Yes From

Four decades after its release, this is still the most controversial record in Yes' output. Tales from Topographic Oceans was the place where Yes either fulfilled all of the promise shown on their previous five albums or slid off the rails in a fit of artistic hubris, especially on the part of lead singer Jon Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe, who dominated the composition credits here…

In many Yes fans' eyes, the group will never issue a live album better than their 1973 classic, Yessongs. But the group has issued quite a few subsequent live sets, and as evidenced by 2007's Live at Montreux 2003, Yes remain one of prog rock's top live bands. Live at Montreux features arguably their definitive lineup (Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White) and a few newer tracks are included, but Yes are no fools - they know that longtime fans expect to hear the classics. Nearly all of Yes' classics from the early '70s are here in solid/spirited renditions, including "Long Distance Runaround," "I've Seen All Good People," and "Roundabout"…

The second official concert package from Yes contains tunes recorded over a span of two years (1976-1978) and two different incarnations of the band. Like its live predecessor Yessongs (1973), Yesshows finds the combo during one of their states of perpetual change. Jon Anderson (vocals), Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass/vocals), and Alan White (drums) are joined by Rick Wakeman (keyboards) on a majority of the selections…

In many ways, the extravagance of this package equates the profligacy of the prog rock combo themselves. After all, how else but on a triple-LP collection could one hope to re-create (and/or contain) an adequate sampling of Yes' live presentation? Especially since their tunes typically clocked in in excess of ten minutes…

Four decades after its release, this is still the most controversial record in Yes' output. Tales from Topographic Oceans was the place where Yes either fulfilled all of the promise shown on their previous five albums or slid off the rails in a fit of artistic hubris, especially on the part of lead singer Jon Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe, who dominated the composition credits here. Actually, the group probably did a bit of both here across 80 minutes of music on a fully packed double-LP set; the group's musical ambitions were obvious on its face, as it consisted of four long songs (really suites) each taking up a side of an album, and each longer than the previous album's side-long "Close to the Edge."