Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Yes
Label: Atlantic Records
Release: 1973
Duration: 80:03
Rating: 5/5
‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ is one of the most important and boldest albums ever made in the history of symphonic progressive rock. It contains four interwoven, conceptual stories (four acts in four songs), inspired by reading ‘Autobiography of Yogi’ (by Paramahansa Yogananda). As you probably all know, on ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ Yes swapped out Bill Bruford, who of his own burning desire joined King Crimson, who were just looking for a new drummer at the time, for Alan White. The swap was anything but easy, because Bruford was exactly what Yes needed at that moment, and with his departure they clearly lost something, especially in the sophistication and wit of the improvising within the rhythm line itself. Compared to the jazz purist Bruford, Alan White was a true rock drummer, whose potential with Yes came into its own on the record ‘Relayer’ (1974), the successor to ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’.
‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ is a critical record for Yes, one that split the fans. Some cooled on Yes completely, while others became even more fervent devotees of the band. ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ is really one of the most provocative records in the band’s history. And it was played practically spontaneously. From the head to the fingers. Steve Howe says that the opportunity presented itself back then (they had a completely free hand in the creative process). So they fearlessly pushed past the boundaries. The main driving forces behind the final shape of ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ were Steve Howe and Jon Anderson. The product of their spontaneous approach is a maximally fragmented album, with sometimes hard-to-grasp deviant breaks and strung-together motifs that follow one another almost without any rational sense, and at times total psycho moments, which nevertheless create a unique fusion across the record, the one we know as the famous, singular and unmistakable ‘Yes-world’, sprinkled throughout with fantastic moments of transcendence. A disappointed Rick Wakeman was fed up with this new way of writing music and left Yes for the first time after the tour ended. And it’s precisely Rick Wakeman’s massive mellotron sound curtains that give ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ the feeling of the record undulating in the depths of the ocean. The music stands on waves; even the classic rocker moments fail to tip the scales in their favor and practically get lost in the sea of drifting through the cosmic mellotron, Howe’s famous ‘steel pedal glissando’ moments and Jon’s high angelic vocals with added vocal arrangements, and of course the constant stringing together of all kinds of motifs, which mercilessly don’t leave even a shred of compactness at any single point. That’s why ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ is a very tough bite from a rational listening approach. With its extreme unpredictability, it’s actually an endlessly exciting album, and with its wit and experimental inventiveness it hardly lets the listener get bored. The only real tactic for tackling this album is to switch off your mind (your ratio) and simply surrender to the music.
The poetry is so deep it can’t be pinned down. Put simply, across the four acts a kind of meaning of our being unfolds, of our existence, the art of living life, learning through experience, searching within yourself. In the manner of preaching through, to put it minimally, a ‘rock-Hindu ritual’.
Yes delivered a record of superior musical fusion, lying in complete symbiosis with the concept of exploring the meaning of life through spiritual spheres beyond the horizons of the logical, and they opened up new dimensions in the world of music. ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ is a record of celebration. A celebration of the ritual of life. Let go and create! Rise up and sail through the sky! Merge with the wisdom of the ocean. Be light! With its provocative inventiveness, musical enthusiasm and intellect, classic Yes reached their experimental, epic symphonic peak with ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’, which makes it one of the cornerstones of progressive rock music.
Lineup
Jon Anderson – vocals
Steve Howe – all guitars and vocals
Chris Squire – bass guitar and vocals
Rick Wakeman – keyboards
Alan White – drums
Production
Eddie Oford
Track List
1. The Revealing Science Of God – Dance Of The Dawn (20:27)
2. The Remembering – High The Memory (20:38)
3. The Ancient – Giants Under The Sun (18:34)
4. Ritual – Nous Sommes Du Soleil (21:35)
