RELAYER

I was originally going to give this 4*, since it's a huge step up from the awful Tales, but I made the mistake of listening to it again after a couple of years of abstinence. And frankly it's a solid 31/2* affair - no better. Gates of Delirium is a very good long track - nothing like as good as Close to the Edge, but still better than most of their other stuff. To be Over is beautiful but Soundchaser isn't really my cup of tea. Patrick Moraz is a fine susbstitute for Wakeman and the drop in quality from CTTE isn't his fault, as he gives a very fine display. The rest play with their usual technical excellence but the music doesn't quite have the ability to grab your emotions. Finally, the sound quality of the album is also rather cold and exacerbates this. Still worth buying.