Customer Reviews

Tales From Topographic Oceans

5 star:		(115)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I reviewed the original version of "Tales from Topographic Oceans" back in October 2002. More recently I purchased this expanded two CD version from Rhino that includes not only the original four tracks, but a studio run-through of "Dance of the Dawn" and "Giants Under the Sun." Jon Anderson's vocals sound a bit thready and weak in the studio run-through, and the harmonies have yet to be added, yet, there is a certain charm to these run-throughs and the music is powerful.

"Tales" is a deeply philosophical album that is not for the meditative faint of heart. While much music is created to be toe-tapping and easy to sing to, "Tales" is in that genre usually called progressive rock, in a sub-genre that requires intense analysis to understand. The result is an album that is inaccessible and incomprehensible to a casual listener. In order to understand this music you must read the lyrics and listen, and listen, and then listen some more. Even then you might fail to gain a glimmer of Yes' intent.

"Tales from Topographic Oceans" would have to qualify as one of the most if not the most deeply complicated rock music ever created. Again, if you are a casual listener the complexity of the music can be frustrating or boring. However, if you consider that classical music is often complex, and to be understood requires extended focused listening, it should be of little surprise that Yes took that complexity for its own in the development of this music, creating a symphony in four movements.

The first movement is titled "The Revealing Science of God: Dance of the Dawn". The lyrics have no meaning, and they also have meaning. Confusing? Oh yeah. Understand that the point of the movement is to get the listener to realize that there are bits and pieces of knowledge, and understanding is something that rarely, if ever, comes all at once. Jon Anderson uses the sound of the words to create an almost subliminal meaning. The whole point is that you are to realize that we do not understand, but we have to keep trying to understand. Also, when you find meaning, know that you found it within yourself.

The second movement is "The Remembering: High the Memory". This song is about the breadth of knowledge that is available to humankind and to any one individual. However, the song is also trying to say that while that knowledge is available, each of us can only access that knowledge when it becomes a part of our personal knowledge, and more than just having it as personal knowledge, it must be accessible and understood to be useful. Another way of saying this is that we have realms of knowledge that are potentially available to each of us. However, only that knowledge which we personally understand and can access will be of any value to us.

The third movement is "The Ancient: Giants under the Sun". The concept of this song is relatively simple compared to the first two movements. This song pushes through the envelope of recorded time to access forgotten knowledge from civilizations that came before. While the song is relatively easy to understand, the music is more interwoven and complex, and intertwines elements that are intended to evoke those earlier cultures. Therefore, the instruments flavor this movement with musical elements from around the globe to help give the feeling that the song of our knowledge is made up of many parts from many people. While the music sounds relatively simple, it is as technically detailed and complex as any concerto or symphony I can recall. While Steve Howe's guitar may be pivotal in this song according to Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman's keyboards are essential to the ethnicity of the various portions of the music. This track is an incredible composition. This movement adds to the seeking of the first movement and the understanding of the second movement that there is knowledge yet available to be discovered from all cultures and civilizations that may no longer exist, but that understanding is still available if we know where and how to look for it.

The fourth and final movement is "Ritual: Nous Sommes Du Soleil". This composition is relatively accessible philosophically because it is a description of the human condition. This piece is intended to communicate that we have the ability to seek knowledge and understanding. Part of that knowledge and understanding is the constant struggle between good and evil, and how that struggle plays a part of how we view that knowledge. However, this piece also reinforces the earlier movements in that we have the ability learn and to understand granted by a higher power.

I've read that Rick Wakeman complained that there was too much filler in this composition. I suppose that could be said of many of the classical compositions by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, and on and on. However, I've also read that Steve Howe thought that this was some of his best work ever. This work is magnificent in conception and scope. It is not readily accessible to the casual listener. The very best way to understand this music is to get a bottle of really good wine, sit in the middle of the room in a recliner, turn out most or all of the lights, and listen and feel. Start by paying attention to the emotion and feeling of the words, because that was the intent of the lyrics. Once you begin to understand what was intended, then this work becomes accessible. It is one of the most incredibly complex pieces of music I've ever heard, and I have listened to everything from classical to death metal. This music isn't for everyone, but those who can get into it, it is fantastic.

