I bought this album when it came out. My fist Yes album . I have never been able to convince my brain to not get bored . I agree with Wakeman “to listen is like seeing paint drying “ . Luckily I got to see Yes live in 77 and bought the classical albums from UK. I leave this album to you to listen too!
So did I, i got it back in 73 I was 13 years old, I hated it at first, then I listened to it with headphones, turned all the lights off and I could see the whole city lights thru my windows, and I played side one It changed the whole experience.
"I recall Chris Squire once telling me that when the band were working on this album they did no more than a few bars of music a day. This meant they could perfect what they had, and explains why Tales… sounds so highly detailed. I know it was Jon Anderson’s concept, but you can tell from the way everyone got involved instrumentally that all of Yes were at a peak ... Love or hate it, this album has made a lasting impact.” Steve Hackett “Besides having one of the most iconic album covers, this album has some of the more daring prog rock ever recorded, and one of the coolest album titles. The blend of simple folky songs, symphonic bliss, improvised electronica and odd time signatures, plus fabulous lyrics all make this album stand out. All the members shine, even if sometimes in a more silent way ... The sheer inventiveness from masters Anderson and Howe here is nothing less than a grand landmark in Yes history and in prog generally.” Roine Stolt
"Meeting point of high ideals and low energy"-Jon, Chris almost never talked about it beyond saying it was a bit difficult to get into, Rick Wakeman hated it, until it was good for business not to around 96', Bill left the dang band for fear of making basically this record. Alan and Steve have always been charitable towards it when asked, but they acknowledge it's polarizing even among people who like Yes. Interesting subject in the Yes cannon to debate, but it's got it's issues and I think you can be objective about the whole of the effort and not really dig it. Close to Edge and Relayer thankfully exist in this space for people like me.
@@colinburroughs9871 I give little credence to Mr. King Arthur on Ice Rick's opinion who actually ironically contributed some of his most beautiful work on the album. I think TALES was for those who could viscerally connect with the actual narratives & theme instrumentally and lyrically that were being passionately expressed through these more exploratory adventurous thematic unconventional compositions such as THE ANCIENT, who's Funky Jazz undercurrent overlaid with petal steel hypnotic psychedelia were clearly preludes to elements of RELAYER and to those with the patience and concentration to grasp the subtle beauty of THE REMEMBERING's opening dreamy lullaby melody that ambiently swells towards a multi-layered interwoven undulating torrent of transcendent overlapping rushing waves of sounds which build towards a tidal wave of intensity. In many ways it's like a slower burning version of The Fish combined with a similar stylistic beauty that was later re-imagined for "Awaken". Lyrically, I have personally always been able to grasp and comprehend the overall metaphoric poetics throughout TALES. That's why the album's seamless themes also have deep meaning and spiritual significance for me. There is not one section I find arbitrary or insignificant. Note or note it works as a complete whole from Side A to D and I feel lucky and blessed to be able to bask in this 4 part epic at the peak of their 3 most adventurous & daring era.
@@colinburroughs9871 I give little credence to Mr. King Arthur on Ice Rick's opinion who actually ironically contributed some of his most beautiful work on the album. I think TALES was for those who could viscerally connect with the actual narratives & theme instrumentally and lyrically that were being passionately expressed through these more exploratory adventurous thematic unconventional compositions such as THE ANCIENT, who's Funky Jazz undercurrent overlaid with petal steel hypnotic psychedelia were clearly preludes to elements of RELAYER and to those with the patience and concentration to grasp the subtle beauty of THE REMEMBERING's opening dreamy lullaby melody that ambiently swells towards a multi-layered interwoven undulating torrent of transcendent overlapping rushing waves of sounds which build towards a tidal wave of intensity. In many ways it's like a slower burning version of The Fish combined with a similar stylistic beauty that was later re-imagined for "Awaken". Lyrically, I have personally always been able to grasp and comprehend the overall metaphoric poetics throughout TALES. That's why the album's seamless themes also have deep meaning and spiritual significance for me. There is not one section I find arbitrary or insignificant. Note or note it works as a complete whole from Side A to D and I feel lucky and blessed to be able to bask in this 4 part epic at the peak of their 3 most adventurous works & daring era.
Not since George crucified In the Court of the Crimson King, have I waited to hear Luis' comments on TFTO - and he did not disappoint. Great discussion as always.
Good Day all, I watched this show in its completion and found so much that I agreed and disagreed with. My long odyssey with this album was when I purchased a cassette copy of this album in December of 1988, mind you my full foray still hadn't branched any further than Yes, Pink Floyd and ELP (as these were the bands that received the bulk of the airplay here on classic rock radio here in New York City and my obsession with Genesis was yet to take hold, so Yes was that band that I fell in love with. I purchased "Yessongs" with my first job and made my way from "Big Generator" backwards. I loved everything that I heard yet I purchased "Yesshows" in the following weeks (early 1990) and loved Yes's brilliant majestic ways brought to fruition. I struggled with "Tormato" yet I got used to the album although it's never been a favorite of mine. When first purchased "Tales From Topographic Oceans", I ironically purchased Genesis "And Then There Were Three" and Pink Floyd's "Relics", I found myself wondering if I get through listening to "Tales", I still wasn't enamored with Genesis's "ATTWT" at the time, so I spent much of my time listening to "Relics". Sometime afterwards, I was listening to The Cure's "Disintegration" while being high as kite, and found the album way to depressive so I decided to put "Tales" on and found it unbelievably meandering and tried to get through the first track, and in my "state" was wearing. I took it to being high, so I decided to get out my walkman and listen to the album while on my way to work, and I found the experience even worse, I couldn't get into it. Summer of 1990, after leaving a girlfriend's apartment in Brooklyn I decided to bring the TFTO cassette and a new discovery for me (at the time), "King Crimson's "Lizard" as the other cassette. The long ride to The Bronx from Brooklyn, I decided to played Cassette 2 instead of the first casette and that I felt was an even worse experience. Long time fans of the album had been championing the album on the Yes fan forum and Progressive Ears, and I failed to bite as the album hadn't swayed my listening pallet even as my musical pallet expanded, yet for every year that passed I couldn't find my way to gaining the courage to listen to this album, until a day in 2017 being off from work, and while fixing up my cassette collection, I gave TFTO my undivided attention and finally listened to this album, and afterwards really listened to it and taking in the show that the Jon Anderson/Steve Howe show with Wakeman, Squire and White accompanying them on these four majestic tracks. I found myself listening to this album for a few weeks and loving it more and more with every listen, even as my love for Yes dissipating over the years, yet outside of their pre-"Tormato" material, I can't listen to the band post "Talk" and as of this day, "Tales From Topographic Oceans" has now become that album from Yes that I still listen to from time to time. Is it a perfect album? No. In my opinion, the album suffers like many double albums, with the artist's reluctance to do much needed editing, yet my opinion over the years since giving the album my attention, it really is an excellent album and a continuation of Yes's brilliant and influential run during the 70's. My favorite song on the album, "The Remembering" with "Ritual" coming in second. my least favorite still is "The Ancient".
Tales from Topographic Oceans is considered by some to be the apotheosis of Yes' career (and progressive rock), while others despise the album to no end. I fall into neither of the above camps. While I don't think it's the best thing in Yes' catalogue, I have loved Tales since first acquiring it by way of a cheap cassette copy lying around in a thrift shop that I once frequented. Played it constantly. Not too long after that, I upgraded to a CD copy (at next to nothing.) Of course, I can't go without mentioning the breathtaking album cover; a perfect encapsulation of the soundscapes found therein. I'm certain that this will be an interesting episode.
I like the comparison to the 2 Tull albums "Thick as a brick" and "Passion play". This is not a Beethoven symphony. Everything does not have to be super tight. I just love that this was a time when a band could do things like this.
When I first heard this album, around ten years ago, I was "returning" to prog, after many years of being away from it, listening to a lot of punk, indie rock, jazz, funk, classical music, and more, but very little prog. When I came back to prog, I decided that I should *finally* listen to this album and give it an honest chance, as I had *completely* avoided it for decades, due to the very negative things I had heard about it. Even though I was now open to listen to it, however, I didn't *assume* that I would like it. If anything, I thought I would find it to be a hard and off-putting experience. However, from the very first listen, I was drawn in and couldn't believe how much I loved it. It was challenging music, to be sure, but I listened to the whole album straight through and was blown away by it. To this day, when I listen to "Tales," I have to listen to the whole album-- it's a complete experience for me. Contra the assertions of Luis, I'm not saying any of this, because I think that I'm *supposed* to like this album. I was actually *biased against* it, before I ever heard it. The first listen won me over though-- and I was completely sober at the time, as I have been every time I've listened to it! 🙂
I know we all hear these albums differently and I sure hear this one way different than most of the panel. I love TFTO and that's what makes music so wonderful. If the music touches you, it touches you.
For me its the most meaningful music ever made. And though I don't understand more than 70% of Tales, what I do understand is very meaningful to me. And for you, that is, more or less, true. That's probably why a lot of people love Tales.
Such a atmospheric album! I love it and find it to be there best work. It has the time to unfold itself, this album rocks in many places and also has the space to breath, it's truly wonderful. Bought this on day of release when I was 14, and have always loved it, must have played a thousand times. Olias of Sunhillow is the closest thing to this work, another Jon Anderson masterpiece.
Luis is off his rocker on this one. Tales is a classic. I've been listening to it for decades and it still sounds fresh. If it wasn't in the YES cannon there would be a black hole where it should be. It is indicative of its time: psychedelic drugs, raw experimentation and encrypted beauty. There are sublime moments throughout which stand in stark relief, but that doesn't relegate the down time to 'padding'. The meandering moments in between become more interesting as the years go by, not less. There is a slow burn quality to this album which yields novelty. The reason so many YES fans love it is not because it can be reduced to roadkill with a logo on it, but because it is still interesting and beautiful and expansive and ultimately unapologetic. It is the antithesis of punk. Jello Biafra eat your heart out.
