------------------------------------------------------- SEPTEMBER 28, 1980 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Los Angeles Times YES Rides a New Wave By Steve Pond "DRAMA " Yes. Atlantic SD 16019. Here is the New Yes: the Buggle-ized Yes, the band in which two new-wave whiz kids have replaced stalwarts Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman. It's "Roundabout" meets "Video Killed the Radio Star." It s a shock to Yes fans, an equal surprise to Buggles fans. And what does it sound like? Look at the front cover for a clue. It's another kitschy, dramatic land-and-seascape by Roger Dean, who's done most of Yes's previous covers. And the music follows suit. This is in many ways the most traditional Yes album in years, a way of showing anxious fans that the New Yes can sound just like the old model. Maybe that attitude bred conservatism in the ranks, or maybe the new members are too cautious to assert themselves. Whatever the reason, keyboardist Geoff Downes and vocalist Trevor Horn stay safely in the background, letting veterans like guitarist Steve Howe and bassist Chris Squire shape the music. Where 1977's "Going for the One" moved aggressively into new territory and the subsequent "Tormato" stalled on even more adventuresome ground, "Drama" sticks to familiar tune. Horn and Downes do make their presence known: Downes' keyboards emit dit-dit-dit Morse Code patterns where Wakeman favored richly textured washes of sound; Anderson's often overbearing mysticism is gone from most of the lyrics and the chorus to "Into the Lens," for example, is the kind of sprightly electronic new-pop that the Buggles specialized in. But those are isolated instances in, for the most part, an album of typically fragmented Yes suites. Even Horn's singing is at times uncanny: Backed by the old hands, his high-pitched voice could be a dead ringer for Anderson (once thought to have one of rock's truly distinctive sounds) . This is a singularly inopportune time for Yes to tread water. These days, it's getting harder and harder to summon up any kind of enthusiasm for the "progressive rock" bands that simply are no longer progressive. If this genre is still viable, and mutated offspring like Peter Gabriel have proven that it is, it won't be saved by oldtimers flailing away at their long-since-codified formulas. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com