It's not aimless noodling !!

[PO]

Interview question to Jon Anderson:

Q) "But would Yes
write another piece as involved and complicated as
Topographic Oceans again?

A) "Oh yes I hope so,' said Jon. 'You see, to us it wasn't
that complicated. Steve and I had a basic cobweb of
ideas and we filled them up. We actually had a lot
more music than we finished up putting on the record.
As a piece of music we stand by it."

They knew damn well what they were doing. Besides, these guys don't work that way and we all know it.

I hope they DO come out with "another Tales" and knock out even more popsters. I'd be happy to SPEND THE TIME it takes to understand another Tales.

[soulsearcher]

i got time for that!....and i got a word for that too..LOVELOVELOVE! :valintine

[Scooty]

I believe firmly that the term "aimless noodling" was invented by "critics" who are frustrated musicians, can't play worth a damn, never made it, and now want to crucify those vastly more talented then they can ever hope to be.


"Rock Journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk,
for people who can't read."~Frank Zappa '80

[Earl Grey]

I would LOVE IT!

I want something EPIC from YES.

It's been a few years, ya know?

The reason I love YES is because they took-on insurmountable odds, and wrote songs which ascended the obvious tripe that poses as a mirror or the modern age.

YES is epic. YES IS EPIC.

And epic is that which we desire.

It's the opposite of the 3-minute soundbyte, which we abhore.

YES. The behemoth that shrugs-off the Top 40.

This is why we love YES (Tell me if I'm wrong).

YES goes beyond the predictable. And time is time, and measured time means nothing.

So go EPIC. Forget the maddening crowd. WE 'aint it.

We are YESFANS.

We are smart, and heartful.

And we want something at least as long and as convoluted as Close To The Edge this time out.

SO Knock us out! I am waiting...

:yesbird:

[Scooty]

They know that's there strong point, they know what they are best at creating, why cater to an audience that just is not there for YES? I remeber Jon Anderson saying, somewhere, that The only reason they ever had a couple of hit singles, 10 years apart mind you, is because people garavitated towards them. YES does not record music that is top 10, user friendly, easily accessible pop drivel. NO! It takes work, intelligence, and several listenings to grasp most YES music. THIs above alll is why They Kick a**! How many bands can you think of wherein after 35 years I still find new joys in music I have heard over, and over, and OVER again. This is why we stick around, this is why they stick around, this is why YES is TIMELESS, not pigeonholed...and they will continue far beyond my years to amaze and attract new listeners

[Earl Grey]

They know that's there strong point, they know what they are best at creating, why cater to an audience that just is not there for YES?


An amazing thought there Scooter!

There is NO audience for a YES top-ten hit right now.

We want a ten-minute hit. At least. And that's the tops for us! Why stop at ten minutes? An hour. There you go.

Epics rule! And the radio isn't radio anymore. So, why cater to it?

:ele:

[Scooty]

I haven't listened to the radio, honestly in 2-3 years I can't stand it. Look, ever since grunge hit, what 91-92? Radio splintered and fragmented. At that exact moment, Bands with, shall we say history, had no where to go, nobody would play their new material on radio, because there ws no where to play it. Bands like YES, Page/Plant, ELP, Floyd even, could still sell out arenas, with past glories, but album sales plummeted for every band of this ilk at the time. BECAUSE NO ONE NEW IT WAS OUT!

[soulsearcher]

I would LOVE IT!

I want something EPIC from YES.

It's been a few years, ya know?

The reason I love YES is because they took-on insurmountable odds, and wrote songs which ascended the obvious tripe that poses as a mirror or the modern age.

YES is epic. YES IS EPIC.

And epic is that which we desire.

It's the opposite of the 3-minute soundbyte, which we abhore.

YES. The behemoth that shrugs-off the Top 40.

This is why we love YES (Tell me if I'm wrong).

YES goes beyond the predictable. And time is time, and measured time means nothing.

So go EPIC. Forget the maddening crowd. WE 'aint it.

We are YESFANS.

We are smart, and heartful.

And we want something at least as long and as convoluted as Close To The Edge this time out.

SO Knock us out! I am waiting...

:yesbird:
YES! that is so true, earl gray...hot!

the more complex the better.
just record and i'll be there!

i think they should release it on vinyl w/ a 4 part fold out and words and artwork
to boot!
i'm so ready to hear some new composition.
most of the great composers were old, so i expect yes to coninue to write masterpeices.
why not? that's what we want. :band:

[candrsn]

Admittedly, I had trouble getting into Tales, and this is mainly due to me being a Yes fan only since 1991 (I am 30 years old) and sometimes being "unnerved" by today's "popular music" views. It was tough for me to shrug the need to be SUPPOSEDLY COOL and go ahead and like Yes's longer works (Tales in particular) instead of being mislead and going for the Soundgardens, Mudhoneys, and Nirvanas of the early 90's.

In 1999, however, I became more true to myself, in many ways, and the practice of truly (and carefully) listening to music became one of my newer and better characteristics. When I heard Tales From Topographic Oceans with my own ears and heart (for the first time, really) I felt transformed.

