Yes
Fly From Here

Thirty-one years later: from "Drama" to "Fly From Here".

Yes is back with a new album; the ten years of silence since "Magnification" have been marked by tours celebrating various anniversaries but without any new releases. Here we are now, July 2011, with a new album, but what does "Drama", the 1980 album, have to do with it? The curious thing is that the Yes of 2011 are the very ones who recorded what many consider the last classic of the English group and an interesting fusion of prog rock and contemporary new-wave. So, Trevor Horn returns to backing vocals, bass, and obviously production, the bespectacled '80s wizard now sports a milky white mane that fits well with those of his older companions. On keyboards, Geoff Downes returns, co-author along with his friend Horn of much of the material. For the vocals, they opt for singer Benoit David, recent replacement for Anderson on tour. The remaining members are the oldies Alan White (a living rock legend), Chris Squire, and Steve Howe.

The album is based on a leftover from "Drama", "We Can Fly From Here", a track of just over six minutes originally performed only live on the 1980 tour. Horn and Downes expanded it into a suite in five movements where the group finds a true affirmation of their qualities, what was once an interesting formation here is confirmed, and "Fly From Here" can be recognized as a well-crafted and very beautiful composition. It is based on the feeling of disorientation that was felt in tracks like "Machine Messiah" and "Man In A White Car" on the 1980 album, with more rarefied atmospheres combined with sudden time changes, decidedly not very Anderson-like. "Fly From Here" is a suite dominated by Downes' keyboards and Squire’s bass, the "Overture" is already immediately indicative as is the first part. If you love "Drama", this composition will surely fascinate you, the singing is much more similar to that of Horn than to the crystalline tones of Anderson; this is a logical consequence of the nature of the work. The other compositions are also interesting, with solo spaces from Squire and Howe, the guitarist standing out with the delightful "Solitaire".

To sign the cover, Roger Dean returns, honoring the "Drama" period by redesigning a panther venturing into the forest; the 1980 album actually featured a group of black panthers so prominently that fans of this lineup are called "panthers". "Fly From Here" is a successful, fresh album, a burst of life from a group of elderly yet sprightly rock panthers.