RELAYER

Probably one of the cooler Yes albums. This is the first one to feature new keyboardist Patrick Moraz as Rick Wakeman left the group. Patrick isn't the greatest, but he is very good and does have some nice speed when he plays. The group's overall performance is stunning here, on the whole album. There are some amazing drum and bass parts, thanks to Chris Squire and Alan White, they have some great musical chemistry together. Jon Andersons vocals on this recording are stunning, and twisting in some places, even frighting, with some serious emotion in in his vocal style, which might sometimes be rare in higher singers. The whole album is really interesting, though might not be as good as the high and might "Tales from Topographic Oceans" its very close, in second place so far.

So, the album starts off with one of the best songs ever, "Gates of Delirium" and its just simply suberb. The performance of Alan White on drums is stunning, he lays down some of the best beats to work off of, and he is much more focused than on "Tales" and he is much higher in the mix at this point. The bass guitar is nice and distorted in most parts, and is very upfront, though not Chris' best basslines ever, they are still very inventive. The lyrics are very mystical, though I don't know what they mean (of course) they just work well with the muisc. To me, it sounds kind of Chinese, or Japenese themed to me, I don't know if i'm right or not, thats just me. The song ends with one of their most beautiful passages ever. The part "Soon" (released as a single part of the song late rin 1974, the year this record was released) is so stunning. The Lap Steel guitar performed by Howe is awesome, and it adds some of the best atmosphere in any song. The vocals are pretty good, though its not as "choral" as the rest of the song, because Jon is the only one singing. The whole song is near perfection, and it holds some of the best guitar parts and riffs ever known to man. "Sound Chaser" is probably the best drum and bass guitar song for Alan and Chris. They are working together so well and making some of the best rhythms ever, it's really good. The bass solos by Chris are so good, they are really fast and are pretty good, some of his best. The whole song is a showpiece for everyone, the instruments are very well played, a great song. "To Be Over" is a good song, its very slow for me and it goes on slightly too long, but its not too bad. Some good vocal passages are held, but nothing else is really sparkling except for that and the guitars the Steve has put together. All in all, its a decent tune, not needed though.

This is one of prog-rocks best albums that is definatly needed in every single collection, whether your not the biggest Yes fan, you need to have this in your collection if your not and if you are a Yes fan.