CLOSE TO THE EDGE

I must say I prefer the live versions on Yessongs of every song on this album. Much more intense and focused and not seeming so much like they were cut and pasted together (which they actually were). I wonder if I would not be agreeing with the 1 and 2 star reviewers of this album had this been my first introduction to Yes. Probably not, as this is still a very good album for its time. I suspect the poor reviews come from people who grew up listening to 90's and beyond production values, and to them, this probably does not sound so great. Or, they simply don't care for Yes in general. I am a rare person in that I prefer Tales to this one, and Relayer over both of those. But I can not discount the historical significance of this album, which is considerable. To be honest, for many years I never bought this album because I had Yessongs and felt there was no reason to own what I consider inferior versions. With the last batch of remasters, I picked it up and now I wish they would remaster Yessongs because CTTE now sounds much better than I remember. Anyway, I still think this is essential prog, for historical value if nothing else. After all, if it doesn't appeal to you I guarentee you can sell it on Ebay :)