defend the indefensible: TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS, by YES

favorite so far: "ritual (nous sommes du soleil)," esp. for its opening.

(I do have the latest reissues of The Yes Album and Going For The One.)

My morning commute is 70 minutes if I take the early train, 80 minutes if I take the late train. So sometimes I'll take the late train just so I can listen to TFTO in its entirety on my iPod.

And 'Gates of Delirium' is better than anything on _TFTO_ anyway.

Amen.

And I do appreciate TfTO very much, especially the acoustic bit on "the Ancient" and the 'relayer' section on "the Remembering".

It's also not as good as Close To The Edge or Fragile or The Yes Album. In fact, I probably listen to it least of all the Yes I own. But I still wouldn't trade it for an ole' brown mare.

i'm also pleasantly surprised that there are no bashers yet. surely there MUST be some here?!?

i have only ever heard one cocteau twins song!

when I was a big Yes fan in Jr High, TFTO was the only one of their albums I couldn't get through. Now it's the only one I still occasionally listen to (probably because I haven't played it to death like the others). But after reading this thread, I listened to it again to try to remember what I used to find so difficult about it. I think it was because compared to something like The Gates of Delirium, TFTO doesn't progress though movements in a way that seems logical. On the contrary, it meanders around seemingly changing direction at random. In that way it's a much better match for my current tastes. The other difference I noticed is that The Gates of Delirium gives you occasional doses of fist pumping payoff (er, well as close as it gets considering who we're talking about here) and there's almost none of that on TFTO. That was probably a lot of the problem. Too cerebral and not emo enough. Or something.

On the other side of the coin, I can't stand Close to the Edge anymore. A lot of sections on that album just seem to overstay their welcome.

Ha ha, that reminds me of a friend of mine who was listening to a vinyl copy of this and it got going into this repetitive sort of riff in a funny time signature and he was like, "Wow, that's quite cool". And it kept going on and on and on. Then he fell asleep and when he woke up it was still going and he was like, "I knew this was record was long but Jesus!" Then he realised the record had been stuck for 45 minutes.

far out.

I used to crank it
while I lifted weights, which meant
it all cancelled out

Ironically enough, considering Pashima's

It's so...uplifting! It just goes up and up and up and up. So rich & warm-sounding.

it segued into "Going for the One" and I thought, "Now THIS is uplifting." Something about the high synth sounds in the background, literally pulling you up throughout the song.

I should actually get some of this again, since I only ever listened to my dad's albums.

Side 1 and 4 are the most consistent.

OK, Good night.

i am listening to this motherfucking album all the way through for the first time EVER right now

side 2 is where it's at. feel safe now!

ok

this is gonna take a few listens to sink in

like, i enjoyed it pretty much throughout, but uh

it's 7 hours long?

yep

jesus

defend the indefensible: TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHICAL OCEANS, by YEP

i mean...i normally enjoy a record more and more when i'm familiarised to its narrative...this is gonna take a bit more work than usual, but it's work i'm prepared to put in

Louis has never heard any Black Sabbath albums yet he will listen to tales from topographic oceans?

good luck louis. it's been years and years and years and i've never been able to feel all of tales . . . but side 2, side 2! that matches up with any of the other epics from around then. too bad they couldn't have edited the other sixty minutes down into something as enjoyable. still, give them points for ballsiness . . . i mean, an 80 minute long suite? that's ridiculous. and somebody was gonna do it so may as well have been them. and then bouncing back with an album as essential as relayer after going a little too far over the top with tales remains a pretty impressive move

This album is not at all bad.

It's a cliche, I know it, but this is like the ultimate example of an album that would have been a great single album. Actually, had this been a single album consisting only of side 1 and side 4, I would have ranked it as my favourite Yes album, ahead of "Close To The Edge". The parts in-between have their moments too, and this is a great album as is even, but they are a bit patchier than the first and last side and are dragging things down a bit.

I suppose Jon Anderson disagrees with me regarding the single album thing, but then, he is the only person in the entire world who understands the "concept" this album is supposed to be built upon.

