Drama (Yes album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Professional reviews
Drama

Studio album by Yes
Released	August 22, 1980
Recorded	April - June 1980
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	36:55
Label	Atlantic Records
Producer(s)	Yes Backing tracks: Eddie Offord
All Music Guide link
Yes chronology
Tormato (1978)	Drama (1980)	Yesshows (1980)

Drama is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock group Yes. It is unique for being the only Yes release without vocalist Jon Anderson. In early 1980, after rehearsing music for the follow-up to the tepidly-received Tormato, both Anderson and Rick Wakeman departed the band over creative and financial differences.

Reportedly Anderson and Wakeman were the most enthusiastic about creating a new album, and the rest of the band was lukewarm over the idea, given the relative failure of the last album. This in turn discouraged both Anderson and Wakeman, with the latter at times refusing to leave his room, and both men dejectedly spending time at a local bar. They quit the band soon afterwards.

Undeterred, the remaining members, Chris Squire, Steve Howe and Alan White, carried on and invited Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of The Buggles of "Video Killed the Radio Star" fame to join Yes. It was an unlikely partnership, but it worked - for one album, at least.

Recorded that spring and released in August, Drama featured a much harder-edged Yes with a distinct new wave flavor (in no small part due to the two new recruits). Perhaps to ensure that some of the old glory was there, Roger Dean was commissioned to design his first Yes cover in five years, and Eddie Offord, who had co-produced the band in their 1971-1974 heydey, returned to the studio for assistance. Drama fared well in the UK charts, reaching #2 there, but American audiences were not so sure, with Drama becoming Yes's first album there in years to not reach the Top 10 or go gold. However, the supporting tour over there was another big success. It met with more criticism on its UK leg, with many fans angry over Anderson's replacement and Horn's voice suffering from his first experience of major touring, as well as his efforts to match Anderson's higher register.

Horn subsequently quit the band, the others deciding to end the group and begin new projects. Yes officially ended in early 1981. The band's dissolution would not last for very long, however - see 90125 for details.

Yes has not performed any of the songs from Drama live since the 1980 tour, due to Jon Anderson's refusal to sing them. However, they did perform the instrumental beginning to "Tempus Fugit" on the 90125 tour.

1 Track listing
- 1.1 Personnel
2 Reissues
- 2.1 Sources

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Geoff Downes/Trevor Horn/Steve Howe/Chris Squire/Alan White. Although the songs are all group credited, "Into the Lens" and "White Car" (about Gary Numan, whom Downes spotted while driving) are basically Buggles compositions (an alternate version of "Into the Lens" appeared on the second Buggles album Adventures in Modern Recording as "I am a Camera"; the song is based on Christopher Isherwood's Berlin stories), while "Does It Really Happen?", "Run Through the Light" and "Tempus Fugit" were developed by Squire, White and Howe before Horn and Downes joined the band; Horn added lyrics. ("Does It Really Happen?" and "Run Through the Light" both exist, in very different forms, as demos performed by the band with Anderson.) "Machine Messiah" was based on another Buggles composition, but with considerable input from the other three.

The two demo songs Horn and Downes brought to Yes, "We Can Fly From Here" and "Go Through This", did not end up on the album, although the band did play both of them on the subsequent tour. They have yet to appear on an official Yes release.

"Machine Messiah" – 10:27
"White Car" – 1:21
"Does It Really Happen?" – 6:35
"Into the Lens" – 8:33
"Run Through the Light" – 4:43
"Tempus Fugit" – 5:15

Drama (Atlantic K 50736) reached #2 in the UK. It also reached #18 in the US during a chart stay of 19 weeks.

Drama was remastered and reissued in 2004 with several bonus tracks:

"Into The Lens (I Am A Camera) (Single Version)" – 3:47
"Run Through The Light (Single Version)" – 4:31
"Have We Really Got To Go Through This" – 3:43
"Song No. 4 (Satellite)" – 7:31
"Tempus Fugit (Tracking Session)" – 5:39
"White Car (Tracking Session)" – 1:11
"Dancing Through The Light" (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Chris Squire/Rick Wakeman/Alan White) – 3:16
"Golden Age" (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Chris Squire/Rick Wakeman/Alan White) – 5:57
"In The Tower" (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Chris Squire/Rick Wakeman/Alan White) – 2:54
"Friend Of A Friend" (Jon Anderson/Steve Howe/Chris Squire/Rick Wakeman/Alan White) – 3:38

Tracks 13–15 are from the "Paris Sessions" (11/79) performed by Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. Tracks 9–15 are previously unissued.

[edit] Personnel

Trevor Horn: Vocals, Bass guitar on "Run Through The Light"
Chris Squire: Bass guitar, vocals, piano on "Run Through The Light"
Steve Howe: Guitars, vocals
Geoff Downes: Keyboards, vocoder
Alan White: Drums, vocals

[edit] Reissues

1989 - Cd Issue - Atlantic - CD
1994 - Remastered - Atlantic - CD
2004 - Remastered with Bonus Tracks - Rhino - CD

[edit] Sources

Drama, CD booklet essay, Brian Ives, c.2003
AllMusicGuide.com
"Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c.2002

Yes
Jon Anderson \| Chris Squire \| Steve Howe \| Rick Wakeman \| Alan White
Peter Banks \| Tony Kaye \| Bill Bruford \| Patrick Moraz \| Geoff Downes \| Trevor Horn \| Trevor Rabin \| Billy Sherwood \| Igor Khoroshev
Discography
Studio albums: Yes \| Time and a Word \| The Yes Album \| Fragile \| Close to the Edge \| Tales from Topographic Oceans \| Relayer \| Going for the One \| Tormato \| Drama \| 90125 \| Big Generator \| Union \| Talk \| Open Your Eyes \| The Ladder \| Magnification
Live albums: Yessongs \| Yesshows \| 9012Live: The Solos \| Keys to Ascension \| Keys to Ascension 2 \| House of Yes: Live from House of Blues
Compilations: Yesterdays \| Classic Yes \| Yesstory \| The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection
Remix albums: Yes Remixes
Box sets: Yesyears \| In a Word: Yes (1969 - ) \| The Word is Live