genre: prog
country: uk
quality : lossless (wv, cue, log, booklet scans only no native japan)
time: 1:19'35" size: 573 mb
issue: 2cd jap remaster HDCD
ProgressiveRock :
Tales has the dubious distinction of being either the mother lode or motherf&*ker of all Prog albums. The initial idea for Tales came to Anderson from a footnote regarding Shastric scriptures in Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi (bestseller for sure). This was the grand concept he’d been searching for, allowing Anderson’s lyrics would blossom into full-blown biblical verse. Together with Howe, they put most of the initial ideas down during the same tours of 1973 that generated the triple album Yessongs. Actualizing those ideas in the studio was of course more difficult, even wooden cows and accompanying foliage were reduced to compost by the end of the sessions. Drummer Alan White was nothing short of excellent in his studio debut with Yes. Previously with Lennon’s Plastic Ono band and most recently Ginger Baker’s Air Force, he got the nod days before the band’s US tour in 1972. He endured the sessions, and in fact, would last longer than anyone in the band save Squire. Considerably harder than Bruford, his chunky style was well suited for the band, and Tales. Spanning four sides of vinyl, the album epitomized the Prog axiom of "more is more". The question, however, is does it work? The first side "The Revealing Science of God" and to a lesser extent "The Remembering" on the second side certainly do. They’re classic Yes music: melodic and inviting, chock full of ideas and inventive playing. The rest of the trip is also long and cinematic, but also arduous. The acoustic number "Leaves Of Green" ended the third side; of course the fifteen minutes spent getting there does little except introduce us to the names of some ancient Atlantean peoples. The final side "Ritual" suffers the same fate. "Nous Somus Du Soleil" is a beautiful melody that in edited form would rival anything off of Yes’s prior albums; yet at twenty plus minutes, it merely goes on and on and on... But what Yes fan wouldn’t want a double album of new material, full of everything they like about the band? Well, Rick Wakeman for one. He made his exit quickly after the album’s promotional tour. Critically the album was universally slaughtered, however, it topped the UK charts at No. 1 and earned a respectable No. 6 in the US. So back to our original supposition: You decide.
Disc 1:
The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn) — 22:22
The Remembering (High the Memory) — 20:38
Disc 2:
The Ancient (Giants under the Sun) — 18:35
Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil) — 21:37
Jon Anderson (vocals)
Chris Squire (bass and vocals)
Rick Wakeman (keyboards)
Alan White (drums)
Steve Howe (guitars and vocals )
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