I consider that these tales represent a journey to the origin and a return with hope. The listener witnesses the revelation of the god of science, remembers the past, travels to ancient civilizations, and through rituals encounters the "sun" that is the source of everything. Then, they return to the present and the future with hope. This album, like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "the Dark Side of the Moon," and "the Wall," has great meaning and value when listened to as a whole. It is truly a symphony by YES. Thanks for the great tales! And thanks for posting the reaction video!
Sad to announce that Alan White passed away today. Not trying to make anyone sad. Just putting the word out. I'm incredibly sad. He was my favorite drummer.
The melodies throughout this album are so distinctive that in the percussion section the drummer plays them rhythmically on his toms (with a crazy alien insect synth noise) and we can recognize them just from the rhythms. Your translation " we are from the sun" made me say "well, that explains a lot." :) What a band!
During the Yes Symphonic concert, Alan White was backed up by the kettle drums of the symphony orchestra, along with the kettle drums that were brought out for Squire, Anderson, and the keyboard player. Twice during the percussion solo, they built to a crescendo of total sound with all of the violins and cellos progressively being played more aggressively, and more loudly until it peaked.
Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth. Got to see Squire 36 times over forty yrs. There's one of the best versions of Ritual live from their 35th Anniversary Tour called Songs From Tsongas. Squire plays timpani. The first time I saw Ritual in 75 cried like a man when the voice of the divine sang . RIP Chris 👑
I've always felt this song is the spiritual successor to Close to the Edge. It's the closest of Yes's other album-side long songs in terms of sound, structure, and feeling.
A Masterpiece (The Whole Double Album)!!!! Thank you for not pausing during Jon's first "Nous Sommes Du Soliel" vocal passage! That part is Magical. And WOW! You Liked "The Remembering" the most! That's my Favorite off the album! Great Reaction, Daniel!
Love the recurring motifs from The Revealing Science of God and the other two tracks as well though harder to pick them up. The "Nous Sommes Du Soleil" part is gorgeous. This was a great trip through an amazing album. Thanks, Daniel!
all 4 songs on Tales have some melodic themes from other songs on the album (alternate tune), this one especially has a TON of little riffs and melodies from the other 3 tracks. I saw you recognize one of them during the one tense mellow guitar solo sections. The music itself reflecting the All is All theme. Tales has always been my fave YES album of all time. It is an Experience. I must have heard it a thousand times before yet every time I listen to it i still hear something new or make some new connection. It is pure Magic.
Treat others as you would like them to treat you. Now that was a message from Yes we can admire, right along with their sheer talent. Great Review, I look forward to more.
Long post ahead (see my screen name) Sorry, this is important: HOW, not HOW-EE. Fun fact: Jon was given the book "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Jamie Muir, percussionist for King Crimson, before he departed for life in a monastery. This happened at Bill Bruford's wedding. This album encapsulate's how far the music business (and audiences) have changed since 1973. Yes was a top-selling rock band and on the heels of their most successful album and touring to date they release a double concept album with nothing that can be played on the radio (at least Jethro Tull got that part right.) And it still went to #1 (and not because of Atlantic Records hype, but because word of mouth got around that Yes were an amazing band on record and on stage.) I'll echo others who encourage you to check out the live version from Yesshows. One of Yes' strengths were that they were always thinking about how their music was going to translate to a live setting. So with a song called "Ritual" it sort of makes sense to include a group percussion jam that would be pretty cool for an audience to watch. For me the strangest thing about this piece was that Jon chose to end it in a minor key. He usually chooses to leave a more positive lasting impression with the big epics. Lasting thought: The amazing thing about Tales is yeah, you think "Wow, a double album with four 20-minute epics. Not likely to listen to that one too often." But I guarantee you'll be surprised just how easy it will be to pull any one side -- or even all four! -- and have it just fly by as comfortably as something like "Long Distance Runaround". That's the amazing thing about classic Yes music. The song lengths really have nothing to do with how easy the music falls on your ears.
Reviews by the New Musical Express may be safely discarded. They are meaningless. I stopped buying the NME in the 70s as so many of their reviews of albums and bands were coloured so much on their left-wing politics and a band's origins. I bought TFTO upon it's release in the 70s, and like many people initially found it hard to 'get into' as we used to say. However, I have often found that an album that is difficult to get into rewards repeated listens, as when it grows on you and you finally love it you never get tired of listening to it, as each time you discover new things. So it was with TFTO; I never grow tired of it. I have found that to be the case with many albums (or song tracks) from progressive bands. Another excellent and articulate review BTW; you are right about the best way of listening to it. It is also very good for long solo car journeys at night!!
The middle section representing a struggle is meant to make you uncomfortable. It was not the ritual as you suggested. Read the liner notes and it will make sense. Absolutely beautiful piece of music on a stunning album.
I was discussing music and this channel with a good friend who knows a thing or two... Not sure if I agree with the last part, but those are his thoughts. He said the following which I was not aware of... "Part of why so much good music came out of Britain was a program that sent lots of poor kids to art school. They were hungry for success and the results were obvious. Ian Anderson tips his hat to this in the second phrase of this lyric from the track Baker Street Muse on Minstrel In The Gallery: "Oh Mother England, did you light my smile? Or did you light this fire under me?" It was a creative burst the likes of which we haven't seen repeated, and due to the gross devaluation of creative work by technology, probably won't ever happen again until long after we're gone."
A recent video I saw about The Beatles also brought this up -- how lower/middle class kids from working towns could get an education that their parents never could have dreamed of. So now you had working class kids who could quote Chaucer.
The first gig I went to was Yes at the legendary Glasgow Apollo - I was 17. They started with the three songs from Close to the Edge then played all four sides of Tales - the Album had not even been released so it was new to everyone - Roundabout was the encore. Glory Days! I haven't listened to Tales very often in recent years...it has some great moments but drifts a bit aimlessly in parts...but back all these years ago and now I rated Ritual as up there with the best of Yes. I would particularly recommend the three part video of Ritual with a Symphony Orchestra backing the band...phenomenal showcases for Chris Squire on bass and Alan Whyte on drums then out of the chaos Steve Howe's wonderful guitar and Jon Anderson's golden voice singing "Nous Sommes Du Soleil" which may be the most beautiful Yes song.
