Relayer is the seventh studio album from the English rock band Yes, released in November 1974 by Atlantic Records. After keyboardist Rick Wakeman left the group in May 1974 over disagreements with the band's direction, Yes entered rehearsals as four-piece at bassist Chris Squire's home in Virginia Water, Surrey. During this period, they found their new keyboardist in Swiss musician Patrick Moraz who incorporates elements of funk and jazz-fusion on the album. Relayer is formed of three tracks, with "The Gates of Delirium" on side one and "Sound Chaser" and "To Be Over" on side two.
Relayer received a mixed to positive reception from contemporary and retrospective critics. It reached number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the US Billboard 200. A single of the closing section of "The Gates of Delirium", titled "Soon", was released in January 1975. Relayer continued to sell, and is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over 500,000 copies in the US. It was remastered in 2003 and in 2014, both with previously unreleased tracks; the latter includes new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes and additional tracks.
In April 1974, the Yes line-up of singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Alan White wrapped their 1973–1974 tour in support of their previous album, Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973).[1] The album had been a success for the band, reaching number one in the UK for two weeks, and became the first to be certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry based solely on pre-orders. Despite the group's success, during the tour Wakeman informed the band of his decision to leave at its conclusion following his disagreements and frustration with the direction the band had taken with the album, with its esoteric concept and its double length which he believed caused the material to suffer as a result. Wakeman confirmed his departure in May 1974, and the news was made public on 8 June.[2]
Reduced to a four-piece, Yes retreated to Squire's home named New Pipers in Virginia Water, Surrey, which he had purchased in Christmas 1972, and started rehearsals for their next studio album in his converted garage. After some material had been written, auditions for a new keyboardist were held which involved around eight players, including Jean Roussel, Nick Glennie-Smith of Wally, and Greek musician Vangelis. Anderson was a fan of Vangelis and had tracked him down during the band's stop in Paris on the Topographic Oceans tour. He convinced Vangelis to audition with the band in England, but the group found he was non-committal and too strong of a personality for a group. Phil Carson, an Atlantic Records manager and associate of the band, later explained that Vangelis "tried out Yes but it didn't really gel ... Vangelis wouldn't get on a plane and wouldn't fly anywhere and Yes were about to go on tour." Chances of Vangelis joining the band were also affected by a rejection from the Musicians Union. Soon after, Melody Maker reporter and band biographer Chris Welch suggested that the band try Patrick Moraz, a Swiss musician and film composer with a background in jazz and classical music, and a member of the progressive and jazz-fusion trio Refugee. Anderson then listened to Refugee (1974) and took a liking to his playing. Less than a week later, Moraz accepted an invitation from Brian Lane, the band's manager, to attend an audition. Moraz was a fan of the band and had previously met them during their tour of Switzerland in 1969.
Moraz's audition with Yes took place in the first week of August 1974. He arrived at Squire's home early, and saw each member arrive in their own expensive car which he later stated: "Coming from Refugee, where we had been walking three miles to and from our rehearsal place ... it was quite a contrast!" Moraz's audition was held using Vangelis's keyboards, which were still situated the studio. After tuning up, he played some parts to display his ability which included a short section of "And You and I" from Close to the Edge (1972), causing the band to stop talking and gather round his keyboards. He was then asked to come up with a section to compliment what they had written for the middle section of "Sound Chaser". The band liked what Moraz had played, and the following day, Lane informed him that the band wished for him to join full time. Moraz felt some pressure to deliver, and drove from his flat in Earl's Court, London to Virginia Water each day to record.
Relayer was recorded at Squire's garage studio, marking the first time Yes had made a studio album outside of London. The process was cheaper as they no longer needed to pay fees to book studio time, which allowed the band to spend more time on the music. It is their last from the 1970s to feature Eddie Offord as their producer before he left to pursue other projects. Having worked with Yes as their producer, engineer, and live sound mixer since 1970, Offord later stated that his time with the group had become "a bit stale" by the time of Relayer. As Squire's studio had yet to have the right equipment to record, Offord set up a 24-track recording machine and mixing desk using his own equipment, and was joined by Genaro Rippo as his tape operator. The album's production duties were shared among Offord and the group. After the album was recorded, it was then mixed at Advision Studios in London.
