TOPOGRAPHY: THE YES ANTHOLOGY

I'm not really sure what to make of this compilation. It is nicely packaged (apart from the misspelling of "Delirium") double CD set with a Roger Dean-style floating islands cover and good liner notes with details of all the tracks and a short summary of the tortuous history of Yes, however it is a strange compilation and I'm puzzled as to who it is aimed.

Half the tracks are from the "House of Blues" live CD, then we have the title track from the "Open Your Eyes" album (which I have never heard but, judging by this track, it appears deserving of the low opinion that most Yes fans have of it). We also have "The Ladder" title track, "In the Prescence of" and the live orchestral "Gates of Delirium" from some versions of "Magnification" (but not mine), "Close To The Edge" from "Keys to Ascension 2" and, for reasons unknown, the solo Steve Howe "Excerpts from Tales From Topographic Oceans" (from "Not Necessarily Acoustic" and Yes' "Friends And Relatives Volume I") and "To Be Over" from "Natural Timbre".

So, all in all a rather strange mixture. If you have "Live From The House Of Blues" then there's probably not much point in getting this. If you want a compilation of Yes classics, then there are several better than this. The only selling point for me is the brilliant symphonic version of Gates which, as I said, is not on my version of "Magnification".

I'll give this 2 stars overall for the excellent packaging and of course the music is good, although hardly their best work.