This album was understood in it's day by the psychedelic crowd to be a buzz kill fwiw- it's not really a metric most people care about anymore, but when this stuff was new, it was a relevant factor.
@colinburroughs9871 What is the metric you are referring to? Many proggers love this album, as exhibited in the comment section. When I first bought Tales, I found it meandering and strange, but it grew on me over time. I wonder how many 70s prog rockers might agree.
I admit that I love this album. I got it as a senior in high school (1986) as I was journeying away from 90125. I was amazed at how different it was and I was drawn into the artwork by the actual music, if that makes any sense. I've never done drugs, never used a drug, but I felt like this was a fantasy adventure that took me into a Tolkienesque landscape. I was reading fantasy novels at this time and told a friend of mine who played D&D, "You gotta play while listening to this!" Still, The Ancient was the holdout for me; it was the song that I had the hardest time getting into and I had to force myself to listen to it to get to the good parts. This is an album I still put on when going to sleep and it carries me off into dreamland. I get the criticisms that some level at it, but I know every twist and turn and enjoy waiting for them, so I wouldn't trim anything EXCEPT some of "The Ancient."
If any changes to The Ancient, I would add the 30 seconds of spaced out guitar work Steve added at the MSG show in 1974. It's not on the studio recording, but a bootleg of that concert does have it about a minute before the acoustic part of The Ancient.
I think there's lot's of people that have never done drugs who think this is what a drug album might be like. It's really not. Not to say that's a like/dislike criteria most mature people are going to debate, but for instance, CTTE kind of is a "trippy" record. Tales is almost exactly opposite of that in fact.
I have had this album for 50-1/2 years. The first 30 of those I had a hard time with "The Ancient." But during the last 20 I have really gotten into that track because it is so weird. It really does sound Ancient.
I think there’s a chasm between Yes fans who were introduced to this album many years after it was released and people like me who first heard it at 20 years old. When you experience a record as it’s happening and live through it there’s going to be a huge difference always. Add to that I was in my first serious relationship with a beautiful lady who also loved the album as much as I. We spent hours together listening and reading along with the lyrics in her room. So in my experience this album understandably has very special meaning to me because of the wonderful memories I have now at 71. I love this album as is. ❤
The Remembering was my favorite when I was a teenager in the 1970s. Then I grew up and side 1 became my favorite. Since 2010 when I found out that Ritual is the longest love song in all music history that includes an instrumental representation of an exorcism, Ritual became my favorite on Tales, and my 9th favorite song in all music.
It does, you just have to open the gatefold. The Close to the Edge packaging is wonderful. Unfortunately half of it is missing in the CD and streaming formats.
@@nectarinedreams7208 CTTE COVER IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! The Green said it ALL with the GORGEOUS 'NEW' DEAN ultimate YES LOGO. In 1972 upon its release the GATEFOLD design exemplified the Naturalism that personified YES especially with the revealing of the magnificent SURPRISE double page Painting of the endless waterfalls! I LOVED the originality!
@@wendellwiggins3776 Precisely! I love the minimalist cover, and the surprise of opening the gatefold to reveal that gorgeous landscape. A brilliant piece of LP packaging that unfortunately is largely ruined by CDs and streaming. So many people still to this day have no idea the "actual cover" was on the inside.
@@nectarinedreams7208 I gave my old man a copy of the LP a while back and he didn't know about it either.. CTTE is the best thing Yes did and it's not really understood all that well
My favourite yes album. Not perfect but with so much AMAZING moments. Their most "spiritual" and uplifting record. "High ideals, low energy" as Jon Anderson said. A desert island album for me.
Thanks, Pete Pardo and team, for another fantastic episode! As a dedicated fan of progressive rock, I adored the music of Yes and Genesis from the early 1970s. In my opinion, the double albums 'Tales of Topographic Oceans' by Yes and 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' by Genesis suffered from a bit of hubris, excessive complexity, and blobbyness. Despite my love for both albums, I believe they would have been even better if they had been trimmed down to single albums.
I unapologetically love this album. I've had nearly 4 decades to digest and absorb it, so I might be biased. It gets played in full about twice a year. I realize it has flaws and I can totally see why 'normal' people would hate it. When Pete read out the opening lines, yep, I recited along from memory haha.
I saw & cried Tripping through this full album TOUR and had deeply anticipated the album's release which I only listened to in its entirety for decades. I'm so TIRED of the WAKEMANIZED drenched delusional criticisms of this MASTERPIECE! And ironically Rick did some EXQUISITE work throughout the ENTIRE album!. The WHOLY TRILOGY of YES are CTTE, TALES & RELAYER. In their own unique way EACH can still send me right to the Edge of and then over into PURE BLISS into a SEA of TEARS! I am so SAD for those who don't get it so I skipped past most of this commentary as unworthy of my time! Conceptually, it is brilliant & so SOPHISTICATED, in terms of writing, performance and arrangement. The LYRICS again are wonderfully poetic & METAPHORICALLY attuned perfectly with the complexity and abstract Nature of their Music. Each side does EXACTLY what its particular theme was intended to express through an incredible layering of VISCERALLY visualized moods, textures and atmospheres. > 1. Manifesting from within the Oceans RSOG*** is about the awakening of LIFE and the becoming awareness of the beauty of it's ever evolving Creations around us. And through our own ever -awakening evolutionary progress, we are naturally obligated to love and respect our environment every moment moment moment of our cherished existence > 2. Initiated with an innocent melodic lullaby, The REMEMBERING*** ebbs & flows as if upon the waves of dreamlike nostalgia. Slowing it gradually SWELLS as if set adrift on the SEA of MEMORIES eventually rising up & towards a torrent of intense GRATITUDE. This one takes me to a similar bliss as AWAKEN! It saddens me that many don't have the patience to hear the subtle overlapping currents deep within the structure of this GEM! > 3. Then suddenly we're ABRUPTLY thrown further back into our deeper & mysteriously mystical Ancestral past via one of their MOST adventurously FUNKY and transcendent epics EVER! THE ANCIENT*** is truly YES at their most PRIMAL & TRIBAL. I always feel as if thrown back within the unknown roots of my DNA where again NATURE is GOD, directly present & revealed via the power of the SUN resulting in the life giving Force of green leaves & tranquility! > 4. RITUAL*** hits with an intense jolt of finality! and we're reintroduced melodically to the recent journeys that help us to arrive at a place of CELEBRATION & joy for having come full circle after an exhilarating transcendent CEREMONY honoring EXISTENCE ITself! TALES is a PERFECT MASTERPIECE that was EDITED DOWN to its quintessential elements (NO FILLER nor Arbitrary noodling, NO DOUBT!
Are you in the fb discussion group "Tales from Topographic Oceans: Studio and Live Performance Discussion group"? If so, can you share this there under the post of this video that I shared? If not, can I post your comments in the discussion group?
Listened to all the opinions and I understand them, but I have grown to love TFTO even more since the 1970s, masterpiece to me. I put it on and it is over before I know it.
Yes were doing little rock symphonies previously, and TFTO was the culmination of their goals in this regard. Four movements, four themes. Not unlike the great classical composers would write, except that this music has the musicianship and sensibilities of one of the greatest rock bands of all time. This is not designed to be high school sock hop music, and it was mind expanding for me as a young man.
Big thanks to everyone it’s been a great experience, listening to everyone’s views on this album. I own the album, but it gets rarely played in my house.
I attended the second-ever live performance of Tales (14 days before the album was in the shops). I was thrilled by Revealing Science, moved by The Remembering, bored by The Ancient, and enjoyed Ritual but was glad when it ended. 51 years later it remains my favourite Yes album!
I call bullshit on Luis' story about a Yes concert he attended where the band opened the show with "Circus Of Heaven" in VA, after which Anderson supposedly posed and milked the audience for applause. And he has previously told this story on another SOA video. The song "Circus Of Heaven" was played by Yes live a total of 102 times, and only ever on the "Tormato" tour that started in 1978 and lasted into '79. Archival setlists and reviews of the entire tour, including VA, exist on the Forgotten Yesterdays website, and cassette bootlegs of that tour circulated heavily among fans over the years. Yes has NEVER opened any concert anywhere with "Circus Of Heaven". It was heard over 30 mins. into the "Tormato" show following intro music, the Yes classics Siberian Khatru & Heart Of the Sunrise & the (then) brand new Future Times/Rejoice. Luis needs to do a bit more research when spinning tall tales. His disdain for Jon Anderson is well known at this point and, honestly, is getting a bit tiring to listen to.
I mean, just because he's mistaken in believing the show opened with Circus of Heaven, doesn't mean the rest of the story isn't true. So it was a few songs in as opposed to the opening one. So what?
It was clear Luis was not interested in reassessment and just to try and be the funny guy...which when you try this hard? "Tales Of CRAPPOGRAPHIC Oceans", anyone?", is kinda sad.
It’s a long time ago, and little Napoleon did stand there, all in white, demanding more applause. Obviously I remember the show for two reasons: the Russian keyboardist was great, and Jon Anderson was insufferable. I could easily be wrong about it being the opener though… that is true.
I just played a radio broadcast of a Tormato show I saw in Chicago, June 9, 1979. When Jon announced he was going to play "Circus of Heaven," the audience applauded. When it came to the part where the recording of Jon's son played, the audience cheered again. And as the last keyboard part drifted away, there was one more roar of approval from the crowd. Apparently, at least some of the audience enjoyed this atypical song.
@@lahloonatic The last time "Circus" was played live, which was 1979, the "Russian keyboardist" was Rick Wakeman. Igor Khoroshev didn't play with Yes until 1997, and none of the tours with Igor ever featured "Circus of Heaven" in the setlist.
Utter masterpiece. With Close to the Edge and Relayer, they are the peak of Prog. The aspirational goal. Yeah, could've used a trim here and there but it shows off the virtuosity of all and their synergy together.
