 | Yes Tales from Topographic Oceans
3.8
excellent
| Ranking: #21 for 1973 | |
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| | Full Review | Ratings (874) |
Give your Rating |
| 4.5 superb | Onirium | July 14th 15 |
Tales is a strange album. In 1973, inspired by the four "sacred books" of Hinduism, Anderson
guided the group through his idea of an album consisting of four "large-scale compositions"
interlocking and complementing each other. In perspective, this may appear as an excessively
ambitious concept, and the result does indeed seem to reflect this idea. Disjointed, way too
adventurous at the expense of its cohesion, Tales covers a huge, imperfect ground (see, isn't that
very topographic?), but between the superfluous and dispensable passages, some of the band?s most
glorious and monumental moments are scattered here and there (take, for instance, the a cappella
introduction to The Revealing Science of God - and the fifteen minutes that follow - or The
Remembering's central section). However, if that doesn't seem convincing, I shall say that many of
the less striking passages end up making sense, as they contribute to the album's overall richness
and incredible depth. Thus, my perspective of the album has changed; I have come to set it apart
from every other Yes work, as I think it was intended as a rather unorthodox experiment. Tales is,
I think, intended to be listened to as an experience, as a sequence of indirectly related ideas
forming a whole, rather than as an album in the conventional sense. This may or may not justify
lack of attention and rigor that spawned many flaws and some less significant passages, but it
certainly qualifies the record as an interesting approach to the structure and format in which
popular music is presented. But Tales stays, indeed, a somewhat strange album.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | mandan | March 7th 13 |
While it's true that it's extremely long, it's also a very good prog album. The song length prevents it from being a favorite, but any fan of the band should enjoy this.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | NightmareCinema16 | November 14th 12 |
By the time Yes came out with their cornerstone, Close to the Edge, the music was growing beyond analysis expand a song from 10 minutes to almost 20. A Jon Anderson was growing extremely obssessed with so many different international cultures that it soon began to swamp the power that Yes had. However, it also led to one of the most unique albums of the century, with 4 songs that were heavily indulgent and almost all surpassed 18 minutes. While it was one of Yes's first flaws in their Classic age, it was not major.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 3.0 good | randomstofil | May 15th 11 |
Don't believe what the critics tell you. This is an amazing album. At first i was a little turned off by the
overall length, the absence of Bill Bruford and the length of the tracks. But I gave it a try, and i fell in love
with it instantly.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | MrDoobie | January 6th 10 |
At their very best, Yes had at least one good song per album. This is Yes at some of their worst.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 2.5 average | Gary STAFF | March 15th 23 |
I wasn't a big fan of this. When the mellow very new age-ish synths could blossom I certainly enjoyed what I've heard; but most of the time the record felt really uninspired and "incoherent".
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| 4.5 superb | BillyBrill | March 25th 22 |
Yeah there was one song that I wasn?t a fan of, yeah it was 20 minutes long, but honestly I really think this is an underrated Yes gem
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| 2.0 poor | GamamJ | July 31st 20 |
So bloated it hurts. First and last track (especiall the last) are pretty good, wven if the first suffers a decent bit from being drawn out. The middle two however are so drawn out and mostly meander not really doing anything that they completely ruin the full experience.
Bump |
| 5.0 classic | Mattia | February 1st 20 |
A Masterpiece, a voyage through notes and melodies. One of Yes' best albums, only behind Close to the Edge.
Bump |
| 3.5 great | Robbit | May 8th 16 |
TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS should contain a warning label that reads "Do not try to digest all of this in one
sitting!" Emboldened by the success of their epic 19 minute track "Close To The Edge", Yes crafted four more epics for
this album which each inhabited one LP side. It was an incredibly ambitious undertaking that was courageous for its
pursuit of art over commercial considerations.
However, many critics viewed the album as the height of pretension and a prime example of how bloated and self important
progressive rock had become. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman was so disenchanted with the album that he was inspired to
concentrate on his solo career and wound up leaving Yes for a while after he'd fulfilled his touring obligations.
