Tales From Topographic Oceans

I bought this album on vinyl in Bristol in november(on my 20th seeing my ex.HA!)

I havent listened to it yet. I also got an first pressing of AHM.

Yes are probably the hardest prog group to get into. I thought it was Genesis. But the only album I can listen to all the way through is close to the edge.

After reading this thread i'm going to listen to it when I get home, For the first time EVER!!

I'm excited now.

Sound Chaser wrote: Dreamer wrote: I was planning to buy that album, I'm not sure if i really want to anymore Listen to it with as open of a mind as possible first and if you like it buy it, don't form oppinions on it based on what others think. It's definatly an either love it or hate it kind of album. I happen to like it, it's nowhere near the masterpeace CTTE is but it's still a good album.

I totally agree except I would change masterpeace to masterpiece

Actually, I didn't like TFTO that much when I first heard it but the more I listened to prog rock, the more I liked it. I still don't think it's a masterpiece (or peace) but it's worth owning.

flowerchild wrote: "Tales from Topografic oceans" is IMO the best recorded piece of art in any genre EVER! It is in EVERY way far SUPERIOR to "Close to the edge" and I think "Close to the edge" is one of the best albums I've heard. That is how fantastic "Tales from Topografic oceans" is to myself and many with me, it's simply the ultimate progressive piece of music ever written. Thanks

I agree 100% with flowerchild. I know a lot of listeners don't like it, but I never understood that. CTTE is great, but I prefer the complexity of writing and playing Topographic Oceans. CTTE and Relayer were the 1st 2 Yes albums I heard. Then I got T-Oceans. Loved it from the beginning. The only thing that maybe should have been written better (or left off) is the 1st half of "The Ancient". 25 years later, the thrill of listening to T-Oceans has remained strong for me, while the thrill of listening to CTTE has faded.

The-Bullet wrote: I'm not arguing it's merits (I love it btw), I just pointed out your mistake. It was both JA and SH's "baby", so if you take the tours where both were present I don't feel it's been neglected.

...and Wakeman liked it all the way, untill he read the critics and become scared...they all loved it

The-Bullet wrote: Rememeber also that for around 16 of the last "25" years Steve Howe wasn't around.

and.....................???

It really is a Jon Anderson vehicle...

All I am trying to say is that if it was such a towering achievement they would have found some way to feature it more completely in the show. In fact now as I remember the album was released in 1974 so it is 31 years old!!!!!! Relatively speaking,theyve hardly played it.

Did you buy it day of release? Because I did. I felt really cheated.Never really liked Relayer either.

Fortunately they managed one last great album with GFTO!

Nipsey88 wrote: In fact, anyone here clever with Sound Forge or something similar should try a one CD edit of this record, would be  an interesting experiment and undoubtedly better than the original!

hmm....reminds me of the scene in Amedeus where his royal dimness suggests that Mozart cut some notes because there are too many.  Mozart had the perfect reply..."Which notes did you have in mind?"  Or Pete Townshend being told by the record company that he had to redo Tommy because proper songs were 3 minutes 5 with a repeatable chorus.

I personally think the motif of the album requires the length and loose structure.  I think any short version of any of it would be terrible.  This sounds like a generation X problem to me.