Ranking the songs on Relayer

[yarstruly]

(A search found no similar threads)

Rank the songs on Relayer from 1st to worst....

Original running order:

1. Gates of Delirium
2. Sound Chaser
3. To Be Over

(No bonus tracks included)

I will post mine shortly....

[yarstruly]

I think the running order matches my prference on this one as well....

[CybrKhatru]

Man...this is really tough, as I love everything on Relayer almost equally...

1. Gates of Delirium
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

[Scooty]

Again, as the album stands. However, there can't be a ranking. Perfection.

[Mostly Harmless]

I think the running order matches my prference on this one as well....

Yep!

[relayeire]

However, there can't be a ranking. Perfection.

I was able to do this for GFTO and even TFTO, but not this album...

[Earl Grey]

While the album is perfect, I can still rank the songs, or at least one song:

Sound Chaser is one of the finest, and perhaps the finest Yessong of all time.

To Be Over always tugs on my heart, it's quintessential Howe at his very best...

GATES is Jon reaching for that golden ring, and he reaches it.

Patrick Moraz in his element throughout the entire album...

But when Soundchaser plays, I stop everything. I have to. It's a track of sublimity, and I guess it's my favorite track from the album.

Best I can do here. RELAYER, simply put, is YES perfection. It doesn't get better than this, in any genre.

Being something of a Squire fanatic, his work on Soundchaser is the best basswerk ever,
It leaps up into the stratos, and drops my jaw.

And there you go...

eegee:yesbird:

[allen toth]

I think the running order matches my prference on this one as well....

Yep.

[luckeydoug1]

You really don't want to know (LOL)

I really dislike all the songs on this album.

[Timmo]

This is my absolute favorite Yes album (and very atypical, I think), and it'sa 3-way tie.

[relayerjim]

When I listen to Relayer I always listen from begining to end.
….as far as I’m concerned the Relayer album might as well be one song.
Yeah, I think it’s perfect, so no 1,2 or 3.

[Hex]

The Gates of Delirium is first in order, for me. Apart from anything else, it was the first Yes song I heard (with the possible exception of South Side) that had anything like a coherent' narrative' structure. I knew what the song was about. It wasn't necessary for me that it should be so, but it was certainly pleasant . And musically it's a shoe-in too.

Thereafter, Sound Chaser is a little too disrupted and percussion-heavy (for my taste), but - having said that - To Be Over is perhaps a little too predictable and 'nice'. Never been easy with easy listening.

So, that's the running order as it stands, then, innit?

[Jonah]

Gates of Delirium
To Be Over
Sound Chaser

[Stever]

To Be Over
The Gates of Delerium
Sound Chaser

or the way they did it, or the other remaining way

[Jackaranda]

1) Gates
2) TBO
3) Sound Chaser

Of course, #3 could be # 1 on a given day. The greatest Yes album.

[ANTIOCH]

Gates of Delirium
To Be Over
Sound Chaser

another 'Home Run' for YES, and Mr. Moraz, as the 'live' show for this LP was absolutely stellar. I've never seen (or felt) more energy coming off the stage !
Of course, I was front box (between Howe & Moraz) at 'The Hollywood Bowl' for this one. :-)

[John Khatru]

three distinct and amazing songs each in their own right...

The track list works perfectly as is

[Hill St.]

Gates
TBO
SC

[cjreyes]

Original running order on this one too, Captain.

[MirokuLuvstheGirls]

1. The Gates of Delirium (how could this NOT be first?)
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

[Wakey's #1 Fan]

1. Gates of Delirium
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

[yarstruly]

Anyone else have an opinion?

[Ajay]

I'd say the original running order.
Gates has to come first because it's got so much: war and peace...it's such a bit and wonderful piece of music. And the way it ends with Soon is nothing other than pure magic.
Hard to chose between Sound Chaser and To Be Over. I'd say they're about equal - but the fantastic rhythm and tempo of Sound Chaser puts it slightly above To Be Over for me - I think it makes a lovely, gentle ending to the album.