I'd rather put on this album than Close to the Edge most of the time. This is the best Yes album to space out to. The atmosphere on this album is completely original and the music is talented.

9:10 into The Remembering (High the Memory) (part 2) is absolutely beautiful. Hell, there's a lot of stunning parts in that song like "out in the city running free" verses. And everytime a joyful/pop-like verse comes along on Topographic Oceans, it is always sung beautifully tot the accompaniment of amazing balearic-prog instrumentation.

The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun) (part 3) gets tons of points for its funkiness and percussion. The acoustic bit at the end (when Jon is singing) wins tons of points for evocation of hippie bliss.

I don't have to put up a case for any of this album, but part 1 is my favorite. Had part 2 and 3 never been created I would be sorely missing out on a great deal of Topographic Oceans (and part 2 might be better than part 4).

The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun) (part 3) gets tons of points for its funkiness and percussion.

I guess that is part of why I don't like it so much. Too much funk, too much emphasis on percussion. :)

figured I had to tackle this one sooner or later. I agree with 90% of this thread - it doesn't deserve its critical reputation. I was prepared to be put off by the sheer complexity or whatnot but in reality a lot of it is soft and melodic, occassionally rocking out (sadly not as much as i'd like), with some real poppy moments too. I don't think that it can be cut to one LP but I agree with the 60 minute suggestion - there's definitely some padding here (especially on "The Ancient", which is the side I'm not really sold on)

side two holds up with "close to the edge" and "gates of delirium". that's the only bit i ever go back to. that said, yes in general don't deserve their critical reputation

I was prepared to be put off by the sheer complexity or whatnot but in reality a lot of it is soft and melodic

This is the main issue I have with the album, in all honesty. I think of all of Yes' works up until Relayer, this album is the only one I could consider to be quite boring. There's some good ideas in there, but there's way too many parts that seem to meander and it just fails to hold my interest for very long. There's certainly nothing as catchy as 'Roundabout' on here, but nor is there any kind of full-on assault like 'Sound Chaser'.

I have a 7" single I believe to be the longest example of one (ROundabout/And you and i)

It's enough for me to know Yes and I are not going to be pals.

That's interesting: I didn't know those two songs were ever released on the same single. They're from different albums. I thought "Long Distance Runaround" was the B-side of "Roundabout"?

Yeah, both sides play at 33, and "And you and i" is the a-side..

.. it's a UK pressing.

There's certainly nothing as catchy as 'Roundabout' on here, but nor is there any kind of full-on assault like 'Sound Chaser'.

I think the catchy/more ferocious bits are there but they're used a lot more sparingly - TfTO is really more about atmospherics in that regard. In fact I think my one major gripe about this album is that Squire's bass isn't turned far up enough, as he gets a lot of great bits that are just straight up hard to hear.

http://www.discogs.com/Yes-And-You-And-I-Roundabout/release/2307699

The full unedited versions of both too, it seems!

that must sound like garbage!

YES RULES

noodle vague OTM

I can't imagine any Yes fan not grooving the hell out of the bit 13 minutes into "The Remembering"...the "relayeeeerrrr" bit

Feels like it takes an eternity before that bit crops up.

an eternity in a roger dean coverscape

I think some of the parts in the first track are among the best things they ever did.

This bit...

"Skyline teacher
Warland seeker
Send out poison
Cast iron leader"

...is astonshing and I wish the song had developed that part more, they could have made an incredible entire album based around variations of that part.

I agree with Rick Wakeman that the album has great parts but is mostly filled with padding, he says they were overeager to fill space of 4 vinyl sides. The band and many fans have said that they reworked the songs for live performances in the 80s or 90s(?) and onward and that those versions are much better.

I'm curious/excited/worried about Jon Anderson's newest thing. He wanted to do a sprawling sequel to Olias that is possibly going to be 3 hours long. But he has been releasing it in parts as digital singles; the reception to the first parts has been mixed but promising.

