One of the most ambitious albums in rock history, Yes’ Tales from Topographic Oceans arrives today from Rhino as a Super Deluxe Edition boxed set.
The massive collection spans 12 CDs, 2 LPs, and a Blu-ray and features a newly remastered version of the original double album on both CD and vinyl; rarities; previously unreleased studio and live recordings; and several new mixes by Steven Wilson, including a Dolby Atmos version.
Rhino.com has an exclusive bundle of Tales From Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition) with a 12x12 Tales litho numbered and signed by Roger Dean, limited to 500.
The origins behind Tales from Topographic Oceans trace back to a footnote in Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, which inspired Jon Anderson to imagine a four-part musical journey through ancient Hindu scriptures.
That concept took shape across four side-long compositions: “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance of the Dawn),” “The Remembering (High the Memory),” “The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun),” and “Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil).”
To capture the album’s structural and spiritual ambition, Anderson (vocals), Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), and Alan White (drums) worked with longtime producer Eddy Offord at London’s Morgan Studios, using Britain’s first 24-track console.
Released December 7, 1973, Tales from Topographic Oceans topped the U.K. album chart and reached #6 in the U.S., where it earned a Gold certification.
The new Super Deluxe Edition reveals deeper dimensions of the project with previously unreleased in-progress versions of all four album tracks, providing rare insight into the creation of Yes’ most audacious work.
The set’s live material was recorded early in the tour for Tales and includes previously unreleased performances of all four album tracks, along with earlier favorites “And You And I” and “Close To The Edge.” The shows include Zürich (April 21, 1974), Manchester (November 28, 1973), and Cardiff (December 1, 1973).
When the album came out, it took time for some fans and critics to catch up with the band, writer Syd Schwartz of Jazz & Coffee recalls in the set’s liner notes.
“Consensus was never the point,” he says. “Tales from Topographic Oceans will continue to be debated, dismissed, defended, and rediscovered. Its resistance to easy categorization is not a failure—it’s the reason it endures. It’s a vast, unknowable ocean of sound and spirit. And it still hasn’t finished revealing itself.”
Schwartz also notes the album would be a turning point for the future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® inductees and GRAMMY® winners: “Without Tales, there’s no Relayer. No pivot to leaner, sharper structures in the later ’70s. No map gets drawn without first pushing the edges of the known world — and Tales is where Yes did exactly that.”
I asked two author pals below about this Yes 2026 expanded release, and implemented my interviews with Steve Howe and Chris Darrow.
“I purchased Tales, expecting the brilliant Close To The Edge era of Yes, and found the four-sided extravaganza was introducing the public to a new glimpse of Yes,” emailed guitarist and songwriter Jan Alan Henderson, author of Crypt 39 – George Reeves, and Whispers from the Canyons of Mountain Laurel.
“While former departed drummer Bill Bruford provided Yes with unique percussion patterns, new drummer Alan White wisely keeps the groove while other members of Yea explore the future. The four sides provide a unique view of the new emerging Yes. An interesting look back at a distinctive musical time.”
I also heard from Lonn M. Friend, author of Life on Planet Rock about Tales.
"I was at Valley College in Southern California I, hanging with my new prog buddy, Peter, in the library,”
“Every night, between the stacks, we’d excitedly share the trippy platters that were blowing our Star Trek sparkled minds. Genesis, Camel, Caravan, Pink Floyd and of course. Yes. On the heels of the flawless masterpiece Close to the Edge released the previous fall, we were all in on Tales of Topographic Oceans before the ink was dry on Roger Dean’s cover art.
“When tickets went on sale for the angel city Topographic tour stop at the Fabulous Forum. we ponied up our vinyl stipends for the year and scored. We were nerds, fans, not musicians who were no doubt captivated by the technology and aural rapture of the epic double disc. Inspired by two hits of Thai Stick, I Warp drove down to Moby Disc Records on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks and secured my copy. Crazy, cosmic package and lyrics for daze.
“You know when I finally discovered that Jon Anderson’s poetic narrative was inspired by Paramanhansa Yogananda’s timeless spiritual volume Autobiography of a Yogi? In 1999 during the Kundalini emersion years at Guru Singh’s Yoga West.
“What?” I reacted, “I listened to that record a thousand times, my heart and lobes enveloped by the searing, soaring song scapes. Guess the Guru was right when he said, ‘When the student is ready the teacher will appear.’
