YES - The Gates Of Delirium | FIRST TIME REACTION

[@martinellis7156]

I can't think of many better ways to spend 23 minutes of your life than in listening to this.

[@scifimonkey3]

I am now counting in days and must be approaching a week

[@davidbarker77]

One of the most complex and avant-garde prog pieces ever written and recorded. Magical! One of the most beautiful endings ever. It gets better every time you hear it. Patrick Moraz does a great job on keys and Alan and Jon used a rack of auto parts to bang on for the various percussion sounds, finally tipping it over for a large crash. Wonderful Sunday afternoon listening.

[@martinreed5964]

I remember them using the rack on stage...laughing at the frying pan they had hung there

[@louise_rose]

I first read in the CD booklet about the use of junk car parts for percussion - Jon and Alan picked them up over time at a run-down cars repair shop on the way to Chris' house in Surrey where they were recording the album - but I've been familiar with this album for more than forty years, first heard it in the days of LPs around 1979 and noticed the elements of "musique concrète" early on. Music that's produced with everyday utility tools or artifacts, not with ordinary musical instruments. On the album (at least on Gates) there are both these percussion sounds made with old car parts, clutches and so on, and sounds that were electronically generated but are meant to suggest real sounds of battle - crashes, smashed windows, explosions, sounds of howling and perhaps pain, etc - and the two layers of "normal musical sound" and "noise sound" interact, there's a dynamic tension between them that adds to the power of the music as a whole. (I didn't know they also used the "found stuff" percussion rack live in concert!) it's absolutely amazing that they were able to make this album before the advent of modern samplers and digital sequencers, and actually recording 90% of it in Squire's basement. The sound mix is brilliant, this must have been very difficult to do but the band and Eddie Offord (and whoever else was there on the technical side) succeeded. Both the original LP and the Rhino remaster sound great, superb sound.

[@louise_rose]

@@mattleppard1964 Yes, of course it is! I remember being miffed at the LP liner notes because they said next to nothing about who had helped out with engineering or mixing the album (beyond Eddie), and this one was so obviously a technical breakthrough.

[@lesblatnyak5947]

Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth. Relayer tour was my first blessing of Yes on July 19 1975. The first three songs they did that glorious night- Sound Chaser, Close to The Edge and Gates of Delirium. Saw Chris and Alan 35 more times. RIP. 🙏🍁

[@jeffschielka7845]

👍😎

[@docnflossie7351]

Relayer was my 1st time seeing Yes too. Life changing ❤🎉

@@docnflossie7351 1975 Salt Palace. Todd Rundgren opened.

[@bookhouseboy280]

Howe: There were some very difficult moments on The Gates of Delirium, where Jon was getting really excited and carried away with the battle. We were worrying about whether it was a bit too far gone or a bit too safe. It wasn’t like there was any middle ground to get the battle ... Jon had a vision for it. He had lots of structure, and we were very impressed. A great deal of Gates was invented as a group, but from Jon’s ideas. He had some music for the beginning of the piece, which we turned into an overture. He was shaping The Gates of Delirium out of thin air and some basic structure and we would embellish those structures. Jon charged on and on and on. It is probably his most successful moment at leading the band towards a goal he had in mind. Squire: When we came to the studio each day we just did the next new bit, it was never played as a piece of music from beginning to end until it was all edited together ... But after we played it on stage I was happy to put that version on the Yesshows album, because by then it had taken on an identity. Relayer is a bold, brash and very rewarding piece of work. However, it is not for the faint hearted. In 'Gates of Delirium', the band produced the most atonal and difficult work of their career - beloved of many, hated by many others ... Once again, the album was understandably given a mixed reception. Relayer was released in the UK on November 28, 1974 and a week later in the US. Challenging, complex music did not deter listeners in those days and the album reached number 4 on the UK Albums chart and number 5 on the US Billboard Top LPs chart. - on track ... Yes and The Music Aficionado

[@anthonyblakely399]

over 50 reactors cried on the end of this song!!!!

