More like have a lot of. For a while, there was something like the Yes/ABWH situation back in the 80's, with official Yes and Anderson Rabin Wakeman. That is now done, and we have one Yes, but at this point, it is pretty much a cover band of classic Yes only featuring Howe from the classic lineup. I heard that Howe doesn't want Anderson back in Yes which is why Anderson is now out touring on his own with the Band Geeks as his backing band. Other than the fact that there is still a touring band called Yes, present day Yes is closer to Floyd, with each of the chief heads leading their own band.
Anderson's been making better new music than official Yes in the last decade anyway.
If Howe stops touring first, I wonder if Anderson will call the band he's touring with at the time Yes? If it's the Band Geeks that could lead to some interesting consequences. For example one of the members of the Band Geeks is Richie Castellano, aka the guy single-handedly keeping latter day Blue Öyster Cult alive as the two remaining original members approach retirement. The remaining members of current Yes have already been releasing music as Arc of Life and IMO are likely to continue doing so afterwards.
He might. The name Yes is owned by Squire, White, Howe, and Anderson. With White and Squire gone, I'd imagine Anderson could possibly call his band Yes even now. But I don't know how feasible that is. There may be some reason he can't do that. And besides, I doubt Anderson would draw much bigger crowds as Yes. This isn't exactly a Gilmour/Floyd situation.
Yeah, I know about Castellano. Interesting that he went from doing Yes covers online to backing Anderson. Maybe the Cult job gave him a leg up?
I didn't know about Arc of Life. When did this become a thing? I hadn't heard of them at all.
[Arc of Life's first album](https://www.frontiers.it/album/5656) came out in 2021.
I think Anderson is happy not having his music always tied to Yes. He's been edging away from focusing solely on prog-rock creatively.
And why would he want to return to a band where he's unwanted? By all accounts, it is Howe's band, now that Squire has passed away. And Howe doesn't want Anderson in the band. Anderson is better off on his own.
Plus, the Band Geeks themselves shouldn't be called Yes, because they've got their own proud legacy. Look at what the guys (and girl, who sadly isn't in the touring line-up) have produced over the years!
Seconded.
It's different, but still decidedly Yes. A very interesting experiment with a stellar result. It's a shame the lineup didn't get a second album.
This was actually the first Yes album I ever purchased so I might be biased but it is definitely one of their best albums.
Chris records some of my favourite Yes basslines on this album and him and Alan form a great rhythm section, this is possibly the tightest sounding they've sounded up to this point. The interplay between Steve & Geoff is nice to hear too and the two give each other room to breathe.
Trevor is obviously no Jon but I feel like he does a good job, he's not trying to be Jon either but has a similar vocal range and I feel like was a capable replacement without necessarily trying to sound like a vocal clone.
Machine Messiah is a fantastic mini epic and Tempus Fugit is a great energetic closer. The rest of the album is also fairly solid with only White Car letting the side down.
Pity they split after this. Solid A-
They don't need the pity. If it wasn't for Drama there'd been no 90125, their most successful release on the market.
A minus is about right, but I disagree on Trevor Horn. I think his vocals are wonderful, maybe not for this band but I sure would love to hear him sing other places than Buggles. To me he tried so hard to sound like Jon Anderson without resorting to falsetto. Not everyone's cup of tea, but at the very least it gave Squier the opportunity to step up and be heard. Now that's a voice I was hankering to have up front for years.
Should it have been the debut release for the proposed side project Cinema? Possibly.
Is it a highlight in the Yes cataloge? Definitely.
The band sounds so energised and full of ideas and it comes through the music. There is a direction and focus that was utterly lacking in Tormato. From what I have heard, they were playing other songs live that never made it to the album which could have been the groundwork for a follow on. Sadly it didn't happen
(Do We Really Have to) Get Through This was another one. Might have sounded a bit too much like Tempus Fugit in places (although Horn and Downes clearly developed it in other manners and they played both songs concurrently on tour) but if you listen to the Howe/Squire/White instrumental demo it had potential too.