“Lights dim, lighters click, concert time; that ineffable sensation saturates your every fiber. Live music! Here we go! Time to fly! Four half-hour long songs, delivered with the precision and nuance that defined the mythical English troupe since their starship arrived in 1969. “We love when we play.” Amen, Sir Jon. Chris, Alan, Steve and Rick exit the stage, instrumental ecstasy to a thunderous din. We were exhausted. They played the entire double LP, all four sides.
“Pete, they’re coming back.” ‘No way.’ Yes…way.’ Close to the Edge, thirty more minutes of harmonic bliss. Thery don’t make encores like that anymore. They don’t make albums like that anymore.
“Exactly a year later, in the autumn of ’74, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway grabbed the baton. Back down the rabbit hole. ’Twas the age of prog supremacy. We didn’t just listen to the records. We worshipped them. Topographic, symphonic, hypnotic, iconic. Nous sommes du soileil and Sat Nam.”
I was never a big prog-rock fan but I respected the musicianship. Besides, my brother Kenneth, was and is, the prog and jazz head in the Kubernik family.
I knew in the early incarnation of Yes that the band was influenced by pop and rock music of Hollywood. They recorded versions of Buffalo Springfield’s “Everydays” and the Byrds’ “Why.”
In addition, I was aware guitarist Steve Howe was a huge fan of guitarist and jazz legend, Barney Kessel.
In 2003 I interviewed Howe and he discussed the influence of Kessel on his own work.
“Barney Kessel was the first American jazz guitarist I ever related to. I started playing when I was 12 in 1959 and I reckon about two years after that I was aware of Barney Kessel. I guess the Kessel album that was most important to me and still is, is The Poll Winners’ with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown. Volume 1, a blue cover, on the Contemporary label. I bought it and most of Barney’s albums in London at Dobell’s, the famous, jazz shop. It was archetypical, real jazz.
“I bought all the LP’s he made when he was the leader. I also liked him in support roles. One of the things I liked about Barney was his sound. Compared to other players, he had a very earthy, organic quality to his sound. And his playing was a remarkable mixture of ‘single line’ and ‘chords’, ya know, which inspired me to believe that any guitarist who doesn’t understand chords won’t be able to play much in the single line because they relate so much. Barney had his own great, highly individual approach to jazz guitar. The way he combined the chords and that single line. It was a perfect balance, really.
“I read Barney’s column, a few times, in Guitar Player Magazine. There obviously was a whole line of fine guitarists he inspired, or that had been touched by him. That stuff Barney did with Julie London like ‘Cry Me A River’ which starts with his guitar, is amazing.
“One important thing to me is that Barney Kessel is the first guitarist I ever saw who said ‘You need eight guitars to be a session guitarist.’ I only had about four at the time. And when I saw his ‘eight guitars’ quote I kinda read what he meant. Like having a 12-string. Barney put something very influential in my head about the multi-guitar idea when he mentioned eight guitars including 12-string and mandolin. That well-rounded idea that obviously affected me when I went into doing ‘Monster Guitars’ goes back to Barney Kessel.”
With this new super deluxe edition of Tales From Topographic Oceans, it reminded me of one of my dialogues with the multi-instrumentalist Chris Darrow, who along with George Harrison, introduced me to Autobiography of a Yogi.
During 2001 I interviewed Chris Darrow, a co-founder of the legendary band the Kaleidoscope. Darrow and group members played on the debut Leonard Cohen album, The Songs of Leonard Cohen.
Darrow is the bassist on “So Long Marianne” and “Teachers” from those 1967 recordings. Other original masters culled from the Bob Johnston-produced Cohen/Kaleidoscope sessions “Sisters of Mercy,” “Winter Lady” and “The Stranger Song,” were later utilized in director Robert Altman’s film McCabe and Mrs. Miller.
One afternoon in 2001 Chris looked up from a local Claremont Greek restaurant, Yianni’s, and saw a familiar face from 34 years ago: Leonard Cohen.
At the time Leonard was on a break from his nearby Buddhist retreat Mt. Baldy Zen Center in Darrow’s neighborhood.
“Boy, you guys really saved me when I did my first album in New York,” happily confessed Cohen. “Chris,” asked Leonard, “what have you been doing?”
I had interviewed Leonard three times at length in the seventies, and sipped herbal tea with him at his two Southern California residencies in Brentwood and Los Angeles.
50 years ago, Leonard mentioned Autobiography of a Yogi to mebut I missed the directive he offered at the time.
