Relayer

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). 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 success, Wakeman informed the band of his decision to leave midway into the tour, following his disagreements and frustration with the direction the band had taken with the album. His exit was made public on 8 June, and he resumed his already successful solo career. Reduced to a four-piece, Yes retreated to Farmyard Studios, a rehearsal and recording facility owned by drummer Trevor Morais in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, and worked on new songs. After some material had been arranged, auditions for a new keyboardist began and around eight players were invited, including Jean Roussel, Eddie Jobson, Nick Glennie-Smith, and Greek musician and composer Vangelis. Melody Maker reporter 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. Within a week Moraz accepted an invitation from Brian Lane, the band's manager, to an audition. Moraz was a fan of the band and had met the original line-up in Switzerland in 1969. Vangelis's keyboards were still situated in the studio, and Moraz used them for his audition. After tuning up he played some parts to display his ability, including a short section of "And You and I" from Close to the Edge (1972), causing the band to stop talking and gather around him. Moraz accepted the offer, but felt some pressure to deliver, and drove from his flat in Earl's Court near central London to the studio each day to record and learn the band's repertoire. ==Writing and recording==

Having made the 80-minute Tales from Topographic Oceans with such a "tight" musical structure, Anderson wanted to explore music that was "so outrageously different" on Relayer. He was particularly influenced by electronic music compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Wings of the Delirious Demon (1972) by Turkish-American musician İlhan Mimaroğlu. Relayer was the final Yes album with Offord before he left in 1975 to work with other groups. He later stated that his time with the band had become "a bit stale", but made brief returns during the recording of Drama (1980) and Union (1991). Recording sessions typically lasted for eight or nine hours. Moraz wished Offord was "a little less stoned" during recording as it affected the album's production quality, ranking it inferior to Offord's work on Fragile (1971) and albums with Emerson Lake & Palmer. Mixing was completed at Advision Studios in London. ==Songs==

Side one "The Gates of Delirium" is a 21-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." He originally planned to base the entire album on the literary work War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, but instead opted for a side-long track inspired by its themes. Moraz recalled a discussion about the story with Anderson as they had both read it, after which Moraz presented him with a copy of Délirius, a French science fiction graphic novel 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 several short themes that Anderson had amassed in his head and played them to the group on a piano "very badly"; 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. 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". 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. ==Artwork==

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". The painting originated from a watercolour sketch Dean had done while studying in college. 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 a band photograph taken by Moraz's former Mainhorse bandmate, 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. Dean has said that "The Gates of Delirium" may be his favourite Yes track and that he felt the album should have been named after it. By 2020, the painting had been on sale for $6 million. ==Release==

Relayer was released in the UK in November 1974 on LP, audio cassette, and 8-track tape, followed by its release in the US on 5 December 1974. It continued the band's commercial success during the 1970s, reaching number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart. Less than two weeks after its release in the US, the album reached gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America on 18 December 1974 for over 500,000 copies sold. A single of the closing section of "The Gates of Delirium", titled "Soon" (From "The Gates of Delirium"), was released as a single on 8 January 1975, with an edited version of "Sound Chaser" on its B-side. Reception Critical reception Relayer received a mostly positive reaction from music critics. Music journalist and author Chris Welch gave a positive review for Melody Maker, praising the album as "one of the most successful and satisfying Yes albums". He described "The Gates of Delirium" as a "powerful piece ... and benefits by the time structures imposed by this single album." Welch continued to note the band "at their best, creating tension and release with consummate ease, and preparing the way for Jon's crystalline vocals" at the end of the battle section which segues into "Soon". In its December 1974 review, Billboard magazine called Relayer "another nearly flawless effort" by Yes and noted Moraz "fits in perfectly". It concluded with "one of the simpler, yet at the same time, one of the most workable sets the band has come up with." Those who gave the album a negative review thought it was the follow-up to Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), an album they felt was pretentious and overblown. In a retrospective review, AllMusic rated the album three stars out of five, stating Yes had "little incentive to curb their musical ambitiousness" at the time, the album "alternated abrasive, rhythmically dense instrumental sections featuring solos for the various instruments with delicate vocal and choral sections featuring poetic lyrics devoted to spiritual imagery." In 1998, a mini-sleeve HDCD version mastered by Isao Kikuchi was released in Japan . In 2003, the album was digitally remastered on Rhino and Elektra Records by George Marino at Sterling Sound. This version included single edits of "Soon" and "Sound Chaser" and a studio run-through of "The Gates of Delirium" with less keyboards and alternate song structures in parts but an identical "battle" section as heard in the final version. 2009 saw the album remastered by Isao Kikuchi for the Japanese market. The 2003 remastered edition was included in the band's The Studio Albums 1969–1987 box set, released in 2013. In November 2014, Relayer was reissued as CD/DVD-Audio and CD/Blu-ray disc packs on the Panegyric label with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson. The packs feature bonus tracks including an original master transfer and studio run-through versions of each track. The Blu-ray pack includes an instrumental mix of the album. This remaster does not include the sound effects heard in the middle section of "The Gates of Delirium" as they were not part of the original multi-track masters. Wilson hypothesised that they were added during the final mixdown of the album from a separate tape source. ==Tour==

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. Most dates featured the English band Gryphon as the opening act. The tour was rescheduled for 2022, but the band announced that they would instead dedicate the tour to the fiftieth anniversary of Close to the Edge. The Relayer tour was subsequently rescheduled a third time for 2023, but was once again postponed due to problems with insurance. ==Track listing==

All tracks written by Yes. Notes: • Track durations are absent on the original UK vinyl, but were included on North American pressings. • "Soon" is credited solely to Jon Anderson per BMI records. However, the track is credited to Yes as a whole on both the original single and the 2003 remaster of the album. ==Personnel==

Credits are adapted from the 1974 album liner notes. Yes • Jon Anderson – lead vocals, acoustic guitars, piccolo, percussion • Steve Howe – acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, electric sitar, backing vocals • Chris Squire – bass guitar, backing vocals • Patrick Moraz – piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, Minimoog, Mellotron • Alan White – drums, percussion Production • Eddie Offord – engineer, production • Yes – production • Gennaro Rippo – tape operator • Roger Dean – cover design and drawing • Mike Allinson – paste up • Brian Lane – co-ordinator (band manager) • Jean Ristori – original group photograph • Mansell Litho – plates ==Charts==