Article Contributed by Shore Fire Media
Published on November 5, 2025
One of the most ambitious albums in rock history, Yes’ Tales from Topographic Oceans arrives February 6 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.
The collection is available to pre-order HERE. Rhino.com will have an exclusive bundle of Tales From Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition) with a 12×12 Tales litho numbered and signed by Roger Dean, limited to 500.
To preview the set, the single edit for “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” is out digitally today. Listen HERE.
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, 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 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.”
TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)
CD Track Listing
Disc 1: Original Album Remastered
Disc 2: Original Album Remastered
Disc 3: Steven Wilson 2026 Remixes
Disc 4: Steven Wilson 2026 Remixes
Disc 5: Steven Wilson 2026 Instrumental Mixes
Disc 6: Steven Wilson 2026 Instrumental Mixes
Disc 7: Rarities
Disc 8: Rarities
Disc 9: Rarities
Disc 10: Live 1973
Live at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England (11/28/73)
Live at Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, Wales (12/1/73)
Disc 11: Live at Hallenstadion Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (4/21/74)
Disc 12: Live at Hallenstadion Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland (4/21/74)
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
Side Two
LP 2: Original Album Remastered
Side One
Side Two
* Previously Unreleased
