Customer Reviews

Relayer

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Hearing this album for the first time, and double-checking the CD case to see that it's still Yes, is like a little glimpse of the Twilight Zone. We've never heard lyrics like "slay them burn their children's laughter on to hell" from Jon Anderson before (or since), not to mention such sheer violent force from Steve Howe's guitar or such insane pounding from Alan White. Listen to "Gates of Delirium" through headphones with eyes closed and you can see the battle played out in your mind. We go through aggression, anger, doubt, conflict, frenzy, and an earth-shaking climax of sorts that leads into, if not a happy resolution, then a somewhat peaceful one. Even in the sublime outro, there's a tinge of doubt and uncertainty: it remains not completely resolved, as it should.

And that's just the first track. "Sound Chaser" has some more frenzied guitar from Howe, along with the most free-jazz soloing you'll hear on a Yes album. I could live without the "cha-cha-cha"s, but otherwise it's nine minutes of brilliance that leaves you wanting more. "To Be Over" - ah, here's that happy ending. Almost a lullaby, it's encouraging and peaceful without the lingering doubt that runs through "Gates." All the trademark Yes qualities you'd thought they abandoned on this album, all the joy and positive melodies, they're found here. Relayer is the love-it-or-hate-it Yes album that splits most of the fans down the middle. Different though it may be, it's undeniably a masterpiece.

I first listened to Relayer about six years ago and it took me some time to really get into it and appreciate the adventurious music that Yes created on Relayer. Yes' music has always been bold and larger than life...Relayer is a fine example of that.

Relayer is a rather amazing album. Gates Of Delirium is like a 22 minute rollercoaster ride...imagine that one! Filled with endless loops, corkscrews, twists, turns, and gigantic hills and valleys that eventually comes to a soothing conclusion. It is one serious wild ride for ones audio senses. Guitarist Steve Howe and bassist Chris Squire are truely at their best here.

Sound Chaser is one of Yes' most bizzare compositions. The music is harsh, experimental and on the edge. To Be Over is another exciting song. Starting off very mellow then it slowly builds up to a exciting end by Steve Howe's diverse guitar work and Jon Anderson's soaring vocals which make this song one of Yes's finest.

Keyboardist Patrick Moraz brings a very unique and distinct sound to this album, his one and only as a member of Yes. Relayer is considered to be among Yes's finest, while it's not my personal favorite it is a remarkable album.

