DRAMA

Drama is surprisingly good considering much of Yes's creative force isn't present. Of course, it is a disappointment that Anderson isn't present on Drama, but in spite of this, Yes manages to pull off a great record. Trevor Horn, by incident or on purpose, sounds eerily similar to Anderson, yet his voice isn't distracting. So in this respect, Drama essentially feels like a normal Yes album.

But the more important thing is that Drama sounds vibrant and fresh. In fact-and I'm just realizing this a bit now-it sounds quite similar to many Neo-Prog albums I've heard. The entrance of Geoff Downes as the keyboardist is a main factor, as his style appears to be more of a more supportive, ethereal quality than Rick Wakeman's show-stealing pompousness. But I suppose all the band members contribute to this new sound. In any case, making Drama was a good career choice for Yes, and it seemed to revive the band to a degree.

Yes is still making prog music on Drama, but with the addition of Horn and Downes, the pop aspect of the band begins to see more light. One could consider this to be a bad thing, I suppose, but while it may be different from what we expect of Yes, it seems to fit the album well, giving it a bit of a brighter feel than many of the burdened Yes albums of the past.

"Machine Messiah" is a brilliant way to begin Drama, transposing a gloomy, metal- inspired riff with a bright and sunny verse with flourishes of pure melodic shredding. An excellent vocal and synthesizer line supported by exotic acoustic strumming ends the epic song on an eerie and ominous note.

"White Car" is a nice, short way of ushering in the next song. It's well orchestrated and pleasing.

"Does it Really Happen?" is basically an overlong pop song and a good one at that. It begins with a simple, driving bass line and has plenty of hooks. There is even a bass solo! It's nothing incredibly special or impressive, but it's still enjoyable anyway.

"Into the Lens" is better than many people would have you believe. Yes, this song does indeed contain the infamous "I am a camera.camera, camera" chorus, but it's not really bad overall. The chorus doesn't even bother me. I kind of enjoy it in fact. The soft, mellow parts and the staccato notes throughout the song grab my attention in particular.

As a whole, "Run into the Light" isn't all that impressive. But the vocal melody and airy, keyboard ending are enough to save it from being mindless filler.

Now, "Tempus Fugit" is the only other track on Drama that can really compete with "Machine Messiah." It packs a big punch in only 5:21 with catchy musicianship all around. The bass work leading into the chorus stands out as does the chorus itself. This is one of the best yes songs ever put out. If Yes could spread the creativity touched on in "Tempus Fugit" throughout their entire career, I have no doubt they'd be considered THE top prog band of all time. Many people already consider them this, but I believe that would seal the deal.

Drama can be good album to cool down to after listening to some of Yes's weightier and conceptual albums. It's pretty light-hearted and has a personality separate from all of Yes's albums before or since. By the way, the 2004 Remastered version has a great number of bonus tracks, many of which are not studio run-throughs and all are well worth hearing.