Relayer by Yes is a Sonic Explosion! | Sound Chaser and To Be Over REACTION/ANALYSIS | Episode 373
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- #SoundChaser #ToBeOver #Yes #YesReaction
2:00 Discussion with Tony Romero
15:15 Music Introduction
17:25 Sound Chaser
30:09 To Be Over
In this episode of #TheDailyDoug, I'm reacting to side 2 from Relayer by Yes. First, I'm chatting with Tony Romero (DJ Tony Live / House of Prog) about his love of the band and of this album. Then, we dive into side 2 of this epic album. The sounds are among the most evocative, complex, and, sublime that I've heard since starting this channel. Absolutely amazing musicianship! I hope you enjoy this #MasterpieceFriday episode.
Reference Video: • Sound Chaser
Reference Video: • To Be Over
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Alan White is always unfairly compared to Bruford. But this album really solidified him as being the right drummer for Yes in the direction they were moving. He may not have the same diverse body of work as Bruford (who the hell does?), but he is an incredible drummer and drum part song writer, which are 2 different skills. He deserves immense credit for his contribution to Yes for the last 40+ years.
If anybody doubts Alan as a player I always show them Tales from Topographic Oceans and Relayer. Both have some incredible drumming from Alan. Alan also plays really greatly on GFTO, especially on songs like Awaken and Parallels.
AGREED 1000%
So true! I don't get the lack of love for Mr. White. He does amazing stuff without being overly flashy. That said, I've seen him do some things in concert that blew my mind!
@@nickavenoso7851 I think for some of us (those who got into this era of Yes with the initial CD releases of these albums in the early '90s), Alan White's reputation was damaged somewhat by the mediocre sound quality of those CD transfers. The Bruford albums were given a bit more attention I guess, but for whatever reason, Tales and Relayer were really muddy and you didn't really hear all of the nuances in Alan White's playing. As better remasters have come out over the years, my appreciation for his talent has just grown and grown.
I, too think he was the better fit for Yes, just as Bruford was the better fit for Crimson.
These albums always leave the fist-time listener stunned, confused, even repelled on occasion. But the more you listen to it and begin to learn and anticipate portions, it just gets better and better. Today I consider it one of the greatest pieces ever. Relayer is indeed my favorite YES album.
I had the same experience with every yes album, and now I watch other peoples reactions to the same music 🤷🏻♂️.
Saw a show from the first tour for this album. The Cow Palace in S.F. blew my ever-lovin mind.
I took a music appreciation course senior year in high school, brought in Tales for the teacher to listen too, dumb ass said it was boring, wtf? The beauty of Yes music, is its ability to listened too over and over and still find stuff, that's why I like this show, and Doug`s perspectives
@@danscott9439 Only problem with Cow Palace is that's it's a huge echo chamber. I saw Fleetwood Mac and ZZ Top there.
Sad to say I was repelled by sound chaser for a while but after really paying it it’s due attention and respect, I’ve come to realize it’s an amazing song
Your timing is perfect. Today is Steve Howe's 75th birthday.
I had forgotten. Perfect!
Howe is a master….
wait...isn't he like 350?
@@nilsen589 He just looks like it. I'll see myself out...
1974, what a year for prog
Genesis: The Lamb Lies...
King Crimson: Red
Yes: Relayer
Add to that Phaedra, Crime of the Century, Pretzel Logic, Mirage, Diamond Dogs and Court and spark, Music making was on fire that year but tbh from 71-77 it was continually on fire
You can also add Strawbs "Heros and Heroine"
Linda Ronstadt had both Heart Like A Wheel and Prisoner in Disguise on our album rock channel’s 1974 top album list.
Good for her, but Linda Rondstadt is not prog-rock by any stretch of the definition so I don't know why you bring her name up in this conversation
@Bookhouse Boy in a glass house is ‘73, but true enough otherwise
Patrick Moraz. His presence created Yes' one album that could be categorised as fusion. The Swiss jazz keyboard wunderkind took Yes away from the more classical influence of Rick Wakeman and helped create a unique suite of challenging prog-jazz. Thanks for your reaction to Sound Chaser it was classic, "all to know and see the look in your eyes".
Simply put...I love this album. That said, Moraz is a unique keyboardist, much like Emerson was. They both play all over the place at times, and just hard to follow. I saw the Relayer album tour in NJ. Moraz never played the same way twice, always augmenting the keyboard parts, sometime so loud, he sounds off, as if trying to keep up. He bangd the keys, where Wakeman floats the keys. His contrabution was solid one for the bands music progressions.
"I'm never been this harmonically confused" - just hysterical !! "Maybe a drink will help" - also hysterical! But your reactions are totally understandable and I agree whole heatedly.
There is no band like Yes, takes me to a different level every time I listen to them.
I'm 63 years old. I'm lucky enough to have found all this music when it was new. Man, I can't tell you how much this music meant to me.
I féél you!
