Why Is Relayer #1?

[Timmo]

OK. Let's put our money with our mouths are, all you "Relayer" junkies like me!

Describe why "Relayer" is the BEST EVER. Not only of Yes, but some of the best musics of hte 20th Century.

DISCUSS.

I'll weigh in later, when I'm more sober.

TIM
Venice, CA

[Skyward]

Never before in the history of progressive music has such an ensemble of talent shown such diversity in one release. In 'Gates', YES takes you from the ashes of the apocalypse to the gates of Heaven itself ( "Soon" ), all in one number! The transition is pure musical genius as it evokes imagery beyond the normal scope of human composition, at least IMHO. The mind-blowing acceleration of "Sound Chaser" is not just riveting, it stretches the very limits of human ability in so far as musicianship goes. I have to wonder just what was their motivation there ( hint-hint ). Finally, "To Be Over" is musical majesty with its soaring heavenly ascent. It is my favorite of all YES tunes ( "Awaken" takes the no. 2 spot ).

This effort is like a roller-coaster powered by Saturn V rocketry that propels you into orbit at tremendous speeds only to gently touch down in the garden of Eden. I bet even Timothy Leary would have appreciated this 'trip'.

[Timmo]

I agree 100%.


Never before in the history of progressive music has such an ensemble of talent shown such diversity in one release. In 'Gates', YES takes you from the ashes of the apocalypse to the gates of Heaven itself ( "Soon" ), all in one number! The transition is pure musical genius as it evokes imagery beyond the normal scope of human composition, at least IMHO. The mind-blowing acceleration of "Sound Chaser" is not just riveting, it stretches the very limits of human ability in so far as musicianship goes. I have to wonder just what was their motivation there ( hint-hint ). Finally, "To Be Over" is musical majesty with its soaring heavenly ascent. It is my favorite of all YES tunes ( "Awaken" takes the no. 2 spot ).

This effort is like a roller-coaster powered by Saturn V rocketry that propels you into orbit at tremendous speeds only to gently touch down in the garden of Eden. I bet even Timothy Leary would have appreciated this 'trip'.I agree 1000%.

On a drinking jag, listening to "Gates" for the fourth time tonight, and not yet bored.

This is DA S.H.I.T. Amazing.

And, although through my 4th helping of "Gates," still waiting for those amazing 5 notes, which just precede "Soon."

OH, GOD, here they are!

And then Steve repeats it on guitar!

Does it get any better than THIS!????

Tim
Freaking out to "Gates" in
Venice, CA

[Scooty]

"Our reason to be here......" Good Christ..this album is so many things at once...beautiful, chaotic, melodic, dissonant, beautiful, ugly, poetry, sweet release.....a true masterpiece.....a true wonder of.."how in the F**K did they do that?"
I am amazed, impresed, awed, and inspired.
Scott

[Ootsider]

I agree 100%.


I agree 1000%.

On a drinking jag, listening to "Gates" for the fourth time tonight, and not yet bored.

This is DA S.H.I.T. Amazing.

And, although through my 4th helping of "Gates," still waiting for those amazing 5 notes, which just precede "Soon."

OH, GOD, here they are!

And then Steve repeats it on guitar!

Does it get any better than THIS!????

Tim
Freaking out to "Gates" in
Venice, CA

I'm right there with ya.

Relayer is the first Yes album I ever owned. Gates struck me right away as the perfect meld of aggressive and progressive.. and Sound Chaser brought me closer to a cousin that I hadn't spoken to in nearly ten years.. I love that record!

Whiskey sours + Gates = Nirvana..

[BrianD]

Interesting.......while I like Relayer now, when it was released I was disappointed after CTTE and Tales. The poor quality production annoyed me. Improved a lot with the Rhino remasters.

It is really an album that has grown on me - still not my favourite but pretty darn good. I have always wondered if I would have got to like it sooner if I had the opportunity to see them play it live. The jazzy feel to parts of it interest me more now than it did in the 70s.

If you combine the Relayer and solo tours, you realise that they played more shows (142) to support that album than any other of their 70s or 80s work. So it would have had a huge impact on fans opinions. Certainly the weeds I have heard of those tours suggests that they played it better live than on the studio recording.

[Ootsider]

Interesting.......while I like Relayer now, when it was released I was disappointed after CTTE and Tales. The poor quality production annoyed me. Improved a lot with the Rhino remasters.

It is really an album that has grown on me - still not my favourite but pretty darn good. I have always wondered if I would have got to like it sooner if I had the opportunity to see them play it live. The jazzy feel to parts of it interest me more now than it did in the 70s.

If you combine the Relayer and solo tours, you realise that they played more shows (142) to support that album than any other of their 70s or 80s work. So it would have had a huge impact on fans opinions. Certainly the weeds I have heard of those tours suggests that they played it better live than on the studio recording.