From a purely musical standpoint, this album does a great job of transporting one mentally from "the present" to the distant (and Ancient ) spiritual past of all humankind.

It is, by far, my favorite Yes album.

AND IT"S NOT AIMLESS NOODLING! As a guitar player I can honestly say that the music flows in a logical way and has some really interesting riffs, improvs, and strong song structures. Steve Howe and Jon Anderson are just SO DARN ORIGINAL on this album that it's hard to put into words. I guess it's just the unusual and beautiful sonic textures of this album that make it such a musically powerful album.

[PO]

I'm impressed, candrsn.

It is difficult to work back through a group's releases. Tales does take attention, doesn't it! But, yes, as a player you do hear what is there.

I almost envy that you have a "new" album such as Tales. Glad you found the site.

[About The Round]

OK. Tales is music who rise above most of the things we hear around. When beeing critical – I do that in the Yes perspective. The Remembering is too repetitive with too mutch vocal input – and has no logical direction musically that can help us manage the abyssal of the Ancient – who itself is a "take it or leave it statement" that would worked well in the right setting. Ritual is nowadays stretched in time beeing played live – something that works very well. The Revealing Science Of God also is a favourite of mine – though it could been played faster and with less repetitions. The limits of Tales are perhaps also hidden in the fact that the two LP`s has to cut the whole in four pieces – at the wrong places. Leaves Of Green doesn´t belong in the pagean settings of Ancient – and so on.

Some of the best bits of Yes music is recorded on Tales – I lean on Squire who comments that with "more hard work and focus on arranging could have been for the better". (using more time…!)

[BrianD]

I am a Tales fan - liked it from first hearing when it was released. I don't believe its perfect - there are parts that fit better than others - but overall its a masterpiece that reflects the willingness of the group to suspend all preconceived notions of what their next album should be like.

I have no doubt that they could have produced CTTE or Fragile (Part 2) if they wanted - and probably cemented themselves at the top of the rock hierarchy at that time. Maybe thats what many fans wanted. But they did the unexpected instead. I admire them for that.

Even though Rick and Chris have expressed reservations about it, the fact is they contributed in very meaningful ways.

While I don't think its the best Yes album, it is the most challenging and the most fulfilling.

[fragile34]

i don't like when people insult tales, it really is a special record

[Ryan]

listen to "moonchild" by KC. Thats aimless noodling. Tales is not. It is a very structured album.

[Timmo]

snip...It was tough for me to shrug the need to be SUPPOSEDLY COOL and go ahead and like Yes's longer works (Tales in particular) instead of being mislead and going for the Soundgardens, Mudhoneys, and Nirvanas of the early 90's...snip

I LOVE Nirvana, and think that if Kurt Cobain hadn't died at 27, he would have continued to make fascinating music.

He was a genius, but in a totally different way than Yes is genius.

I also LOVE "Tales."

Just because I'm a hopeless prog-head doesn't mean I can't love music 1) that's from this century, 2) that is guitar-driven; and/or 3) songs that are 5 minutes or less that follow the verse refrain verse refrain bridge verse refrain format, pimarily in 4/4 time.

It's all good.

I'm a Yeshead, but I'm looking forward to Melissa Etheridge next month just as much as the next Yes tour.

So you CAN love Nirvana and LOVE TFTO. At least I can.

Tim
egotistically admiring the range of his musical tastes in
VENICE, CA

[Ryan]

I like Nirvana too. All though I think it is completly insane that kurt was higher up on the Rolling Stones greatest guitarist list than Steve Howe. I just learned the intro siberian khatru on guitar and thats a lot harder than you would think it'd be. Sorry about being of topic.

[Timmo]

I like Nirvana too. All though I think it is completly insane that kurt was higher up on the Rolling Stones greatest guitarist list than Steve Howe. I just learned the intro siberian khatru on guitar and thats a lot harder than you would think it'd be. Sorry about being of topic.
Now THAT is insane.

What I admired about Cobain was his songwriting, not his guitar playing (which was solid, but Howe is a master, up there with Hendrix, Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn).

TIM
thinking about guitar players in
VENICE, CA

[fragile34]

yeah, it's absolutely ridiculous

[headrott]

I believe firmly that the term "aimless noodling" was invented by "critics" who are frustrated musicians, can't play worth a damn, never made it, and now want to crucify those vastly more talented then they can ever hope to be.


"Rock Journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk,
for people who can't read."~Frank Zappa '80

Actually Scott, I would say that the "critics" who call Tales "aimless noodling" or "completely self indulgent" etc. etc. are people who can't just sit and listen to music which is as complex and requires your complete attention as Tales does. These "critics" simply cannot devote the time, energy and concentration it takes to listen to this album. they therefore decide to rip it apart and call it the above names, because that's much easier to do rather than to actually listen to it.

Understand, "critics" don't listen to the music and report on what they hear. That's why it's ironic that they are music critics.