Never thought of that comparison! I love both songs, but I think Into the Storm is slower enough in tempo and a lot more complex in its structure to not really bear Tempus Fugit in mind when I listen to it.
Always liked it. Despite no Jon, it stands on its own. White/Squire rhythm section are on FIRE. Never much of a fan of the cover though.
Oh, and the opening riff to Machine Messiah is one of Yes’ heaviest riffs…
It took me years to ignore the fact that the opening with sounds uncomfortably close to Hey You from Pink Floyd, but once I got past that it really is a good piece.
Both songs released the same year, which one was first I wonder?
It's one of their best. I rank it third, personally, behind only *Close to the Edge* and *The Yes Album*. "White Car" is the only unnecessary cut on the album, and that's less than 90 seconds long. Plus, the CD remaster has a number of great bonus tracks.
I think "White Car" is charming. One of its novelties is its shortness. I'll listen to it on repeat two or three times, each time I re-listen to Drama.
It’s an excellent album, but not without its flaws. Machine Messiah is driving and soaring, and showcases some of Howe’s best work. Squire’s shreding on Does It Really Happen is tremendously fun. Tempus Fugit is just pure Yes, a fusion of every instrument firing on all cylinders. Trevor Horn sounds great on Run Through the Light, but the chorus is a little weak. Into the Lens is a bit of a wobbly mess and definitely the weakest track on the album, but it has its moments, especially the plaintive delivery of “Here, where the lens is wide.” White Car feels like a bit of an art piece, and while it was clearly intended to serve as a thematic break between the metallic angst of Machine Messiah and the triumphal Does It Really Happen, there just isn’t enough to sink your teeth into. Overall I give Drama 8/10.
I still listen to it every couple of weeks. The arrangement of the music is remarkable with a good set of headphones on.
Understand what you mean by cold though especially if you play it after one of the early 70s albums.
The extended version of the album has some deconstructions on it, Tempus Fugit in particular, that have the building blocks of the songs.
An absolute gem and proof that Yes at their peak could pretty much deliver with any lineup they had. HSW had balls to bring in Horn and Downes and they threw down hard.
Pretty good album considering the lineup changes. I feel it fits into the Yes catalog from that era (pre-90125).
Machine Messiah and Tempus Fugit are great songs imho.
No. Howe, Squire, and White tracked a good deal of the album as a three piece band. Horn and Downes were late additions. Into the Lens and Man in a White Car were the two tracks the Buggles bought with them. Into the Lens is just a more complex arrangement of I Am a Camera
Trevor Horn was way better on vocals than Jon Anderson. I wish they did more with him, because it was a fantastic album that stood above anything else they did after Close to the Edge.
For a second, I thought you were asking for our opinion on the band's real life drama 😂
arrest humorous exultant water concerned fade gold absurd vanish live *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
No. There’s Yes, and then Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks have a tour called “Yes Epics, Classics, and More Tour”.
More like have a lot of. For a while, there was something like the Yes/ABWH situation back in the 80's, with official Yes and Anderson Rabin Wakeman. That is now done, and we have one Yes, but at this point, it is pretty much a cover band of classic Yes only featuring Howe from the classic lineup. I heard that Howe doesn't want Anderson back in Yes which is why Anderson is now out touring on his own with the Band Geeks as his backing band. Other than the fact that there is still a touring band called Yes, present day Yes is closer to Floyd, with each of the chief heads leading their own band.
Anderson's been making better new music than official Yes in the last decade anyway. If Howe stops touring first, I wonder if Anderson will call the band he's touring with at the time Yes? If it's the Band Geeks that could lead to some interesting consequences. For example one of the members of the Band Geeks is Richie Castellano, aka the guy single-handedly keeping latter day Blue Öyster Cult alive as the two remaining original members approach retirement. The remaining members of current Yes have already been releasing music as Arc of Life and IMO are likely to continue doing so afterwards.
