Drama (Yes album)

Untitled

Drama is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock group Yes. It is unique for being the first Yes album 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.

History

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. Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of The Buggles (who had recently had a number one hit in the UK with "Video Killed the Radio Star") were working in an adjacent studio, and being Yes fans, introduced themselves. As it happened, Squire owned and enjoyed their first album, and the pair were invited to sit in during rehearsals. They were soon asked to join the band.

Recorded that spring and released in August, Drama featured a harder-edged Yes with a distinct new wave flavour (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 heyday, returned to the studio for assistance.

Drama fared very 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. Still, the US tour was a big success. They were not so lucky on the UK leg, with some 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, and Yes officially ended in early 1981 (although another version would reform two years later with a very different sound). By then, Howe and Downes were in Asia. Trevor Horn would return not as a member of the band, but to produce their commercially successful 1983 album, 90125.

After Jon rejoined, Yes did not perform any of the songs from Drama, as Jon refused to sing them (although Anderson would sing the token words "yes, yes" during the instrumental portion of "Tempus Fugit", included in Squire's "Whitefish" medley). When Yes reconvened without Anderson in 2008, they did perform "Machine Messiah" and "Tempus Fugit" with new vocalist Benoît David. It has been rumoured that Anderson was prepared to rehearse certain songs from the album in preparation for their 35th Anniversary Tour, but the rest of the band were not prepared, under the assumption that Anderson was still uninterested.

Production

Although all five members of the band are credited for the production of Drama as well as Eddie Offord, the major part of the production work was handled by Trevor Horn: "I spent my [wedding] night in the recording studio, [laughter] it's true, too" he confessed in a 1980 interview on NBC TV's "The Source", "I got married and two hours later, I was back in the studio. [We decided that] for our honeymoon, we were going to spend 2 weeks in Miami Beach. Gradually it became 10 days in Miami, a week in Miami, six days in Miami [pause]... it ended up as three days in Bournemouth [sic] and Steve [Howe] came along, we had a good time actually."

A notable contribution to the sound of the song "Run Through the Light" was apparently made by Hugh Padgham who was the recording engineer for this album, as the song features distinctive 'gated drum' sound which is often attributed to Padgham, made famous in recordings by The Police, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and Genesis.

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. The version of "Does It Really Happen?" on the original LP and CD pressing are slightly different from subsequent remasters and collections. At approximately 5:03 into the original song, there is a hard stop followed by a pause and then the keyboards fading back in. Subsequent versions return the keyboards at full volume without the fade-in. ("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, and therefore the only truly group composition on the album.

The two demo songs "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. Live recordings of these songs were released on The Word is Live.

Side one

1. "Machine Messiah" – 10:27
2. "White Car" – 1:21
3. "Does It Really Happen?" – 6:35

Side two

1. "Into the Lens" – 8:33
2. "Run Through the Light" – 4:43
3. "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:

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

Tracks 13–16 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 9–16 are previously unissued.

Personnel

• Chris Squire - bass, backing vocals, vocals on "Does It Really Happen?", piano on "Run Through the Light"
• Steve Howe - guitars, backing vocals
• Alan White - drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Trevor Horn - lead vocals, bass on "Run Through the Light"
• Geoff Downes - keyboards, vocoder, backing vocals

Reissues

1989 - Atlantic - CD
1994 - Atlantic - CD (Remastered)
2004 - Rhino - CD (Remastered with Bonus Tracks)

References

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