Hey man, I first heard this while overlooking an estuary with mountains in Scotland. I was 12, it was 1976. I actually cried listening to you describe it, I felt young. It really opened my mind to life. I don’t listen often, every year or two, but it still holds a place in my heart where the years don’t go.
Well done for really embracing this album. This is the most incredible album you would ever listen too. Something like this would never ever be created again. Yes I can understand that there is some filler in this album but it has some of the most amazing pieces of music ever created in this world. I don’t always play this because there is some wonderful music out there but at the time this was created nothing was ever ever going to be close. It got a real slating in reviews at the time but time has been good to this album and people like yourself listening to this and are realising what has been done. I admire you for that. I am glad you are experiencing real music. Keep it up please. I know there are lots of albums you cannot review on here but please keep going with your journey.
Yes I saw the full LIVE TALES in early 74 & it was their first huge Roger & Martin Dean stage set to reflect underwater world with a crab nebula behind Alan White & inner lit rock formations to camouflage stage monitors etc. It was grand and surreal and left me spellbound & awestruck. BTW there is a version on RUclips with the original extended intro on SIDE 1 which essentially is a mesmerizing oceanlike soundscape leading up to the opening lyrics. Nice. TALES is a magical experience. Also the scratchy synth is mimicking one of themes and Steve's first solo is a montage of themes from the 4 sides
I bought this album when it first came out and liked it, but didn't really gain an appreciation for it until 20 years later. Yes did a concert in Europe not too long after the year 2000, that was backed by a symphony orchestra. Songs like Starship Trooper, and Close to the Edge sounded very good with the orchestra accompanying them, but it was Ritual that stood out as the most brilliant part of the concert. There are videos on youtube of this Yes Symphonic concert. The symphony backing them displayed the genius of recordings like Ritual, that were seemingly meant to be played by an entire orchestra. I highly recommend people watch the three videos that make up the Yes Symphonic version of this song. To the owner of this page, you will be able to see what composed the source of your uncomfortable feelings during the percussion section of the song.
Daniel,you have to watch a live version of this, its epic. The instrumental break in the middle is spectacular, Chris Squire always performed an amazing bass solo
In 1974 when I got to hear YES because I had an older brother, kudos to you older brother, and I said to my brother, "yeah, but they can't play this stuff live" then he handed me YESSONGS. I was never so happy to be WRONG! I saw them in 1977 and got to see them do Close To The Edge Live WOW
One thing for sure there will never be a work like this done again Tales is a one and only unique work. Here is a hint it a great to listen to on a long drive or flight but after listening to this a few times you do not have listen to the whole work in one sitting. It is easy to listen to it over a couple of days. For me it is beyond music, it is an experience, adventure and soundscape, emotional journey like no other. The more you listen to it then more you love it. Side 4 is amazing mix of so many themes, western, eastern, mystical, primitive, futuristic, energetic and beautiful. Thank you for helping keep this epic masterpiece alive for a new generation. Just because it is so long it should never be forgotten. I am sure Jon Anderson is happy you are do this. Cheers Kevin.
I am a first generation Yes fan. They have been my favorite band since 1971. Many of my age and time don't care that much for Yes beyond the Drama album, but I have to encourage you as much as I can to try 1994's album "Talk" It is the best summation of the middle period of the band. If you don't think you'll be able to do the album, please at least give a shot to "The Calling" and "Endless Dream". The best Yes since the classic period in my humble opinion. Heck.............you've already got the classics covered already anyway, including my personal fave Relayer. Thank you for that. I just, for some reason think you'd really enjoy "Talk" in a special way. I might be wrong. Anyway peace, and Happy New Year.
1. "That noise" was a VCS3 applied to the drums. I suspect a King Crimson influence in that "tribal percussion" section - even though there are no directly comparable passages in their studio repertoire. You can draw vague parallels between this and either the tuned percussion movement in Larks Tongues #1, or with a semi-improvised thing they played on some German dates in the summer of '73, or, more so, with certain drum solo/duo moments in live jams of the Muir Era. There are definite parallels between the last portion of the Ritual percussion movement (with the VCS3) and those "electric drum solos" Ian Wallace used to play with Crimson in '71-'72 (which used the VCS3, and usually ended in a feedback/noise jam with the other guys) 2. In Ritual you'll have noticed all the quotations from earlier movements of the TFTO suite - and from Close To The Edge - packed into the bass/guitar showcase sections. (And there are even more of those in live renditions of Ritual). But there's at least one bit of Foreshadowing too - the phrase "Change We Must" - though the song of that name didn't emerge (in Jon's solo career) for nearly twenty years. 3. No, even I can't imagine how P M Dawn came to sample it (but it's interesting that they applied the sample in a rhythmically contrary fashion)
It is very cool that you have tackled this album. It's not an easy one, and to be candid, it's not among my favorite Yes albums. But you have done a fine job here. Oddly enough, at one point the percussion reminded me of "Time Has Come Today".
OMG YES... my new sennheisers and Steven Wilson combined to have me hear for THE FIRST TIME today-after 1001 listens the faint crossover bell effect. I immediately thought......well, time Has come today. Someone is analytically subjective.
I love this album. "We receive all we venture to give" are words to live by. What you share will come back to you Jon's lyrics do make sense sometimes. 😁 Chris' harmonies were amazing and courageous, harmonizing with Jon while playing his bass so eloquently. How hard must that be? Steve's guitar work is outstanding. Alan is crazy good as a drummer. When Bruford quit, White had 3 days to learn the drums for the concert tour Yes was on, and he did. Imagine the musicianship that required! And Wakeman painted the waves like no other keyboardist could. His touch on a piano is magic. So glad you enjoyed this, Daniel. 😊
No clue how Alan learned all that in 3 days, though he did sit in on sessions prior, so I guess that's how he was able to learn it all so fast. Just amazing though.
I revisit the album about every 6 months not just because of the music but the good memories it provokes, I hope that you discover a piece of music that in 40 years+ will not only still sound fresh but also takes you to a good place the that yes have been for me.
This was always my favorite side of the album and that moment, at the end of the percussive section, when Steve Howe's guitar pierces through the chaos to reintroduce the pre-chorus gets me every time. Oh, and I totally loved your face when Howe quoted the theme from Close to the Edge. Priceless.
