Events

[ROCK] When classic prog-rockers Yes released Tales from Topographic Oceans in late 1973, the general consensus was they’d gone off the rails. Four songs on four sides, loosely based on four bodies of Hindu texts that front man Jon Anderson had found referenced in the footnotes of a book. “A lot of people thought we were nuts, but we were breaking barriers at that time,” said drummer Alan White, calling from near the San Juan islands in Washington. TFTO was White’s first studio album with Yes, the first and fourth sides of which are being performed on their summer tour, which hits Artpark on Tuesday, August 2. The storied recording of the album, which took place over many months at London’s Morgan Studios, included erecting temporary tiled walls to mimic a bathroom echo for Anderson’s vocals, and various cardboard standees—farm animals and picket fences amid actual bales of hay—to create the sense of being outdoors. “Listening back now, it’s got wonderful themes, beautiful melodies, and the songs are tied together by adventurous instrumental playing, but we were holed up in that studio for a very long time. Cardboard cows and fake palm trees… was a bit of an interesting scene.” Although considered a high watermark release by prog enthusiasts, White says playing TFTO at 67 isn’t nearly as demanding as the other part of Yes’s summer show—1980’s Drama, recreated in its entirety. A transitional album, Drama is permeated with a hyper, new-wave feel, and features Trevor Horn as lead vocalist rather than Anderson, who’d taken hiatus. “It’s a very exciting piece of music and not an easy album to play,” White said. “We didn’t know what kind of record we were going to make, and Jon and Rick were off doing their own thing. I called Steve (Howe) and Chris (Squire) and said ‘I’m going to book some time, whoever’s there gets to record the next Yes album.’ Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes were next door working on Buggles and came on board after much of the project was already finished. It’s true, it doesn’t sound like any other Yes album, and it’s physically demanding to recreate with its upbeat pace and advanced rhythm section. But there’s still something thrilling about it to me.”

*NOTE: Since this interview, Alan White has undergone necessary back surgery. He plans to jump back on Yes’s summer tour as soon as he’s able, but in the interim, Jay Schellen (ASIA, GPS) will be filling in.