Drama: Yes

Tom Ozric wrote: Would've been nice to have had another album from this incarnation of the band instead of the arena rock that Rabin infused the band with on 90210 (not that it's a bad album, just a bit too 'straight')

Well, Fly from Here is in a way the next album from this incarnation... if you consider it has another singer and was released about 30 years later... but at least Horn is the producer also, and they brought back some of the songs written in the 80's but left unused, which might perhaps made it to the second album if they had gone on with it. Actually, I believe they could have made a much better album out of Drama if they had chosen better the songs they would work with on it. Mainly, if they had kept "Machine Messiah" (and for me, also "White Car" and "Run to the Light", though most wouldn't agree with me I believe), and if they had worked back then the 3 songs that ended up being in the Fly from Here suite (I think all 3 of them had been worked since back then), plus there was another live song I heard on "The Word is Live" album which would have been nice on the album too.

Not very high on my list of Yes albums but it does have some nice things on it.

I gave up on them creatively some years back HT, every band has to hit the wall sometime I suppose. However I've heard they still deliver the goods bigtime live. 

KingCrInuYasha wrote: I rented a copy from my local library and I think it's nice, especially "Machine Messiah", "Does It Really Happen?" and "Tempus Fugit". Plus, it has one of Roger Dean's best album covers.

Nice? "Worst review of 'Drama' ever!"
                                         -Comic Book Guy

It's a good album, not great, and its quality can be weighed independently of Anderson's absence.  Horn and Downes did a fine job.  It suffers only from a couple of so-so tracks (I'm thinking of "Into the Lens" , "Run Through the Light" and "White Car").  I'm a huge fan of "Does it Really Happen" - my favorite Yes song post-GFTO.

Horn's delivery on that song came off as twee and precious. Thank goodness for its backing vocals to even things out. A valiant effort, nonetheless. By the way, I wish Anderson would have approached some of Drama's songs live; it would have been interesting to hear his particular stylings on them.

Intruder wrote: Drama is a weird one - I wish they'd called it Cinema.  It just didn't sound like Yes when it came out - no more folksy melodies, no more Howe acoustic-electric mix, Squire sounds good but....different.  All in all, it's probably my favorite post-Relayer Yes album, but it never clicks with me as a true Yes album.  Not only the fact that Jon isn't there, it's deeper.  Just the whole approach to the music threw me off.   Solid 3/5 but....not Yessy enough.

Errm, Cinema is proto-90125, not proto-Drama...

Could have gone for Yeggles 

Cinema or no Cinema - it doesn't sound like Yes.  But it is a solid record.

KingCrInuYasha wrote: I rented a copy from my local library and I think it's nice, especially "Machine Messiah", "Does It Really Happen?" and "Tempus Fugit". Plus, it has one of Roger Dean's best album covers.