[Sunhillow_]

Gates ofDelirium, then Gates Of Delirium, then again Gates Of Delirium... err.. there are other songs.. ok second... Sound Chaser, then To Be Over!!! :-)

[pianozach]

Overall, I'd rate the album a 9.9 out of 10.

There are parts that non-prog fans just won't appreciate - the extended instrumental section in G of D, the in-your-face solo guitar cadenza and "Cha-cha-cha"'s in Sound Chaser.

Otherwise, it's really a masterpiece. I love the whole thing.

Ranking the songs is somewhat tough due to all three tracks being some of the finest art that Yes has ever produced, but I'll give Gates of Delerium the #1 spot for it's length and breadth, and #2 to Sound Chaser for virtuosity. To Be Over has some of the cleverest Howe noodling ever, and the ending is still breathtaking after all these years.

[MrZuLu]

When I listen to Relayer I always listen from begining to end.
….as far as I’m concerned the Relayer album might as well be one song.
Yeah, I think it’s perfect, so no 1,2 or 3.It isn't one song?

Shooot!

I always thought it was....

[Yes.2]

It's at least as good as Fragile IMO. I personally think of it as one big song.....

[Earl Grey]

Overall, I'd rate the album a 9.9 out of 10.

There are parts that non-prog fans just won't appreciate - the extended instrumental section in G of D, the in-your-face solo guitar cadenza and "Cha-cha-cha"'s in Sound Chaser.

Otherwise, it's really a masterpiece. I love the whole thing.

Ranking the songs is somewhat tough due to all three tracks being some of the finest art that Yes has ever produced, but I'll give Gates of Delerium the #1 spot for it's length and breadth, and #2 to Sound Chaser for virtuosity. To Be Over has some of the cleverest Howe noodling ever, and the ending is still breathtaking after all these years.

Beautifully written Zach!

And agreed. Relayer is definitely 9.9 out of 10 (10 being CTTE).
There were those two albums, each bearing a tryptic of three perfect songs, Close To The Edge, and Relayer.

They both evoke worlds, dissimilar yet familiar.

TALES is certainly it's own alternate universe, but Close To The Edge and Relayer are mirror sides of one another.

eegee

[MrZuLu]

TALES is certainly it's own alternate universe, but Close To The Edge and Relayer are mirror sides of one another.

eegeeyou are a visionary Sir Early Gee!!!

[packattack4]

I personally love Sound Chaser, Gates is Gates awesome song and To Be Over is great too
Ths is my favorite Yes album,mainly because of Chaser,Howes solo in it in 76 blew me away at my first YESSHOW, been a Yeshead ever since

[yarstruly]

Wow...a pleasant surprise to see this thread still has some legs....

[Parish]

I played, "Soon" and "To Be Over" at a friends funeral service that we held as we spread ashes in a cemetary a few years back. It was overcast and cold and we all had candles lit while these favorites of my pal filled the January sky.

Its was really quite moving and they have now become my favs...

[Original_Shifty]

Who said To Be Over is easy listening. It certainly is not.

This is not your father's Lawrence Welk.

[foreveryesfan57]

i gates of delirium 2 sound chaser 3 to be over saw that show in 75 was great i d like patrick moraz parts the whole band actually it was a blast as good as tales good evening all just can t wait for the 08 tour guys

[milestownyes]

While the album is perfect, I can still rank the songs, or at least one song:

Sound Chaser is one of the finest, and perhaps the finest Yessong of all time.

To Be Over always tugs on my heart, it's quintessential Howe at his very best...

GATES is Jon reaching for that golden ring, and he reaches it.

Patrick Moraz in his element throughout the entire album...

But when Soundchaser plays, I stop everything. I have to. It's a track of sublimity, and I guess it's my favorite track from the album.

Best I can do here. RELAYER, simply put, is YES perfection. It doesn't get better than this, in any genre.

Being something of a Squire fanatic, his work on Soundchaser is the best basswerk ever,
It leaps up into the stratos, and drops my jaw.

And there you go...

eegee:yesbird:
ABSOLUTELY!
By the way, there is no "worst" on Relayer.

