"Tales from Topographic Oceans" Being Remixed by Steve Wilson

So ... the Sid Smith picture in post #458 is not the 5.1 then?

I'm confused.

 

I don't know what it is.

 

You've given us more than enough, don't sweat it.

 

Well, the most misunderstood Yes music ought to have the most misunderstood 5.1 release!

 

I'll bet you're up on all the 'latest' in rap

 

Jon A's explanatory liner notes misspell 'smritis' as 'suritis'

 

Well, there are rhythmic elements shared between "The Ancient" and the drum 'battle' in Ritual, and of course right in the middle of it, there's a synth/drum part that restates one of the main Tales melodic themes. So I've never found the drum section to be jarring or unrelated to the rest of the album. And it integrates a drum solo into a track, which comes in handy for live shows :>

 

The Yes HDCDs are such a mixed bag that it's unwarranted to either dismiss or praise them all as a group.

 

Not sure why anyone would question how actually involved Jon Anderson was engaged in ready Yogananda's classic Autobiography.
How could that matter? If all he needed was a general theme for creating four interwoven pieces, then he found it in that footnote.
It's quite beautiful isn't it? Who is to say a random opening of the book that landed on that page was not divinely inspired?

His lyrics are his own… as they should be…. gained from some inspiration.

Can one be inspired by a water drop? A flower? A sunset or glint in the eye of a stranger passing by?

Anderson's 70's lyrics feel genuinely inspired, honest, psychedelic if not very thought provoking. Might his whole style be very
original or even cutting edge at the time? He WAS the message of YES. If you don't like it, listen to AC DC or ZZ Top.

 

Agree. There is something unique and wonderful about Anderson's lyrics from that period, painting an abstract picture that complements the music perfectly. I often wonder what happened on 'Tormato'. Lyrically, he seemed to lose his muse on that album. Did he just run out of inspiration? Was he starting to repeat himself / re-cycle words, phrases, images and ideas? Had he exhausted the rich seam of abstract prose he used on earlier albums, or was it a deliberate attempt to 'move with the times'?

 

That is exactly how I felt also. Tormato is a decent album, but it's the first album where there is no argument that would suggest that this was their finest work. You could make an argument for all of their prior albums once Wakeman and Howe joined the band. I don't care much for any YES album since Going For the One. A few interesting tracks.. sure, but nothing like their 70's work. Actually I feel that way about most of the great bands of that era.

 

+ The Yes Album.

 

Sure, I would agree, but no one is going to argue Tormato as their best work, unless they are just trolling.

 

+ Relayer (since no Wakeman)

 

There are Moraz fans and those who like the experimental and jazzier vibe to Relayer. Most drummers will side with the Bruford era. Hard to beat the drumming on Fragile and CTTE for sure.

 

I'm a Bruford fan, and are not impressed with White's drumming on most Yes albums. But I think he does an amazing job on Relayer. Totally different from what Bruford would have done - but fitting the music perfectly.

So for me Relayer stands as a great Yes album with each member doing amazing stuff.

I enjoy Going for the One - but for me it's return to 'safe' Yes was a bit boring after the excitement of Relayer.

 

Any album from 'The Yes album' through to 'Going for the one' (including 'Yessongs') presents a case to be considered the best Yes album. My personal favourite varies over time. I'm not even sure there has to be a favourite -- all Yes albums from that period are brilliant in their own unique way.

In retrospect, I wonder if Yes made the right move after 'Relayer' bringing Wakeman back into the fold and releasing the relatively conservative, orthodox 'Going for the one' and 'Tormato'. I would have like to have seen Yes continuing with the experimental, darker, jazzier themes explored on 'Relayer' either with Moraz on keyboards or someone else. If ever a band member deserved another bite of the cherry after their contribution to a particular album it is Moraz after his superlative performances on 'Relayer'.

By 1980 the world had moved on and, although not my personal favourites, both 'Drama' and '90125' were perfect for the times. Both were bold moves that were generally well-received and gave the band a new lease of life. I still feel, though, that the late seventies were a bit of a missed opportunity for Yes to take a risk and go for something more adventurous.

 

Could not agree more.

 

The mid to late 70s was a tricky time for prog, after the genre had reached its apex around '73 or so when most of the big bands attempted their more ambitious works. The ones that stuck it out all pretty much trimmed their sales and streamlined their sound as the decade wore on, so following the path of increased experimentation does not appear to have been a viable option. I'm honestly not sure how much further down the rabbit hole they could have gone with the extended compositions and such at that point. Though Going For The One lacks the sense of adventure we heard on preceding releases, I think it was a reasonable compromise given the times.

 

I too, would like to have seen Yes continue with Moraz, but it's almost as if they decided to step back from the brink, and instead of progressing, which they had always done, they began regressing. looking more to their past for inspiration.

That said, I wouldn't like to live in a world without Awaken.

 

Agree....and it is a good (many would say excellent) album in its own right. I just wonder whether, in terms of musical direction, GFTO (and the return of Wakeman) set them on a course to nowhere, leading to the diminished returns of 'Tormato' and ultimately the 'black hole' of Paris 1979.

 

I think Moraz claimed to contribute some ideas to "Awaken" early on before they brought back Wakeman, so it's likely we still would have gotten it one form or another. He delivered some interesting fusion flavored work on Relayer, but he was sometimes hit and miss in concert, particularly when it came to reproducing some of Rick's parts. As you suggest, they ultimately decided for retrenchment rather than continued progression. Maybe they went as far as they felt they could go?

 

I would have taken a second band album with Moraz over the solo albums every day of the week - much as I love Olias and Story Of I.

 

There probably isn't anything there to find. The Bob Harris version of "The Revealing Science of God" is the album version. The other session, apparently a performance of "The Remembering", has never circulated, but that's most likely just the album version too.

The BBC were scheduled to film one or more of the November '73 Rainbow shows for broadcast, but this fell through for technical reasons. A little later on, management procured the services of an independent film crew for the purpose of documenting the tour, but that footage was deemed unsatisfactory and has never seen the light of day. But some filming was definitely done at some point, most likely on the US leg, and copies of the footage have apparently survived. That footage remains the Holy Grail of Holy Grails for me, and I'll never stop hoping for it to surface in some form. As the Progeny project and "dumpster tapes" discovery demonstrated, you never know what could turn up, and where. At this point in time, though, I'm more hopeful that one of the "hoarded" copies will be liberated than for the band to dig up and release theirs.

As for the SW remix, I can't imagine why it wouldn't come out. It's a fan favourite, Wilson loves it, as do the remaining band members who played on it. Of all the Main Sequence albums, it's the one that stands to benefit the most from the Wilson treatment, plus it's probably my favourite Yes album anyway. And I've seen so many fans express the exact same sentiment; far more than for any of the other albums. It's going to happen, and I'll be happy whether or not there are any revelatory extras.

 

i didn't know some of the tour was filmed. any live audio of those four tracks from 1974/5 would be a holy grail for me...