Tales From Topographic Oceans (disk 1)  (62:05)
	01	Revealing Science of God -- Dance of the Dawn						22:37
	02	Remembering High the Memory						20:53
	03	Ancient Giants Under the Sun						18:35
Tales From Topographic Oceans (disc 2)  (62:44)
	01	Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil)						21:52
	02	Dance Of The Dawn (Studio Run-Through)			Previously Unissued			23:35
	03	Giants Under The Sun (Studio Run-Through)			Previously Unissued			17:17

Track 1 is side 4 of original album. Tracks 2-3 are previously unreleased.

Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans

Released: 1973/2003
Label: Atlantic Records / Rhino Records
Cat. No.: 2908 / 73791
Total Time: 121:13


Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, September 2003
Tales From Topographic Oceans is a remarkable album. It was in 1973 and it still is today. It seems that many Yes albums have attained that lofty status over the years. This one in particular was risky; in that it was such an enormous undertaking and so complex to record and mix. The result was a definitive progressive rock masterpiece that served as a benchmark for all other aspiring like-minded groups to follow.

This album marked the departure of drummer extraordinaire Bill Bruford and the emergence of Alan White. Did this all-important change affect the group? I dare say it did not. White was every bit adept with his drum kit as Bruford was. It is also interesting to note that this was not one of Rick Wakeman's favorite albums and hence his departure was eminent as well unfortunately.

Well, on to the brighter side of things. This beautifully remastered copy comes housed in a nice slipcase with the old-fashioned gatefold album sleeve style to emulate the original vinyl release, which I absolutely love. With the exception of one track, "The Ancient Giants Under the Sun," which clocked in at 18:37, the other three songs were over twenty minutes long! What a marvelous achievement. At the time critics surely must have thought it was a bit self-indulgent, but after all this was a band with a string of successes behind it and why not push the envelope one more time to see what would happen? Thank the good Lord they did, where would we be in progressive rock right now without pioneers like Yes, I shudder at the thought.

There are two very remarkable and entertaining bonus tracks on this remastered magnum opus, "Dance Of The Dawn (Studio Run-Through) " and "Giants Under The Sun (Studio Run-Through)." They are both studio practice sessions. It gives you a glimpse of each composition in its infancy. I do not think I need to add anything else except that you should get all of these remasters, they are essential for any progressive rock collection.

Rating: 5/5

More about Tales From Topographic Oceans:

Track Listing: Disc One: The Revealing Science Of God - Dance of the Dawn (20:23) / The Remembering High The Memory (20:35) / The Ancient Giants Under the Sun (18:37)

Disc Two: Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soleil (21:33) / Bonus Tracks: Dance of the Dawn (Studio Run-Through) (Previously Unissued) (23:10) / Giants Under The Sun (Studio Run-Through) (Previously Unissued) (17:34)

Musicians:
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards
Jon Anderson - Vocals
Alan White - Percussion, Drums
Steve Howe - Guitar, Vocals
Chris Squire - Bass, Vocals

Contact:

Website: yesworld.com
Note: will open new browser window

Discography

Yes (1969)
Time And A Word (1970)
The Yes Album (1971)
Fragile (1972)
Close To The Edge (1972)
Yessongs (1973)
Tales From Topographic Oceans (1974)
Relayer (1975)
Going For The One (1977)
Tormato (1978)
Yesshows (1980)
Drama (1980)
Classic Yes (1982)
90125 (1983)
90125 Live - The Solos (1985)
Big Generator (1987)
Union (1989)
Yesyears (1991)
Yesstory (1991)
Highlights: The Very Best Of Yes (1993)
Talk (1994)
Keys To Ascension I (1996)
Keys To Ascension II (1997)
Open Your Eyes (1997)
Yes, Friends And Relatives (1998)
The Ladder (1999)
House Of Yes: Live From The House Of Blues (2000)
Yes, Friends and Relatives - Volume Two (2001)
YesSymphonic (ep) (2001)
Magnification (2001)
Keystudio (ep) (2001)
The Ultimate Yes - 35th Anniverary Collection (2004)


