Yes : Tales From Topographic Oceans (Deluxe Edition)

OPEN DOORS

WE FIND OUR WAY

WE LOOK, WE SEE, WE SMILE

SURELY DAYBREAKS 

CROSS OUR PATH

AND STAY

MAYBE   A WHIILE

 Tales from Topographic Oceans

 is the sixth 

studio album 

by English 

progressive rock band

 Yes 

released on 

December, 7th 1973 

 by Atlantic Records. 

It is their first

 studio album

 to feature drummer

 Alan White, 

who had replaced

 Bill Bruford

 the previous year. 

Frontman

 Jon Anderson 

devised its concept 

during the

 Close to the Edge Tour, 

when he read a footnote in 

Autobiography of a Yogi

 by

 Paramahansa Yogananda 

that describes four bodies 

of Hindu texts 

about a specific field 

of knowledge, 

collectively named

 shastras–śruti, 

smriti, 

puranas, 

and

 tantras.

After pitching the idea

 to guitarist 

Steve Howe, 

the pair spent the rest

 of the tour

 developing an outline

 of the album's 

musical themes 

and lyrics.

Rehearsals lasted for

 two months in London, 

during which the band 

decided to produce a 

double album 

containing 

four side-long tracks

 based on each text, 

ranging between 

18 and 21 minutes. 

Keyboardist 

Rick Wakeman 

was critical of the concept 

and felt unable

 to contribute

 to the more

 experimental music

 that was being produced

 to fit a double album, 

and distanced himself

 from the group.

 Yes 

decided against recording

 in the countryside

 in order to use 

Britain's first 

24-track machine

 at Morgan Studios, 

where they decorated

 the studio to 

resemble a farm. 

Roger Dean

 incorporated suggestions

 from the band

 into the album's cover art, 

which inspired his designs

 for the stage used

 on its tour.

Tales from Topographic Oceans

 received mixed reviews 

upon release 

and became a symbol 

of the perceived excesses 

of progressive rock,

 but earned a more 

positive reception

 in later years. 

It was a commercial success, 

becoming the first 

UK album

 to be certified Gold

 based solely on

 pre-orders, 

and spent two weeks

 at number one. 

In the US

 it peaked at number 6, 

where it was 

certified gold in 1974

 for surpassing

 500,000 copies.

 Yes toured the album

 for five months

 across Europe 

and North America, 

the first half of which 

featured the 

entire album

 performed live. 

Wakeman, 

who was against playin

g the whole album, 

quit the band at

 its conclusion to

 continue his

 solo career.

NEW LINK