Yes on the brain

I went through one of my Yes phases a few weeks ago.

It all started when I grabbed a cassette to listen to on the way to work (my car still has a tape player, thank you). The album -- "Drama" by Yes.

Well, it's not really by Yes. There's no Jon Anderson on vocals, but it's still the band. The singer is Trevor Horn and I think the release date is 1980 or so.

This was one of the first Yes albums I bought, and I recall that my friend Dug and I joked about the song "I am a Camera." We sang it, "I am a Cameroon," as in the African country. We were studying the continent in school and used the song as a way to remember that nation.

Anyway, listening to album now, I find the music out of place. I think Anderson's unique (some call it wimpy) voice would have suited this album well. Horn's voice sems too New Wave here. The guitar is heavier than the other Yes releases -- this album could have been heavy metal with another power chord or two.

It seems "Drama" is a release of almosts.

It did, though, send me a two-week Yes binge. "Fragile" is a great work no matter how you slice it. "Going for the One" is commercial, but the song "Awaken" is one of my favorite. "Tormato" is pretty much a flop. "Yes" is so young, though "I See You" is amusing in a late-1960s way, "Harold Land" is folksy and the version of "Every Little Thing" pales next to The Beatles' recording. "The Yes Album" is strong with "I've Seen All Good People" and "A Venture."

And the best of all -- "Close to the Edge." It has my favorite, "And You and I," one of the longest love songs ever recorded. I still haven't figured out the album, but I believe it's about choices that all of us make. As with most Yes material, the lyrics are secondary to the aura created by the sound. So the choices aren't black and white and you never know when you've gone too far until you're there.

I had gone pretty far on my Yes listening, but I've come back to The Beatles. It's not a distant leap, really.

Thought: Even Siberia goes through the motion.