TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

This is a solid epic style yes material, but it has 3 main flaws : weak overlong soloing, the feeling that the songs seem too long, and of course, a disappointment after Close To the Edge

I'll go over each movement.

First Movement 8/10 : It starts with a brilliant almost trance-inducing vocals that is followed by a good riff .. then it just seems like soup ... it has barely a structure and goes nowhere with good sections in some places and a couple of great solos. This is the best of the 4 movements, and while the structuring of the song is very lacking, the musicianship is superb.

Second Movement 7.5/10 : It is a good epic. It starts with a great melody, but unfortunately it drags for many minutes. Then its gets slow (may become boring sometimes), until it starts picking up toward the 'relayer' lyrics which is fast, bombastic and very good ... then it gets slow again.

Third Movement 5/10 : this is not good! ... it is basically a failed experiment. It has slide guitar solos that sound terrible, some overpadding in a place in which the guitar plays the same thing but each time it adds 2-3 more notes (just like lateralus's bass guitar buildup which is better), it is redeemed a bit because it has one of Alan White's best drumming rhythm I ever heard. Finally it gets prettier and acoustic, but less interestic, and the solo drags and recyclies too much material

Fourth movement 5/10 : sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful. The guitar soloing is terrible in many places for me and sounds like improvising while recycling some material of close to the edge. If the beautiful 'we love when we play' didn't exist, it should get 4/10.

Overall, this is a mixed bag. I recommend it to fans of relayer, and structureless epics like some of King Crimson.

My Grade : C

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