Having made Tales from Topographic Oceans a double concept album, Yes scaled back their output and presented Relayer as a single album with a structure similar to Close to the Edge, with one track occupying side one and two tracks on side two. According to Anderson, the band wrote two additional tracks during the album's sessions but did not have enough time to record them. He described one of them as "absolutely crazy and intricate". For the majority of his parts recorded for the album, Moraz did not write the music on paper and instead relied on his memory except for some particularly precise sections. Recording sessions would last for as long as eight or nine hours.
Howe uses a 1955 Fender Telecaster on Relayer, marking a departure from his Gibson ES-175 that he had used since The Yes Album (1971). He also uses a pedal steel guitar on "The Gates of Delirium" and "To Be Over". A pedal steel guitar is also used in certain parts of "Sound Chaser", as seen in live footage. Squire uses a Fender bass guitar on "To Be Over". Moraz uses a number of keyboards that are not found on other Yes albums, including a custom built Vako Orchestron.
The album's sleeve was designed and illustrated by English artist Roger Dean, who had designed artwork for the band since 1971, including their logo. In his 1975 book Views, Dean picked the cover as his favourite for Yes, and the recording he enjoyed the most. He revealed his intention of depicting "a giant 'gothic' cave" for the sleeve, "a sort of fortified city for military monks". Speaking about the cover in 2004, he said: "I was playing with the ideas of the ultimate castle, the ultimate wall of a fortified city. That was more of a fantastical idea. I was looking for the kinds of things like the Knights Templar would have made or what you'd see in the current movie Lord of the Rings. The curving, swirling cantilevers right into space." The images depicted in many of Dean's album covers set an otherworldly tone and are an identifiable part of the band's visual style. For Relayer, the warriors on horseback reflect the lyrical themes of war present in "The Gates of Delirium". The sleeve includes an untitled four-stanza poem by writer Donald Lehmkuhl dated October 1974, and features band photograph taken by Moraz's former Mainhorse band mate, Jean Ristori. The album's CD reissue features two additional paintings, and further unused designs are included in Dean's 2008 book Dragon's Dream. At the 1975 edition of the NME Awards, the album won Best Dressed LP.
Yes supported Relayer with their 1974–1975 tour of North America and the UK that lasted from 8 November 1974 to 23 August 1975, with the album played in its entirety. The tour ended with a headline spot at the 1975 Reading Festival. Most dates featured the English band Gryphon as the opening act. Rehearsals lasted for several weeks at Shepperton Studios, Surrey with Offord on sound, stage lighting by their longtime associate Michael Tait, and the set designed by Roger Dean and his brother Martyn. The tour opened with a 31-date leg of the US, for which Moraz had a limited time to learn the band's repertoire, spending roughly six weeks to familiarise with the material during his hour-and-a-half drive from his London flat to Squire's home. Moraz received assistance from Ristori who transcribed Yes's songs onto paper, forming long "memory sheets" that Moraz studied from because of the amount and complexity of the material. He relied on the sheets for the first few shows on the tour, yet by the time the tour reached Madison Square Garden in New York City on 18 November 1974, Moraz realised he had learned the set and ceased to use them. The show was a highlight for him, "We had a standing ovation for several minutes. The noise was absolutely unbelievable." His rig included 14 keyboards on stage, double the number he had previously worked with. Future Yes singer Trevor Horn, a fan of the band, remembered witnessing "The Gates of Delirium" in concert during this time. "It got to the end and Jon sang "Soon" ... I felt like crying. It got me so much. I loved that song so much".
"The Gates of Delirium" is a 22-minute track that Anderson described as "a war song, a battle scene, but it's not to explain war or denounce it ... There's a prelude, a charge, a victory tune, and peace at the end, with hope for the future." Anderson had originally planned to have the entire album based on War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, but instead had a side-long track inspired by the novel. Moraz recalled discussing War and Peace with Anderson, as they had both read the book, after which Moraz showed Anderson a copy of the French science fiction comic Delirius by Philippe Druillet. Moraz said, "He related to it immediately so I think that perhaps as a title 'The Gates of Delirium' came from that". The song originated from an idea that Anderson had come up with and played to the group on the piano "very badly", so he was relieved when his bandmates understood what he was trying to do. Anderson and Howe kept track of its structure by recording sections of it on cassette tapes, leaving Anderson to figure out the next part as the group would develop what was put down prior. The song was recorded in sections at a time, though the group was familiar with the entire piece beforehand and spent several weeks recording takes of each section and selecting the ones the members felt were the strongest. Once picked, the sections were edited together and overdubs were then recorded. The battle section includes crashing sound effects that were created by White pushing over a tower of used car parts that he and Anderson had collected from a scrap yard. Howe remembered Anderson becoming too excited in what he envisaged the battle to be, leading the group to produce one mix that was "too far gone" and another "too safe". Following the battle, the track concludes with a gentle song that later became known as "Soon". Anderson later thought that the song did not come across effectively on record, but fared better in concert.
