b o b

If this album had had Jon Anderson singing on it, most Yes fans would probably rate it as being one of the band's better discs. Since I'm not the type who focuses much on vocals, I really like this album. To be honest, it took several listens before I even noticed that Jon was missing - to me, the combination of Horn's vocals with Squire's sounds just like every other Yes album. The disc opens with its only lengthy song, the ten minute "Machine Messiah". Right off the bat the band lets us know that this isn't going to sound much like any previous incarnation of Yes musically, as they churn out a dark, metalish riff. The song later goes into sections that sound more like what one expects from this band, but overall has a surprisingly hard rock feel to it. "White Car" is a little one-minute keyboard spotlight that should be a throwaway track, but for some reason Geoff Downes has insisted on milking that melody to the point of turning it into the "White Car Suite" when he plays it live. "Does it Really Happen", "Run Through the Light" and "Tempus Fugit" are great tunes that may slightly foreshadow the commercial direction the band would go in the 80s, but they also contain a ton of tasty keyboard work and some of the best bass riffage that Squire ever committed to album. The proggiest song on the album is "Into the Lens", with its interesting drum and bass interplay, odd rhythms and lyrics about being a camera. Originally a Buggles tune, this one definitely got dressed up and improved by Squire and White, with some nice guitar work from Howe thrown in as well. There's a cool little high-speed riff that gets tossed back and forth between Downes' keys and Howe's guitar about mid-way through the song - a nice little touch. I got this song stuck in my head years ago when I worked night shift, and spent the whole night tapping out that opening riff on tabletops. If you've been avoiding this album because of the lackluster reviews it often receives, then do yourself a favor and check it out. Unless you're a really, really rabid Anderson fan who only listens to Yes for his vocals, there should be plenty on this disc for you to enjoy. review by Bob Eichler — 8-5-00 —

s e a n

After the dismal Tormato, it was back to the drawing board for Yes. They did some sessions in Paris which were ultimately a failure, and the end result of this was that both Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman left the band. Amazingly, the band recruited the Buggles (think "Video Killed the Radio Star"), Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, to fill the void. Horn has a voice not totally dissimilar to Jon Anderson's, and that combined with an increased vocal prominence for Squire helps make the vocal adjustment fairly smooth. Downes is no Wakeman, but then again in a lot of respects that's a good thing as both the Polymoog and Birotron are banished to the Hell from whence they came. The material is certainly interesting by Yes standards. "Machine Messiah" has some of the darker playing you'll hear from Steve Howe, recalling "Gates of Delirium", but is a bit too fragmented to hold up over ten minutes. "White Car" is fairly interesting, if cut short, and "Tempus Fugit" stands well with much of what the band was doing in the 70s. There is some lameness here, of course, as Horn insists during one track that he is a camera. Some of the material here has that Police influence that would tend to pollute Rush music of the same period as well. Drama is not Yes' proudest moment, but it's a good deal better than most of what they were to make in the next twenty years. Ultimately replacing Anderson and Wakeman was a temporary fix, but not a permanent solution, and the end of the progressive era was upon us. review by Sean McFee — 9-3-00 —

j o e

In one of the most retrospectively bizarre moves in the annals of prog rock history, Yes co-opted The Buggles (Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes), on the basis of the latter's smash hit "Video Killed the Radio Star," to replace Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman after their departures from the band. Even more bizarre: the resulting merger produced a great album, certainly better than the band's preceding Tormato. The musicianship from the bands' stalwarts (particularly Howe and Squire) is excellent, and despite Anderson's absence, the lyrics remain firmly in the vein of classic Yes' "sound painting." Horn's voice fits the high-tenor function of Anderson's role in the band, while still being distinct. Still, as can be imagined, the audience on the accompanying tour proved merciless. Downes' playing provides a happy, balanced medium between Tony Kaye's more straightforward rock style and the flash of virtuosos Wakeman and Patrick Moraz; this is probably his finest album on record. As for the material itself, while nothing transcendent occurs, the shortest Yes studio album offers four consistently strong extended pieces, and all in the true spirit of the band. The two pieces in the middle of each side, "White Car" and "Run through the Light," aren't as successful. The first is merely a one-minute curiosity, while the second has a melisma from Horn that really annoys me, plus a banal chorus. That's about all I can say that's bad. I'd actually recommend this to fans of Rush circa Moving Pictures, particularly those who don't care for Jon Anderson's voice. By the way, you can find a shorter, stripped-down version of "Into the Lens" on The Buggles' album the following year, Adventures in Modern Recording (entitled "I Am a Camera"). Drama was the artistic 'pin the tail on the donkey' for Yes. Their next release, 90125, would be the commercial one. review by Joe McGlinchey — 8-9-00 —

e r i c

It always surprises me how few Yes fans own this one, and that many dismissed it because Jon Anderson was not involved. Well, many fans have listened after Banks, Bruford, Wakeman, Moraz, then Wakeman (sorry...) left, so why not for this one. To make a long story short, this one is worth getting, with a great epic in "Machine Messiah" (which I voted for on the website poll for the band to play this tour) with some monstrous playing from all involved. This song has an intensity that was not present on the lackluster Tormato. Howe and Downes run through their lines with a furious purpose. These guys had something to prove to their fans. My initial reaction was that this was the heaviest (and still is) in the band's history. "Tempus Fugit" contains an instantly memorable bass lick from Chris Squire. Horn and Squire are very compatable vocally, and sound great together. The song is propelled by Squire's bass, but Downes and Howe add a considerable contribution. White holds down a very solid straight-ahead rhythm, but it is what the song calls for, and allows the music to drive. Speaking of bass lines, "Does It Really Happen" also has an excellent bass riff. Howe plays some slashing and trebely slide guitar. To me this represents the last truly progressive record the band produced. Howe and Downes would go on to form the multi-platinum Asia and Horn would work with YesWest on 90125 as a producer. If you are a Yes fan, don't let this one fall through the cracks, as it contains some truly great Yes songs. review by Eric Porter — 8-1-00 —