Thanks guys for another excellent show! And great pick Ken! For me, Tales from topographic oceans is the incarnation of everything that people dislike about prog rock. It's long, it's pretentious, it's weird, it's nerdy and it meanders. I still like it but it tries its hardest to repell people. Granted, I think Close to the Edge and Relayer are quite a lot better.
I bought it when it came out and fell in love. I would cast a vote as the best prog lp of all time. Luis is wrong about total Yes fans being the victims. Im not a huge Yes fan, just a music fan and collector. At this point in my life I only listen to 3 Yes collections. Yessongs , Fragile, and TFTO. A lot of chemical change is going on in a 15 years olds mind in which memory and dopamine are involved, so when you hear something from that time it reactivates the chemistry. I see my first girl friend now and them and I still get that feeling of love in her presents. I think reviewers fail to take this into account. Hearing an lp for the first time at 15 vs 35 makes a difference. Hearing this lp at15 when it came out vs 2024 at 50 makes a difference in what you feel.
It's one of my favorite albums, has been for a long time. Which parts appeal changes over time, but I keep coming back to it. Is it bloated? Sure. Self-indulgent? Absolutely. Still... it turns me on, to borrow a title from a different band.
Hallelujah!!! The Church of @luisnasser has returned. Standing at the pulpit and professing the word that's feared on SOT...HATE! My Mexican brother from another Mother. I love music, but to say that I don't HATE certain bands or songs, would be living a lie. I agree with you 100%. 😉
You know I sat a listen to topographic and it’s really a beautiful pice of work and in my way of thinking it’s so underrated and for Allan white to be a part of this conceptual piece and his first album with yes is such a wonderful undertaking, bravo
I love the steel. It’s restating various themes from the record in a different time signature and key than the backing track. An evolution of what they did on perpetual change.
It's a masterpiece : it took me quite a few listens to get into Tales but ones you get it , it's a brilliant album from beginning to end. Like Ken said masterpiece or madness . You get it or you don't get it. this is prog so it's not an album that came out of a bubble gum machine.
Loved this album when it came out. Side 2, "The Remembering" my favorite. I was crushed when I saw the tour, and they had cut this side out of their set list. Yeah, Rick basically left after this album, maybe because of it. Ken is right, Rick's Mellotron gorgeous on this record.
Luis is a physicist and a musician. He is one of the few people who understands both quantum mechanics and musical composition. He was on fire in this episode and he was quite funny.
I think he comes off contradictory, uninformed, arrogant, and narrow minded. I would avoid people this bellicose, not invite them on a internationally broadcasted discussion panel to amplify his cynicism and negativity.
He comes off irrational, completely contradictory to even with his own opinions, narrow minded about music, provides absolutely NO evidence for his opinions and just substitutes bravado instead, wants prog to be constrained by a narrow formula that is a product of his own limited imagination(just as Lester Bangs did for rock in general), and is prejudiced against the spirituality and ecological concerns of the counterculture, which were major components of the 1970s out of which prog developed.
I love Ken's breakdown of the history of this album. I just got learned. I've never been able to sit through it. Maybe I'll try again. Polarizing album for sure. Thanks guys.
Phenomenal album. Has been my favorite Yes album for a while and also my favorite double album of all time. I think all 4 of the songs are masterpieces. The best are the opening and closing songs but i believe that the middle two tracks are horribly underrated. I will be listening to it again in its entirety this evening before the episode.
I love this album more than anyone on the show here, but I admit I have a self-edited version of it that I listen to. The Revealing Science of God is complete. I love it. The Remembering I've edited/rearranged to about 14 minutes. It has much more of a sense of purpose - more shape less meander. The Ancient - gone, except I've edited the acoustic passage at the end to be the introduction to Ritual - which I've kept untouched, because I love it. Total duration about 64 minutes. And I love to listen to it in its entirety - hign on nothing but the music, Luis!
I really have to be in a mood for it. I listened to it last night and for me this would be a perfect album if it was just Revealing Science of God on one side and Ritual on the other.
You guys just can't get it, as to what all those lyrics mean. The key to Yes lyrics is what Squire writes in Starship Trooper. "Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is all confusion." Well, it would be confusing. But if and when you find out the only way it can mean, then you know that Tales is the most meaningful album ever made in all music history. The Revealing Science Of God has the most lyrics in the Yes catalog. When Jon Anderson was asked about what it means, Jon answered "When we wrote that song, we didn't know what we were writing." Yet it has the most lyrics in the bands catalog. That tells me that that song, and indeed the whole album is inspired, the same way The Bible was inspired by God. Jon didn't put The Bible to music. He and Steve put what was inspired by God to them to music that fits meaningfully. And those of us that hear and know even half its meaning can't help but declare that Tales From Topographic Oceans is the finest music ever written or recorded in all music history. "But as I see a new day in me, I can also show you, AND YOU MAY FOLLOW!" `~Chris Squire~ (Starship Trooper / Disillusion)
TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS has become my all-time favorite YES album. And YES, it did take a long time to achieve this ranking. When I first heard it years ago when it was first released, it was my least favorite (because it wasn't "radio material" like their other stuff). But over TIME it outshines all YES's other works. And here's why: All the other YES albums have grown to be too common. That is, I know all those the songs to where they've become too normalized. But with TALES it's completely different. TALES never gets old, and only gets BETTER with each listen. It is the most RELAXING of all the YES albums. And I ALWAYS listen to it all the way through. Too LONG, you say? NO WAY! Too SHORT!! When listening to it I never want it to end. That's why I've added a couple extra YES songs to it that fit with it well, such as Turn of the Century. The SECRET to enjoying TALES is that you need to listen to it when you HAVE plenty of time to relax. And to listen to it as BACKGROUND MUSIC (not as SONGS). THEN it will hit you! THEREFORE, if you ever grow tired of YES, but have never gotten into TALES, the I urge you to finally take the plunge. TALES is the one YES albums that will remain standing after all others fall by the wayside.
Not religious, spiritual, old hippie smoking fan boy here ......still liking this album. Some fine music. I think it has to be listened to as a symphonic long piece. I like this ambitious daring attempt to aim high. The fairytale that Bach drove created wonderfull music too. (He was also driven to produce for economic reasons)
Revealing Science and Ritual are pretty solid. The Remembering takes its sweet time to get going, but is nice. The Ancient has most of the plodding. Its not bad, not great, doesn't have the peaks that earlier albums had, which honestly is what I find to be the most annoying thing about it. Fragile and Close to the Edge have all these powerful moments that really hit you in the solar plexus, but Tales is all sort of glossed over with its echoey drums and twilight dreaminess. Its mostly good, but I always feel the length of it. You really feel Bruford's absence here, too. It doesn't seem like they had quite figured out how to get the most out of the Yes creative pool with White's more straight-ahead drumming. I'm actually feeling my rating going down the more I type this out and think about the album, but there's a nice spiritual conviction behind it which Jon really wanted to convey and I respect that, but I'm glad that they toughened the sound back up on Relayer.
probably my favourite Yes album, though I'd never try to argue it's their best. First heard it when I was fifteen (purchased the day after seeing the Relayer tour, 1975) and I'm still not tired of it. There's always something I haven't quite noticed before. It's probably too long but everybody I mention this to would cut something different out. It's well named. It goes deep.
My second favourite on the album. It's the weirdest and most challenging but it's a welcome change of pace from the first two sides which are mostly just mildly pleasant dullness with moments of greatness.
I challenge anyone: If you can make your list of your favorite top 40 Yes songs, a challenge in itself, try to leave any, or all, 4 of the songs on Tales From Topgraphic Oceans out of it. I guarantee it will be a challenge. Great choice, Ken! This is why I love discussions like this because we all hear things similarly but differently yet have such varying opinions about it, & I appreciate everyone's take because we can probably all follow the logic. How divisive, as expected. It took me 11 days last year (06.13-24.2023) to figure out my favorite songs from 1st-Last on TFTO (I did the same for the 11 Yes CDs I own, MINUS Yes, Big Generator & anything after Union; TFTO definitely took the longest to do). I listened to those albums chronologically, paying attention to the band's evolution. I always wondered what people were talking about when they said prog became so despised by a lot of kids back then, giving birth to punk or whatever, but you all cleared that up for me, & Luis, you explained it well & could be right that this is the album that may have started it. I can see that now. I understand how it might have repelled certain kids towards that unpretentious approach, proving you didn't have to be as talented as Yes to become popular (ironically what most punks hate; I can't help but think of Fugazi, an irony unto themselves, with how experimental they would become & all) & these bands who rebelled vs prog by writing short, "3-5 chord" songs. Honestly, I didn't know how popular this album was then; so, I get the rebellion against popular, mainstream stuff because I do that now, but think about the irony of the statement that TFTO is "mainstream." It was #1 in the UK & #6 in the US. Seriously, did any big radio stations back then play any one of the these songs in its entirety in the afternoon? I'd be shocked. Would any of us call any of these songs "mainstream?" I doubt it. TFTO is the epitome of progressive music, & maybe some disillsioned fan called in to request The Ancient, thinking they'd actually play it, but that doesn't sound real. Luis, I get what you're saying. You made compelling arguments against it, my friend. All that being said, who cares what I think? But here it is. 1. The Revealing Science Of God 2. The Remembering 3. Ritual 4. The Ancient As a Yes for 40 years, started with Classic Yes, my 2nd concert ever was Yes at 15 on the 90125 tour in 1984, discovered the 70s albums in the 90s (my 20s), then revisiting them now in my 50s, I would say it makes me appreciate this album more because it sounds more like Yes than Talk or Union or Drama. I can't tell you how many times I listened to it last June, but the more I listened to it, the more I appreciated it. As a songwriter myself, yeah, I could easily tear all 4 tracks down; I agree with most of the comments about the music. It's hard to defend all of it. However, I remember what made this one so difficult was deciding between The Remembering & Ritual. Warts & all, I had to accept the fact that I cannot change what I hear; instead, I embraced each song for what it is. Disjointed? Yeah. Imperfect? No doubt. All of them. However, I actually put TRSOG at 14 overall, which may seem high, but of the 11 studio albums I have, there are only 79 songs, about 7 songs/album. I put The Remembering at 20. I currently have The Ancient at 29, ahead of Machine Messiah (31) & anything on 90125 or Union. Honestly, I don't think it's as bad as all that, Luis. You disagree, & I actually don't like the fact that I, too, like many other Yes fans (to be clear, I don't like all of their stuff & will never have every album), but I might have TFTO ahead of Relayer because of To Be Over, not a song that resonates with me, unlike the best parts of The Ancient. There are many highlights that may not be near the very top, but they're so close that to my one ear that it makes TFTO - part masterpiece, part "huh?" - to me. The "huh?" parts are as frustrating as they are intriguing, somewhere in the middle with sparkles of greatness. Overall, I like it. Compared to Tormato, which I own (talk about a weird album), I love TFTO. Compared to Talk (will never own), TFTO is a masterpiece. Compared to Close To The Edge, it can't compare, but what can? They raised that bar so high. The best of Yes is peerless almost. The best stuff on TFTO makes it worth revisiting.
