Relayer [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Import]

Yes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 4, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1974
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Import
• Label: Atlantic UK
• ASIN: B000002J1B
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,785 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Gates Of Delirium

2. Sound Chaser

3. To Be Over

Editorial Reviews

YES RELAYER

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily my favorite Yes album, June 2, 2000

By 

Nungesser (The USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relayer (Audio CD)

In "Relayer", Yes took the occasionally-brilliant bloated bulk of "Topographic Oceans", distilled out its best aspects, added a jazz keyboardist to replace the more classical Wakeman, and cranked it to 11. It's their most experimental album, and in my opinion, their most successful one.

The 22-minute "Gates of Delerium" is one of their most coherent epics, creating in song and sound the tale of a war between two armies that feel forced to fight. Listen to this on a pair of good headphones, and by the time the 'Soon' segment floats in, if you aren't wiping your eyes, you're simply inhuman.

It's followed by "Sound Chaser", Yes at its edgiest, with a guitar solo that's the closest prog-rock ever got to straight-ahead rock n' roll.

The closer, "To Be Over", is my personal favorite Yes song. It has every classic Yes moment in one six-minute masterpiece: dreamy fantasy lyrics, a rocking guitar solo, thumping bass, an ear-ticking keyboard run, and lots of slide guitar. It's the Yes song that sounds most like a Roger Dean album cover.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relayer: The Grey Album, November 3, 2002

By 

Samhot (Star Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relayer (Audio CD)

Intense, harsh, ethereal, voluminous and ruggedly symphonic, Yes' _Relayer_ is arguably their most dark, experimental, grandiose and aggressive. _Close To The Edge_ was positive, peaceful and reflective. _Tales From Topographic Oceans_ was spiritually (and/or religiously) deep. However, on _Relayer_, Yes gets bleak, harsh and ominous--attributes that are rare in the positive, hopeful, celestial and peaceful world of Yes.

The 22-minute war tale known as "The Gates Of Delirium", is a gargantuan slice of mystical progressive rock. In atmosphere, this epic features screaming synths, manic guitar solos and overall explosive volatility. Steve Howe's claustrophobic, finger-itching and hasty-paced guitar solos qualify him as nothing less than a virtuoso. Jon Anderson's vocals are ethereal, heartfelt and moving. Later, Steve Howe and Chris Squire (bass) play something of an ionian scale before the violent, stormy and powerful instrumental middle section takes off. This is followed by the achingly beautiful "Soon, oh soon" section. The sad and poignant synthesizer backdrops provided by Patrick Moraz, set the stage for Jon Anderson's most poignant, ethereal and shiver-sending performance. His very last sung line (The sun will lead us, our reason to be here) makes my soul cry. After that, the epic sadly fades into oblivion.

"Sound Chaser" is a manic, frenzied and aggressive jazz-fusion number, which features enough technical mastery to give classic King Crimson a run for their money. Alan White's drumming is ultra-technical and violent. He plays as if there were no tomorrow. Steve Howe's guitar parts are fluid and virtuosic. The middle section features an extended guitar solo. Steve also seems to slip a portion of "Mood For A Day" (off of _Fragile_) on here as well. Chris Squire's snaky basslines sandwiched in the crazed mix are something to behold as well.

"To Be Over" is the mellow closer of the album. It features country-esque soundscapes (courtesy of Steve Howe's pedal steel), an instrumental section featuring many eerie sounds seeping from Patrick Moraz's keyboards, and a finale of chant-like vocal harmonies.

_Relayer_ is Yes hitting on all cylinders: Violence, intensity, aggression, gloom, despair, ethereality, love, hope (and maybe triumph). The complexity here may take some getting used to. But, in the end, _Relayer_ is a trip worth taking.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pushing The Envelope Once More., January 4, 2000

By 

MATTHEW BLACK "MATT BLACK" (Auckland, New Zealand.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relayer (Audio CD)

After a lukewarm reception to "TALES FROM TOPOGRPHIC OCEANS" master keyboardist Rick Wakeman decided he'd had enough and jumped ship. The other Yes men replaced him with Swiss maestro Patrick Moraz, who injected fresh ideas and enthusiasm into the tired band. The result was one of the most unique albums of their long career. "RELAYER" has a hard, stainless steel sheen to its sound. The 23 minute epic "The Gates Of Delirium" is like nothing else created in popular music. It starts with soft, twittering melodies and then moves with uneasy, mounting menace into hard driving drums and bass. Steve Howe punctuates the proceedings with spiky, fiery and unpredictable guitar playing. Then, "Delirium" explodes into an orgasmic peak that concludes with the "Soon" segment, arguably the most beautiful of all Yes moments with soaring keyboards and slide guitar. The remaining two tracks are an interesting contrast. "Sound Chaser" is a very heavy jazz/prog rock blend, iced by Steve Howe's most violent ever guitar solo. The album concludes with the gentle "To Be Over", which is a real breather. Not everyone's favourite Yes album but I guarantee it will grow on you.