I'll never forget the first time I put the Tales From Topographic Oceans LP on the phonograph. I had by then already owned The Yes Albumn and Fragile but still I was not prepared for what I was to experience: "Dawn of light lying in between a silence and sold sources..." I was to feel feelings and think thoughts never dreamed of til then.
I ran to a friend's house with the albumn and we (I?) eagerly listened to it as he proceeded to fall asleep! Ah, well. I suppose such a search must be a solitary one, at least mine has been. When you are ready, TFTO will change your life.

This album is like no other of Yes's albums. Even though they have great albums like "Close to the edge", "Relayer" or "Drama", this one is magnificent and delicious. Only four tracks in a double CD album seems like a boring record. It is not. You must listen to it, and I mean "listen", to capture the notes and let'em guide you to the world of finest progressive rock. Unforgettable.

This album was never meant to be something you'd hear on top 40 radio. It's a sprawling epic, richly layered, textured, and achingly gorgeous. I keep going back to this one, year after year. It's one of my favorite progressive rock albums of all time.

"Tales" is an album that tends to divide Yes fans. For some this is the ultimate Yes statement. The be all and end all of progressive rock albums. For others it is a bloated mess. I find myself somewhere in the middle although I think the band did go a bit over the top with this one and although some of it works it is far from my favorite Yes release. Yes had given up any aspect of commerciality on their last album "Close To The Edge" and for "Tales" they would dive into the deep end of the progressive rock pool. So deep in fact that there was pretty much zero chance of getting any radio airplay from the album. You have to give them credit for even attempting to put something like this album out. What is remarkable is that for an album that was so un -comercial it managed to hit #6 on the US charts. Times were certainly different then. A major lineup change took place before the album was recorded. Original drummer Bill Bruford left the band to go on a short stint with Genesis and eventually end up with King Crimson. Alan White replaced him for "Tales" with a totally different style. White was more of a rock drummer while Bruford was more about finesse. With White on board it gave the band a bit more of a punch which would become even more evident in later years. White's talent really shows through on the final track "Ritual", where he provides a killer (and unusual) percussion movement. The "Tales" album was originally a 2 record vinyl collection that consisted of just 4 songs each clocking in at more than 18 minutes a piece. Again it is pretty amazing that an album like this could actually reach the top 10 in the charts, it would never happen today. So is it any good? Again, opinions will vary widely on this one, but for me I think there are parts of it that are brilliant, but overall I don't really think the project worked. The first and last tracks, "Revealing Science Of God" and "Ritual" are probably the best and there are some fine individual moments from all of the players here and there. Every member of Yes are virtuosos on their instruments and they present some of their most complicated material here. Jon Anderson's lyrics are pretty out there for the most part. I don't have a clue what he is singing about half the time. Overall "Tales" is probably one of my least favorite Yes albums and I only give it about 3 stars, but there are plenty of people out there that will have the exact opposite opinion.

I am a professional musician, now 49 years old, and play nearly every genre of music, but focus on Rock, Prog Rock, Blues, and Jazz improv.

Tales from Topographic Oceans changed the entire course of my musical career (and thus my life) when it first came out. I was stunned then, and still stunned to this day.

To all of you who think you don't like this recording, give it several listens. I didn't like it the first three or four times I heard it, because I was stuck on concepts of what music should should sound like (you should be able to tap your feet, sing along, anticipate the changes, etc). But by the time I listened for the 4th or 5th time, I remember sitting there in a state of absolute awe and epistemological breakdown, in tears.

TFTO is one of the most creative, beautiful masterpieces of music the world has ever been gifted with. If any of you Yes band members read this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing to me what you did with this release.