"Sound Chaser" displays Yes' experiment with jazz fusion and funk influences. During Moraz's audition session with the band, he was asked to play an introduction to the song, which was recorded and used on the album after "one or two takes".] He has called his Moog synthesizer solo at the end of the track a highlight moment but felt that the keyboards on the rest of the album were buried in the final mix. Howe thought the track was "an indescribable mixture of Patrick's jazzy keyboards and my weird sort of flamenco electric [guitar]", yet he disliked Moraz's initial choice of chords he played during his guitar solo, causing Moraz to play it differently, which he disagreed with. Band biographer Dan Hedges compared the track to the style of fusion group Return to Forever.
"To Be Over" originated when Anderson spent an afternoon at Howe's house in London. As the two discussed what music to prepare for the album, Anderson told Howe of his fondness for a melody Howe had written and had sung to Anderson before. Anderson also had the initial lyric: "We'll go sailing down the stream tomorrow, floating down the universal stream, to be over". Howe gained inspiration for the track from a boat ride on The Serpentine lake in Hyde Park in London. From the beginning, he thought the song was "really special" and Anderson agreed to develop it further. Howe had come up with the music for this particular section in the late 1960s and took a riff from a track by his earlier group, Tomorrow. Anderson described "To Be Over" as "Strong in content, but mellow in overall attitude ... It's about how you should look after yourself when things go wrong." When the song's lyric was being finalised, Howe suggested having the line "She won't know what it means to me" follow "We go sailing down the calming streams", but Anderson changed it to "To be over, we will see", a change that Howe thought was "creatively disguised" to make a broader lyrical statement. Moraz felt constricted to perform an improvised keyboard solo for the song, so he wrote down a counterpoint solo "exactly like a classical fugue" to blend his keyboards with the guitar and bass. He had written an initial version on paper in an evening, yet the band expressed their wish to change the key of the song for the section, causing Moraz to spend several hours rewriting it overnight.
Yes supported Relayer with their 1974–1975 tour of North America and the UK that lasted from 8 November 1974 to 23 August 1975, with the album played in its entirety. The tour culminated with a headline spot at the 1975 Reading Festival. Most dates featured the English band Gryphon as the opening act. Rehearsals lasted for several weeks at Shepperton Studios, Surrey with Offord on sound, stage lighting by their longtime associate Michael Tait, and the set designed by Roger Dean and his brother Martyn.
The tour opened with a 31-date leg of the US, for which Moraz had about six weeks to familiarise with the setlist and made use of his 90-minute drive from his London flat to Squire's home to learn it. Ristori assisted by transcribing Yes songs onto paper, forming what Moraz described as "memory sheets", because of the amount and the complexity of some of his parts. He relied on the sheets for the first few shows on the tour, yet by the time the tour reached Madison Square Garden in New York City less than two weeks later, Moraz realised he had learned the set and stopped using them. The show was a highlight for him: "We had a standing ovation for several minutes. The noise was absolutely unbelievable." His rig included 14 keyboards on stage, double the number he had previously worked with. Future Yes singer and producer Trevor Horn, a fan of the band, attended their show on the UK leg and recalled the performance of "The Gates of Delirium": "It got to the end and Jon sang 'Soon' ... I felt like crying. It got me so much. I loved that song so much". Yes took an extended hiatus after the tour for each member to produce a solo album.
In 2020, Yes will perform Relayer in its entirety with a selection of tracks from their history as part of their ongoing Album Series tours. The Album Series 2020 Tour will tour the UK in May and June.
Track listing
Track durations are absent on the original UK vinyl, but were included on North American pressings.
All tracks are written by Yes.
Side one
- "The Gates of Delirium" 21:46
Side two
- "Sound Chaser" 9:22
- "To Be Over" 9:00
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