Yes "Fly From Here"

Big fan of the first twenty years of this band, including the "Drama" album 30+ years ago, the only other recording Jon Anderson wasn't on before "Fly From Here."  Trevor Horn was the singer on Drama, and he became a massive music presence afterwards as a producer for bands such as ABC, FGTH, Malcolm McLaren, The Art of Noise, etc., and arguably Yes' most popular recording, 90125.  He's still at it today, again as a member of Yes and its producer, and also keyboards and production on the latest Blackfield album.   The 25-minute title track from this new Yes album was actually written for Drama and ultimately rejected, though the band played it live several times on the subsequent tour.  So now that Anderson's health has kept him from the band, the current group is the same one from "Drama," but with another vocalist.  You know the story, the guy was singing in a Yes tribute band...   That's funny, because he doesn't remind me of Anderson much at all.  Anyway, why not take this forgotten track and build a new CD around it?  I get the concept but it really doesn't work.

Which is surprising to me with Horn twisting the knobs and Chris Squire and Steve Howe still in the band.  The record really sounded dated, and why not since half of it's thirty-something years old, but I expected a record that sounded like Yes, not the Alan Parsons Project.  Let's see, 1980 was the year of "The Turn of a Friendly Card" for APP, and "Fly..." sounds more like that than any of the late 70's Yes recordings.  I thought Horn would work some of his magic, but all I hear is a very sterile mix, no fullness, though some of the musicianship is pristine.  There isn't a clear cut radio track available, either, though I like this section of the title track...

"Fly From Here" is like a classical composition reinterpreted by the Bell Telephone Orchestra, or that great Broadway showstopper performed by the fourth touring company for the lovely folks in Butte, Montana, it's an excellent composition that unfortunately suffers in the current production.  Some spots truly shine, but "Fly..." doesn't jell as a whole.