I've always wanted to hear prog albums that were several hours long because the uninformed cliche was that prog bands do incredibly long albums (but they really arent any longer than a regular rock bands and double albums arent really that common) and that idea excited me because I love enormous epic music. Easier said than done, TftTO is a classic example of not having enough good parts to fill all that time.

this thread got me checkin out the yes cds in fopp today but they wanted just a bit too much for my stingy pocket (ie £5 for fragile when i only wanted to pay £3) - so i contented myself w/ reading prindle's yes page instead, didn't realise what a gigantic fan he was of em - got me regretting i didn't pick up some of those cds now oh well

only yes fan i know thought it was all over after time and a word (their second alb?) - i sampled a side of it once and didn't get on w/ it but we shall see...

I agree with Rick Wakeman that the album has great parts but is mostly filled with padding, he says they were overeager to fill space of 4 vinyl sides. The band and many fans have said that they reworked the songs for live performances in the 80s or 90s(?) and onward and that those versions are much better.

i wouldn't say "mostly" - again I'd be much in favor of a 60 minute version of this (which may rank up with the best of Yes's work, really), and yes the live versions certainly do rule (the insane take on "Ritual" on Yessongs is probably their wildest moment outside of Relayer.

only yes fan i know thought it was all over after time and a word (their second alb?) - i sampled a side of it once and didn't get on w/ it but we shall see...

now this is a truly weird opinion - Time and a Word is an interesting artifact and I think "No Experience Necessary..." is sort of a precursor to Squire's awesome running bass sound - but I dunno if I'd count someone who thinks The Yes Album as being their downfall a real Yes fan, so to speak

I did find it amusing that Prindle loved these guys, while Starostin was a bit indifferent

the title track may be their best early track besides "survival" but yeah the yes album is the one to start with. shine your wings, forward to the sun

Relayer still remains my go-to disc whenever I want a Yes fix.

have come fully around to the Noodle Vague worldview re: Awaken being their finest hour

NONETHELESS, The Yes Album is their best album (by far) and Gates Of Delirium is also wonderful. And You And I is much, much better than Close To The Edge, is that album's problem

i have no problem with any moment on that album. it is all one long wondrous khatru

i think CTTE is quite ponderous myself. the first 2 minutes and the bit immediately after the quiet organ passage with the insane videogame bass are superlative but i find myself loving the rest less and less. but there's a lot of YES and everyone's bound to have their favourites

i have no problem with any moment on that album. it is all one long wondrous khatru

― reggie (qualmsley), Tuesday, July 16, 2013 10:22 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

God yeah, Close To The Edge is devoid of filler IMO.

favorite passage in CTTE -- after wakeman's church organ solo and then it goes all math into the fourth movement. the sound between the notes relates the color to the scenes! holy shit!

well yeah that bit is a masterpiece, just amazing music. whole song shudda been like it really. kinda explains why i'm shifting more towards magma in my old age

Now that it's all over and done
Now that you find, now that you're whole

*sexy bass groove*

seasons will pass you by
now that you're fine, now that you're whole

Does anyone truly believe that Jon Anderson "gets down", though?

Anyone else think Tormato is seriously underrated? I watched the Classic Artists Yes documentary (about 4 hours long) and heard parts of it, wondering why the members barely said much about it (Relayer is also not talked about much at all)because the clips sounded so catchy.
I bought the version with the bonus tracks and I think it is tremendous fun, and although I wouldnt call it their 3rd best album, it is the one I'm 3rd most likely to play (but I only have Yes Album, Fragile, CLose To The Edge, TotTO, Relayer, Going For The One, Tormato and Magnification, so I've got a lot to catch up on, hope it will be worth it). I might be wrong but I feel as if the cover and the title have made people have a certain attitude to it (the cover actually doesnt bother me much)but it's so much fun!

