Love for Tales from Topographic Oceans

I can dig what DiamondDog and others are sayin'

HarbouringTheSoul wrote: 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.

Neo-Romantic wrote: One of the greatest moments in the entire Yes catalog in my opinion is The Ritual. I love that track. Everything about it is phenomenal. From the recollection of themes from earlier tracks (including the Close to the Edge quotation) to the varied textures and passages throughout that build to an outstanding climax... Such a great track from a grotesquely under-appreciated album from the musical world at large.

^ Chuck, didn't you say some time ago that it was Steve on the Relayer tour, 1975?

Edited by Dayvenkirq - February 09 2013 at 01:10

This album makes me happier than any other album Yes released. It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Ronnie Pilgrim wrote: <font ="Apple-style-span" face="Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif" size="2">This album makes me happier than any other album Yes released. It never fails to bring a smile to my face. <font ="Apple-style-span" face="Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif" size="2">So much diversity in harmony. Loved reading through this thread.

Absolutely man. I don't blame you. It's a very special album. The Revealing Science of God is one of my many all time favourite prog rock epics. Truly amazing and love your enthusiasm too. Makes me as well.

cstack3 wrote: Neo-Romantic wrote: One of the greatest moments in the entire Yes catalog in my opinion is The Ritual. I love that track. Everything about it is phenomenal. From the recollection of themes from earlier tracks (including the Close to the Edge quotation) to the varied textures and passages throughout that build to an outstanding climax... Such a great track from a grotesquely under-appreciated album from the musical world at large.  I agree!!  This is Steve Howe during "Ritual," 14 August, 1976 (I saw this tour three times, but not this show...my good friend, Curt, took this one!  He is, in my opinion, the best concert photographer ever!)

Edited by The.Crimson.King - August 03 2013 at 01:04

Hi!

Thanks for sharing your experience. As a younger proggie who wasn't around for the first wave, I really enjoy hearing stories about listening experiences when the albums first came out.

Tales is my favourite Yes album also, I like side 3 best though.

My Tales story started in 1975.  I became friends with this Yes fanatic a couple years older who worked at my local hobby shop.  I took the Yes plunge and bought CTTE in September, then a couple months later Relayer.  My friend would always speak about Tales in such reverential tones I was intrigued...I remember going somewhere in his car and he was playing his Tales 8-track - when I heard the part from side 2 about "Relayer, all the passion spent on one cross", I thought it was so cool that they mentioned the name of their next album in one of the songs.  When I discovered it had only 4 songs on a double album I knew I had to hear this incredible achievement.  I bought it the following spring and still remember the first time I heard it.  It was late at night in my room and I replaced the normal light with a dim 25 watt blue bulb.  Dropped the needle and..."Dawn of light lying between a silence and sold sources..."  One of my fondest early prog memories.  My favourite sides are 1, 3, 2, & 4 and it remains my 2nd fave Yes album behind Relayer.

progbethyname wrote: The.Crimson.King wrote: My Tales story started in 1975.  I became friends with this Yes fanatic a couple years older who worked at my local hobby shop.  I took the Yes plunge and bought CTTE in September, then a couple months later Relayer.  My friend would always speak about Tales in such reverential tones I was intrigued...I remember going somewhere in his car and he was playing his Tales 8-track - when I heard the part from side 2 about "Relayer, all the passion spent on one cross", I thought it was so cool that they mentioned the name of their next album in one of the songs.  When I discovered it had only 4 songs on a double album I knew I had to hear this incredible achievement.  I bought it the following spring and still remember the first time I heard it.  It was late at night in my room and I replaced the normal light with a dim 25 watt blue bulb.  Dropped the needle and..."Dawn of light lying between a silence and sold sources..."  One of my fondest early prog memories.  My favourite sides are 1, 3, 2, & 4 and it remains my 2nd fave Yes album behind Relayer. Any prog Story that contains an A-Track player I perk up immediately. Also, love your light show atmosphere for your first spin of Relayer. Now that ambience baby!!

Woops. Meant Tales. Lol