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
― reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 17 July 2013 03:28 (eleven years ago) link
the final word on Tormato is here:
The 120 Days of Shameless Bids for Publicity!
― Stormy Davis, Wednesday, 17 July 2013 04:19 (eleven years ago) link
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)
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 July 2013 13:24 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Austin, Wednesday, 17 July 2013 14:41 (eleven years ago) link
...and then Relayer came after it and pissed all over it completely!
― I wanna live like C'MOWN! people (Turrican), Wednesday, 17 July 2013 15:00 (eleven years ago) link
I will concede that the 'Soon' portion of 'Gates of Delerium' is my favorite song by the band, by quite a bit.
― Austin, Thursday, 18 July 2013 02:37 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Thursday, 18 July 2013 12:19 (eleven years ago) link
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).
― frogbs, Thursday, 18 July 2013 12:57 (eleven years ago) link
don't doubt your part - be ready to be loved!
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:13 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― OORT (Matt #2), Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:15 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Autumn Almanac, Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:18 (eleven years ago) link
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..
― frogbs, Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:20 (eleven years ago) link
yeah what? south side is catchy as
― Autumn Almanac, Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:22 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― frogbs, Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:26 (eleven years ago) link
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
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:34 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― 誤訳侮辱, Thursday, 18 July 2013 13:45 (eleven years ago) link
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
― the SI unit of ignorance (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 18 July 2013 14:06 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Thursday, 18 July 2013 14:34 (eleven years ago) link
"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).
― akm, Thursday, 18 July 2013 14:41 (eleven years ago) link
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
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 18 July 2013 14:49 (eleven years ago) link
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
― Autumn Almanac, Thursday, 18 July 2013 15:25 (eleven years ago) link
GftO sounds awesome in my car
― frogbs, Thursday, 18 July 2013 15:28 (eleven years ago) link
MOVE YOURSELF! *orchestral hit*
― I wanna live like C'MOWN! people (Turrican), Thursday, 18 July 2013 15:29 (eleven years ago) link
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
― Addison Doug (Matt #2), Friday, 9 August 2013 13:54 (eleven years ago) link
Sorry
― Addison Doug (Matt #2), Friday, 9 August 2013 13:57 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l49P4F-gpm4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iHKFBlx0t8
― Addison Doug (Matt #2), Friday, 9 August 2013 13:58 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SnvkS11K0s
― Addison Doug (Matt #2), Friday, 9 August 2013 13:59 (eleven years ago) link
That's very well done. I love those ambient parts in the second track.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 10 August 2013 15:33 (eleven years ago) link
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
― reggie (qualmsley), Sunday, 15 September 2013 00:52 (eleven years ago) link
That's a great article!
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 15 September 2013 05:43 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Sunday, 15 September 2013 23:15 (eleven years ago) link
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.
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!
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 16 September 2013 00:48 (eleven years ago) link
I still listen to that Matt#2 edit of this album, it's deepened my appreciation of the album
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Sunday, 1 June 2014 16:13 (ten years ago) link
Is that to be found elsewhere on this thread? I remember wanting to hear it.
― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Monday, 2 June 2014 17:58 (ten years ago) link
― reggie (qualmsley), Monday, 2 June 2014 18:34 (ten years ago) link
cool, thanks
― lauded at conferences of deluded psychopaths (Sparkle Motion), Monday, 2 June 2014 18:52 (ten years ago) link
pass amongst your memories told returning ways
― reggie (qualmsley), Friday, 13 April 2018 00:24 (six years ago) link
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 ...
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 23 April 2018 17:50 (six years ago) link
weird, this record actually gave me diarrhea
― frogbs, Monday, 23 April 2018 17:52 (six years ago) link
it has a cool album cover
― don't make me wait (with Shaggy) (voodoo chili), Monday, 23 April 2018 17:55 (six years ago) link
"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
― reggie (qualmsley), Monday, 23 April 2018 18:16 (six years ago) link
This record is at the root of the lingering beef?
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 23 April 2018 18:22 (six years ago) link
i have no idea. imagination is a beefitul thing
― reggie (qualmsley), Monday, 23 April 2018 18:25 (six years ago) link
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.
― Acid Hose (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 23 April 2018 18:32 (six years ago) link
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
― reggie (qualmsley), Monday, 23 April 2018 18:39 (six years ago) link
this is my favorite yes album
― kurt schwitterz, Monday, 23 April 2018 19:59 (six years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 23 April 2018 21:55 (six years ago) link
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.
― grawlix (unperson), Monday, 23 April 2018 23:51 (six years ago) link