Ahh, a controversial album among the Yes fanbase. Must confess I never really understood why! Trevor Horn sounds a lot like Jon Anderson, and musically this is typical YES. Or is it just because the little big man isn´t the one singing? Mmhmm, lets see.
The album is very recognisable, melodic, well crafted, well executed, housed in a Roger Dean painting, great singing from Trevor and Chris. Maybe a little less esotheric. But I prefer it above Tormato every day of the week. So it must be me 😉
This remaster has no less than 11 bonus tracks. Some of which are heavy bootlegged. Of were, as of this release I guess. From the original album I love all songs, so no favorites there. The bonus tracks feature single versions of Into The Lens and Run Through The Light. (BTW, Trevor Horn did another version of Into The Lens, together with keyboard player Geoff Downes, on the second Buggles album called Adventures in Modern Recording. They called it I Am A Camera, which is the subtitle here.) But in my opinion they add little value to the original album.
Other bonus tracks are session recordings. This leaves us with 6 other unreleased songs. Have We Really Got… is a studio jam at best. A rough sketch of what could become a song. Same applies to Song no 4. No lyrics or vocals, just instrumental. Dancing Though The Light is Run Through The Light but in a strange dance like fashion. What were they thinking here?
The remaining 3 songs are taken from a 1979 recording session with Jon Andersson and Rick Wakeman present. As the booklet so nicely states, something wasn´t feeling right, so they left… Still, these songs are recognisable Yes material. Just rough, but keep in mind they were working on this material at the time. Being a Yes afficionado myself, I did enjoy hearing these tracks. And as this remaster is available at a bargain price, you should get it if you don´t already own it on CD. I think the 6 songs that form the original Drama release are worth it!