I never minded it as much as some people. TRSOG is so amazing that even Rick Wakeman didn't mind playing it in the not too distant past. Seeing Jon Anderson do it with Transatlantic on Progressive Nation at Sea was awesome. Ritual is also really good. The other two tracks are ok and do drag it down. Overall though I do like it. What I don't like is this joke they've become the last few years though they still remain a top 5 all-time band for me. I haven't been interested in seeing them in years and could not give a shit about the current line-up. But since they just got announced as opening for Deep Purple who I've only seen once this summer I'm in for "One More Time". Also please let Luis's interweb connection not suck from Mexico. I don't know what George's feelings are about this album, but this episode could be legendary.
When Yes toured Australia in 2003, we organised a meet & greet with the band that included a Q&A section. One question from a fan was about why they recorded 'The Ancient', implying that it wasn't any good. Chris Squire's answer was 'that you couldn't have a 3-sided album'. That broke everyone up, including the band.
Great discussion gentlemen. Very well balanced. One of the best episodes of In The Prog Seat. Instead of faffing around with a band the quite simply isn't Yes, Howe should get together with Jon and rework this as a single album. That's a project worth doing.
I saw the original Toppgraphic tour live in 1974 , and as brilliant as the playing was , it was really tough sledding . I've always believed that there are 6 or 7 great seven or eight minute songs buried within all of this material ( kind of what Pete said about liking 8-10 minutes of each song ) . It would have made a great single album .. I can't listen to it all at once . I'm too sane for that .
I really like the three-minute drum part at the end of 'Ritual.' As a big King Crimson fan, I can't help but feel it carries a lot of their influence. The Mellotron is all over the place, reminding me of their early era. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if that section were twice as long.
Although it's such a love it or hate it type of album, I've always been on the fence about it, but maybe leaned slightly towards the negative. I bought it at the height of my Yes fandom in 1994, sold it a few years later, and only recently listened to it on YT for the first time since then (see all the things this channel makes me do!). The latest listen didn't really change my mind one way or another; there is some really good stuff on the album, but also too much padding to make it anywhere near a masterpiece. My favorite piece is still "The Remembering (High the Memory)"; I like the gentle, almost nursery rhyme-like opening section, and especially the fast(er) "Relayer..." part, which is one of the rare (unfortunately) true rocking moments on the record. The second best song is the opener "The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)", and it's mostly good but with some less-inspired stuff too. After that, "Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)" is sort of half good, half not-so-good, and "The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun)" is total garbage. Ergo, I'd give this album a weak 3 stars out of 5. This should be a fun show! Interesting to see whether any of the panelists truly love it.
Many mentioned the Ancient and problems with Steve Howe pedal steel playing - yes (no pun lol!) not good for me either but I think he actually plays lap steel and not pedal steel. They are very different instruments, one uses feet and knees for tone control the other does not. You can hear the tone difference if you remember Garcia’s contribution on CSN Teach Your Children - now that IS pedal steel and not what Steve H plays but I still love Steve’s lap steel sounds!
TFTO is one of my favorite Yes album. Now. At the beginning, I hated this album. I remember being so disappointed. I even felt betrayed by the band in some way. It took me years to understand it, to discover it and to love it.
Scot from The Prog Corner nearly hated Tales when he was a teenager. Then after a long while, he now knows that Tales is the greatest album ever made. I think it is amazing that Tales can change a hater into the greatest lover of the finest music the world has ever been blessed with, thanks to Yes. No other band could make something like that, though Mike Oldfield really tried real hard with Incantations, which is 8th on my all music favorites.
SW: “I worked on and off for about 3 years on this new mix in my quest to do it justice. I hope it will satisfy the people who agree with me that it may just be Yes’ pre-eminent masterpiece.”
Also, remember when Wakeman quit, either Steve Howe or Brian Kane asked Keith Emerson to join Yes. Emerson was bewildered and asked "why would I do that when I have ELP?!?"
I rank the tracks on this album thusly: 1: “The Remembering” 2: “The Revealing Science of God” 3: “Ritual” 4: “The Ancient” Basically I only need the first disc of this album; I don’t need to listen to the second at all but I LOVE the front half.
Have loved this album since I busted the cellophane on it when it first came out. Only three things has kept it from being my favorite Yes album. 1. Fragile 2. The Yes Album 3. Close to the Edge. 😁
I'm with Luis (as usual) - he hits the nail square on the head. It's a great pity the music doesn't live up to the art work. I listened to this with friends at boarding school in Sussex in the 70s and none of us liked it then. But I still have my vinyl copy. My theory is that they were pretty knackered after doing all the Close to the Edge stuff (which IS a masterpiece) and Chris Squire is simply missing in action.
Agree with Ken and Chad. Several times I’ve sat down ”now I’m going to _really listen_ to this album.” And I would just wake up that I am not really following or tag along. It may be its “statistical density” as Zappa would put it, or that there are parts that can’t keep your attention but I can’t listen to this in one sitting.
The more time you invest in this album the more you get. At least to me . I never liked it because I should it was because I found it challenging and atonal and it made me listen more to challenge my own preconceptions.
I think Ken is correct regarding Jon Anderson's lyrics. He really enjoys putting words and phrases together for the sake of the sound. Luis is also correct that he relies on certain words too much, but this is a quirk of all writers. I am only beginning to explore this album, as it's always seemed pretty daunting. I will say that the steel guitar doesn't particularly bother me, as it's not meant to sound pretty, or even pleasing, but eerie and jarring. Good discussion, as always.
My take: Best Song: "The Revealing Science of God" Yes Album Ranking: 7th or 8th Notes: When I listen, I listen to disc 1, then take a short break before listening to disc 2.
This album has the most ring wear off any album I have. Just saying... I'm intrigued by the idea it being recorded in the CD era. The option of following the songs strengths to something anywhere from 40-60 minutes is fascinating to think about. How the medium impacts the recording...
I think Steve Wilson basically offered us the revised TFTO. Take all of The Revealing Science of God (20:18), and then skip the next 3 parts and go to Steve's edits of The Remembering (3:54), The Ancient (3:26), and Ritual (2 edits, 4:20 and 3:47) and you have a masterpiece without any weaknesses I can hear. But that's too short for me; I listen to the whole thing, one side per sitting. Not as consistently strong as CTTE and Relayer, but I love it.
I consider TFTO to be Yes' masterpiece.
This is a monumental work of art to me
I love that Louis has such a strong opinion & can express it so well. So glad he was in on this discussion.
I bought this album when it came out. My fist Yes album . I have never been able to convince my brain to not get bored . I agree with Wakeman “to listen is like seeing paint drying “ . Luckily I got to see Yes live in 77 and bought the classical albums from UK. I leave this album to you to listen too!
Now more than ever we need a show called "Your favorite album sucks, with Luis Nasser"
Yes ! I mean "I agree !" 😄
I've loved this album form day one.Picked it up the day it was released and haven't turned back.A true masterpiece.
So did I, i got it back in 73 I was 13 years old, I hated it at first, then I listened to it with headphones, turned all the lights off and I could see the whole city lights thru my windows, and I played side one It changed the whole experience.
I don't even know why Louis was even on the show lol@@Yes_Jorge_Yes
@@thomaswery3087 Luis Nasser hates most Yes music anyway. He is just a Talking Head!
@@thomaswery3087 he's the antagonist, it is necessary in any good show 😜
@@thomaswery3087 To spread the truth!!!
"I recall Chris Squire once telling me that when the band were working on this album they did no more than a few bars of music a day. This meant they could perfect what they had, and explains why Tales… sounds so highly detailed. I know it was Jon Anderson’s concept, but you can tell from the way everyone got involved instrumentally that all of Yes were at a peak ... Love or hate it, this album has made a lasting impact.” Steve Hackett
“Besides having one of the most iconic album covers, this album has some of the more daring prog rock ever recorded, and one of the coolest album titles. The blend of simple folky songs, symphonic bliss, improvised electronica and odd time signatures, plus fabulous lyrics all make this album stand out. All the members shine, even if sometimes in a more silent way ... The sheer inventiveness from masters Anderson and Howe here is nothing less than a grand landmark in Yes history and in prog generally.” Roine Stolt
Amen
absolutely
"Meeting point of high ideals and low energy"-Jon, Chris almost never talked about it beyond saying it was a bit difficult to get into, Rick Wakeman hated it, until it was good for business not to around 96', Bill left the dang band for fear of making basically this record. Alan and Steve have always been charitable towards it when asked, but they acknowledge it's polarizing even among people who like Yes. Interesting subject in the Yes cannon to debate, but it's got it's issues and I think you can be objective about the whole of the effort and not really dig it. Close to Edge and Relayer thankfully exist in this space for people like me.
