Tales from Topographic Oceans [Bonus Tracks] [Limited] [Remaster]

Performer: Yes
Producer: Yes; Bill Inglot; Yes; Eddie Offord
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Yes: Jon Anderson (vocals); Steve Howe (vocals, guitar); Chris Squire (vocals, bass); Rick Wakeman (keyboards); Alan White (drums). Recorded at Morgan Studios, London, England. Digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt. Yes: Rick Wakeman (keyboards); Chris Squire (bass instrument); Alan White (percussion); Jon Anderson, Steve Howe. Personnel: Jon Anderson (vocals); Steve Howe (guitar); Rick Wakeman (Mellotron, Moog synthesizer, timpani); Chris Squire (fretless bass, timpani); Alan White (drums); Guy Bidmead (tapes). Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Liner Note Author: Mike Tiano. Recording information: Morgan Studio, London, England (1973). Photographers: Ira Blacker; David Gahr; Roger Dean . For prog rock's detractors, Yes's TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS is the genre's nadir. For admirers it is an artistic pinnacle. Whichever camp you're in, it is hard to deny the sheer chutzpah necessary to undertake this sprawling epic. Though broken up into four sections, TALES greeted 1973 listeners as a single composition spread across four sides of a double album. This was unprecedented in the world of mainstream rock. For the band, it was the closest they would ever come to a true fusion of classical structures and themes with rock-oriented instrumentation and sensibilities. The lyrics are typically elliptical and spiritually oriented, and many a bad trip was probably launched by trying to interpret them. The real pleasure of this album lies in the elaborately textured, harmonically sophisticated interaction between keyboardist Rick Wakeman, guitarist Steve Howe, and highly melodic bassist Chris Squire. All three were at the peak of their instrumental prowess on TALES, and listening to them interact is like watching a fine athlete excelling at his chosen sport. This is still the least accessible album that Yes ever recorded and not the place to start listening to them, but Tales From Topographic Oceans also has considerable virtues (including many sublimely beautiful passages) that are brought out here as never before. This is actually the fourth distinct CD version of this album -- the first was issued in the late '80s, a poor sounding version in a wide, double jewel box package; in 1996 came an upgrade in a narrow double jewel case that was an improvement, but even then it lagged behind the best audio quality of the time. In 2001 came a mini-LP-packaged edition from Japan that sonically ran circles around all prior versions; and now the Elektra-Rhino's slipcased, expanded version, which is different from all prior editions. The high resolution digital sound brings out nuances in both the electric and acoustic sections of the material that sound new. Internal detail in Rick Wakeman's keyboard parts, Steve Howe's guitar playing, and even in the layered vocal harmonies were all things that had always escaped notice but obviously mattered to the makers, as they were there. The producers have also retained an extension to the opening of "The Revealing Science of God" that was originally made for its inclusion on the In a Word box. The producers have moved the first three tracks of the four-track album onto disc one, leaving space on disc two for a pair of studio outtakes, early run-throughs of "Dance of the Dawn" (which became "The Revealing Science of God"), and "Giants Under the Sun" (which became "The Ancient") -- these present a looser, more relaxed side of Yes as they try to devise the final versions of each track, with Jon Anderson in particular finding his way around phrases that would later be broadened and more deeply layered. There are also several musical phrases and sections that were modified or dropped as the final versions of these pieces evolved. The annotation is extremely thorough, complete with a good performing history of the album. ~ Bruce Eder

The longest-running prog-rock group in the business, Yes flew on the strength of Jon Anderson's high, angelic voice and the group's instrumental virtuosity. The band began in England, rising from the ashes of pop-psych outfits like Tomorrow, Bodast, and Mabel Greer's Toyshop. Extending the technical facility of psychedelia and downplaying the trippiness, it helped forge the template for progressive rock and reigned as its most popular practitioners in the '70s. Over the years, Yes has weathered personnel changes, lawsuits, and changing public tastes while holding on to its original vision.

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