Yes
Tales From Topographic Oceans

THE REVIEW

As I already mentioned when reviewing Close To The Edge and Drama, the band’s long discography is not for everyone. This is proven with rare effectiveness by the album I’m about to review. This is the record where Alan White (RIP!) makes his debut—a drummer with quite an impressive background, as he not only played with the Plastic Ono Band, but also with highly respected singers and soloists; just mentioning former Beatle George Harrison would suffice. And Yes chose exactly the right drummer to record their ultimate masterpiece: Tales From Topographic Oceans. Reviewing this double album is extremely difficult, so I’ll try to discuss it using the language of emotions—because this is a record that, as soon as you understand it, takes you by the hand and leads you on a wondrous imaginative journey.

That said, it’s essential to make a historical premise. Double albums should be seen as a milestone in the careers of the bands who create them. Most of the time, they are great rock operas (for example, Quadrophenia by the Who, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis [a concept album heralding Peter Gabriel’s departure and the beginning of the Phil Collins era]), aiming to capture all the energy the band can unleash in the studio (think of Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin), and even to dismantle and demolish the traditional song format. And Tales From Topographic Oceans stands as clear evidence of this bid to revolutionize the song structure. For Yes, the traditional song format has always been restrictive. And that’s exactly as it should be.

The lineup that plays on this album is a hybrid—in the sense that, as I mentioned, the only changing member is the drummer. Bill Bruford is gone. In fact, Bruford had already joined King Crimson at this point. And you can certainly hear the difference.

The rest, as I’ve already hinted in the other two reviews, is history. This album confirms it. But let’s proceed in order. Tales From Topographic Oceans is a lengthy album: one hour and twenty-two minutes of pure progressive rock! We’re dealing with four tracks where the tension is always very high, even if the listener might not notice, wrapped as they are in a dreamy and ambient atmosphere. It’s curious to find such atmospheres in a progressive rock album.

The listening experience starts with The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn). Here, we’re faced with a song that is a musical journey in itself. It’s thanks to this track that you realize the atmosphere isn’t what you’d expect. After the album’s intro, Alan White’s powerful, precise drumming stands out, with some truly face-punching moments and offbeats rocky entries that leave you breathless. This song is highlighted by instrumental sections, the fiery guitar work of Steve Howe—an authentic virtuoso—but above all, the most aggressive, face-punching section, where Rick Wakeman delivers a blazing keyboard solo. Absolutely amazing. 

The journey continues with The Remembering (High The Memory). Here again, the song takes the listener by the hand and transports them on an imaginative adventure. By the end, one could state without fear of contradiction, in the words of the song, And I do feel very well........

The first CD closes with The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun).......... such a classic song. Such an absolute intense song. Great musicianship from the band. The second CD kicks things off in a more rocky way: it's Ritual (Nous sommes du soleil), the fourth and last song on this album. Yeah, that's indeed another classic song, but ir's my least favorite song, sadly.