Scooter Chronicles

Yes - “Drama”

Tracks:

1. Machine Messiah
2. White Car
3. Does It Really Happen?
4. Into the Lens
5. Run Through the Light
6. Tempus Fugit

After my realization that the band who recorded “90125″ had been around a long time before, I decided to go out and buy a couple of their older albums. This was one of the two albums I bought that fateful day, the other being “Close to the Edge”. I honestly can’t remember exactly when I listened to it, because I was so blown away with “CttE”. But eventually I picked up on it’s vibe right away, though not knowing why until many years later.

(From left): Steve Howe (guitar), Geoff Downes (keyboards), Alan White (drums), Chris Squire (bass), and Trevor Horn (vocals)

This album is, of course, the oddity of the Yes catalog. Even with the continually rotating line-up the band has had, it is the only album that didn’t feature Jon Anderson on vocals. During the recording in Paris of the follow-up album to “Tormato”, Anderson, along with keyboardist Rick Wakeman, decided to leave the band. Eventually while messing around as a trio, Howe, Squire, and White were introduced to Horn and Downes. At the time the duo was recording under the name The Buggles (those of us in the MTV age remember “Video Killed the Radio Star”, don’t we?). Eventually the two were asked to join the band, and Yes was re-born (for the first of a few of times). It was short lived. After touring to support the album, this incarnation disbanded.

There is really only one glaring problem with this album. It’s too short. Even for the time it was released, it was a little light on the time side. But the music is some of the freshest and tightest the band has ever recorded. This is mostly due to the core trio having written music that they weren’t sure was intended to be Yes music.

“Machine Messiah” right away shows a new side to the band. Yes has always been able to rock, but they sound like a heavy metal band in the opening moments of the album. Or at least what a heavy metal band sounded like back in 1980. “Into the Lens” was one of the songs that Horn and Downes brought to the sessions. They re-recorded it a couple of years later as The Buggles. But on this album it’s a typical 10 minute Yes piece. And given the nature of the lyrics, it wouldn’t be out of place for Jon to be singing them.

“Run Through the Light” is a unique piece as well. Other then tracks from the “Union” album that were recorded with Tony Levin on bass, this is the only song that Squire doesn’t play bass on. He steps aside and lets Horn play fretless while himself plays piano. Horn is up to the task too, showing that he is a very accomplished bass player. (For those that don’t know, Horn is now a big-time producer and record label owner, having produced such artists as Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Seal.)

“Tempus Fugit” is probably the most memorable song on the album. With it’s vocodor-ized “Yes, yes” pleas, and it’s incredibly quick tempo, especially the vocals, it zings along like no other Yes song had before, or did after. It really highlights how tight the main trio of Howe, Squire, and White had become.

Those “It’s-Not-Yes-Without-Jon” pundits be damned! This still is one of the best Yes albums ever recorded. And even (oh, boy) 28 years later, it still sounds great today.