Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. The Revealing Science Of God Dance Of The Dawn
2. The Remembering High The Memory
3. The Ancient Giants Under The Sun

Disc 2:

1. Ritual Nous Sommes Du Soleil
2. Dance Of The Dawn (Studio Run-Through)
3. Giants Under The Sun (Studio Run-Through)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4961 in Music
• Released on: 2003-08-26
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Extra tracks

Album Description
Full title - Tales From The Topographic Oceans. 2003 remastered, reissue of 1973 album with redesigned booklet (digipak/slipcase), restored LP art, archival photos and new liner notes. Includes 2 bonus tracks 'Dance Of The Dawn' (studio run through) & 'Giants Under The Sun' (studio run through). Elektra.

Customer Reviews

Yes - Tales Of Bloat
"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.

Best Album of All Time
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.

ones who hear...
Hi all,
The easiest way to say this is... Some people hear music, and some people listen to music. Yes has always been a "Thinking mans Band" (along w/others). I saw Tales At the garden in NYC.It was great to see the pure genius of this special evening.(Tales is so intricate and difficult to reproduce live)
Tales is really several songs put together by yes. I can't speak for anyone but I can say if you LISTEN to music you will find this album wonderful. What a great follow up to close to the edge!