I JUST heard the noise you mentioned in the percussion sequence! It sounds exactly like the vacuum the dentist assistant uses while getting dental work! Haha! I never thought of that before, after hearing this SO many times!
We are from the sun, no wonder we are hot headed!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Jon Anderson knew human nature at the time of writing this!!! 🙂❤ He still does!!! Alan White really rocks out on this one!!!
Yes Jon's scats are unique, just like him!!! Would love to meet him!!! Very connected to the Universe!!! CHA CHA CHA, CHA CHA in Sound Chaser!!! Relayer Daniel needs to review one day!!! The list is growing!!!
Side three is quite dissonant but then side four is much more resolving and enveloping and returns to much more melodic themes with the notable exception obviously of the percussive bridge in the middle but that only serves to emphasise the feeling of release and beauty of the final ‘Nous Sommes du Soleil’ section. Still prefer side one and probably played the side 1/2 vinyl disk more than the 3/4 one over the years but now in a digital age I often play 1/4 as a preferred combination.
Sometimes it takes some patience to really feel the vibe or immerse the more difficult experience of Yes. You are right, in that it is an experience type album; each part intrinsically linked. Great review 👏!
This is a GREAT bike riding song and album. I rode my bike to this album for weeks one summer - lost 10 pounds! After you figure out all the parts of the songs, you just can't wait to get to your favorite parts, of which there are many.
Thank you for delving into this!! Very few brave souls out there would go there. This last piece is my favorite of the four, there are such extreme dynamics on this one, incredibly beautiful and also moments of darkness, and then brought back into the sunlight, and then, what an outro!! Steve Howe's lead outro is breathtaking, he often weaves the melodic themes in and around his lead work throughout this whole work, which is a real achievement. Great reaction!!
Great reaction, jon went on to create one of the most beautiful concept albums, "olias of sunhillow",if you ever review that album it would be so amazing, again fantastic reaction.
The first time I listened to this album, I found it all bizarre and interesting and so unique. I loved all of it, but I didn't fully absorb it or understand it. I rarely do with long music like this on a first listen. On first listen 'The Ancient' was my favorite, cause I loved how primal it sounded. That and Steve Howe's guitar solo just captivated me. About a year ago 'Ritual' became my favorite, because "The Ritual" blew my mind. Never really have heard anything like it, ever. 'The Revealing Science of God' is so good though. 'The Remembering' seemed to me to be the most beautiful of the 4 pieces, but now I think it's 'TRSoG', but on my last listen 'The Ancient' has re-taken my top spot. What can I say; Steve and Jon just got to me.
Daniel, you made it! Yes, it's a long journey but a great one. I hope you revisit it many more times. I've been listening to this and Relayer every so often over the last 45 years or so and never get tired. Since Covid, I use an exercise bike, there are animated videos of these songs, before I know it, I'll crush 20 minutes in a work out. You should check the videos out, they use Roger Dean's images, the artist who did Yes" artwork. Yes albums are true gifts which keep giving and giving. Keep up the good work and journey of great music. And, I do know a little Opeth, not a lot, but if you post some reactions on them, I'll be learning right along with you. Peace!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I know I don't actually know you, but this felt like I was sharing an incredible piece of music with a close friend for the first time. It's been wonderful watching you go through this Topographic journey. I was nervous during the long drum break, I could tell you were feeling like it was too much even though for me it's the pinnacle of the album and one of my favorite parts. I could see how those synth sounds might remind you of the dental drill(!) but to me they are pure magic, some of the richest sounds I've ever heard - yes, I am a synthesist :). I can't possibly pick a favorite "side" of Tales, they're all so different yet so interwined, with all the repeating themes in very different contexts, it's just brilliant, the most exciting thing I've ever heard and I've loved it since the first time we played it in my dorm room in Dec. 1973. And I got to see Yes perform the whole album live in Feb. '74, at age 17, and like someone else said, it was my first major rock concert. Just magnificent!
Bravo to you for tackling this complex and sometimes confusing masterpiece of prog. This album is written ‘in my inward parts’ and so will forever one of my all time favorites by Yes. I hope it affetected you in all the good ways.
This was a fun ride thought this album. Thanks for these vids! BTW The first time I ever heard Ritual was from a live album. The part that made you uneasy was specially amazing to me because they used a much different sound effect than the “dentist drill sound lol” in their live shows (That’s a sound effect triggered by the drums) . On my first listen it sounded like they were evoking and bringing forth one of those monsters like in your RPGs hahaha .. I just pictured this “thing” rising up as they all did the percussion and the music reached the top… and it made the last part perfect the way it resolved from all that chaos.
I love this album! The band was on fire on this album, especially Chris Squire and Steve Howe. I love CTTE, but I like Tales and Relayer even more. RIP Chris!
I was about 25 when it came out. I remember liking some sides and not others Unfortunately the sides i liked were on different discs so I could not just flip it over (vinyl did have a few drawbacks), so I rarely played it. But listening to it with you reminded me of all the parts I loved. Thank you.
This is a great end to a great, underappreciated album. You've reacted to a lot of Yes, which is my favorite group, and I love their Seventies songs, but they have great songs that were released in the Nineties and early 2000's as well, with some of their best long songs coming out then, like "Mind Drive" and "Endless Dream" among others, and rockers like "Shock to the System" and "Lightning Strikes" along with the great "Magnification," which is from the album of the same name, with all the songs backed up on that album by a symphonic orchestra. It's amazing. When Jon Anderson fell ill and left the band around 12 years ago, they never really recovered. But, from the early Seventies to around 2005, almost every album was great, with only a few bad ones in the mix.
WRT 'getting it or not': I have rarely listened to a Yes album that I 'got' on first hearing. Much of it is intriguing and almost overwhelming on first hearing, but it draws me in and reveals itself over subsequent listens. There are many layers and much deeper musical cohesion, linking and developing themes than appears on one listen. I love this fourth movement, especially the lead bass passages and the perfectly subtle ending after the lovely final song. The whole thing is a phenomenal and much maligned piece of work. It's not perfect in every detail, but is a wonderful musical and unique sonic journey to go on every now and then.