Yes bassist Chris Squire ,"I think what Alan and I played on Relayer was more to the point. Some of the bass and drum interaction on there is better than anything to be found on previous Yes LPs". This is indeed a rollercoaster of a ride album rhythmically , but not just that as Steve Howe and Patrick Moraz let it all hang out. Whew! Wakeman had rehearsed some of this album's sections during soundchecks before deciding that , like "The Ancient" on Topographic Oceans , "Yes was heading towards avant-garde jazz rock and I had nothing to offer there". The astoundingly unique Swiss keyboardist Moraz did have much to offer in the more freely experimental vein that Yes were now mining. His "futuristic" burbling synth sounds and novel-for-the-time pitch bender controling added a "brave new world" to the Yes tonal pallette. It would seem that Chick Corea's exceptional work on the mid 70's Return To Forever albums owe a debt to Moraz. Decide for yourself. Anyway , before Yes decided on Wakeman's replacement , Steve Howe took the oppurtunuty afforded him as the temporary sole lead instrumentalist and constructed some of his most tonally and rhythmically cutting-edge guitar work ever. Its as if he was thinking Chet Atkins in space meeting John Mclaughlin's work in Mahivishnu! Not to mention that Alan White also partly appeared to be under the Mahivishnu spell , in this case , Billy Cobham ( probably his Spectrum LP too , which Massive Attack sampled in the 90's ). Indeed , this was all very forward thinking stuff with much less concern over including Wakeman-like quasi-classical orthodoxy. With the exception of Moraz's tasteful synthesizer fugue later on in the golden light warmth of the eastern-flavored "And You And I"-ish follow-up "To Be Over" , Relayer is really a sharp turn with a whole new bag of tricks ( electric slinky on "Gates" , for one ). Dig the incredibly tight arrangements and see if you can even figure out where the center of the beat is by the middle of cacophonous battle sequence of "Gates". Its like hearing the history of war in fighting sound effects! A bit overwhelming for some , but there is the definitive version on Yesshows. This still is overwhelming in a way that only Yes could seemingly achieve and WILL keep your interest , whether you are blown away by the audacity or put off. The end is about as gorgeous a thing as Yes has ever composed , with Jon just soaring. A calling of reconcilliation as I see it. Speaking of audacity though , Soundchaser displays Yes at probably their most complex , at least as far as unison playing goes. Howe is absolutely a speed demon here , but then so is White and Squire! Moraz goes for a Jan Hammer-ish ( Mahivishnu again , ha! ) solo that he still manages to make all his own. This pre-dates Corea's famous later RTF playing here. Over the top? All depends on what your looking for from Yes. Far more busier than what came before it for the most part , but that's just it. This wasn't a continuation from Topographic no more than that album was from Close To The Edge. Each album had been as much an evolution as it was a departure from its predecessor. Simply , by this point , anything new Yes had to offer was all the more removed from prior LPs as the band realized the un-progressive attitude of merely repeating an already proven successful ( read "radio friendly" ) formula ( like "Roundabout" , for example ). Plus , most importantly , they were GROWING as thinkers as well as musicians. Singer Jon Anderson expressed his concern that if the band would go off too much on "figurative licks" , it could end up like a bad Mahivishnu , acknowledgingly not only that band's fusion influence especially on part of Relayer but also stating that Yes had to keep hold the harmonies or risk losing what made them stand out in the first place: melody. Relayer expands what they had begun on their first album to seemingly absolute reasonable limits. Even to the breaking point at times , such is the fervent , forward-thinking attitude that shaped this classic hybrid of God knows what. Its not what they knew , its what they felt. Anderson's increasingly pointed lyrics make this plenty clear enough , "Stand and fight we do consider , reminded of an inner pact that's seen as we go..." By the way , I wrote a review of Topographic under the name froglight.

A technical tour de force from Yes with no lapses, Relayer grabs you from the start and drags you, willing or not, through changes of meter and tempo, some of Steve Howe's most precise and yet emotive guitar work, and some of Jon Anderson's most disciplined and intelligible lyrics. "Disciplined" isn't a word that applies to many of the best Yes albums, but it applies to Relayer, which tours musically on a strict itinerary rather than wandering from theme to theme. Some Yes fans feel that any version of the band without Bruford and Wakeman isn't the real thing. I don't think Alan White does anything beyond the workmanlike on Relayer, but Pat Moraz, on the other hand, produces his finest work. To my ear the change from Wakeman's sloppy grandeur to Moraz's tight rhythms is welcome. Yes wouldn't want to be rid of Wakeman forever, of course, but a break is nice. Relayer is a very nice break indeed.

This is Yes at their most innovative, complex, intense, and structured. Very few albums in any genre of music can match the demands that "Relayer" requires of the listener. This is more or less the only Yes album that focuses on that mysterious blend of rock and jazz music, otherwise known as fusion. In the wrong hands, fusion (and progressive rock in general), can be an excrutiating embarrassment. Just check out any Emerson, Lake and Palmer album for an example. But in the hands of skilled, competant musicians such as Yes, fusion can lift previous musical expectations to new heights. The opening instrumental spiral of "The Gates of Delirium" , with Pat Morez's moog synth and unearthly ensemble of keyboards, sets the tune for a piece of music that DEMANDS more than one listen. "Delirium" has the band changing keys a gazillion times, the rythmic textures never stay still, and those Chris Squire basslines are so swift that they practically split the piece in two. "Sound Chaser", just try to tap your feet to this one! Steve Howe's guitar scales here are so complex that only a classically trained guitarist could pull them off (I'm a guitarist myself, NOT classically trained. Heck I don't even read music, so trying to play something from Steve Howe is way out of reach). "Sound Chaser" also has a drum pattern from Alan White that is incredibly manic, but keep in mind, confusion is the whole idea here. It just encourages the listener to consentrate on what their hearing. Finally we come to "To Be Over", a nine minute opus with the first half being a soothing near-chant complementing atmospheric harpischord work from Morez, and the second half a shakey, thunderstorm of a song containing ethernal vox from Jon Anderson. Again, key changes aplenty here. Make no mistake, "Relayer" is one of Yes' finest moments, and is an album meant to be experienced, not heard.

