TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

The Notorious TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS!!!!! This is the kind of thing that happens when a band starts to unshackle themselves from the laws of rock physics. YES decided to answer to no one but their concept...sink or swim....damn the torpedos. Well what can I say that hasn't already been said. This is a great album if you care to swim through the prog murk to get to its' greatness. HOWEVER!!!! This album will test your patience and on side three your patience will not be rewarded. Side one (The Revealing Science Of God/Dance Of The Dawn) is the true meat of the matter. Tightly controlled and moving at a leisurely pace it comes and goes like a ghost."The Remembering/High The Memory" is good too if not as compelling as side one. Side three ("The Ancient/Giants Under The Sun") is a tuneless mess....and side four (Ritual/Nous Sommes Du Soleil) has great moments which never jell into a cohesive whole and the french is just annoying. It is however a brave attempt to bring something different to the table. YES would pay dearly for that and their second most important member left because of it. TFTO broke all the rules and attempted to stretch the boundaries of a very limited art form however in their zeal to pursue art they abandoned not only commercial values but their listeners as well. This album is mainly a museum piece...a marvel to be gawked at but not felt.