I grew up in Caracas, Venezuela and one day my older brother brought home Time and a Word by Yes, and that album kept playing in my head for a long time. It was just different than any other music I heard. What I so appreciated about it is how you can use rock instruments to perform something more than what they were meant to be, or what has been done with them. So, I asked my brother to please bring home more Yes albums. Next thing I know I'm listening to CTTE, TFTO and Relayer. I was transferred to a different universe. While Salsa and Disco were playing on the radio I was sitting under our stereo system with my headphones on listening to Yes' majestic music. My friends couldn't understand my obsession with it. I'm forever grateful to Yes for going beyond the boundaries of rock n' roll!
That Guitar Solo to Soundchaser is INCREDIBLE!!!
From what I understand he wrote that on a classical nylon string as a solo piece but decided to pick up a Tele and throw it into Soundchaser. Great stuff.
That’s an understatement…the man is one of the best ever
The minimoog solo was brilliant. Everything else was sloppy and disjointed. Sometimes I think Yes decide on the song title after they have created the music to justify the mess they have created. Next track = the confusion of madness. Throw paint at a wall and see if you can see a face. I see it. The face is full of sorrow. Genius. Mommy why is the king wearing no clothes. Be quiet, he's wearing a invisible robe that only smart people can see. Oh I see it now ...lol
@@mikemurraysmusicmachine2857 That is correct. In fact, you can still hear the classical guitar underneath the electric guitar.
Yeah, I want to say that Rik Emmett borrowed bits of it during some live performances of Rock and Roll Machine.
At 62, I’m beginning to appreciate what a weird teenager I was, listening to my Yes albums over and over and over, and thinking nothing was unusual about what I was hearing. 😂
My thoughts exactly.❤️
I'm 52 and discoverd it later, I played this song so many times from CD in the end of the 80'ties. Then discoverd Genesis (the old stuff), Kansas, Rush, Marillion, Pink Floyd. So much great music. And now still there are great bands Like Leprous, Steve wilson, Opeth, Between the Burried and me.
Same here!
My friend, I am 22 and I have been listening to this music ever since I was 15. My friends and fellow aquanitences do not understand it, but that is their problem. I thank a great math teacher for playing Siberian Khatru in class one fateful day!
@@edwardcumpstey9061 That was one freaky math teacher! Lucky you!
The bemusement on your face during ‘sound chaser’ was delightful. The weird thing is that as you listen to it more and more it all begins to hang together to the point where your anticipation of each new section drives even greater enjoyment and sets you up beautifully for ‘to be over’ which is simply beautiful and enveloping.
YES channeling the Mahavishnu Orchestra - who were musically very influential at the time.
I know these albums backwards and forwards, up to the point that I don’t even realise that some of the things Yes are doing are musically special. It’s very nice to hear them “as new”, through someone else’s ears
Great, inspiring and enlightening analysis as always, Doug! Thank you so much for giving me a new perspective on music I have known for so long! I'm with you on this album: not my favourite, but awesome and bizarre and impenetrable and amazing... Keep 'em coming! :-)
so true! It takes a few listens to get the structure glued into your brain
my favorite album of all time I love rick and have nearly all his lps bur patrick is something else you have to listen to the story of I
When I saw Yes play live in '75 or '76 (I forget, haha), it was the Relayer tour. Anaheim Stadium, CA. Place was packed. Yes kicked off their set with "Sound Chaser." No compromise. They played for three hours. I lost my mind. "To Be Over" was sublime. "The Gates of Delirium" was incredible, especially the "Soon" ending. A night I will never forget. Also a night of music that will never be matched, for me.
I was there! Gary Wright and Gentle Giant! Great show.. GG were awesome. It was freaky watching the fans in the upper deck making the entire upper deck wave . The people underneath were afraid it would collapse
Haha ! Twas there as well
Sound Chaser was the band showing off their awesome skills at music composition at the expense of the listener's perception of musical cohesiveness.
The very end of 'To Be Over' is one of my favorite few minutes of music I've ever heard. It's simply stunning emotionally.
First time I heard this i was "Less than sober " and it brought me back to a "Good place" as i was having many emotions through the entire album :)
As with Tales from Topographic Oceans, this is an album for mature and sophisticated ears. When I was 14 listening to this album, I didn't get it, I hated not loving my favorite band's music. As I became a musician, I'd revisit it and come to find the masterpiece that it is. I would practice endlessly to cover it on bass. It made me a better bass player. Knowing this album deeply now has refined my ears further. I'm 57 now and will listen to the album when I have time to devote all my energies to listening. This isn't music for the car or the beach. It's music for the sole appreciation for music.
Tales, to me, was Jon's personal project. As a "YES" album, I don't think it really fits. I would see this much as Jon's Sunhillow release. Tales was a projection of Jon's spiritual exploration and as such, should have been left out of the Yes lineup. It's the album that drove Wakeman off but, as it is, we would have never gotten this album which is phenomenal.