[yesyadda]

There are only 6 possible combinations. Why are there 35 replies to this thread? :D

[Write a punch line]

Gates, To be Over, Sound Chaser

The real question is how many albums has Yes done where Sound Chaser would be the best song on the whole album?
My answer is 11

[Timmo]

Love, LOVE Sound Chaser...but sorry, not the best song on 11 Yes albums.

Again, Love, no LOVE Soundchaser, but even on Relayer, I give it #3.

[yarstruly]

Bump

[tommc]

To Be Over
Sound Chaser
GOD

:aaa[1]:

[TOBYSGRAPHICGOKART]

1. Gates Of Delirium (my all time fave Yessong).
2. To Be Over.
3. Sound Chaser.

[HOTsunrise]

1. Gates of Delirium (by the thinnest of margins)
2. To Be Over
3. Sound chaser

[yes372]

1. To Be Over (my favorite Yes song NOT on Close to the Edge)
2. Soundchaser
3. Gates

[yarstruly]

Another tough album to rank for a lot of folks....

[Yes_Fan_4_Life26]

Soundchaser
To be Over
Gates Of Delirium

(this is in terms of dynamics...you get the same amount of dynamics if you had the running order)

[sam]

1, The Gates...
2, Sound Chaser
3, To Be Over
Relayer's great. I found it unlistenable at first but now I love it. The Gates of Delirium wins it hands down for me. What a great song. The first bit makes me think of the period before the battle, the second, the battle itself, then "Soon" reminds me of the aftermath of the battle. The pause between the middle bit and the very start of Soon reminds me of those pausing after a battle to take in the devastation about them. I sometimes avoid looking at the reviews of Yes songs as I want to avoid being pre-judiced about their content-but if a song about a battle they wished to make-they captured it perfectly for me. What a fabulous band they are despite all the negativity!
Sound Chaser I like for it's strangeness, whilst I have to admit that To Be Over is a bit too sweet for me.

[cinderella]

1.To Be Over





2. Gates Of Delirium
3.Sound Chaser

[somissound]

I think the album order is perfect...

One giant wonderful listen with perfect ebb and flow...

It is hard to say I like To Be Over least, so I'll say I love the whole album as an equal... My favorite Yes album for sure!

[Faceintheplace]

I enjoy all the tracks but if I had to rank them I'd say;

Gates
To Be Over
Sound Chaser.

[Hill St.]

Love, LOVE Sound Chaser...but sorry, not the best song on 11 Yes albums.

Again, Love, no LOVE Soundchaser, but even on Relayer, I give it #3.

Funny, when I first heard this album a hippie(who played it for me) told me not to buy it. I was 14 at the time and he said it was too deep for me. I bought it anyway and Sound Chaser was my favorite song. I guess he was right, now SC is #3 of all the songs.

[yarstruly]

Funny, when I first heard this album a hippie(who played it for me) told me not to buy it. I was 14 at the time and he said it was too deep for me. I bought it anyway and Sound Chaser was my favorite song. I guess he was right, now SC is #3 of all the songs.

Nice story!

[sam]

Wow...a pleasant surprise to see this thread still has some legs....
It's always going to have legs with Yesfans, as the beauty of recorded music is that new people come to here it all the time. I was 2 years old in 1975- the year I think Relayer was released?- hard to believe that 33 years later such a piece of music has caught the imagination of someone who was only a small child on its original release.

[yarstruly]

It's always going to have legs with Yesfans, as the beauty of recorded music is that new people come to here it all the time. I was 2 years old in 1975- the year I think Relayer was released?- hard to believe that 33 years later such a piece of music has caught the imagination of someone who was only a small child on its original release.


Not surprised that the Album has legs...but the thread....It inspired me to try to get all of the album track ranking threads active again....

[sam]

Not surprised that the Album has legs...but the thread....It inspired me to try to get all of the album track ranking threads active again....
Well I guess that people like to express how much they enjoy music to others. These threads are good, it's about people talking about what really matters when it comes to Yes- the music. I'm so glad I've discovered this band-they're great.

[Scottie]

1. Gates of Delirium
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

Although of the three I would most like to hear TBO this tour. Was that the question? ;)

[ToBeOver]

When I listen to Relayer I always listen from begining to end.
….as far as I’m concerned the Relayer album might as well be one song.
Yeah, I think it’s perfect, so no 1,2 or 3.