Hey! New to your page! I love your passion for music and your amazing reviews! Thank you for tackling this album. Looking forward to viewing all of your vids!
Just discovered your wonderful project here. Much to say about this album but I just want to add that I think "nous sommes du soleil" can technically mean "we are FROM the sun" but I think is better translated as "we are OF the sun," as in, we are unified as creatures on this planet by the energy of the Sun, quite literally. I hear that in the singing. It's a celebration of being alive! A very YES thing to sing, I'm sure you know.
I just found you. There's a ton of good stuff out there. Looking forward to seeing your reactions. Good on you to open your mind to this kind of music.
Pity, I'll have to be patient. As of the time you've released this, it's morning where I live and time for work. I'll be back in the evening -which is probably morning/noon where you live ;-)
First YES album with Alan White on drums. He nailed it right away. Everybody is more or less into Bill Bruford, but I love the speed and power of White. Never out of rythm, never over acting but always powerful.
In case you haven't listend to the vocal magician Dimash Kudaibergen yet you should react to him. The song S.O.S. would be a good start and then Sinful Passion.
I saw the TFTO tour, twice (with different girlfriends which eventually got me in a shitload of trouble). So I thought I'd go looking on YT for video of that tour. I was pretty sure there were no professionally shot versions. Yessongs was still out there for fans to buy. But YT being what it is, if a fan ever snuck an 8mm camera into the arena (videotaping home tech didn't exist back then, and when it did arrive in the mid-80's, the home cameras were the size of a medium microwave), that film would have found its way to an upload. Yes, it's grainy film, it's hand-held jumpy, the lighting stinks, and the sound is mediocre, but here it is, Nous Somme du Soleil, performed live in 1974: ruclips.net/video/lJG67UqpycU/видео.html I was watching the link while typing, and it seems the film footage is interrupted a lot by photos, but the photos were shot with better lighting and are great and nice to see given the murkiness of the video. This is the Yes I remember, young, skinny, and extremely hairy.
I am someone who historically, when someone is dissing on a band or being a "gatekeeper". I purposely go out of the way to explore the music in question.
You were a little taken aback by the ritual. At first when I listened to this album year ago, I wasn't sure how much I would like it. This album grew on me. Now it is probably my favorite YES album after Close to the Edge. I hope you revisit it again.
as you know by now, every Yes composition, not song, composition is a musical journey while lyrics , often symbolic, somewhat encrypted, are just another musical tool, so to speak
I don't think that you finished Yes's Fragile album with Heart of the Sunrise, Long Distance Runaround and South Side of the Sky. These are three of Yes's must listen too tracks!
French has lots of letters that often aren't pronounced. (Like in English: through, psychiatric, phlegm. This song title is pronounced: new sum do so-lay. We are from the sun. C'est un très bon nom, n'est ce pas?
It’s funny...the percussion sequence in this is probably my absolute favorite part of the entire album. (On first listen I felt the same as you...too uncomfortable.) I don’t even know why...but I’ve put the needle on the album directly on that part, over and over before going on to the most beautiful, melodic finale of any album I’ve ever heard. And that’s saying a LOT! The guitar part that finishes it off...oh man. Every Single. Note...absolute perfection. And btw...here’s my pronunciation key for the French: Noo SUM doo sāl LAY. Thank you. 😁 I predict this will eventually become your favorite side on the album, and I know it’s sometimes hard to have to make it hit, but when it does, you will be so happy you did! Nothing good in life comes easily, and this piece is no exception.
Thanks for uploading this reaction; so few people get to experience this masterpiece...This song goes to the Id...The primitive mind...It's ritualistic...Peter Gabriel does similar stimulation's on his Security album with songs like Rhythm Of The Heat... The part starting at 17:00 is sublime...:)
![Coheed and Cambria - Searching for Tomorrow [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hDsYGLbmadg/mqdefault.jpg)
Tales From Topographic Oceans is the most majestic album ever recorded. It’s perfect.
Absolutely agree!
It is perfect. Never understood why people disliked it so much.
@@4021971 Lack of patience?... Anyway, a true masterpiece!
@@progperljungman8218 Maybe...I don't know.
100%
Great to see the younger generation appreciate Great music.
I consider that these tales represent a journey to the origin and a return with hope.
The listener witnesses the revelation of the god of science, remembers the past, travels to ancient civilizations, and through rituals encounters the "sun" that is the source of everything.
Then, they return to the present and the future with hope.
This album, like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "the Dark Side of the Moon," and "the Wall," has great meaning and value when listened to as a whole.
It is truly a symphony by YES.
Thanks for the great tales!
And thanks for posting the reaction video!
Sad to announce that Alan White passed away today. Not trying to make anyone sad. Just putting the word out. I'm incredibly sad. He was my favorite drummer.
The melodies throughout this album are so distinctive that in the percussion section the drummer plays them rhythmically on his toms (with a crazy alien insect synth noise) and we can recognize them just from the rhythms. Your translation " we are from the sun" made me say "well, that explains a lot." :) What a band!
During the Yes Symphonic concert, Alan White was backed up by the kettle drums of the symphony orchestra, along with the kettle drums that were brought out for Squire, Anderson, and the keyboard player. Twice during the percussion solo, they built to a crescendo of total sound with all of the violins and cellos progressively being played more aggressively, and more loudly until it peaked.
Ladies and gentlemen Chris Squire and Yes the greatest show on earth. Got to see Squire 36 times over forty yrs. There's one of the best versions of Ritual live from their 35th Anniversary Tour called Songs From Tsongas. Squire plays timpani. The first time I saw Ritual in 75 cried like a man when the voice of the divine sang . RIP Chris 👑
6:14 Close to the Edge! 34:00 "total retain" another nod to Close to the Edge.
Thank you!
I've always felt this song is the spiritual successor to Close to the Edge. It's the closest of Yes's other album-side long songs in terms of sound, structure, and feeling.
Saw them perform this album live. Definite experience! The percussion part that unnerved you was spectacular live!
Saw it too and totally agree!
Now you know... the gods speak french!
By far my favorite Yes album. Incredibly ambitious soundscapes.
