YES
Soon the Light-Relayer Live

"Truth conceals itself in error.
History reveals its face:
days of ecstasy and terror
invent the future that invents the race."

Donald Lehmkuhl
October 1974

Side One

1. "The Gates of Delirium" 21:55

Side Two

1. "Sound Chaser" 9:25
2. "To Be Over" 9:08

Released: 28 November 1974
Recorded: Late Summer and Autumn of 1974
Studio: New Pipers, Virginia Water, Surrey
Genre: Progressive rock, jazz fusion
Length: 40:28
Label: Atlantic
Producer: Eddy Offord, Yes

�They played me just a part of the song, what they had of Sound Chaser, not the introduction, just a part of the song. They blew my mind. I was in the middle, and they started to do this riff, and Alan crashing with his drums and so on. They had just probably worked on this three-part harmony there � vocals. It was absolutely unbelievable. To experience that � I could say that was the truest surround experience I had ever encountered as an observer and listener. I was not in the middle of any keyboards at the time; I was just in the middle of the band. And they were playing for me, alone, the portion of Sound Chaser they had already come up with. And that was absolutely unbelievable.� I can only imagine what a powerful experience it was having the band surround you and play Sound Chaser as a way of introduction. More from Moraz: �I was totally overwhelmed, because they played so fast and so precisely and so well. The swing was there. I had never heard such original music, except for what Mahavishnu Orchestra was doing at the time�. Nonchalantly, Jon and Chris said: �We need an introduction to this. Can you come up with something?�

Patrick Moraz, November 2018
https://musicaficionado.blog/2018/11/28/relayer-by-yes/?fbclid=IwAR3D1Me33HT9H602j5HrNYAV5u2fYpuCZ9fZRLaYcAeKgsh_WbDuOzmBebk

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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.

[After Wakeman's departure], Yes retreated to Farmyard Studios, owned by drummer Trevor Morais, in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, and started working on new songs. After some material had been written, auditions for a new keyboardist began which involved about eight players, including Jean Roussel, Eddie Jobson, Nick Glennie-Smith of Wally, and Greek musician and composer Vangelis. Others were flown in from the US and Germany. Anderson had become a fan of Vangelis and visited his Paris flat when Yes were in town performing Tales from Topographic Oceans. Vangelis agreed to an audition, but Yes found he was non-committal to the role and too strong a personality for a group. Phil Carson, an Atlantic Records manager and associate of the band, said that Vangelis "tried out Yes but it didn't really gel ... Vangelis wouldn't get on a plane and wouldn't fly anywhere and Yes were about to go on tour." The possibility of Vangelis joining the band was also affected by a rejection from the Musicians Union. Soon after, Melody Maker reporter and band biographer 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. Less than a week later, Moraz accepted an invitation from Brian Lane, the band's manager, to an audition. Moraz was a fan of the band and had previously met them during their tour of Switzerland in 1969.

Moraz auditioned with Yes during the first week of August 1974. He arrived at Farmyard Studios early and saw each member arrive in his own expensive car. He said: "Coming from Refugee, where we had been walking three miles to and from our rehearsal place ... it was quite a contrast!" Moraz auditioned with Vangelis's keyboards, which were still situated in the studio. 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's first task was to devise a section to complement what they had written for the middle section of "Sound Chaser". The band liked what Moraz had played, and the following day, Lane informed him that Yes wished for him to join full-time. Moraz felt some pressure to deliver, and drove from his flat in Earl's Court, near central London to the studio each day to record. [wiki]

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Relayer-Live

d1t01-The Gates of Delirium, 1974-12-01, Baton Rouge, LA
d1t02-Sound Chaser, 1976-07-22, Vancouver, CAN
d1t03-To Be Over, 1974-11-24, Greensboro, NC

Bonus tracks:
d2t04-The Gates of Delirium, 2001-12-01, Brighton, ENG
d2t05-To Be Over, 2003-09-20, Sydney, AUS
d2t06-intro, 1979-04-26, Milwaukee, WI
d2t07-Big Medley-GoD > Soon, 1979-04-26 Milwaukee, WI

YES (the players):
Jon Anderson - vocals, guitar
Tom Brislin - keyboards
Bill Bruford - drums, percussion
Steve Howe - gutars, vocals
Patrick Moraz - keyboards
Chris Squire - bass, vocals
Rick Wakeman - keyboards

We open with the best live recorded "GoD" (IMO, of course) from Freezer's (with Goody's improvements) excellent LSU recording. An outstanding 1976 performance and recording of "Sound Chaser" follows. A lovely 1974 "To Be Over" closes our live album. The bonus tracks start with a 21st century "GoD" performance. Anderson's vocals on this EBR recording are just as strong and passionate as anything he did in his younger years. In 2003, Steve Howe performed "To Be Over" as a solo piece, with the Sydney, Australia performance documented here. Finally, we close with the Big Medley (performed during the 78-79 tours), a career mini-retrospective that ends with "Perpetual Change > GoD (snippet) > Soon," and the only time (AFAIK) that Wakeman has performed any Relayer material.

Tapers: Freezer, EBR, Guenther, various
Lineage: N/A
All Audience Recordings except as noted
Notes on Sound Quality: SQ is Very Good throughout

All tracks are from the original filesets as previously torrented. New checksums created with TLH.

Please share only LOSSLESS recordings-convert to lossy for personal use only.

All tracks adhere to DIME's NAV and NAB requirements and have been verified as non-official releases through Forgotten Yesterdays:
http://forgotten-yesterdays.com/index.asp

NOT FOR SALE-PLEASE SHARE FREELY

Please support this artist-purchase official recordings, attend live performances regularly, and visit the websites:

http://yesworld.com/
http://forgotten-yesterdays.com/
https://musicaficionado.blog/2018/11/28/relayer-by-yes/?fbclid=IwAR3D1Me33HT9H602j5HrNYAV5u2fYpuCZ9fZRLaYcAeKgsh_WbDuOzmBebk (excellent summary of the making of Relayer)

A word about compilations: This compilation is diguised as an album. I put together these performances for my personal enjoyment, and share them for the same reason. There are many Yes compilations available; "Wondrous Stories," "Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection" and "Word Is Live." This collection is not meant to replace, but complement, the official releases. Nothing beats the original tracks themselves.

I urge you to seek out the torrented performances contained herein (they�re all available out there). Thanks to the tapers, uploaders and all who share this great music. And, of course, thank you to Yes.

Enjoy,

1chucho
"Live Music is Better"
February 2023

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The Live Album Series

BRUCE COCKBURN, Stealing Fire Live
NEIL YOUNG, On the Beach-Live
NEIL YOUNG, Rust Never Sleeps-Live
NEIL YOUNG, Waging Heavy Love-Eldorado Live
YES, Soon the Light-Relayer Live

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