Yes Tales From Topographic Oceans CD

Full title - Tales From The Topographic Oceans. 2003 remastered, reissue of 1973 album with redesigned booklet (digipak/slipcase), restored LP art, archival photos and new liner notes. Includes 2 bonus tracks 'Dance Of The Dawn' (studio run through) & 'Giants Under The Sun' (studio run through). Elektra.

Yes: Jon Anderson (vocals); Steve Howe (vocals, guitar); Chris Squire (vocals, bass); Rick Wakeman (keyboards); Alan White (drums).
Recorded at Morgan Studios, London, England.
Digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt.
Yes: Rick Wakeman (keyboards); Chris Squire (bass instrument); Alan White (percussion); Jon Anderson, Steve Howe.
Personnel: Jon Anderson (vocals); Steve Howe (guitar); Rick Wakeman (Mellotron, Moog synthesizer, timpani); Chris Squire (fretless bass, timpani); Alan White (drums); Guy Bidmead (tapes).
Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot.
Liner Note Authors: Mike Tiano; Mike Tiano.
Recording information: Morgan Studio, London, England (1973).
Photographers: Ira Blacker; David Gahr; Roger Dean .
Either the finest record or the most overblown album in Yes' output. When it was released, critics called it one of the worst examples of progressive rock's overindulgent nature. Jon Anderson's fascination with Eastern religions never manifested itself more clearly or broadly, but one needn't understand any of that to appreciate the many sublimely beautiful moments on this album, some of the most gorgeous passages ever recorded by the band. ~ Bruce Eder
For prog rock's detractors, Yes's TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS is the genre's nadir. For admirers it is an artistic pinnacle. Whichever camp you're in, it is hard to deny the sheer chutzpah necessary to undertake this sprawling epic. Though broken up into four sections, TALES greeted 1973 listeners as a single composition spread across four sides of a double album. This was unprecedented in the world of mainstream rock. For the band, it was the closest they would ever come to a true fusion of classical structures and themes with rock-oriented instrumentation and sensibilities.
The lyrics are typically elliptical and spiritually oriented, and many a bad trip was probably launched by trying to interpret them. The real pleasure of this album lies in the elaborately textured, harmonically sophisticated interaction between keyboardist Rick Wakeman, guitarist Steve Howe, and highly melodic bassist Chris Squire. All three were at the peak of their instrumental prowess on TALES, and listening to them interact is like watching a fine athlete excelling at his chosen sport.
This is still the least accessible album that Yes ever recorded and not the place to start listening to them, but Tales From Topographic Oceans also has considerable virtues (including many sublimely beautiful passages) that are brought out here as never before. This is actually the fourth distinct CD version of this album -- the first was issued in the late '80s, a poor sounding version in a wide, double jewel box package; in 1996 came an upgrade in a narrow double jewel case that was an improvement, but even then it lagged behind the best audio quality of the time. In 2001 came a mini-LP-packaged edition from Japan that sonically ran circles around all prior versions; and now the Elektra-Rhino's slipcased, expanded version, which is different from all prior editions. The high resolution digital sound brings out nuances in both the electric and acoustic sections of the material that sound new. Internal detail in Rick Wakeman's keyboard parts, Steve Howe's guitar playing, and even in the layered vocal harmonies were all things that had always escaped notice but obviously mattered to the makers, as they were there. The producers have also retained an extension to the opening of "The Revealing Science of God" that was originally made for its inclusion on the In a Word box. The producers have moved the first three tracks of the four-track album onto disc one, leaving space o