This album is arguably the all time "whipping boy" of progressive rock. Hardcore Yes fans tend to love it and others tend to hate it. Also, due to its length and opulent title/artwork it falls prey to a multitude of Spinaltap-esque jokes.

Personally, I love it. Always have. I've owned this on vinyl and now 2 CD masters. This is the FIRST version that I've heard that actually sounds good. Its miraculous what Rhino have done with this. You can actually hear parts on here that were completely lost in the muddiness of previous masters.

I've always thought this was strong musically, but some will disagree. If you've already decided you hate this album, you might consider giving it a second shot with this master.

The ONLY complaint other than it taking 30 years to have this work properly mastered is that the artwork, while good for a CD remaster - is, well, its the size of a CD obviously. This cover is one of the strongest that Roger Dean did for Yes and it was meant to go on an album obviously - and BIG. I remember this hippy chick I knew bringing this over to the house with about 20 other records back in the 70's. This cover and Anderson's Olias album were two of the wildest things I think I'd ever seen!

Back in 1973, the target market for this sort of music -- 14 to 22-year-olds, mostly male, academic rather than sporty -- had time on its hands. You need to remember that:
1. There was no Internet.
2. There was no GameBoy, Playstation or other video game.
3. There were just three TV stations (for us in the UK), and they usually closed down before midnight.
4. There was no video-recording medium available at an affordable price.

As a teenager at the time, I remember sitting around a lot doing not much!

The one artistic medium that the consumer could really control was sound i.e. music, with radio, LPs and the compact cassette working together to enable the listener to enjoy the material whenever he or she wanted. People spent proportionately much more of their income on this one medium than they do now. (Indeed concert tickets at the time typically cost rather less than an LP.) So many artists put a lot of effort to get their recorded output as perfect as possible. Pink Floyd, for example, spent years getting 'The Dark Side of the Moon', also released in 1973, precisely right.

Other artists, such as Genesis and Yes, decided for one album each that more effort meant more length. Genesis produced 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway', while Yes created the controversial 'Tales from Topographic Oceans'.

I had been entranced by Yes, ever since buying a cassette version of 'Close to the Edge' the previous year, purely on the basis of a few colour photos! I had pre-ordered the new double LP from a mail order firm that believed it was called 'Tales from Tobergraphic Oceans'.

I have to admit that even in those days, you needed to be a pretty committed fan to defend the album. There weren't enough catchy tunes, and you had to change sides three times to listen to the whole thing. (Thankfully with CD, you only need to change sides once.) We didn't fight or even argue over it -- we just ignored each other's pet favourites, such as Genesis, David Bowie, or the Eagles. (I'm begining to think that what killed the mid-1970s progressive excess wasn't so much Punk Rock, but actually the more accessible, and much shorter tunes written by intelligent US bands such as Steely Dan, Little Feat and the Doobie Brothers.)

Topographic Oceans introduced the Yes world to not just Jon Anderson's theological pursuit but also the drumming of Alan White. I feel that was one of the big disappointments of the album, as well as Wakeman's general lack of presence. White was OK at hitting a simple beat on the tom-toms, but he just seemed to lack the jazz-tinged subtlety of Bill Bruford, who helped make CLOSE TO THE EDGE such a five-star classic.

Another marketing mistake that Topographic made was not including any photos of the band, an error repeated only on 'Relayer'. Judging by the Roger Dean cover, this was an album for the fish. It was utterly impersonal.

After the album and the tour, the band effectively split for several months, with each member creating solo albums -- e.g. Olias of Sunhillow, Fish out of Water, Beginnings. Rick Wakeman split more permanently, to pursue his interest in Jules Verne and King Arthur, returning to make 'Going for the One'.