[@mattleppard1964]

FINALLY ❤❤❤❤ Overall over the years it’s beaten CTTE and Awaken as my favorite Yes song of all time. Hope you enjoy ❤

[@johng.8517]

I totally agree

[@louise_rose]

Hello again Matt - yes, this has long been a favourite album of mine too! One of the top three albums in their entire catalogue (the other two would be Yessongs and CTTE, I think)

[@mattleppard1964]

@@louise_rose I see you’ve been a fan for a long time. Actually I prefer Yesyears for various reasons ❤️

[@axbaquerizo]

The best album of Yes periot

[@Doggeslife]

NOTE that this one takes a few listens to learn the passages and truly enjoy it. My favorite YES song of all.

[@dylanbrown5819]

“Pounding out the devil’s sermon”…then you’re over the edge. Howe is particularly outstanding on a track where they are all pushing themselves to the limit.

[@dolfinpt]

It’s helps to understand they premise behind Jon’s…story…it’s based on Leo Tolstoy’s War & Peace… A battle -chaos-delirium-and what follows… Such an amazing tune! Can’t recall how Many times I’ve listened to this album! The more times you hear it..the more you absorb and appreciate All that’s going on!!🥰

[@stanleymerritt4722]

Nobody does THAT like THAT, except YES.

[@frankhoulihanfh4972]

^ THIS!!! That, that is. 😂 ❤ But it’s right. Noone did this. Noone does it. We may never see their like again.

[@letstalk3265]

Favourite Yes album and that's saying something with their amazing discography

[@louise_rose]

An utterly unique album, both musically and in its expressive and lyrical range.

[@lindazee]

Same here! Relayer is my favorite YES album, but admittedly, it took me a while to get to that conclusion. Such genius packed into one record of masterpiece-level composition and performance. 💚💚💚

[@brooos]

The guitar on "Soon the light" is a pedal steel guitar, played with a metal slide bar while standing over it.

[@genestippell1833]

Looking back it was a very unique time when all these great prog albums came out. The story goes, for that brief window in the early 70s, the record executives had no idea what these "kids" were doing but they were making money. The producers, engineers and the bands were left alone to invent and experiment. All these bands worked hard at creating music that was unique to them. Without restrictions, The music just poured out of these artists during that 5-6 year period. I remember wakeman talking about how he took one of his solo albums (I forgot which one) to the executives when it was done. They said - there's no singing! Wakeman replied 'exactly'. The execs were not happy to say the !east but decided to release it because they had already invested a bunch of money into it. The album wound up selling 1-2 million copies. Then by the mid seventies musical tastes began to change, prog had run out of ideas, the new generation of musicians didn't want to spend years trying to become virtuosos and that was the end of that era. The execs reigned in the artists,, being unique was too risky and the apprection of complex music wained. Three chords and three minutes, keep it simple. The other great thing about that period, without the internet and sites like youtube, these bands had to tour to promote their albums. Buying and listening to an album was only half the experience. Waiting for them to come to your area and seeing them live was the other half.

[@JJ8KK]

What YES attempted to do, & succeeded in doing, in this song is _play musically_ the *moods/emotions* that capture societies that are drawn into catastrophic wars. As was typical of YES at this time, they packed an incredible amount of _complexity_ into this masterpiece, but thanks to their mastery of the sound board, they made all that complexity come together to put the listener into the mood they were trying to instill. It starts with the intellectual attitude toward wars that tribes invest themselves in while they debate the wisdom/insanity of charging into a new war, but then when shrill accusations end that relative calm, the tribe commits to war. Early on, the attitude of the eager combatants is super optimistic, even as some of the ugly reality of war begins to break up all the optimism. At a certain point, all the optimism disappears & is replaced by the horror of the destruction of war that finally reaches a climax. Then comes the 1st of 3 *release* of tension moments they take you into, the first when a blessed end to the fighting has finally come at last, the 2nd is the end of this extended denouement, when a totally peaceful calm has arrived & sober reflection on what just happened begins to take over. The song ends with the final moment of release, where the calm has given way to renewed hope that all of that horror can be avoided in the future. Obviously, repeated listenings of this masterpiece as necessary in order to recognize & take in the amazing interplay of instruments & vocals to create the changing moods. I love listening to this masterpiece every time I have an opportunity to hear it. Just amazing...

