TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

The band's previous effort "Close to the Edge" presented itself as an artistic triumph in the history of Yes and the whole prog-rock movement of the 70's. The Mellotron passages, weird-sounding slide guitar parts, sonic experiments, and few other things more than just did the trick. But don't think that it seems like everything has been done and musical limits have been reached on this album. This band could do more on "Tales from Topographic Oceans". "Tales" is like "Close to the Edge", only like an extended version of that sibling album. I honestly don't know what that is that made all the difference to some people between these two albums.

What do I like about "Tales"? Well, almost everything! Almost everything works! This is yet another monster that pushes prog-rock closer to the edge, only this time it made me want to swear. Without any intent to retell the whole story, I'll just say: the Mellotron, the guitar, the themes and their variations (yes, again, and there is nothing wrong with that), the experiments, oh, the experiments! And, as I have mentioned in my "Close to the Edge" review, insanity is probably the whole point of prog-rock. At least that's what this record convinced me of. But how can one call Yes an inadequate group after all that? Because their music is too brainy and fun?

Any shortcomings on this album? Yes, sir, but only one! Check out "The Remembering - High the Memory" and find those verses that Jon sings: "Out in the city, pum-pum-pum." I dislike the music of those verses. It's tedious enough for me to push the rating of the track down to four stars.

1. "The Revealing Science of God - Dance of the Dawn" - ***** ; 2. "The Remembering - High the Memory" - **** ; 3. "The Ancient - Giants Under the Sun" - ***** ; 4. "Ritual - Nous Sommes du Soleil" - *****

Recommended for people who are looking for a peak of prog madness, who want to know how far Yes can go with crazy composition and production ideas. (Hint: do you know what a cluster is in music theory? Oh, yeah! It's on this album. It may not sound like a big deal to you, but to me as a musician it's actually quite a big deal.) If you like "Close to the Edge", you might like this one too.