I have always felt the same about Relayer. You just can't listen to one song without listening to the entire album... it just doesn't feel complete.

It's perfection at it's best and I view the album as one song, much as I do TFTO. IMO, you can't just rate one song as the best without the others being included.



:keyboard:

[yarstruly]

Well I guess that people like to express how much they enjoy music to others. These threads are good, it's about people talking about what really matters when it comes to Yes- the music. I'm so glad I've discovered this band-they're great.

You sound like a more recent convert...am I correct?

[sam]

You sound like a more recent convert...am I correct?
Yes I am a recent convert. I'm 35 and for a long time only associated Yes with "Owner of a Lonely Heart". A few months ago, someone asked me if I liked Yes' music, I said, "not really" as I thought Owner... was OK but not great. Bored one night as my then boyfriend-now husband- had abandoned me to watch a rugby match, I surfed the web and remembering Yes looked up a performance of their's of "Siberian Khatru". I was mesmerised by the sheer musicality of the band and thus became interested in their music. I have heard a lot of their music now-though not all of it-and I can honestly say that I adore their work-"Perpetual Change", "Close to the Edge", "Gates of Delirium" and, from their more recent work, "Mind Drive". Their music is magical to me and I cannot believe that a band like Yes (which I believe to have been a major band at one time) have disappeared from the public's consciousness.

[yarstruly]

Yes I am a recent convert. I'm 35 and for a long time only associated Yes with "Owner of a Lonely Heart". A few months ago, someone asked me if I liked Yes' music, I said, "not really" as I thought Owner... was OK but not great. Bored one night as my then boyfriend-now husband- had abandoned me to watch a rugby match, I surfed the web and remembering Yes looked up a performance of their's of "Siberian Khatru". I was mesmerised by the sheer musicality of the band and thus became interested in their music. I have heard a lot of their music now-though not all of it-and I can honestly say that I adore their work-"Perpetual Change", "Close to the Edge", "Gates of Delirium" and, from their more recent work, "Mind Drive". Their music is magical to me and I cannot believe that a band like Yes (which I believe to have been a major band at one time) have disappeared from the public's consciousness.


Awesome story!

Oh yeah they were definitely a "Major Band"....over 100,000 in the stadium in Philly, '76....shame what has happened to the music biz these days...

[rememberer]

1. Gates Of Delirium (the best piece of music written by anyone, ever)
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

[relayeire]

not sure I ever attempted to answer this one, but they're all about even for me...

[pianozach]

It isn't one song?

Shooot!

I always thought it was....

Beautifully written Zach!

And agreed. Relayer is definitely 9.9 out of 10 (10 being CTTE).
There were those two albums, each bearing a tryptic of three perfect songs, Close To The Edge, and Relayer.

They both evoke worlds, dissimilar yet familiar.

TALES is certainly it's own alternate universe, but Close To The Edge and Relayer are mirror sides of one another.

eegee

Funny, I always thought of TfTO & Relayer as a seven song suite.

Now I've got a damn TEN song suite to contend with . .

[90125yes]

ranking the songs on relayer - there's only three ??

can we think of something more original to do ?

[yarstruly]

There is a thread for each studio album...If you don't wish to participate, no problem, but why knock others for doing so?

[packattack4]

a tuff album to pick from but i have to go Sound Chaser, one of my favorites, Gates, and To Be Over, i hope to hear all of em this tour if Oliver ever listens to em. Relayer definately rocks, probably my favorite yesalbum, and you just dont see it live anymore rarely anyway

[Superunknown]

1. Gates
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

[mike on the goldie]

1. Gates
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

Ditto

[relayeire]

not sure I ever attempted to answer this one, but they're all about even for me...

my position has remained the same...

[mike on the goldie]

I can see your point. This album is like CTTE in that regard.

[Ash]

Hi,
Mmm, three pieces of music and someone thinks ranking them is a good way to spend one's time......

Just listen to the album, dammit, it's not a competition!