[@louise_rose]

6:14 - more than forty years after I first heard this amazing album, and after having listened to it closely hundreds of times, the interlude here, with Squire's pumping bass, White's propulsive drumming and Moraz' illuminating keyboards, still conjures up visions of long lines of men marching out towards the front. Or even goose-stepping legs swinging up in that martial way...the aural image is so powerful. And it's part of the genius of this epic piece of music that they don't shy away from the shrill. vehement and downright ugly aspects of war - even if we might suppose that the war here is seen from the perspective of people who have been attacked and who genuinely feel they are defending their homeland, Jon's singing and much of the music still convey the brutality and vengeful anger that are bound up with war, often on both sides (what are we to make of lines like "Our Gods awake in thunderstorms / and GUIDE THE LEADER'S HANDS IN PATHS OF GLORY TO THE CAUSE" or "The hour approaches, pounding out the Devil's Sermon"??). It's very rare for Jon Anderson as a singer to sound as angry, filthy and hectoring as he does here, but it's part of the characterization and goes to show how war can brutalize even those who are forced to fight to protect a worthy cause.

[@MarjieHarrison]

I am so glad to see a whole other audience becoming acquainted with the music of Yes. I was interviewed by Kurt Leland for his book Music and the Soul. He says that this song breaks through the seventh chakra (7th or crown of head energy) when it goes to the “soon, oh soon the light…” take the ride back to your oversoul and come back changed.

[@jeffmartin1026]

I saw them on this tour - absolutely amazing show. On the full stage screen behind them they projected a wall of flames for the "battle" sequence. It was also the first use of a laser in a show. A single green beam out over the audience, that broke into 4 beams and then 16, and rotated. That was it but being the first time seeing one used it was quite the moment.

[@bobcorbin3294]

I saw that tour also here in Nashville in Nashville.

[@jeffmartin1026]

@@bobcorbin3294 It was certainly one for the books.

[@sammybeck7794]

Delirium: Serious disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of surroundings. .....This song describes it perfectly

[@babylonsister118]

Yes was easily my favorite band at one point in time! I was blessed to have seen them twice and each time it was definitely a transcendental experience! Thanks much for sharing this!

[@thomasmoroney1079]

71-77 nobody could come close to this band✌️

[@babylonsister118]

@@thomasmoroney1079 Hell yeah!

[@thomasmoroney1079]

@@babylonsister118 and you’re a Steely Dan fan!!! ✌️

[@babylonsister118]

@@thomasmoroney1079 Hell yeah! Big time! Nice catch!

[@JJ8KK]

I checked your YES playlist & you've now listened to all of YES' Must Listen masterpieces they created during their Uber-Classical Period *_except one:_* their cover of Paul Simon's *America.* YES' 1st couple of albums featured some original material, but they both included 2 or 3 covers of other bands. *America* was the last cover they recorded, but it never showed up on any of their studio albums until their first compilation album *Yesterdays.* What makes this cover special is that it's packed full of Squire/Bruford ear candy throughout. It was essentially a "jam" song that they'd play for encores during the period of their The Yes Album & Fragile tours. When YES recorded their covers of other musicians, they reworked them so much that the original tune is often barely recognizable. The result was a completely new song that had been completely "Yessified." Yes, there are plenty of exceptional YES songs created after their Uber-Classical period, but that exceptional period featured Bruford's experimental jazz approach to drumming that made their output unique within the musical universe (absolutely _no_ disrespect to Alan White, who was also an exceptional drummer) I dare say you will be blown away by it even more than TGOD as it's quite a bit less complex & a lot more funky...

[@bazeye]

You missed out The Revealing Science of God.

[@dolfinpt]

If you listen to America…listen to the live 10 minutes version❤

[@anthonyblakely399]

FINALLY!!!!! FINALLY!!!! I have waited for this reaction for a long time!!!! i can't wait!!!

[@rk41gator]

The holy trilogy of prog rock: Yes, Genesis, and Pink Floyd. (great artwork too)

[@eddiecriglington400]

Scintillating. Goosebumps all the way. 🎶❤️🎶

[@TigerMtnKing]

Another genius, iconic, masterpiece from the Masters of genius music. YES!!!🤩

[@jeffschielka7845]

👍😎

[@TigerMtnKing]

🤩@@jeffschielka7845

[@rk41gator]

These prog bands have such complex music memorized for a 2hr+ concert that it is mind-blowing. Genius. This piece has it all. Drama. Rockin' segments. Excellent musical construction. Emotion. Sublime beauty. But just you wait until you hear 'Supper's Ready' (Genesis)! More genius!