@@colinburroughs9871 I give little credence to Mr. King Arthur on Ice Rick's opinion who actually ironically contributed some of his most beautiful work on the album. I think TALES was for those who could viscerally connect with the actual narratives & theme instrumentally and lyrically that were being passionately expressed through these more exploratory adventurous thematic unconventional compositions such as THE ANCIENT, who's Funky Jazz undercurrent overlaid with petal steel hypnotic psychedelia were clearly preludes to elements of RELAYER and to those with the patience and concentration to grasp the subtle beauty of THE REMEMBERING's opening dreamy lullaby melody that ambiently swells towards a multi-layered interwoven undulating torrent of transcendent overlapping rushing waves of sounds which build towards a tidal wave of intensity. In many ways it's like a slower burning version of The Fish combined with a similar stylistic beauty that was later re-imagined for "Awaken". Lyrically, I have personally always been able to grasp and comprehend the overall metaphoric poetics throughout TALES. That's why the album's seamless themes also have deep meaning and spiritual significance for me. There is not one section I find arbitrary or insignificant. Note or note it works as a complete whole from Side A to D and I feel lucky and blessed to be able to bask in this 4 part epic at the peak of their 3 most adventurous & daring era.
@@colinburroughs9871 I give little credence to Mr. King Arthur on Ice Rick's opinion who actually ironically contributed some of his most beautiful work on the album. I think TALES was for those who could viscerally connect with the actual narratives & theme instrumentally and lyrically that were being passionately expressed through these more exploratory adventurous thematic unconventional compositions such as THE ANCIENT, who's Funky Jazz undercurrent overlaid with petal steel hypnotic psychedelia were clearly preludes to elements of RELAYER and to those with the patience and concentration to grasp the subtle beauty of THE REMEMBERING's opening dreamy lullaby melody that ambiently swells towards a multi-layered interwoven undulating torrent of transcendent overlapping rushing waves of sounds which build towards a tidal wave of intensity. In many ways it's like a slower burning version of The Fish combined with a similar stylistic beauty that was later re-imagined for "Awaken". Lyrically, I have personally always been able to grasp and comprehend the overall metaphoric poetics throughout TALES. That's why the album's seamless themes also have deep meaning and spiritual significance for me. There is not one section I find arbitrary or insignificant. Note or note it works as a complete whole from Side A to D and I feel lucky and blessed to be able to bask in this 4 part epic at the peak of their 3 most adventurous works & daring era.
Fun fact: I love TFTO and the Ramones equally
I thought it was just me. 🙂
Me too.
I understand why a lot of people don’t care for it, but it’s my second favorite Yes album after Close To The Edge.
Tales from Topographic Oceans is an experience, I listen to it almost Daily.. MASTERPIECE.
Not since George crucified In the Court of the Crimson King, have I waited to hear Luis' comments on TFTO - and he did not disappoint. Great discussion as always.
I came here for Luis‘ unbridled hatred for this album and was not disappointed. Also Pete nailed that Jon Anderson impression lol
It’s a great Yes album. I just have to be in the mood for it.
Well summed-up.
Good Day all, I watched this show in its completion and found so much that I agreed and disagreed with. My long odyssey with this album was when I purchased a cassette copy of this album in December of 1988, mind you my full foray still hadn't branched any further than Yes, Pink Floyd and ELP (as these were the bands that received the bulk of the airplay here on classic rock radio here in New York City and my obsession with Genesis was yet to take hold, so Yes was that band that I fell in love with. I purchased "Yessongs" with my first job and made my way from "Big Generator" backwards. I loved everything that I heard yet I purchased "Yesshows" in the following weeks (early 1990) and loved Yes's brilliant majestic ways brought to fruition. I struggled with "Tormato" yet I got used to the album although it's never been a favorite of mine.
When first purchased "Tales From Topographic Oceans", I ironically purchased Genesis "And Then There Were Three" and Pink Floyd's "Relics", I found myself wondering if I get through listening to "Tales", I still wasn't enamored with Genesis's "ATTWT" at the time, so I spent much of my time listening to "Relics". Sometime afterwards, I was listening to The Cure's "Disintegration" while being high as kite, and found the album way to depressive so I decided to put "Tales" on and found it unbelievably meandering and tried to get through the first track, and in my "state" was wearing. I took it to being high, so I decided to get out my walkman and listen to the album while on my way to work, and I found the experience even worse, I couldn't get into it. Summer of 1990, after leaving a girlfriend's apartment in Brooklyn I decided to bring the TFTO cassette and a new discovery for me (at the time), "King Crimson's "Lizard" as the other cassette. The long ride to The Bronx from Brooklyn, I decided to played Cassette 2 instead of the first casette and that I felt was an even worse experience.
Long time fans of the album had been championing the album on the Yes fan forum and Progressive Ears, and I failed to bite as the album hadn't swayed my listening pallet even as my musical pallet expanded, yet for every year that passed I couldn't find my way to gaining the courage to listen to this album, until a day in 2017 being off from work, and while fixing up my cassette collection, I gave TFTO my undivided attention and finally listened to this album, and afterwards really listened to it and taking in the show that the Jon Anderson/Steve Howe show with Wakeman, Squire and White accompanying them on these four majestic tracks.
I found myself listening to this album for a few weeks and loving it more and more with every listen, even as my love for Yes dissipating over the years, yet outside of their pre-"Tormato" material, I can't listen to the band post "Talk" and as of this day, "Tales From Topographic Oceans" has now become that album from Yes that I still listen to from time to time.
Is it a perfect album? No. In my opinion, the album suffers like many double albums, with the artist's reluctance to do much needed editing, yet my opinion over the years since giving the album my attention, it really is an excellent album and a continuation of Yes's brilliant and influential run during the 70's. My favorite song on the album, "The Remembering" with "Ritual" coming in second. my least favorite still is "The Ancient".
The greatest album ever!!!
Hi Scot! I love your channel. You have great taste in music. Your enthusiasm made me a huge fan of this album. Keep up the great work!
😬😎
Scot must have been on some good stuff back in the day😂
At the very least, it is Yes's best album, wall to wall amazing.
@@JaredRobbins2 Yes!!!
Glad to see the love in the comments for The Remembering. Always was my favorite of the four.
It's my favourite of all time. The only time that ambient sounds has worked for me. It's so emotional & engaging.
Tales from Topographic Oceans is considered by some to be the apotheosis of Yes' career (and progressive rock), while others despise the album to no end. I fall into neither of the above camps. While I don't think it's the best thing in Yes' catalogue, I have loved Tales since first acquiring it by way of a cheap cassette copy lying around in a thrift shop that I once frequented. Played it constantly. Not too long after that, I upgraded to a CD copy (at next to nothing.) Of course, I can't go without mentioning the breathtaking album cover; a perfect encapsulation of the soundscapes found therein.
I'm certain that this will be an interesting episode.
I also just love the oceanic tone of the album better then the tone of the other great yes albums
The Lapdance analogy was perfect Luis!
Love it ❤
I like the comparison to the 2 Tull albums "Thick as a brick" and "Passion play".
This is not a Beethoven symphony. Everything does not have to be super tight.
I just love that this was a time when a band could do things like this.
The irony here is Jon Anderson and Steve Howe probably thought they were making a modern Beethoven symphony.
When I first heard this album, around ten years ago, I was "returning" to prog, after many years of being away from it, listening to a lot of punk, indie rock, jazz, funk, classical music, and more, but very little prog. When I came back to prog, I decided that I should *finally* listen to this album and give it an honest chance, as I had *completely* avoided it for decades, due to the very negative things I had heard about it. Even though I was now open to listen to it, however, I didn't *assume* that I would like it. If anything, I thought I would find it to be a hard and off-putting experience. However, from the very first listen, I was drawn in and couldn't believe how much I loved it. It was challenging music, to be sure, but I listened to the whole album straight through and was blown away by it. To this day, when I listen to "Tales," I have to listen to the whole album-- it's a complete experience for me. Contra the assertions of Luis, I'm not saying any of this, because I think that I'm *supposed* to like this album. I was actually *biased against* it, before I ever heard it. The first listen won me over though-- and I was completely sober at the time, as I have been every time I've listened to it! 🙂
I know we all hear these albums differently and I sure hear this one way different than most of the panel. I love TFTO and that's what makes music so wonderful. If the music touches you, it touches you.
For me its the most meaningful music ever made. And though I don't understand more than 70% of Tales, what I do understand is very meaningful to me. And for you, that is, more or less, true. That's probably why a lot of people love Tales.
Such a atmospheric album! I love it and find it to be there best work. It has the time to unfold itself, this album rocks in many places and also has the space to breath, it's truly wonderful. Bought this on day of release when I was 14, and have always loved it, must have played a thousand times. Olias of Sunhillow is the closest thing to this work, another Jon Anderson masterpiece.
And I wouldn't trim a single second off of it either.
I freaking LOVE side 3! Leave it alone!
I love, love, love it in all its excessive glory!!!!
Luis is off his rocker on this one. Tales is a classic. I've been listening to it for decades and it still sounds fresh. If it wasn't in the YES cannon there would be a black hole where it should be. It is indicative of its time: psychedelic drugs, raw experimentation and encrypted beauty. There are sublime moments throughout which stand in stark relief, but that doesn't relegate the down time to 'padding'. The meandering moments in between become more interesting as the years go by, not less. There is a slow burn quality to this album which yields novelty. The reason so many YES fans love it is not because it can be reduced to roadkill with a logo on it, but because it is still interesting and beautiful and expansive and ultimately unapologetic. It is the antithesis of punk. Jello Biafra eat your heart out.
Huey Lewis?
And the news?
This album was understood in it's day by the psychedelic crowd to be a buzz kill fwiw- it's not really a metric most people care about anymore, but when this stuff was new, it was a relevant factor.
@colinburroughs9871 What is the metric you are referring to? Many proggers love this album, as exhibited in the comment section. When I first bought Tales, I found it meandering and strange, but it grew on me over time. I wonder how many 70s prog rockers might agree.
