RELAYER

This album really proves that Rick Wakeman isn't as irreplaceable as he seems. While Rick is the best keyboardist around (maybe second only to Keith Emerson, but that's a debate for a different time), Yes can still manage to make excellent music without him, even if this album doesn't have huge solos or majestic keyboards in it. Patrick Moraz does a fine job on the keys here, but I don't think this album is a classic.

The first track, Gates of Delirium, is a good but not great track. Unlike CTTE, which is one flowing piece with everything intertwining perfectly, I don't think that GoD quite manages this. Although the musicianship is still there, I think the song is quite messy and at times even incoherent. I know it is meant to depict a battle, but it isn't managed very well. The first 12 minutes are so are quite rambling, although they do sound good, they drag on for a while. The last 10 minutes are the best in my opinion, especially the beautiful Soon. Jon's voice is as good as ever, Chris Squire's bass sounds a little muted but otherwise good, Steve Howe's guitar sounds great but can grate at times - sometimes it ends sound a little too whiney since for a lot of the song he is playing quite high. Alan White, again, is superb. Next comes the brilliant Sound Chaser, with White, Howe and Squire giving some of the best performances possible. It does drag on a little towards the end, and more vocals would've been nice, but other than that, it is a great song. The final song, To Be Over, is a decent enough song, but I don't think that it is anything too remarkable. Good but not great.

I think this is a great album, but some of the songs have the tendency to come off the rails and some parts sound like a train wreck in musical form. These, however, are overshadowed by the brilliant parts of the songs, so overall, I give this 4 stars.