The TFTO & Relayer period was arguably their most imaginative & adventurous. I can't imagine Relayer existing without them having gone through the TFTO phase. At the time they were right into Mahavishnu Orchestra & Return to Forever so the inclusion of classically trained Swiss jazz/fusion keyboardist Patrick Moraz was just the tonic they needed to create something so intense, so adventurous, yet so Yes. Sound Chaser they consider their most technically challenging piece, it's like prog meets jazz/fusion on steroids, a unique Yes masterwork. And To be over is just pure dreamlike serenity, absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for all your great Yes reactions Doug, these Relayer ones were extra special, cheers
Yes. Relayer is out of their middle period, which began with Fragile and ended with Going For The One. I know some would put Tormato at the end, but I feel that inaugurates their third period.
Totally agree. I think Yes really wanted to show just how incredibly they were as players and composers… yet still make you think and feel. I have always thought this has a beautiful and spiritual feeling, truly amazing!
@@danausten1046 Kudos to you Dan 👍
I have to share this tale with "y'all": When I first bought the Relayer CD back in 1994, when Soundchaser begun, I took the CD out the player, carefully put in on the case, took it back to the shop, and told the shop guy: "The 2nd track is skipping". He played it for 30 seconds, nodded in agreement, and gave me another copy... When I got home again I realized that was indeed the music. That's how alien this music was for me then. Today it sounds natural and fluid...
I can't imagine any of the record stores I had access to back then carrying TWO COPIES of this CD. I had to special order it!
@@room34 It was literally a "best value" release... A cheap transfer from the analogue tapes to digital in the dawn of CD in South America...
This needs to be top comment, brilliant!
1994. Hmmmmm. Well, I've been listening to it since it came out and it never fails to astound me. 70's YES was amazing.
I did the same with Tales of Topographic Oceans, sadly i traded the collector's edition (disc was illustrated) for a mass market edition.
To be Over is my favourite song in the world. The ending with that sort of vocal counter harmony is just gold. Truly a beautiful song. I find myself feeling that it is a breakup song, there is a sadness and hope to it.
I never thought of it that way but I believe you nailed it! If I'm not mistaken, "To be over, time will heal your wounds...". There are, in my opinion, multiple Anderson lyrics that convey sadness and hope.
I’m having it played at my funeral.
"To be over " deals with the theme of death of the body. Jon Anderson said" If being born is beautiful, why wouldn't death be just as beautiful?"
.
There is also an acoustic version of to be over by steve.
It's my favourite too! You have to check out Jon Anderson's "Yes Medley" live recording on YT (early 80s solo tour) - it starts with a SUBLIME version of the To Be Over finale, just his voice and piano, disarmingly beautiful
The delay on Steve’s attack is done using a volume pedal. They are extremely effective. Fun fact: Relayer is the only album he played all the songs on his Fender Telecaster using the twangy bridge pick up so loved by Country players for decades. Sound Chaser is unique too because after the first two verses it never returns to that melody. The chord progression in the song is insane. Changes key constantly.
To Be Over ending is vocalisation for the listener decides what they hear. Everyone hears something different.
He used the Tele on a lot of Going for the One as well.
@@pwethman1 Only the last section of Awaken.
As a guitar player, this interests me immensely, thank you!
Steve Hackett was also a big user of the volume pedal
@@normandaubry yes
This for me was one of the slowest-burning albums ever. It took years to reveal its splendour. Not everyone's glass of tea f'sure but if you like the unexpected and prefer mystery-over-certainty and you are veeeery patient, then this album always pays dividends. A true Sonic masterpiece.
Steve Howe's solo in To be Over sends shivers down my spine every time I listen to it .... and sometimes it makes me cry because of the beauty of the song...
That's the reaction anyone has to Sound Chaser the first time. It's a punch to the face. Just amazing.
Ahahah AMAZING
I look at John Anderson's lyrics as Spiritual Poems.
They paint an abstract picture in my mind.
Jon himself has admitted that many of his lyrics are more to do with the sounds of the words and how they fit into the music - rather liker he's using them as a musical instrument. If they make any sense, that's kind of a bonus. 🙂
I have always considered Jon's lyrics to be instrumental. He concentrates on the musicality of the vowels and consonants more than their meaning. But it recently occurred to me that what he does with lyrics is similar to what Picaso did in his art. The parts are there, but they are distorted for effect . So yeah, Jon Anderson is the Picaso of prog rock :)
I read somewhere that he said that the song awakened was about the story of God has told through a minstrel. He's aware of a kind.
I look at them as lazy writing. A golden opportunity to say something meaningful missed.
@@kimmasuen4107 I think of Awaken as a worship song that makes no sense and total sense all at once. It inspires love and joy without asking why.
It's so amazing to watch someone who knows his music hear this music for the first time. I've been listening to this for more than 45 years and it brings tears to my eyes to hear it again thru Doug's ears for the 1st time again.
Indeed, I was 20 maybe 19 when I heard Relayer the 1st time I'm now 71 and now some 50+ years later I love how relevant and astounding YES was and still are.
You can really tell this was indeed a first listen for Doug. He talked right over one of the most iconic synth solos in the history of prog rock! Patrick Moraz exerted such an influence on this album!