The psychedelic experience and its pairing with this record. Luis heard the same thing I did.. hah
I admit that I love this album. I got it as a senior in high school (1986) as I was journeying away from 90125. I was amazed at how different it was and I was drawn into the artwork by the actual music, if that makes any sense. I've never done drugs, never used a drug, but I felt like this was a fantasy adventure that took me into a Tolkienesque landscape. I was reading fantasy novels at this time and told a friend of mine who played D&D, "You gotta play while listening to this!" Still, The Ancient was the holdout for me; it was the song that I had the hardest time getting into and I had to force myself to listen to it to get to the good parts. This is an album I still put on when going to sleep and it carries me off into dreamland. I get the criticisms that some level at it, but I know every twist and turn and enjoy waiting for them, so I wouldn't trim anything EXCEPT some of "The Ancient."
If any changes to The Ancient, I would add the 30 seconds of spaced out guitar work Steve added at the MSG show in 1974. It's not on the studio recording, but a bootleg of that concert does have it about a minute before the acoustic part of The Ancient.
I think there's lot's of people that have never done drugs who think this is what a drug album might be like. It's really not. Not to say that's a like/dislike criteria most mature people are going to debate, but for instance, CTTE kind of is a "trippy" record. Tales is almost exactly opposite of that in fact.
I have had this album for 50-1/2 years. The first 30 of those I had a hard time with "The Ancient." But during the last 20 I have really gotten into that track because it is so weird. It really does sound Ancient.
I think there’s a chasm between Yes fans who were introduced to this album many years after it was released and people like me who first heard it at 20 years old. When you experience a record as it’s happening and live through it there’s going to be a huge difference always. Add to that I was in my first serious relationship with a beautiful lady who also loved the album as much as I. We spent hours together listening and reading along with the lyrics in her room. So in my experience this album understandably has very special meaning to me because of the wonderful memories I have now at 71. I love this album as is. ❤
I also got this on the day it came out in the UK . I was 14 and didn't realise I would be playing it for the next 50 years.
remembering is my fav track---love the
album
The Remembering was my favorite when I was a teenager in the 1970s. Then I grew up and side 1 became my favorite. Since 2010 when I found out that Ritual is the longest love song in all music history that includes an instrumental representation of an exorcism, Ritual became my favorite on Tales, and my 9th favorite song in all music.
Imagine if "Close to the Edge" had this artwork...
It does, you just have to open the gatefold. The Close to the Edge packaging is wonderful. Unfortunately half of it is missing in the CD and streaming formats.
@@nectarinedreams7208 CTTE COVER IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! The Green said it ALL with the GORGEOUS 'NEW' DEAN ultimate YES LOGO. In 1972 upon its release the GATEFOLD design exemplified the Naturalism that personified YES especially with the revealing of the magnificent SURPRISE double page Painting of the endless waterfalls! I LOVED the originality!
@@wendellwiggins3776 Precisely! I love the minimalist cover, and the surprise of opening the gatefold to reveal that gorgeous landscape. A brilliant piece of LP packaging that unfortunately is largely ruined by CDs and streaming. So many people still to this day have no idea the "actual cover" was on the inside.
@@nectarinedreams7208 I gave my old man a copy of the LP a while back and he didn't know about it either.. CTTE is the best thing Yes did and it's not really understood all that well
My favourite yes album.
Not perfect but with so much AMAZING moments.
Their most "spiritual" and uplifting record.
"High ideals, low energy" as Jon Anderson said.
A desert island album for me.
Thanks, Pete Pardo and team, for another fantastic episode! As a dedicated fan of progressive rock, I adored the music of Yes and Genesis from the early 1970s. In my opinion, the double albums 'Tales of Topographic Oceans' by Yes and 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' by Genesis suffered from a bit of hubris, excessive complexity, and blobbyness. Despite my love for both albums, I believe they would have been even better if they had been trimmed down to single albums.
Yep your right about both these albums.
I unapologetically love this album. I've had nearly 4 decades to digest and absorb it, so I might be biased. It gets played in full about twice a year. I realize it has flaws and I can totally see why 'normal' people would hate it. When Pete read out the opening lines, yep, I recited along from memory haha.
I saw & cried Tripping through this full album TOUR and had deeply anticipated the album's release which I only listened to in its entirety for decades. I'm so TIRED of the WAKEMANIZED drenched delusional criticisms of this MASTERPIECE! And ironically Rick did some EXQUISITE work throughout the ENTIRE album!. The WHOLY TRILOGY of YES are CTTE, TALES & RELAYER. In their own unique way EACH can still send me right to the Edge of and then over into PURE BLISS into a SEA of TEARS! I am so SAD for those who don't get it so I skipped past most of this commentary as unworthy of my time! Conceptually, it is brilliant & so SOPHISTICATED, in terms of writing, performance and arrangement.
The LYRICS again are wonderfully poetic & METAPHORICALLY attuned perfectly with the complexity and abstract Nature of their Music. Each side does EXACTLY what its particular theme was intended to express through an incredible layering of VISCERALLY visualized moods, textures and atmospheres.
> 1. Manifesting from within the Oceans RSOG*** is about the awakening of LIFE and the becoming awareness of the beauty of it's ever evolving Creations around us.
And through our own ever -awakening evolutionary progress, we are naturally obligated to love and respect our environment every moment moment moment of our cherished existence > 2. Initiated with an innocent melodic lullaby, The REMEMBERING*** ebbs & flows as if upon the waves of dreamlike nostalgia. Slowing it gradually SWELLS as if set adrift on the SEA of MEMORIES eventually rising up & towards a torrent of intense GRATITUDE. This one takes me to a similar bliss as AWAKEN! It saddens me that many don't have the patience to hear the subtle overlapping currents deep within the structure of this GEM! > 3. Then suddenly we're ABRUPTLY thrown further back into our deeper & mysteriously mystical Ancestral past via one of their MOST adventurously FUNKY and transcendent epics EVER! THE ANCIENT*** is truly YES at their most PRIMAL & TRIBAL. I always feel as if thrown back within the unknown roots of my DNA where again NATURE is GOD, directly present & revealed via the power of the SUN resulting in the life giving Force of green leaves & tranquility! > 4. RITUAL*** hits with an intense jolt of finality! and we're reintroduced melodically to the recent journeys that help us to arrive at a place of CELEBRATION & joy for having come full circle after an exhilarating transcendent CEREMONY honoring EXISTENCE ITself! TALES is a PERFECT MASTERPIECE that was EDITED DOWN to its quintessential elements (NO FILLER nor Arbitrary noodling, NO DOUBT!
Are you in the fb discussion group "Tales from Topographic Oceans: Studio and Live Performance Discussion group"? If so, can you share this there under the post of this video that I shared? If not, can I post your comments in the discussion group?
@@SunFellow941 Thanks. Don't believe I am or know how to join.
Jon did the same thing conceptually on CTTE in less than 20 min.
Paragraphs Wendell, Paragraphs!
@@spiritualarchitect4276 i can't skip lines without sharing. Maybe if I type offline first
Listened to all the opinions and I understand them, but I have grown to love TFTO even more since the 1970s, masterpiece to me. I put it on and it is over before I know it.
Yes were doing little rock symphonies previously, and TFTO was the culmination of their goals in this regard. Four movements, four themes. Not unlike the great classical composers would write, except that this music has the musicianship and sensibilities of one of the greatest rock bands of all time. This is not designed to be high school sock hop music, and it was mind expanding for me as a young man.
Big thanks to everyone it’s been a great experience, listening to everyone’s views on this album. I own the album, but it gets rarely played in my house.
The greatest album i ever heard
I also love Tales. THE masterpiece of masterpieces.
You need to expand your listening habits then.
I've been trying to like Tales for 50 years. Still not there yet. At least I'm still trying, but it ain't easy.
I attended the second-ever live performance of Tales (14 days before the album was in the shops). I was thrilled by Revealing Science, moved by The Remembering, bored by The Ancient, and enjoyed Ritual but was glad when it ended. 51 years later it remains my favourite Yes album!
I call bullshit on Luis' story about a Yes concert he attended where the band opened the show with "Circus Of Heaven" in VA, after which Anderson supposedly posed and milked the audience for applause. And he has previously told this story on another SOA video. The song "Circus Of Heaven" was played by Yes live a total of 102 times, and only ever on the "Tormato" tour that started in 1978 and lasted into '79. Archival setlists and reviews of the entire tour, including VA, exist on the Forgotten Yesterdays website, and cassette bootlegs of that tour circulated heavily among fans over the years. Yes has NEVER opened any concert anywhere with "Circus Of Heaven". It was heard over 30 mins. into the "Tormato" show following intro music, the Yes classics Siberian Khatru & Heart Of the Sunrise & the (then) brand new Future Times/Rejoice. Luis needs to do a bit more research when spinning tall tales. His disdain for Jon Anderson is well known at this point and, honestly, is getting a bit tiring to listen to.
I mean, just because he's mistaken in believing the show opened with Circus of Heaven, doesn't mean the rest of the story isn't true. So it was a few songs in as opposed to the opening one. So what?
It was clear Luis was not interested in reassessment and just to try and be the funny guy...which when you try this hard? "Tales Of CRAPPOGRAPHIC Oceans", anyone?", is kinda sad.
It’s a long time ago, and little Napoleon did stand there, all in white, demanding more applause. Obviously I remember the show for two reasons: the Russian keyboardist was great, and Jon Anderson was insufferable. I could easily be wrong about it being the opener though… that is true.
I just played a radio broadcast of a Tormato show I saw in Chicago, June 9, 1979. When Jon announced he was going to play "Circus of Heaven," the audience applauded. When it came to the part where the recording of Jon's son played, the audience cheered again. And as the last keyboard part drifted away, there was one more roar of approval from the crowd. Apparently, at least some of the audience enjoyed this atypical song.
@@lahloonatic The last time "Circus" was played live, which was 1979, the "Russian keyboardist" was Rick Wakeman. Igor Khoroshev didn't play with Yes until 1997, and none of the tours with Igor ever featured "Circus of Heaven" in the setlist.
Yacht prog lyricism mixed with Steve Reichian-like passages. So great. Hits the Yes sweet spot for me.