Greg

[Ryan]

music critics suck.

most of them at least.

[Snarly]

IMHO Tales is not the best Yes album ever, just my personal favorite :)

The Remembering may just have some "aimless noodling" included in it, but I happen to like that from a band that usually has more structure than the golden gate bridge. Two words to describe TFTO? Glorious Soundscapes.

Those of you who find fault with Tales might want to take a look at your Spirituality. Tales was written with an eastern philosophy as its inspiration. If a person does yoga or meditation or buddhisim or non-combative martial arts and loves cats, they will usually like Tales.
If a person is a strict fundamentalist christian, western mentality and hates cats, they probobly hate Tales. (If they hate cats they probobly hate Yes anyway)

Remember Rick W. said something like: "Tales is the kind of album you either love or hate, and I don't love it".

I don't hate it.

[Jeremy Bender]

Re: Nirvana. Love 'em--if for no other reason than they wiped the hair-metal bands (Warrant, Ratt, Motley Crue, Winger etc.) off the face of the earth literally within the space of a few months--sent that lot to the nostalgia circuit. Good for Nirvana! Among the shames of Kurt offing himself was the chance to not hear the direction the band was headed in--the MTV Unplugged album hints at that direction: acoustic chamber pop, out with the distorted guitar. Oh well.

Well, Tales does "noodle": as mentioned, parts of the The Remembering, the pedal-steel part of The Ancient and parts of Ritual come to mind. I listened to a bootleg version of The Revealing Science of God last night (2/28/74) and again amazed at what a brilliantly constructed song it is. Tales has a lot of flaws, IMO, but I still love it to bits.

Re: critics. Yeah, most of 'em suck, but remember, Chris Welch was a HUGE Yesfan--ended up writing a book about them (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0711995095/qid=1076973605/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-5606750-8743845?v=glance&s=books) and all--and he famously panned both the tour and the album in the pages of Melody Maker.

[PO]

I think we're missing the point. Tales does not aimlessly noodle. The writers of this music do not work that way. They are very precise as to what goes on a recording. Even when some serendipity happens in the studio, they only keep the best of it.

It is just the perception of some people (not me).

Chris Welch is no authority. He's a critic.

[Gabriel]

Indeed they do, they cant stomach the brilliance of prog rock at least from the accounts i've read!

While i'm not exactly sure of the whole meaning of Tales, the beauty of the music and the fantastical lyrics hooked me completely and I found it to be an incredible album. I guess I like long winded stuff after all ;)

[Jackaranda]

I saw a book recently that had Tales at #10 of the worst albums ever made in rock history.

This same list has one Beatles album, Please Please Me, in their 50 best, and it wasn't anywhere near the top.

The quote of Frank Zappa says it all. George Harrison pretty much said the same thing. I'll take their opinions, thank you.

[PO]

QUESTION:

Why wasn't padding and filler applied to In-a-gadda-david-a? Ferchrissake, THAT'S padding and filler. In the day it was simply "that long song". People actually gave them CREDIT for doing such a thing.

I will insist upon In-a-gadda-david-a as being the definition of padding 'till the day I ... I ... nevermind, just a palpitation.

[Jubei_ninpucho]

OOOOOOOO YEAH :rcking: :rcking: :rcking:

They should do a triple crazy ass rock-opera

Something like a mix of Olias of Sunhillow and Tales

[sunburstbasser]

Another Tales?

I, for one, do not want to see another Tales.

Why?

Because thats not what Yes is about. Sure, they may say "We've still got another CTTE or TFTO in us," but thats not what I want.

I want something bigger.

I want something better.

I want Yes to do exactly what they did from the self title up to Drama and beyond-I want to hear them PROGRESS.

I want to hear an album with a 50 minute song that is only called "prog rock" because Yes is prog rock. I want it to totally stretch the boundaries of my perceptions of music, the way CTTE did when I first heard it, and the way so much Yes music has since then.

I want to hear Yes do 3 or 4 micro-epics as well, 5 minute songs that feature huge sections, like a completely stripped Ritual or Awakening. Getting bigger by going smaller.

I don't care if Yes puts out anything even resembling what I've described, as long as they continue to find some way to challenge me when they release new music I will never be satisfied!

I don't read music magazines much, because of the critics. Many of them have their heads shoved so far up their posteriors that its questionable if they ever actually heard the masterpieces by Yes and other great bands that never get the credit due to them.

[SoundChaser72]

To be honest I have never really known what to do with Tales -- I mean, yeah it is a natural progression and there is some cool stuff on there, but at times it does get tedious for me. I am a drummer and I like hearing drum solos but the weird tape looped stuff going on in Ritual is a bit hard to swallow. For me The Revealing Science Of God is the only track that really works from beginning to end. It isn't that I have anything against long pieces -- I love that stuff -- but I think something like Gates of Delirium work better. I guess it comes down to the economy of music verses the time allotted. Some of Tales sounds padded out. Gates sounds like every note belongs there. But that's just one little ol' humble fan's opinion. :-)