TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

It's interesting to me that the epic length pieces on the preceding "Close To The Edge" and the subsequent "Relayer" were very well formed and realized pieces that flowed together like a coherent sentence or an entire conversation if you will, somehow arriving at a point, knowing how to get there and how long to take.

Sadly though, the same cannot be said for "Tales of Topographic Oceans". For my ears, it comes off like a bunch of nearly unrelated and overextended ideas trying to force themselves to fit together (lots of awkward transitions) in the quest to make some kind of a huge, profound grandiose statement. Problem is, it goes nowhere in the process and takes forever to get there while saying absolutely nothing. "Ritual" for example, has much potential but again, it gets so needlessly drawn out that whatever impact it could've made is completely watered down.

It's certainly not without its interesting moments I will admit, but unfortunately, a few interesting moments do not a coherent album make.

Honestly, if this album was edited down to a single album with the songs cut to 10 minutes or less each, it might actually be listenable. Otherwise, it's just a sprawling mess of esoteric nonsense that would test the patience of God.

Share this YES review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to The Owl
• Report this review (#349575)
• Buy YES music online with PA partners
• Show all YES MP3/Stream
• Go to YES page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Tales from Topographic Oceans page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for YES related discussions