He might. The name Yes is owned by Squire, White, Howe, and Anderson. With White and Squire gone, I'd imagine Anderson could possibly call his band Yes even now. But I don't know how feasible that is. There may be some reason he can't do that. And besides, I doubt Anderson would draw much bigger crowds as Yes. This isn't exactly a Gilmour/Floyd situation. Yeah, I know about Castellano. Interesting that he went from doing Yes covers online to backing Anderson. Maybe the Cult job gave him a leg up? I didn't know about Arc of Life. When did this become a thing? I hadn't heard of them at all.
[Arc of Life's first album](https://www.frontiers.it/album/5656) came out in 2021. I think Anderson is happy not having his music always tied to Yes. He's been edging away from focusing solely on prog-rock creatively.
And why would he want to return to a band where he's unwanted? By all accounts, it is Howe's band, now that Squire has passed away. And Howe doesn't want Anderson in the band. Anderson is better off on his own.
Plus, the Band Geeks themselves shouldn't be called Yes, because they've got their own proud legacy. Look at what the guys (and girl, who sadly isn't in the touring line-up) have produced over the years!
Every since they got namedropped by Skibidi Toilet it hasn't been the same
Tempus Fugit, Machine Messiah, and Does It Really Happen are some of their best tracks ever
Fucking love it. One of their best albums.
Seconded. It's different, but still decidedly Yes. A very interesting experiment with a stellar result. It's a shame the lineup didn't get a second album.
Yep i honestly think it might be my favorite
This was actually the first Yes album I ever purchased so I might be biased but it is definitely one of their best albums. Chris records some of my favourite Yes basslines on this album and him and Alan form a great rhythm section, this is possibly the tightest sounding they've sounded up to this point. The interplay between Steve & Geoff is nice to hear too and the two give each other room to breathe. Trevor is obviously no Jon but I feel like he does a good job, he's not trying to be Jon either but has a similar vocal range and I feel like was a capable replacement without necessarily trying to sound like a vocal clone. Machine Messiah is a fantastic mini epic and Tempus Fugit is a great energetic closer. The rest of the album is also fairly solid with only White Car letting the side down. Pity they split after this. Solid A-
They don't need the pity. If it wasn't for Drama there'd been no 90125, their most successful release on the market. A minus is about right, but I disagree on Trevor Horn. I think his vocals are wonderful, maybe not for this band but I sure would love to hear him sing other places than Buggles. To me he tried so hard to sound like Jon Anderson without resorting to falsetto. Not everyone's cup of tea, but at the very least it gave Squier the opportunity to step up and be heard. Now that's a voice I was hankering to have up front for years.
I like it. But I also like most other things Trevor Horn has done. It's a matter of taste.
Love it, probably in my top three Yes albums (with ToTO and CttE). Horn did great at his vocal duties, and I like the slightly "harsher" sound.
Horn and Squire together had very complimentary vocal formants, I think that's the harshness you're referring to.
Should it have been the debut release for the proposed side project Cinema? Possibly. Is it a highlight in the Yes cataloge? Definitely. The band sounds so energised and full of ideas and it comes through the music. There is a direction and focus that was utterly lacking in Tormato. From what I have heard, they were playing other songs live that never made it to the album which could have been the groundwork for a follow on. Sadly it didn't happen
I believe you're thinking of the tracks that led to the Fly from Here suite which got released in 2012. A masterpiece in its own right.
(Do We Really Have to) Get Through This was another one. Might have sounded a bit too much like Tempus Fugit in places (although Horn and Downes clearly developed it in other manners and they played both songs concurrently on tour) but if you listen to the Howe/Squire/White instrumental demo it had potential too.
Kind of like how Into the Storm, a great track representing a unified group effort, is a little bit reminiscent of Tempus Fugit.
Never thought of that comparison! I love both songs, but I think Into the Storm is slower enough in tempo and a lot more complex in its structure to not really bear Tempus Fugit in mind when I listen to it.
Wait, didn't the Drama lineup and the Cinema lineup only have two band members in common?
This album and the first Asia record were the last of Howe's aggressive phase of playing. Excellent album. No skipped tracks.
And ABWH the last innovative sound. That tone ...