I love this album, but I think Close to the Edge is their best
These are some of Jon's most direct lyrics
Check out Ritual live from symphonic live! Full orchestra!! Just beautiful
Listening to the Alan White middle part you can just see the courier bringing Rick's Vindaloo right now!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
A Masterpiece (The Whole Double Album)!!!! Thank you for not pausing during Jon's first "Nous Sommes Du Soliel" vocal passage! That part is Magical. And WOW! You Liked "The Remembering" the most! That's my Favorite off the album! Great Reaction, Daniel!
Love the recurring motifs from The Revealing Science of God and the other two tracks as well though harder to pick them up. The "Nous Sommes Du Soleil" part is gorgeous. This was a great trip through an amazing album. Thanks, Daniel!
all 4 songs on Tales have some melodic themes from other songs on the album (alternate tune), this one especially has a TON of little riffs and melodies from the other 3 tracks. I saw you recognize one of them during the one tense mellow guitar solo sections. The music itself reflecting the All is All theme. Tales has always been my fave YES album of all time. It is an Experience. I must have heard it a thousand times before yet every time I listen to it i still hear something new or make some new connection. It is pure Magic.
Treat others as you would like them to treat you. Now that was a message from Yes we can admire, right along with their sheer talent. Great Review, I look forward to more.
Long post ahead (see my screen name)
Sorry, this is important: HOW, not HOW-EE.
Fun fact: Jon was given the book "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Jamie Muir, percussionist for King Crimson, before he departed for life in a monastery. This happened at Bill Bruford's wedding.
This album encapsulate's how far the music business (and audiences) have changed since 1973. Yes was a top-selling rock band and on the heels of their most successful album and touring to date they release a double concept album with nothing that can be played on the radio (at least Jethro Tull got that part right.) And it still went to #1 (and not because of Atlantic Records hype, but because word of mouth got around that Yes were an amazing band on record and on stage.)
I'll echo others who encourage you to check out the live version from Yesshows. One of Yes' strengths were that they were always thinking about how their music was going to translate to a live setting. So with a song called "Ritual" it sort of makes sense to include a group percussion jam that would be pretty cool for an audience to watch. For me the strangest thing about this piece was that Jon chose to end it in a minor key. He usually chooses to leave a more positive lasting impression with the big epics.
Lasting thought: The amazing thing about Tales is yeah, you think "Wow, a double album with four 20-minute epics. Not likely to listen to that one too often." But I guarantee you'll be surprised just how easy it will be to pull any one side -- or even all four! -- and have it just fly by as comfortably as something like "Long Distance Runaround". That's the amazing thing about classic Yes music. The song lengths really have nothing to do with how easy the music falls on your ears.
I thought you said this was going to be a long post😅😅
Reviews by the New Musical Express may be safely discarded. They are meaningless. I stopped buying the NME in the 70s as so many of their reviews of albums and bands were coloured so much on their left-wing politics and a band's origins.
I bought TFTO upon it's release in the 70s, and like many people initially found it hard to 'get into' as we used to say. However, I have often found that an album that is difficult to get into rewards repeated listens, as when it grows on you and you finally love it you never get tired of listening to it, as each time you discover new things. So it was with TFTO; I never grow tired of it. I have found that to be the case with many albums (or song tracks) from progressive bands.
Another excellent and articulate review BTW; you are right about the best way of listening to it. It is also very good for long solo car journeys at night!!
The middle section representing a struggle is meant to make you uncomfortable. It was not the ritual as you suggested. Read the liner notes and it will make sense. Absolutely beautiful piece of music on a stunning album.
You're doing it right, listening to it with headphones! Music goes right thru your head
I was discussing music and this channel with a good friend who knows a thing or two... Not sure if I agree with the last part, but those are his thoughts. He said the following which I was not aware of...
"Part of why so much good music came out of Britain was a program that sent lots of poor kids to art school. They were hungry for success and the results were obvious.
Ian Anderson tips his hat to this in the second phrase of this lyric from the track Baker Street Muse on Minstrel In The Gallery: "Oh Mother England, did you light my smile? Or did you light this fire under me?"
It was a creative burst the likes of which we haven't seen repeated, and due to the gross devaluation of creative work by technology, probably won't ever happen again until long after we're gone."
Nice statement. Check the all-girl Japanese hard-rock band called Band-Maid, the best thing that happened after several decades. Peace.
A recent video I saw about The Beatles also brought this up -- how lower/middle class kids from working towns could get an education that their parents never could have dreamed of. So now you had working class kids who could quote Chaucer.
Daniel, what caught your attention was a little leak from "Close to the edge"
14:45 And the Grammy for best use of a sports whistle in a prog rock song goes to...
Never even noticed it. Thanks for pointing it out.
I’ve always thought I was alone in that thought! Huh!
Thank you for the emotional listening of this album.🙏
The first gig I went to was Yes at the legendary Glasgow Apollo - I was 17. They started with the three songs from Close to the Edge then played all four sides of Tales - the Album had not even been released so it was new to everyone - Roundabout was the encore. Glory Days!
I haven't listened to Tales very often in recent years...it has some great moments but drifts a bit aimlessly in parts...but back all these years ago and now I rated Ritual as up there with the best of Yes. I would particularly recommend the three part video of Ritual with a Symphony Orchestra backing the band...phenomenal showcases for Chris Squire on bass and Alan Whyte on drums then out of the chaos Steve Howe's wonderful guitar and Jon Anderson's golden voice singing "Nous Sommes Du Soleil" which may be the most beautiful Yes song.
Your dramatic reading is most entertaining indeed! I memorized all their songs when they were new, and still know them by heart.
Hey man, I first heard this while overlooking an estuary with mountains in Scotland. I was 12, it was 1976. I actually cried listening to you describe it, I felt young. It really opened my mind to life. I don’t listen often, every year or two, but it still holds a place in my heart where the years don’t go.
Great song! Always loved that bass segment at 13 50 for about a minute .
Really beautiful, pure Genius.
Well done for really embracing this album.
This is the most incredible album you would ever listen too. Something like this would never ever be created again.
Yes I can understand that there is some filler in this album but it has some of the most amazing pieces of music ever created in this world. I don’t always play this because there is some wonderful music out there but at the time this was created nothing was ever ever going to be close.