I go back to the beautiful spring day when I was a kid that I listened to these two tunes. Beautiful and crisp beyond words. Both never get old. Steve Howe in his prime.
My favorite Yes album, still sounds otherworldly even after almost 50 years,
Went to see them on the Relayer tour. They were the first big band I saw live and they absolutely blew me away.. They performed all three tracks, but what was very impressive was how they could reproduce all their studio sounds live on stage. A truly brilliant band of musicians at the very top of their game.
Saw them in '75 with Moraz in the UK. A stunning performance. I like Wakeman, but Moraz was magical.
My first concert was Yes-Relayer at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. I guess I jumped right into the thick of it!
Trivia question: Who was the warm up band?
@@davidlinde3990 I can remember a band called Gryphon supporting them, as did Donavon (mellow yellow), here in the UK, but not sure on which tours.
@@davidlinde3990 Ace. I saw them in Largo, MD soon after!
Loved that tour!❤
Eclectic, unusual and challenging share of Moraz in the YES universe. It is admirable how Squire, Howe Anderson and White fit together perfectly with this jazz avant garde rock proposal.
Sound Chaser is one of my favorite yes songs, but has one of the worst Steve Howe solos ever. Seriously who engineer to his guitar on that track
@@shenzhen2112 Eddie Offord.
@@shenzhen2112 I rather like the solo. For sure, he wasn't playing his ES175 on this.
I think he was going for just a very noisy, loud, brawling sound, quite different from his usual tones. I don't think it's a mistake or accident...like it or not!
@@cybore213 175
This was a once in a lifetime masterpiece. Moraz no doubt sent Yes on a journey with his incredible gift.
'no doubt' ?? I doubt that actually happened at all.
@@EessaTube WTF are you talking about ?
I so you close to the edge on your knee puritan
thankfully he didnt stay long
@@MrEspo117 WTF are you talking about ?
@22:50 Doug, those are known as "volume swells" . He is using his pinky to manipulate the volume knob or "pot" (potentiometer) as he is picking the notes to mask the picking and making it sound "organ" like. For a full use of this technique, check out Eddie Van Halen's "Cathederal" on the Diver Down album. There, Eddie uses a half second delay on top of it though.
I bought this Album when it came out…but I was already a true Yes fan, then… Relayer…it just blew my mind!!! From beginning to End, and on Vinyl !! It was pure musical heaven…in the war of Gates!!
Side two…a Band Completely in Control!! Through the emotional End!!
Same old story to me, but a year later, here in Spain, when I was 13... Relayer was a real challenge to make me understand and, finally, love that wonderful récord. But not Yes, is well.
It was the same for me. Yes was my favorite band back then (and still are, although King Crimson and Genesis are right at the top as well) and I had completely absorbed their previous 4 albums and Yessongs. Relayer was very different, but still Yes and I loved it.
Totally agree the best album yes ever made when this album came out my friends I listened to it in awe and we all said how progressive can you get just an incredible record one of the best records of music ever
I had no idea it had been released and found my vinyl copy in a cutout bin!!! A CUTOUT BIN! I dropped the needle and OMG Gates!! Sound Chaser! And the palate cleanser of To Be Over!!! ❤❤❤
Same here, I was 17 back in 1974 , this one did even get airplay on the Belgian radio.
First time caller Doug. I listen to your YES reactions. I'm 70 and have been with them all this time. When interviewed (and don't we all want to know, oh swami, Jon)...WHAT DO YOUR LYRICS MEAN!! He gave me a wonderful freedom when he said "whatever you want them to mean". To Be Over is Howe's favorite song and rightly so. It's beautiful. When I heard it (under the right influence I suppose) everything "connected" for me. I was in the right time and space. I was carried away by angels in the middle of the song toward heaven (I actually "thought" I was dying but I was so happy to go because at the end, Jon says, hey, be ready, you are going to be loved. I guess we all have a part in everything or we wouldn't be here. What would be the point. So when you hear it for the first time, it's overwhelming especially if you listen to the entire album. You go through hell on side one, but you get lifted up at the end and then side 2 is the end all. Sound Chaser, really, is just loosening up the mind, our thoughts, we don't know where to go. Like you said, it's chaos. But in To Be Over, everything is calm all of a sudden and Jon says let my words and this music balance your thoughts, they are releasing in you and off I went...to the heavens. YES has had their ups and downs and over 30 members in and out of the band over time. Last thought, To Be Over did not make for a live performance, way to difficult. They tried, but it just got weird. I think it was when you reacted to the Tales Side 1 saying it had 5 pauses and it was obvious you were totally into it because you never paused, you couldn't wait to keep going. Good for you. Then at the end you said you were speechless. BUT a few moments later, the music and lyrics had entered your mind and soul and you came up with some profound wisdom (without really realizing it). That's kind of what the music does for me. Every listen, new thoughts...glorious. Cheers.
That guitar break by Steve in 'Sound chaser' is like "So you're chasing sounds, eh? Well, chase this!"