I can't quite believe this album has 110 reviews. This one will make it 111.

Yes have a lot to answer for. They seem to have invented this whole superblown, gargantuan, prog rock style. They made Genesis seem like The Ramones in comparison. Here in the UK, admitting to liking Yes was fairly dodgy even in 1974.

And by 1976, no-one would actually admit to having gone to any of their massive gigs. But tens of thousands did and I was one of them. There, I've come out. However, despite all their colossal indulgence Yes really did produce some astonishing work and Relayer was one of the best albums they ever made. More violent than Sabbath, The Gates of Delerium really is a crushing recording. You have to remember that in those days there really was nothing like it. In this way it has a special relevance to those who heard it back then. It was a revelation. Something that no-one born after the 1960's can possibly appreciate.

It seems that the US only really started to 'get' Yes after all that 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart' nonsense. When the producer behind 'Frankie Goes To Hollywood' got involved it all took on a rather tacky feel. The meat of the matter as far as Yes are concerned is contained in all the albums leading up to and including Relayer. After that - 'Going For The One'? Ooh nasty! And 'Tormato'?? Dear God in heaven!

So it's good to see that 'Relayer' is still right up there in the minds of the massive American buying public. Vindication, if you will, of a quality piece of work.

And, as other reviewers have noted, the original vinyl version really is better than any of the CD incarnations.

But what the hell, a friend of mine once said that the only way to listen to early '60's Stones records was to hear them in the original mono on an ancient Dansette record player. Well, this may be true but all truly good music shines through whatever the medium.

God damn it, on a good day you can hear this on a cassette and it will still take you there because it's that good.

No need to recommend this album. It recommends itself.

Roll on review number 112.

Get ready for the superlatives! Relayer is not only one of the greatest contributions by Yes to their own superb catalog, it is also one of the most interesting and exciting albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Being only 22, I was not even thought of in the days when this album was released, but I am a huge Yes fan and consider Relayer to be beyond comparison. The best 'prog' album out there. 'The Gate of Delerium' is an over the top masterpiece, showcasing the prowess of guitarist Steve Howe and replacement keyboardist Patrick Moraz in the 'battle', and the beauty of Jon Anderson's voice during the gorgeous 'Soon' coda. Their trading of solos is breathtaking, rising to levels of unadulterated ecstasy approached only by Santana in their Caravanserai/Lotus fusion era, or the mind-blowing Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin. A fusion vibe runs rampant on this album, most notably in Moraz's electric piano sylings in 'Soundchaser'. 'Soundchaser' is a prog-fusion explosion, equal parts Yes and Brand X (check them out if you like how this song moves), which is incredibly complex while remaining intensely listenable. To round out the album, 'To Be Over' is a sweeping, lyrical Yes tune of the highest order, made even more delicately beautiful by Howe's slide guitar inflections. The only negative comment I can make about this album is that the sound quality remains somewhat muddy even with the remastering (the original must have been somewhat of a mess), but Relayer is still a 5 regardless of this. One of the greatest accomplishments of modern music. I can only hope that skeptics will someday look past the somewhat pretentious qualities of Yes and see this album in the light it truly deserves. Part of my 'Top 5' with Tool's Aenima, Genesis's Selling England By The Pound, Santana's Caravanserai, and Miles Davis's In A Silent Way (in no particular order and subject to change). Relayer is simply beyond words. Just look at the cover for a while. It's a better representation of the album than any reviewer could ever muster.