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Frenetic Zetetic View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Manuel Manuel wrote:

Originally posted by patrickq patrickq wrote:

Nothing really new, but the story never gets old. Fun read. Thanks for sharing!

Yes, thank you for posting this. It´s really a fun read. 


Same. Timeless record. It clicked immediately on first listen!

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Glad you like it, folks, hope many more will enjoy the reading (and the music)
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Now PA has me spinning both TFTO and TAAB this week. In my head. Non-stop.

THANKS, GUYS Cool.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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A really enjoyable read - thanks for posting!
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Who gives diddly? And besides, Wakeman's take on things is what's important.
"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno
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Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Who gives diddly? And besides, Wakeman's take on things is what's important.
Wakeman’s Take—can I use that for the name of my next band?
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Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Who gives diddly? And besides, Wakeman's take on things is what's important.
 

Not really imo. As much as I love Rick I'm sure he would not have been happy about being frozen out of the writing process and probably had an axe or two to grind. However I do agree that he has a point about the static nature of double albums (ie essentially 4 x 20 minute sides) meaning that you have 4 equal length pieces music perhaps making the whole thing a bit artificial. It could easily have been better without that (or possibly even worse!) although we will never know. My only concern though is whether it's really any good and unfortunately a lot of it just drags for me. I'm just wondering whether the fans of it are more in love with the idea of it rather than the actual thing itself. Of course you could also ask the same question about Thick As A Brick and many other prog albums.
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Frenetic Zetetic View Drop Down
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Who gives diddly? And besides, Wakeman's take on things is what's important.
 

Not really imo. As much as I love Rick I'm sure he would not have been happy about being frozen out of the writing process and probably had an axe or two to grind. However I do agree that he has a point about the static nature of double albums (ie essentially 4 x 20 minute sides) meaning that you have 4 equal length pieces music perhaps making the whole thing a bit artificial. It could easily have been better without that (or possibly even worse!) although we will never know. My only concern though is whether it's really any good and unfortunately a lot of it just drags for me. I'm just wondering whether the fans of it are more in love with the idea of it rather than the actual thing itself. Of course you could also ask the same question about Thick As A Brick and many other prog albums.

Wakeman brings up many valid points about the asinine nature of Anderson and Howe at this stage (being that they had clandestine meetings to put the album together, by candlelight, on tour none the less). However, the majority of his musical gripes were he "wasn't a jazz guy", and didn't like the fusion direction the band was going in. Playing darts with Sabbath in the adjacent studio probably cemented his decisions, honestly.

A lot of this album absolutely contains "musical padding", as Wakeman would often put it. I'm just extremely biased towards Yes, have no shame in admitting it, and TFTGO is just "more Yes for your money" for me lol.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Originally posted by patrickq patrickq wrote:

Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Who gives diddly? And besides, Wakeman's take on things is what's important.
Wakeman’s Take—can I use that for the name of my next band?
I don't know. Ask Wakeman.
"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno
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I always enjoy this record when I put it on. I'm not a huge fan of Relayer, so Tales probably sits pretty high in my Yes rankings (were I to compile them). I hear nothing I don't like across the whole four sides, and plenty of catchy melodies and interesting paths on its long winded journey. It never seems to find its center I suppose, which is why I prefer CTTE, TYA, and Fragile, but a lot of it sounds like the best Pokemon soundtrack ever! :p
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Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Originally posted by patrickq patrickq wrote:

Originally posted by Rednight Rednight wrote:

Who gives diddly? And besides, Wakeman's take on things is what's important.
Wakeman’s Take—can I use that for the name of my next band?
I don't know. Ask Wakeman.
wait... I think Ask Wakeman is an even better name! Thanks!
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Tales from Topographic Oceans is one of my favorite albums of all time! Tongue I don't understand the hate as it is one of the best albums I've ever heard.
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Points: 26140 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 25 2019 at 23:46
I don't think any prog fans 'hate' it. Music critics ( a useless bunch all in all) rounded on it as being bloated and long winded and why prog was having its day. However people that love it see it as the album where classical music and rock finally melded together with no compromises. For me it just lacks inspiration compared to Fragile, CTTE and Relayer. I even prefer GFTO and Tormato over it. All opinions are still allowed!
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

I don't think any prog fans 'hate' it. Music critics ( a useless bunch all in all) rounded on it as being bloated and long winded and why prog was having its day. However people that love it see it as the album where classical music and rock finally melded together with no compromises. For me it just lacks inspiration compared to Fragile, CTTE and Relayer. I even prefer GFTO and Tormato over it. All opinions are still allowed!

TFTGO truly is the archetypal prog album, in terms of the zeitgeist of the time. 1973 was a hot year for a lot of prog, and this was a wall of sound for most listeners. I remember listening to an interview (years later, early 80's) with Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols/PIL, and he explicitly mentions how much they all hate bands like Yes, ELP, King Crimson, etc. for being so long-winded and taking 38 minutes to get through a song, lol.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Originally posted by AFlowerKingCrimson AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

Originally posted by dougmcauliffe dougmcauliffe wrote:

3rd best after CTTE and relayer ;)

I would have to put Fragile and the Yes album in there too but Tales would be right after those for me which I guess makes it number five for me. GFTO would be right behind it.

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I think Tales would have been better as a single album. Keep the first track as side one, but condense track 2 to 10 mins and the highlights of the last two to another 10 min track.

It still has peak playing from Howe IMO - very recognizable as part of the CTTE to Relayer era. Wakeman delivers some of his best solos, but you can hear that he is contributing less in terms of songwriting and perhaps not challenging himself as much anymore (but it's still miles better than most playing on post-Tormato albums). White does well on the drums too - some moments gel really well with Squire's basslines.