It got a real slating in reviews at the time but time has been good to this album and people like yourself listening to this and are realising what has been done. I admire you for that.
I am glad you are experiencing real music. Keep it up please.
I know there are lots of albums you cannot review on here but please keep going with your journey.
At 5:55, it's just Steve, and Chris with a very high bassline.
AND... at 6:13... that's Steve playing 14 notes of "Close to the Edge".
Damn fine. ;-)
Yes I saw the full LIVE TALES in early 74 & it was their first huge Roger & Martin Dean stage set to reflect underwater world with a crab nebula behind Alan White & inner lit rock formations to camouflage stage monitors etc. It was grand and surreal and left me spellbound & awestruck. BTW there is a version on RUclips with the original extended intro on SIDE 1 which essentially is a mesmerizing oceanlike soundscape leading up to the opening lyrics. Nice. TALES is a magical experience. Also the scratchy synth is mimicking one of themes and Steve's first solo is a montage of themes from the 4 sides
I bought this album when it first came out and liked it, but didn't really gain an appreciation for it until 20 years later. Yes did a concert in Europe not too long after the year 2000, that was backed by a symphony orchestra. Songs like Starship Trooper, and Close to the Edge sounded very good with the orchestra accompanying them, but it was Ritual that stood out as the most brilliant part of the concert. There are videos on youtube of this Yes Symphonic concert. The symphony backing them displayed the genius of recordings like Ritual, that were seemingly meant to be played by an entire orchestra. I highly recommend people watch the three videos that make up the Yes Symphonic version of this song.
To the owner of this page, you will be able to see what composed the source of your uncomfortable feelings during the percussion section of the song.
Saw this live twice during the masterworks tour. Stunning.
Daniel,you have to watch a live version of this, its epic. The instrumental break in the middle is spectacular, Chris Squire always performed an amazing bass solo
Chris jams it live with the symphony orchestra. Big style.
In 1974 when I got to hear YES because I had an older brother, kudos to you older brother, and I said to my brother, "yeah, but they can't play this stuff live" then he handed me YESSONGS.
I was never so happy to be WRONG! I saw them in 1977 and got to see them do Close To The Edge Live WOW
One thing for sure there will never be a work like this done again Tales is a one and only unique work. Here is a hint it a great to listen to on a long drive or flight but after listening to this a few times you do not have listen to the whole work in one sitting. It is easy to listen to it over a couple of days. For me it is beyond music, it is an experience, adventure and soundscape, emotional journey like no other. The more you listen to it then more you love it. Side 4 is amazing mix of so many themes, western, eastern, mystical, primitive, futuristic, energetic and beautiful. Thank you for helping keep this epic masterpiece alive for a new generation. Just because it is so long it should never be forgotten. I am sure Jon Anderson is happy you are do this. Cheers Kevin.
I am a first generation Yes fan. They have been my favorite band since 1971. Many of my age and time don't care that much for Yes beyond the Drama album, but I have to encourage you as much as I can to try 1994's album "Talk" It is the best summation of the middle period of the band. If you don't think you'll be able to do the album, please at least give a shot to "The Calling" and "Endless Dream". The best Yes since the classic period in my humble opinion. Heck.............you've already got the classics covered already anyway, including my personal fave Relayer. Thank you for that. I just, for some reason think you'd really enjoy "Talk" in a special way. I might be wrong. Anyway peace, and Happy New Year.
Wow you tackle some complex songs. I had this album when I was 15 back in the mid-seventies.
I remember the first time I heard this when the album came out. Hope you remember it that long as well. This music has to stay alive, it's worth it.
1. "That noise" was a VCS3 applied to the drums. I suspect a King Crimson influence in that "tribal percussion" section - even though there are no directly comparable passages in their studio repertoire. You can draw vague parallels between this and either the tuned percussion movement in Larks Tongues #1, or with a semi-improvised thing they played on some German dates in the summer of '73, or, more so, with certain drum solo/duo moments in live jams of the Muir Era. There are definite parallels between the last portion of the Ritual percussion movement (with the VCS3) and those "electric drum solos" Ian Wallace used to play with Crimson in '71-'72 (which used the VCS3, and usually ended in a feedback/noise jam with the other guys)
2. In Ritual you'll have noticed all the quotations from earlier movements of the TFTO suite - and from Close To The Edge - packed into the bass/guitar showcase sections. (And there are even more of those in live renditions of Ritual). But there's at least one bit of Foreshadowing too - the phrase "Change We Must" - though the song of that name didn't emerge (in Jon's solo career) for nearly twenty years.
3. No, even I can't imagine how P M Dawn came to sample it (but it's interesting that they applied the sample in a rhythmically contrary fashion)
Ritual is fsntastic. Awesome
It was so dif than anything on the radio at the time.
And that why I loved it then and still listen to in now.
40 years later
It is very cool that you have tackled this album. It's not an easy one, and to be candid, it's not among my favorite Yes albums. But you have done a fine job here. Oddly enough, at one point the percussion reminded me of "Time Has Come Today".
OMG YES... my new sennheisers and Steven Wilson combined to have me hear for THE FIRST TIME today-after 1001 listens the faint crossover bell effect. I immediately thought......well, time Has come today. Someone is analytically subjective.
I love this album. "We receive all we venture to give" are words to live by. What you share will come back to you Jon's lyrics do make sense sometimes. 😁 Chris' harmonies were amazing and courageous, harmonizing with Jon while playing his bass so eloquently. How hard must that be? Steve's guitar work is outstanding. Alan is crazy good as a drummer. When Bruford quit, White had 3 days to learn the drums for the concert tour Yes was on, and he did. Imagine the musicianship that required! And Wakeman painted the waves like no other keyboardist could. His touch on a piano is magic. So glad you enjoyed this, Daniel. 😊
No clue how Alan learned all that in 3 days, though he did sit in on sessions prior, so I guess that's how he was able to learn it all so fast. Just amazing though.
Awesome end to the album, some of the strongest musical sections
I revisit the album about every 6 months not just because of the music but the good memories it provokes, I hope that you discover a piece of music that in 40 years+ will not only still sound fresh but also takes you to a good place the that yes have been for me.
This was always my favorite side of the album and that moment, at the end of the percussive section, when Steve Howe's guitar pierces through the chaos to reintroduce the pre-chorus gets me every time.