Yeah, I've noticed the band members seldom talk about Relayer. I'm really unsure as to why. I mean, sure it's the only Yes studio album to feature Patrick Moraz, but from what I've read he was brought into the recording long after the material for the record has been written, and just fitted his parts around what was already there? I dunno, I just can't think of a reason why they wouldn't go into much detail over an album which is very much a fan favourite.

depends which incarnation of the band is being interviewed i guess, their inter-relationships seem more fractious and subject to politics than most

It was the the entire history of band members apart from Rabin interviewed individually, only 4 or 5 years ago. I've heard the some members say it is a crowning achievement, or at least "Gates Of Delirium" (which really dominates most peoples thoughts of the album). It is a pretty good documentary, there is some brutal honesty, Bruford says the present version of the band may as well be a tribute band, Tony Kaye has an unpleasant story to tell about the live Yes Union gigs (which includes meeting Billy Connoly) which other members insist didnt happen the way Kaye remembers and a sound tech guy mocks their 80s pop era.

That legendary quote from Rick Wakeman about how Union should have been called Onion springs to mind... "because it made (him) cry"... heh heh heh...

Sorry I meant Peter Banks, not Tony Kaye.

I was that at LA show on the Union tour where the Peter Banks story took place. Weird gig, but all eight playing on "Awaken" was pretty transcendent.

Anyone else think Tormato is seriously underrated? I watched the Classic Artists Yes documentary (about 4 hours long) and heard parts of it, wondering why the members barely said much about it (Relayer is also not talked about much at all)because the clips sounded so catchy.

it's really an odd duck. it's their first album since Time and a Word that keeps things relatively short (or - nothing over 8 minutes!) and it definitely feels like an attempt to modernize their sound in some really weird and clueless ways. there are a lot of chirpy melodies, a straight good times rock n' roll song ("Release, Release"), and "Arriving UFO", which is one of the most unintentionally hilarious songs ever. plus "Circus of Heaven", equally bizarre. Oooh, and they attempt disco too, and it's every bit as terrible as you can imagine. it really is the sound of a band that either tried to reach a new audience and fell on its face, or just one that wanted to just toss something off that was different from the sidelongs they'd been doing for their last four albums. It actually is quite catchy in spots - the first and last tracks are classic Yes, and the more "off" tunes are at least mighty entertaining. I like it!

What they did say in the doc was that the concept was to do an album with no unified thread, and that was the reason for the back cover with all band members looking in a different direction. I think they had mixed feelings about that in retrospect but I would have liked a few more albums like that.

tormato is great (but still quite silly)

Silly is a great quality, my ideal prog records should have some absurdity in them. Whenever I go looking for prog I always think "I want something really fucking bonkers", but to be honest, I dont think there is much that consistently does that.

I use "stupid" or "dumb" to mean bad.

yep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Yn6XEbV7g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2_qOJP2peo

it is no lie i see deeply into the future. steve howe's roadie will play lead guitar on the best music johnny rotten will ever be involved with

fuck the haters

the final word on Tormato is here:

The 120 Days of Shameless Bids for Publicity!

yeah that thread describes it pretty well, if you were curious

Silly is a great quality, my ideal prog records should have some absurdity in them. Whenever I go looking for prog I always think "I want something really fucking bonkers", but to be honest, I dont think there is much that consistently does that.

It's better when there's sort of a knowing absurdity (for example on a Cardiacs record) - musically, I think Relayer is a little more absurd for how incredibly loud and boisterous the whole thing is, just so balls-out and stupid in certain places, and "Sound Chaser" is probably their single craziest composition ever. Tormato is a little more akin to Love Beach(another album that isn't quite as bad as you've heard)

Ever since I really got into Yes a few years ago, Tales has always been my favorite. Pretty much everything they did up to and including that album was more or less amazing, though.

...and then Relayer came after it and pissed all over it completely!

I will concede that the 'Soon' portion of 'Gates of Delerium' is my favorite song by the band, by quite a bit.

Stormy Davis says "the final word on Tormato is here:

The 120 Days of Shameless Bids for Publicity!"

I just read that thread and no offense meant to Dave Q but a lot of the desciptions dont really click for me and I cant fully trust anyone who thinks "Gates Of Delirium" is yucky.