Always wished that Patrick did more with YES. A very fine keyboardist.🎹😎
Have you ever heard Patrick Moraz's solo work? Check out the his first solo album ,,I".
@@aardvaarkmaark I have all of his material. 😎
@@jeffschielka7845 outstanding!! Mr. Moraz is quite the amazing musician. It's nice to meet someone who appreciates this kind of music
@@aardvaarkmaark I've seen YES 214 times.😎
@@jeffschielka7845 Wow! That's a lot! You are a dedicated fan. I've seen them 3 times in Portland Oregon when I lived in Portland. 1975, 1977 and 1982. They are truly one of the most amazing bands
"I don't know any other band like this", exactly no other band where the level of composition, originality and musicianship of each individual member is cosmic. The best ever.
Doug, the look on your face when Sound Chaser finished is pure gold. Love it.
Steve's solo on "To be Over" is reminiscent of his brilliant solo from "Perpetual Change" off the live Yessongs 1973 triple album which you need to add to your list to get into. This album is mind blowing with to my mind, definitive most of their best songs from this era. The most definitive live "Gates of Delirium" and "Ritual" (TFTO Side 4) have to be from Yes Symphonic 2001 recordings. The cohesion is amazing and all band members are on fire, you mustn't miss these performances. They will leave you in awe ... guaranteed!
I'm glad to have had this music in my life for so many years. I am now glad that Doug has it in his.
Just beautiful, brings tears to my eyes, Doug. As they say, Jon Anderson came from another planet but cares so deeply for this one. To Be Over
The keyboard solo on Soundchaser is fantastic!
Ha ha, the look on your face during the fist part of Sound Chaser is no different to anyone else hearing it for the first time. Relayer is my personal favourite Yes album. A sonic masterpiece in my view.
YES, Wonderous Stories, The More We Live and To Be Over where spatial audio before spatial audio was a thing! YES is one of the greatest bands ever overlooked by most music fans but all the musicians they are fans of are HUGE YES fans!
This album is simply unique!!! A singular formation with Patrick Moraz that never happened again. A once in a lifetime piece of music that was miles ahead of their time.
I'm 67, and have followed them since I was 14, their personnel changes, and haven't always liked everything they've done,my best memory is Wembley Empire pool ,the 1977 yesshows tour, beyond amazing, love this channel,bless🎸
This was by far my favorite reaction you’ve ever done. I laughed out loud at the look on your face at the end of Sound Chaser. I love this band. Their music holds up so well. I’ve listened to this album countless times, yet you made it sound like my first time. Well done!!!
I saw Yes live on the Relayer Tour in '75 in the UK at QPR. They were absolutely on fire at that time. Probably the best gig I've ever experienced and that's saying something!. Thanks for the video!
This album, arguably, is the one album that had the greatest impact on me and what I knew was possible musically. Never forget, 2009, after I graduated Highschool. I had decent taste before then, but that album really got my prog bone itching.
I was there, in my teens, when this superb album was fist released. You really had to be there!!!
Yes, nice reaction. My favorite is Close to the Edge, my second favorite album is Relayer. Thx 😃
Really looking forward to this one. 'To Be Over' is their most emotionally moving song to me.
To BE Over is somehow similar to And You And I, to me. Both sublimely beautiful and uplifting.
Spiritually uplifting. To Be Over makes my soul soar & smile 🙏🏻
I feel the same about turn of the century
To me, Soon is their most moving song.
@@grande-bretagnenilpoints8912 The only reason I'd disagree with that is I don't think of Soon as a song, but as part of TGoD. It is truly a gorgeous final passage though.
The jazz rock fusion is obvious. I also like the classical aspect of Sound Chaser, which never gets mentioned. The cacophony aspect of the song reminds me of Zappa.
Doug, this album was released in 1974. I had just graduated from high school. Yes was my favorite band and I listened to this thousands of times. To me and my buds, this was just music. I had no idea of the complexity and thought that went into it so it's amazing to hear your analysis. I know this album like I know my own skin so the chord progressions are beyond me. It's just my music of my youth. To me, it's just Yes in all their glory. I love them so much. I got to meet Jon backstage at one of his solo tours recently and that was a boyhood dream. Love your channel.
Hey Doug! If possible I think you should try to reach out to Jon Anderson for an interview. He’s been on Rick Beato’s channel and I think he’d be happy to talk to you.
That would be great.
I’m sure Jon would love to chat with you Doug!!!
YES! This is the moment I've been waiting for ever since I saw your first Yes reaction! Can't wait to see how you'll react to Sound Chaser!
Jon's voice is simply an instrument. Words are just articulations. Jon's ambiguity is deliberate. Make of it what you will.
Bingo...the tones ARE the poem, not the words.
Most Yes facilitates each listener's own adventure in their mind.
his voice is the frosting on the relayer cake
Sometimes yes, sometimes kinda, and sometimes no 🙂
Jon is speaking a spiritual language. His words are like crop circles - enigmatic and a sense of deep profundity.
Relayer is the best Yes album in my opinion. This album has 3 masterpieces.
