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Yes - Relayer CD (album) cover

RELAYER

Yes

 

Symphonic Prog

4.38 | 3473 ratings

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max.pasq
5 stars In a volume published in Italy in 1979 for 'Longanesi & C', titled "The Big of Pop Music", the famous musical reviewer Pier Tacchini wrote, in a long survey about the 'Yes', that the album 'Relayer' "was not up to the previous ones" and that this was mainly due to "the presence of Patrick Moraz at the keyboards" who had given rise to some regrets for the fair-haired Rick Wakeman, a much more important figure both from a musical and scenic point of view". Nevertheless, J remember that, more or less in the same period, J listened to the album for the first time, at some friends' home and J immediately got an excellent opinion as one of the best works of the famous English band. Today, more than 20 years later, listening again, with great attention and concentration, to the CD appropriately expanded and re-mastered by 'Rhino Records', J must confirm, without any esitation, my first impression. J would also add that with the passing of time the value of this work by the 'Yes' , dated 1974, has increased instead of decreasing. As a matter of fact, 'Relayer' can be placed, even more than 'The Yes Album', immediately after and very close to the tops reached by the British group with 'Fragile' (1971-72), 'Close To The Edge' (1972) and 'Keystudio' (1996-97, 2001). The contribution of Patrick Moraz, there can't be any doubts, is here excellent and distinguished, even because of the musical trend of the whole album pervaded with a jazz-like taste. Both Jon Anderson and Chris Squire as well as Steve Howe express themselves at a very high level as usual, while Alan White, unlike other performances which, in my opinion, were not completely convincing for the rhythmic solutions as in 'Going For The One' (1977) and 'Tormato' (1978), manages, here, to combine strength, vigour and power with smoothness, agility and creativity. Wonderful the pieces 'The Gates Of Delirium' (21:55) and 'Sound Chaser' (9:25), slightly inferior the third and last track 'To Be Over' (9:08). An impartial and objective evaluation would call for 4,50 stars, but, as the album has always been underestimated bacause of Wakeman's absence (whose talent and qualities are not under discussion), my proposal of evauation rises up to 5 stars. [English version revisited by Guerrino Maccaferri].
| 5/5 |

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