This record is considered a sister album to Close To The Edge because they follow a similar format:  one long song on side one and two shorter songs on side two.  That is where the similarities end.  Relayer saw a line-up change with Rick Wakeman being replaced by Patrick Moraz, and with that change a more jazz fusion sound emerged.  This is still undeniably Yes, but in a very unstructured way.  The songs were chaotic and seemed like disjointed musical ideas strung together, but as the years have gone by, I have warmed up to this record quite a lot.  While I still find certain sections a little challenging to listen to, I find that there is an abundance of great prog rock mixed with jazz fusion to rank this pretty high in the Yes catalogue.  I would have liked to have seen another record by this line-up just to see where they would have taken their sound.

This “war” song is a musical storyboard of an army charge, battle, peace, and then a feeling of hope.  Moraz makes his presence felt right off the bat with some keyboard flourishes.  Unlike Wakeman, he brings in a more jazz fusion element in the proceedings.  There is a great proggy intro for about three minutes, and then Jon Anderson comes in to bring in that familiar Yes sound.  As the vocal part progresses, the music moves into a more chaotic structure until the vocals leave, and the band launch into almost a free-form jazz workout.  Some of it is very harsh, but I guess that is supposed to signify the chaos of war.  After that section, the music gets more prog again has a victorious tone.  Steve Howe really shines throughout, but on this section, his guitar work is masterful.  His playing is both precise and fluid, proving why he is one of the best in the prog genre.  The next section is almost ambient music that signifies the peace after war.  Anderson comes in again at the end to bring forth the feeling of hope in a section that is dubbed “Soon.” While not as cohesive as “Close To The Edge,” this is still a masterclass in prog rock.

That jazz fusion element from Moraz is in full effect on “Sound Chaser.” Again, this track consists of many parts that don’t necessarily seem to go together, but yet the band somehow makes it work.  Howe shines again with multiple sections devoted to his guitar work while Moraz adds keyboards that juxtapose what Howe is doing.  Sometimes it sounds like they are playing two different songs, but in a prog world, there are no rules.  That jazz fusion element runs through the whole song and gives it an overall very unstructured feel even though we know the band had everything laid out in advance.

A long dreamy ballad finishes the album.  This is the most straight-forward track on the record and although it has multiple sections, they all seem to follow a common thread.  There is some nice guitar work in the middle sections but it’s Anderson’s voice that is the star of this song.

I can’t believe that this was released as a single.  There is nothing radio ready about the section of “The Gates of Delirium.” It is the ending of that song, and I feel it works best in the context of the whole piece not just a small section.  I understand that the label was looking for another hit like “Roundabout,” but this is Yes and they don’t write hits. Or at least they didn’t until the 80s.

Just so they had something for the B-side of the “Soon” single, they put a truncated “Sound Chaser” on that side.  They cut two-thirds of the track so it is just over three minutes.  On the cutting room floor were all the vocal parts aside from a couple of acappella parts.  This single edit does sound less chaotic and focuses on just the main part.

This version is pretty much the same as the album version but Moraz’s keyboards are not as pronounced.  I am so used to hearing the original version that this one sounds a bit off, but with repeated listens, I like this version for a different reason.  With the keyboards not as up front, this version is a slightly heavier and sounds like a “live” version but without the crowd.