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Freak Zone permalink
Tales of Topographic Oceans
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Message 1.Â
Posted by Swell_Map (U14129256) on Monday, 17th January 2011
I know Stuart has a soft spot for prog, but those three tracks he played last night were just horrible. They just went on and on and on and ended up nowhere with dreadful self-indulgent rock star cod philosophy for lyrics.
For once I agree with Wakeman: the album stinks. -
Message 2
Posted by chris chamberlain (U14361574) on Monday, 17th January 2011
A lot of us have a soft spot for prog and this album in paticular although i was bracing myself for the usual moans on checking the message board this morning.
I was pleasantly suprised to find only one (so far)trotting out the usual stuff. The problem is Tales is an easy target and whilst I agree with Swell that it does go on a bit in places I still love it so full marks to Stuart for being brave enough to play it in the teeth of nearly 40 years of derision from the fashion police! -
Message 3
Posted by Swell_Map (U14129256) on Monday, 17th January 2011
Fashion police, my behind. It's just a bad album.
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Message 4
Posted by scaley666 (U14403412) on Monday, 17th January 2011
What swell_map said! Dire, self-indulgent tripe.
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Message 5
Posted by Steven Waling (U13780259) on Monday, 17th January 2011
The basic problem with Tales isn't its length, or its cod philosophy (better that than the Ayn Rand worship of Rush) but the sheer turgidity and confusion of the music.
It's a mess. Yes have never been my favourite band, even with Bill Bruford on drums, but they did have their moments. This was like Wagner: "great moments, terrible quarter of an hours"; but without the great moments. -
Message 6
Posted by maltjerry (U14037158) on Monday, 17th January 2011
Just listened (again) to the first track and agree wholeheartedly with Stuart; it is terrific. It doesn't strike me as sprawling at all.
Each part of the track flows into the next, there are a couple of neat recapitulations, there's room for some improvisation, monster bass riffs, a quote from Heart of the Sunrise, some lovely singing, and frankly, top tunes.
I have a bit of trouble wondering what it's all about, but according to Bill Bruford's autobiography, Jamie Muir (ex King Crimson) suggested the idea of the lyrical themes for Tales... to Jon Anderson at Bill's Wedding party,. -
Message 7
Posted by pingu17 (U14757607) on Tuesday, 18th January 2011
The real joy is simply in the fact that it was played on national radio. In an age of ever increasing banality the decision to play a song cycle lasting 70 mins must surely be praised. After all quite a lot of songs played on the radio stink, at least with topographic you can indulge yourself with a curry!
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Message 8
Posted by LJJsPlectrum (U14169939) on Tuesday, 18th January 2011
Quite right pingu. I can forgive Stuart his occasional uber-prog indulgence and strangely found it a lot more interesting than I vaguely rembembered it. I was cooking a chicken at the time though.
Anyway good to see some activity on the board. Thought everyone was dead. -
Message 9
Posted by Swell_Map (U14129256) on Wednesday, 19th January 2011
I too welcome the fact that Stuart played it. I thought it was tosh but I'd still rather hear that than the predictable stuff what passes for `Indie' today
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Message 10
Posted by Filbert Foxtrot (U14153663) on Friday, 21st January 2011
An hour and a half of pretentious rubbish. However, .....
Where else would we get to hear the best (and the worst) in music? We all have to accept that Stuart will play things not to our taste.
For me, we could have Henry Cow and Slapp Happy EVERY week. I suspect some of you would hate that.
More Freak Zone and Freakier Zone, please! -
Message 11
Posted by HaroldCoatHanger (U14165749) on Friday, 21st January 2011
Well I suppose Stuart could be congratulated on giving people the chance to re-appraise it but for me It just doesn't work - the themes are too big and obvious/simple, it sounds like a band just not trying at all, unlike Close to the edge and Fragile there is hardly any light and shade, it is all played in 'majestic' mode.
Don't really understand how a Yes fan can't see it really, it's quite different from their other stuff. It is rightly derided. -
Message 12
Posted by Nick_Lees (U14141320) on Saturday, 22nd January 2011
Having adored the Yes albums up to and including Close To The Edge, at the time of release I didn't get TFTO. It seemed widdly indulgence spreading 4 minutes worth of fragmented tune across 20-odd minutes x4.
