TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

Complex, challenging, pretentious, self-indulgent ..... certainly.

Do not expect to bowled over by this one at first listening. In fact a reasonable reaction may be "what a load of pretentious BS". Then you go back to it ... "not so bad". and another time ... "this one is growing on me". Twenty-five years after buying the double album it still captivates me. This is my favourite Yes album, but it took me about 10 years to come round to that conclusion.

It's an absolute essential in any self-respecting prog collection.

As for the music: since each track is one side I find it difficult to pin down a suitable decsription: these are not Sibelian Tone Poems but that's the closest parallel I can think of.

The Revelaing Science of God lets you know what you're in for right from the start: this ain't MTV prime time. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Jon Anderson & Steve Howe. I'm so sad I went out and grabbed an old copy of the Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yoganada, just to read the footnote. BTW I'm none the wiser.

Ritual is a classic, Nous Sommes du Soleil is another: The Ancients never quite hit the right buttons for me.

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