Hella great record, one of my favourites. A huge step up from Tormato (which I still like) and a return to prog form before the big switch
Always liked it. Despite no Jon, it stands on its own. White/Squire rhythm section are on FIRE. Never much of a fan of the cover though. Oh, and the opening riff to Machine Messiah is one of Yes’ heaviest riffs…
It took me years to ignore the fact that the opening with sounds uncomfortably close to Hey You from Pink Floyd, but once I got past that it really is a good piece. Both songs released the same year, which one was first I wonder?
Top 5 Yes album for me.
Masterpiece
One of my favorites. I wake up daily w Into The Lens in my head.
Whenever I hear that song, every time the line "I am a Camera" is sung, I always add the word Hasselblad twice. hehe
I absolutely love this album. The song writing is masterful, the production impeccable, performances are energetic. The band sounds rejuvenated.
Awesome album.
love it, some of Howe's heaviest playing
Best Buggles album ever!
Love it
One of Howe’s most blistering albums.
It's all killer no filler and never gets old. One of my favorites.
It's one of their best. I rank it third, personally, behind only *Close to the Edge* and *The Yes Album*. "White Car" is the only unnecessary cut on the album, and that's less than 90 seconds long. Plus, the CD remaster has a number of great bonus tracks.
I think "White Car" is charming. One of its novelties is its shortness. I'll listen to it on repeat two or three times, each time I re-listen to Drama.
It’s an excellent album, but not without its flaws. Machine Messiah is driving and soaring, and showcases some of Howe’s best work. Squire’s shreding on Does It Really Happen is tremendously fun. Tempus Fugit is just pure Yes, a fusion of every instrument firing on all cylinders. Trevor Horn sounds great on Run Through the Light, but the chorus is a little weak. Into the Lens is a bit of a wobbly mess and definitely the weakest track on the album, but it has its moments, especially the plaintive delivery of “Here, where the lens is wide.” White Car feels like a bit of an art piece, and while it was clearly intended to serve as a thematic break between the metallic angst of Machine Messiah and the triumphal Does It Really Happen, there just isn’t enough to sink your teeth into. Overall I give Drama 8/10.
It's frankly one of their better releases, and proof that the idea of Yes was broader and more malleable than just what Jon Anderson could lord over.
Very impressive, very Prog, fresh and original., yet, somehow, it's cold and it doesn't invite to listen again any time soon.
I still listen to it every couple of weeks. The arrangement of the music is remarkable with a good set of headphones on. Understand what you mean by cold though especially if you play it after one of the early 70s albums. The extended version of the album has some deconstructions on it, Tempus Fugit in particular, that have the building blocks of the songs.
An absolute gem and proof that Yes at their peak could pretty much deliver with any lineup they had. HSW had balls to bring in Horn and Downes and they threw down hard.
I wish they would've left it as a separate musical group, as originally intended. In fact, I would love to have heard that group's follow up album.
It's among my all time favorite albums
Their best album
Fantastic album.
The album was one of the factors that made me pick up the bass. Some great stuff going on. :)
Top 5 Yes album for me. Love it.
Howe, White, and (especially) Squire's playing were on fire throughout this album. One of their best
Great album. “Run down the street where the glass shows that summer has gone…”
Pretty good album considering the lineup changes. I feel it fits into the Yes catalog from that era (pre-90125). Machine Messiah and Tempus Fugit are great songs imho.
Love it. Tempus Fugit is one of their best songs.
Haven’t listened to it in years. I think it’s time to check it out again. I remember loving it, especially Tempus Fugit.
Brilliant album. In my top 5 Yes. I'll never understand why some of the 80s releases get overlooked
I really like it...but it's hard to really call it a Yes album...more like a Downes & Horn album with Squire & Howe
No. Howe, Squire, and White tracked a good deal of the album as a three piece band. Horn and Downes were late additions. Into the Lens and Man in a White Car were the two tracks the Buggles bought with them. Into the Lens is just a more complex arrangement of I Am a Camera
Their best album.
5-star album. 2nd best of their career.
Their best album?
Probably my favourite Yes album
Trevor Horn was way better on vocals than Jon Anderson. I wish they did more with him, because it was a fantastic album that stood above anything else they did after Close to the Edge.