Yes/UK 1973

YES is getting closer to their Japan performance in November this year. The highlight of this year's event is, without a doubt, ``The Story of Marine Topography.'' Although it is not a complete reproduction of the four songs, it is in the form of an excerpt of ``God's revelation → Leaves of Green of ancient civilization → ritual'', but the day is finally approaching when you can experience that fantastic song live. We have prepared a truly valuable audience album from the time of ``Marine Topography''. This work was recorded at the “Bristol performance on November 18, 1973”, which is the very early stage of “TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS TOUR 1973-1974”. This tour has left its name in history with the complete performance of ``Ocean Topography'', but it does not mean that all four songs were played in the entire tour. This is a good opportunity, so let's briefly summarize it here. 《Early autumn 1973: ``The Story of Marine Geomorphology'' completed》 ・November 16 - December 10, 1973: UK tour (24 performances) 《December 1973: ``The Story of Marine Geomorphology'' released》 ・1974 February 7th-28th: ​​North American tour (first half of 21 performances) -“Reminiscence” was dropped from the set-・March 1-25, 1974: North American tour (22 performances in the second half) ・April 11-23, 1974: European tour (10 performances) 《May: Rick Wakeman leaves》 This is ``Ocean Topography'' This is the progress from the completion of ” to Rick's departure. The tour is roughly divided into three parts: "UK before release," "North America immediately after release," and "Europe," but only "UK" and "first half of North America" ​​played all the songs of "Ocean Topography." I think it happened about 40 times. *Note: The above information is approximate. The program for the entire schedule is not known, and even within the schedule, there may be days when not all songs will be performed. Now, let's get back to the main point. The Bristol performance where this work was recorded is the third performance in the very early days of the “UK tour”. Of course, it was a live performance in which "Ocean Topography" was performed in its entirety, and this is a valuable complete recording of the four songs. Unfortunately, the three “Kisai” songs at the beginning of the show were not recorded, but they are the oldest “live performance/ocean topography” recordings in existence. Although it is a very valuable recording, the quality of this work is a wonderful audience sound that is not suitable for being precious. There is a sound of people adjusting the equipment around the intro, but by the time the band comes in, it is clear and the music is extremely active. As expected, it is a vintage recording from the early 70's, so it is not "like a sound board", but the thickness and clarity of the musical tone is line-class. The performance of the five people is clearly a beautiful recording. Since the complete performance of ``Ocean Topography'' has not been recorded as a line recording, it is a blessing to be able to listen to it with the sound up to this point. As mentioned earlier, it is not a complete recording of the show, so it cannot be said to be the best of the tour, but as for the reproduction part of "Ocean Topography", it is one of the best recordings and sounds. And the performance is also wonderful. Perhaps because it is the third performance of the tour (= third complete performance), it is not a ``seasoned performance'', but on the contrary, the tension of taking on a historical blockbuster dominates the scene. Even Rick, who leaves the band after the tour, doesn't feel like he's getting bored. Furthermore, there is a sense of tension in the audience seats as they witness such a blockbuster production. At that time, the album had not yet been released, and I felt that the audience was confused by the series of blockbusters that never ended, but that is why "silence and performance" filled everything, and the clear sound of this work. It's even a contributing factor. Even though it was recorded in his home country of England, it feels like listening to a performance in Japan. In November, 43 years after this live performance, ``Ocean Topography'' will finally be performed in Japan. As I mentioned at the beginning, although it is not a complete performance like this work, you can experience this magnificent world live. There's only a little more left until that day. Live at Hippodrome Theatre, Bristol, UK 18th November 1973 TRULY AMAZING/PERFECT SOUND Disc 1 1. The Revealing Science Of God 2. The Remembering Disc 2 1. The Ancient 2. Ritual 3. Heart Of The Sunrise 4. Roundabout Jon Anderson - Vocals Steve Howe - Guitars Chris Squire – Bass Rick Wakeman - Keyboards Alan White - Drums