A critique of mine is that some of the songwriting takes a very different tack in terms of chord progressions, and it's hit and miss for me. Also there are several moments where the band steps out of its comfort zone, and sometimes they fail at what they're attempting. It's probably the most experimental album they ever attempted, but I still think Relayer is a lot better.

For me Yes would never again recapture their early peak after Relayer (though albums like Keystudio and Magnification are solid). Furthermore I've always preferred the early albums (like the Yes Album) to albums like Going for the One, which I've always though was hugely overrated (except for Awaken). I actually prefer Tormato and Drama to Going for the One.
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Originally posted by Howard the Duck Howard the Duck wrote:

I think Tales would have been better as a single album. Keep the first track as side one, but condense track 2 to 10 mins and the highlights of the last two to another 10 min track.

It still has peak playing from Howe IMO - very recognizable as part of the CTTE to Relayer era. Wakeman delivers some of his best solos, but you can hear that he is contributing less in terms of songwriting and perhaps not challenging himself as much anymore (but it's still miles better than most playing on post-Tormato albums). White does well on the drums too - some moments gel really well with Squire's basslines.

A critique of mine is that some of the songwriting takes a very different tack in terms of chord progressions, and it's hit and miss for me. Also there are several moments where the band steps out of its comfort zone, and sometimes they fail at what they're attempting. It's probably the most experimental album they ever attempted, but I still think Relayer is a lot better.

For me Yes would never again recapture their early peak after Relayer (though albums like Keystudio and Magnification are solid). Furthermore I've always preferred the early albums (like the Yes Album) to albums like Going for the One, which I've always though was hugely overrated (except for Awaken). I actually prefer Tormato and Drama to Going for the One.
 

With Drama they reached another peak imo and possibly 90125 if you really want a more streamlined version of Yes ( I don't). After that the albums you mention Keystudio and Magnification stand up really well but the glory years are well and truly behind them at that point. 
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by Howard the Duck Howard the Duck wrote:

I think Tales would have been better as a single album. Keep the first track as side one, but condense track 2 to 10 mins and the highlights of the last two to another 10 min track.

It still has peak playing from Howe IMO - very recognizable as part of the CTTE to Relayer era. Wakeman delivers some of his best solos, but you can hear that he is contributing less in terms of songwriting and perhaps not challenging himself as much anymore (but it's still miles better than most playing on post-Tormato albums). White does well on the drums too - some moments gel really well with Squire's basslines.

A critique of mine is that some of the songwriting takes a very different tack in terms of chord progressions, and it's hit and miss for me. Also there are several moments where the band steps out of its comfort zone, and sometimes they fail at what they're attempting. It's probably the most experimental album they ever attempted, but I still think Relayer is a lot better.

For me Yes would never again recapture their early peak after Relayer (though albums like Keystudio and Magnification are solid). Furthermore I've always preferred the early albums (like the Yes Album) to albums like Going for the One, which I've always though was hugely overrated (except for Awaken). I actually prefer Tormato and Drama to Going for the One.
 

With Drama they reached another peak imo and possibly 90125 if you really want a more streamlined version of Yes ( I don't). After that the albums you mention Keystudio and Magnification stand up really well but the glory years are well and truly behind them at that point. 

Well, it's no longer a mystery that Tales is essentially Anderson and Howe. Those chord progressions are all them. Even Squire (my main man!) is subdued in the mix; there's very few key bass lines. I always have the lick from Revealing Science of God (his lick in between the main keyboard theme) stuck in my head. That's the only bass part I can recall, on hand, from said wall of sound.

Funny, I can't even imagine Tales as a regular length album LOL!

Drama was another peak. This is why Yes is arguably the best band in existence for me (pre-Squire's passing, of course). They just keep going, never seeming to be too bothered with lineup shifts and whatnot. I think it was even more evident that Squire was the glue as the classic 70's era closed out.


Edited by Frenetic Zetetic - July 27 2019 at 01:54

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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Originally posted by Frenetic Zetetic Frenetic Zetetic wrote:

Funny, I can't even imagine Tales as a regular length album LOL!

I think it could work - keep Track 1 unedited, cut back on the "padding" (as Wakeman would say) on Track 2 - it's a solid track but could easily be shorter (could even be a bit longer than 10 min if necessary). Then do the same for Track 4, and maybe just add a few highlights from Track 3 to it (Track 3 was the weakest IMO).

I will say though that one album that couldn't be condensed from a double album for me is the Lamb.
MacGyver can do a super guitar solo with a broom and an elastic band. Can you do better?
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Originally posted by Howard the Duck Howard the Duck wrote:

Originally posted by Frenetic Zetetic Frenetic Zetetic wrote:

Funny, I can't even imagine Tales as a regular length album LOL!

I think it could work - keep Track 1 unedited, cut back on the "padding" (as Wakeman would say) on Track 2 - it's a solid track but could easily be shorter (could even be a bit longer than 10 min if necessary). Then do the same for Track 4, and maybe just add a few highlights from Track 3 to it (Track 3 was the weakest IMO).

I will say though that one album that couldn't be condensed from a double album for me is the Lamb.



You may have inspired me to make a just-joking-around edit of TFGTO to see if I can get it to mirror CTTE/Relayer's track layout and run time a bit, lol.

I agree with you on Lamb whole heartedly.

"I am so prog, I listen to concept albums on shuffle." -KMac2021
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