Yeah...well...you've only said that about 12 times in this thread so I guess it was worth repeating it one more time. But we got it now...really...you don 't have to say it another time. Maybe instead you could post in a thread of a band you actually like. Now isn't that a splendid idea?
Did you take a poll? I want to see the results. From my recollection, the Drama album seems to be loved by old and new fans. Bingo. Now we are getting to the crux of the matter. It's all about the "nostalgia zone" for some...
I see your point though I'm one of the few who prefer Drama to The Yes Album and Going For The One - though not quite to Relayer.
I prefer Drama to Going for the One, but to answer @zen , no, I did not take a poll, but every Yes ranking I have ever seen on the 'net has Drama below every Yes album from The Yes Album through Going for the One, usually all by a comfortable margin. Drama is popular amongst many, yes, including myself, but it is not revered like the albums from the classic era. And Moraz does the benefit of having played on Relayer, I think. It helps that his playing on that record was pretty damn awesome, far better, IMO, than anything any Yes keyboard player not named Rick Wakeman has done with the band.
Yep, add in the first 2 Yes albums and you have pretty much from day one this band juggled lineups since the beginning. Yes is not one of those bands with a sacred line up that never changed. Quite the opposite its been really the only constant in the band is the consistent lineup changes.
Interesting that statement had me wondering what is the most amount of studio albums in a row a lineup of Yes made. I believe it's two, but I am going by memory. Feel free to correct me.
Agreed. What annoyed me though is the double standard that they’ve kept White in the official lineup even when it sadly appears he cannot anymore really ‘deliver the goods ‘ for health reasons and yet when Anderson was seriously ill back in the 00’s, Squire happily ‘let him go’ and apparently never asked him back afterwards. I guess when they’re down to like one ‘classic ‘ lineup member (Howe), they’re prepared to change their policy. I also suspect that the Benoit David’s and Jon Davison’s have less clout and are easier (and cheaper) to deal with than Anderson ... For me, if the music sounds vaguely like Yes and has at least one major Yes member from any period prominently featured, then it’s Yes music.
Everybody in the band is on friendly terms with Alan White but no one is on friendly terms with Jon Anderson.
Perhaps a major reason Drama is not revered as the "Classic Six" of TYA to GFTO is because it features Trevor and Geoff rather than Rick and, especially, Jon. All seven are brilliant albums though. Yes, Moraz on Relayer is truly awesome. (Is Relayer the album with the "best" overall playing by Yes musicians, whatever "best" means in this context?) Who knows what might have happened have he stayed in Yes a little longer. Equally it would have been interesting to see how differently things might have panned out if Eddie Jobson had stayed in 1983, Igor in 2000 and Oliver Wakeman in 2011 - all three of them seriously top notch musicians. Sometimes I wish Tom Brislin had become a full member in 2001 and stayed with Yes ever since. Incidentally, I love the playing of Tony Kaye on the first three albums and also Geoff's playing in Yes (and Asia). So, to sum up, Yes really has been blessed with their keyboard players over the years.
Great post. With regards Drama, it only has one true classic Yes song in Machine Messiah. I like the rest of the songs well enough, but Jon Anderson was really missed, as his epic Song Of Seven kind of proves. Imagine that on a Yes Album?
I totally agree with this. KC kept changing (progressing, if you will) for 30+ years. That is a world record, at least among the major names.
That phrase reminds me of another band that - albeit with a long break - still seems to be regarded as challenging themselves and their listeners...
Their reunion albums have been solid but they're not exactly daring game changers either. They've mainly settled into a routine as a trio, but I suppose that they should get credit for the improv album Alt, though it met with some mixed reactions. VDGG was never a big commercial proposition, so I suppose this gave them more creative freedom. I don't mean to be excessively critical, but I just feel that Vaughn is holding Yes to an unrealistic standard.
Blimey I saw Van Der Graaf, Tour World i saw Van der Graaf, touring the World Record release, at, Leeds Grand Theatre, in 1976. Showing my age now.
IMHO, in the world of rock only Frank Zappa kept changing endlessly, but he died far too young... In the world of jazz Miles Davis was also never happy to stand still. John Coltrane was even wilder, but he also left us too early.
Exactly. Most of my favorite artists have albums that sound different enough from each other that if you were to play them for someone unfamiliar with them, it would be difficult for them to believe it's the same artist. That's especially the case because I tend to prefer artists with larger discographies, and I tend to prefer artists who want to experiment a bit, or who at least get restless doing the same thing all the time. (In some cases--like Todd Rundgren, say, the biggest thing that would be a giveaway that it's the same artist would be the vocals--it's easy enough to recognize someone's voice, but I also listen to a ton of stuff that's instrumental or that has different vocalists in the same band (including Rundgren with Utopia).) Yes, I like AC/DC, Philip Glass and the Ramones a lot, too (although especially the latter actually varied much more than they're given credit for)--they're all among my top 250, but I'd probably like them even more if they would have changed it up a bit more.
Drama is a good album and to me seems and sounds more like a Yes side project. That's no reflection on the quality, but without Jon's singing it just doesn't feel like Yes to me. I also feel the same way about the Yes West albums -they lack Chris and Steve and consequently don't sound like the Yes I grew up enjoying. I bought all these albums and enjoyed them, but they just don't feel like Yes albums to me. That said, I have no problem with the band carrying on in some fashion under the name 'Yes' -they got a right to make a living and the legal right to use the name.
The ending section would not sound out of place on Howe's old solo album "Turbulence", at least in terms of feel. Guess I'll see if it grows on me.
That’s a point of view, mine is that is was boring. … and King Crimson also has a disappointing last singer.
