Relayer
I started listening intently to Yes in 1973, definitely their prime time. From early ‘74 to summer of ‘77, I saw them live 4
times - Tours: Tales, Relayer, Solos, and Going for the One. All good shows of course, but the ones that stand out in my memory are the Relayer and Solos tours, mainly because of that funky Swiss man, Patrick Moraz. In the decades since I’ve listened to those 60s to 70s albums repeatedly and they remain classic. But in the last few years, I’ve come to think of Relayer as their best album. Why? Because Howe isn’t grandstanding, White does his best drumming, and Moraz, who was unknown before to me, provided atmospheric keyboards which did a lot of the heavy lifting on Relayer, and without the poppy classicism of Wakeman, who I respect but was never my favorite progressive keyboard guy. And I’m not leaving out Jon and Chris because as always they too were great on Relayer. I just listened to it again and it still feels and sounds like their most coherent album. At the 2/74 show I saw, I had a discussion with another fan as we waited in line. He was waxing eloquently on how Howe was the best guitarist around. I offered Fripp as my response, because of his power and subtlety when playing. I never saw Howe that way, but on Relayer the band as a whole plays the hardest they ever did. Realize back then that lots of people dissed Yes as too ephemeral and light. Not on Relayer! I have to admit that I bought the albums through Tormato, and that was it. They were competing by then with punk and disco and were definitely seen as prog dinosaurs by the late 70s. IMHO the only band versions since then who honored Yes in their prime were ABWH and Jon and the Band Geeks. I know this is heretical for many, but to me it ain’t Yes if Jon’s not singing. Go see Jon and the Geeks — they do Yes proud and Jon is in astounding voice still. Long live Relayer! Yes?