RELAYER

The album Relayer features a heavier sound for Yes, and is extremely creative in nature. The Gates of Delirium is a powerful piece that lyrically tells of the beginnings (politics), middle (the battle itself), and end (a lone soldier dies) of a war. The shinning instrument on this track is definitely the guitar. Extremely technical. And I don't think that Patrick Moraz does to bad of a job with the keyboard side of things. The song is very focused which is good.

On side two you get the manic, chaotic, creative, and interesting Sound Chaser; and also the calm, peaceful, and refreshing To Be Over. Sound Chaser has so many musical ideas that it is insane. I hear in this song jazz fusion, classical guitar, space rock, soft rock, and frighteningly fast rock. For me, this track gets to be a little unenjoyable towards the end. It gets to be a little too frantic. To Be Over is a good track, but nothing too special. It is calm and peaceful all the way through which balances the other two tracks. The track really starts to shine towards the end, but the first half meanders for a little too long.

Overall I think that this is a great Yes album, but something about it doesn't carry the same impact that Close to the Edge has, or even Going for the One for that matter. Maybe its the absence of Rick Wakeman? Either way, this album is very creative, and worthy of a listen, especially if you enjoy Yes' other music.