I can definitely understand it to a degree; a lot of Yesmusic is calculated and has an awesome groove to it, while 3/4ths of Relayer is all-out crazy fusion prog punctuated by some prettier moments. I mean there are people in this thread who are lukewarm on Close to the Edge which is just crazy talk. I really wish that "To Be Over" was better (i've always found it pretty but I never remember a thing about it!) because then it would be a top 3 Yes album (hell, it might be anyway).

don't doubt your part - be ready to be loved!

The problem with TFTO is that they didn't seem to have integrated Alan White very well, so far too much of it just plods along in mid-paced 4/4 time. Occasionally they'll hit some crazy prog groove, but there's just no dynamic to it. It's like an 80 minute version of "South Side Of The Sky", the Yes epic no-one talks about because no-one can remember how it goes.

i only play this occasionally but never regret it.

as touched on upthread, i think if you heighten the importance/worth of this record you're setting yourself up for a fall. it's good, some people like it, the end.

but i also really like 'release release' so whatever

I think Squire getting kinda buried in the mix is a bigger problem. And do people really not remember "South Side of the Sky"? That's always been a favorite of mine..

yeah what? south side is catchy as

I thought it had more of a reputation as the epic that didn't get played live, it's the only big track from the TYA/Fragile/CTTE era that isn't on Yessongs, it's not on Yesshows or either of the Keys to Ascension releases either. I dunno why they shunned that one but all the fans seem to love it.

move forward, was my friend's only cry

and yeah bruford on tales instead of larks' tongues would have been interesting. white's found his groove by relayer though

I thought it had more of a reputation as the epic that didn't get played live, it's the only big track from the TYA/Fragile/CTTE era that isn't on Yessongs, it's not on Yesshows or either of the Keys to Ascension releases either. I dunno why they shunned that one but all the fans seem to love it.

But they did; they did an entire tour in 1974 where they played the whole thing. There's a bootleg of it floating around, called Topographic.

I really wish that "To Be Over" was better

I want everybody to know that in an effort to be a better person i restrained myself from clicking FP here

god i really need to not read people with mixed opinions about Yes

I really like "South Side Of The Sky", I heard that they were playing it more in the last tours with Anderson. "Awaken" is the one that really doesnt do much for me but a lot of people seem to love it.

"Anyone else think Tormato is seriously underrated"

I HATED this album when I first heard it. Hated it so much I threw it away and didn't listen to it again for years. And then when I did I thought it really wasn't that bad; the worst thing about it is the cover and Jon Anderson's kid talking about clowns. It's a terrible sounding record though (so is Going for the One).

never been able to get into "awaken" either or most of going for the one. tormato is still lost on me. but then comes drama and holy shit, god bless the buggles

a nice defense of tales if you are at all into michael chabon ~

I actually write, frequently, while listening to Yes records: Close to the Edge, Relayer, and Tales from Topographic Oceans. The dynamics are pretty steady, the bass and drums are propulsive, and the lyrics make no sense (to me, at least) and thus do not intrude on my own word-flow. They are just pretty sounds. I listen to vinyl records, unless I'm working on a plane.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/09/10/michael_chabon_interview_why_the_telegraph_avenue_author_still_loves_prog_rock_.html

It's a terrible sounding record though (so is Going for the One).

tormato was my reference record when i went through headphone hell a few years ago, mainly because the bass is mixed in fairly solidly right the way through

GftO sounds awesome in my car

MOVE YOURSELF! *orchestral hit*

OK GUYS
I actually knocked up an edited version of this album, decide for yourself whether or not it's an improvement :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2IIeDJYjOU

Sorry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2IIeDJYjOU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l49P4F-gpm4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iHKFBlx0t8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SnvkS11K0s

That's very well done. I love those ambient parts in the second track.

