TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS

I was really looking forward to reviewing this album. One of the most pretentious pieces of art ever created by a human. I find it humorous that Wakeman complained about this album, then went on to make "The Six Wives of Henry VIII." Oh well. Despite it's goal, there is actually a lot of good music on TFTO. The first Epic I would call Yes' second greatest epic, behind Close to the Edge. The second song took a little while longer for me to digest. By track 3, I'm usually a little worn out, and Howe's aimless guitar scales don't help much. Track four does a good job of bringing everything full circle. It is not a starting point for prog fans, but it's a good album to have. Every so often, I'm in the perfect mood to hear this album, and it really puts me in a good place, but a lot of the times, it just puts me to sleep.

I think I just like the idea that an album like this exists. The concept is so over the top, that I just have to suspend all my skepticism about the existence of any real theme in the lyrics and just pay attention to Jon Anderson's beautiful diction and tranquility. 4 Stars. It really is excellent, but no masterpiece.