Agreed. It's perfect from start to finish.
Absolutely agree.
I love CTTE, but Relayer is definitely my favorite Yes album. I love Tales as well.
Relayer was the fourth Yes album I bought, in January 1978, after Going for the One, The Yes Album and Close to the Edge. It quickly became my favourite and 44 years later, it remains so. If I heard it for the first time now as an almost 59 year old I suspect it wouldn't have the same impact it did back then when it sounded other-worldly. This at the time my fellow 14 year old friends were trying to get me to dump my desperately uncool fascination with prog and Led Zeppelin and Rush for the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Stranglers. And, of course, Relayer is the best Yes album cover, a poster of which adorned my bedroom wall for years.
My all time favourite Yes album. Actually, one of my favourite albums period.
Every Yes album is a masterpiece, Relayer being their seventh. And to think these guys probably weren't even 30 yet.
Crazy they played this live, too.
And played it so well. What a band! Such talent!
Heard that recently on RUclips
Saw them live..a few times
I was about 14 when I first heard this album. My mates at school had been trying to move me on musically through the school year. To no avail. Then someone lent me this album. I took it home and one night after dinner, donned my headphones and plugged them into my parents music system in the living room. They were there watching tv. I was having my mind expanded. When I first heard Anderson’s vocals come in, I think I actually swore out loud. Going For The One had just been released and that was next on my listening list. I’ve never looked back. To this day, Relayer is my favourite YES album. Great reaction again Doug. This is a mind blowing album.
Relayer. That was the album that began my appreciation of not just prog, but *all*music. Someone lent me the album and on first listening, it was a bewildering cacophony of notes, and just a crazy experience. But I listened to it again, and I recognised some of the various themes which weave though the songs.
Eventually it stopped being a cacophony, and became melodic. Challenging in places, but totally enjoyable.
I owe a lot to that album.
I’m looking forward to this Doug! Have at it.
Listening to you live buddy.
I told you it’s challenging in places!
I had the same experience with Close To The Edge. On first listen, it was cacophony. Still, I could tell that it was not noise, but a new kind of music that I just had to understand. And as I played it again and again, the most wonderful music emerged; whole, and supreme in every way.
Totally agree. That's the thing with Yes; well, real Yes, like this- it spoils you for lesser music.
Thanks Doug!
Relayer is an album similar to Close to the Edge, consisting of three songs: a conceptual big song, an aggressive song, and a peaceful song.
Unlike Close to the Edge, however, the album closes with a peaceful masterpiece called To be Over, which leaves a pleasant aftertaste after listening to it.
Personally, I consider it a highly complete album!
Patrick Moraz is such a fantastic composer and player, his albums ‘the story of i’ and ‘out in the sun’ are so different but both wonderful and two of my most favourite albums of all time. Saw him live once with the Moody Blues, great memories.
He has two quality albums of duets with Bill Bruford. Amazing how melodic just drums and keyboard can be.
I always thought that Moraz was the guy they were always looking for.........sad it never lasted longer than one album, albeit a brilliant one! The story of i is a masterpiece solo album by Patrick Moraz.
I think the synth solo on Sound Chaser is a Korg, not a Moog.
I'd also recommend his pre-Yes work with Mainhorse and and in particular Refugee. The solo Future Memories is also pretty good, but is fair to say that he hasn't really fulfilled his potential.
@@cobbycaputo3332 - I’ll look that one up as I’m a Bill Bruford fan as well
On listening to his solo a bit harder I believe he is using an ARP (Alan Robert Pearlman ) pro soloist. I don't think Moraz used any Korg synths.
I think Doug should do a reaction to The story of I.
This is one of my favorite albums of all times. In brings me to the edge of metaphysical boundaries much like Mahler’s greatest symphonies. Why I will always admire Yes’s pushing the envelop in musical talent and development beyond their original progressive rock forms.
Favourite album from my favourite band. Happy that you experienced this!
"Sound Chaser" probably is my fav song. Period. It is truly a masterpiece.
I agree with Tony Romero here. This is what stands out. Speaking of Music Theory and intertwining it with progressive rock music is a unique thing no one else has ever done.
I think the lyrics in Sound Chaser are about how they enjoy blowing up our minds!!
Your best reaction I've ever seen. I had the same reaction back in 74
Hey y’all…i set my reminder. Wouldn’t miss this one for anything.
Cha-cha-cha………cha…cha…
Decades on and this still moves me so much. Thank you Doug and thank you Yes. Relayer another great master piece.
Possibly my favorite album of all time,wish Patrick Moraz had done more with Yes,he brought a more jazzy element to the band,Steve Howe`s playing is fantastic on this album
Some of us poor souls met Yes early on and then never heard anything better!
Doug always has the best facial reactions to Yes music. This is similiar to his reaction to Close to the Edge.
Relayer is one of the most underrated albums.2nd only to Close to the edge in their catalog.