House Of Yes: Live From The House Of Blues (video) (2000)
Symphonic Live (DVD) (2002)
Yes: Special Edition EP (DVD) (2003)
YesSpeak (DVD) (2003)






Tales From The Edge:
A Guide To Yes Part 1:
The Classic Prog Years
By Clayton Walnum

Way back in 1970, I was riding around with Bob Welch, the bass player in my current band, and he asked me if I had heard of a new group from England named Yes. He told me there was a huge buzz about the group in the musician's community, that Yes was supposed to be phenomenal. I had never heard of Yes, and so just filed the info away for future reference. A few weeks later, I went to see Grand Funk Railroad in concert. The warm-up band turned out to be Yes, touring in support of their new release The Yes Album. By the end of their show, I was a fan for life and have seen them in concert about 20 times since then.

Personal history aside, writing an album-by-album career overview of Yes is a daunting feat, even for a rabid fan like myself. (Yes is my second favorite group of all time, surpassed only by The Beatles.) After all, since 1969, they've released 18 studio albums, 11 live albums, 13 compilations and boxed sets, and eight singles and EPs. Truth be told, these numbers may not be entirely accurate, because it depends on how you count and what you want to include in each category. The count even depends on which conglomerate of musicians you want to call Yes. (Do we count the splinter group Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe? I say no.) In fact, Amazon.com lists an unbelievable 105 albums, including the ones I just mentioned, as well as various other imports and collections. Oh yeah, and did I mention over a dozen DVDs and an almost equal number of VHS releases?

By necessity, this series of articles will cover only the band's official studio albums. In this first part of the series, I examine Yes' two mostly overlooked debut albums, as well as the three albums that would make the group the prog legends they are today. So, let's jump into our time machine (don't step on Peabody's tail) and dial up the year 1969...

NOTE: Because I consider Rolling Stone magazine to be among the most credible of the mainstream music reviewers, I'll be including quotes from their reviews of Yes albums. This isn't to say that I agree with everything Rolling Stone has to say (hardly!), but it's always good to get the prog "outsider's" viewpoint. For the complete reviews, point your browser to www.rollingstone.com.

Yes (1969)

Yes's first album is a flawed blueprint of the band's future direction. By that I mean that several tracks foreshadow the band Yes was to become, but those tracks are accompanied by a couple of mediocre, if not downright terrible, songs. First the good news: Songs like "Beyond And Before," "Looking Around," and "Survival" revealed the energy, musical sense, and musicianship that would lead to future endeavors of the same style such as Yes's cool cover of the Simon and Garfunkel song "America," not to mention the wonderful The Yes Album and Fragile. Moreover, two tracks here, the jazzy "I See You" and the smokin' Beatles cover, "Every Little Thing," were tour de force guitar numbers in which original Yes guitarist Peter Banks strutted his considerable stuff.

On the other hand, the track "Yesterday and Today," while a nice enough attempt at a radio-style hit, was too sentimental for my taste, and the aptly titled "Sweetness" (the band's first single), which has to be the worst song Yes ever recorded, lived up to its title by being so sickening sweet, you'd need a dentist after listening. I mean, can you imagine Jon Anderson singing "She puts the sweetness in and stirs it with a spoon"? Excess sugar notwithstanding, Yes was the better of the two albums the band would release before hitting their stride with The Yes Album a couple of years later.

Most of the tracks here featured Yes's confident multi-part vocal harmonies, Jon Anderson's pure and boyish voice, and Chris Squire's melodic and powerhouse bass playing. Tony Kaye's understated yet competent Hammond organ work, however, in no way predicted the direction future keys wizard Rick Wakeman would take the group. (Kaye would soon leave the band due to his refusal to add synthesizers and mellotrons to Yes's music.) Drummer Bill Bruford played vaguely "Bruford-ish," but would develop his signature style more on future albums, not only with Yes, but also with King Crimson, Gong, and U.K.

