Drama- Rating out of 5?

[soundchaser09]

Does it really work for you?

[Ceasar’s Palace]

5 even if it’s not perfect. It’s a varied bunch of songs with great hooks, interesting lyrics, killer playing and a nice mix of classic Yes and modernisms.
Great production as well. Who could have imagined that the Buggles would fit perfectly with the old prog dinosaurs?
A bloody shame that Trevor couldn’t quite handle the live shows. Because that’s really the only reason for this line up’s implosion..

[Gilly Goodness]

5.


Filled with trepidation but then read the Chris Welch review in MM.

Loved the mighty Machine Messiah. Horn's vocals were helped by Chris. Muscular playin' and great hooks as mentioned. IAAC is so cool Howe and Downes lock in like a swiss clock or should that be a Japanese camera? 😉

[Soundwaveseeker]

Drama may be my favorite album, so it's an automatic 5.

The GOOD:

Futuristic, sleek, modern, the future. Yes always hinted at the future in their songs, here on Drama they arrived there. Six perfect tracks, all the ingredients perfectly blended. Like the sleek black coat of a cybernetic panther.
The band sounds so committed on this album. A true team, and that can't always be said for a lot of Yes albums, even the classic ones of the early/mid 70's.
Trevor Horn works for me as a Yes vocalist. He sounds generally in the same ballpark more or less as Jon Anderson, songwriting is good, lyrics are good. I don't knock Jon Anderson at all, I love his work, but it was time for Yes to come down to Earth and leave the Fairy Kingdom for a little bit. Horn's image - cosmopolitan, the big glasses - a new wave Elton John, as opposed to Anderson's angelic vibe. I like the angelic vibe, but here was something different for a while. This Yes was muscular, having more in common with the likes of Rush, The Police or Ultravox than ELP or Gentle Giant. But plenty of what makes Yes Yes is firmly ingrained in the Drama stew as well, several tracks started life prior to the Buggles' arrival. For all its modern leanings it was still Yes, despite the major blow of having the original singer/songwriter gone.
The rhythm section - on fire. Some of the best bass stuff on a Yes album. Tempus Fugit and Does It Really happen almost spoil you with bass. Steve Howe's guitars had a lot of bite on this album, especially on Run Through The Light. Geoff Downes was the new whiz kid synth guy with a more computer world arsenal as well as traditional Yes 'boards such as hammond organ. He also came with songwriting chops as well. White Car is short and sweet, and 100% Buggles. Machine Messiah of course is a favorite among Yes fans and for good reason. And Into The Lens? Magic. Even with the vocoderized "I am a camera" repeating throughout the tune. The way the song drives itself home after the second "You and me, beside the sea" theme, Into the Lens sometimes is my favorite Yes song ever - until I hear The Remembering or To Be Over, but that's another future post.
The album cover is one of Roger Dean's best.
And this album sounds great at the beach.

The BAD:

Well, it's a short album. 36 minutes and some change. They could have fit Go Through This & FFH on there, but they were under a time constraint. And really, the six tracks were enough and Drama probably didn't need any extra material to enhance what they had, regardless of how good the extra stuff was.
Also, well I love Chris' vocals, so it's not a complaint, but he did kind of prop up Horn and even stole Horn's thunder on a few moments. You know, sort of like someone showing you how to do something when you already sorta got it, then the one showing you the something ends up doing half of it anyway, while you're going "I got it, I got it!". Kinda like that. My favorite vocal moments on Drama are a lot of the parts with just Horn unaccompanied. About 10% more Horn would have been fine, but their voices sounded so good together.

The UGLY:

Trevor Horn was not an around the world in 80 dates type touring singer. Unfortunately he couldn't handle the vocal strain of singing high-pitched prog rock vocals and the UK tour was a vocal train wreck, as we know or read about. That was one element that killed the new Yes before it could really take flight. They probably needed another album or two to say 'We are the new Yes and we have a lot to offer' - in time many may have accepted them. I guess this wasn't an 'UGLY' for the album, just for the lineup, really, that they gave up rather than rattling onward.

Fave trax: all of them.

[Somis Sound]

A solid 5!!! It's in my top 3, alongside Close to The Edge and Relayer. Chris, Alan, and Steve are absolutely on fire. Downes performances and keyboard sounds are incredible. Anderson and Wakeman are not missed. Chris and Trevor sound absolutely fantastic together. A very modern, original, and incredible production/mix with some edge to it. Sounds fresh today !

[Old Frothingslosh]

A solid 5 from start to finish

[Yesed]

This lineup did justice to updating the sound of Yes as progressive, as Tormato did before, and 90125 did after. Into the lens is a great tribute to classic Yes with Rick Wakeman.

[pianozach]

Solid 5.

I can only nitpick a few things, and they're minor, so I'll spare you.

[pjt]

I gave a 4 on a whim, but then I'll stand up to it. It's very good, but I have one track I usually want to skip, and that's the Paris session leftover Run Through the Light. While Does It Really Happen became one of the best songs on the album, this one did not, IMHO. I really like the rest, though.

[Homemade Parachute]

The GOOD:

The band sounds so committed on this album … Horn's image - cosmopolitan, the big glasses - a new wave Elton John, as opposed to Anderson's angelic vibe. I like the angelic vibe, but here was something different for a while. This Yes was muscular, having more in common with the likes of Rush, The Police or Ultravox than ELP or Gentle Giant.

This is a great observation, and holds true for 90125 as well (well, duh…), and I'm hopeful with news of a new new album, that we might see what kind of change in direction or scope or lyrical focus JD might bring to the band. Heaven and Earth sounded too close to Anderson imitation/parody to me, but The Quest was stronger, for sure, and as he finds his lyrical voice, I'm hoping we'll see a band actually excited by their own present and future, not just the past.

[rabin105]

5 i love this album as well

[Soundwaveseeker]

This is a great observation, and holds true for 90125 as well (well, duh…), and I'm hopeful with news of a new new album, that we might see what kind of change in direction or scope or lyrical focus JD might bring to the band. Heaven and Earth sounded too close to Anderson imitation/parody to me, but The Quest was stronger, for sure, and as he finds his lyrical voice, I'm hoping we'll see a band actually excited by their own present and future, not just the past.

I'm liking JD more and more these days and he does seem to be developing his own voice. I'm up for A Jon Davison solo album with a Roger Dean cover. It's not impossible, and I can see such an album getting a favorable reaction from Yes fans.

[Gilly Goodness]

Ditto. To Ascend and Future Memories are outstandin' songs.

[Mr. Holland]

4 stars from me. No. 6 in my ranking of Yes albums (5 stars are reserved for the top 4 😉). I think this is Chris' and Alan's second best album (after Relayer) as rhythm section. They play so incredibly tight, which can actually be much harder than something more structually complex.

I think all songs are top notch, with Machine Messiah and Does it Really Happen taking the crown. The only sort of let down for me is White Car. But the playing on this album is fierce and there's an urgency to it that IMO was sorely lacking on its predecessor.

[RelayerI]

As is well known, I really dislike this album, despite the energetic performances.

Ugh !