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DRAMA

YES: ‘Drama’ (Atlantic K50736)

THIS IS it. Can the mighty Yes men succeed with the new line up, or will this Buggling around make them the joke of the century?

Wonder and tear your hair no more. You can wack this on your stereo with supreme confidence. This album doesn’t find Yes tired and dejected, trying to make a fast buck out of anybody who just might fit into the shoes left by Wakeman and Anderson. This is Yes for the eighties and nineties, re-establishing themselves after the ‘Tormato’ debacle which seemed to highlight the forthcoming split.

Downes and Horn have been faithful to the pomp and splendour of Yes, but somehow they’ve made the band looser and more accessible. Suddenly you get the impression that Yes are having fun again and the closest comparison to be made with this album is their previous masterpiece ‘Going For The One.’

Yes turn heavy metal? — you’d better believe it. The opening track ‘Machine Messiah’ is high on skull wacking and hits with a force not captured since ‘Yours Is No Disgrace’. Much sweeping keys, deadweight drums and a kiss of bass from Squire. There’s a ponderous silence before the final sonic attack as Howe furiously sets the pace and the meisterwerk rushes ahead.

But the real moment you’ve all been waiting for is Trevor Horn making his grand vocal entrance. He has the same endearing squeak as Anderson but maybe he’s just a shade or two lighter and strangely often more fulfilling. He and Downes are allowed almost complete control during the latter stages of the song which ends like a Gothic opera. There’s even room for what sounds like a humerous take off of Uncle Rick. Genuine neck tingling stuff, accept no substitute.

’White Car’ and ‘Does It Really Happen’ are understated songs that grow in stature after two listenings. They’re difficult to fully comprehend after suck an opening track, but they deserve some careful attention especially for that tender bass.

’Into The Lens’ is where the Buglets make their real mark, some more of those old sci-fi lyrics backed by Howe skittering through the chords. The song eventually expands from luxurious soft comfort into yet more soaring themes and backing that sounds like excerpts from an old spy movie. Once again, this song takes time to establish itself but finishes with a spectacular ending and a sudden rush of sound.

’Run Through The Light’ is quite Andersonesque and it’s interesting to compare a track like this with ‘Wonderous Stories,’ both have a strangely mystical quality.