Says Rolling Stone:

"Curiously enough, Yes' 1969 debut is a relatively down-to-earth affair -- and a not very inspired one at that. The quintet's reworking of the Beatles' "Every Little Thing" illustrates its knack for mysterioso, angelic harmonies, led by singer Jon Anderson. But the band's original compositions are sketchy at best."
Time And A Word (1970)

Loving musical experimentation, Yes immediately veered from the course set on their first album by recording their second release, Time And A Word, with a full orchestra. Also of interest was the fact that, although Peter Banks played guitar on the album, the front cover photo showed Steve Howe (Banks was on the back cover), who replaced Banks shortly after the album was recorded.

This album, like the first, comprised both covers and original numbers, starting off with the Ritchie Havens song "No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed," which featured a blistering Chris Squire bass line. The second cover song on the album was "Everydays," originally a Buffalo Springfield piece penned by Stephen Stills. The interaction between Squire and Bruford in this song's instrumental section was amazing, guaranteed to roast your ears. Wide ranging dynamics, staccato rhythms, synchronized melodies, and searing guitar work made this one of the album's highlight moments.

Other tracks with that developing Yes sound included "Then" -- whose instrumental centerpiece featured Banks' rhythm guitar and Kaye's organ solo vying for attention, all underlain by Squire's prominent bass line and Bruford's precision drumming -- and "The Prophet," which boasted a multi-part intro section. The tracks "Clear Days" and "A Time And A Word," however, took a more commercial route, with the former featuring sentimental lyrics like "On a clear day we will laugh forever." Gag.

One track, "Astral Traveler," burst with the energy and inventiveness that the band would bring to their next offering, The Yes Album. The track's title telegraphing the song "Starship Trooper," this piece threw in a Gentle Giant-like center section (although the Giant were virtually unknown in 1970), with intricate instrumental interaction. Probably the best track on the album, and one of my favorite early Yes songs.

Says Rolling Stone:

"The psychedelic Time And A Word, from 1970, offers little improvement [over the first album], perhaps because of the dubious decision to attach an entire symphony orchestra to the already cluttered arrangements."
The Yes Album (1971)

This is one of the Yes albums closest to my heart. Not because it was their best (most people would grant that distinction to Close To The Edge), but because these were the songs I heard, for the first time, live that day when Yes warmed up for Grand Funk Railroad. That show had such a profound impact on me that whenever I hear this album (especially the song "Yours Is No Disgrace," whose opening chords still run chills down my back), I'm transported back over 30 years to that auspicious day at the Yale Bowl. I can vividly hear the concert and can see the group onstage (especially Chris Squire's fur boots and Tony Kaye's penchant for playing Hammond organ with one hand thrust above his head). Personal revelations aside, it was with Yes's third album that it all came together for the group.

Although Yes's first two albums revealed moments of what would become the early Yes sound, the songs on The Yes Album were light years more advanced. Specifically, The Yes Album sounded as if it were recorded five years after Time And A Word, rather than only one. In a way, Yes was a different group; Peter Banks had left, to be replaced by Steve Howe. How much had Howe to do with the difference between the first two albums and this one? One can never know, but Howe's unique style and energetic playing were a perfect match for the burgeoning group.

Unlike Pink Floyd, Genesis, and King Crimson, whose music tended toward the dark side, Yes's sound on this album was as positive as the group's name, filled with joyous harmony, upbeat instrumentation, and positive lyrical messages. The new Yes burst from the speakers with a blissful energy that couldn't be ignored. Yes's music at this point was as complex as any prog at the time, but was still accessible thanks to its melodious nature. To help things along, the general public was warming up to progressive music in a big way. Even the mainstream press, despite the negative attitude they would adopt towards prog in the future, praised this "new" group from England.

As for the songs, "Yours Is No Disgrace" was a masterpiece of early prog, weaving together complex electric and acoustic sections with skill and style, while the acoustic-guitar solo number, "The Clap," was to become Steve Howe's trademark. Howe also dominates the otherworldly adventure, "Starship Trooper," which, like "Yours Is No Disgrace," demonstrated the group's skill at piecing together long arrangements with sections of differing meter and mood. "I've Seen All Good People" dominated FM airplay and is still among Yes's most familiar songs, along with "Roundabout." The amazing "Perpetual Change" featured a bold section in which the band played two completely different pieces one on top of the other, a feat that they also managed to pull off in a concert setting.

