RELAYER

YES return in an almost defiant manner. After the lambasting TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS took from the critics YES seemed to be challenging everyone around them with the ever more self indulgent. I applaud them.... "The Gates Of Delirium" like the four songs of TALES takes up an entire side. The result is 90% fab with 10% horror. I'm sad to say that Patrick Moraz is no Wakeman. He buries his parts under layers of keyboards that have very little beauty (except for two transcendent moments: 1:"Soon" and the end of "To Be Over") . "To Be Over" is beautiful and ends the album on a gorgeous fade of guitar and keys. However the sheer awfulness of "Sound Chaser" is both suprising and completely maddening. Like "The Ancient/Giants Under The Sun" on the previous album you get the impression that these guys needed someone to step back and rein them in. However RELAYER is still a very good album .