TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

maybe it's just me...but i don't think that yes ever intended to write this album to please anyone other then themselves. so it begs the question why people can slate this album to death the way they do...all the silly questions of why, what,.....think about the time....1973, who else was writing such composistions as these? hmmmm? no one that i can think of. ok, so rick wakeman didn't like the album...blah blah blah...well i have heard rick wakeman quoted as saying..."everyone thinks that eddie offord was the best yes producer, myself, i believe that trevor horn did the most for the band, and would love to see him come back." well...lets see....trevor horn did most of the 80's yes....that was their most successful time period, because they went more pop oriented. it seems to me that rick liked the more straight forward stuff, so it's no wonder he didn't like this album. (your loss rick) i believe that you have to have an extremely deep taste in music to understand this album. it's a concept album...plain and simple, and in my opinion...one of, if not the greatest progressive rock album of all time. even close to the edge, which is incredible...didn't come to the scope of this album. it was done on a completely different concept. jon had an idea with tales...one that he and steve wrote together for the most part. when i breakdown this album...all 4 parts to me interconnect quite well...all the vocals move and tell such a story, that only a real life landscape could compare to. the only part of this album that i think could have been a little better...were the drums. alan white's 1st album...still finding his way, much different style then bill, yet still quite effective with ritual being alans' shining moment. when i 1st bought this album i did not like it as much...but over time, it began to make sence to me and the ideas behind it became all that more incredible to me. being a musician myself, and playing prog rock....wow....what an accomplishment. to this day the music is original and doesn't sound at all dated. i recently bought the new version of this album, and the additon of the ocean sound with steve's extended intro is absolute MAGIC. i would recommend this album to any prog fan....maybe not as a 1st yes album to own, but definately essential to any collection of music. as jon anderson said.... after the critics bashed this album "the next thing yes will do is put the bible to music, alright...i'll show you suckers, it can be done." well jon, you and the guys did...and this album will live on forever, as a gem in the world of progressive rock.