RELAYER

I remember when I first bought this album. It was 4 months after taking a long train ride down to New York City listening to Close to the Edge (Album). At that time, Close to the Edge was it for me, I mean, I didn't think Yes would ever be able to out do such a finely crafted piece of music. After deconstructing every little aspect of that album, I went out and purchased Tales from Topographic Oceans and did the same thing. TFTO has a different flavor than CTE, but man, its a great album too! (that will be a different review).

So one day I wanted to see what Relayer was all about. I was upset to read that Rick Wakeman left the band and was replaced by Swiss born Patrick Moraz. Not knowing much about Patrick Moraz's style and not having high hopes for Relayer without Wakeman, I went out and bought it anyway. On my way home I put it into my CD player and waited for it to begin...............

THIS ALBUM IS YES' BEST PIECE OF WORK! Relayer has three tracks: The Gates of Delirium, Soundchaser, To Be Over.

The Gates of Delirium: This song is over 21 minutes in length and is Yes' Magnum Opus...yes, even more than Close to the Edge. One can break the song down into three unmistakeable parts with the final section Soon being a staple in the concerts. Trying to explain the beauty and sheer force of this song will not do it justice, just listen to it.

Soundchaser - Sounds like the band went crazy! There has not been a Yes song like this before Relayer's release. Steve Howe has a nice broken down section with his Telecaster (this album is ALL Telecaster) while Patrick Moraz blows up the end of the song with one of the craziest synth solos you will ever hear.

To Be Over - The greatness of Yes is the fact that they not only know how to break it down within a song, they can also break down whole songs. To Be Over is a fantastic song that starts off soft and dreamy. The inclusion of a Sitar provides a worldly feel to the introduction of the song and the music intensifies as it reaches its peak in the final minutes of the song.

Folks, do yourself a favor, go out and buy his album. Listen to it and grow to love it as I do. And for you Tool fans, this is Danny Carey's favorite Yes Album, why not give it a try?