Tales From Topographic Oceans, 50 years old today.

[GOS]

Nope.

Nope it wasn't completed, or nope you don't know?

 

[Clement]

Why is Squire frowning? Shouldn't that be Steve???

Isn't it (from L to R) Howe, Anderson, White, Squire, Wakeman? What's especially cool about it is that the stand they are on has Anderson recessed so he's shorter!

 

[nikomen]

The person to ask was ELP's (and some Yes) engineer for their 70's albums, Eddie Offord (retired).

 

[kcrimson]

Nice! I have it on a t-shirt. I met Roger Dean a few years back, and he could not have been more gracious. I've always loved his work, and I wasn't trying to hide that fact. I wound up with large prints of Relayer and Pathways (Yessongs cover), and a smaller print of Gentle Giant's Octopus cover, all of which I framed. He signed everything, along with my '74 vintage Relayer cover.

Roger Dean would come to the NEARfests each summer in Bethlehem PA and Trenton NJ. Super nice guy and probably answered the same questions from fans thousands of times. I got a Relayer art print which he signed. He is usually on the Cruise To The Edge which is coming up in March 2024.

 

[ProgRules]

Isn't it (from L to R) Howe, Anderson, White, Squire, Wakeman? What's especially cool about it is that the stand they are on has Anderson recessed so he's shorter!

I thought the figure on the left had the guitar that looks like a bass? 4 strings right?

 

[ProgRules]

Nice! I have it on a t-shirt.

I have a t-shirt with the Tales cover on it as well. It is the shirt Jon was wearing on his tour with the band of geeks.

 

[colsky]

I thought the figure on the left had the guitar that looks like a bass? 4 strings right?

Agreed. And both Squire and Howe are looking grumpy! Perhaps they are thinking about the money that Anderson is trying to take from them!

 

[Clement]

I thought the figure on the left had the guitar that looks like a bass? 4 strings right?

Both Lego guitars have 3 strings. As you noted, the frown makes it Howe for me! Also, the cape seems more like Squire, as does that figure's hairstyle. Maybe you're right, with those cheekbones, though!

 

[Bill B]

Isn't it (from L to R) Howe, Anderson, White, Squire, Wakeman? What's especially cool about it is that the stand they are on has Anderson recessed so he's shorter!

The cape made me LOL...

 

[Bill B]

Nope it wasn't completed, or nope you don't know?

Sounds like the latter to me... the BIG NOPE.

 

[colsky]

Both Lego guitars have 3 strings. As you noted, the frown makes it Howe for me! Also, the cape seems more like Squire, as does that figure's hairstyle.

It's well known that lego figures struggle with more than 3 strings. I think its the lack of fingers

 

[ProgRules]

Both Lego guitars have 3 strings. As you noted, the frown makes it Howe for me! Also, the cape seems more like Squire, as does that figure's hairstyle. Maybe you're right, with those cheekbones, though!
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OK- I can't see any strings on the white guitar in the pic. I agree that the cape and hair is more Squire-like, so I concede to your opinion- and they did get the right one frowning. Chris looks like a wry grin, which is in line with his sense of humor as well.

 

[humprof]

I was 14 when this came out December 7th, 1973. YES were one of the biggest bands in the world back then, and expectations were high as to whether they could top Close To The Edge. Suffice to say, it divided critics and fans alike (and even within the group, with Rick Wakeman leaving the band, unimpressed with its extensive "padding").

To me, there was nothing like it at the time, and there has been nothing so ambitious like it since. It's always been a "mood" album for me - not something I could listen to, say, driving the car, but with the right environment and substances, and in a meditative state, it took me to places no other album has even done.

So cheers and a happy birthday to a unique album that for me, 50 years later, was and still is, ahead of its time.

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Good of you to mark this. Too bad we didn't get a surprise golden-anniversary SW Atmos mix, but that doesn't take anything away from his incomparable 5.1 version. Oh--and "Happy Birthday" to you, too, Peter Kropotkin (December 9th, 1842). No politics here on QQ, I know, but: Up with cooperation! Down with social Darwinism! Not a Topographic shastra, exactly, but I feel sure Jon Anderson would endorse it.

 

[jdmack]

I became a Yes fan around 1980 - slightly after it all went down. I bought "TFTO" around 1983. It was a double albums and I seem to remember paying $14.95 for it (which was a lot of money at the time). How amazing that I can buy this on CD today (40 years later) for about the same price!
I still absolutely love this album. Yes, there are a few moments here and there where it meanders more than it should. But even with some editing, the good stuff would still be a double album.

 

[knifeman]

Roger Dean would come to the NEARfests each summer in Bethlehem PA and Trenton NJ. Super nice guy and probably answered the same questions from fans thousands of times. I got a Relayer art print which he signed. He is usually on the Cruise To The Edge which is coming up in March 2024.

Yes, I met him at NEARfest in Bethlehem, along with Mark Wilkinson (Marillion covers), and George Underwood, another noted artist. As you said, he could not have been a nicer guy. His Demons & Wizards (Uriah Heep) cover is another favorite of mine.

 

[kcrimson]

Yes, I met him at NEARfest in Bethlehem, along with Mark Wilkinson (Marillion covers), and George Underwood, another noted artist. As you said, he could not have been a nicer guy. His Demons & Wizards (Uriah Heep) cover is another favorite of mine.

Paul Whitehead, the artist for Genesis Trespass, Nursery Cryme, and Foxtrot was also at one of the NEARfests. I bought a linen print of the Genesis albums which he signed for me.