Yes: Drama (extended remaster)

[3-LockBox]

I picked this up the other day when I bought KC's 3OAPP. I've read good things about it, as well as a few bad things. Actually, I think I remember reading a review for this album in a magazine from the same time period (Stereo Review...maybe). I remember the reviewer calling it a sham, suggesting that these bloated old '70s acts (referring to others in the genre) finally ''give up to ghost' ( I remeber the same being said for Genesis' Abacab). Funny that the first two or three years of the '80s would find both of these bands enjoying more commercial success in their new incarnations than in their original theatric, artistic ones.

That being said, this is a great album. Whether or not it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the older Yes albums, this release is as good as any thing after it, if not better. Conceptually speaking, its the last real progressive album the group would put out for nearly two decades. Most diehard Yes fans already own this release, but a few (myself included) have never heard it, at least not in its entirety. I love it when I hear a long lost song, only to find that the group responsible has occupied a place on my shelf for years. I am referring to 'Tempus Fugit', a song that graced radio stations long ago and perhaps a few retro stations since. In fact, this whole CD is a new found treasure for me much in the same way Kansas' Masque was for me a few years ago (thanks again Rave Rec'res).

However, this album was not without its faults. The song 'Into The Lens' sticks out like a sore thumb. Musically, the song permiates with virtuosity, but the lyrics are whince inducing, not that past Yes lyrics are immune from this (see 'Sound Chaser' from Relayer...cha cha cha anyone?). 'White Car' is a short unobtrusive little interlude that doesn't seem to connect anything, which is usually what an interlude does. (Let's face it, inexplicable interludes were always the hobgobblins of bad prog and bad sex, weren't they?) But the rest is top-notch Yes-like material, even if Jon Anderson isn't singing on it. With the rest of the band singing back-up, Trever Horn isn't too much different sounding than Anderson, he just doesn't have the range (who does?), a fact that's chronicalled by this release's liner notes, which suggests that this line-up's achilles heel was performing the material live. Even as I was liking what I heard, I found myself wondering what the songs would have sounded like with Anderson's vocal prowess, especially songs, like 'Run Through The Light' and 'Tempus Fugit'. At any rate, the casual Yes fan might not even realize the difference.

To sum it up, I'd recommend this disc to both classic Yes fans and YesWest fans alike. Or even Buggles fans.