- Audience-Alienating Premise: Someone who isn't a fan of Progressive Rock is simply not going to listen to an album with four 20-minute songs. The album even tested the patience of fans of the band and progressive rock. Melody Maker magazine simply reviewed it with the word "No", while other critics questioned the idea of basing an entire album around a footnote in the autobiography of a yogi. (It described the four classes of Hindu scripture, known as shastras.)
- Contested Sequel: Close to the Edge was going to be a Tough Act to Follow from the outset, but Tales from Topographic Oceans was hit particularly hard by the decision to amplify its predecessor's approach so heavily. Fans and even the band were divided on whether it was an adept continuation of Close to the Edge or a bloated mess. Laypeople quickly pointed to it as a microcosm of Progressive Rock's biggest ills, and while it eventually gained a reputation as one of Yes' most underrated albums, the question of whether or not it lives up to Close to the Edge still splits hairs even today.
- Critic-Proof: Despite its hugely mixed reception from both fans and critics, the album reached the top ten in both the UK and the US (topping the former's album charts for two weeks) and was certified gold by the RIAA within just a year.
- Vindicated by History: Tales from Topographic Oceans slowly but surely gained fans as time went on, and is now seen as vastly underrated and unfairly lambasted.
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