For the next 30 years or so I have bad-mouthed this album at every opportunity, citing it (and the later ELP albums, for example) as the best reason for punk to wash it all away.
Until about 2 years ago. I was intrigued by the few persistent positive recommendations so bought a copy. Clearly my tastes have changed or its complexity has dwindled in effect over that time, but I now love the thing and find it a close runner-up in my affections to Close To The Edge and The Yes Album.
Never say never, I guess.
Oh, and as an aside, the recent-ish Mobile Fidelity remaster of The Yes Album (though pricey) is absolutely flat-out superb. -
Message 13
Posted by Talisker (U14400199) on Saturday, 22nd January 2011
This is why this programme is so great, really - a selection box of the weird, brilliant and annoying. This is annoying. I remember the crushing disappointment after buying this on its release. It was so limp after being blown away by CTTE (and of course Bruford had gone). And Melody Maker headline summed it up I think as "Adrift on the Topographic Ocean". Stuart should have stuck to his mission of "the strange, unusual, etc." and played some of the really interesting stuff off Time and a Word - covers of Stills, Havens. Much more like freak zone material...
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Message 14
Posted by jasonaparkes (U3653332) on Sunday, 23rd January 2011
This album has always scared me off trying the early Yes-albums that are often namechecked by hip American musicians like James Murphy and the Mars Volta...The bits in some ´óÏó´«Ã½4 prog documentaries didn't appeal either...
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Message 15
Posted by FreakBob (U14169190) on Monday, 24th January 2011
I've never really had a problem with this album. I get that the lyrics are meaningless and daft hippy nonsense but I like stuff from that era, and all that seems to be part of the territory. But I have always liked the music - the tunes, the playing, the overall sound of it which isn't really like anything else I know.
I benefited from buying this in the early 80s when it was barely mentioned any more and I was young enough that I missed the commentary on it when it came out. Consequently, I never realised I wasn't supposed to like it! -
Message 16
Posted by Steven Waling (U13780259) on Tuesday, 25th January 2011
My flatmate said it was something you'd expect if hobbits wrote operas.
Pointlessly virtuosic and dull. -
Message 17
Posted by LJJsPlectrum (U14169939) on Wednesday, 26th January 2011
think even the hobbits would be throwing themselves off the cliff
still if we didn't have Yes (and I do like a lot of the earlier stuff) we wouldn't have Keith Levene copping off Starship Trooper for Poptones! -
Message 18
Posted by col51 (U14771455) on Sunday, 6th February 2011
I first saw YES in 1969 at a gig in Barnstaple and was a big follower in my 20s, but have been disappointed that some of their music hasn't weathered at all well. TFTO was seen as a folly at the time, but lacked some of the complexity which, in my older years, now seems to break up the flow of their best work. So I was very surprised, listening to TFTO again, that it sounded so good - so good in fact that I've dragged out my original pristine vinyl for a dust off. It could prove to be a good investment. Only 6Music can play such gems on national radio - keep up the good work Stuart.
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Message 19
Posted by Scratchy7929 (U13713174) on Saturday, 19th February 2011
Think this album was a fore runner to post-rock actually.The virtuosity is very much toned down.There is elements of Krautrock drone in there along with the Eastern influences.Isn't that where drone got it's influence from.The album could have been condensed down to one LP but totally agree with Chris Welch then at Melody Maker, who described it as "brilliant in patches, but often taking far too long to make its various points, and curiously lacking in warmth or personal expression" - seems to perfectly sum up alot of post-rock to me.
steve Howe summed it up like this:- Side one was the commercial or easy-listening side of Topographic Oceans, side two was a much lighter, folky side of Yes, side three was electronic mayhem turning into acoustic simplicity, and side four was us trying to drive the whole thing home on a biggie.
The biggie on side 4, Ritual, is a stunning piece of music, even again perhaps a little bit over extended.
Not Yes at their best but alot better than alot of experimental Indie, Post-rock, extended Indie electronic that is about these days. -
Message 20
Posted by Me (U14152270) on Monday, 21st February 2011
It's a great album. Wakeman was wrong.
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Message 21
Posted by Swell_Map (U14129256) on Monday, 21st February 2011
forerunner for post rock my arse
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Message 22
Posted by Steven Waling (U13780259) on Tuesday, 22nd February 2011
Wakeman was quite right.
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