[yarstruly]

<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 1626029" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>Ash</TD><TD class=alt2>Hi,
Mmm, three pieces of music and someone thinks ranking them is a good way to spend one's time......

Just listen to the album, dammit, it's not a competition!
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


as I said before...


<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 1587680" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>yarstruly</TD><TD class=alt2>There is a thread for each studio album...If you don't wish to participate, no problem, but why knock others for doing so?</TD></TR><TR><TD class=thead colSpan=2>10-01-2008 07:02 AM</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Ash]

<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 1626029" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>Ash</TD><TD class=alt2>Hi,
Mmm, three pieces of music and someone thinks ranking them is a good way to spend one's time......

Just listen to the album, dammit, it's not a competition!

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


as I said before...


<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 1587680" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>yarstruly</TD><TD class=alt2>There is a thread for each studio album...If you don't wish to participate, no problem, but why knock others for doing so?</TD></TR><TR><TD class=thead colSpan=2>10-01-2008 07:02 AM</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Hi,
You are in error; I'n not knocking anyone for anything, you are being oversensitive and a bit childish.

Such a shame you react so to a little gentle leg-pulling. Go have a little lie down, and maybe listen to something less energetic than Relayer, and maybe lay off the caffeine for a while.

Oh, and don't worry, I won't be bothering you further.

[yarstruly]

I am perfectly calm..but I don't undersatnd the need to be negative over such a thing....If you don't think it is worthwile to participate in this thread...why reply at all? That's all I'm saying...

[yarstruly]

Bumping up so people who haven't seen these can tell us their opinions....

[YesCarolinita]

1. Gates of Delirium
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

[Andersonic]

Man...this is really tough, as I love everything on Relayer almost equally...

1. Gates of Delirium
2. To Be Over
3. Sound Chaser

I agree with every word here...

[pianozach]

Sheesh, this is a tough one to rank. GoD covers so much ground musically, while SC is astounding from both a creative and virtuoso POV. TBO is one of the most beautiful rockers ever created. Hard to choose . . .


Gates of Delirium
To Be Over
Sound Chaser

[scootwhoman]

One of the main differences that I see between Close To The Edge and Relayer is that Relayer seems to me to be more of a unified composition. Even though it was Close To The Edge that brought me to Yes, Relayer has been my favorite Yes album since it came out. This one album seems to me to be the most balanced instrumentally, without any one instrument standing out for any length of time. There are very few 'solos', and the most noticeable one, during Sound Chaser, is not a 'pure' solo, in that Chris melds the bass into Steve's lead at certain points. As much as I like Rick Wakeman's work on keyboards, I found I preferred the way that Moraz blended into the total sound.

The Gates Of Delirium is by far and away my favorite piece, partly because it is one of the only pieces of music that I have ever heard which depicts war, battle, conflict as it really is, a bewildering, surging, cacophony. Every other 'martial' music I have heard is a march, very orderly, or a dirge, full of drawn out melody.

To Be Over is one of the most uplifting, spiritual, lyrical pieces in modern music, I believe. I love the way the it starts with what seems like a round, and gradually builds to an intense section, then relaxes, then builds, then eases its way to the ending. It always seems to me that I am hearing the ending of a symphony when To Be Over ends.

Sound Chaser has got to be some of the hardest rock and roll that has ever been recorded, with an intensity unmatched, especially as that intensity is the whole band, not just one guy going off. They push the listener to the limit, almost forcing you to turn it down. Then you want to turn it up again. And they close that insanely energetic piece on a single beat, instead of dragging it out, petering off, or just doing the usual fade.

That is the order that I rate the songs, but I would never listen to them in that order. Even though it is my favorite Yes album, I generally don't play it for people who are not familiar with the band, because it seems to take a number of passes before it can really be 'heard.'

[tidewater]

1-Gates Of Delirium
2-To Be Over
3-Sound Chaser


C

[bjlevine]

Love 'em all, but it seems pretty obvious:

1. Gates of Delirium
2. To Be Over*
3. Sound Chaser

*A bit tempted to put To Be Over first.

[Yesguitarman]

1. Sound Chaser
2. Gates Of Delirium
3. To Be Over

I rate these as best, next best and third best. There is no "worst" on this album.

