Yes' “The Remembering (High the Memory)” continues to stand as one of progressive rock's most ambitious long-form songs, more than five decades after its release on the band's 1973 double album Tales From Topographic Oceans.
Running for 20 minutes and 33 seconds, the track remains a defining example of the expansive sound that made Yes one of the biggest progressive rock bands of its era.
Released on Dec. 7, 1973, Tales From Topographic Oceans featured four side-long compositions, each running between 18 and 21 minutes. “The Remembering (High the Memory)” occupied the second side of the original double album and was credited to Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White.
English progressive rock group Yes posed for a photo in August 1980.English progressive rock group Yes, August 1980
The song was built around the idea of a journey across the sea. Its musical movements were designed to suggest the changing motion of water, moving from calm passages into stronger currents and larger waves.
The track begins with Anderson's calm, chant-like vocals before the music gradually grows more active. White's drumming gives the song greater force, while Squire's fretless bass adds movement underneath the arrangement. Wakeman's flowing Mini-Moog work provides one of the song's most notable instrumental moments, while Howe adds guitar leads and solos throughout the nearly 21-minute performance, according to Something Else.
Yes' ‘The Remembering’ Remains a Progressive Rock Classic
The song's long structure reflects the larger vision behind Tales From Topographic Oceans. Anderson developed the album's concept after reading a footnote in Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi. He and Howe then worked on the album's themes and musical ideas during Yes' Close to the Edge tour.
The finished project became a double album with four extended tracks. Each composition was linked to one of four categories of Hindu scriptures described in the source material that inspired Anderson.
“The Remembering” was connected to smriti, or texts associated with memory. Anderson described the piece as a “calm sea of music” and wanted the band to create the feeling of “rhythms, eddies, swells, and undercurrents” through sound.
The track also gave each member space to contribute. White provided the chord basis for one section, while Squire played fretless bass. Howe used several instruments, including electric sitar, lute and acoustic guitar. Wakeman's keyboard passages were an important part of the song's flowing character.
The recording process was also unusual. According to Songfacts, Anderson wanted to recreate the sound of singing in his bathroom at home. To achieve that effect, the band built a small bathroom-like space in the studio with shower tiles.
The making of the album was not always easy. Wakeman was unhappy with the direction of the project and later became increasingly distant from the group. He was especially critical of the album's elaborate production and the amount of material needed to fill a double record.
That tension also affected the song's live history. Steve Howe later recalled that Yes did not play “The Remembering” as often as some of the other material because of feedback that Wakeman was not happy performing it.
The album's reputation has changed over the years. The album was commercially successful despite the mixed critical response. It reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for two weeks and No. 6 on the US Billboard 200. It also earned Gold certification in the United Kingdom and United States.
More than 50 years later, the album continues to receive new attention. A Super Deluxe Edition released in February 2026 expanded the original project with a remastered version of the album, new Steven Wilson mixes, instrumental versions, rarities and previously unreleased live recordings.
The expanded collection also includes previously unreleased performances connected to the Tales From Topographic Oceans tour. The live recordings feature shows from Manchester in November 1973, Cardiff in December 1973 and Zürich in April 1974.
For “The Remembering (High the Memory),” the new material adds another chapter to the story of a song that was already notable for its unusual length and detailed arrangement.
Fifty-three years after its original release, “The Remembering (High the Memory)” remains a lasting example of the scale and ambition that defined classic progressive rock.
Related: 1974 Rock Song, Lasting Nearly 22 Minutes, Remains a Classic 52 Years Later
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