TALES is a concept album that was inspired by the footnotes for some Hindu scripture that Jon Anderson had been reading at
the time. Consequentially, the album possesses a strong spiritual or ethereal new age vibe. Each track seems to marry
Eastern musical ideas with an almost symphonic approach to rock music. It's challenging music that is much easier to
appreciate in small doses, such as listening to one or two tracks at a time.
Overall, I'd have to consider this album to be an enjoyable, but flawed masterwork. While there are some rather nice
moments throughout each of these songs, none of these tracks are quite as brilliant or musically inspired as their earlier
epics ("Close To The Edge", "And You And I" or even "Starship Trooper"). Of the four tracks, "The Remembering Science Of
God" and "Ritual" are most memorable to me. This is mainly for braver die hard Yes fans, who should pursue the 5.1 mixes if they haven't already. Casual fans would be recommended to start elsewhere in the Yes catalog before diving into these
deeper waters.
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| 4.0 excellent | TheIntruder | September 2nd 15 |
Tales From Topographic Oceans is an innovator and courageous album. Some consider it pretentious, ambitious, megalomaniac and lengthy. I do not agree. It is as good as it gets for Yes, besides Close To The Edge and Relayer. It is almost impossible to follow up a masterpiece like Close To The Edge, without disappointing a great amount of fans. I really think that Tales From Topographic Oceans belongs to the rare kind of albums that achieved the status of being a masterpiece: However, this is not a consensual feeling. Soon it was released, it becomes a Yes too underappreciated piece of music.
Bump |
| 0.0 | altertide0 | April 25th 15 |
I really used to adore this record until one day I made 6-7 minutes edits of best parts of all the tracks and realised that they lost nothing of their charm. It's a good record for anyone who loves atmospheric, "sunny" progressive rock, but at the same time it's hard to deny that it's also unjustifiably long.
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| 2.0 poor | TheManMachine | August 10th 14 |
Yes is probably the preferred and appropriate band to plan and attempt this kind of behemoth, and I appreciate ambition and concepts and uninhibited works as much as the next guy, but when 80% of 80 minutes sounds bored and drawn out, a musicians pet project becomes a listeners chore.
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| 2.0 poor | Monstar1790 | July 21st 14 |
Keep "The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)". Junk the rest.
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| 5.0 classic | Quadrochosis | July 1st 11 |
One of the most important albums to me in my entire life. This album has helped me through more than I'll ever know.
Bump |
| 5.0 classic | Blue Collar Man | December 29th 06 |
This could possibly be my favorite album ever actually. But I don't think most people would like it or even should like it. It really takes too much time than its worth for most people but I would say it is essential listening for Yes fans.
Bump |
| 0.0 | will666 | December 27th 06 |
Well, it's not that great to tell you the truth. Kinda boring actually. Overrated by fans. It's just not that great. Go get King Crimson's Lizard instead.
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| 4.5 superb | pabcel | November 26th 24 |
| 4.0 excellent | Verdr | March 6th 24 |
| 3.5 great | Lani | February 20th 24 |
| 4.0 excellent | HalapenYo CONTRIBUTOR | August 12th 23 |
| 3.5 great | jhop | March 21st 23 |
| 3.5 great | Surtur | October 10th 22 |
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| 4.0 excellent | robb61 | April 1st 22 |
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| 3.5 great | eirinn | March 18th 21 |
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| 4.5 superb | fenman | June 5th 20 |
| 2.5 average | bobbart | November 24th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | wg98 | November 21st 19 |
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| 4.0 excellent | dgropp | March 8th 19 |
| 2.5 average | bbgames | February 19th 19 |
| 3.5 great | ghworin | February 13th 19 |
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| 4.0 excellent | Akifexx | October 17th 18 |
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| 3.0 good | RUSH | July 31st 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | Casavir | July 30th 18 |
| 4.5 superb | Benman | February 24th 18 |
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| 4.0 excellent | RAGG | December 2nd 17 |
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| 3.5 great | Rmazer | August 7th 17 |
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| 2.5 average | Superb | July 29th 15 |
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| 4.5 superb | Maz | November 29th 07 |
| 3.0 good | Bak | November 16th 07 |
| 3.5 great | EPacK | November 14th 07 |
| 2.5 average | dude64 | December 29th 06 |
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