Love for Tales from Topographic Oceans

Thought it was unlistenable for a good ten years and now it's probably my favorite Yes album. Go figure.

Hello

Thanks for the links

Indeed this one is a tough nut to crack - I still find Genesis' 'Lamb' harder to penetrate  - although both are very special and intense Prog essentials.............they just don't make 'em like this anymore....

LittleMilton wrote: Bought this album back in '78, and it has remained one of my all-time favorites ever since, with The Remembering as the highlight for me.  The extended beauty and majesty of the whole composition is remarkable.  The magical spark of Yes resounds throughout the four movements.  Even though I've always loved CTTE, after listening to Tales for the first time I realized that CTTE was too short.  Even though it is amazing in it's own right, I prefer the extended atmospheres and "meanderings" of Tales, if I had to choose.   : )

 Thanks for sharing!  I, too, am partial to "The Remembering," but we seem to be in the minority on PA.  I think most members usually select "The Revealing Science of God" as their favorite side. 

For me, this album is the point of no return for Yes, a bridge too far.

DiamondDog wrote: For me, this album is the point of no return for Yes, a bridge too far.

What do you mean?

I always liked Yes up till this point, but no, nothing since then has been on the same level, mainly due to a loss of sense I guess. That doesn't detract from the very fine legacy of the earlier work.

DiamondDog wrote: I always liked Yes up till this point, but no, nothing since then has been on the same level, mainly due to a loss of sense I guess. That doesn't detract from the very fine legacy of the earlier work.

Same here (not sure if you're excluding Tales; I am). Once Bruford left, they stopped being as tight as compact as they were and developed a tendency to "noodle around" and overstuff their songs with too many layers. I guess the Fragile/CTTE lineup achieved some kind of bizarre balance in which every instrumentalist tried to assert himself and dominate the mix, in the process taking up each other's room and canceling out each other's excesses. Alan White is a great drummer, but on top of having a looser style in general, there was also no way he could assume Bruford's status in the group's "power struggle" so soon after joining. This allowed the other three guys to fill up all the space that had been previously taken up by Bruford with their own stuff, and I think that often made for kind of a sonic mess.

I've only heard it in its entirety a couple times. I've read/heard so much hype over this album, that I just can't bring myself to listen to it when I don't have the time/place/frame-of-mind/etc. I have heard Revealing Science of God enough to know I love it, but not the rest of the album.

I even have the CDs in my car, but I'm rarely in my car for more than 10 minutes at a time, and it just doesn't work to listen to it bit-by-bit. Maybe that's why I listen to Rush's later albums in the car so much. Some music can be enjoyed in short periods while some can't.


Edited by Metalmarsh89 - February 07 2013 at 18:20