RELAYER

It pains me not to be able to give this album five stars. The Gates of Delerium rivals Heart of the Sunrise when it comes and construction to mood and Clsoe to the Edge when it comes to length, making it definately one of theg reatest musical pieces they have written. The lyrics are classic Jon Anderson, my favorite prog lyricist/vocalist despite his many detractors. Sound Chaser is an excellent showcase of musical ability with the vocals playing more of a rythmic role than a melodic one, something Yes (and bands in general) do not do very often. The only downside I feel is To Be Over. I've listened to this album countless times and still, I do not like this song. It's starting to grow on me, but I do not see it as having the same impact as the rest of yes's catalog. Yes and I hold a special relationship. While it may take several lsitens for me to understand Gentle Giant, Genesis or Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, Yes instantly works for me. The very first song of theirs I heard was Close to the Edge off of Yessongs and that instantly had me hooked to them inalienably. This song simply does not even remotely possess that kind of feeling. It feels as though they were trying a bit to hard to introduce Moraz into the fold by creating a near-clone of Close to the Edge, but tried too hard to create an effective And You And I clone. It is unfortunate. If things had been different, this may have been prog's number one album.