RELAYER

Generally speaking, RELAYER is one of Yes' best albums, yet there are several problems with the majority of the music on the disc that stops this album from being a masterpiece in progressive music.

From the moment I began listening to this album I wasn't expecting much, considering the overdone nature of TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS and the fact that Rick Wakeman was no longer in the band at this point. For the first 5 or 6 minutes of The Gates of Delirium I wasn't overly excited, yet it didn't detract overall from the piece, considering the most impacting part of the song, the long instrumental section was a wake-up call to the true nature of this song. Patrick Moraz I admit does add a lot of keyboard work on this album and though his style differs from that of Wakeman, he holds up quite well when compared to the former member. My only other gripe with Delirium is that even though the long instrumental section is one of Yes' best and most defining, I was beginning to miss Anderson's vocals and that the final 4 or so minutes of the track was stretched way too long. All in all, Delirium is probably one of the better epics, following in the shoes of Close to the Edge and Awaken. 8.5/10

Upon listening to the other two tracks on the album, I was very impressed with the song-writing behind them. Sound Chaser is probably the better out of the two and it was much easier to listen to then To Be Over, yet both songs hold up very well, especially when being compared to Delirium. 8/10 for Chaser and 7/10 for To Be Over.

Overall, this album holds up very well and is their best album since CLOSE TO THE EDGE, and was their last piece of classic quality work. Overall it receives a 9/10. Close to perfect but not quite there but is still a more than excellent addition to any prog music collection.