Oh, and I totally loved your face when Howe quoted the theme from Close to the Edge. Priceless.
I JUST heard the noise you mentioned in the percussion sequence! It sounds exactly like the vacuum the dentist assistant uses while getting dental work! Haha! I never thought of that before, after hearing this SO many times!
17:20 live this is a drum trio with Alan White, Chris Squire and Jon Anderson.
Just watched a live performance of this. What a trip.
We are from the sun, no wonder we are hot headed!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Jon Anderson knew human nature at the time of writing this!!! 🙂❤ He still does!!! Alan White really rocks out on this one!!!
48 years ago they mede this album. 48 YEARS.
Let that sink in for a while...
Yes Jon's scats are unique, just like him!!! Would love to meet him!!! Very connected to the Universe!!! CHA CHA CHA, CHA CHA in Sound Chaser!!! Relayer Daniel needs to review one day!!! The list is growing!!!
Side three is quite dissonant but then side four is much more resolving and enveloping and returns to much more melodic themes with the notable exception obviously of the percussive bridge in the middle but that only serves to emphasise the feeling of release and beauty of the final ‘Nous Sommes du Soleil’ section. Still prefer side one and probably played the side 1/2 vinyl disk more than the 3/4 one over the years but now in a digital age I often play 1/4 as a preferred combination.
Sometimes it takes some patience to really feel the vibe or immerse the more difficult experience of Yes. You are right, in that it is an experience type album; each part intrinsically linked. Great review 👏!
Anderson was turned on to the Autobiography of a Yogi by Jamie Muir (King Crimson) when the 2 of them chatted at Bill Bruford's wedding reception.
I had no idea! That’s so cool...I loved that guy, and was so sad to see him leave KC. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall of that wedding!
This is a GREAT bike riding song and album. I rode my bike to this album for weeks one summer - lost 10 pounds! After you figure out all the parts of the songs, you just can't wait to get to your favorite parts, of which there are many.
Thank you for delving into this!! Very few brave souls out there would go there. This last piece is my favorite of the four, there are such extreme dynamics on this one, incredibly beautiful and also moments of darkness, and then brought back into the sunlight, and then, what an outro!! Steve Howe's lead outro is breathtaking, he often weaves the melodic themes in and around his lead work throughout this whole work, which is a real achievement. Great reaction!!
“Machine Messiah” is a Sepultura song, btw! 😁
This version on the Live ‘Symphonic Yes’ album takes the original to another level
Great reaction, jon went on to create one of the most beautiful concept albums, "olias of sunhillow",if you ever review that album it would be so amazing, again fantastic reaction.
Progressive.... Rock.... reaches a summit. ❤️😎
Alan White was playing car parts.
He gathered several engine and body parts strung up and played them.
The first time I listened to this album, I found it all bizarre and interesting and so unique. I loved all of it, but I didn't fully absorb it or understand it. I rarely do with long music like this on a first listen. On first listen 'The Ancient' was my favorite, cause I loved how primal it sounded. That and Steve Howe's guitar solo just captivated me. About a year ago 'Ritual' became my favorite, because "The Ritual" blew my mind. Never really have heard anything like it, ever. 'The Revealing Science of God' is so good though. 'The Remembering' seemed to me to be the most beautiful of the 4 pieces, but now I think it's 'TRSoG', but on my last listen 'The Ancient' has re-taken my top spot. What can I say; Steve and Jon just got to me.
My favorite Yes Album
Daniel, you made it! Yes, it's a long journey but a great one. I hope you revisit it many more times. I've been listening to this and Relayer every so often over the last 45 years or so and never get tired. Since Covid, I use an exercise bike, there are animated videos of these songs, before I know it, I'll crush 20 minutes in a work out. You should check the videos out, they use Roger Dean's images, the artist who did Yes" artwork. Yes albums are true gifts which keep giving and giving. Keep up the good work and journey of great music. And, I do know a little Opeth, not a lot, but if you post some reactions on them, I'll be learning right along with you. Peace!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I know I don't actually know you, but this felt like I was sharing an incredible piece of music with a close friend for the first time. It's been wonderful watching you go through this Topographic journey. I was nervous during the long drum break, I could tell you were feeling like it was too much even though for me it's the pinnacle of the album and one of my favorite parts. I could see how those synth sounds might remind you of the dental drill(!) but to me they are pure magic, some of the richest sounds I've ever heard - yes, I am a synthesist :). I can't possibly pick a favorite "side" of Tales, they're all so different yet so interwined, with all the repeating themes in very different contexts, it's just brilliant, the most exciting thing I've ever heard and I've loved it since the first time we played it in my dorm room in Dec. 1973. And I got to see Yes perform the whole album live in Feb. '74, at age 17, and like someone else said, it was my first major rock concert. Just magnificent!
Bravo to you for tackling this complex and sometimes confusing masterpiece of prog. This album is written ‘in my inward parts’ and so will forever one of my all time favorites by Yes. I hope it affetected you in all the good ways.
This was a fun ride thought this album. Thanks for these vids! BTW The first time I ever heard Ritual was from a live album. The part that made you uneasy was specially amazing to me because they used a much different sound effect than the “dentist drill sound lol” in their live shows (That’s a sound effect triggered by the drums) . On my first listen it sounded like they were evoking and bringing forth one of those monsters like in your RPGs hahaha .. I just pictured this “thing” rising up as they all did the percussion and the music reached the top… and it made the last part perfect the way it resolved from all that chaos.
I love this album! The band was on fire on this album, especially Chris Squire and Steve Howe. I love CTTE, but I like Tales and Relayer even more. RIP Chris!
I was about 25 when it came out. I remember liking some sides and not others Unfortunately the sides i liked were on different discs so I could not just flip it over (vinyl did have a few drawbacks), so I rarely played it. But listening to it with you reminded me of all the parts I loved. Thank you.
The centre section is a ride.
The Ritual part they all played percussion instruments. The strange sounds were electronic music probably Wakeman.
RIP Alan White.
Nous Sommes du Soliel(French)= We Are From The Sun.......Excellent reaction.
The version on YesShows is really good. I actually think every song on YesShows is better than its studio counterpart.
