Yes
Tales from Topographic Oceans
Tales from Topographic Oceans: the 1974 Rolling Stone pan that divided prog
Released in the UK on 7 December 1973, Tales from Topographic Oceans was Yes's ambitious double album. A contemporary hostile review by Gordon Fletcher in Rolling Stone, alongside chart results with their dates.
The verdict at the time
Gordon Fletcher reviewed Tales from Topographic Oceans for Rolling Stone on 28 March 1974 with open hostility. He called the album overlong, criticised 'psychedelic doodling' and drawn-out solos, found Steve Howe's side-three guitar display nerve-racking, and dismissed the scripture-based concept; his review opened with the words 'this album is too long'.
Chart peaks
European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.
Sources & context
One critic's opinion, summarised from Gordon Fletcher's original Rolling Stone review of 28 March 1974. The album is now regarded as a controversial but landmark progressive-rock document.