Funny, I've always found Relayer to be a tighter album than Tales. CTTE and Relayer are very close in style, but the edge goes to Relayer for me because of the edge and weight that the songs have.. however, I've always found Alan White to be more of a heavy, beat drummer as opposed to Bruford, so that might explain the weight issue. Relayer just seems to SWING as a record, if you catch my drift.

It's more of a 1/a, 1/b, 1/c decision for me though :D

[PO]

It's there because:

MTV wasn't there (no leather pants and makeup welcome, thank you).
Rules were being broken and written.
The instruments used had undergone a flurry of innovation.
Musical exploration was encouraged amongst musicians.
We WANTED to be challenged (not just tap our feet to Owner).
Concerts weren't regulated (what's with all the babysitting? No this, no that, no thanks).

There's more. Let me think.

[Jackaranda]

All I can say is I think it's the very best studio album of the classic Yes era. There isn't a single weak moment on the whole album. Gates is the most unique piece of music ever made, imho. From the lyrics to the battle to ultimately peace winning the day. Sound Chaser is just sheer electricity, five world class musicians (especially Steve Howe) just tearing it up. And To Be Over is simply beautiful, lyrically and musically. There was a thread way back when about what Yes song you'd want played at your funeral, and I believe now TBO would have to be it (but not anytime soon!).

It's an immaculate album.

[yesyadda]

Some of the most "out there" crazy, stupendous, incredible, knock yer sox off music I've ever heard. I played it for a couple of dorm mates back when it first came out. And in the middle of Sound Chaser they stood up with an amazed look on their faces and said "what is this!". To so impress a couple of 70's inner city African Americans is a statement in itself.

[Amy]

To me, Relayer is like looking at the souls of Yes - raw, with nothing in the way. I don't know how it happened, but they managed to create something that goes far beyond anything else I've ever heard. Not just Yes music, but any music. This is not an opinion that I've had for very long. My mind was too closed in the past to hear it.

I see Tales as the beginning of a space in time that ended with Relayer. As a matter of fact, I'm almost tempted to start with Close to the Edge, but not quite. There's a quality (and I'm not talking quality of music), but an element, that Close to the Edge has, which had to be shed, in order for Tales and finally Relayer to take form.

I've heard Rick say that Going for the One, seemed to naturally follow Close to the Edge. I couldn't disagree more. It seems very clear to me that GFTO proved that what we heard (and saw) with Tales and Relayer was over. For me, it was like their last hurrah before going downhill; GFTO seems to stand alone. It was a complete shift in direction which didn't carry over to any next album and which didn't come from any previous one.

I think Relayer is the most raw, the most honest and the most powerful music Yes have ever created.



By the way, on a lighter note, does anyone else hear the Beach Boys here?:
on
To Be Over:

Drifting endlessly BY THE BRIDGE……..
And
Always doors to lock AWAY YOUR DREAMS……..

Not a put down, just an observation.

[Brewer]

I think Relayer may have been the most progressive in terms of musicianship and composition. It really pushed the limits. Still does for me.


As far as the Beach Boys go, I hear it, but I think you have to look at the vocal intro to "Rhythm of Love" for the most severe example!

[Ryan]

to me relayer is #3. CTTE remains my favorite and GFT1 is my second. actually maybe I like it better than GFT1. So then its #2. oh i don't know. Its so hard to decide!

[weebl]

Relayer has never been my favourite; but RD's cover is one of the best album covers of all time.

:D

[altaeria]

> the band's best album cover
> the incredible tempo shifts in Soundchaser
> the futuristic battle section between Steve and Patrick in GOD
> Alan's aggressive playing, including that drum build-down that ends the battle into the final keyboard theme in GOD
> Jon's less-than-flowery lyrics: "Kill or be killing..." and "Cha Cha CHAA Cha Cha!!"
> Some of the heaviest guitar work by Steve
> One of the band's most majestic pieces of music (Soon - 2nd only to the Awaken climax)

[Jackaranda]

Yessongs was the first Yes album I was turned on to. After I was addicted to that, the same person turned me onto Relayer. I could never stop playing it. It was, and still is for me to this day, just an astounding piece of work. One of my 2 favorite Yes studio albums (along with Talk, and GFTO close behind). Yessongs will always be #1, but Relayer is so unique, on one's ever done anything that compares to it. And the lyrics to Sound Chaser, although not the longest set of lyrics they've ever written, are my favorite of any Yes song. The music and lyrics just fit so perfectly. To Be Over is my favorite "laid back" Yes song, very "other wordly". And Gates is, well, Gates. Nothing like it.

I'm playing Relayer a lot nowadays.

[Awakening]

I have been listening to it for several days now. It gets better with each listening.