Hi Doug, thank you! Truly lovely you shared these songs with the community you're building and engaging. At 16 Yes found me, and spoke to me deeply. So many Yes fans have similar experiences. You mentioned not understanding the lyrics. They are not just filler of the music, by far. Jon is incredibly spiritual from a young age. Sound is a metaphor in this song, meaning "unified manifesting spirit", or the spiritual experience of all happenings in the universe. As the singular and full unity of God is never in movement itself, the manifesting spirit of God in the universe is, and of it we are a part. In this song, the narrator, or Jon, IS the "sound chaser," the chaser of the manifesting spirit of God, to know God THROUGH the movement of self, life, music, all forms of God manifesting. It's a beautiful song of the seeker, to find God within self, other, and the world, being challenged by the varied pace of earthly life, the patience of the spirit, and the accelerating pace of one's own hopes to reunify with the divine more fully. Blessings and love to all.
First verse:
Faster moment spent spread tales of change within the sound
Counting form through rhythm electric freedom moves to counterbalance
Stars expound our conscience all to know and see the look in your eyes
Faster moment spent = Rushed
Spread tales of change = Diverse earthly life
Within the sound = Within a universe as manifesting spirit
Counting form through rhythm = In the paced dream of earth life
Electric freedom moves to counter-balance = By grace of God we move and are balanced
Stars expound our conscience = Our very being emanates from the stars
All to know = And by knowing self
And see the look in your eyes = We see God within
So:
Rushed, diverse earthly life within a universe as manifesting spirit
In the paced dream of earth life by grace of God we move and are balanced
Our very being emanates from the stars and by knowing self we see God within
Second verse:
Passing time will reach as nature relays to set the scene
New encounters spark a true fruition
Guiding lines we touch them
Our bodies balance out the waves as we accelerate our days to the look in your eyes
Passing time = Time's dance
Will reach as nature = Arising from us
Relays to set the scene = Lets us experience each other and the world
New encounters spark = And new experiences ignite
A true fruition = The fullness of life
Guiding lines = What essence pulls us towards unity
We touch them = We engage with daily
Our bodies balance out the waves = Yet we remain grounded to form
As we accelerate our days = But still accelerate each lifetime
To the look in your eyes = To merge with God
So:
Time's dance arising from us lets us experience each other and the world
And new experiences ignite the fullness of life
What essence pulls us towards unity we engage with daily
Yet we remain grounded to form but still accelerate each lifetime to merge with God
Bridge:
From the moment I reached out to hold I felt a sound
And what touches our soul slowly moves as touch rebounds
And to know that tempo will continue lost in trance of dances as rhythm takes another turn
As is my want, I only reach to look in your eyes
From the moment I reached out to hold = When I looked for my true nature
I felt a sound = I could hear the manifesting universal spirit
And what touches our soul slowly moves = And this spirit is patient
As touch rebounds = As it is always allowing and open to us as we are
And to know that tempo will continue = And the knowing of this spirit
Lost in trance of dances = Even when captivated by earthly life
As rhythm takes another turn = Which is ever shifting
As is my want = But my only want
I only reach = And my only practice
To look in your eyes = Is to find God within
So:
When I looked for my true nature I could hear the manifesting universal spirit
And this spirit is patient as it is always allowing and open to us as we are
And the knowing of this spirit, even when captivated by earthly life, which is ever shifting
But my only want, and my only practice is to find God within
Brilliant!
At least in his early lyrics he once said that there is no need to interpret the songs as songs as the words actually were chosen merely as an additional instrument.
Favorite comment" I have no idea what they are doing tonally, but I like it"...lol
The delayed attack you mention , is Steve using a volume pedal. Playing a note or chord with the volume down then swelling it in.
In some instances he uses a pedal, other times he rolls the volume knob on the guitar with his right hand pinkie.
@@lphilpot01 There might have been a bit of a "wha wha" pedal going on there. I remember back in that day, I had the coolest set of pedals for my guitar and I can't remember what the name of the series was. I do remember they all had different cool colours and they were really small.
@@dianequick3127 back in the day, the Cry Baby was the cat's pajamas as far as wah-wah went. But I always liked the Morley line since they were so solid and used photo resistors instead of a potentiometers: No more scratchiness! 🙂 I've still got my old Small Stone phaser and Electric Mistress flanger from Electro-Harmonix.
another Steve, Steve Hackett (Genesis) also uses a volume pedal often, and beautifully
I am entangled with my guitar playing back in the day and I believe I was into the MXR series of pedals. And, Doug's listening is probably right as to the delay - I am not sure.
You hit the proverbial nail on the head Doug, Yes made sounds like no other band and sounded like no other band and this is why they are, were, and will be my favorite band of all time(at least from 1971-1979)and so many others. and BTW, no one will ever figure out Jon's lyrics including Jon!
Saw this live by Yes in Miami as a teen after it had just come out. Awesome and performed as complex as it is to a T. Spot On. We sat stunned. Thank You for sharing! 63 now and still they Rock like no other with sounds as you say . . . that break new ground.
Was that on the initial tour in late '74? I caught them in '75 (my fave concert ever), and again in '76.
WONDERFULL you bother to know their names!
