DRAMA

Is it true that the bands, songs, albums that you liked as a teenager end up being the ones that stick with you as faves for the rest of your life? My answer is YES. And Yes made a monster record with Drama. I love all the phases of Yes's work from their venerable troika of "The Yes Album", "Fragile", and "Close to the Edge", to their later work with Trevor Rabin on guitar. Drama remains my favorite album in the catalogue. Why?

In two words, Chris Squire. The bass lines and bass sound dominate this recording, and it's a beautiful/rare thing. In addition, this may be Yes's heaviest album, especially from the guitar sound standpoint. Steve Howe uses a bit more distortion, and a lot more precision in his playing throughout the tracks. On other records (much like Jimmy Page), Howe's playing verges on sloppy in my opinion, though his unique style and compositional ability are to be much admired. Here, he seems a bit more solid, as if the parts have been practiced and honed with more tenacity than in other cases. I also love Alan White's tasty drumming on this disc. Don't get me wrong- Bill Bruford is awesome- but Alan White has a way of setting down a relaxed groovy drum part even in crazy prog sections where time signatures are odd and/or changing constantly. The vocals and keys are much discussed in other reviews since those are the new members in the band in this record. Not only do I not have a problem with the new guys- I think their creative energy is probably what sparked the excellent writing and performances of the more longstanding members.

If you are a prog fan, you should have this disc. If you are a metalhead, you might find this is the window that leads you into Yes's music.

Five stars without a hint of reservation.