I feel that way about Yessongs.
I also recommend the "Symphonic Live (2001)" version!
Yes Symphonic is even better.
This is a great end to a great, underappreciated album. You've reacted to a lot of Yes, which is my favorite group, and I love their Seventies songs, but they have great songs that were released in the Nineties and early 2000's as well, with some of their best long songs coming out then, like "Mind Drive" and "Endless Dream" among others, and rockers like "Shock to the System" and "Lightning Strikes" along with the great "Magnification," which is from the album of the same name, with all the songs backed up on that album by a symphonic orchestra. It's amazing. When Jon Anderson fell ill and left the band around 12 years ago, they never really recovered. But, from the early Seventies to around 2005, almost every album was great, with only a few bad ones in the mix.
WRT 'getting it or not': I have rarely listened to a Yes album that I 'got' on first hearing. Much of it is intriguing and almost overwhelming on first hearing, but it draws me in and reveals itself over subsequent listens. There are many layers and much deeper musical cohesion, linking and developing themes than appears on one listen. I love this fourth movement, especially the lead bass passages and the perfectly subtle ending after the lovely final song. The whole thing is a phenomenal and much maligned piece of work. It's not perfect in every detail, but is a wonderful musical and unique sonic journey to go on every now and then.
Hey! New to your page! I love your passion for music and your amazing reviews! Thank you for tackling this album. Looking forward to viewing all of your vids!
nous sommes du soleil - we are from the sun ☀
Just discovered your wonderful project here. Much to say about this album but I just want to add that I think "nous sommes du soleil" can technically mean "we are FROM the sun" but I think is better translated as "we are OF the sun," as in, we are unified as creatures on this planet by the energy of the Sun, quite literally. I hear that in the singing. It's a celebration of being alive! A very YES thing to sing, I'm sure you know.
Nous Sommes du Soliel actually got local (Los Angeles) rock radio airplay in 1973 with a four minute radio edit.
Now THAT I gotta hear 😎
@@Lightmane ruclips.net/video/1qi3ENb4ECg/видео.html
I just found you. There's a ton of good stuff out there. Looking forward to seeing your reactions. Good on you to open your mind to this kind of music.
Pity, I'll have to be patient. As of the time you've released this, it's morning where I live and time for work. I'll be back in the evening -which is probably morning/noon where you live ;-)
First YES album with Alan White on drums. He nailed it right away.
Everybody is more or less into Bill Bruford, but I love the speed and power of White.
Never out of rythm, never over acting but always powerful.
Why did the song have to end?
Just Awsome
In case you haven't listend to the vocal magician Dimash Kudaibergen yet you should react to him. The song S.O.S. would be a good start and then Sinful Passion.
I saw the TFTO tour, twice (with different girlfriends which eventually got me in a shitload of trouble). So I thought I'd go looking on YT for video of that tour. I was pretty sure there were no professionally shot versions. Yessongs was still out there for fans to buy. But YT being what it is, if a fan ever snuck an 8mm camera into the arena (videotaping home tech didn't exist back then, and when it did arrive in the mid-80's, the home cameras were the size of a medium microwave), that film would have found its way to an upload. Yes, it's grainy film, it's hand-held jumpy, the lighting stinks, and the sound is mediocre, but here it is, Nous Somme du Soleil, performed live in 1974: ruclips.net/video/lJG67UqpycU/видео.html
I was watching the link while typing, and it seems the film footage is interrupted a lot by photos, but the photos were shot with better lighting and are great and nice to see given the murkiness of the video. This is the Yes I remember, young, skinny, and extremely hairy.
Oh wow. This is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing it here.
The hair is where it should be, anyway! 😄
I am someone who historically, when someone is dissing on a band or being a "gatekeeper". I purposely go out of the way to explore the music in question.
You were a little taken aback by the ritual. At first when I listened to this album year ago, I wasn't sure how much I would like it. This album grew on me. Now it is probably my favorite YES album after Close to the Edge. I hope you revisit it again.
Yes it was.
Nous sommes du soleil means in French We are the Sun. Again as always with the All is All theme. All is ONE. The Infinite Intelligent Source.
We are OF the sun. Sorry to be pedantic, but there is a huge difference, don’t you agree?
as you know by now, every Yes composition, not song, composition is a musical journey while lyrics , often symbolic, somewhat encrypted, are just another musical tool, so to speak
I don't think that you finished Yes's Fragile album with Heart of the Sunrise, Long Distance Runaround and South Side of the Sky. These are three of Yes's must listen too tracks!
Especially Sunrise
Steve Howe says it is his greatest work. 500,000 copies ordered before its release. Epic. I got to see them do the whole album live.
French has lots of letters that often aren't pronounced. (Like in English: through, psychiatric, phlegm. This song title is pronounced: new sum do so-lay. We are from the sun. C'est un très bon nom, n'est ce pas?
Through Psychiatric Phlegm would be a good name for a group.
Tout à fait
It’s funny...the percussion sequence in this is probably my absolute favorite part of the entire album. (On first listen I felt the same as you...too uncomfortable.) I don’t even know why...but I’ve put the needle on the album directly on that part, over and over before going on to the most beautiful, melodic finale of any album I’ve ever heard. And that’s saying a LOT! The guitar part that finishes it off...oh man. Every Single. Note...absolute perfection.
And btw...here’s my pronunciation key for the French: Noo SUM doo sāl LAY. Thank you. 😁
I predict this will eventually become your favorite side on the album, and I know it’s sometimes hard to have to make it hit, but when it does, you will be so happy you did! Nothing good in life comes easily, and this piece is no exception.
Thanks for uploading this reaction; so few people get to experience this masterpiece...This song goes to the Id...The primitive mind...It's ritualistic...Peter Gabriel does similar stimulation's on his Security album with songs like Rhythm Of The Heat... The part starting at 17:00 is sublime...:)
Frank Zimmerman says hello.
@@firebird7479 :)...That's cool you spoke to him, after we talked...Tell him I said: "MILT MILT BRICKEN BIRSTAIN" :)...He'll understand...
@@godbluffvdgg Done!
The live version on Yesshows is excellent.
Here's my best phonetics for 'Nous sommes du Soleil'(New some do so lay)we are from the 🌞 It's French.