Sound Chaser is a musician's dream. The musicianship in that song is unparalled. There is a reason this song has never been played since Patrick left the band. No one but Patrick could play the keys part, particularly the extended jazz piano run in the entry.

Gates is well, quintessential YES, much in the same vein as CTTE, an expansion of a main theme. After the 11/8 battle section, Jon takes us on a journey to that new day and "our reason to be here".

I rate To Be Over third only because it starts off slowly, but when Steve takes off midway through the song, it's some of his best recorded work, IMHO.

All I know is that the concert at the old Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ blew me away when I heard Relayer played live!

www.myspace.com/yesguitarman (http://www.myspace.com/yesguitarman)

[rphheather]

On some days Relayer is my favorite album and most days Sound Chaser is my all time favorite song.....I am moody :silly:

Even so, I am not certain about ranking Sound Chaser above GoD. GoD seems like a more complete song if that makes any sense. It just takes you so many places.

So 1 and 2 are up for grabs , TBO obviously is 3rd.

No losers in this bunch though.

[TOBYSGRAPHICGOKART]

Gates (by half a universe)


TBO
Sound Chaser

[90125yes]

there are only 3 songs - where is the fun in this thread ?

[Lifeseeker66]

I was thinking along the lines of Cinderella's post, but I would actually give Soundchaser 2nd place as MY preference.

1. To Be Over
2. Sound Chaser
3. Gates of Delirium

I don't know if that would ALWAYS be my mood though, as Soundchaser can tend to be a bit "out there" and I'm not always in the mood for that.

[scootwhoman]

there are only 3 songs - where is the fun in this thread ?

Because this gives us a forum to discuss the album, without a specific topic that we have to stick to. I find it interesting that many Yes fans are not familiar with Relayer, but, of those who know of it, a great many consider the work on it to be some of the band's all time best. Personally, I consider Relayer to be the pinnacle of the bands works, the climb to which began with The Yes Album, and built up album by album. They began experimenting with longer song formats, and structuring the music in each song into movements, then they pushed the limits on blending the instruments together, including Jon's voice, which is used as an instrument, not a communications link, in many of the songs from this time. Then, they tackled music which deals with the nature of Life, our relationship with the Cosmos, and, finally, war, the most illogical of our activities.

After Relayer came out, the band took a two year vacation from each other, except for touring, and each worked on their own solo albums. "Olias of Sunhillow" is one product of this time, as is "Fish Out Of Water." When they finally got back together, Patrick had gone his own way, and Rick stepped back into the fold. The resulting album, Going For The One (Big Hit) is probably the most mature album they have ever done, and includes one of the most magical of all Yes songs, Turn Of The Century. But, overall, the album was a big step down from Relayer, which is certainly in part due to pressure from the label, (Atlantic,) to come up with some air time eligible pieces. Even though there are four, only one really saw any airtime.

Relayer is an extension of Close To The Edge and Tales From Topographic Oceans, but also a new work in its own right, which they structured a little differently, in my opinion, than any of the earlier works.

Sometimes, I wonder if Sound Chaser will be the only piece of music to survive the whole Rock 'n' Roll era, because it is so far ahead of its time.

One of the saddest things to contemplate is that people are NOT going to do covers of any of the music from this album.

[scootwhoman]

Somewhere in this thread, I think that I said something to the effect that I never "introduce somebody to Yes with the Relayer album." I take those words back, as I just played Sound Chaser for someone in their late 20's who was not familiar with the band. He was blown away, totally in awe. So, if the person is really into newer rock and roll, they might find Relayer to be the kind of music that they like.

Listening to the album took me back to when I first heard it, because it was while I was home on leave from the Air Force over the Yule Tide holidays. So it was at just this time of year that I first heard that crazy music. For the next six weeks, I kept listening to the album over and over, because I knew that it was something special, but I just wasn't hearing it right. Then, one day, it clicked. Then I didn't want to listen to anything else for about another 6 weeks.

That is a process that I have gone through with many Yes albums, where I recognize the music is great, but I have not learned to 'hear' it yet.