Utter masterpiece. With Close to the Edge and Relayer, they are the peak of Prog. The aspirational goal. Yeah, could've used a trim here and there but it shows off the virtuosity of all and their synergy together.
I've always liked this album but need to be in the mood to listen to it
Thanks guys for another excellent show! And great pick Ken!
For me, Tales from topographic oceans is the incarnation of everything that people dislike about prog rock. It's long, it's pretentious, it's weird, it's nerdy and it meanders. I still like it but it tries its hardest to repell people. Granted, I think Close to the Edge and Relayer are quite a lot better.
I bought it when it came out and fell in love. I would cast a vote as the best prog lp of all time. Luis is wrong about total Yes fans being the victims. Im not a huge Yes fan, just a music fan and collector. At this point in my life I only listen to 3 Yes collections. Yessongs , Fragile, and TFTO. A lot of chemical change is going on in a 15 years olds mind in which memory and dopamine are involved, so when you hear something from that time it reactivates the chemistry. I see my first girl friend now and them and I still get that feeling of love in her presents. I think reviewers fail to take this into account. Hearing an lp for the first time at 15 vs 35 makes a difference. Hearing this lp at15 when it came out vs 2024 at 50 makes a difference in what you feel.
It's one of my favorite albums, has been for a long time. Which parts appeal changes over time, but I keep coming back to it. Is it bloated? Sure. Self-indulgent? Absolutely. Still... it turns me on, to borrow a title from a different band.
Great topic love it! I’m excited for this one lol! So much room for divergence lol!
Hallelujah!!! The Church of @luisnasser has returned. Standing at the pulpit and professing the word that's feared on SOT...HATE! My Mexican brother from another Mother. I love music, but to say that I don't HATE certain bands or songs, would be living a lie. I agree with you 100%. 😉
You know I sat a listen to topographic and it’s really a beautiful pice of work and in my way of thinking it’s so underrated and for Allan white to be a part of this conceptual piece and his first album with yes is such a wonderful undertaking, bravo
I love the steel. It’s restating various themes from the record in a different time signature and key than the backing track. An evolution of what they did on perpetual change.
It's a masterpiece : it took me quite a few listens to get into Tales but ones you get it , it's a brilliant album from beginning to end. Like Ken said masterpiece or madness . You get it or you don't get it. this is prog so it's not an album that came out of a bubble gum machine.
Right on , my friend -you speak the truth!!!!
Loved this album when it came out. Side 2, "The Remembering" my favorite. I was crushed when I saw the tour, and they had cut this side out of their set list. Yeah, Rick basically left after this album, maybe because of it. Ken is right, Rick's Mellotron gorgeous on this record.
The Remembering was my favorite when I was a teenager.
Simply love Luis Nasser for his integrity and standing up for his own opinions.
Luis is a physicist and a musician. He is one of the few people who understands both quantum mechanics and musical composition. He was on fire in this episode and he was quite funny.
Agreed. Even though I totally disagree with his take on this album.
I think he comes off contradictory, uninformed, arrogant, and narrow minded. I would avoid people this bellicose, not invite them on a internationally broadcasted discussion panel to amplify his cynicism and negativity.
He comes off irrational, completely contradictory to even with his own opinions, narrow minded about music, provides absolutely NO evidence for his opinions and just substitutes bravado instead, wants prog to be constrained by a narrow formula that is a product of his own limited imagination(just as Lester Bangs did for rock in general), and is prejudiced against the spirituality and ecological concerns of the counterculture, which were major components of the 1970s out of which prog developed.
@@SunFellow941 tell us you are a fanbvoy without saying you are a fanboy? Yup!
I love Ken's breakdown of the history of this album. I just got learned. I've never been able to sit through it. Maybe I'll try again. Polarizing album for sure. Thanks guys.
I like EACH side of Tales more than Side 2 of Relayer or Side 1 of GFTO.
Phenomenal album. Has been my favorite Yes album for a while and also my favorite double album of all time. I think all 4 of the songs are masterpieces. The best are the opening and closing songs but i believe that the middle two tracks are horribly underrated. I will be listening to it again in its entirety this evening before the episode.
I love this album more than anyone on the show here, but I admit I have a self-edited version of it that I listen to. The Revealing Science of God is complete. I love it. The Remembering I've edited/rearranged to about 14 minutes. It has much more of a sense of purpose - more shape less meander. The Ancient - gone, except I've edited the acoustic passage at the end to be the introduction to Ritual - which I've kept untouched, because I love it. Total duration about 64 minutes. And I love to listen to it in its entirety - hign on nothing but the music, Luis!
Not my favorite Yes, but It’s a great classic Yes album. Miss Anthony and Chuck a lot.
How much more do you like relayer this many years later ? Amazing
I really have to be in a mood for it. I listened to it last night and for me this would be a perfect album if it was just Revealing Science of God on one side and Ritual on the other.
My favorite Yes Album. Relayer then Close to the Edge.
You guys just can't get it, as to what all those lyrics mean. The key to Yes lyrics is what Squire writes in Starship Trooper. "Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is all confusion." Well, it would be confusing. But if and when you find out the only way it can mean, then you know that Tales is the most meaningful album ever made in all music history. The Revealing Science Of God has the most lyrics in the Yes catalog. When Jon Anderson was asked about what it means, Jon answered "When we wrote that song, we didn't know what we were writing." Yet it has the most lyrics in the bands catalog. That tells me that that song, and indeed the whole album is inspired, the same way The Bible was inspired by God. Jon didn't put The Bible to music. He and Steve put what was inspired by God to them to music that fits meaningfully. And those of us that hear and know even half its meaning can't help but declare that Tales From Topographic Oceans is the finest music ever written or recorded in all music history.
"But as I see a new day in me, I can also show you, AND YOU MAY FOLLOW!" `~Chris Squire~ (Starship Trooper / Disillusion)
TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS has become my all-time favorite YES album.
And YES, it did take a long time to achieve this ranking.
When I first heard it years ago when it was first released, it was my least favorite (because it wasn't "radio material" like their other stuff).
But over TIME it outshines all YES's other works. And here's why:
All the other YES albums have grown to be too common. That is, I know all those the songs to where they've become too normalized.
But with TALES it's completely different. TALES never gets old, and only gets BETTER with each listen.
It is the most RELAXING of all the YES albums.
And I ALWAYS listen to it all the way through.
Too LONG, you say? NO WAY! Too SHORT!! When listening to it I never want it to end. That's why I've added a couple extra YES songs to it that fit with it well, such as Turn of the Century.
The SECRET to enjoying TALES is that you need to listen to it when you HAVE plenty of time to relax. And to listen to it as BACKGROUND MUSIC (not as SONGS). THEN it will hit you!
THEREFORE, if you ever grow tired of YES, but have never gotten into TALES, the I urge you to finally take the plunge.
TALES is the one YES albums that will remain standing after all others fall by the wayside.
Pete as Jon was the best - even better and more convincing than Jon himself! 😆😆
That was great. Pete and Don Pardo's brother Jon Pardo. 😂
Not religious, spiritual, old hippie smoking fan boy here ......still liking this album. Some fine music.
I think it has to be listened to as a symphonic long piece. I like this ambitious daring attempt to aim high.
The fairytale that Bach drove created wonderfull music too. (He was also driven to produce for economic reasons)
Revealing Science and Ritual are pretty solid. The Remembering takes its sweet time to get going, but is nice. The Ancient has most of the plodding. Its not bad, not great, doesn't have the peaks that earlier albums had, which honestly is what I find to be the most annoying thing about it. Fragile and Close to the Edge have all these powerful moments that really hit you in the solar plexus, but Tales is all sort of glossed over with its echoey drums and twilight dreaminess. Its mostly good, but I always feel the length of it. You really feel Bruford's absence here, too. It doesn't seem like they had quite figured out how to get the most out of the Yes creative pool with White's more straight-ahead drumming. I'm actually feeling my rating going down the more I type this out and think about the album, but there's a nice spiritual conviction behind it which Jon really wanted to convey and I respect that, but I'm glad that they toughened the sound back up on Relayer.
probably my favourite Yes album, though I'd never try to argue it's their best. First heard it when I was fifteen (purchased the day after seeing the Relayer tour, 1975) and I'm still not tired of it. There's always something I haven't quite noticed before. It's probably too long but everybody I mention this to would cut something different out. It's well named. It goes deep.
I think The Ancient is pretty cool honestly.
I loved the Ancient and the entire album immediately. I was 17 when I saw it live!
Much agreed, I wasn't expecting it to get roasted as much as it did lol
My second favourite on the album. It's the weirdest and most challenging but it's a welcome change of pace from the first two sides which are mostly just mildly pleasant dullness with moments of greatness.
@@Nocturnal_Spectre it is a weird song with weird instrumentation so it makes sense
The Ancient is an amazing song
Listen to Luis, he is spot on.
I challenge anyone: If you can make your list of your favorite top 40 Yes songs, a challenge in itself, try to leave any, or all, 4 of the songs on Tales From Topgraphic Oceans out of it. I guarantee it will be a challenge.
Great choice, Ken! This is why I love discussions like this because we all hear things similarly but differently yet have such varying opinions about it, & I appreciate everyone's take because we can probably all follow the logic. How divisive, as expected. It took me 11 days last year (06.13-24.2023) to figure out my favorite songs from 1st-Last on TFTO (I did the same for the 11 Yes CDs I own, MINUS Yes, Big Generator & anything after Union; TFTO definitely took the longest to do). I listened to those albums chronologically, paying attention to the band's evolution. I always wondered what people were talking about when they said prog became so despised by a lot of kids back then, giving birth to punk or whatever, but you all cleared that up for me, & Luis, you explained it well & could be right that this is the album that may have started it. I can see that now. I understand how it might have repelled certain kids towards that unpretentious approach, proving you didn't have to be as talented as Yes to become popular (ironically what most punks hate; I can't help but think of Fugazi, an irony unto themselves, with how experimental they would become & all) & these bands who rebelled vs prog by writing short, "3-5 chord" songs. Honestly, I didn't know how popular this album was then; so, I get the rebellion against popular, mainstream stuff because I do that now, but think about the irony of the statement that TFTO is "mainstream." It was #1 in the UK & #6 in the US. Seriously, did any big radio stations back then play any one of the these songs in its entirety in the afternoon? I'd be shocked. Would any of us call any of these songs "mainstream?" I doubt it. TFTO is the epitome of progressive music, & maybe some disillsioned fan called in to request The Ancient, thinking they'd actually play it, but that doesn't sound real. Luis, I get what you're saying. You made compelling arguments against it, my friend. All that being said, who cares what I think? But here it is.