[RobAdams]

RELAYER is like CTTE's aggressive cousin. Also, few people mention that the word RELAYER shows up on TFTO on THE REMEMBERING. We all know this but we just never mention it. So who gave the RELAYER album the name RELAYER and why?

[Snarly]

How about this: Relayer is unlike any music the band has ever done before or since.

My opinion:
CTTE: the BEST overall album they ever did.
TFTO: my personal FAVORITE album they ever did.
Relayer: Number Two in both categories.

[C0ops]

"My opinion:
CTTE: the BEST overall album they ever did.
TFTO: my personal FAVORITE album they ever did.
Relayer: Number Two in both categories."

Have you been listening to my phone conversations? You are dead on in my opinion.

[YYY]

From the first opening notes of GATES, I get little goose bumps. Those opening harmonics and that immediate rush from Steve's melodic riffs are too good to describe. My reaction to RELAYER was immediate. "OH MY GOD HOW CAN THEY BE SO-OOO DAMN GOOD!". I was a heavy fanatic of Jazz fusion, back in the day and this was the answer to my prayers. YES on jazz. It was a great move. Moraz came in at the perfect time and gave YES an extra jolt of fusion that catapulted the music to another level. [again]

[Timmo]

The first time I heard Relayer was on its release.

I had bought the record, and four friends and I decided to listen to it together.

As one of the five's parents were planning to be out of town in a week or so, we decided to wait until then, as 1) his dad had a killer stereo system, and 2) we could have the house to ourselves to blast the music and smoke some pot.

It was hell not opening the shrink wrap, but I held out.

A few days before our own private premiere party, I acquired a few little pieces of paper with dragons on them.

None of us had dropped acid, yet we were more than a little curious. The girl that I procured them from said "One's not enough, take three." So I bought 15.

What we found out later was that she meant take three THIRDS. There were three dragons on each hit, and you were supposed to cut them up and divide each three ways. She meant take a whole one.

So we met at the house after dinner (we also didn't realize that dropping acid is a 12+ hour affair).

We symbolically ate the paper...at 3x the recommended dose.

About 25 minutes later, nothing was happening, so we'd assumed we'd gotten ripped off.

David put on "Gates."

5-10 minutes into the song, we all started to get off.

15 minutes into the song, we lost one valient trooper/tripper, who ran from the room screaming "I can't take this!" I think it was a combination of the music and the vitamin A.

Gates ended, and the four of us sat in silence for about an hour. Finally someone rallied enough to flip the album over, which took some time as we were all, by this time, significantly impaired/on an intergallactic voyage.

By the end of "To Be Over," there was only me and Andy left, as we lost two more during "Sound Chaser."

We were all YesHeads, and were used to the gentle complexity of "CTTE" and the "Yessongs" material. "Relayer" took us by surprise, and blew our minds.

I went home and stared at the ceiling all night, which was dripping and turning colors.

Two journeys began that day, one with Relayer, and a deeper understanding, involvement, and appreciation with music. The other was with Albert Hoffman's problem child, which was revisited sporadically throughout my college years.

After "Tormato," my interest in Yes waned. By the last time I saw time live (before 2004, that is) was the 90125 show in Detroit. My (different) Yesfan friends and I decided it was all over, and I stopped listening.

Then last summer, Launch.com served up "Gates" on my computer at work.

Three minutes into the song I was crying. I'd forgotten how good the music was. I re-acquired all of the Yes releases on CD (my vinyl copies being thrashed, and useless after my CD player fell on and destroyed my turntable in the Northridge earthquake in '94). Then I discovered yesfans, and the rest, as they say, is history.

After not listening to Yes for years, "Relayer" grabbed me and continues to amaze me.

I find "Gates" to be incredibly apt for our current world affairs of terror, murder, and mayhem, and wish the band would consider playing it again. The message is needed more than ever.

Peace, I'm OUT
Tim
Venice, CA

[Jackaranda]

DADADada....DAdaDADAda....DADAdada.......DAdaDADAd a..........

:1loudspkr :1loudspkr :band: :1loudspkr :1loudspkr

[Timmo]

DADADada....DAdaDADAda....DADAdada.......DAdaDADAd a..........

:1loudspkr :1loudspkr :band: :1loudspkr :1loudspkrIsn't that "Siberian Khatru"?

Spun "Relayer" 4x tonight...still the best!

TIM
Venice, CA

[PO]

DADADada....DAdaDADAda....DADAdada.......DAdaDADAd a..........

or it could be the rhythm at the start of the cavalry charge.

Steve's bangin on the guitar during the prior hold:

ee oo oo ah ah ee oo oo ah ah ee oo oo ah ah

then the bass and drums kick in:

DADADada....DAdaDADAda....DADAdada.......DAdaDADAd a

[fragile34]

i would have to agree with the above

[Ryan]

i gave Gates another listen yesterday and i enjoyed it more than i ever have before. I think before i couldn't fully comprehend its greatness but now it has offically become my 2nd favorite song ever. i'd say its probably the most complex song they have ever recorded. just the sheer complexity blows me away.

oh yeah, and the other two are pretty good to.