Says Rolling Stone in a four-star review of the remastered edition:

"It was the addition of Steve Howe's guitar pyrotechnics that finally allowed Yes to find their true identity.... Yes Album is a gigantic leap forward [over the first two albums], with extended workouts such as the ethereal "Starship Trooper" emphasizing the band members' individual virtues."
Fragile (1972)

If Yes's sound finally came together on The Yes Album, with Fragile the group polished that sound into a gleaming, multi-faceted jewel. By combining their cheerful melodies and harmonies with increasingly complex arrangements, in Fragile, Yes turned out one of the greatest progressive-rock albums of all-time. In my mind, few other prog albums have come close to Fragile. (Should I name a few contenders? How about Yes's own Close To The Edge. Or maybe Genesis's Selling England By The Pound. Or King Crimson's Lark's Tongues In Aspic.) Part of Fragile's success was in no small measure due to the addition of keyboard virtuoso Rick Wakeman, who brought the landscape of Yes's music to heights that rock enthusiasts had heretofore only imagined.

Yes's magnificent vision on this album would not only spawn another big hit in the addictive track "Roundabout," but would also cement their reputation as one of the premiere groups of the day, prog or otherwise. Part of the genius of Fragile lay in its careful balance between commercially viable music and complex art rock. Less adventurous listeners could delight to the pristine vocal harmonies and melodies, whereas bolder listeners could dig ever deeper into the twisted puzzle of Yes's sophisticated symphonic arrangements. In short, despite its virtuosity and intricacy, Fragile was an album just about anyone could love.

Still, the music here evidenced Yes's continued journey toward the type of elaborately woven musical tapestries that would, with the next album, leave the casual listener perplexed and alienated. Luckily, the audience for progressive rock was growing by leaps and bounds, and, even leaving the Top 40 crowd behind, Yes would soon have no trouble moving from small theaters to large arenas. (By the way, Fragile featured the first Yes cover painted by Roger Dean, an artist whose artwork would, over the following years, visually define prog-rock.)

Says Rolling Stone in a four-star review:

"Gorgeous melodies, intelligent, carefully crafted, constantly surprising arrangements, concise and energetic performances, cryptic but evocative lyrics...Yes is quite boggling and their potential seemingly unlimited....When it's all working, the music made by Yes is what the best music always is, a powerful and moving emotional experience."
Close To The Edge (1972)

Many consider Close To The Edge to be Yes's crowning glory. One thing is for sure: Close To The Edge crossed the borders of commercialism and landed far into the land of pure prog. The title song was an unheard of 19 minutes and began with an intro that bordered on the avant garde, presaging an aggressive sound that would culminate a couple of years later with the album Relayer. Even in the song's more melodic sections, the melodies were more subtle -- and darker -- than what had come before. In any case, "Close To The Edge" featured a brilliant arrangement that would become the blueprint for true symphonic prog. (For the details, please see my article "The Prog Life: A Universe Of Bad Music," in which I discuss in great detail the song structure of "Close To The Edge").

The remaining tracks on the album, "And You and I" and "Siberian Khatru" (a favorite concert opener), were more like what Yes fans of the day expected, the former boasting lighter and more uplifting melodies with regal interludes and the latter bringing forth Yes's considerable energy in the form of Steve Howe's torrid guitar work and Chris Squire's gargantuan bass lines. By this time, Squire's bass playing had conquered the globe and turned him into one of the most respected bassists in rock music, standing tall along the likes of The Who's John Entwistle.

All throughout the album, Rick Wakeman's keyboards proved that his contribution to Fragile's musical successes was no coincidence. His background washes soared, his solos ranged from delicate, staccato melodies to shrieking synth lines, and his rhythm work settled into just the right grooves. As for the rest of the band, Bruford's drumming sounded more Bruford-ish than ever. And, of course, as always there was those glorious vocal harmonies, pinned down by Jon Anderson's almost supernatural vocal style. (Is there a purer male voice in rock music?)

