TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

"Tales" is an album for sensitive listeners. Yes trying to upgrade their music with even more classical influences and textures working together with espiritual themes as a real concept album (the unique Yes concept Album!). It was the only way Yes could try after the prodigious "Close to the Edge" and it was, indeed, a very ambitious project. When released ,it was called pretentious and inconsistent by the criticals. To make things even worse, keyboardist Rick Wakeman left the band with lots of negative comments about the album. Forget it! Play the album! Criticals brains are too small to understand "Tales" and Wakeman was very busy with his solo career . Yes was taking too much of his time . He wants to leave the band and his coments about "Tales" was just an excuse.

Do not be disappointed after the 1st heard! Play it again ! "Tales" is very complex and goes better and better every time you listen it! Every minute will worth! "The revealing science of god" opens the album. It's a pure Yes suite in the best terms. Then "The remembering", the 2nd music, a marvelous, beautiful 20 minute epic with Wakeman keyboards traveling into space in one of the most underrated Yes musics . "Ritual" is fantastic. Pay attention to the bass line at the final part of the music, Squire in a very inspired moment . Almost the whole album is amazing. Of course it has low points and sometimes sounds a little repetitive and boring,but it is a 80 minutes double CD with 4 musics! If it sounds pretentious (and in fact it is), I bet that Yes was the only band capable of doing it with such a consistence.

Now the real truth :after "Tales" Yes turned his own musical ambitions to low levels. Of course, there is others great albums then, but they where not evolutive in Yes music. They point to another directions, try to revive previous Yes works, be more commercial or praise the critics. "Tales" was the last effort in a classic and confident direction, was the last time "Yes" try to overcome themselves. If "Tales" has succeeded and acclaimed with same enthusiasm as "Close to the Edge", the Yes career would be different. Yes lost some of this musical ambition and confidence after the unfriendly album reception and things changed after all. Although "Tales" is rarely listed as the best Yes album , i can assure you it's the most important one because was the turning point for Yes career. After "Tales" Yes would never be the same.