Yes, Rick is awesome but he can be rivaled by many other excellent keyboardists. Being from the 70's prog times, I had been a little strained when I first heard Tormato, the album that came before this one. Over the years that album has really grown on me. Relations in the band were suffering during that time and only got worse for the next sessions. With Howe, Squire and White wanting some more aggressive songs and Jon and Rick had been moving in a more soft and folksy direction which created a split which eventually meant that the latter 2 split with the band.

Yes had never gone without Anderson and his voice is iconic with the band. In came the Buggles ("Video Killed The Radio Star"). WTH!? At the time of the release of Drama I did not have any idea that Trevor Horn & Geoff Downes were from that band. I am not sure I had even heard that song by that point. I think I only did when they first fired up MTV a short few years later and that music video was the first one ever played on MTV.

I do remember hearing this album after it came out and being impressed with the vocals which are not always spot on with Anderson's but Trevor does a great job on "Run Through The Light" and one cannot tell it isn't Anderson (Eh, eh, eh, eh eh!). That is not my favorite song on the record but it is still very Yesworthy. "Machine Messiah" is amazing and its changes and movements are as Yes as anything. Horn and Downes brought their songwriting into the fold and the result is great. Drama has grown to be one of my favorite Yes albums.

Howe's guitar work is astounding and one can really tell its complexities over a pair of good headphones. Squire's basswork is amazing as usual all the way through as well as White's drumming. I really have no complaints about the album other than in just a few places it seems to drag on a bit. "Into The Lens" is one track where I like it a lot but it repeats itself a bit too much. The Buggles did a similar track "I Am A Camera" on their next album. The song was written by them and rearranged for Yes.

It would be much later that I would sit down and with an open mind listen to the Buggles first album "The Age Of Plastic" and I experienced the genre of progressive pop. The first song "Living In The Plastic Age" is rather progressive and actually doesn't sound all that bad. Downes is a great keyboardist in his own right and it is obvious here. We can hear some Wakeman tendencies but he also has his own signature on it using the Fairlight unit.

The 1980 world tour went real well in North America but in England some fans were booing the 2 new guys who obviously were in love with Jon and Rick to the point they could not just hear the music. I think it is a shame that this lineup called it quits after one album. This album beats "90125" or "Big Generator" hands down as a Yes album. I like it better than "Topigraphical Oceans" or "Going For The One". It is a worthy prog album.