Says Rolling Stone in yet another four-star review:

"[Yes's] music ... shines with a freshness and crispness that doesn't seem likely to tarnish quickly ... The band firmly and beautifully manipulates the whole of its gargantuan sound, not only handling drastic dynamic contrasts with breath-taking ease, but also taking things from a taut, compressed, coiled-spring feel to spacious, expansive vistas."
Conclusion

With the release of Close To The Edge, Yes had, by most people's reckoning, reached the pinnacle of their career. Yes would continue to put out many great albums, but with the release of their next album, Tales From Topographic Oceans, the critics' love affair with the group came to an abrupt end. We'll pick up the discussion at this point in the next part of this omnibus series.




Tales From The Edge:
A Guide To Yes Part 2:
From Prog To Pop
By Clayton Walnum

As reported in the first part of this omnibus series, Yes made out pretty well with the reviewers during the heyday of progressive rock, scoring their share of four-star reviews in the mainstream music press. If you find it hard to imagine a time when magazines like Rolling Stone raved about Yes, be assured that it actually happened. The adulation, however, didn't last long. Once progressive rock began to fall out of favor, magazines like Rolling Stone turned their backs on Yes (for the most part, anyway). You have to be cool to sell magazines, you know, and by 1974, prog was starting to lose its coolness in the eyes of the mainstream.

And so our story continues:

NOTE: Because I consider Rolling Stone magazine to be among the most credible of the mainstream music reviewers, I'll be including quotes from their reviews of Yes' albums. This isn't to say that I agree with everything Rolling Stone has to say (hardly!), but it's always good to get the prog "outsider's" viewpoint. For the complete reviews, point your browser to www.rollingstone.com.

[By the way, there's a short review of the remastered version of 90125 in the April 15, 2004 issue of RS (celebrating 50 years of Rock) -ed.]

Tales From Topographic Oceans (1974)

Tales From Topographic Oceans has always been a favorite of mine, especially the first track, "The Revealing Science Of God." At the time Tales was released, I was at the height of my Yes frenzy, which goes far in explaining why this album does so much for me, but not so much for many other progressive-rock fans. Rick Wakeman himself hated this album and, indeed, even left the band because he couldn't tolerate the direction Yes was taking. Another black mark against Tales (at least in the eyes of the inflexible) was the loss of Bill Bruford on drums, who was replaced by the more soulful, but less technical, Alan White.

In spite of my love for this album, I have to admit to some song bloat. I could easily do without the entire first half -- a monotonous nine minutes to be sure -- of the second piece, "The Remembering." (Hint: If you burn a CD that leaves off the aforementioned nine minutes, the entire album will fit on a single CD!) A lot of the free-form noodling, especially in the third piece, "The Ancient Giants Under the Sun," could have been cut down, as well.

If Tales had been released with just the first and fourth pieces (both side-long compositions), it would probably have been hailed as a triumph. (I would have hated to have missed out on the other stuff, though.) "The Revealing Science Of God" is, in my opinion, solid Yes in the "Close To The Edge" vein, although maybe more accessible. Expect lots of great melodies, layered harmonies, inventive guitar work, and some kick-ass soloing by Rick Wakeman. The fourth piece, "Ritual," features the magnificent "Nous Sommes Du Soleil," boasting some of Jon Anderson's most memorable and gorgeous melodies.

Rolling Stone's love affair with Yes ended with this album, as can be seen by this quote from their review:


"This album is too long. Not only does the band kill time with psychedelic doodling but the solo numbers are drawn out .... Musically, the album suffers from over-elaboration which has generated both the apparently desired complexity and the almost unavoidable mechanical feel.... Tales does have some good moments. Rick Wakeman turns in another stellar performance as Lord-of-the-mellotron, and other ivories....[but] the music of Tales leaves the listener grappling for some perspective."