[@psbarrow]

My favourite song ever (and I'm 63 so I've heard a bit). Amazing musicianship, kudos for taking it on.

[@jaredsearle4278]

This was my first experience at a Yes concert. I was tripping and I saw myself several yards away on the floor with my hair on fire. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me . The scarring was almost negligent 🤣

[@MisterWondrous]

G.O.D.

[@dolfinpt]

I’ve been waiting for you to hear this one…get ready…it’s DEEP! My Fav!❤

[@johng.8517]

This song is right up there with Close to the Edge. It might be better by a hair or at least a tie. It's powerful. Unlike Close to the Edge the lyrics have meaning. The beginning is the buildup to war. Then the battle in the middle and peace at the end. It's impossible for them to do this live exactly like the studio version but there are a couple of decent live performances. The first time I heard it was at a live concert. I had never listened to Relayer. It was like what the heck is this? It wasn't until much later that I began to appreciate how good this is. I've played it a thousand times probably since then. If I play this while I'm doing aerobics in the gym the time just flies by because it takes to another world. Same with Close to the Edge. You should play the other two songs on the album which are also pretty decent.

[@marshabonforte6963]

Love your description of Gates, but don’t agree that the lyrics from Close to the Edge have no meaning.

[@jeffschielka7845]

YES❗️The greatest band on this or any other planet❗️🔈🔉🔊😎

[@lesblatnyak5947]

👑

[@louise_rose]

SHAKIRA of all people was spotted wearing a t-shirt with the cover artwork - I wonder if she had heard the album? Roger Dean deservedly won a prize for "Best Album Cover of the Year" for his beautifully suggestive painting of the two young knights and the fearsome snakes, and it's one of his personal favourites among his own work. The album is exceptional, truly one of a kind, and the one where Yes were the most ahead of their time at the date of release - it was at least ten years ahead before anyone else even approached something like these sounds. Relayer is a masterpiece.

[@mattleppard1964]

I’ve seen that T-shirt too. Odd juxtaposition but there you go

[@jeannettesimpson9778]

Wow! After all these years still such a ride. That outro! "Soon, oh soon the light". "Long ago, set into rhyme . . ." The guitar....

[@ryanr5319]

Love that passage too! '...set in to a rhyme.' My heart every single time. Jon and his voice.

[@frankhoulihanfh4972]

On the Yesshows version Jon sings that line and the crowd erupts spontaneously in a huge cheer. Of course there may have been some lighting, and other unspecified enhancements.

[@77bevo]

Howe's use of Telecaster is superb.

[@rhondamcewananderson3968]

A masterpiece for sure! ❤️

[@rk41gator]

Delirium. Yes, in so many ways. At so many levels.

[@chadbennett7873]

This was my all-time favorite composition for nearly fifty years, until I heard Nightwish's "The Greatest Show On Earth." Both are masterpieces and deal with subject matter critical to mankind. Both are epic and complex. TGOD is basically a musical telling of "War and Peace," and a modern day "1812 Overture." The buildup is descriptive and realistic, while the battle describes war in two themes that take turns advancing and retreating. "Soon," as the ending provides hope of peace and resolution. While TGSOE has taken the first spot, it does not diminish the brilliance of this incredible work. They rest, very much, side by side for me. I remember listening to this the day it was released in 1974 with my band mates, and we went crazy for it. So glad you were able to share this reaction with us. Thank you.

[@thomasmoroney1079]

This is a long ride that usually brings me to tears by the end😢

[@markjohnson4217]

This piece expresses a war between an oppressed people rising against their oppressors. The lyrics are YES's finest easily. Each verse is an excellent example of each stage leading up to the battle. Ths is an important over-looked aspect of wars. It is during those stages of doubt, fear, and resolve that really detemine the outcome and how many chances there are to avert the disaster that will surely be visited upon all iregardless of winning or losing, the suffering will be beyond estimation. I wish more nations would take these deliberations more seriously indstead of charging in like a bunch of cowboys. This is my favorite epic from Yes. It is followed by Close to the Edge in a very close second place, sometimes i can't decide which is greater.

