RELAYER

I am definitely a level 4 on this one, even though this is probably the last of the 70s classic period Yes albums I got to know well. In other words, it took me a long time to get into this one. Now I really enjoy it, although not as much as some of the ones before and after it. I know of many Yes fans who consider it their favorite, I'm not one of those, but it's certainly a top 10 Yes album. This one uses the same type of format as Close to the Edge: a sidelong on side one, and 2 approximately 10-minute tracks on side 2. Additionally, it is the first and only studio album with Patrick Moraz on Keyboards, following Wakeman's departure after the Tales tour. Wakeman would return later on the next studio album Going for the One. Let's take a deep dive.

Track 1 - The Gates of Delirium

This is the longest official Yes studio track at 21:55. It is an epic song based on an epic book?War & Peace. The song begins with dreamy keyboard parts & Howe playing a tune with harmonics on the guitar. Alan & Chris play occasional accent notes together. At 150 the four instrumentalists play a tune in unison. Jon begins singing at 2:10 initially accompanied by acoustic guitar, to be joined by the other instruments. Squire joins in on harmony vocals with Jon. At 3:20 there are some guitar flourishes between verses. At 4 minutes the beat gets stronger as though a storm is building. Chris' bass lines are fierce in the interlude between vocal sections. Howe plays a melodic lead line. At 5:40 There is a quieter harmony vocal section. At around 6:20 Chris and Alan give more rhythm to the section. Afterwards the beat gets steadier with Howe taking the lead. Things get more intense around 7:30. At approximately 8:00 the major instrumental section of the song begins, AKA the Battle Sequence. The music becomes fast & furious. Howe's guitar tones are much sharper on this album than on previous Yes albums, due to him favoring a Fender Telecaster instead of the more jazz toned Gibson hollow-body guitars he was known for favoring. Pat Moraz is fully featured for the first time at around 8:40, showing why he was chosen for the Keyboard seat. At around 9 minutes in, Squire's bass parts are absolutely insane! At around 9:24 a band member can be heard shouting something in the background. This is generally thought to be Alan White in his excitement over the challenging rhythms. The sound at 9:40 is immense! Squire's bass riffs are featured at around 10:20. By 11 minutes Howe is adding dissonant guitar parts. The band comes together on a riff at around 11:20 Meanwhile, throughout the segment, there are cacophonous noises implying the sounds of battle. The section continues to get more and more chaotic as it goes. Squire's bass parts throughout the section are incredible. By 12:47, the band comes together and Moraz is featured in the part known as the Victory March. At 13:45 Howe inherits the melody on slide guitar. Fantastic Alan White fills are all through this part. Things begin to calm down as we approach 15:00. A long- sustained chord is held for approximately a minute, then at around 16:10 Howe plays a gentle tune on the slide guitar. This begins the part called Soon. At 17:05 Jon returns on vocals with the song of that name which is a call for peace & healing following the war. The band is providing a pastoral backdrop for Jon's beautiful vocals. Moraz is making nice string-like tones on his arsenal of keyboards and Howe plays the lead melody again. Vocals come back at around 20:00 for a final verse. Howe is once again featured as the band provides a lush accompaniment as the song gradually winds to a close. The song is- simply put- brilliant.

Track 2 - Sound Chaser.

As I was getting my head around this album some years ago, Sound Chaser was the one I had the hardest time with. While the battle section of Gates took some time for me to latch onto, I still sometimes don't quite vibe with this one, despite being so guitar oriented. There are parts I do rather enjoy, but others sound a bit out of control to me. It begins with a spate of jazzy electric piano chords from Moraz. White plays drums rhythms with Moraz while Squire fills in with complex bass parts. Alan takes over with dazzling drum fills while Moraz keeps tinkling away. The riff when the band comes in at around the 1-minute mark is where they feel like they are barely holding it together, like it could go off the rails at any time, but it doesn't. Vocals come in with harmonies at 1:15. Moraz plays nice keyboard fills. The runaway train riff keeps returning with variations. Squire plays fast bass lines around 2:20. Howe is featured then the 2 of them join together at a frenetic pace. At 3:00 Howe takes a solo cadenza that seems all over the place to me. It calms down around at points with Moraz playing subtle backing chords. Howe is my favorite guitarist of all time, but he gets a bit out of hand and slightly sloppy to my ears on some of it. The sound is very dramatic at 5:10. Jon returns on very quiet vocals at around 5:30, accompanied by Howe. At around 6:10 the intro is echoed. The band locks into a slide riff at around 6:30, that goes through various tempos. At 7:35 there is the infamous Cha Cha Cha, Cha Cha part before Moraz plays a blistering fusion synth solo. His solo may be my favorite part of the song. But by 8:40 the runaway train riff returns, and it is more chaotic than ever. Then there are some more Cha Chas and a quick ending by the band. I don't know why it just doesn't work for me as a whole. I like bits & pieces, but most of the song is just out of control for me.

Track 3 - To Be Over

This is probably my favorite track on Relayer. It harkens back to "And You and I" as a beautifully epic piece, although not quite as good to me. The song fades in with a Howe guitar melody. Moraz takes over on Organ while Howe plays sustained notes over the top. There are some Coral Electric Sitar parts in between phrases, The vocals come in in harmony at around 1:50. The music matches the lyrics "we go sailing down the calming steam?" Howe plays a nice guitar part at around 3 minutes. His soloing is much better here than on Sound Chaser to me. The sound is lush and beautiful at the 5:00 point. The vocals return in harmony at around 5:30. Moraz plays a wonderful solo at around 6:40. The vocals return around 7:20 before the spectacular closing section that follows. The closing section to this song is my favorite part of the album, with the cascading instruments and vocal countermelody on the chant:

Nous somme du lay

Sah du rah

Sah du lay

Tu sah rah

Du sah du lay

Sah du rah

Tey tu sante

(If anyone has a translation, please feel free, as Google was of no help.)

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

As I stated, this is not my favorite album from the classic 70s era. Much of it is just too off the wall for my tastes. There are many parts I really do like, but Sound Chaser for me is just not my cup of tea, I at least understand what they were going for on Gates of Delirium, with the Battle Sequence painting an audio picture of the chaos of battle. The Victory March is great, and Soon is sublime. To Be Over is absolutely beautiful, particularly the closing portion. I'll give the album an overall score of 4.25 out of 5 as I like it about as much as I like Tales.

Clicking 4, but really a 4.25!