There is an old video of "Beginnings" with Steve, and Patrick playing a Duet. A Baroque Masterpiece written by Steve. "To Be Over" is Gorgeous. Love This Album #1 Band Of All Time.
Yes, it's beautiful. A must watch video.
I knew what was coming, and still I love watching your face as the music overtakes you. You appreciate it, and wonder at it, and allow it inside you, and are a little changed by it. 😁
My first ever concert was YES in '75. The Relayer Tour. Amazing show.
Well, to each their own. To me, Sound Chaser is akin to a painter who has many cans of various colors of paint at their disposal and then throws them all up on the wall, wondering what will become of it.
Relayer is perhaps my favorite Yes album. I think Moraz takes them in directions that they would not have otherwise gone. Also White really comes out of Bruford's shadow and makes the job his own. just wonderful
When I was a 13 year old runaway (don’t be sad- I survived just fine) I was in a runaway shelter with an older kid who, instead of introducing me to drugs or crime or doing something god awful to me, he played YESSONGS for me. He told me how great it was and how mind blowing it would be ahead of time. So, we listened to uninterrupted without even talking. Quite frankly, he undersold it. I’ve been addicted to YES ever since!!! I’m listening to Tony sing the praises of Alan White as I type this and I agree with him whole heartedly! We have to remember just how much of the YES catalogue is the beautiful musical marriage that is Alan and Chris!! They are so amazing together and so incredibly underrated the both of them separately and together!!! I’ll stop typing and enjoy the rest of the video but it’s so nice to listen to folks discuss this amazing music who truly “get” YES! ✌🏾😎👍🏾
I want to thank you for the EXPERT insight that you bring to these reaction videos. As a subscriber, I feel like I'm a part of something culturally relevant! I was raised with classical music in my home (though I am FAR from a conneseur of it), and have been a guitarist for around 50 years. My own compositions (at times) reflect a classical "bent" in a much more rock oriented context, and your insights into some of my long-time favorites like Yes, ELP and Gentle Giant validates my tastes in music over many decades.... Cheers!!
just listened to Come into this House....very nice! love the bluesy feel to this one
I love your interpretations of Jon’s lyrics. You actually brought me to tears with awaken and with to be over as well.
Cheers, Doug 🍻. First heard Sound Chaser as a teenager, and it completely blew my mind. Been a huge fan ever since! You should do Weather Report sometime.
It's funny, we have one of the best guitarists,bass players,singer/lyricist and keyboardists in the history of the world and were all talking Bruford/White. Kinda funny. Great album. Oh and yea I am a drummer!
America is the Yes track that got me hooked as well. In my opinion, it is the best cover of any song. Yes stretched, expanded, and totally rewrote a brilliant song and made it even better.
Something's Coming and Every Little Thing are two more excellent covers done by early Yes.
Doug here gave it a listen and didn't like it much.
Sound Chaser, man…. Takes my breath every fuckin time.
It would have taken massive amounts of both musicianship and sheer balls to create this album, of couse - and it works spectacularly well. Nothing hre souns the last amateurish or "done by chance", the musical logic of these extended songs is so compelling (even more so in Gates, of course).
Yeah, Sound Chaser has some astonishing contrasts and build-up/release moments. When it was first played live many fans felt they had never heard anything like it and thought the band had gone crazy, more or less. :) I first heard Relayer in 1979, aged thirteen - really liked it, but I was also dimly aware that I had never head anything that sounded like this, not even by the band themselves. It's a truly unique album.
You could think of the album as a four movement symphony (treating 'Soon' from Gates as the second movement). It follows the classic pattern of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th movements from Classical and Romantic periods.
The final section of To Be Over is pure magic! The combination of Howe's guitar and the vocal counterpoint vocal harmonies underneath always put a warm happy smile on my face!!! Ahhhhhhhh.....
Can I suggest you focus more on the various themes in these tunes than what key they are in .. especially in To Be Over, it's almost in a sonata allegro form - main theme/exposition, development, and recapitulation at the end. The way they interweave the various melodies around each other is sheer brilliance!
Jon said that the meaning of his lyrics are subordinate to the way words fits into meter. They are "word paintings" which have a meaning, but you gotta squint, like looking at an impressionist painting
To be over is a masterpiece
Hi Doug, Ben here from New Zealand, i have been watching many of your reaction videos and I really like your way of doing those.
When it comes to Sound Chaser, I find your reaction really interesting: you actually get it without realising it!
The point about this particular tune is it leaves the listener stunned and confused because of its a-tomality and its sounds “all over the place” getting nowhere . It grabs you at one point and once you’re with it, it throws you again somewhere else. That’s the whole point of this tune: “lost in trance of dances, as rhythm takes another turn, as is my want, I only reach, to look in your eyes” and then it crashes you again. I’m sure they were having a laugh writing this!
I recall the day this album was released I bought it and just happened to pick up a new pair of headphones, electrostatic new design by Sennheiser, I sat and listened to the album all night on my new headphones, mega sound and what an experience with electrostatic headphones.