Nor did I have clue Jon Anderson of Yes was so impacted by the same book it guided him to create the poetic narrative that is embedded in Tales From Topographic Oceans.
A couple of decades ago I asked Darrow about Yogananda right after I visited the Bodhi Tree Bookstore in Los Angeles, which stocked books about religions, philosophy, metaphysics, psychology, and health.
“In 1968, while in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I worked on Paint Your Wagon. It was filmed in Baker, Oregon, yet it was supposed to be the late 1840’s in California. Hippies, with long hair and beards, were hired as extras to make the film look authentic. Most of the extras were from Portland, Oregon and amongst them was a great jug band called the PH Phactor Jug Band. They had been a part of the early San Francisco pre-hippie period in Virginia City, Nevada with the Charlatans and the Warlocks.
“Their jug player and singer, Steve Mork, and I became fast friends. There was a glow, an aura about him, that appealed to me and I asked him what it was. He told me that he was a member of SRF, the Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda.
“I had read his book, Autobiography of a Yogi and knew a lot about him. This eventually led me to take the lessons and learn the meditation techniques of Yogananda. His non-sectarian approach and east meets west comparisons appealed to me, so I became a devotee. The yogic attitude is so much counter to the way the music business works, it’s a wonder I’ve made it this far.
“In a world of ego and dog eat dog, the yogi strives to act as a cool character, a dispassionate advocate. I believe in the golden rule and a non-confrontational way of living life. It has worked for me as a human being but certainly against me in the ‘me first’ attitude of show biz. As a young man, I was naïve to much of the machinations of how people make it in the world of popular music and, as a result, I thought that one just had to be good and the rest would follow. I was sure wrong.
“I have had a wonderful life as a musician and have made many, good, lifelong friends. However, there is a competitive, ruthless quality that comes out when people get close to the Golden Ring. Humility goes out the window, friends become enemies and one starts looking over the shoulder for the big stab. I’ve seen it so many times that I expect it more than not.
So, in response, I have chosen to live an isolated, quiet existence and now only work with old and trusted friends. I’m not paranoid, it’s just that I now have a way I like to work and find that stress and strain only get in the way of the music, which of course, is the most important part,” instructed Darrow.
TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)
CD Track Listing
Disc 1: Original Album Remastered
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)”
Disc 2: Original Album Remastered
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”
Disc 3: Steven Wilson 2026 Remixes
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)”
Disc 4: Steven Wilson 2026 Remixes
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”
Disc 5: Steven Wilson 2026 Instrumental Mixes
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)”
Disc 6: Steven Wilson 2026 Instrumental Mixes
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”
Disc 7: Rarities
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – Single Edit
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)” – Single Edit
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” – Single Edit
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” – Single Edit 1
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” – Single Edit 2
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – Version 1
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)” – In Progress
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” – In Progress
Disc 8: Rarities
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – In Progress *
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” – In Progress 2 *
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – In Progress 2 *
Disc 9: Rarities
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)” – In Progress 2 *
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” – In Progress *
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – Version 2
Disc 10: Live 1973
Live at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England (11/28/73)
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)” *
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” *
Live at Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, Wales (12/1/73)
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” *
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” *
Disc 11: Live at Hallenstadion Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (4/21/74)
- “And You And I” *
- “Cord Of Life”
- “Eclipse”
- “The Preacher The Teacher”
- “Apocalypse”
- “Close To The Edge” *
- “The Solid Time Of Change”
- “Total Mass Retain”
- “I Get Up I Get Down”
- “Seasons Of Man”
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” *
Disc 12: Live at Hallenstadion Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (4/21/74)
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” *
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”
Blu-ray
2026 Dolby Atmos Mix
2026 5.1 Mix DTS-HD MA
2026 Stereo Remix
2026 Stereo Remaster
2026 Instrumental Mix
LP 1: Original Album Remastered
Side One
- “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
Side Two
- “The Remembering (High The Memory)”
LP 2: Original Album Remastered
Side One
- “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
Side Two
- “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”
* Previously Unreleased
(Harvey Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love.
Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In 2021 they wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble.
Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters. His Screen Gems: (Pop Music Documentaries and Rock ‘n’ Roll TV Scenes) will be published in mid-February 2026 by BearManor Media.
Harvey spoke at the special hearings in 2006 initiated by the Library of Congress held in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation.
In 2017, he appeared at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in its Distinguished Speakers Series and as a panelist discussing the forty-fifth anniversary of The Last Waltz at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in 2023).