I think it was an interesting time for the band, that period. There was a lot of FM radio who would play long-form pieces of music without any advertising. We felt we were on the cutting edge of rock music —- progressive rock —- totally different from the norm. And the FM radio in America —- especially university radio —- was very excited to play “Close to the Edge,” “And You and I,” “Starship Trooper,” and longer pieces. So we felt, well, the door seems to be open. Let’s make some music. And of course, when people get together to make music, you don’t really time it and say, “We should just make four-minute pieces of music.” Or five-minute pieces of music. We were just interested in expanding the music that we dreamed of. It wasn’t like, “Let’s sit down and write twenty-minute pieces of music.” We just started writing. We were actually on tour in Japan and Australia, and we started composing ideas, and before you know it, you’re dreaming of new progressions and ideas that are just different. Like having everyone in the band drumming at once. Or having everybody singing and playing different instruments. Challenging yourself, really.

http://www.examiner.com/article/jon-anderson-of-yes-raids-rock-vault-talks-topographic-oceans-40-years-on

That's a great article!

yeah, that's great. i like this album a whole lot. a lot of people are still stuck in some version of the punk vs. prog false dilemma, even if they don't know it.

That article talks about a prog cruise Jon is participating in, to which a friend replied in an email:

Let me get this straight...

Are you telling me that I have the opportunity to experience the best and worst of prog while enjoying the close-quarters company of some of the most socially awkward old people in all of fandom, and top it all off with the rapid spread of virulent rocket diarrhea?

SIGN ME THE FUCK UP.

...at which point another friend pointed out that Jon and Yes have dueling cruises, prompting him to say:

I just realized that the Yes cruise will have Eddie Jobson, Patrick Moraz, and whoever the current Yes keyboard player is (assuming it's not one of them) all in the same boat, and if it sinks, the keyboard world will be devastated. That's after they get intentionally rammed by the Punk Cruise featuring The Ramones (Legacy), Jello Biafra, and two guys from Stiff Little Fingers.

Prog!

I still listen to that Matt#2 edit of this album, it's deepened my appreciation of the album

Is that to be found elsewhere on this thread? I remember wanting to hear it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2IIeDJYjOU

cool, thanks

pass amongst your memories told returning ways

Revive! Am listening to this as I lie in bed getting over virulent diarrhea I contracted on an intercontinental flight. And I must say: this record hits the spot. I think its poor rep has more to do with the four songs/four sides thing than anything else. It’s no more overwrought or indulgent than anything else in their 70s catalogue — and the lyrics are as equally abstract (“And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace,” anyone?).

Even when I first discovered this record, I was really taken by the “We walk around the story/Out in the city running free” melody in “The Remembering.” But the melodies are quite strong throughout — “Nou Sommes Du Soileil” is up there w “I get up/I get down” “I feel lost in the city!” and “Soon” for great lyrical Jon moments. The rhapsodic “Relayer…”(!!) section in “The Remembering" is catchy as well. Only “The Ancient” is a bit anemic in the melody department, but even there there’s a great folk section with Howe and the textures are pretty attractive.

To that point, the textures and rhythms throughout are pretty amazing — the disco section in the first half of “The Revealing Science of God” is aces and should have been sampled by now. Wakeman, in particular, sounds great on most of this — his Mellotron is towering and his Minimoog bits have the least pomp of most of his recordings. And Howe, Squire and White sound great on “The Ancient” — almost certainly influenced by Crimson’s “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part I."

Their best record? No. But much further up there than I remembered ...

weird, this record actually gave me diarrhea

it has a cool album cover

"the remembering" is up there with "close to the edge" and "gates of delirium". tales as a double album is too much but the best of the other three sides/movements could be spliced into another singular epic jam to rank with YES highest on fire. sometimes i wonder if that's what's at the root of the lingering beef between anderson and howe

This record is at the root of the lingering beef?

i have no idea. imagination is a beefitul thing

I listen to this one straight through all the time and love it. The Steven Wilson remix is the version for me. Honestly, I only listen to his Yes remixes of the albums he's done as my go-to versions these days. They're tremendous.

regular tales front to back is beyond my drug budget. a short-ish jam to break up the four 20-minute long songs would've been tight. pass within and soothe this endless night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyzxoYivYII

this is my favorite yes album

I listen to this one straight through all the time and love it. The Steven Wilson remix is the version for me. Honestly, I only listen to his Yes remixes of the albums he's done as my go-to versions these days. They're tremendous.