1. The Revealing Science Of God
2. The Remembering
3. Ritual
4. The Ancient
As a Yes for 40 years, started with Classic Yes, my 2nd concert ever was Yes at 15 on the 90125 tour in 1984, discovered the 70s albums in the 90s (my 20s), then revisiting them now in my 50s, I would say it makes me appreciate this album more because it sounds more like Yes than Talk or Union or Drama. I can't tell you how many times I listened to it last June, but the more I listened to it, the more I appreciated it. As a songwriter myself, yeah, I could easily tear all 4 tracks down; I agree with most of the comments about the music. It's hard to defend all of it. However, I remember what made this one so difficult was deciding between The Remembering & Ritual. Warts & all, I had to accept the fact that I cannot change what I hear; instead, I embraced each song for what it is. Disjointed? Yeah. Imperfect? No doubt. All of them. However, I actually put TRSOG at 14 overall, which may seem high, but of the 11 studio albums I have, there are only 79 songs, about 7 songs/album. I put The Remembering at 20. I currently have The Ancient at 29, ahead of Machine Messiah (31) & anything on 90125 or Union. Honestly, I don't think it's as bad as all that, Luis. You disagree, & I actually don't like the fact that I, too, like many other Yes fans (to be clear, I don't like all of their stuff & will never have every album), but I might have TFTO ahead of Relayer because of To Be Over, not a song that resonates with me, unlike the best parts of The Ancient. There are many highlights that may not be near the very top, but they're so close that to my one ear that it makes TFTO - part masterpiece, part "huh?" - to me. The "huh?" parts are as frustrating as they are intriguing, somewhere in the middle with sparkles of greatness. Overall, I like it. Compared to Tormato, which I own (talk about a weird album), I love TFTO. Compared to Talk (will never own), TFTO is a masterpiece. Compared to Close To The Edge, it can't compare, but what can? They raised that bar so high. The best of Yes is peerless almost. The best stuff on TFTO makes it worth revisiting.
I never minded it as much as some people. TRSOG is so amazing that even Rick Wakeman didn't mind playing it in the not too distant past. Seeing Jon Anderson do it with Transatlantic on Progressive Nation at Sea was awesome. Ritual is also really good. The other two tracks are ok and do drag it down. Overall though I do like it.
What I don't like is this joke they've become the last few years though they still remain a top 5 all-time band for me. I haven't been interested in seeing them in years and could not give a shit about the current line-up. But since they just got announced as opening for Deep Purple who I've only seen once this summer I'm in for "One More Time".
Also please let Luis's interweb connection not suck from Mexico. I don't know what George's feelings are about this album, but this episode could be legendary.
Jon and The Band Geeks though....YES!
Not a fan, jimmy. A 2.5 from me. Not worth my time going forward.
@@georgelamie7001 so two and a half shits the bed out of 5. 😂
Love these album study shows, especially when you're not all on the same page. Thanks 🍺🤘!
When Yes toured Australia in 2003, we organised a meet & greet with the band that included a Q&A section. One question from a fan was about why they recorded 'The Ancient', implying that it wasn't any good. Chris Squire's answer was 'that you couldn't have a 3-sided album'. That broke everyone up, including the band.
Masterpiece. I don't have any problem listening to the whole album on vinyl at a sitting.
Great discussion gentlemen. Very well balanced. One of the best episodes of In The Prog Seat. Instead of faffing around with a band the quite simply isn't Yes, Howe should get together with Jon and rework this as a single album. That's a project worth doing.
I saw the original Toppgraphic tour live in 1974 , and as brilliant as the playing was , it was really tough sledding .
I've always believed that there are 6 or 7 great seven or eight minute songs buried within all of this material ( kind of what Pete said about liking 8-10 minutes of each song ) . It would have made a great single album ..
I can't listen to it all at once . I'm too sane for that .
I saw this tour in Ludwigshafen Germany at the time of release and they omitted side 2 and it was brilliant.1,3,4 in order.
I really like the three-minute drum part at the end of 'Ritual.' As a big King Crimson fan, I can't help but feel it carries a lot of their influence. The Mellotron is all over the place, reminding me of their early era. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if that section were twice as long.
Although it's such a love it or hate it type of album, I've always been on the fence about it, but maybe leaned slightly towards the negative. I bought it at the height of my Yes fandom in 1994, sold it a few years later, and only recently listened to it on YT for the first time since then (see all the things this channel makes me do!).
The latest listen didn't really change my mind one way or another; there is some really good stuff on the album, but also too much padding to make it anywhere near a masterpiece. My favorite piece is still "The Remembering (High the Memory)"; I like the gentle, almost nursery rhyme-like opening section, and especially the fast(er) "Relayer..." part, which is one of the rare (unfortunately) true rocking moments on the record. The second best song is the opener "The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)", and it's mostly good but with some less-inspired stuff too. After that, "Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)" is sort of half good, half not-so-good, and "The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun)" is total garbage. Ergo, I'd give this album a weak 3 stars out of 5.
This should be a fun show! Interesting to see whether any of the panelists truly love it.
Get well soon Chris!
It might have been more concise (to be sure) but it is what it is. I listen again and again because the best bits are so damn good.
Many mentioned the Ancient and problems with Steve Howe pedal steel playing - yes (no pun lol!) not good for me either but I think he actually plays lap steel and not pedal steel. They are very different instruments, one uses feet and knees for tone control the other does not. You can hear the tone difference if you remember Garcia’s contribution on CSN Teach Your Children - now that IS pedal steel and not what Steve H plays but I still love Steve’s lap steel sounds!
I hope more album studies can be like this where you choose a controversial album.
Agreed! These shows are at their best when there are serious disagreements.
TFTO is one of my favorite Yes album. Now. At the beginning, I hated this album. I remember being so disappointed. I even felt betrayed by the band in some way. It took me years to understand it, to discover it and to love it.
Scot from The Prog Corner nearly hated Tales when he was a teenager. Then after a long while, he now knows that Tales is the greatest album ever made. I think it is amazing that Tales can change a hater into the greatest lover of the finest music the world has ever been blessed with, thanks to Yes. No other band could make something like that, though Mike Oldfield really tried real hard with Incantations, which is 8th on my all music favorites.
@@charleswagner2984 Exactly !
Glad for the Steven Wilson remix/remaster. Was very needed.
SW: “I worked on and off for about 3 years on this new mix in my quest to do it justice. I hope it will satisfy the people who agree with me that it may just be Yes’ pre-eminent masterpiece.”
Agreed. A great remix. He also saved Relayer in a big way.
Also, remember when Wakeman quit, either Steve Howe or Brian Kane asked Keith Emerson to join Yes. Emerson was bewildered and asked "why would I do that when I have ELP?!?"
What did ELP produce after 73?
I rank the tracks on this album thusly:
1: “The Remembering”
2: “The Revealing Science of God”
3: “Ritual”
4: “The Ancient”
Basically I only need the first disc of this album; I don’t need to listen to the second at all but I LOVE the front half.
Have loved this album since I busted the cellophane on it when it first came out. Only three things has kept it from being my favorite Yes album.
1. Fragile
2. The Yes Album
3. Close to the Edge. 😁
I'm with Luis (as usual) - he hits the nail square on the head. It's a great pity the music doesn't live up to the art work. I listened to this with friends at boarding school in Sussex in the 70s and none of us liked it then. But I still have my vinyl copy. My theory is that they were pretty knackered after doing all the Close to the Edge stuff (which IS a masterpiece) and Chris Squire is simply missing in action.
Every opinion expressed about this album is correct. It's also in the running for my favorite Yes album.
The topographic ocean froze over and fragmented when I listened to it ... and it never thawed. 😊
what a great choice for this show
Agree with Ken and Chad. Several times I’ve sat down ”now I’m going to _really listen_ to this album.” And I would just wake up that I am not really following or tag along.
It may be its “statistical density” as Zappa would put it, or that there are parts that can’t keep your attention but I can’t listen to this in one sitting.
I would say the latter.
The Remembering is my Favorite Steve Howe at the end was all that
The more time you invest in this album the more you get. At least to me . I never liked it because I should it was because I found it challenging and atonal and it made me listen more to challenge my own preconceptions.
I think Ken is correct regarding Jon Anderson's lyrics. He really enjoys putting words and phrases together for the sake of the sound. Luis is also correct that he relies on certain words too much, but this is a quirk of all writers. I am only beginning to explore this album, as it's always seemed pretty daunting. I will say that the steel guitar doesn't particularly bother me, as it's not meant to sound pretty, or even pleasing, but eerie and jarring. Good discussion, as always.
My take:
Best Song: "The Revealing Science of God"
Yes Album Ranking: 7th or 8th
Notes: When I listen, I listen to disc 1, then take a short break before listening to disc 2.
This album has the most ring wear off any album I have. Just saying... I'm intrigued by the idea it being recorded in the CD era. The option of following the songs strengths to something anywhere from 40-60 minutes is fascinating to think about. How the medium impacts the recording...
I think Steve Wilson basically offered us the revised TFTO. Take all of The Revealing Science of God (20:18), and then skip the next 3 parts and go to Steve's edits of The Remembering (3:54), The Ancient (3:26), and Ritual (2 edits, 4:20 and 3:47) and you have a masterpiece without any weaknesses I can hear. But that's too short for me; I listen to the whole thing, one side per sitting. Not as consistently strong as CTTE and Relayer, but I love it.