YES - Drama (1980)

This time around, I'm Going for the One and only YES album to feature Trevor Horn on vocal duties. It is of course, Drama. The tenth studio album from YES is The Yes Album that's been the Big Generator of almost as much Talk and controversy over the years as the legendary Tales from Topographic Oceans album. Time and a Word has it that much Drama ensued with an earlier unsuccessful attempt to record a YES album in Paris and London.  There was a Magnification of tensions within the band and tempers were Close to the Edge of boiling over with several Fragile egos at stake, which resulted in Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman temporarily leaving the YES line-up. In the seemingly endless Relayer race of YES line-ups, this left the way open for producer Trevor Horn to step in as a late replacement for Jon Anderson alongside his Buggles bandmate Geoff Downes on keyboards. The subsequent album and concert tour was met with a mixed reception, with some rather unkind audience members in the U.K doing the verbal equivalent of throwing rotten Tormatoes at singer Trevor Horn  by rudely booing him when he was performing onstage. The album climbed The Ladder of success though and reached No. 2 in the U.K albums chart. For anyone who hasn't already heard the Drama album, I hope this album tribute thread will help you gain the Keys to Ascension and Open Your Eyes and ears to what a great album it is. Jon Anderson reappeared on the next YES album 90125 with Trevor Horn taking on the role of producer, but Heaven & Earth would have to be moved before Rick Wakeman reappeared on a YES re-Union album in 1991. There are six Yessongs on the Drama album and I'll post the six accompanying YouTube videos below before I Fly from Here.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 24 2023 at 14:46

Drama is pretty amazing considering the music bizz of 1980.
Also, do yourself a favour and get a hold of those Buggle albums - Age of Plastic is mostly excellent, Adventures in Modern Recording is very different, but is decent too, especially Vermillion Sands, and I am a Camera.

Edited by Tom Ozric - July 16 2020 at 08:02

^ Exactly !! Maybe not the Prog workout that was Into The Lens, but admirable nevertheless.

Edited by Tom Ozric - July 16 2020 at 08:05

^ Marginally. Again, admirable attempt. Still love the outcome.

I moslty love Machine Messiah, rather unexpected to find something sounding like that in the midst of Yes music... prog metal before there was prog metal. White car is a nice little thing (I've read something about the White Car suite during their tours... was there some sort of extended version of the song played live? that might have been interesting). Another one that I like, though it seems to be overlooked within the album, is Run through the Light.

Mortte wrote: It was 2010 decade when I heard this first time (got earlier picture this is really boring album). Like it more than Tormato, but not more than any other Yes 60/70ties album. Also I think next two albums are better. Fav is Tempus Fugit.

Like many, I spat my dummy out when Trevor replaced Jon, and practically boycotted the album. How immature I was! Rediscovering it in more recent times, I really enjoy it and it flows better than many of the Yes albums that followed it. Machine Messiah is a quality track, and there are several others too!

^ Me too! I listen to the artists in my CD collection in alphabetical order and then listen to their albums in chronological order.

I think I was initially put off because I expected a pale imitation of Yes. I only gave in and bought the album about 10 years ago really to complete my collection but now I would put it in my top 5 Yes albums. A real burst of late creativity and their last 5 star album although they made a good half dozen decent albums after it. White and Squire are particularly impressive. The dynamic worked.

I listened to it a few days ago and honestly i'd forgotten just how good it is. Would've been interesting to see just what else that version of Yes would've come up with if they'd have stuck together.