In retrospect, Anderson's musical vision was too grandiose, and the lyrics were of interest to only a tiny portion even of Yes fans. Topographic Oceans can be heard today as a flawed symphony. For the committed Yes fan, it never really flags. Because we know it so well, no track is better than any other, and the whole thing is in many ways a great work.

But long gone are the days when you would simply listen to this sort of music with friends -- listening and doing nothing else, besides perhaps looking at the album cover. Nowadays we're so short of time that we play this sort of stuff as background music, while we're working or driving. It's less portentous that it once was, but it's a lot better than silence.

Many years ago, when I really listened to this record, on headphones, I experienced one of those rare life changing moments. This record took me to a place -- I can only use the word "spirit". But I am not sure if there is a good word.

Of course, if you want conventional this is not for you. When I am in the mood for inspiration, a journey, I turn to this. And it is always fresh. Tales is amounst other things, about lifting yourself up, how our own personal transformation relates to evolution.

Getting over overhanging trees...
Didn't we learn to fly?...
Other skylines to hold you...

This album is more than a perfect realisation of music, lyrics, subtlety, originality, and brillant use of just a major scale, (lifting up), as the basis of the material.(!) It also changes your state, maybe your life, to a higher place. Corny? I can be a cynical person so I do not say this lightly -- I am not a typical "new-ager". (I do not like most "new age" music.) It really can do this if you are open to it.

I will just add that though I do not own much Prog Rock amoung the hundreds of CDs I have, this is perhaps my favorite record of all --for sure in the top 5.

I first heard this album in its entirety live, back when I was but a wee lad of 12.

It completely blew me away. Yet it's taken me 30 years to truly appreciate this flawed monstrosity.

There's an apocraphal story that some critic challanged Jon Anderson to make an album based on the Bible. This was his answer. The hype is that this album is based on the Hindu Shastric Scriptures. In actuality, as these volumes demand years of study, it was based on Jon's cursory reading of a footnote in the book "Autobiography of a Yogi." According to the liner notes, the album was developed in by Jon and Steve in a series of late-night meetings by candlelight. Jon's never been all that good at penning lyrics that directly resonate, and this is never more true than on "Tales."

There's a reason why prog in general, and Yes in particular, is seen as pretentious and bombastic.

In spite of themselves, and most definitely in spite of a decided lack of enthusiasm for this project by Rick Wakeman, Yes crafted an extremely complex 4-part "symphony" that defies description. Like many of prog's best (and, to its detractors, worst) moments, it is a completely singular work, like Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," King Crimson's "Red," and Yes' own "Relayer." Or, for that matter, Beethoven's late string quartets. It doesn't really reference anything before it, and seems to be a muscical "dead end," as nothing after it really builds on it.

Being a huge fan of such "dead ends," I think it rules, but that's just me.

The first movement, long-windedly titled "The Revealing Science of God," is a testament to man's searching for truth in the spiritual realm. Musically, it's stellar. The reissue of "Tales" has an intro that builds up to the first vocals, which on the original seemed to appear from blackness. The music builds on this idea, forming a tapestry of searching and release, ebbing and flowing and finally ending on a long chanting passage that sends the message back to the listener in the final "and you and you and you."

Many people complain that the second movement, "The Remembering," is repititous and "padded." I can't help but agreeing, but I don't know where it should be cut. It is about man's personal memories, and how they relate to the Godhead. Throughout the piece, the guitar and keyboards are pivotal, ebbing and flowing and engaging in a dialogue before coming to a resolution in the "Rainbows, sunlight" section at the end...truly one of the most inspirational moments in the Yes cannon. After many years of listening, it never fails to bring a tear to my eye.

