When I was seventeen,
2 Yes albums released that year
'74 was another year
With 2 Yes albums
Both of which fans still like to hear
Not like the second one
From when I was seventeen
Ok, please excuse my little moment there, had to think of a clever way to start this review. I really enjoy this album. It definitely makes me sad that I wasn't around in 1974. Think about it; you've just heard that sparkly keyboard player Wakeman has left the band, but they get a new guy (with much funkier hair) and come out with a new album and it's Relayer! That would be a nice surprise, I would think. Relayer is also partially responsible for helping me write my lab report for my glass project in the summer of '98. I listened to it in the CD drive of the <shudder>PC I wrote the report on, and I was proud to use "Stand and fight we do consider, reminded of an inner pact between us that's seen as we go" for my scrolling text marquee screen saver. And I never had to take any guff for it, either, which is good because I don't take guff from anybody. o...k... on with the review!
The Gates of Delirium One of my first online friends told me that back in
the day (late 70's/early 80's) his band was called Delirium. Then he added "as in
'Gates of'" and that just made me laugh. Doesn't that sound like something guys would
say to impress girls? I think so.
Anyway, besides giving guys fodder for band names, this song also kicks some serious
musical butt. The twinkly sounding beginning is really pretty, in fact the whole
instrumental intro is great. And I absolutely love the 13 notes, and then the slidy
things before the vocals start. (Ok that probably made no sense but that's what it
sounds like to me) Lyrically, this song is very impressive, tough-sounding even.
Of course, when I sing along, I get about half of them wrong, (i.e. "Long ago, scented
to arrive" vs. "Long ago, sent into rhyme") but it's still fun. In my experience, it's
better to not think about the lyrics too much, you start looking for subjects and
predicates in these phrases and your head's gonna hurt.
The 'battle' part of this song is very cool. Apparently it involved lasers when they
performed it live. Then we get to Soon which I really liked at first but now I kind of
just tune it out. One time (not at band camp) before I had very many Yes CDs, I was
dubbing The Very Best of... using my family's stereo in the living room, and I had it
loud so the tape would be loud, but I was downstairs so I didn't really notice how loud
it was. There was a knock on the door, and I went up to answer it, and it was the
Schwann's guy (who was a total hottie btw) and in the background you've got Soon
*booming* over everthing. So I ran into the living room and turned it waaay down
and then proceeded to order some Lemon rolls or something. Anyway I usually think of
that story when I hear Soon and it makes me laugh, so I thought I'd share it.
Sound Chaser When I first heard this song, on the YesYears boxed set, I *hated* it. Absolutely hated it. The main problem was that I thought it was freaky. But now I've listened to it more and I realize how spiffy it really is. Even though Rolling Stone or some tacky place cited it for having "ugly guitar sounds." They're not ugly, just exciting. And the violin-y sounding thing that picks up the melody before the end is quite unexpected. The song has got a whole digital-age sound to it. The slower verse mixes things up nicely, also. I don't have a clue as to what it's about, but I still enjoy it, along with the fact that the lyrics say
"Cha-cha-cha-cha-chaThat's fun.
etc."
To Be Over This song has somewhat of a country-ish sound to it, the first
part does at least. My favorite thing about this song is "After all, your soul will
still surrender." Sort of a nice way of saying "Haha, I'm going to get you." By the
same token, "be ready to be loved" could translate to all sorts of interesting things.
But I'll leave that to those far more creative than I.
Anyway, it is a nice, peaceful song at any rate, and it ties the album together well.
The guitar in the midsection almost hearkens back to YIND. Pretty cool, huh?
Extra bonus stuff
One thing I noticed about this CD is that nowhere in the liner notes can there be found
the cheesy listing of who plays what instrument. Like "Twelve-string pedal steel guitar"
or whatever. So it's got that going for it, which is good. Also, did you ever
really look at how the word Relayer is drawn on the cover? It's got these extra
little lines or dashes, two by the big R and one by the little r. I found that
interesting.
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