DRAMA

It's true: Yes founder, leader, and lead vocalist Jon Anderson is missing from this album, and yes, he's been replaced by the guy who sang "Video Killed the Radio Star." And yes, they sold concert tickets to fans who didn't know Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman were out of the band. And what emerged when this version of Yes broke up less than a year after they got together? Asia, a corporate, commercial entity which some prog fans view as emblematic of the worst decade of progressive rock - - the 1980s.

But it's also true that Drama dramatically reversed a downward spiral in the quality of Yes albums. Some cracks were evident in Going for the One, but with Tormato, the proverbial wheels came off. Since they didn't progress past the demo stage, it's entirely unfair to judge the next batch of songs - - those which would've been the follow-up to Tormato. (Some of these appear on the 2004 Rhino remaster of Drama.) But there's nary a hint in the "Paris" demos of anything that would've changed the trajectory of the band's material. I'm unaware of any proof of this, but it seems that this material was increasingly coming from Anderson, and to some degree Wakeman.

While both Wakeman and Anderson - - especially Anderson - - would contribute to high-quality Yes material after 1980 (I'm thinking "Mind Drive"), their departure necessarily meant a change in direction, and that change, via vocalist Trevor Horn, wound up impacting the band throughout the 1980s: it's largely due to Horn that 90125 (1983) became their best-selling album.

Anyway, back in 1980, Anderson and Wakeman might've doubted that Yes would survive without them. And while it did, replacing the two best-known members of the band with Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes really only staved off the inevitable for long enough to complete the 1980 tour. That was apparently the most important task for the band; as I understand it, Yes (the band itself, including Anderson and possibly Wakeman) was in substantial debt at the time. So they rushed out a new album and went on tour.

Except on retrospective box sets where there's too much room to ignore it, Drama is generally not included on Yes "greatest hits" albums. To some extent, this makes sense; the single - - "Into the Lens (I Am a Camera)" - - flopped, and the album sold fewer copies than any Yes album in a decade. Plus, without Anderson's vocals, it is anomalous.

But it's also a very good album, more cohesive than Fragile, with a better sound than any Yes album at least since Tales from Topographic Oceans, and with much, much better arrangements than had been the norm. There's less keyboard virtuosity on display; indeed, Downes simply doesn't possess Wakeman's ability to create and play lead parts. But since he's sticking more to rhythmic and supporting parts, Downes's parts almost never conflict with those of guitarist Steve Howe - - which was a distinct problem on Tormato.

Drama is also the Yes album with the best rhythm-section playing in the entire catalogue (with Relayer a close second). Drummer Alan White and bassist Chris Squire are at the height of their individual powers, but are also in near-perfect synch throughout. Horn, an accomplished bassist himself, plays on one song.

Given the strength of the rhythm section, the relegation of the keyboards to more of a supporting role, and the increased in syncopation, it's not surprising that Drama is among the least melodic Yes albums, at least in terms of performance. But it's also true from a compositional standpoint; after all, melodies, countermelodies, and secondary melodies are the forte of both Anderson and Wakeman, and their replacements did not come with equally strong skills in this area. In any case, on Drama, more of the melody than usual is carried by Howe's inventive guitar parts, Squire's bass lines, and especially the harmony vocals with which Squire supports Horn.

Others have provided song-by-song analyses, and I doubt I really have much to add in that department.

I try to be conservative with five-star ratings, but what can I do in the face of such a great album? Drama isn't perfect, and isn't even the second or third best Yes album, so maybe I'm being too indulgent. Nonetheless, five stars. Highly recommended.