"The Ancient" is the most schitzophrenic movement, dealing with the "collective unconsciousness" and our genetic/racial memories of God. This is the movement that took me 30 years to really understand and get into. The first half is an almost antonal experiment, with a howling Steve Howe solo that alone is worth the price of admission to the initiated. To most, it will probably really annoy. The second half is a wonderful, amazing piece that was played live on its own and titled "Leaves of Green." I'm still not sure how it ties in with the rest of the album (although the lyrics here, less inscrutable than most of "Tales," clearly do), but it's a mindblowing showcase of Steve Howe's classical guitar ability.

The final movement, "Ritual," is either a searing indictment of religion or a tacit acknowledgement of its validity. Only Jon knows for sure, and I doubt that even he could answer the question. Anyway, it starts with a gorgous, almost hymnic paeon to God, which becomes edgier and edgier until, at the midpoint of the piece, there is a bizarre percussive interval. According to Jon, it is suppposed to be "the battle between Good and Evil." Irregardless, it's jarring and difficult, and takes many repeated listens to really "get." The backside of the song contains one of the most amazingly beautiful Yes passages, complete with some of the best lyrics that Jon has ever written, starting with "Hold me my love, hold me today, call me round." The song plays itself out into an incredibly edgy finale that references the beginning of Tales, implying that faith and God is a circle.

This is not easy music. Like I said, it's taken me over 30 years to really get into this music, particularly the third movement "The Ancient." I tend to listen to it in its entirety...if you're a fan of 3-5 minute radio-friendly songs, you will assuredly NOT like "Tales." If new to Yes, try "The Yes Album," "Fragile," and their brilliant "Close to the Edge" first, before venturing this far afield. "Tales" is best listened to alone, in its entirety, preferably with headphones, and will take multiple listens to really get into.

However, it's worth the effort. Bombastic, pretentious and self-indulgent? Absolutely! A great deal of difficult music is exactly that...but the payoff is huge.

A disclaimer...I am hardly a casual Yes fan, as I'm a moderator on the yesfans.com fan site. So shoot me, I love this stuff. Many longtime fans of Yes can't stand it. But if you get it, it's some of the best music written in the 70s.

If you REALLY like it, try "Relayer" next.

If you're not a Yes fan I'm not sure why you'd be here considering buying what is probably the most unique rock album of all time. And if you're already a fan you probably don't need convincing.

This is classical music done with rock instruments and rock sensibility. It's not something you're gonna throw in your car stereo and fall in love with immediately. But if you like the song "Close to the Edge", you'll love this album. And as with "CTTE" you'll need at least a year and a few false starts before the gods finally find you fit enough to allow the greatness begin to seep into your blood.

Nothing in the world of rock music has ever dared delve into the ideas, both musical and idealogical that this album attempted to achieve. There will never again be a time when anybody would take a work such as this seriously. I can't imagine how it would sound to a first time listener today, since it is such a product of its paradigm.
Hence, it is difficult to appraise honestly.
Is it padded? Mercilessly on Remembering. Would I change a note? No way.
Is it the work of a band at their best? Not at all. Only on Ritual does one get the impression that everybody is actually playing the same song.
But as an expression of a vision, it is matchless. You could argue that Close To The Edge did a better job of this, but it was a group vision in many respects.
It remains the only album I can listen to after 30 years and still hear something new each time. And it still leaves me wondering, how did they do it when half the band weren't really into it.

One of the very few recordings that will send a "receptive soul" to the highest heights. Sounds silly, but it's not. The trick is to listen to it alone. Trust me, the others won't get it. You won't be wearing your boogie shoes while listening to this epic. No matter though. This gem is for the enlightened entities of our fair Earth. I recall listening to "The Remembering" while in a secluded spot in the Sierras (many years ago) and having that out of body experience that many pay huge bucks to experience. Do not listen to the naysayers, this album is remarkable and way ahead of its time.

Buy it, double up on your diaper, sit back and listen. Then go in search of your soul after it leaves your body, and for some ungodly reason ends up in Canoga Park. The music is that intense and personal.

