------------------------------------------------------- DECEMBER 27. 1980 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Melody Maker Contributed by Tom O'Toole New Yes Breakthrough By Karl Dallas YES Hammersmith Odeon, London I think I'm going to like this new Yes. The young man sitting beside me plainly didn't agree. He kept shouting "rubbish" when either Geoff Downes or Trevor Horn contributed anything to the proceedings, demanded the presence of Jon Anderson at inappropriate moments of quiet, and generally indicated a lack of sympathy with the palace revolution which has taken place. It's true, Trevor had something sounding suspiciously like laryngitis, and I wish he didn't dress up to look so much like Ronnie Corbett -- even to the Billy Bunter glasses -- but the concert worked, instrumentally at least on a level equal to anything Yes did in its great days. One good thing that happened is that, just as the departure of Peter Gabriel brought Phil Collins out from under his drumkit, it has changed the focus of attention towards Steve Howe and Chris Squire, particularly the latter. I thought the Fish's long bass solo much more interesting, musically, than such things usually are, even including its "Amazing Grace" opening and close. Despite the plaudits of the audience for "The Clap", Howe still isn't a clean enough instrumentalist to really cut it acoustically, but his range of electric tone colours really is remarkable. One of the new, so far unrecorded songs was credited to him, which promises well for future creativity. In fact, this on-stage premiering of new material was something of a break-through, and although it was fascinating to hear how much Trevor Horn could sound like Jon Anderson on songs like "Starship Trooper" and "Yours Is No Disgrace", it was the material from "Drama" which came over best. I hadn't found the album very strong -- indeed, what Yes album has been strong enough since "Topographic Oceans"? -- but these performances caused instant re-evaluation. Geoff Downes is no Rick Wakeman, true, but his solo excursion had wit, melody, and a lot of light and shade. He doesn't look very comfortable, but he has quickly established a stage persona for himself. Which leaves us with Trevor Horn. It would be unfair ro judge his obviously sick voice on this outing, and he is working well at getting over with an (at least partly) hostile audience. I'll pass on him, this time, and hope he'll have less of a sore throat next time round. But, on this showing, I've got to stand up on the opposite side of the fence from the young lad so vocal in his disapproval next to me. This Yes is no disgrace. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com