Band members:
Alan White: drums, percussion
Geoff Downes: keys
Steve Boyce: basses, vocals
Karl Haug: guitars, vocals
Kevin Currie: vocals
 

Produced by White
Recorded by Gary Thompson/Steve Boyce
Mixed by Mark Millar/Steve Boyce
Mastered by Mark Guenther

Cover art: Roger Dean
Design and layout: Harrison Boyce
Black & white photo: Douglas Plemmons
Color photos: Terry Divyak
 

Tracks:
1. New Day [Currie/White/Stockwell] (5:11)
2. Beyond the Sea of Lies [Edens/Hogan/Boyce] (4:31)
3. Give Up Giving Up [Edens/Hogan/Boyce] (4:41)
4. Crazy Believer [Haug/Currie/White] (5:31)
5. Fate [Currie/White/Stockwell] (5:16)
6. Dream Away [Currie/White/Stockwell] (4:40)
7. Once and for All [Edens/Hogan/Boyce] (5:15)
8. Mighty Love [Boyce/Edens] (7:06)
9. Loyal [Currie/White/Stockwell] (4:09)
10. Waterhole [Haug] (6:11)
 

Notes: This album had a long gestation. Alan White had met Stockwell in the early 1990s when Stockwell worked at Microsoft in Seattle, introduced by Mike Tiano. Stockwell started playing live with Alan, and he started hanging out with Yes and also got to know Sherwood, Kaye and Squire around the Talk tour. White and Sherwood worked with Stockwell's band Treason (see Treason), and White and Stockwell both knew Boyce. White also worked with MerKaBa, another local Seattle band, which included Boyce, Currie, Rick "Wayo" Hogan and author/lyricist Cooper Edens, among others. Having recorded with Stockwell in Treason, White recommended the same studio, Stockwell's Waterstreet Studios, to MerKaBa when he recorded one song with them for their eponymous album (with Stockwell engineering). White started playing live with MerKaBa regularly and then Stockwell also started playing with the band at times. Currie and Stockwell started writing together, material that would form the basis for this release (tracks 1, 5, 6, 9).

Stockwell and Boyce also did some technical work on the Open Your Eyes tour. When Khoroshev had visa problems for the Japan leg, Stockwell was going to temp for him, although Khoroshev made it in the end. White and Khoroshev recorded on tracks for a second Treason album that weren't used and haven't been released.

Work began on a new MerKaBa album with White, Currie and Boyce, using material written by Hogan (music) and Edens (lyrics). Stockwell was invited to input as well, and with Hogan gone, Stockwell and Boyce split guitar duties. Karl Haug (at the time, Treason's guitarist) subsequently joined the sessions too, at Stockwell's suggestion. The MerKaBa identity was dropped, with Hogan having left, and the band later took on a new name, based on that of their most famous member. The band, with White, Boyce, Currie, Haug and Stockwell (keys, guitar), completed an album in mid-2004, to have been called New Day (tracks: "Fate", "The Way You See Me", "DreamAway", "New Day", "Shine", "Up", "Loyal", "Rite of Rain", "Mighty Love", "Burn All the Maps", "Waterhole (I'll Come Around)") and they also played a handful of live dates.

Stockwell was working on New Day while Sherwood was working on the first Conspiracy tour, and they came up with the suggestion for a joint "Treason"/Conspiracy tour. ("Treason" because White had yet to settle on their name.) This was the roots of the More Drama Tour: there was a plan for White, Conspiracy and Steve Howe solo to each play, and then a line-up of Currie/Stockwell/Howe/Squire/White playing material from Drama.

However, the White band and Stockwell split acrimoniously: Downes joined in April 2005 and the entire album was re-recorded, re-working songs from New Day and adding other (MerKaBa-era) material. The More Drama Tour was then to have Downes in White, and The Syn instead of Conspiracy, before the idea crashed.

Yes, that is me thanked in the credits. :) (HP, 18 Apr 06; updated 15 Dec 19)