Relayer (1974)

Most people would agree, I think, that Relayer was Yes at their most experimental. A disillusioned Rick Wakeman had left the band after Tales From Topographic Oceans, and keyboard whiz Patrick Moraz stepped in to take over the ivories. Jon Anderson had already put together what was to be the major piece for the album, "The Gates Of Delirium," an opus every bit as sophisticated as "Close To The Edge," but darker, more aggressive, and often downright noisy. "Gates" can be a tough piece to get into, but is well worth the effort, containing some amazing arrangements and playing, as well as Yes's flirtation with the nearly avant garde.

The album Close To The Edge still has the advantage over Relayer, though, due to its stronger second side (speaking in terms, of course, of the original vinyl release). Relayer's "Sound Chaser" and "To Be Over" are enjoyable compositions, yes, but don't approach the solid writing and playing of "And You And I" and, to a lesser degree, "Siberian Khatru" from Close To The Edge. In any case, Relayer's experimental approach guaranteed that any remaining Yes fans in the mainstream press would join the growing pack of naysayers. Only prog-obsessed listeners could appreciate "The Gates Of Delirium" for the genius it was.

Says Rolling Stone:


"Relayer may exhaust even the devoted. Singer Jon Anderson's words plumb new depths of turgidity.... Relayer, despite occasional enjoyable interludes, is an excessive, pretentious and ill-conceived album. The folly of Yes's extreme approach is becoming only too apparent."

Going For The One (1977)

After Relayer, Yes took some time off - a lot of time. Yes was gone so long that many Yes fans (myself among them) believed the band had broken up. Why would anyone have expected them to stick around? Yes could no longer fill the large venues, and they were being crucified in the reviews. After a reliable release schedule of one and sometimes two albums a year, three years went by without a peep from prog's foremost standard bearer. Then Going For The One appeared on record racks.

Going For The One represented a fresh start for Yes. First was the album cover, whose photographic collage took a more mainstream approach. No Roger Dean fantasy worlds this time around. Then there was the music. The title song, "Going For The One," was a kind of cross between "Siberian Khatru" and boogie blues, whereas "Parallels," a stripped down song of simple construction, foreshadowed the type of music -- a pop/prog hybrid -- the band would develop routinely later down the road. Oh, did I mention that keyboard god Rick Wakeman was back in the band?

Personally, I like this album a lot, but don't think of it as a high point in Yes's career -- with two exceptions. The first is the poignant and gorgeous "Turn Of The Century." I never get sick of this track. Second is the amazing "Awaken," the only Yes opus on the album (clocking in at nearly 16 minutes), and still a concert mainstay. "Awaken" was the Yes that the fans remembered from the days of Close To The Edge, rich prog laden with well-developed melodies, intricate instrumentation, and a climactic ending. On Going For The One, Yes was trying to please everyone, both their detractors and their fans.

Even Rolling Stone seemed to reconsider the band, as seen from this quote:


"Going For The One reverses [the band's entropy] in a fascinating move that ties the band even more closely to Zeppelin. The title track is the most vital piece of music Yes has recorded since The Yes Album....Going For The One takes the right step toward down-playing Anderson's conceptual stranglehold on the band."

Tormato (1978)

Yes's fresh start didn't last long. With Tormato, not only did Yes again lose the ground they had gained with music reviewers, they also lost a lot of fans. In fact, some said that the name of the album, as well as the splattered vegetable on the cover, was a veiled comment on what even the band thought of the music. That, of course, is absurd. If Yes has disliked the album that much, they never would have released it. One has to agree, though, that the name and cover were an unfortunate choice. The players on this release were the classic line-up of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, and Rick Wakeman.

Tormato may have its share of clunkers, but it also has some great moments. Personal favorites of mine from this album include the opening track, "Future Times/Rejoice," with its very cool wah-wah bass line, stirring synth solos, and trademark Yes harmonies. Another favorite is "Release, Release," which is the kind of song that leads to speeding tickets on the highway and is probably the closest thing to rock-and-roll Yes has ever done. A real toe-tapper. Finally, "On The Silent Wings Of Freedom" is a red-hot number, with another driving wah-wah bass line (in fact, the song starts with a bass solo; Squire is the star here) and a multi-part arrangement.

