1974: YES - Relayer -  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mB2Z4c14a1jFhhTFB2IlKyhfpizRSXkKI" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mB2Z4c14a1jFhhTFB2IlKyhfpizRSXkKI

YES line-up:- Jon Anderson; Steve Howe; Patrick Moraz; Chris Squire; & Alan White

1. The Gates of Delirium  (21:55)

2. Sound Chaser  (9:25)

3. To Be Over  (9:08)

G of D, the greatest prog masterpiece ever made!  (IMHO)

Hi,

I agree that it is a shame this lineup did not continue to play together ... however 40 years later, I think that Chris might not have liked such an experimentalist on the keyboards, as it would make it more difficult for him to find new paths and ways with it ... with RW it was easier, because you just about knew what was gonna happen, and he was (AND IS!!!) ver predictable, doing the same thing on another keyboard ... this was not the case with PM, and the new, and different attack/idea to the music was OK for SH and JA, but lacking for CS as far as I can tell.

In those days, I really thought that GoD was a very strong attack on the fans that did not like TFTO and the very off-base critics of it, by creating something in the long piece that was very hard on the ears for a while, allowing SH to go all the way, so to speak. The rest of the album, I kinda thought was a bit more of what they had done, and were going to do, at least much more "melodic" in the style that fans like ... which is not exactly a word that we would use on GoD.

Even the cover, suggest a "bite" coming, and I think the album had that bite ... though we might perceive it differently. 

HOWEVER, and this is valuable, TODAY there is so much thrashing, that us looking at GoD actually find it better and more "centered" than the majority of metal, and thrashing around that shows up in the top lists.

I like the album, and as some here, I find it sad they did not keep PM, although my thoughts are that CS did not feel comfortable with someone else experimenting and going nuts along with SH, which would force his bass playing to be more conventional, and I don't think that he would stand up for that. No disco for CS!

I have to admit it's closer to the bottom of my Yes list.

That being said, I did gain a new appreciation for it recently after I upgraded my stereo system in my office.

I added a new pair of speakers, B&M DM110i. They are what's referred to as 'Very Revealing' speakers. And the reviews were right. This hot noisy mess of an album suddenly became, at the very last, clear. I could actually define the different parts being played. I still don't love it, but at least I know what was being played now.

I have actually always liked the sound of it. Very noisy, that's true, uncivilised and wild.

Don't doubt your part, be ready to be loved.....  

Not counting the Trevor Rabin stuff which had a metal sound at times.

This album took time to grow on me unlike their Yes Album or Fragile. The instrumental section on the opening track is phenomenal even if I have trouble making sense of the vocals on that track. [Apparently, it was inspired by Tolstoy's War and Peace].

'SoundChaser' seems alright to me , though they have better songs than it in their catalogue. The final song is a contrast and even calming compared to the opening track.

Welcome to PA!  And yes, I agree that the final song is calming, and probably meant to be, after the bombast of "Gates" 

Personally rate 'Relayer' very highly more for personal reasons. For decades had a 'lost weekend' where I didn't really listen to Prog but for some reason had 'Relayer' in my collection, and for literally years was the only Yes album I would play. 

Yes it would have been interesting if this Yes line up had stayed together a little longer.