First of all, and it's not incredibly important but here it is anyway, "Tales of Topographic Oceans" boasts the single greatest cover in the history of albums, period, end of story. You can stare at it for hours and find new bedevilments, and you don't even have to be high. An album cover, when it's not just a perfunctory photo of the band staring moodily into the camera, can be a powerful aphrodesiac and a clue, giving you a taste of what you're in for if you buy the album...and that is exactly what Roger Dean's absolutely magnificent cover painting does. You know what you're looking at...and yet you DON'T know what you're looking at, and that's exactly the sensation you feel listening to "Tales".
Okay: check this out. Trek back to the 1970's, when there were no such things as CDs, just vinyl albums with two sides, about 20 minutes each side. Throw on 5 or, if you're daring, 6 songs on each side, each track about 3 minutes long, and you're done. Blah blah blah. Then...along come bands like Yes and Genesis and King Crimson, encouraged by the likes of Dylan and the Beatles, and they say, "To HELL with the accepted norm...and not just song length, not just song subject matter, not just instruments...but to hell with EVERYTHING you ever told us we could do. Why can't rock music fit onto a jazz platform? Why not a classical music platform? Why not try something different? Why not try EVERYTHING???" So try they did, and those who must name every new thing called it Progressive Rock, and it was good. Then came the ultimate Prog Rock album, Yes's "Tales of Topographic Oceans", a double album with just FOUR songs, each 20 minutes long, each filling one album side, the single ballsiest move in rock and roll since "Sgt. Peppers"...and it all came tumbling down. Prog Rock became as hated as disco would soon become, reviled for being snooty, snobbish, self-involved and navel-gazing, a waste of time, a big masturbatory frenzy of Brit whimps with too much time on their hands. And YOU know, it's always true, that those who look ahead and see past the inevitable political log-jamming make the best music, because that's what they're about, my friend, THE MUSIC; not the politics of the music. It's that simple. Each of these four epic songs rises and crests and washes through you and creates a multiplicity of emotions, and I can't tell you what you'll feel when you listen but you MUST LISTEN, because there are still frontiers to be found and conquered, and no one, no one at all since these guys, has had the piercing imagination and bloody-rare courage to venture into the territory of unknown the way they did. Listen and understand: music can be anything, can go anywhere, if you only have the will to follow your own crazy lead.

If you are reading this, you probably want to know if it is worth the money to buy Tales from Topographic Oceans yet again. Is this new package worth it? The answer is a resounding YES!!! [no pun intended]. The sound is much improved, and this is true for every instrument. The vocal arrangements are well-balanced for the first time, revealing a layer of complexity it was difficult to detect on album and the first 2 CD releases. The drums sound fantastic (ditto on the Close to the Edge remaster) and you can really hear the misc. percussion instruments that were previously buried in the mix. The main instruments all sound wonderful. When CTTE was first remastered, the keyboards were too high and Steve Howe was buried in the mix. I feared this might be the case on this album, but on this Tales remaster the balance of all instruments is spot-on. Tonally, the timbre of Howe's guitars is improved by the remaster and the bass also has increased presence. I highly recommend this CD on the basis of the improved sound alone. I own other CDs from the YES remasters, and this ranks with the best in terms of improved sound quality.
As for the bonus tracks: If you love Tales and know it by heart, you will appreciate them. They are rough mixes, and the lyrics and vocals are very much works in progress. They are bonus tracks, and that is all that can really be said about them. I do enjoy them very much, but I love this music. To a die-hard Yes fan and Tales lover they do add value to the CD. However, the CD is worth buying without the bonus tracks.
The only thing I think would improve this set would be for the keyboard introduction to The Revealing Science of God to be a seperate track. This would allow those of us who prefer to listen to this track the way it is on vinyl (Dawn of light...) could skip the introduction.
You either love Tales or you don't. It is my favorite Yes album and my favorite album of all time. So, I will not try to persuade you one way or the other. I am simply writing this review to help those who do love this CD determine if it is a good value. It is.