Low on my ratings scale are "Don't Kill The Whale" and the very corny "Circus Of Heaven." Still, Tormato deserves more respect than it's been given over the years. Give it another chance, and you may be surprised. This is a good album.

Rolling Stone, of course, hated it and had this to say:


"For the most part, [Tormato] is as squishy as vocalist Jon Anderson's soft-headed lyrics... Progressive? Hardly. Call it regressive rock.... Whereas Jon Anderson appears always to be striving for the eccentric effect (and Rick Wakeman to be stooping to a hackneyed one), bassist Chris Squire is still emotionally as well as aurally affecting... he's in an entirely different league from that of his cohorts. If they had his imagination, Tormato wouldn't be rotten."

Drama (1980)

Depending on your definition of what makes a Yes album, the band was to vanish again for two or five years. Explain, you say? Drama appeared two years after Tormato, but Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman had both left the band, replaced by Trevor Horn on vocals and Geoff Downes on keyboards (collectively known as The Buggles, the group whose song "Video Killed The Radio Star" was the first video to ever air on MTV, perhaps a dubious honor). Is it possible to be Yes without Anderson? A lot of people didn't think so and discounted this album as a throw-away. This is unfortunate, because Drama is one great album.

Drama seemed to be an attempt by the remaining band members to bring Yes back to the earlier, happier days of The Yes Album and Fragile. The cover by Roger Dean was in a more modern style, depicting, if not a fantasy landscape, at least a scene from an exotic locale in the real world. The music featured six "short" tracks - by which I mean there were no side-long opuses - which were strong with accessible, but still complex arrangements. Trevor Horn sounds so similar to Jon Anderson that I'm willing to bet that casual fans didn't even notice the difference.

What sets Drama off from other Yes albums, besides the unusual roster of musicians - is the metal edge on many of the songs. The first track, "Machine Messiah," boasts such heavy, distorted guitar that it's hard to believe that Steve Howe is still massaging the frets! Lots of good songs here.

Rolling Stone gives Drama a rating of one star. What a surprise!

90125 (1983)

Three long years later, Yes finally reemerged, again surprising fans who assumed the band had broken up amid bickering and endless legal battles. No one, including the band members, seemed to know who Yes was anymore. At one point, two versions of Yes toured simultaneously. But with 90125, Yes truly reinvented themselves, and successfully to boot. In fact, this album includes Yes's most popular song ever, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart."

The band found itself in yet another new incarnation. Although Jon Anderson was back, Steve Howe was gone, replaced by Trevor Rabin, a man whose pop sensibilities was probably more responsible for the new Yes sound than anyone else. Also gone was Rick Wakeman (again!), replaced, in a surprise move, by original keyboardist Tony Kaye who had played on the albums Yes, Time And A Word, and The Yes Album. (Steve Howe and Geoff Downes had left to form the supergroup, Asia, with ex-King Crimson vocalist John Wetton and ex-ELP drummer Carl Palmer.)

90125 bursts with catchy pop tunes with a progressive edge. Even those disappointed in Yes's near abandonment of progressive rock had to admit that "Owner Of A Lonely Heart," - a terrific tune, as addictive as it is unusual -- did much to bring the drab radio of the time to life. Two other great tunes that caught the ears of listeners of the time were "Leave It" and "It Can Happen."

In a three-star review, the fickle reviewers at Rolling Stone decided to hop back on the bandwagon:


"'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' does not sound like the Yes of old. With its supple, understated dance beat, kaleidoscopic shifts in instrumental texture and notable lack of pseudo-classical overkill, it seems too hip, too street-smart for a band whose idea of a pop song was once something as rococo as "Roundabout."... Although 90125 occasionally falls back on old tricks, as in "Cinema" and the overblown "Our Song," most of the album is surprisingly spritely and poppish."

Stay tuned for the final installment of "Tales from the Edge," in which our heroes continue to straddle the boundary between pop and prog.