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Tales from Topographic Oceans
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Tales from Topographic Oceans
Tales from Topographic Oceans is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 7 December 1973 by Atlantic Records. It was the band's first studio release to feature drummer Alan White, who replaced founding member Bill Bruford in 1972. Singer Jon Anderson conceived the album's concept during the group's Close to the Edge Tour after reading a footnote in Paramahansa Yogananda's 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi. The text summarised four categories of Hindu scriptures–the shastras (specifically the śruti, smriti, puranas, and tantras)–which address distinct fields of knowledge. Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe subsequently spent the remainder of the tour developing the album's lyrical themes and musical structures.
Following two months of rehearsals in London, the band decided to construct a double album consisting of four side-long tracks based on each scripture, with runtimes ranging between 18 and 21 minutes. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman was critical of the concept, feeling unable to contribute effectively to the experimental direction required to fill a double album, which led to his growing estrangement from the group. To utilise Britain's first 24-track tape machine, Yes elected to record at Morgan Studios in London rather than a rural location, famously decorating the studio space to resemble a farm. Artist Roger Dean integrated the band's thematic suggestions into the album's gatefold cover art, which later informed his stage designs for the supporting concert tour.
Tales from Topographic Oceans was a commercial success, becoming the first album in the UK to achieve Gold certification based solely on pre-orders before topping the UK Albums Chart for two weeks. In the United States, it reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1974. Critical reception was sharply divided upon release, with detractors viewing the record as a symbol of progressive rock's self-indulgence and excess, though retrospective reviews have grown more favourable. Yes supported the album with a five-month tour across Europe and North America, during which they performed the entire double album live; continuing tensions over the material ultimately prompted Wakeman to leave the band at its conclusion to pursue solo projects.
By 1973, Yes had stabilised with a line-up of frontman and lead vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Alan White, who had replaced original drummer Bill Bruford in the previous year. Their fifth album, Close to the Edge (1972), was released to commercial and critical acclaim, and the band toured worldwide to support the album between July 1972 and April 1973.
Anderson had begun searching for ideas for their next album during this time, one of which involved a "large-scale composition" as the group were writing successful longform pieces, including the 18-minute "Close to the Edge". While in his hotel room in Tokyo during the Japanese tour in March 1973, Anderson found himself "caught up in a lengthy footnote" in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda which outlines four bodies of Hindu texts named shastras. Yogananda described them as "comprehensive treatises [that cover] every aspect of religious and social life, and the fields of law, medicine, architecture, art..." that "convey profound truths under a veil of detailed symbolism". Anderson "became engrossed" with the idea of a "four-part epic" concept album based on the four texts, though he later admitted that he only had a basic understanding of them. King Crimson drummer and percussionist Jamie Muir recommended Yogananda's book to Anderson at Bruford's wedding reception earlier in the month. Anderson said of Muir: "I felt I had to learn from him. We started talking about meditation in music—not the guru type but some really heavy stuff." Anderson gained further clarification of the texts from talking to Vera Stanley Alder, a mystic, painter, and author of spirituality books that had a profound influence on him. The 1973 BBC documentary series The Ascent of Man also gave Anderson "a lot to think about", and was influenced by host Jacob Bronowski's explanations of Earth, the Solar System, and human "knowledge and truth".
Yes moved on to Australia and the US in March and April 1973, during which Anderson pitched his idea to Howe, a prolific songwriter and arranger in the group, who took an interest in building on Anderson's concept. The pair held writing sessions in their hotel rooms lit by candlelight, exchanging musical and lyrical ideas. Howe recalled: "Jon would say to me, 'What have you got that's a bit like that...?' so I'd play him something and he'd go: 'that's great. Have you got anything else?' and I'd play him another tune". One riff that Howe played was initially discarded, but it was later incorporated into side three as by then, the two sought for a different theme that would suit the track. Howe looked back on this time as a "golden opportunity" for Anderson and himself to "explore the outer reaches of our possibilities", and avoided predictable choruses and song structures. A six-hour session in Savannah, Georgia, that ended at 7 a.m. saw Anderson and Howe complete the outline of the album's vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation, which took the form of one track based on each of the four texts. Anderson described the night as "magical [that] left both of us exhilarated for days". Anderson and Howe presented the album's concept to the rest of the band, which was met with some uncertainty; Howe recalled: "But Jon and I did manage to sell the idea ... sometimes [we] really had to spur the guys on".
Phil Carson, then the London Senior Vice President of Atlantic Records, remembered that, during a dinner with Anderson and Nesuhi Ertegun, Anderson was originally going to name the album Tales from Tobergraphic Oceans. He claimed he had invented the word "tobergraphic", which he used to depict one of astronomer Fred Hoyle's theories on space. Ertegun informed Anderson that "tobergraphic" was similar to the word "topographic" and described its meaning, and Anderson changed the title accordingly. An interview with Eddy Offord and a Melody Maker advert congratulating Yes for winning a readership poll published in August and September 1973, respectively, touted the upcoming album as Tales from the Tobergraphic Ocean and Tales from Tobergraphic Oceans. Wakeman jokingly nicknamed the album Tales from Toby's Graphic Go-Kart.
"I think there was a psychological effect of, "Oh, we're doing a double album. Now we can make things twice as long, twice as boring, and twice as drawn out!"