[@DavidKennaway1]

The keyboard player on this album wasn't Rick Wakeman it was Patrick Moraz. The lead instrument in the last section "Soon" was a pedal steel guitar not a keyboard played by Steve Howe. It's a beautiful piece of music. I know Jon Anderson was inspired by Igor Stavinsky and you can hear that in Yes music. They always came on stage to the finale of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. This is classical music played on modern instruments and will be played for 100's of years. Truly astonishing.

[@frankhoulihanfh4972]

Many millennia. The full power of The Gates Of Delirium has yet to be realized by others, beside stone cold hardcore Yesphreaques.

[@susangonsalves9636]

When you put this into the war/peace context it all makes sense.

[@louissonier840]

Patrick Moraz instead of Rick. He returns for Going For The One album

[@dolfinpt]

Road Trip Album!!!!🤘✌️❤️

[@TheProgCorner]

Oh yeah!!!! ❤

[@TigerMtnKing]

Hey Scot!🤩

[@jeffschielka7845]

👍😎

[@brucefelger4015]

remotely follows Tolstoy's War and Peace

[@mattleppard1964]

So much war then the amazing peace. My favorite piece of music ❤

[@louissonier840]

the mountainsides are keyboards

[@lesblatnyak5947]

The ebony and ivory of life

[@ianlejeune6012]

Getting drawn through the gates of delirium into the horror that minds can descend to in times of conflict - delirious with passion and lust, forgetting or ignoring the consequences of your actions in violent, berserk mayhem. A difficult set of ideas to imagine into a musical piece - but the more I hear this, the more I appreciate their genius; both in creation and execution. Side 2 awaits…

[@robertjantzen6545]

Yes...we saw it live....

[@frankhoulihanfh4972]

Myself as well. My wife, my sons. ❤ Thank you Yes.

[@mikesisto]

Live version is killer!

[@TheRKae]

Beethoven level genius.

[@davidwatkinson1226]

You need the vinyl album cover folded out and see both sides. Then look deep into the images, read the lyrics and the poem, who does what and what they play,where it was recorded and then look that up. Then do it all again and then, check out the solo albums after it. First Olias of Sunhillow by Jon Anderson then Fish out of water by Chris squire, because all these are epic and 10/10 albums. Then do it all again as your hear more the second time round.

[@davidstevenson404]

wow it took me a while BACK IN 74 to get into this album.

[@rogerk55]

It is very simply War & Piece, war is Hell, piece is Heaven, I much prefer the end of this piece for obvious reasons, but all in all an amazing composition. It is in my top 3 along with Awaken and Close to the Edge. The order is not important, they just all 3 belong there.

[@derekmeade6350]

An amazing piece of music!

[@cremersalex]

Steve Howe kills it on this album.

[@cindydahl9635]

Greenish? Cound it be the masterpiece Close To The Edge😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@bazeye]

The best live version of this track is off the album Yesshows, I would love to see you react to it.

[@fredericmondor8683]

Listen this song on the Yesshows album live.Masterpiece.

[@TerryJ950]

Thank you for your great reaction to this awesome masterpiece! I’d like to suggest Birthright which is a song on the album Anderson, Buford, Wakeman and Howe. Basically Yes without Chris Squire. They only made the one album as a group.

[@bungopony]

The live version of this on the "Yesshows" album is even better.

[@problemchimp4231]

Initially a tough listen...ultimately, (once understanding the context) potentially, one of the greatest music, one will hear.

[@anthonyblakely399]

This song reminds of😊the war in Lord of the Rings and at the end of the book...everything that was destroyed had to be restored. 😊😊😊

[@crystal-ice555]

Good review. Notice the way this song ends, very much akin to Lord of the Rings (the film). Don't tell me the music for the film was not influenced by this track.

[@frankhoulihanfh4972]

The future will discover that Yes influenced everyone and everything afterward. All music since, in some way.

[@skunkworksu7638]

Favorite album for ever .

[@nonrepublicrat]

Today CAKE. Tomorrow PIE or DONUT?

[@robertjantzen6545]

As much as this song makes you hope The Devil is gone ...he ain't....and he's Trump

[@dragonage2112]

The "soon" part towards the end is a pedal steel guitar not a guitar with any gain tricks just a delay. Pedal steels use a slide pink floyd uses them as well a lot of country bands, Red Rider uses them as well.