Diving Into the Topographic Oceans
An excessive super deluxe edition gives Yes fans all the excess and more.
Ask five Yes fans what they think of 1973’s Tales from Topographic Oceans, and you’ll get twelve answers — depending on when you ask. The first time I heard it, I was deep in my prog fanboy phase. The album was only about five years old, and I thought it was the most monumental musical statement ever made. Four 20-minute songs over two records — catnip for someone who didn’t take music seriously if it ran under six minutes.
Some critics called it bloated. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman famously hated it, saying it was padded, and he quit after the tour out of boredom. A few years later, I started to agree. Side two dragged. Side three felt too atonal and abrasive. I mostly returned to sides one and four.
But diving into the new Super Deluxe Edition, I’ve come full circle. Side two has depth I missed. Side three sounds alive again. The Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos mixes are stunning. The rehearsals, run-throughs, and early live recordings are fascinating for completists. And after forty years, I’ve got earworms of it in my head again.
Here’s what you get: a Blu-ray with the surround mix, a pristine new vinyl pressing of the double album, CDs with a fresh remaster and a 2026 Steven Wilson remix, “in progress” versions as the band worked out the material, single edits, and rare live recordings — including performances from before the album was released. A gorgeous full-size booklet offers new insight even if you’ve read all the histories.
Maybe the band reached too far in 1973. Maybe they weren’t ready for something that ambitious. Maybe firmer editing could have shaped it into a leaner record. Even Jon Anderson later talked about trimming it down. Still, for all its excess — maybe because of it — the album captured a moment when prog didn’t fear scale or pretension. I love it more now than I did then.
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