[scottyann103]

I still can't decide if Sound Chaser is the most inspired, or the craziest, music ever!

[90125yes]

it has taken us 35 years to reorder the songs

[pianozach]

Funny, I always thought of TfTO & Relayer as a seven song suite.

Now I've got a damn TEN song suite to contend with . .


Relayer is an extension of Close To The Edge and Tales From Topographic Oceans, but also a new work in its own right, which they structured a little differently, in my opinion, than any of the earlier works.

Yes
Close to the Topographic Relayer

Disc 1
1. Close to the Edge
2. And You and I
3. Siberian Khatru
4. The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)
5. The Remembering (High the Memory)


Disc 2
6. The Ancient (Giants under the Sun)
7. Ritual (Nous sommes du soleil)
8. The Gates of Delerium
9. Sound Chaser
10. To Be Over

[rphheather]

...

That is a process that I have gone through with many Yes albums, where I recognize the music is great, but I have not learned to 'hear' it yet.


Me too. I didn't think "this is some crazy sh*t, I have a headache now". It is like I knew this is awesome stuff but due to its complexity it needs to processed a couple times to get it completely. Thank goodness the "knowing" was there which was the motivation to stick with it. I'll admit I am too lazy to listen to albums over and over that don't grab me in some way from the beginning.Listening to music should not be a chore.

[happytheman]

After Relayer came out, the band took a two year vacation from each other, except for touring, and each worked on their own solo albums. "Olias of Sunhillow" is one product of this time, as is "Fish Out Of Water." When they finally got back together, Patrick had gone his own way, and Rick stepped back into the fold. The resulting album, Going For The One (Big Hit) is probably the most mature album they have ever done, and includes one of the most magical of all Yes songs, Turn Of The Century. But, overall, the album was a big step down from Relayer, which is certainly in part due to pressure from the label, (Atlantic,) to come up with some air time eligible pieces. Even though there are four, only one really saw any airtime.

Regarding GFTO..aren't there are 5 songs on this album. Sure Wondrous Stories got a lot of air time but Parallels and Awaken got a shout out a time or two on the stations I was listening to.

[mike on the goldie]

I think Gates is Yes's greatest musical achievement. And this is from someone who absolutely hated it when it came out in 1974.

My ordering is exactly as on the album.

[90125yes]

I think Gates is Yes's greatest musical achievement. And this is from someone who absolutely hated it when it came out in 1974.

My ordering is exactly as on the album.

---

it comes 2nd

CTTE for me

[Soundchaser_413]

Gates of Delirium
To be Over
Soundchaser (eventhough it's my handle)

[bjlevine]

I think Gates is Yes's greatest musical achievement. And this is from someone who absolutely hated it when it came out in 1974.
That was often my initial reaction to a Yes song. Always took three listens or so spaced out over a week before I got it.

[dave1017]

As It Is perfect perfection rate my rate

[Roadkill]

I treated myself to a Yes blowout yesterday, getting hold of albums that I only knew in part (The Ladder, Drama and Relayer) and upgrading some overly familiar vinyl to CD (The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge). I am now totally skint but that's fine because all I intend to do now is sit at home and listen to Yes for hours on end!

Only having heard 'live' versions of Gates, I was never really sold on it. Just another long song, I'd thought, a band repeating themselves, an execrable mess of a tune. I've just listened to the studio version and whether it's a case of this version being better or simply the fact that the song has finally clicked with me, I don't know; what I do know is I think it's an absolute masterpiece. Perfect shifting of moods and tempos and staggeringly groovy bass playing from Chris.

Soundchaser I've always loved since hearing it on the Yes Years box set. The influences of Mahavishnu Orchestra (who the band idolised in the early days) are very evident.

I'd put both Gates Of Delirium and Soundchaser on an equal pegging with To Be Over just after them.

Amazing album.

[Stever]

To Be Over
Gates of Dilerium
Sound Chaser

[scootwhoman]

Regarding GFTO..aren't there are 5 songs on this album. Sure Wondrous Stories got a lot of air time but Parallels and Awaken got a shout out a time or two on the stations I was listening to.
I don't consider "Awaken" to be a radio cut.