Ok, so Rick Wakeman left for the second time - but that was no major problem, he'd left before and they managed fine. No, the real scary thing that happened after 'Tormato' was the fact that Jon Anderson left. Now, it's hard to even begin to imagine Yes without Jon Anderson, although in later years, it would happen again for a little while. So, what does Chris Squire and company do? Why, hire The Buggles to replace Jon and Rick. Oh, but of course! Chris apparently felt that Trevor Horn's voice sounded a little like Jon. Keyboard player Geoff Downes was no problem integrating into Yes but Trevor Horn had a far tougher task stepping into the distinctive shoes of Jon Anderson. It helped that Mr Horn had been a huge Yes fan in the past, he was very familiar with Yes music and what was required. The real reason however for Chris Squire almost forcing Yes into continuing, when perhaps any less dedicated man would have decided that enough was enough, was the fact that they already had a sold out tour of the US booked. The tour wasn't going to be an easy thing to back out of, band members leaving or no band members leaving. 'Drama' was therefore recorded relatively briskly and the band set touring the US without bothering to even tell their fans that, by the way, they had a new keyboard player and singer! The first many fans knew about it was when Yes took to the stage with a strange nervous looking fellow wearing glasses ( Trevor Horn ) stood where Jon Anderson should be. Having to sing the songs in the high registers Jon usually sang them in shot Trevor Horns voice to pieces - and it wasn't something he ever wanted to repeat, and he didn't.
The opening 'Machine Messiah' sounds like Jon Anderson singing, it doesn't sound like The Buggles in any way, shape or form. Steve Howe is on fire with the guitar parts, doing his very best to ensure that Yes delivered a quality recording. And, for ten minutes and twenty five seconds, Yes do exactly that. Trevor Horn really does nail the vocal, sounding so much like Jon Anderson that it may as well have been Jon Anderson, for all the difference it made. 'Drama' hangs around a few major compositions surrounding filler such as the brief, inconsequential 'White Car'. 'Does It Really Happen' can be classified as a decent Yes composition, 'Run Through The Light' showcases Trevor Horns production input well, although isn't much of a song. The closing 'Tempus Fugit' is very Yes sounding with a glorious guitar and keyboard led introduction, followed by some really fine rhythm section interplay. So, 'Drama'? An album that fails almost completely to integrate The Buggles into the Yes sound and formula, rather has the two members of The Buggles acting and pretending to be the departed members, as good as. Well, this is true of virtually every song here, apart from 'White Car' and 'Into The Lens'. It's a shame more time couldn't have been spent writing and preparing material for 'Drama', as a few more songs like 'Into The Lens' would really have hailed a new exciting era for the group, rather than glancing backwards, something Yes never used to do during their classic years. Still, yeah, 'Into The Lens' features Chris Squire and Steve Howe playing Yes parts in a Buggles song, in effect. Listen to the second Buggles album, 'Adventures In Modern Recording' for The Buggles own version of this song, but for now - we've got a glorious mix of catchy Buggles pop and Yes virtuoso playing. It works very, very well. 'Drama' works very well, although surely doesn't quite compare with the likes of 'Close To The Edge' or 'Fragile'.
Track Listing:
Machine Messiah
White Car
Does It Really Happen
Into The Lens
Run Through The Light
Tempus Fugit
The opening 'Machine Messiah' sounds like Jon Anderson singing, it doesn't sound like The Buggles in any way, shape or form. Steve Howe is on fire with the guitar parts, doing his very best to ensure that Yes delivered a quality recording. And, for ten minutes and twenty five seconds, Yes do exactly that. Trevor Horn really does nail the vocal, sounding so much like Jon Anderson that it may as well have been Jon Anderson, for all the difference it made. 'Drama' hangs around a few major compositions surrounding filler such as the brief, inconsequential 'White Car'. 'Does It Really Happen' can be classified as a decent Yes composition, 'Run Through The Light' showcases Trevor Horns production input well, although isn't much of a song. The closing 'Tempus Fugit' is very Yes sounding with a glorious guitar and keyboard led introduction, followed by some really fine rhythm section interplay. So, 'Drama'? An album that fails almost completely to integrate The Buggles into the Yes sound and formula, rather has the two members of The Buggles acting and pretending to be the departed members, as good as. Well, this is true of virtually every song here, apart from 'White Car' and 'Into The Lens'. It's a shame more time couldn't have been spent writing and preparing material for 'Drama', as a few more songs like 'Into The Lens' would really have hailed a new exciting era for the group, rather than glancing backwards, something Yes never used to do during their classic years. Still, yeah, 'Into The Lens' features Chris Squire and Steve Howe playing Yes parts in a Buggles song, in effect. Listen to the second Buggles album, 'Adventures In Modern Recording' for The Buggles own version of this song, but for now - we've got a glorious mix of catchy Buggles pop and Yes virtuoso playing. It works very, very well. 'Drama' works very well, although surely doesn't quite compare with the likes of 'Close To The Edge' or 'Fragile'.
Track Listing:
Machine Messiah
White Car
Does It Really Happen
Into The Lens
Run Through The Light
Tempus Fugit