RELAYER

With Relayer Yes showed the world that...even without Wakeman and Bruford, there was still life in them...Bruford already left the album before but Wakeman had his belly full of it, after Tales. No matter how fantastic Tales was....Wakeman was replaced by Moraz...and I can't help thinking how this might have sounded when Wakeman was still a part of the band.

Having said that...I must say that Yes here right away shoots of with in my eyes the only piece they ever created that could compete with Close To The Edge, what I think is Yes's best or second best song..it depends on what kind of mood I am..The Gates Of Delirium, love or leave it, is a fantastic piece of music....chaotic in its own charm......and highly skillfully made..this is really something. In the beginning I only knew Soon, which I heard on Yes Years...and I think eventually because of that small edit..I decide that Relayer should be the next album of Yes in my collection...The Gates Of Delerium struck me right from the beginning, but Sound Chaser and To Be Over.....left me with a double feeling. Too experimental...too far over the the top.......and it took me alot and alot of spins to get used to these as we'll. Perhaps the band itself also had double feelings, cos both the songs were not even remained in the set untill the end of the tour and already soon dropped. Eventually it changed and could begin to see a certain beauty in it...but I always kept keeping the feeling...that The 2 last songs are completely overshadowed by the greatness of the first. I think that first is great...but most of all I like the end Soon is beatifully song by Anderson, supported by some great guitar of Howe...how is he getting such high notes........I was so happy I could see Yes perform the entire song during the Symphonic Tour...what an experience was that...

Sound Chaser is a song that starts of as a Alan White show off piece that sound results in some amazing Squire / White interplay...all along the sound what keeps on being going on the the extremely dominant and fast bassing of Squire...sometimes joined by Howe, who also contributes substantially that sometimes more sounds like a connection of improvisations that goed from one into the other. What often struck my hearing is the very very suddle underlying kepboardwork of Moraz...never dominant but always underneath the playing. Although there are some moments during the song....that will give time to the listener to regain his breath...most of the song is quite agressive, and only towards the end ends out into a harmonic melody...however already soon it turns into another line and the chaos is released again.

To be Over starts much more quite...and gives the impression that it builds up in a typical Yes way....some very nice Citar here. When after a intro of 2 min, the vocals eventually kicks in...the melody of the song remains beautifully slow and never gets agressive....Its much much easier to digest than Sound Chaser....

So all in a all a great album as long as you give it the opertunity to grow on you.....Dont give up to easy.