Relayer: Альбом группы Yes 1974 года

1974 studio album by Yes

Relayer is the seventh studio album by the English progressive 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 following their double concept album Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Yes entered rehearsals as a four piece in Buckinghamshire. They auditioned several musicians, including Greek keyboardist and composer Vangelis, before settling with Swiss musician Patrick Moraz of Refugee who incorporated elements of funk and jazz fusion to 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 No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 5 on the US Billboard 200. A single of the closing section of "The Gates of Delirium", titled "Soon", was released in January 1975. After touring in support of the album between November 1974 and July 1975, Yes went on a year long hiatus. 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). 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. 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.

"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." 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.

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.

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.

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.