I like the 2003 mix of this (with the two minutes or so of tweedling at the beginning, before the vocals come in). I don't like the Steven Wilson remix.

That two minutes is CRUCIAL!

(not joking)

I agree 100%.

NTI I found 320s of his stereo remixes on the t0rr3nts. No way in hell can I afford a Blu-Ray Yes discography!

alternate truth / alternate view / surely surely

this album rules and everyone who hates it sucks

This straddles the line between 'posts very much in character' and 'posts very much out of character'.

the wiki page for this is incredibly entertaining

When the band settled into Morgan Studios, Lane and Anderson proceeded to decorate the studio like a farmyard. Squire believed Lane did so as a joke on Anderson as he wished to record in the country. Anderson brought in flowers, pots of greenery, and cut out cows and sheep to make the studio resemble a garden as a typical studio did not "push the envelope about what you're trying to create musically".Wakeman recalled the addition of white picket fences and his keyboards and amplifiers placed on stacks of hay. At the time of recording, heavy metal group Black Sabbath were recording Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) in the adjacent studio. Singer Ozzy Osbourne recalled the Yes studio also had a model cow with electronic udders fitted and a small barn to give the room an "earthy" feel. "About halfway through the album", said Offord, "The cows were covered in graffiti and all the plants had died. That just kind of sums up that whole album". At one point during the recording stage, Anderson wished for a "bathroom sound" effect on his vocals and asked the band's lighting engineer, Michael Tait, to build him a plywood box with tiles stuck onto it. After Tait explained to Anderson that the idea would not work, Tait "built it anyway". Sound engineer Nigel Luby recalled that tiles would fall off the box during recording takes.

Wakeman felt increasingly disenchanted by the album during the recording stage, and spent much of his time drinking and playing darts in the studio bar. He also spent time with Black Sabbath, playing the Minimoog synthesiser on their track "Sabbra Cadabra". Wakeman would not accept money for his contribution, so the band paid him in beer.

In one incident during the last few days of mixing, Anderson left the studio one morning with Offord carrying the tapes. Offord placed them on-top of his car in order to find his car keys, and proceeded to drive away, forgetting about the tapes. They stopped the car to find the tapes had slid off and fallen on the road, causing Anderson to rush back and stop an oncoming bus to save them.

Nous Sommes De Lager

Was this album ever really critically panned? The only real slagging I can think of off the top of my head was a one-star review from... cdnow? sonicnet? one of those allmusic guide precursors whose archives are completely lost to the ages. Other than that I don’t really remember it being received any worse critically than, say, Drama or Tormato.

The Rolling Stone Album Guide of '92 gave it one star, IIRC, and it appears in the Guterman/O'Donnell Worst Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time book (those guys particularly have it out for prog, saying of Genesis that they were better than most prog bands "i.e., they were boring only 90% of the time").

yeah it was definitely the punching bag du jour of people who don't even like prog in the first place. I think it's fairly well liked these days though it's still seen as being totally ridiculous and the moment where Yes stopped being the Best Band in the World. the criticism for Tormato feels a bit different - nobody was really expecting a great record out of a prog band in 1978. in fact its Going For the One that was the outlier in that regard.

this album rules and everyone who hates it sucks

― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, August 7, 2019 8:32 AM (four years ago) bookmarkflaglink

she's still right

This is easily a top 50 of all time for me and by far my favorite Yes album

I like the 2003 mix of this (with the two minutes or so of tweedling at the beginning, before the vocals come in).

That two minutes is CRUCIAL!

Originally omitted from the LP at Ahmet Ertegun's request, as if a little bit of atmospheric guitar and wind sounds would be the final straw for the Yes audience.
With that intro intact, there is a mirror image of the last seconds of the album; though there's something to be said for the drama of the LP version, starting right with the vocal.

I heard the dramatic start-from-zero version first, but I still like the 2003 version better.