Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans
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Free Music Notes for Tales from Topographic Oceans
Free Music Review: Some good, some bad and some in between
Hit: 4 Stars
I just love "The Revealling Science of God" A Yes classic.
Ritual has a great ending section, the intro is less interesting.
The Remembering offers good moments & pure delight but it's not a classic.
The Ancient is boring, without any musical structure. I have listen to it hundred of time and never really get in...there's a small passage with classical guitar that I like, but the rest is just experimentation without any emotions in it.
Also, I think that the rythm section, with Squire and White is quite less impressive that the Bruford - Squire duo (Like Close to the Edge)
The sound of the band is not as sharp as previous recording.
Overall, quite good but not as memorable as "Close to the Edge"
Free Music Review: Only "Yes people" ...
Hit: 2 Stars
... can find this to be "philosophical" or deep in any way. Musically decent, as one should expect from musicians of this caliber, but often disoriented and strained to create long pieces, since, presumably, long means "complex," "artistic" and "serious." Yeah, right. The irritating, screeching Anderson's voice disturbs as always, but is fortunately not too present, with all the showing off Wakeman and Howe try to pull off. The lyrics are retarded as one is used to get from Yes, not that they deserve any attention. Still, this has the air of naivete and wanna-be artistry that the band would later abandon for pure unadulterated greed and commercialism, starting around the truly disastrous Tormato and on.
Two stars - one deserved, for any Yes album, another for the reduction in Anderson's participation.
Free Music Review: An acquired taste
Hit: 3 Stars
I like this album a lot, but that doesn't mean it's a timeless masterpiece. It's not. The departure of drummer Bill Bruford was a huge setback for Yes at this time, and it's not surprising that the first non-Bruford album is less exciting from a rhythm section point of view. The personnel changes almost seem to have produced a more deliberately ethereal recording. I am very intrigued by the idea of longer pieces, classically influenced structuring of themes into a logical composition, and a "concept" to tie it all together, but this album ultimately fails to continue in the direction of "Close To The Edge." By now, the partnership of Howe and Anderson has taken over, and Anderson's quasi-mystical lyrics have become quite stale. This album is impossible to relate to, and while the approach is intriguing, the melodic themes are just not there in the way they are on "Close To The Edge." Some great guitar playing here and there, but not enough to sell 4 twenty minute songs. Where "Close To The Edge" emphasized economy of ideas with longer harmonic changes and appealing themes, "Topographic Oceans" tends to drone on in a flakey ethereal wasteland filled with mystical lyrics that most people will never understand (much less care about). While I must confess that I'm a bigger fan of Bill Bruford's drumming than Alan White's, I don't want to completely dismiss White's skills. However: the rhythm section is clearly not in control of this album and that's a huge setback. After all, Chris Squire IS one of the two leaders of Yes. A Yes album that puts Squire and drummer in the background is not one of the better Yes albums. I have nothing against long songs. Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You" is just as epic as this, and easier to relate to. If you've ever eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms, that's what this album feels like: trippy, with the taste of dung in your mouth. I still listen to it a lot, though.Free Music Review: Not as bad as they'd have you believe --that is, not bad at all
Hit: 5 Stars
Yes' music seems so often to get caught up in the meta "prog is too pompous and long" debate, and for some reason Tales from Topographic Oceans always seems to take the brunt of the heat, and any review of it spends most of its time putting down and debating the theoretical nature of prog--snooze! I'm not sure why--maybe because it's their longest album, and maybe because it has consistently the longest songs of any Yes record. Well, I'm not here to get into an argument about pretentiousness or insert myself into the directionless argument about Yes' relationship with classical music. I'd rather spend my review space relating why I like this record, why I think it's good, and why I think it's worth your money and listening time.
Tales starts out just like the title and classic album art would lead you to expect--it sounds like you're slowly becoming submerged beneath the water, to emerge in an entirely new landscape created by the band's sound. I love it already. As Howe's volume-modulated guitar lines foreshadow one of the song's main themes, Anderson's vocals begin in a sort of recitation/chant style never before heard on a Yes album. It's stuff like this that really endears me to Tales--it's full of a lot of really great ideas that give it a character apart from other Yes releases. The chant builds to a crescendo, Alan White hammers out one of the wonkiest, most transcendently off-kilter fills of his life, and Wakeman's moog explodes. Welcome to the ocean. The first track is typified by some ridiculously inventive guitar from the typically impressive Steve Howe (I can't believe that one reviewer hates his guitar tone), some great movements that evoke at times an almost hoedown-like atmosphere, and later a church music atmosphere, and some of Jon Anderson's most memorable lyrics. Although history says that Wakeman wasn't really excited about this project, I think he still manages to inject some of his trademark flair with some excellent moog solos.
"The Remembering" is more stately than the opener--more dominated by acoustic textures and a more old-timey English folk feel. It opens with a cheery keyboard doodle and a later part includes some great acoustic work from Steve Howe, as well as the memorable "Relayer" section. Out of all the tracks on Tales, I'd probably say it's the least striking, but it also offers quite a bit on repeated listens, and contains more stylistic diversity than other tracks.
"The Ancient" contains what I think is some of the coolest experimentation on the album, with a grooving, alien-sounding intro and some of Steve Howe's most out-there guitar, followed by some music that bears some similarity to the original music from the A Clockwork Orange soundtrack. Eventually the jerky meter changes give way to one of Steve Howe's most pastoral and pleasant fingerstyle acoustic compositions (love the soundboard tapping), which blends effortlessly with Jon Anderson's message of peace.
"Ritual," the sprawling closer starts out with a bang, blending a wordless vocal line with a great romping instrumental theme. Out of the four tracks, I think "Ritual" assembles the most musical thematic recurrence from other songs (is the music really that different from classical?), which does detract from its unique character a bit, but strengthens the album's cohesion on a higher level. Some reviewers have found the percussion interlude unlistenable, but I'm of the school that experimentation can be good, and I really dig its abrasive texture. The mood drops down as Anderson sums up his oblique religious message (I never put too much stock in his "message," though I do love his voice and think his indirect lyrics can often conjure up some great images), then the band kicks back in for a roaring minor-key reconstitution of the album's first theme to close the album.
Yeah, it's sprawling, and it's also difficult to get into in one listen. To me, that's a boon--there's plenty to get to know, appreciate, and love upon multiple repeated listens. Every time I listen to this album I find new reasons to appreciate its soaring beauty, technical wizardry, and inventiveness. Please, leave the prog debate aside and check out Tales from Topographic Oceans--it's a gorgeous project full of classic moments, often wildly successful experimentation, and overall, it's a really great journey across some dramatic topography.
Free Music Review: Heard the Tales of bad reviews? Forget it, this is the Masterpiece.
Hit: 5 Stars
My favorite Yes album has only improved over the years. I gotta admit it took me a LONG time to get into this record, ultimately it is the most rewarding Yes album and has a lot to offer. Warning, you won't like this record until after 4 or 5 listens all the way through, that is why it gets torn up in the reviews, it has to "grow" on you like algae.