Into the Lens

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"Into the Lens"
Into the Lens.jpg
Single by Yes
from the album Drama
B-side"Does It Really Happen?"
ReleasedSeptember 1980 [1]
Genre
Length8:33
3:47 (single)
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White
Producer(s)Yes and Eddie Offord
Yes singles chronology
"Don't Kill the Whale"
(1978) 		"Into the Lens"
(1980) 		"Owner of a Lonely Heart"
(1983)
Music video
"Into the Lens" on YouTube

"Into the Lens" is a song written by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. It was originally released in 1980 by progressive rock band Yes, of which Horn and Downes were a part, as a part of the album Drama, before being reworked as "I Am a Camera" for the 1981 album Adventures in Modern Recording by the Buggles, a duo consisting of Horn and Downes; both versions were released as singles, with the Yes single being re-titled "Into the Lens (I Am a Camera)".[3]

The Yes version of the song additionally credits Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Alan White as co-songwriters; all of the songs on Drama were credited to the entire band.

Development[]

"I Am a Camera"
I Am A Camera Single Cover.jpg
Single by the Buggles
from the album Adventures in Modern Recording
B-side"Fade Away"
ReleasedOctober 1981
Length4:32
LabelCarrere
ZTT
Songwriter(s)Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn
Producer(s)Trevor Horn
The Buggles singles chronology
"Elstree"
(1980) 		"I Am a Camera"
(1981) 		"Adventures in Modern Recording"
(1982)

The first version of the song was a demo, recorded on a Sunday afternoon when songwriters Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes started working on the second Buggles album in 1980.[3] When they joined Yes, it gained input from other members Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White, and therefore, "Into the Lens" features a more distinctive "prog rock" sound.[3]

When Horn and Downes resumed work on the Buggles album which would become Adventures in Modern Recording, the song was reworked as "I Am a Camera". Trevor Horn said about the two versions:[3]

The song "I Am a Camera" was a Buggles track and we had adapted it into a Yes track. It became "Into the Lens" and, naturally, slightly more overblown. I don't mind "Into the Lens"—the melody's unadulterated while the arrangement's a lot more complicated—but I still prefer The Buggles version. I think Geoffrey's brilliant on the Buggles version.[3]

Version history and releases[]

Along with the "On TV" and "Lenny" singles, the Buggles' "I Am a Camera" was re-released by ZTT on iTunes in 2012, including three bonus tracks: the aforementioned "12" Mix" of the song, and two demos both titled "We Can Fly from Here" ("Part I" and "Part II" respectively).[4] The latter two songs would (like the "I Am a Camera" demo) be reworked as Yes songs, and in fact become the basis of Yes' future album, 2011's Fly from Here, which would mark the second time that both Horn and Downes would work with Yes following a departure by Jon Anderson - Downes returning on keyboards for both the album and the tour, but Horn taking the role as producer and offering some backing vocals, but reserving lead vocals for Benoît David. Along with the "12" mix", the B-side, and the two demos also appear on ZTT's 2010 re-release of Adventures in Modern Recording.

In the Netherlands, the Buggles version originally peaked on the Single Top 100 at #46,[5] but reached #11 on the Dutch Top 40.[6]

The single edit of Yes' own "Into the Lens" was titled "Into the Lens (I Am a Camera)".

In 1985, "I Am a Camera" was covered by Kim Carnes, which ended up being a bonus track Barking at Airplanes; although she didn't like it and planned it to be an outtake, it nonetheless ended up being released.[7]

Music video[]

In the music video made for "I Am a Camera", during the beginning, there are a pair of Horn's trademark glasses. On one of the lenses is a video and the other is glass. Horn comes out of the video side of the glasses (as illustrated). There are scenes involving Horn singing, broken glasses and opticians' tools. The video is seemingly set in a dollhouse. Towards the end, Horn is seen lying on the floor passed out.[8] On 22 March 2013, Classic Pop Magazine rated the music video a "Classic Video".[9]

Personnel[]

Yes version[]

Buggles version of "I am a Camera"[]

Other[]

Since 1982, a few frames from the song are used as a jingle of "music premiere" at Polskie Radio Program III (Polish Radio Three) and as a jingle to announce a new song on their chart, Lista Przebojów Programu Trzeciego.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ Welch, Chris (2003). Close to the Edge: The Story of Yes (2 ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 294. ISBN 0-7119-9509-5.
  2. ^ Reed, Ryan (4 December 2018). "All 183 Yes Songs Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Peel, Ian (2010). Adventures in Modern Recording (CD insert). The Buggles. Salvo Records. SALVOCD036.
  4. ^ "The Buggles: I Am a Camera - EP". iTunes. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Buggles - I Am A Camera". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Buggles - I Am A Camera". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  7. ^ Shawhan, Jason (2 July 2020). "Talking With Kim Carnes on the 35th Anniversary of Barking at Airplanes". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  8. ^ The Buggles - "I Am a Camera" Music Video on MTV2 on YouTube. Accessed from 21 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Classic Videos 22/03/2013". Classic Pop Magazine. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Lista przebojów Programu Trzeciego" (in Polish). Trójkofan. Retrieved 4 November 2016.

External links[]

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