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Tales from Topographic Oceans
Tales from Topographic Oceans is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 7 December 1973 by Atlantic Records. It was the band's first studio release to feature drummer Alan White, who replaced founding member Bill Bruford in 1972. Singer Jon Anderson conceived the album's concept during the group's Close to the Edge Tour after reading a footnote in Paramahansa Yogananda's 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi. The text summarised four categories of Hindu scriptures–the shastras (specifically the śruti, smriti, puranas, and tantras)–which address distinct fields of knowledge. Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe subsequently spent the remainder of the tour developing the album's lyrical themes and musical structures.
Following two months of rehearsals in London, the band decided to construct a double album consisting of four side-long tracks based on each scripture, with runtimes ranging between 18 and 21 minutes. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman was critical of the concept, feeling unable to contribute effectively to the experimental direction required to fill a double album, which led to his growing estrangement from the group. To utilise Britain's first 24-track tape machine, Yes elected to record at Morgan Studios in London rather than a rural location, famously decorating the studio space to resemble a farm. Artist Roger Dean integrated the band's thematic suggestions into the album's gatefold cover art, which later informed his stage designs for the supporting concert tour.
Tales from Topographic Oceans was a commercial success, becoming the first album in the UK to achieve Gold certification based solely on pre-orders before topping the UK Albums Chart for two weeks. In the United States, it reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1974. Critical reception was sharply divided upon release, with detractors viewing the record as a symbol of progressive rock's self-indulgence and excess, though retrospective reviews have grown more favourable. Yes supported the album with a five-month tour across Europe and North America, during which they performed the entire double album live; continuing tensions over the material ultimately prompted Wakeman to leave the band at its conclusion to pursue solo projects.
By 1973, Yes had stabilised with a line-up of frontman and lead vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Alan White, who had replaced original drummer Bill Bruford in the previous year. Their fifth album, Close to the Edge (1972), was released to commercial and critical acclaim, and the band toured worldwide to support the album between July 1972 and April 1973.
Anderson had begun searching for ideas for their next album during this time, one of which involved a "large-scale composition" as the group were writing successful longform pieces, including the 18-minute "Close to the Edge". While in his hotel room in Tokyo during the Japanese tour in March 1973, Anderson found himself "caught up in a lengthy footnote" in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda which outlines four bodies of Hindu texts named shastras. Yogananda described them as "comprehensive treatises [that cover] every aspect of religious and social life, and the fields of law, medicine, architecture, art..." that "convey profound truths under a veil of detailed symbolism". Anderson "became engrossed" with the idea of a "four-part epic" concept album based on the four texts, though he later admitted that he only had a basic understanding of them. King Crimson drummer and percussionist Jamie Muir recommended Yogananda's book to Anderson at Bruford's wedding reception earlier in the month. Anderson said of Muir: "I felt I had to learn from him. We started talking about meditation in music—not the guru type but some really heavy stuff." Anderson gained further clarification of the texts from talking to Vera Stanley Alder, a mystic, painter, and author of spirituality books that had a profound influence on him. The 1973 BBC documentary series The Ascent of Man also gave Anderson "a lot to think about", and was influenced by host Jacob Bronowski's explanations of Earth, the Solar System, and human "knowledge and truth".
Yes moved on to Australia and the US in March and April 1973, during which Anderson pitched his idea to Howe, a prolific songwriter and arranger in the group, who took an interest in building on Anderson's concept. The pair held writing sessions in their hotel rooms lit by candlelight, exchanging musical and lyrical ideas. Howe recalled: "Jon would say to me, 'What have you got that's a bit like that...?' so I'd play him something and he'd go: 'that's great. Have you got anything else?' and I'd play him another tune". One riff that Howe played was initially discarded, but it was later incorporated into side three as by then, the two sought for a different theme that would suit the track. Howe looked back on this time as a "golden opportunity" for Anderson and himself to "explore the outer reaches of our possibilities", and avoided predictable choruses and song structures. A six-hour session in Savannah, Georgia, that ended at 7 a.m. saw Anderson and Howe complete the outline of the album's vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation, which took the form of one track based on each of the four texts. Anderson described the night as "magical [that] left both of us exhilarated for days". Anderson and Howe presented the album's concept to the rest of the band, which was met with some uncertainty; Howe recalled: "But Jon and I did manage to sell the idea ... sometimes [we] really had to spur the guys on".
Phil Carson, then the London Senior Vice President of Atlantic Records, remembered that, during a dinner with Anderson and Nesuhi Ertegun, Anderson was originally going to name the album Tales from Tobergraphic Oceans. He claimed he had invented the word "tobergraphic", which he used to depict one of astronomer Fred Hoyle's theories on space. Ertegun informed Anderson that "tobergraphic" was similar to the word "topographic" and described its meaning, and Anderson changed the title accordingly. An interview with Eddy Offord and a Melody Maker advert congratulating Yes for winning a readership poll published in August and September 1973, respectively, touted the upcoming album as Tales from the Tobergraphic Ocean and Tales from Tobergraphic Oceans. Wakeman jokingly nicknamed the album Tales from Toby's Graphic Go-Kart.
"I think there was a psychological effect of, "Oh, we're doing a double album. Now we can make things twice as long, twice as boring, and twice as drawn out!"