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YES’ Epic ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ Gets (Super) Super Deluxe Edition

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Illustrator Roger Dean’s cover art design for YES’ 1973 double album, Tales From Topographic Oceans.

YES’ epic 1973 double album, Tales From Topographic Oceans, is receiving a massive Super Deluxe Edition. The collection, spanning 12-CDs, 2-LPs and a Blu-ray, arrives February 6, 2026, from Rhino. The boxed set features a newly remastered version of the original 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. The collection is available to pre-order in the U.S./worldwide here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here. (Links for physical product coming soon.)

[Rhino.com will have an exclusive bundle of the set with a 12×12 Tales litho numbered and signed by Roger Dean—the illustrator and frequent YES collaborator for album art and stage design—limited to 500 copies.]

Tales was the group’s sixth studio album. With creative juices flowing, the progressive rock band had made a significant breakthrough with their three previous albums in a little more than 18 months: 1971’s The Yes Album and Fragile, and 1972’s Close To the Edge, which saw them significantly expand the concept of traditional song lengths. Though they still had just a sole Top 40 single, “Roundabout,” YES were achieving significant airplay on the free-form FM stations with their longer tracks. As their fan base continued to grow, Atlantic released a 3-LP live set, Yessongs, in May 1973. Tales arrived just seven months later.

Listen to the single edit for “The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)” from the new collection

From the Nov. 5 announcement: 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).”

In a 2019 interview, Anderson told Best Classic Bands, “When we went to Japan, I started thinking: ‘Okay, FM in America is happening. So we can do long form pieces. The doors are opening. Let’s do four 20-minute pieces.’ And we did,” he said of Tales.

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 in the U.K. on Dec. 7, 1973, and in January 1974 in the U.S. on Atlantic Records, Tales from Topographic Oceans topped the U.K. album chart and reached #6 in the U.S.

This announcement ad for the album and YES’ North American tour appeared in the January 26, 1974 issue of Record World.

The 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 Tales tour 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, as 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 & 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.”

YES TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)
CD Track Listing

Disc 1: Original Album Remastered
1. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
2. “The Remembering (High The Memory)”

Disc 2: Original Album Remastered
1. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
2. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”

Disc 3: Steven Wilson 2026 Remixes
1. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
2. “The Remembering (High The Memory)”

Disc 4: Steven Wilson 2026 Remixes
1. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
2. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”

Disc 5: Steven Wilson 2026 Instrumental Mixes

1. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
2. “The Remembering (High The Memory)”

Disc 6: Steven Wilson 2026 Instrumental Mixes
1. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
2. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”

Disc 7: Rarities
1. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – Single Edit
2. “The Remembering (High The Memory)” – Single Edit
3. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” – Single Edit
4. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” – Single Edit 1
5. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” – Single Edit 2
6. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – Version 1
7. “The Remembering (High The Memory)” – In Progress
8. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” – In Progress

Disc 8: Rarities
1. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – In Progress *
2. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” – In Progress 2 *
3. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – In Progress 2 *

Disc 9: Rarities
1. “The Remembering (High The Memory)” – In Progress 2 *
2. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” – In Progress *
3. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” – Version 2

Disc 10: Live at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England (11/28/73)
1. “The Remembering (High The Memory)” *
2. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” *
Live at Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, Wales (12/1/73)
3. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” *
4. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” *

Disc 11: Live at Hallenstadion Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (4/21/74)
1. “And You And I” *
I. “Cord Of Life”
II. “Eclipse”
III. “The Preacher The Teacher”
IV. “Apocalypse”
2. “Close To The Edge” *
I. “The Solid Time Of Change”
II. “Total Mass Retain”
III. “I Get Up I Get Down”
IV. “Seasons Of Man”
3. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” *

Disc 12: Live at Hallenstadion Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (4/21/74)
1. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)” *
2. “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
1. “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)”
Side Two
1. “The Remembering (High The Memory)”

LP 2: Original Album Remastered
Side One
1. “The Ancient (Giants Under The Sun)”
Side Two
1. “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)”

* Previously Unreleased

The digital collection is available to pre-order in the U.S./worldwide here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here. (Links for physical product coming soon.)

Best Classic Bands Staff

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