Love for Tales from Topographic Oceans - Progressive Rock Music Forum

moshkito's post made me think of this:

If Beethoven or someone earlier could hear Tales from Topographic Oceans, what might they think?

A spiritual incantation initially- but what then?

https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays

Epignosis wrote:

You'll find lots of it from me.

Greatest album ever made.

Greatest rock symphony ever written is how I describe it ... sorry Beethoven, I know you had 9, but so what?

And I was lucky to catch this on their tour at the Long Beach Arena then ... it was magnificent! It really was! ... and in many ways, this was much more exciting than The Wall later, or Dark Side of the Moon ... why? ... because you knew on that day -- after you saw this -- that it was the last time you would EVER see a true symphonic work by a rock band ... that was trashed by rock'n'roll critics senseless to the point where even Rick Wakeman used to trash it ijn his words, although these days, he has gotten way kinder and nicer about it.

Edited by moshkito - September 25 2012 at 13:20

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

My second favourite Yes album after Relayer.

One strange thing about it though: Any other Yes album I can just put on and listen to, but Tales is slightly different in that it seems slightly intimidating and requires just that little extra effort, almost inner preparation, to actually start playing it.

I will have to say that this is YES's most techical album they have ever made. The song arrangements are incredibly complex. You must have a clear head space listening to this massive masterpiece. I find it incredibly layered. Amazing ART WORK as well! 5/5 😁

Gimmie my headphones now!!! 🎧🤣

I like this thread but actually I find Tales..to be too long for no reason. I loose my interset in every song at some point. I have rated it with 3 stars, and found out that if I listen to it in two parts I like it better.

Tales....Often used by a lot of non proggers as a prime example of up-their-own-arse pomposity by one of the monster bands of the early seventies. Even a lot of Yes fans (not the true - hard core proggers here I think) went to see the 1973 tour and didn't enjoy getting the new opus played to them in it's entirety - a lot wanted to hear the old favourites...And of course the in-band squabbling - esp by R.C.Wakeman didn't help either - I reckon that his nose was put out of joint because most of the track was layed out in nightime jams between Howe/Anderson...and he felt that his input was negligable in a writing perspective....Funnily enough , this magnificent example of Symphonic progressive rock (a blue print for all to try and reproduce it's majesty and pomposity) - has become a more consistent seller than "The yes Album" for instance.....In prog circles - I think that TFTO has to be in the top 10 epic compositions of all time - I'd put it into the top five actually....And the Yes CD i've played most in the past 5 years..

One word - Genius.

Originally posted by Aussie-Byrd-Brother

Aussie-Byrd-Brother wrote:

After years of overdosing on Close To The Edge, Fragile, The Yes Album, etc, and knowing them back to front, `Topo' is the Yes album where there's still endless things to discover, even after a ton of listens. An album to spend a lifetime getting your head around and learning to appreciate.

Right. With lots of classic albums, I don't even need to play them, because I can hear every note in my head. I "know" them start to finish. I can listen to the whole album in my head. Topographic never became like that. These days I don't play it much because I like to keep the experience something special. I esp love "The Ancient" these days.

Second only to Relayer.

My 4th most favorite Yes album, but i love it with Relayer, CTTE and Fragile almost the same way. Tales are great and beautiful. It's a long album so I listen to it only on special situations :)

Under the rocks and stones,
there is water underground

possibly prog's finest moment