[Gabriel]

Relayer is incredibly underrated and I totally agree with the above comments concerning the album, especially Gates.

Took me a few listens to get into Gates but when I did...whoa, just blew my mind!! Although I havent smoked pot listening to Yes yet but i'm sure i'll experiene it oneday ;)

[Ryan]

forget what i said before. Relayer is #1. The best ever. Its impossible to explain the feeling that i get when i listen to it. Nothing else has impacted me so much. Except for possibly awaken

[fragile34]

I believe that relayer, close to the edge, and going for the one are all flawless albums, and it's really up to taste to decide which one is the best. 90% of the time, I say Relayer.

[Timmo]

When you look at the evolution of Yes, "Relayer" was a bizarre offshoot that unfortunately was a dead-end.

The band took a collective look at the "child they had wrought" and shrank away, shuddering, from the raw intensity of what they had created.

They took the "safe' route, called Rick, and made "Going for the One."

This was not a bad thing. We got "Awaken,' which was a amazingly beautiful return to the "light" side of their music. The triumph of the spiritual positivism that permeates most of the best of Yes.

Don't get me wrong, I think "Awaken," together with "Close to the Edge" and "The Gates of Delirium" mark the apogee of what Yes is. "Awaken" is truly, incredibly amazing.

But the exploration of the darkest night of the soul in "The Gates of Delirium" was sent on a permenant holiday.

I sincerely doubt that our Yesmen will ever revisit this evolutionary offshoot. An offshoot that was both musically and conceptually among the richest veins of musical ore that they ever mined.

Another band must take up the challange. I think Dream Theater could do it, continue along the dark night of the human soul and put out a progressive album that would knock the socks off those of us in the 00s that still love all things progressive. It wouldn't have to be "fusion," but it would have to have the fractured intensity of "Relayer," which took the perfect light-filled crystal of "Close to the Edge," smashed it, and reconstructed it into a darker vision.

[fish62858]

while i had heard earlier yes on the radio a time or two (roundabout, your move) and already memorized yessongs, the first time i ever saw them was relayer (my brother and i still wonder if it was the initial tour or the solo works tour, i think it was the latter). they performed all three pieces as i recall. of course memory is always suspect. it was no time at all before i had purchased the album and it has always been my favorite. i love this band and can only really trash a couple of things they've ever recorded. i find redeeming value in lots of things many people here in this forum put down. but there is absolutely nothing that touches relayer for musicianship, songwriting, and emotion. relayer displays everything that yes is to me. melodious, hard-edged, spiritually touching and soft, lyrically stunning, its all in there. there is no other yes work that moves me as strongly as this album. often when the subject of a favorite yes song comes up, my response is usually "it depends on what day you ask me," i.e., what i've been listening to lately. but realyer is always the one i come back to, more than any other. its the pinnacle of yes for me.

[pixiedave]

the climax riff before soon, i wake up just about every morning with it playing in my head

[Timmo]

(my brother and i still wonder if it was the initial tour or the solo works tour, i think it was the latter). they performed all three pieces as i recall.If they played "To Be Over," it was the Relayer tour.

Where did you see them?

If you click on the "Forgotten Yesterdays" link, you'll get a great site that lists virtually every show they've ever done, together with setlists, photos, etc.

[cinderella]

Some of the heaviest guitar work by Steve


I have to agree. In Soundchaser it's incredible. He sounds almost inhuman.
To Be Over is my favorite though featuring great pedal steel from Steve.

[Timmo]

This thread got me to put on Relayer again. Currently on Steve's middle solo from "Soundchaser."

God, this is some amazing shyte.

My favorite Steve solo of all time is "To Be Over," and not just the steel parts. I played it for a guitar-playing friend that HATES all things prog. His only comment afterwards was a nod of the head, and then he said, "Damn, that was TASTY."

It never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

I also think that because they brought in Moraz towards the end of the recording process, and he was "green," that Steve had to step up to the plate.

This is by far the most guitar-driven Yes album. And the best, partially for this reason. Also because Chris and Alan have never been better, before or since, as a rhythm section.

[PO]

Alright! Relayer is hot again!

Steve's solo in To Be Over is a gem (yes, the guitar part, too). All the flourishes and melodies inside melodies. He just dances on the fretboard. I'll never EVER forget watching him play this. Abso-freakin-lutely un-freakin-believable! It's so technical but so avian. He's a bird of speed, precision, strength, and grace. Yep, Tim, it does produce tears.

The QPR video is my favorite for the footage and the music. I am trying to find a decent audience recording and I'll sync it to the DVD video. It will be the BEST DVD if this could happen.